The Chronicle The weekly student newspaper of The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York Visit us on the web at www.strosechronicle.com
February 5th, 2013
Turning Pages with the President
High Winds Bring Trouble to Pine Hills By LAUREN HALLIGAN Features Editor An extremely windy morning on Partridge Street resulted in a large tree breaking and falling on two cars and a porch between Morris Street and Myrtle Street on Thursday, hitting electrical wires on the way down, causing power outages, and blocking local morning traffic on the oneway street. According to Justin Rivera, who lives at 270 Partridge St., the tree fell at approximately 5:45
KELLY PFEISTER
By JACKSON WANG Executive Editor Did you always enjoy having your parents read you a book before bed? Well, Saint Rose President David Szczerbacki can now
do the same thing, sort of. Szczerbacki, who’s an avid reader, has started an online book club via the Saint Rose Blog to engage with students and the community. “The book club, at its essence,
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is a way of having different conversations between myself and the people that make up the Saint Rose community,” said Szczerbacki, who was inaugurated as the ninth president of The College last October. “I’m pretty ex-
Arts & Opinion
cited about it.” Six books will be discussed this year by Szczerbacki; one book every two months. “I thought that was enough time for me to read and to announce the book,” said Szczerbacki. “It also gives people time to read it, and it gives people a chance to discuss it.” The first book Szczerbacki picked was “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, which serves for January and February’s discussion. His first blog post was put up in late January, which has received seven comments. As of Friday, there were 195 independent hits on the blog. “We’re trying to get the word out,” said Szczerbacki, who’s been publicizing the book club through social media. Szczerbacki also sees his online book clubs as a way to reach
a.m., landing at the foot of his front porch stairway. One of the vehicles that received severe damage was Luis Tirado’s silver Jeep Liberty. Tirado, a resident at 266 Partridge Street, woke Thursday morning to find the front of his car underneath the fallen tree. Although the car was not totaled, damages were substantial on the driver’s side of the Jeep. The cars were parked between residential buildings 274 and 270 Partridge Street. Continued on Page A3 out to alumni and new students. During alumni reunion weekend this June, he’ll be holding an in-person book discussion with former students. Szczerbacki said he hasn’t picked a book for the months of May and June, but it’ll be something appealing to alumni. As for reaching out to new students, Szczerbacki would like to send a copy of the book for July and August, which hasn’t been selected, to incoming freshmen. He’s hoping the new students will read it and contribute to the blog. “It’s an intellectual way to interact with students,” said Szczerbacki. “It’s going to be fun; it’s not going to be a test.” The bookstore in the EAC has also set up a book display for the book club. They’ll be selling Continued on Page A5
Sports
Man arrested for operating a backhoe drunk. See pages A2
Kickn’ it with KJ: new and old. See page B10
A-rod in trouble again. See page D14
Alumnus with a passion for giving back. See pages A4
The liberal legislation continues- abortion. See page C11
Golden Knights conclude Northeast-10 Champiships See page D16
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News
The Chronicle
In Brief
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Drunk Driver Operating Tractor on Central Ave. The College of Saint Rose Offers Jesus Ofarril, 44, of Troy was Aggravated Driving While InCertificate for Spanish Speakers arrested for operating a large toxicated and Aggravated Unliyellow backhoe on Central Ave. while intoxicated at 8:30 p.m. on Friday Originally stopped by Officer Michael Romano Jr. for violating several vehicle and traffic laws, Romano then discovered during the course of his investigation that Ofarril was intoxicated while operating the machinery with a blood alcohol content of 0.18%. Ofarril was arrested at the scene and has been charged with
censed Operator. In addition, he was ticketed for several vehicle and traffic violations Headed eastbound within the 400 block of Central Ave., it is believed that the piece of excavating equipment only traveled a short distance before being pulled over for the traffic stop. Ofarril was arraigned on Feb. 2 in the Albany City Criminal Court.
