Volume110issuee011

Page 1

LOCKDOWN AFTERMATH

NEWS BLANKET DRIVE, PAGE 4 UPGRADE EMINEM REVIEW, PAGE 6

Post-Lockdown Counseling, page 2

SPORTS K YLE VINALES, PAGE 10

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Central Connecticut State University

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Erin Stewart: The New Mayor of New Britain

Notification System Needs Improvement acadia otlowSki and kiley kRzyzek the Recorder

A series of alarm systems were put to the test as sirens blared across campus, alerting students of the lockdown that occurred just before noon on Central Connecticut State University Nov. 4. The alert process began with the Whelen System, which first broadcasted a set of tones, using a Klaxon horn. A police message then instructed students to go to the nearest building and stay away from doors and windows. Students on the edges of campus struggled to hear the sound, according to President Jack Miller. "We probably need to locate, install, some more of the voice system speakers,” said Miller, who said that there will be improvements to the system following the lockdown. The emergency alert system was in the spring, but students were not involved. The administration is planning another test, involving students. Mark McLaughlin, university spokesman and associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications, called an "irony of the universe," administration met a few weeks ago to plan out a campuswide stress test. He explained that the administration had wanted to hold a test of the system at the beginning of the academic year, but new speakers for the Whelen system had to be mounted and tuned. The administration had scheduled a test for the week before Thanksgiving, but the system was given a much more thorough test. The emergency alert system also sent out voice, text and email messages to students. The first message was sent out at 12:09 p.m., according to McLaughlin. Some students didn't receive an email message until half an hour later. McLaughlin said it was "one of the limitations of the system." "We could see it was taking time to roll out," said McLaughlin, adding that the system used for emergency alerts allows the office to track when the message was sent out. Miller admitted that the delay could have made it to some students arrived in the middle of the N�����������| PAGE 3

Volume 110 No. 11

SkyleR magnoli | the RecoRdeR

Newly-elected Mayor Erin Stewart. SkyleR magnoli the Recorder

Erin Stewart, alongside her mother and father, former mayor Timothy Stewart, took the stage amid hundreds of her friends, family and supporters as the new mayor of New Britain. Stewart’s victory against incumbent Tim O’Brien will easily make records since at just 26-yearsold she will be the second woman to be the mayor of New Britain. She also continues on the legacy for her father, who served for four terms as mayor of New Britain before deciding to step down. “I am so overwhelmed with all the support that has come from the New Britain community, from my family and from my friends,” said Stewart. “I am one happy girl.” The race was hardly close, but it was Stewart that surprisingly came out on top. Stewart won with 5,258 to O’Brien’s 4,147 votes. Along with her age, the fact that Stewart is a Republican casted doubt. However, she did not worry it would affect her in a mainly Democratic district. She has voiced that she is willing to work

with all political backgrounds to get the job done. She has said that she is a different kind of Republican, which along with her out-of-the-box running ticket, helped her win the election. Stewart ran on a fusion slate, which indorses Democrats, Independents and unaffiliated parties. “I think that speaks leaps and bounds to the methods that we brought to the public, and that was that it is about-people not politics, it’s about getting the job done, it’s about putting all the other stuff aside for a better New Britain,” said Stewart. In the campaign, it was her age that was used against her. However, now it is her age that she will use as her advantage. Stewart, who is an alumna of Central Connecticut State University, was able to tap into young voters. According to Celeste Roche, who not only ran on Stewart’s ticket for Alderperson At-Large but also attends Central, said that she thought Stewart’s age was an asset. Roche also said that for the students who payed attention to the elections will be happy that Stewart won.

Considering both the Democratic and Republican groups at Central backed her in the campaign. “She’s young, energetic and she’s full of ideas,” said Suzanne Parlow, Stewart’s aunt. “She knows New Britain like nobody else, we are all from here.” Stewart’s goal approaching the campaign was to begin turning New Britain around. Now she will have the chance, and she has different programs she wants to see implemented. She would like to see New Britain become a place for Central students to go. During the applause and cheers from the crowd, Stewart said the doors of town hall were back open for the people of New Britain. Stewart will reinstate the mayor’s open office hours, which once a month are open for any citizen to come in and talk about concerns they might have. This goes along with Stewart's plan to restore back trust into government. “I am most proud to say that the voters of New Britain truly did make an independent minded decision this election,” said Stewart. “It proves that they are the best, and

that they are educated in their vote, and that they are not afraid to vote for the person and not the party.” Especially for Central students, who just last year protested against O’Brien after he tried to put fees on 911 calls and landlords, which would raise costs on Central students who live in houses around the university. Hunter Mathena, who ran on Stewart's ticket for Alderman described her as small wonder. According to Mathena, “She’s going to do two times better than the current mayor, based on her education.” Under O’Brien, New Britain had the second highest tax rate in the state. Stewart would now like to make it affordable to live in New Britain again. As well as bring hope to a younger generation. That their voices are heard, and that voting makes a big difference since this generation is a big untapped block that doesn’t participate. “I can promise you that I will do my absolute best not to let you down,” said Stewart. “I am looking forward to the next two years because we are moving New Britain back in the right direction.”

Veterans Were Honored In Alumni Hall This Past Monday As Part Of CCSU's Veterans Day Celebrations Veterams Day was celebrated in CCSU's Alumni Hall.

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eRin o'donnell | the RecoRdeR


2 THE RECORDER

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Jacqueline Stoughton The Recorder

After last Monday's campus lockdown, the school is doing all that it can to help students, faculty and staff cope with the trauma through counseling. “We’re offering on call services, which are on a first come first serve basis,” said Jonathan Pohl, the Interim Associate Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center on campus. “We also have appointments available.”

NEWS Post-Lockdown Counseling The day following the lockdown, the Counseling and Wellness Center held a group discussion, open to all faculty, staff and students who wanted to talk about the events of the lockdown and how it affected them. The night of the lockdown, staff members of the Counseling and Wellness Center went into the residence halls that were most directly affected, James and Barrows Hall, to meet with students and discuss the situation with them. Extra staff was even recruited to ensure that all students

seeking counseling services were given the attention they needed. “For some, it’s a one time situation that they’ll need help for,” said Pohl. “For others, it triggered memories of past events and put them in a position where they’ll need a little more help.” “Initially, it was very scary and hit home because of the recent Sandy Hook tragedy,” said Tyler Richardson, a student at CCSU. Richardson explained that in order to cope with the situation she confided in family and friends,

and in some people she didn’t even know on campus later that week. “A number of students may not even be aware of the services available,” said Pohl. “A big part of a traumatic event is being able to talk to people about it, to debrief and somehow come to an understanding of the situation. We have to make sense of it for ourselves.” “It was also helpful that my professors talked about it later in the week,” said Richardson. “That’s how I found out about the

counseling services that CCSU is offering on campus.” “The events of the lockdown were very unpredictable and traumatic for students because they were placed in a situation most haven’t been in before,” said Pohl. The CCSU Counseling and Wellness Center will be providing all their current on call and appointment counseling services regarding the recent lockdown to students for the rest of the semester, and throughout next semester as well.

Faculty Senate Raises Concern Over ConnSCU Plans amanda webster The Recorder

The Faculty Senate spent most of its last meeting Monday debating aspects of ConnSCU's strategic plan. Suggestions to the plan was laid out in a recent statement from President John Miller to various University officials and aims to "promote distinct institutional and curricular identities for each of the four Connecticut State Universities." The senate had mixed feelings about CCSU's desire to identify itself as a STEM school (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Most concerns were directly related to funding issues. When asked why the state school system is going through a plan for change, Senate President Stephen Cohen said that it was likely for funding purposes. Dr. Felton Best, a professor of philosophy, said he is worried that

too many financial resources will go towards the STEM program in this effort, leaving less money for liberal arts programs. "Is it going to be an issue of are we starving one child to feed another?" said Best referring to CCSU's Liberal Arts Program as the starving child. In addition to making Central a STEM school, the ConnSCU strategic plan wants to identify Eastern Connecticut State as a Liberal Arts school, Western Connecticut State as a Visual and Performing Arts institute while Southern will identify as a Health and Human Services school (that is supported by STEM). Scott Hazen, SALD director, brought up another point regarding the University's "plan B." He asked what the school's options would be should it not receive the STEM funding that it is anticipating. While most senate members were not against this plan, many said that they are worried about its

long-term effects on the school. "I find it very hard to identify with something known as the STEM school…am I behind STEM? Absolutely," said Cindy White, professor of communication. "But if that means the plan is that ultimately anyone interested in Liberal Arts better darn go to Eastern because Central is going to be the place of remedial education in order to do the math for the engineering department or STEM degree, then frankly no I do not want to be a STEM school," said White. Another member of the senate though, said that the STEM program is where Connecticut education is headed and that CCSU should take full advantage of it in order to better itself as a University. "Without answers to these kinds of questions, it's really difficult to figure out where you want to be on this issue," stated White.

Erin o'donnell | The Recorder

Richard Bachoo addresses the Senate on the campus wide lockdown.

SGA Bullet Points Jaimie Leasure The Recorder

• The student government was given the chance to have a Q&A session with Dr Laura Tordenti, Richard Bachoo and Mark McLaughlin about the campus wide lockdown on November 4. Bachoo reminded everyone that “your institution had a plan and it worked, everything worked.” • The Public Affairs committee was allocated $1000 towards their discretionary fund. With some controversy Kory Mills said “they have $41,000 in their account, we should be funding clubs more.”

The motion passed with a 15-43 vote. • SGA approved the History Club to move $1,000 to go towards a bus for their Salem trip, instead of a bus to go to Newport. The club is doing a conjoint trip with the Society of Paranormal Research. • Men’s Lacrosse was seeking $1,280 to help pay for their Jamboree. The money would be used for referees, medical staff and lacrosse balls. Throughout SGA’s discussion they found out that the event happened last Saturday; the student government postponed the discussion until they have more facts.

Like Us On Facebook facebook.com/centralrecorder Professor Briann Greenfield at Monday's Faculty Senate.

Erin o'donnell | The Recorder


3

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / NEWS

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Notification System Needs Improvement continued from page 1 emergency. “There might’ve been a gap in there where they got here early enough, didn’t know what was going on, if they got here later they wouldn’t have been able to get on campus at all,” said Miller “It’s better to assume the worst and deal with it as if it’s the worst, than to assume it’s not real,” said Miller, who believes that there is no such thing as overreacting. Social media played a huge roll in the lockdown, as a place where students and media outlets could share information. There were positives and negatives to why "#CCSU" was trending on Twitter. "Everyone who has a tweet deck becomes representatives of the university," said McLaughlin, who also praised the social media platform; his office used Twitter to notify students of the lockdown faster than emergency systems could. “The fact that it’s not verified and not edited and the accuracy of it is sometimes questionable. There were a number of things that were miscommunicated and picked up by the media that could have caused problems,” said Miller, who had been watching television and on the phone with police amidst the lockdown. “On TV, they said the police are in contact and negotiating with the gunman,” said Miller. He then called police and they denied the rumors. “They said 'well we think we know who he is because we got the card swipe, and we got the picture, we’re assuming as we narrow these rooms down that he’s in the room that he’s assigned to. But no, we haven’t communicated with him,'” said Miller. Miller also believed that media reports contributed to students leaving buildings before the all-clear. Police were waiting for a warrant to search the suspect's room, when students started to walk around campus. “We might as well just go ahead and say it because they’re all out, originally my idea was to wait until we had a press conference,” said Miller, who said students left before the all clear, contributing to why it was called so soon. McLaughlin said that the administration is commited to making campus safer. "There are challenges, but we work so hard to make sure this is a safe environment," said McLaughlin. The administration reiterated that disruptions like the one last Monday are not acceptable. “We all have to have each other’s safety and security in mind. We all have to be careful for one another. And we can’t tolerate behavior that frightens and threatens large numbers of people,” said Miller.

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The Most Versatile Minor At Central Jacqueline Stoughton The Recorder

It is impossible to enter the job market without basic computing skills. It is for that reason that many college students are encouraged to take Computer Science classes, and choose it as a minor. “Joining it in with English is a lot easier than students may think,” said Jacquelyn Adams, a graduate student working towards getting her Masters in Computer Information Technology, specializing in Computer Science here at CCSU. “It’s more logical than it is mathematical.” “Coding follows the English language. So as long as you understand the English language,

most students don’t have a problem filtering into Computer Science,” said Adams. The majority of students tend to shy away from choosing Computer Science as their major because they tend to associate it with math, although Adams said a minor may involve less complicated mathematics than many students assume. “Do you have to be good at math to succeed at computer science? No,” said Professor Stan Kurkovsky, head of the Computer Science department. “It’s a very common misconception that computer science is about math. It’s not.” According to Kurkovsky, computer science is fairly new, and only became its own discipline

within the past 30 to 40 years. “You don’t need to know what coding is, you need to know what computing is and why it’s important,” said Kurkovsky. “Coding is the lowest possible level of building a program, computing is just understanding how computers work.” “I chose computer science as my minor because as the world and journalism industry itself becomes more computerized, being able to work efficiently with computers is a key attribute,” said journalism student, Matt Knox. “I think that having a minor in Computer Science will give me an extra boost over others that may also be competing for a job. If an online position is open, I will be ready to take it.” Although Knox doesn’t consider

himself good at math, nor does he particularly like it, he believes it will all be worth it eventually. “Learning how to write code can also help in areas of data collection and research that is useful in journalism.” Many students may decide to take a different route in what minor they chose, but ultimately a minor in Computer Science will benefit their careers. According to Adams, knowledge in the area of computer science will make a potential job candidate more marketable, since you’ll possess more skills than the average job. She applies this to the field of journalism. “You’ll know more about the business side of journalism and what is actually going to be expected when you go into the field,” said Adams.