The Nitty Gritty Poetry Slam as part of “Frequency North” on Thursday, Feb. 7 has been canceled and not rescheduled. Frequency North’s other programs are listed here. For more information, visit www.FrequencyNorth.com . Thursday, Mar 21, 2013, 7:30
p.m. – Kaya Oakes and David Yezzi Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary. Thursday, March 28, 2013, 7:30 p.m. – Darin Strauss and Michael Meyerhofer Standish Rooms, Events and Athletics Center. Sunday, April 7, 2013, 2 p.m. –
COURTESY OF ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Jesus Ofarril
Nitty Gritty Slam at the College of Saint Rose Canceled
What’s Happening @ the . . . INFORMATION TABLES
Pitchapalooza! Returns Standish Rooms, Events and Athletics Center. Thursday, April 11, 2013, 7:30 p.m. – Meg Kearney and M. Bartley Seigel Standish Rooms, Events and Athletics Center.
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The college now has a program of study for students who were raised in Spanish speaking homes. The program allows them to turn their heritage into job skills. The certificate will give students an edge as bilingual speakers in the job market. Students who take the 15-credit program will raise their proficiency levels to “Advanced” or “Superior.” “Bilingual workers in almost any field stand out from their peers. This new certificate program will help heritage speakers
of Spanish develop a wider variety of formal vocabulary and speaking skills, sharpen writing skills, learn language appropriate for professional environments and turn their home experience in Spanish into a valuable commodity,” said Dr. Erin Mitchell, chair of the college’s department of World Languages and Cultures. For more information about the Certificate for Heritage Speakers of Spanish, please contact Dr. Mitchell by email at: mitchele@ strose.edu or at 518-454-2822.
Saint Rose to Offer New M.S. in Higher Education Leadership The College of Saint Rose unveiled a new masters degree focused on leadership positions in higher education on Thursday. Housed under the college’s new R. Mark Sullivan Institute of Higher Education Leadership, the 30-credit, 10-course program covers topics such as higher education law, risk management, and strategic planning. Students of the new degree will take seven required courses and three electives as part of the program, and courses will be offered in a mix of traditional and e-learning settings. In a press release, program director and former Saint Rose president R. Mark Sullivan pointed to an “urgent need… for broadly trained professionals” in leadership positions at higher educational facilities. A pair of new graduate-level certificates of advanced study are also being offered by the college. A certificate in organizational leadership will combine courses from the college’s M.B.A. pro-
gram with educational leadership classes, and a certificate in quality control for higher education will focus on skills like program evaluation, accreditation, and research. Graduates will receive a Master of Science in Education degree in higher education leadership and administration. The degree is designed to open career opportunities in mid-level and senior positions at institutions surrounding higher education, which include not only colleges and universities but also higher education agencies, non-governmental associations, and related organizations. The college described instructors as “senior practitioners in the field,” including present and former college administrators and “faculty experts” in fields such as ethics. The college is also inviting other current and former higher education leaders, such as college presidents, to lecture and serve as scholars-in-residence.
News High Wind Takes Down Trees February 5th, 2013
The Chronicle
Volume 81 Issue 20
Continued From Page A1 By 7:45 a.m., the other vehicle was driven out by its owner with minimal damage. Tirado sipped his coffee, assessing the damage as he watched Albany Department of General Services forestry division workers chainsaw branches to release his Jeep. His second stroke of bad luck, Tirado said this is his second car that’s been damaged by a tree, a similar incident occurring in 2003. “I wish they [had] knocked these trees down,” said Tirado. “Other than that, this is a nice neighborhood.” National Grid trucks were also present, working to restore power to residents in a timely manner.
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Calendar of Events Tuesday, February 5 5:30 p.m. Thesis Statement Workshop Academic Support Center 6:30 p.m. Student Association Standish 7 p.m. G4G (Girls For God) Sanctuary 7 p.m. Theatre Guild Lima Basement 8 p.m. Outside the [Box] Lima Basement 8 p.m. Yoga Sanctuary Wednesday, February 6 4 p.m. MAPS ALB 212 5 p.m. Environmental Club Community Service Office 3:45 p.m. SEB Standish 5 p.m. Mid-Week Mass Sanctuary 6:30 p.m. MEISA Open Mic Night Jack’s Place 7 p.m. Spectrum Standish 7:30 p.m. BASIC Sanctuary
Luis Tirado checking out the damages on his Jeep. The National Weather service tracked wind speeds up to 38 mph Thursday in their climate report.