Blood Drive Next Week Students Encouraged To Donate Jacqueline Stoughton The Recorder

The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at CCSU plans to host their biannual blood drive next week. Although the blood drive doesn’t begin until later this month, the fraternity is giving students an opportunity to secure an appointment to donate blood all this week. Students can sign up at the Phi Delta Theta blood drive table in the Student Center outside of Alumni Hall. “We’re doing something for the community that needs to be done,” said Phi Delta Theta member Cesar Cepulvea. “It doesn’t cost a lot of time or any money to give blood, it’s very convenient.” According to Rual Gomez, SGA member and blood drive volunteer, donating blood demonstrates good civic engagement, and active citizenship in being responsible for trying to better the community. Every two seconds, someone needs blood, according to the American Red Cross. Students who donate blood will join over nine million others who donate each year. “You’re doing something good and personally making a difference

The Blood Drive begins later this month.

photo | flickrx

in someone’s life,” said Gomez. “It’s even better when you directly impact someone through just giving blood.” More than 41,000 blood donations are needed each day; one donation is a pint of blood. A car crash victim could need as many as 100 pints of blood, according to the American Red Cross. “This is apart of giving back to the school and the community,” said Phi Delta Theta member, David Rodriguez. “It’s also easy to do, for those who don’t really know how to give back.” According to Rodriguez, if he or anyone has the means to help another person in any way, they should. Giving blood is an excellent way to make a difference not only in someone else’s life, but also in the community as a whole, said Rodriguez. “If you can help someone who needs it, even if you don’t personally know them, then why not?” said Cepulvea. Phi Delta Theta will begin the blood drive on November 18, from noon to 5 p.m., and will continue through November 20. The blood drive will be held inside Alumni Hall, inside the Student Center.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / NEWS

Help Spread The Warmth Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society Hosts Blanket Drive AMANDA WEBSTER The Recorder

As winter makes its way to the Northeast, the all too familiar cold air has already begun to settle in, forcing residents inside to the warmth offered by their homes. However, for thousands of young adults, home shifts from day to day and many will spend the cold winter nights on the streets. Two CCSU students organized a blanket drive to help homeless youth this winter, specifically youth in New York City who take refuge inside a place called Covenant House. The Covenant House is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping homeless youth. The charity began over 30 years ago and currently has programs in 21 cities across the country and Latin America. According to the organization's website, Covenant House helps about 77,000 young people every year; providing food, shelter and preparation to enter the workforce. Senior Trisha Kowalski had the idea for a blanket drive after reading about one in a magazine article. "I thought it would be pretty easy to have one," explained Kowalski who is President of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. She and the society's historian, Melissa LaBonte organized the drive and collected about 60 blankets over the span of two weeks. The society is still collecting blankets and will be until they can organize a trip to New York's Covenant House to hand deliver them. When Kowalski and LaBonte approached their advisor, Christopher Pudlinski, about the desire to work with homeless youth, they discovered that he was already working on the issue of homelessness. "One Book One Community" is a

The Blanket Drive was held by Trisha Kowalski (right) and Melissa LaBonte (left).

program that promotes literacy by bringing people together to read and discuss one book within the community, according to the program's website. This year, the program

is using the book "Almost Home, Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope" by Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley. According to LaBonte the blanket drive piggybacked off

amanda webster | the recorder

of the book. "It happened to coincide with the book event so it worked out really well," said LaBonte.


OPINION

5 THE RECORDER

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Specializing Universities Limits Accessibility The strategic plan for ConnSCU, the system which includes Central, Eastern, Western and Southern Universities and 17 community colleges, outlines a plan for CCSU to become focused on the STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiate. It has each ConnSCU university specializing in different area. Western would become a visual and performing arts focused school, Eastern a liberal arts school and Southern a health and human services. The areas that STEM focuses on has recently become of great interest when it became obvious other countries were outpacing the United States. Governor Malloy proposed an investment of $1.5 billion for the University of Connecticut's

STEM program and Central hopes to receive more funding with a emphasized STEM program of their own. CCSU is known for its diverse array of majors, including its strong education and other liberal arts programs. Focusing more on STEM programs will draw resources from other growing departments which don't fall under the designated categories. CCSU also released its statement about its interpretation of focusing on STEM. It says that STEM can be more broadly applied, including areas like Construction Management and Education for mathematics teachers. Even this interpretation negates strong liberal arts programs that fall under this broad definition.

Editor’s Column:

Additionally, ConnSCU schools mainly service students who are close enough to commute to them. While there are students who live on or near campus, many students go to Central, Southern, Western and Eastern because they are near their homes. By making each school specialized, it will force many students to either go to a local community college, live on the campus which has their specialty, or not go to college because they can't afford it. While this may seem extreme, many students in the ConnSCU system are only able to go to school by living at home and working. Board of Regents president, Dr. Gregory Gray, spoke to CCSU students and faculty earlier in the semester about keeping education accessible. This new initiative will

Thank You, Benjamin Franklin Joe SuSzczynSki

Real Stars Should Shine On Veterans Day amanda webSteR the Recorder

This past Monday marked Veterans Day, a day to remember and celebrate the men and women who have served in the different branches of the military. While families and friends got together to honor the lives lost in the name of our country, a "soldier" of sorts was trending on Twitter for his brave fight against a stomach bug. According to the Washington Post, Justin Bieber walked off stage during a performance on Monday in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bieber stated that food poisoning was to blame for his walk off. Immediately Twitter ignited with tweets from "beliebers" around the world, sending thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. One such hashtag that began trending was #JustinIsOurSoldier. On any given day, I am not following Justin Bieber or any of his followers on Twitter. However, when news of this trending hashtag reached me, I had to check out what people were actually saying. Not only was Monday one of the days that fell during Bieber's "Badboy" tour, but much more importantly, it was Veterans Day. What I read online both appalled me and set in a sense of relief. As people gave their thanks to those who have served and are currently serving overseas, a wave of tweets that belonged to countless preteen girls filled the screen with statements such as, "Stay strong Justin. #JustinIsOurSoldier" and "Feel better Justin! #JustinIsOurSoldier". I'm not going to rant about how Justin Bieber

has an unhealthy cult-like following of teenage girls, nor am I going to rant about his mediocreat-best music. What made me, and dozens if not hundreds, of Tweeters angry was that on a day meant to honor men and women who risk their lives for the good of our country, a pop singer was being held to the same standard as real heroes. I was happy to see that more people used the hashtag to bash Tweeters who called Bieber a soldier, but it shouldn't have been a trend to begin with. This probably goes without saying, but to set the record straight, no I am not a "belieber". Like who you like and listen to whatever makes you want to dance but do not give a title like "soldier" to someone who is in no way a soldier. Bieber has never fought for his country, Canada if you didn't already know, and as far as I know, has not saved any lives. He is no hero. Call him talented or call him an icon, but do not call him a soldier. As an individual that holds such influence over such a large following, Bieber should take this opportunity to set his fan base straight and commend the true heroes of our country. A few months ago, it was reported that Bieber visited the Anne Frank house. While there, Bieber was quoted as saying that he hoped Anne would have been a "belieber". Not only was that statement completely arrogant and misguided but it also sent a message to his young audience that one of the best things they could strive to ever be is one of his fans. If you are going to idolize someone, make it someone who has something to stand for; make it someone who you are proud to call a hero.

do nothing but make college less accessible, unless by some chance the student lives near the school that specializes in their program. If the funding for other programs and departments are not negatively effected by the change in emphasis of the ConnSCU schools, then the idea of change is not so unappealing. If students are forced to attend a certain institution, the plan for the ConnSCU system seems detrimental to students and to the universities. Keeping tuition low will not matter if students have to live on campus or get an apartment nearby. The ConnSCU system wants to attract more students to live on their campuses. Forcing students to live near or on campus is not the answer. It will only cause more problems for students.

the Recorder

Did anybody feel anything amidst their night of sleep last Saturday night? I know I did. Daylight saving ended and clocks were turned back by an hour. And if I may say, having that extra hour of sleep really helps out a college kid like me and perhaps many others. I like the fact that America implements daylight saving despite certain criticisms it may have. Daylight saving did not just randomly happen, if anyone is confused about why people do that. Since 1918 America has been using this method. But the idea did not come about in 1918; the proposition of daylight saving came from Founding Father Ben Franklin. Franklin proposed that people could save money on candle wax if they sleep when dark and work when light. He is quoted saying, “I say it is impossible that is sensible a people [citizens of Paris], under such circumstances, should have lived so long by the smoky, unwholesome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known that they might have had as much pure light of the sun for nothing.” Besides the other amazing things Franklin did and invented, I think this was a good idea that he proposed. Despite the fact that it gets darker earlier in the fall and winter, I think it’s a fair trade off to gain an hour of sleep for less light in the evening. To me it’s worth the loss of an hour of sleep and gain more sunlight in the spring and summer because I find warmer months to be less bleak than colder months. West Michigan’s Morning News on Newsradio Wood gave some fun facts regarding daylight saving, some of them being beneficial. One fact was that driving-related accidents were fewer because of this. It said, “People are safer drivers during daylight hours, and researchers have found that DST reduces lethal car crashes and pedestrian strikes. In fact, a study concluded that observing DST year-

round would annually prevent about 195 deaths of motor vehicle occupants and about 171 pedestrian fatalities.” I don’t know about having daylight saving year round, but given that it can reduce auto accidents is great thing. Another fact that they have is that when the clocks are turned back, people tend to have less heart attacks. However it should also be pointed out that when the clocks are put an hour forward, risks of heart attacks go up. It’s not one of the best tradeoffs, but you can lessen your chance of heart attacks by exercising and eating right. I would suggest working out more frequently in the spring time if you are worried about suffering a heart attack. America is not the only country that adopts this practice. Many other countries use this practice as well. The radio show said that this can cause confusion for people who travel abroad for either pleasure or business. To counter that, I would suggest to look up when daylight savings is in the respected country that you are traveling to so you can make the proper adjustments when traveling abroad. In addition to adapting to other countries daylight saving time, it is also smart to adapt to places that do not use this practice. According to the radio show, “Two states—Arizona and Hawaii—and four U.S. territories—American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—don't observe daylight saving time.” All in all daylight saving is a good idea because of the benefits it has. Sure it can cause some confusion when traveling to other places and increases of heart attacks when it begins, but those things can be easily prevented. Also it’s a better tradeoff to have more light in the day during the spring and summer than the fall and winter. Plus it can be a college kid’s best friend when the clocks turn back an hour. Thankfully Ben Franklin was on to something, and he could have planted the seeds for the eventual use of daylight saving in America today.

L E TTER T O T H E E DITOR : To the Editor, This September marked the 75th anniversary of the 1938 Hurricane. Claiming the lives of over 600 New Englanders, along with thousands of homes, it remains the worst natural disaster in Connecticut’s history. As terrible as the hurricane was, it was not the first monstrous storm to hit the United States. In fact, a terrible storm had wrecked havoc on the Midwest barely two decades prior. It occurred along the Great Lakes, the largest bodies of fresh water on earth. When compared to the vast expanse of the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, these five lakes seem harmless. When the Gales of November approach, however, they are anything but. On Friday, November 7th, two low-pressure systems collided over Lake Superior to form ‘The Great Storm of 1913.’ For over four days, the region was battered with high winds (gusts up to 90 miles per hour) and blinding snow. When the storm had moved past, it left an estimated five million dollars in damages; when adjusted for inflation, it

would be 100 million today. While the monetary cost was significant, much greater was the cost in humanity. A dozen ships foundered in monstrous seas, with waves cresting at 40 feet. Close to 250 sailors drowned during those terrible days; they composed most of the fatalities. Notable was the tragic episode of the Henry B. Smith. A modern ore-carrier, the Smiths captain was pressured to sail to make up for a poor season, lest he face termination. Heading out, the captain realized the danger and attempted to steam to safety. It was too late though; the storm swallowed the Smith and her crew into the abyss of Superior. Their icy tomb was undiscovered until nearly a century later. In keeping with the art of commemoration, we should remember those lost during ‘The Great Storm.’ -Austin Sullivan


6 THE RECORDER

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

COLUMN

Congrats On Your Ph.D

UPGRADE ALBUM REVIEW

Eminem

Guess Who's Back....Back Again?

Chris pace The Recorder

This one is for the professors, or shall I say doctors. Whether you received your doctorate two years ago or fifty years ago, congratulations on your accomplishments. Now that we all know of your degree, here's some advice: teach students, don’t discourage them. I’ve been in college for almost five years now, and I can give you at least four instances of professors using the “I have a Ph.D” excuse to tell students why they are correct. Doctors, please correct students if we deny something of fact. But if we believe something, do not tell us we are wrong; simply correct us with the facts. But if you cannot do so, there is no argument, just opinion. I do not mean for students attack any scholars at CCSU because most are more than open to interpretation. But coming from experience, if a student or fellow colleague has not questioned your intelligence, there is no need to mention you have a Ph.D. I’ll give you an example: Before I transferred to CCSU, I took a philosophy course at MCC. I had a professor who would correct students every class and explain to them why they were wrong. Philosophy is the study of life, so there really is no argument as to whether someone is right or wrong, it’s mostly based on opinion. But since he has a PhD from Yale, he felt the need to bring it up, possibly to discourage students, or maybe he was just showing off. To explain what it feels like to be a student listening to a professor explain why they’re right because of their doctorate, think about it this way: You’re driving to work when your check engine light comes on. So you bring it to a garage and have a mechanic check the computer system. You have a leak in your evap system, which needs to be fixed before you get your emissions test in January. It could be a simple fix, just tighten the gas cap, or maybe it’s bigger than that. The mechanic then tells you your battery needs to be replaced because your car is shaky to start, and he also mentions your oil needs to be changed. The first thing that comes to mind is, “I just wanted to see why the check engine light came on, I didn’t want to hear all of these other problems.” You say, “Look, I just wanted to know what was wrong with my engine, I think I have a few hundred miles left for oil and the battery is fine.” Then he replies, “Look, I’m a mechanic, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” And you think, “I don’t know him, why should I trust his judgment? Just because he went to an auto mechanic school doesn’t always mean he is right.” Most scholars at CCSU are more than helpful to students, but to the select few, you’re here to teach and to learn, not to show off. Keep your ego at home and try not to discourage students. But what do I know? I’m just an undergraduate.