LAUREN HALLIGAN
The service put out a high wind warning for the Albany area that morning, noted Steve Stella, director of Saint Rose security, urging locals to pay attention to these weather advisories and to “be aware of objects blowing and breaking.” Stella said, “Not only fallen tree limbs are a hazard, but also operating a vehicle [under such conditions].”
Thursday, February 7 1 p.m. Chicago Style WorkshopAcademic Support Center 3:30 p.m. Mind, Body, and Spirit The Counseling Center Friday, February 8 10 a.m. Revisions Workshop Academic Support Center Saturday, February 9 Sunday, February 10 1 p.m. Scholarship Reception Nolan Gym 5:30 p.m. Thesis Statement Workshop Academic Support Center 6:30 p.m. College Mass St. Vincent de Paul Church 7:30 p.m. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band massry Monday, February 11 5:15 p.m. Yoga Sanctuary 7:30 p.m. CAC ALB 210 8:30 p.m. CEC Lima Basement
If you have an upcoming event you would like to see in our weekly Calendar of Events please e-mail chronicle@strose.edu.
LAUREN HALLIGAN
The Chronicle
Albany DGS forestry division workers chainsaw branches to release trapped cars. Executive Editors Sunshine Osella ‘13 osellas452@strose.edu
News Editor Zachary Olsavicky olsavickyz977@strose.edu
Copy Editor Jenessa Matis ‘14 matisj311@strose.edu
Faculty Adviser Cailin Brown
Jackson Wang ‘14 wangj847@strose.edu
Features Editor Lauren Halligan halliganl567@strose.edu
Business Manager Searching for Applicants
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Arts Editor Web Editor Chris Surprenant ‘14 Christopher Lovell ‘15 surprenantc572@strose.edu lovellc083@strose.edu
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Sports Editor Joshua Natoli ‘14 natolij477@strose.edu
Staff Writers Katherine Bakaitis Shawn Berman Nicholas Buonanno Anonio Caban Gigi Diffenback Kellie McGuire Kevin Jacob Sam Maxwell Rachael Pollack Lauren Sears Michael Smith M. William Smith Theresa Taylor
Head Photographer Kelly Pfeister ‘14 pfeisterk953@strose.edu
ANY student can join The Saint Rose Chronicle The Chronicle is published weekly on Tuesdays during the academic year and once during the summer months. The Chronicle is published at the facilities of The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, NY.
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The Chronicle
News
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Saint Rose Alumnus with a Passion for Spanish and Giving Back
By SAM SHORT Contributing Writer As a current full time student of The University of Maryland, Jeremy Eppler, 29, is getting his master’s in Public Policy and Business Administration. With his major, Eppler plans on getting a job in the field of project management and international development. He started taking classes at the University in August of 2011 and will finish in May of 2014. Eppler was a Spanish major during his time at Saint Rose and is now fluent in the language. Before Eppler decided to go back to school to get his master’s, in 2005, he worked for the company AmeriCorps, which is a federal government community services program. While he was at AmeriCorps, he served as a medical interpreter, translating Spanish to English. “I worked as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients at Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center in Arbor Hill,” said Eppler. He also stated that the center had an OB/GYN ward in which he participated in and was an “interesting experience for me, as a male.” The center also had pediatrics and an HIV unit. After completing his time at AmeriCorps in December of that year, Eppler decided to take his talents a little further south to the country of Nicaragua. He was stationed there when he entered the Peace Corps, and his main focus was the health education program. Some of Eppler’s jobs were training the teachers in the schools how to use computers and getting funding for the teachers, and he even started a soccer league for the children as well as the adults. Eppler said he received a “stipend payments to help offset the cost of living” from both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.