Kevin Jachimowicz The Recorder

Revisiting classic albums is risky business; even the better examples rarely live up to original benchmarks that the artist created for him or herself. Eminem's latest solo effort, "The Marshall Mathers LP II", arriving thirteen years after its predecessor, is quite far from what most would expect after his last two albums. These albums being Relapse and Recovery, odes to his struggle with addictions and overcoming them. These two albums were out of his typical realm though, with Relapse containing a very heavy and unusual accent for Eminem. Recovery featured the likes of Lil' Wayne, P!nk and others, making for a very marketable album in the long run, but far from what core fans had been waiting for and expecting. Right off the bat, the album revisits the original Marshall Mathers LP. The intro to the album, "Bad Guy", easily could have been titled Stan part 2, containing numerous references to the original song. A cinematic skit is immediately thereafter, which is a

continuation of a skit in the song "Criminal" off of the original Marshall Mathers LP. The album then begins to take its own approach, and the differences in production between the two become more apparent. After the only skit on the album, “Rhyme Or Reason” begins. Eminem goes off on a lyrical tirade against everything, and takes various shots at his estranged father, Bruce Mathers Jr., who left Em when he was just 18 months old. The song samples The Zombies 1969 hit song “Time of the Season”. On "So Much Better", we’re treated to a peek of how MMLP2 might have looked if the past decade had never happened. The track has the unmistakable old Eminem feel, due mostly to its similarity in production to MMLP‘s "Criminal". The first single from the album, “Berzerk”, is a tribute to classic hip hop. Eminem takes us on a tour of hip-hop’s history. The song has a sample from the Beastie Boys track “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” which was produced by Rick Rubin who also produced “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”. Eminem raps with a nasally voice among electric guitars and samples of Billy Squier’s “The Stroke”.

The next track, the third single off the album, “Rap God”, Eminem proves that he is just that, a rap god. His lyrical talent shines most in this song, especially in the third verse where he raps a whopping 97 words in 15 seconds. A myriad of references are found throughout this 6 minute number with an EDM-like beat, including the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, planking and “The Walking Dead”. “Love Game”, is Eminem’s hokey collaboration with Kendrick Lamar , which features amazing and erratic story telling from the both. The song heavily samples Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders “Game Of Love”. The climax of Eminem’s growth is shown on the most emotive song of the LP entitled “Headlights”. An open apology to his mother for years of what many would call character assassination, stands as the story of the track and Fun.’s Nate Reuss assists the song by singing a remorseful hook that really outlines the sentiments the verses define. The Marshall Mathers LP is a successful sequel, and solidifies Eminem's status as one of the best rap artists of all time.


7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / UPGRADE

Between The Sheets: Dates From Hell lauRen cannon the Recorder

We’ve all had them: embarrassing and awkward dates. Sometimes, the first date leads to a long passionate relationship that ends with a fairy-tale marriage and three amazing kids. Sometimes, the first date only leads to awkward meetings at school or around town. My last date ended in failure so I guess if anything, I could tell you what not to do. As I was reminiscing about my terribly tragic night out, I pondered if other girls have been on disastrous dates. I decided to ask random students along with some of my friends and family one question: Have you ever been on a date from hell? Some had answers and some hadn’t even been on a date before (guys, step up your game). Now before I publicly share their dates from hell, I thought it would only be fair to share mine.

Respect The Classics

Once upon a time in Math 101 I met a kind guy who asked me out to dinner. I was quite flattered and excited to meet him at Blue Elephant in West Hartford Center. After awkward small talk, we both ordered our dinner. Once our food came, I started to eat, (very daintily of course) when all of a sudden I started to sweat and turn red. I was having an allergic reaction to the spices in the Thai food. It was truly a sight to be seen: I chugged my water and when he left to use the bathroom I poured some of his into my glass. As if the night wasn’t already going badly, I went back to his house to watch a movie where I proceeded to meet his entire family. Needless to say things got weird, and I booked it home with tissues and a water bottle in hand. So now that I have thoroughly embarrassed myself, it's time to put the spotlight on a fellow student; we can call her Alexia. So, Alexia went on a date a year ago with a great guy, or so she thought. She went out to a fancy restaurant in West

Hartford Center just like I did. Everything was going great until the end of the night when the waiter came over with the check. Apparently her handsome date wasn’t aware that he had to pay to eat at a restaurant. After awkward silence and Alexia expecting her date to take the check, she grabbed it herself and paid for his dinner and hers. And yes, you guessed it, they are no longer together. Now this story isn’t too embarrassing, but it’s definitely awkward. We can call the next woman Anne. When I asked her if she had ever been on a date from hell, she was more than excited to share. One night she went out on a date with a great guy. Everything was going great--they ordered their food, had good conversation, and she was extremely interested--that is, until he got up to use the bathroom...for a whole hour. Now most of us would leave and think they had been ditched, but Anne stayed strong and didn’t think that this guy would do that to her. She was right, and what really happened was

that her date was too afraid to use public bathrooms so he drove home to use his own, then came back to the restaurant to rejoin Anne on their date. You may probably think Anne was turned off immediately, but CURVEBALL: they are married now. And, he paid for the entire meal plus dessert, if you know what I mean. The moral of the story is that all dates don’t suck, but a lot of them do. Sometimes they lead to more and sometimes they don't. But who cares? You have to put yourself out there, even if you have to sacrifice your dignity or in my case, my health.

Love always, Lauren

The Breakfast Club Joe SuSzczynSki the Recorder

photo | univeRSal StudioS

'The Breakfast Club' is a 1985 classic starring Molly Ringwald.

If there is any movie about high school that is considered a classic, it’s “The Breakfast Club”. It is the epitome of high-school related movies that questions certain aspects of high school. This movie came out in 1985 and was written and directed by the late John Hughes. With the exception of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Breakfast Club” is Hughes’ best-directed movie. The movie is about five high school students meeting for detention at the fictional Shermer High School library. Each student represents a different clique at school: the jock (Emilio Estevez), the princess (Molly Ringwald), the brain (Anthony Michael Hall), the basket case (Ally Sheedy) and the criminal ( Judd Nelson) are all together in a room under the strict watch of assistant principal Vernon (Paul Gleason) whose office is across from where detention is being held. They are each required to write a paper describing who they are. When Vernon isn’t looking, the five students begin to pass the time by engaging in conversation with every one of them eventually learning something about the others they might not have known about. Everything about this movie is vastly entertaining. The acting is supremely well done; everyone casted for their respected roles fit like a glove. I especially like Judd Nelson’s role as John Bender. He delivers a terrific performance of a bad boy who is sarcastic and a bit unhinged. There are many memorable scenes in this movie. One in particular is when they are all sitting in a corner of the library and each discusses their own personal

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problems. There is such power and emotion in the scene because it begins to break down all the social stigmas students constantly face in high school. I’m sure there are times where we see ourselves on the screen sitting with them, talking about our respected issues and arguing over who is in the right or not. “The Breakfast Club” is also a highly quotable movie. From Bender’s “Eat my shorts” to Vernon’s “Next time I’m coming in here I’m cracking skulls,” there’s a long list of quotes from this film that make it great. The screenplay for this movie was well penned. Hughes took on the idea of high school and what it is all about. He has a student representing each clique and gives them a personality and a well-developed back story, making each one relatable to anyone who wa'tches this movie. It is enjoyable to see how each character in detention grows throughout the movie. And it’s also exciting, especially for the first time, to see where each student ends up towards the end of the film. Hughes challenges the idea of friendship between students of different cliques and challenges the ideas that every student is different in every way. It breaks down the social stigma that students have to be friends with members from their own clique and cannot wander outside the group if they wish to see or potentially date anyone outside the group. It is incredible how Hughes shatters that stigma with the dialogue in the movie. Overall I recommend this movie to anyone who is currently in high school because even though it’s over 25 years old, this film is extremely transcendent and holds up to today. “The Breakfast Club” is a classic and for that it needs to be respected.