While Eppler was in Nicaragua, he ended up meeting a woman who would change his life. “I met Jeremy in a rural area of my country called Totogalpa where I was doing my year of social service as a medical doctor” said Indira Gradys, Eppler’s wife who is originally from Nicaragua. Gradys described her husband as “Organized, leader, and extroverted.” The couple lives in Silver Springs, Md. and has been together for 2 years. Eppler is from Plattsburgh, NY. “He was known as one of the ‘Plattsburgh’ guys,” said Scott Weeks, a former teammate and friend of Eppler’s who also graduated in 2005. Weeks also stated that since Eppler has moved from Nicaragua back to the states, it has been much easier to keep in contact. Weeks joked that Eppler is stubborn, opinionated, and unpunctual, but then went on to describe him as dedicated to his family and friends, supportive, and an overall passionate person. Eppler usually plays soccer for fun and stated that he was a three time winner of the scholar-athlete award during his time playing for the Saint Rose soccer team. This past July, while playing his favorite sport, he ended up injuring his Achilles tendon, and is currently seeing a physical therapist for the problem. Aside from that, his everyday routine usually consists of going to class and doing school work. One highlight about being a business major at the University of Maryland is being able to go to the socials they hold every Thursday. Eppler states that the school holds events for the students as a place for them to relax and hang out with friends. Since Eppler is usually busy doing work for his classes, he said that this is always a nice way to end off a long and stressful week.
Jeremy Eppler.
COURTESY OF JEREMY EPPLER
We’re hiring!
The Chronicle is currently seeking individuals to fill open positions for the 2012-13 academic year. Individuals interested in the position of Business Manager are encouraged to apply. If interested, send an e-mail with your resume and two writing or design samples attached (or linked) to Executive Editors Sunshine Osella and Jackson Wang at chronicle@strose.edu. If you would like more information about what the responsibilities of each position entail, send an e-mail to chronicle@strose.edu. All positions are stipended. Interviews will be scheduled upon receipt of application.
News Szczerbacki’s Book Club February 5th, 2013
Continued From Page A1 books that the president is reading for that month with a 30 percent discount. The idea for the online book club began in late fall of 2012, said Szczerbacki. He looked around to see what other college presidents were doing to interact with their community. He discovered a few college presidents were doing book clubs online and Szczerbacki thought that would be something fun to do with his community. After a conversation with the public relations office, the blog was launched soon after with the help of Kayla Germain, who manages the Saint Rose media platforms. Szczerbacki said he has responded back to all the current posts on his blog, either individually or as a group. There also hasn’t been much feedback on
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the idea of the blog because many people are still finding out about the online book club, Szczerbacki said. One of the comments on Szczerbacki’s blog came from Courtney Carr, who is a sophomore at Saint Rose. She is a blogger for the college and was excited to see what the college president could bring to the Saint Rose blog. “I think this has been a great idea and has put the President in a more approachable position,” said Carr, who’s a communications major. “I would have never thought I would be talking with my college’s president about the Grapes of Wrath- never mind on a blog.” Carr thinks Szczerbacki did a good job on his first post and felt welcomed into the conversation when reading the post. She also enjoyed Szczerbacki responding back to her comment. “When the president of your
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college comments on one your posts, you cannot help but to get a little excited,” said Carr. Peter Koonz, director of the library and a follower of the Saint Rose Blog, discovered Szczerbacki’s online book club through an email notification. He said he found Szczerbacki’s first post very interesting. “It strikes me as a great idea, and a way to further create a sense of community among students, faculty, and staff at Saint Rose. Book discussions create a unique dynamic among members,” said Koonz. “We each respond to a book from our own set of experiences and base of knowledge; but once we start to talk about what we take out of a book and how we understand it, we quickly see that others find things we may have missed.” For March and April’s book, Szczerbacki has selected “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. He said
KELLY PFEISTER
The student bookstore is helping to promote the online book club by promoting the current book “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck.