8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / UPGRADE

Netflix It!

I t ' s A lway s S u n n y Aundrea Murray The Recorder

'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' is in its tenth season and starrs Danny Divito.

Photo | 20th Television

Are you aware of that little suggestion box on Netflix? You know, the one with the long line of titles they assume you will find interesting based off of the last thing you watched? Well, after 3 extensive weeks of overdosing on Breaking Bad episodes, my next recommendation was FX’s American sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I vaguely remembered witnessing a friend of mine shoot orange juice out of this nose after hysterically laughing at his computer screen; he was watching this show. Though I cannot say that I was as amused as he was, I was definitely hooked once I gave it a try. This series is already in its tenth season and has hundreds of other CCSU viewers hooked on its raw, raunchy and explicit content as well. There’s this group of friends known as “The Gang” who all live totally different lifestyles, yet, have one shared bond: Paddy’s Pub. Coowners and main characters Mac and Dennis run one of South Philadelphia’s least successful Irish pubs. The bar becomes the perfect setting for these two to vent out their suppressed anger, sexual frustrations and

day-to-day issues. They’re joined by Dennis’s twin sister and bartender, “Sweet Dee”, who is not only delirious about her acting career but adds a feminine flair to this society of men. Viewers witness discussions revolved around greed, supported abortion, excessive drug use, sexual uncertainty and topics beyond one’s imagination. Each character appears more concerned with their own problems than the problems of the pub. It is even safe to say that every one of them would up and leave Paddy’s Pub without the slightest remorse. Former coowner Charlie already traded his portion for half a sandwich among other things. He doesn’t mind, however, doing most of the pub’s dirty work that includes...welp, I’ll leave that to you to find out. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia may be one of the unhealthiest forms of entertainment to date. The show takes Friends or The Real World mixed with Celebrity Rehab and re-creates a pure form of authentic comedy. Everyone has their own mixture of universal problems. What better way to deal with them than to laugh them off for 22 minutes each week? Think about it.

Bookmark It!

Undisputed Danny Contreras The Recorder

by Chris Jericho

"Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps" by Chris Jericho If anyone grew up loving professional wrestling, they’d be quick to point out the late 90s as the greatest period in the sport’s history. Between late 1996 and early 2001, Connecticut’s World Wrestling Entertainment battled Atlanta’s World Championship Wrestling, in what is now known as “The Monday Night Wars.” This period is marked by exceptional performers who trash talked their way to the top, women could kick your teeth in and still look heavenly, and of course, the bloody, intensely violent matches. One of the most prominent superstars to survive this period was Chris Jericho, the Long Island-born Canadian with a fiery tongue and insane wrestling skill. He captivated audiences with hundreds of catch phrases, and delivered classic matches almost anytime he stepped in the ring. And in his second autobiography, "Undisputed", he gives fans a glimpse into his life as both a wrestler and the front man to his band, Fozzy. Jericho continues from where he ended

in his first autobiography, "A Lion’s Tale", with his debut in WWE in 1999. And from there, the book can be divided into 4 different main topics. The first fourth of the book focuses on his move away from WCW and adapting to the WWE style of sports entertainment leading up to his biggest title win ever, the WWE Undisputed Championship. It is a pretty extensive portion of his book, covering roughly 3 years, and several key matches, including those against The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. This half is rounded out by several chapters based on the founding of his heavy metal band, Fozzy. Originally, the band started as a cover band, whose lead singer is obsessed with “Chris Jericho (the wrestler).” While the Fozzy chapters are portraying the evolution of his band, they merely serve as fillers to the rest of the book, and though fun to read, these anecdotes could be a different book. The book is rounded out by a half focusing on his wrestling career after 2003, and his first hiatus from the sport in 2005. After winning and losing the Undisputed Championship he becomes one of those wrestlers who is known for putting on good performances but nothing more; frustrated he leaves the company in order to focus on

writing his first book, and his band. Things turn tragic in 2005 Jericho is informed of Eddie Guerrero’s death. The two had been friends for over 15 years, wrestling all over the world together but never had the chance to wrestle in WWE against, or with each other. A more serious but similar tragedy happens two years later when he finds out about his best friend’s death in one of the most infamous deaths in wrestling: the death of Chris Benoit, who killed his wife and son before killing himself. Undisputed is an unique book, not only because of its particular topic, but also thanks to its writing. Jericho’s wrestling character comes alive through the pages of the book; his catch-phrases are as funny as their origins. The words picked in every sentence reflect how methodical Jericho is in regards to wrestling. The pacing of some anecdotes compared to others makes it feel conversational—the end experience being that you know Chris Jericho personally. Sports fans and wrestling fans will enjoy this book. Casual reader will find a lot of these anecdotes informative, but might be turned off by some of the very wrestling-centric chapters. Overall, this is a book you will never…. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEER forget again, junior.


9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / SPORTS OPINION

SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

OPINION

COLUMN

Rondo and the Tanking Leprechauns Sean begin the Recorder

Over the summer, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge traded Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett and longtime Celt Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets for players and, more importantly, three future first-round draft picks. The trade signaled the end of the Big Three era and came on the heels of the trade that sent coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers for yet another first-round draft pick. Boston then hired Butler head coach Brad Stevens, whose success with the Bulldogs saw them reach back-to-back NCAA Championship games, to guide the team for the next six years. The trades were, effectively, the Celtics signaling a move forward for the organization, a rebuilding

process in an effort to set the team up for success five to ten years down the road. But one piece from that 2008 Big Three championship team remains: Rajon Rondo, who is recovering from February ACL surgery. The question now for the Celtics is what to do with him, especially if it means a better position in next year’s draft, which many consider to be one of the best draft classes in recent memory. Do the Celtics sit Rondo, let him heal for a full season a la Derrick Rose? Or do they let him come back and play? Or maybe they trade him to secure even more future draft prospects? Regardless of what may be the best decision, the fact is Danny Ainge has a tough choice on deciding what to do with Rondo, especially in the context of the 2014 NBA Draft. The Celtics are not the only

team to be looking at tanking this season. Just look at the Philadelphia 76ers who decided to sit for the entire season first-round draft pick Nerlens Noel who, similar to Rondo, is recovering from February ACL surgery. And while finishing dead last in the league only offers a 25 percent chance at the top draft pick, it helps to try and finish in the bottom third of the league, any position of which would offer the Celtics a premium lottery pick. There, though, is the problem. If the Celtics decide to keep Rondo and let him return from his ACL surgery, he might provide just enough of a spark to propel the Celtics to an eighth seed in the East. That is the last thing the Celtics want. If the Celtics were to fall out of lottery pick contention, it would be in direct opposition to what the trades

photo | flickR

Rajon Rondo played 38 games last season before tearing his ACL.

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• transcript

of Pierce, Garnett and Terry and coach Doc Rivers meant. Blowing up the team means gathering as many future pieces as possible. If the Celtics plan on making Rondo a part of the future, they would be best suited to follow the Sixers lead and sit him for the season. No team would ever admit to the decision to tank but actions speak louder than words, and the actions of the Celtics so far have been to acquire picks to rebuild the team. While trading Rondo would, ultimately, be more valuable to Boston than keeping him and tanking the season, it’s not inconceivable they do, considering that when healthy he’s one of the top five point guards in the league. But should they move forward with him, it shouldn’t be this season, not if they’re truly committed to rebuilding the team.

Winter Classes: Dec. 23 - Jan. 17 Register online or by mail: Nov.14 - Dec. 23

paige bRown | the RecoRdeR

Austin's Fantasy Game paige bRown the Recorder

This past Sunday was a huge day for St. Louis Rams' rookie receiver Tavon Austin, as well as anyone who has had him on their fantasy team. 49.40 points was what I received from Austin to win my fantasy game. He scored three touchdowns, which all went for 55 yards or longer, racking up 314 all-purpose yards against the Indianapolis Colts. Compared to Victor Cruz's 3.70 points or Dez Bryant's 4.40 points, Austin was the player to have to lead any team to a win. During the 38-8 victory for the Rams, fantasy football players with Austin on their teams were in pure shock and awe, and so was the team. Yahoo! Fantasy Football doesn’t always project the highest scores, especially for rookies. Austin was one of the lowest projections on my team, with 9.29, turning out to make the most points of any player on my roster, almost doubling the score of Detroit Lion’s quarterback, Matthew Stafford with 27.85. Austin celebrated his first NFL punt return for a touchdown after his 98 yard run into the end zone, one that he didn’t even expect to do himself. Most punt returners let the ball hop into the end zone for a touchback. Austin shoved a defender before he grabbed the ball and took off. In this game alone, Austin almost doubled his previous 123 total punt return yards for the season. Not only did his punt return yards almost double, but his percentage owned on Yahoo! Fantasy rose as well. Now 43% of teams that participate in leagues have Austin on their roster, where on Sunday, only about 36% of people owned this first-round draft pick. Only 11% of teams had him on their starting roster this past weekend. Fans and fantasy players celebrated with his next two touchdown catches, adding another 57 and 81 yards to his personal record, also becoming the third player in NFL history to have three touchdowns of 55 yards or more in one game as a rookie next to Gale Sayers and Randy Moss. “He has the chance to change games, and we’re going to continue working to get him the football,” said Ram’s coach Jeff Fisher to St. Louis reporters. “When he gets his hands on it, you see what he can do.” The game against the Colts will be known as Austin’s start to an expectantly great season, on the field and online. The Rams, fans and fantasy players are definitely looking forward to the future of Tavon Austin. Hopefully, along with players like Vincent Jackson and Dez Bryant, he will help take my team to the top.


10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / SPORTS

Vinales Remains A Blue Devil corey pollnow The Recorder

Last spring Kyle Vinales was exploring his transfer options after having his best season at Central Connecticut scoring 21.6 points a game and finishing 8th in the country in scoring. “I didn’t think our team was good enough to make the tournament,” said Vinales, the junior guard.

After receiving interest from Toledo, LSU, La Salle, Kent State and Buffalo, Vinales decided he was going to commit to Toledo. “Out of all the schools that showed interest in me, I liked Toledo the most. I liked the facilities, the Coaches, and I knew some of the players on the team,” said Vinales. However, after committing to Toldeo, Vinales was unsure whether he made the right decision. Vinales sought counseling from his

mother, brother and some of his AAU coaches and decided he was going to return Central. “I felt like it was the right thing to come back here [to Central Connecticut],” said Vinales. “It was a bad decision on my part. My mom didn’t want me to transfer to begin with.” Vinales’ role will be changing this season and according to Coach Howie Dickenman, he will be looking to get his teammates

involved more offensively. Nevertheless, Vinales still has the green light to shoot whenever he pleases. “Looking back I was just talking to be honest. I feel like I was excited. I had a good year and I wanted to go play at a bigger school. It’s not always better at a bigger school. I’m comfortable here. It’s like my family here with my coaching staff and teammates. If I’m good enough to play at the next level, they’ll find me,” said Vinales.

corey pollnow | the recorder

corey pollnow | the recorder

Vinales driving to the hoop in Central's 93-77 loss to Yale in the Connecticut 6 Classic.

Want To Write Sports? Contact:

cpollnow@my.ccsu.edu

corey pollnow | the recorder


11

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / SPORTS

Devin leith-yessian | the recorder

Central gave up 50 points or more for the fourth time this season in their 54-21 loss to Robert Morris.

Robert Morris Downs Central At Home Turnover s Halt Blue Devils Sean begin The Recorder

Coming into Saturday’s game against Robert Morris University, Central Connecticut football was set to take control of its Northeast Conference destiny. A win would give the team, at the very least, sole possession of second place. A win might have placed them at the top. But turnovers and a failure to string together successful offensive drives saw Central (4-6, 2-2 NEC) fall to Robert Morris (5-4, 3-1 NEC) 54-21 at home in a lopsided game. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance,” said Coach Jeff McInerney. “We just couldn’t get anything going offensively, which hurt us on defense. The short field and the momentum of the kicking game just steamrolled

us.”

Central committed five turnovers, three of which resulted in points for the Colonials. Two of those defensive scores came on interceptions of sophomore quarterback Nick SanGiacomo that were returned for touchdowns. SanGiacomo struggled for most of the day, throwing four interceptions total, completing just 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown, which came on Central’s opening drive. “He’s got to see was it the pressure, was it the depth of the drop, what caused it and why did it happen? But he’ll look at [the film],” said McInerney. Robert Morris put up 40 points in the first half, a school record, scoring on every possession with the exception of the final drive. The

Colonials finished the half with two short drives that started deep in Central territory. A 33-yard punt from the Central 2-yard line and a 10-yard return set Robert Morris up at the Central 25-yard line. Colonial junior quarterback Paul Jones finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to give Robert Morris a 40-7 halftime lead. An 18-yard punt return the previous drive, topped off by a personal foul against Central, put the Colonials at the Blue Devil 19-yard line. Jones put Robert Morris up 33-7 after an 8-yard touchdown pass. SanGiacomo threw his second pick-six of the day to junior linebacker Kimani Smith that was returned 31 yards to give Robert Morris a 26-7 lead. That interception came three plays after the Colonials went up

19-7 on SanGiacomo’s first pick-six the previous drive to defensive back Eric Lowry, who returned it 38 yards for the score. “It kills you. And it takes the confidence out of the player; it takes the confidence out of the coach. I was just trying to pick them up,” said McInerney of the back-to-back picksixes. Two Robert Morris field goals followed the first Colonial touchdown that resulted from a fumble by Central junior running back Darius Lee. The fumble gave Robert Morris the ball on the Central 27-yard line. Jones connected on an 11-yard pass for the Colonials first touchdown of the day. The Blue Devils still have a glimmer of hope in conference play. After Saturday, Robert Morris sits atop the conference at 3-1. Four

teams, including Central, sit at 3-2 or 2-2 and are poised to make a run at the conference title. “Right now we want to have a winning record in conference, we’re 2-2,” said McInerney. “We can end up with a first place tie. It’s a very competitive league.” The loss to Robert Morris make the Blue Devils chances at that title that much slimmer, but all Central can do now is focus on winning and let the rest play out. “We just gotta let the chips fall where they may. We have to get better,” said McInerney. “We’ll see what we’re made of and can we respond. And we can. We have to lick our wounds and get after it.” The Blue Devils next game is Saturday, Nov. 16 at Duquesne University, who, at 3-2, sits just ahead of Central in conference play.