KELLY PFEISTER
President Szczerbacki talks with Jackson Wang on Friday, February 1, 2013, on his online book club. He hopes to engage with incoming and current students, as well as alumni.
he has just finished reading the book, but hasn’t seen the movie yet. He looks forward to the comments on the book. “I think it’ll be a widely discussed book,” said Szczerbacki. Carr said if she has time, she will continue to read and share thoughts with the online book club. Koonz said he plans on following the posts on the blog and contribute to the discussion. As for future books, Szczerbacki hasn’t decided which book he would like to read yet. But, he said he’ll be asking people for book recommendations. Szczerbacki said the ultimate goal he’s trying reach is more communication with the Saint Rose community, as well as en-
courage book reading and intellectual conversations. To keep up a strong communication with students and faculty, Szczerbacki is thinking about having a general purpose blog, which is for anyone who has a question for the college president. “I think it’s important that the president is available for people,” said Szczerbacki. As for the current book club blog, Szczerbacki believes it’ll take a year for the online book club to sink in and get more people involved in it. “It’s a low risk, high reward kind of thing,” said Szczerbacki. “It’ll be fun.” Reach Jackson Wang at Wangj847@strose.edu •
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The Chronicle
Arts
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Warm Bodies is Occasionally Clever, But Often Predictable
By M. WILLIAM SMITH Staff Writer
For some reason, zombies are really popular right now. I have nothing against them, but it’s a pop culture trend that’s been reaching its saturation point lately. The Walking Dead is dominating the television, comic book, and video game universes. Firstperson shooters like Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty have made zombies the new default shotgun fodder. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being thrown at an adaptation of World War Z. It’s enough to start to make people sick of them altogether. And so, we have Warm Bodies, taking a different approach to the whole trend: what if a zombie… could find love? Ok, that sounds dumb. And it is. It’s a dumb premise for a movie. The whole “supernatural creature falling in love with a human” thing is played out at this point. Vampires are one thing, they at least retain most of their
human features. But a zombie? That’s preposterous! So, I’m happy to announce that Warm Bodies is more clever than its premise boasts. Directed by Jonathan Levine (director of the excellent 50/50), Warm Bodies follows a zombie named R, whose voiceover explains that he feels unfulfilled with being a zombie, until he meets and saves a human girl named Julie. What follows is a film that achieves exactly what it sets out to do, which is to make a small, sometimes sweet film that just happens to have bloodthirsty monsters in it. The film works because it doesn’t take the premise all that seriously; it’s acutely aware that what it’s depicting is totally ridiculous (unlike, say, Twilight, which doesn’t seem to realize how dumb everything in that movie is). And it’s occasionally pretty smart! In the beginning, R explains that the zombies all live in the nearby airport, something I found to be a fairly funny com-
mentary on every trip to the airport I’ve ever had. Other aspects of the film play around with parallels to Romeo and Juliet; something it does to pretty good effect. Nicholas Hoult plays R with an air of teenage angst and existentialism, perfectly executing the tone of, well, a zombie. Other actors like Rob Corddry and John Malkovich show up in small parts, giving their own comedic presence to roles that would otherwise be unremarkable. There isn’t anything in this film that you can’t predict coming an hour away, but it’s a nice, light, enjoyable ride. For a film that shouldn’t really work at all, Warm Bodies takes its ridiculous premise and runs with it, crafting a film that, if I was flipping through the channels one day and saw it playing, I might leave it on. That may not sound like the highest of praise, but it achieves its modest ambitions, and hey, I liked it. Grrr. Argh. Final Grade: B-
TAJMYR/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Nicholas Hoult stars as one of the undead in the romantic zombie comedy Warm Bodies as R.
Movie 43 is Fresh and Funny
EVA RINALDI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Hugh Jackman, one of the many stars of Movie 43.
By VICTORIA CREARY Contributing Writer Words cannot even begin to describe the amazing-ness that is Movie 43. I had many reservations about seeing this movie prior to reading a few reviews about it, but I am so glad that I went. Not only did this movie have me laughing out loud, but it also had such an original concept; it was like a breath of fresh air. The movie starts out in an office where Charlie (Dennis Quad) is making a movie pitch to Griffin (Greg Kinnear), which brings us into the first of many short films. The first segment of the film “The Catch” starts out with Beth (Kate Winslet) getting ready for a blind date. Beth is reluctant at first until her friend spots her blind date, Davis (Hugh Jackman), on the cover of a magazine. Let’s just
say that there is something very shocking about Davis’ appearance and Beth can’t help but stare the entire time when everyone else seems oblivious to his deformity. Flashing back to Charlie and Griffin, Griffin is mortified with all of the obscene short film ideas that Charlie has. Convincing Griffin to listen to the rest of his ideas, we’re shown several more short films, ranging from human mp3 players in the shape of a naked woman, to Batman (Jason Sudeikis) and Robin (Justin Long) speed dating. Just when I thought the movie couldn’t get any better, I was pleasantly surprised. One of the most memorable shorts would have to be the one about a couple that homeschooled their son and wanted him to have the “full high school experience.” They didn’t
shy away from bullying, hazing, and socially rejecting their son in order for him to get the full high school experience. However, it’s clear that there are some things that parents shouldn’t really get involved in. Movie 43 is very edgy and, to some, may be extremely offensive. The movie was overall very entertaining and well performed by many A-List actors such as Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick Ass), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Terrence Howard (Iron Man), Halle Berry (X-Men), and Emma Stone (Easy A), to name a few. The movie can be a little confusing if you forget that the film doesn’t follow one story line but is instead comprised of dozens of short films. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is in need of a good laugh and have been longing to see something original.
February 5th, 2013
Arts
Volume 81 Issue 20
Silver Linings Playbook is the Gold-Standard for a Romantic Comedy By CHRIS SURPRENANT Arts Editor Sometimes, life is just plain funny. I’m referring to the real, everyday problems we all face. Dysfunctional families, mental illness, marital discord—none of it sounds like a particularly uplifting night at the movies. That’s the beauty behind David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook. It’s a romantic comedy that takes on the grittiness and harsh side of life while showing us how incredibly funny we can be as human beings. So how gritty is gritty? Well, Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) was committed to a state mental institution after flying into a jealous rage upon discovering his wife, Nikki, enjoying a “shower” with a fellow coworker. What’s worse? They were “showering” to Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour,” their wedding song. After eight months of treatment, Pat is reluctantly released into the care of his loving family—loving, but just as dysfunctional as Pat himself. His mother, Dolores (Jacki Weaver), brings him back to a world he has sorely missed. His father, Pat. Sr. (Robert DeNiro), is out of work and is a huge sports fanatic. His love of the Philadelphia Eagles is what brings home the bacon for the Solatanos, as he obsessively bets on every game. Of course, his love of the Eagles is really a manifestation of his own problematic OCD. This only adds to Pat’s difficulty assimilat-
ing back into everyday life. Coincidentally, Pat finds help in the form of a sassy, sharptongued dancer named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Troubled just as much as Pat, the two begin to bond over their chaotic, frustrating situations. Through her love of dancing, she is able to help Pat find the inner peace he’s been searching for, and ultimately find a “silver lining.” Now, the plot may seem straightforward. Angry boy meets angry girl, they hate each other, they love each other, and all is well and good. That’s what a typical romantic comedy would feed you. Silver Linings, however, uses that template, but expands the genre to its full potential. None of the stars are wearing designer clothes. They don’t live in fancy houses. All the female characters aren’t blonde, and all of the male characters aren’t dumb as stumps. Instead, they are represented as real people who live in an average, middle-class neighborhood with average looks and average interests. For once, we are given a romantic comedy that isn’t about moderately wealthy people who whine constantly about not being in love. The film explores what it means to love on a variety of different levels. On the family level, the Solatanos represent every American family. They fight, they yell, they eat, and they love football on Sundays. They wish the best for their kids, and will do anything to help them, even if it means tough-love.