SPORTS

12 THE RECORDER

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Blue Devils Blow 17 Point Lead corey pollnow The Recorder

Despite 30 points from Kyle Vinales in their first game of the season, the Central Connecticut Men’s basketball team suffered a 93-77 loss to Yale on Saturday evening at the Connecticut 6 Classic in Bridgeport. With 14 minutes remaining in the second half, the Blue Devils were up by 17 points, however Yale would finish the game on a 47-14 run to defeat the Blue Devils. “To no fault of his own, Kyle didn’t get a whole lot of help from his teammates. I thought we got tired and lost our composure,” said Coach Howie Dickenman. Vinales hit a jump shot to tie the game up at 69 with 5:33 remaining in the second period and then the game went downhill for Central. The Blue Devils could only muster up eight points after Vinales’ jumper that tied the game at 69. The Bulldogs would score 24 points in the final five minutes, and the onslaught was led by guard Javier Duren, who would score nine of his 16 points in the final fives minutes. Yale had difficulty containing Vinales in the first half. Heading into the locker room the junior from Detroit had 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting and the Blue Devils led 47-40. Vinales showed his versatility throughout the first 20 minutes by making three 3-pointers and converting six layups by attacking the hoop off the dribble. “We didn’t do a good job of hard hedging Kyle [in the first half]. He had a head of steam and made jump shot after jump shot and he drove the ball,” said Yale’s head coach, James Jones. The Bulldogs adjusted in the second half by trapping and double-teaming Vinales, who was 8th in the nation in scoring in 2012-13. “I made shots in the first half and in the second half I wasn’t getting the same looks,” said Vinales. Vinales played all 40 minutes and after the game as he gingerly walked to the locker room, Vinales said, “I’m sore man.” Coach Dickenman is looking to reduce Vinales’ minute after he ranked 20th in the country in minutes played

Corey pollnow | the recorder

Malcolm McMillan attacking the basketball hoop in Central's 93-77 loss to Yale on Saturday.

last season. Justin Sears was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs and finished the game with 26 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and one assist. “Eventually we started getting better shots in the second half and people were getting wide open threes off skip passes,” said Sears, who averaged nine points per game for Yale last season. Khalen Cumberlander had five points in eight minutes and played for the first time since

he injured his knee 14 minutes into Central’s first game last season versus Fairfield. Cumberlander was redshirted and shut down for the 2012-13 season. Malcolm McMillan, who was 19th in the country last season with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.52, finished the game with 11 points, five assists and two turnovers. Junior transfer Juwan Newmen provided Central with 10 points off the bench and had eight of the team’s 33 rebounds.

Offense hasn’t been Central’s problem. The Blue Devils finished last season ranked 50th in offense out of 345 Division-I schools and averaged 72 points per game. The team struggled defensively and was ranked 340th in points given up per game in 2012-13. The trend continued as Yale hit eight of their 17 three pointers and shot 54.4 percent for the game. Central’s next game is tonight at 7 p.m. in West Lafayette, Indiana versus the Purdue Boilermakers.

Women’s Basketball Young but Ready Sean begin The Recorder

Erin o'donnell | the recorder

Central is predicted to finish 5th in the NEC preseason poll.

Like some of the other teams at Central Connecticut, youth seems to be the name of the game for the women’s basketball team this season. For the first time, Coach Beryl Piper is carrying 15 players on the team, nine of which happen to be freshmen and sophomores. Despite the presence of so many young players, however, Coach Piper has a well-played senior class to lead the way. “Our upper classmen have good experience,” said Piper. “Even though we have a pretty good experienced senior class we also have a lot of young kids.” The starting lineup is built on that experience, allowing Piper to give her younger players time to adjust to the college game. Senior guards Jessica Babe and Jaleen Thomas and forward Lauren Arbogast have all, according to Piper, played a lot of minutes and gained valuable experience in their time, so far, at Central. All three are starters for the Blue Devils, with fifth-year senior forward Brooke Bailey and junior guard Kaley Watras rounding out the starting lineup. Babe is perhaps the most experienced of the team, having started all 30 games last season. She also led the team last season with 109 assists and 220 rebounds while averaging nine points per game. The experience of the older players allows them to help the younger players to learn and grow as the season goes on. “I’m excited about the upper classmen we have and the experience

they have,” said Piper, adding that their leadership “helps our younger kids and brings our younger kids along.” Those younger kids, consisting of five sophomores and four freshmen, will see valuable time for Piper coming off the bench this season. One such player is sophomore center Amanda Harrington, who red shirted last season. According to Piper, Harrington will see good minutes of the bench, filling in for junior Johnna Fisher who is out until at least December with an injury. “Amanda definitely has to pick up the slack in the post spot,” said Piper. “She’s been doing a really good job so far in practice and in our scrimmage games. We’re excited about how she’s going to play.” Beyond the starting five and Harrington, who is essentially the sixth woman off the bench, the rest of the playing time is up for grabs. “It’s going to be real interesting to find out who gets the minutes on this team,” said Piper. “We’re just excited that we have a deeper bench.” Piper adds that who gets playing time will depend primarily on who plays well in practice. Freshman guard Lauren Wolosik is one of those players. “She [Wolosik] played really well in the scrimmages and has played really well in practice, really picking up on the drills,” said Piper. “She’s a young kid that’s going to get a lot of minutes for us as a freshman.” Beyond the court, the upper classmen have been a big help for the younger players in their transition to college life, something that “Our team has really good team chemistry

and the kids really carry about each other,” said Piper. "If somebody is having a tough time the upper classmen aren’t afraid to sit down and talk to them.” Central begins the season on the road in Florida against the Universities of Central Florida and Southern Florida. The two games are the first of eleven non-conference games scheduled for the Blue Devils this season. Last season, Central won six of its ten non-conference games, a number Piper looks to surpass. “We’re definitely trying to improve on that. We hope to get more. That’s not easy but I think it’s doable.” Central was ranked fifth in the NEC preseason poll behind Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Mount Saint Mary’s and Saint Francis University but Piper sees her team as capable of competing against all four. “There is a lot of parity in the conference. Anybody can beat anybody. The games every night are a battle,” she said. The team is clearly young but does feature an experienced starting lineup. If just a few key players step up from off the bench, the Blue Devils have the ability to compete for an NEC title. For that to happen, the younger players, especially the freshmen, need to make the adjustment to the life of a student-athlete. So far, says Piper, they seem to be handling it well. “They’re getting through practice but they’re still freshmen and it’s always a challenge,” she said adding, “They work hard and they really want to learn and they really want to get better.”


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