Top of the Box Office January 29th-February 5th 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters Mama Zero Dark Thirty Silver Linings Playbook Parker Django Unchained Movie 43 Gangster Squad Les Misérables Broken City
Source: RottenTomatoes.com
($19.7M) ($13.1M) ($9.7M) ($9.4M) ($7.0M) ($4.9M) ($4.8M) ($4.3M) ($4.2M) ($4.0M)
As for friendship, Pat and his friend Ronnie are best buds without it being made painfully obvious like a lot of “bromantic” relationships. Ronnie is concerned for Pat, but he’s also balancing a rocky marriage and parenthood. They’re two grown men who act their age in a comedy; not two man-children who make constant fart jokes. When it comes to romance, Cooper and Lawrence are the next big onscreen couple. Their relationship builds slowly over the course of the film, growing from annoying indifference to smoldering chemistry. I don’t throw the word “smoldering” around, so believe me when I say that they have the most genuine onscreen rapport I’ve seen in quite some time. Cooper has steadily been proving that he’s more than just a pretty face lately. His Pat is both sympathetic and frustrating. He can’t seem to get past a desire to win back his ex-wife, yet he is blind to the fact that Tiffany is in love with him. His reactions to her advances are sincere and full of the same confusion and fear we all feel in those moments. DeNiro is also one of the film’s standouts. Finally, we get to seem in a role worthy of his acting chops, not just another thankless role in a Focker film. Pat Sr. is desperate to connect with his son, but can’t do so because of his own demons. DeNiro conveys this struggle effortlessly through his intense reactions to his losing Eagles, as well as his emotional confessions to his son. Ultimately, Silver Linings Playbook is a feel-good movie. I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a film that makes you think after you leave the theater. It puts a lot of things into perspective, and shows that no matter how low you are, there’s always a way back up. The film takes the problems of real people and translates them into a beautiful portrait of American life.
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I Can’t Believe You Watched That:
My Top Six Favorite “Action Girls” By RACHEL M. BOLTON Managing Editor Everyone loves a woman beating the crap out of baddies. So for this week, I have a list of my favorite action heroines. 6. Hermione Granger- Harry Potter series, books and filmsWhile not a traditional warrior woman, Hermione is the brains behind her group, and knowledge is as good a weapon as any. Her smarts are what get Ron and Harry out of the devil’s snare, and many more situations over the years. How many times have the boys hoped that she had an answer to their problems? 5. Kara “Starbuck” TraceBattlestar Galactica (2000s)A heroine does not need to be perfect and Starbuck certainly was not. She could fly her viper, brawl, and drink with the best of them, but she was riddled with insecurities, and boy did she make some bad decisions. However, that was what made her interesting to watch. Plus, there was that time she stabbed an enemy agent mid-fall. Sadly, for a character as awesome as she was, the writers bungled her story’s end. No one wants their favorite character to disappear in thin air. 4. Katniss Everdeen- The Hunger Games TrilogyAs strange as it is to say, Katniss is the heroine that I can identify the most with. Sure I can’t fire an arrow for the life of me, and I don’t live in a post-apocalyptic world (yet). But I have a younger sister, so I can relate to her choice to save Prim. Unlike some other young adult fiction heroines, Katniss does not get wishy-washy over the love triangle she’s put in. She’s there to survive and lead the rebellion she started.
3. The Bride- Kill Bill, Vol.1 and 2- While likely the darkest character on this list, the Bride has the most sympathetic reasons for revenge. Most women are not a katana wielding assassin, but her problem is one all can relate to: the fear of the death of a child. The Bride is ruthless, but shows her mercy to those who deserve it, and she can punch her way out of a buried coffin. Although in the grand scheme of things, viewers know that the Bride will not have a happy ending, and she really does not deserve one. But at least she and B.B. can happy for a little while. 2. Princess Leia- Star Wars Trilogy- Leia gets to be both the damsel in distress and blast stormtroopers away. She won’t sit around and do nothing while Luke and Han argue over directions. She may be a princess, but who saves her boyfriend’s behind and makes friends with the Ewoks? Leia had a calm head and good heart, but she was not afraid to do what must be done. Jabba the Hutt learned the hard way not to make her a sex slave. And she always had such good hair. 1. Ellen Ripley- Alien and Aliens- Not every person can handle being trapped by an alien, letalone with a gun in one hand and a cat in another, but Ellen Ripley certainly can. What makes Ripley so memorable is that she does not start out as an “action girl.” The viewer gets to watch her become one over the two movies (because there are only two, trust me on this). While being an airlock tossing badass, Ripley gets lots of characterization. In Aliens, she gets to deal with the trauma of the first film, finds a surrogate daughter, learns to stop being prejudiced against androids, and has a cute little romance. If only Prometheus protagonist Elizabeth Shaw had been as great as her.
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The Chronicle
Arts
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
FX Scores Again with The Americans
Network Spy Drama Highlights 80’s Nostalgia Without Excess By ANDY GILCHRIST Staff Writer
just how far she will go for her country. This strife comes to a head Over the past decade, FX has when an opportunity for defecestablished itself as the top net- tion is presented, causing the work in television, having previ- couple to reevaluate who they ously aired modern masterpieces are as people, agents, and a famlike The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue ily. But things can always get Me, and Damages, as well as worse. Simultaneously, a new the currently-airing new classics family moves in down the street, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, It’s headed by a man named Stan Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Beeman (Noah Emmerich). The Archer, and American Horror bad news? Stan is an FBI agent Story. They now debut their new- recently transferred to D.C.’s est work, the Cold War spy drama counter-intelligence division. The The Americans, about a family worse news? He spent the last of Soviet spies living in 1980s three years undercover, so he can America. The series is both fast- easily spot deception, and already paced and incredibly tense, high- suspects the Jennings by the end lighting the talent both in front of of the first episode. and behind the camera. By takThe movie-length pilot episode ing difficult material, (97 minutes instead of such as making the standard 60) “Likewise, the pilot i m m e d i a t e l y the audience root for Rusestablishes that faces the challenge sian spies, and the series will of making viewers executing it to not shy away the level of the sympathize and cheer from darker and best in televifor Russian spies in a riskier material, sion, the series instead conmedium where such fronting it head proves that FX has another hit on. The pilot characters are only on their hands. ever seen as heartless isshot masterfully The series by filmvillains.” follows Elizamaker Gavin beth and Phillip O’Connor, best Jennings (Keri known for the Andy Gilchrist Russell and sports films Matthew Rhys), Miracle and who live in subWarrior, openurban Washington D.C. in 1981. ing with Elizabeth undercover as But, Elizabeth and Phillip are ac- a prostitute and not shying away tually agents of the USSR, sent from the dark tricks of the trade. to America in 1962 to complete The first episode shows graphic missions and gather intelligence sex and violence, but does not on enemy soil. In the nearly 20 glorify it or make it exploitative, years living as Americans, dur- instead focusing of the brutaling which time they’ve had two ity and harshness of a life underchildren in order to better blend cover. in, Phillip’s allegiance to the Likewise, the pilot faces the motherland has stretched thin and challenge of making viewers the perks of leaving Russian life sympathize and cheer for Russian behind for good are starting to spies in a medium where such appeal to him. Elizabeth’s loyal- characters are only ever seen as ties, meanwhile, remain as strong heartless villains. But the series as the day they arrived and the faces this challenge triumphantly pilot pulls no punches showing by humanizing its characters,
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Matthew Rhys (left) and Keri Russell (right) star as Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings in FX’s new Soviet spy drama The Americans. whether by a traumatic flashback from Elizabeth, Phillip growing unhappy with his job, or everyday family issues such as children growing up and out of parents’ control. Comparisons to Showtime’s award-winning series Homeland, also following a foreign sleeper cell in the U.S. and the paranoid government agents pursuing them, and AMC’s equally lauded drama Breaking Bad, featuring dark storylines and criminal characters in suburbia, are inevitable. But The Americans steps out of the shadows of those two television legends by embracing its setting. The series takes place in 1981, right after the election of Ronald Reagan, a time when the Cold War was reignited by Reagan declaring the Soviet Union “the evil empire.” Tensions between the US and Soviet Union
were as high as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the show depicts this well from both Russian and American characters. Even the music strengthens the show. Being set in the 80s, period music is obviously going to be used, but many stories set in the past often use music in the wrong ways. So many films and TV series will simply use one of the most popular songs from that decade to tell the audience when the action takes place, regardless of what the lyrics are saying. The Americans, however, uses songs to augment what is happening on the screen. The opening scene of Elizabeth undercover uses Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart” to show how strong she is in her work and as a person, while an on-foot chase sequence just minutes later is played over Fleetwood Mac’s
“Tusk,” with the drum-heavy song creating a rising tension as characters run through the city. The episode even uses Phil Collins’ megahit single “In the Air Tonight” right after a very emotional scene and uses it so well that you almost forget how funny it was in The Hangover. The FX network’s newest drama series, The Americans, perfectly shows the difficulties of a life in espionage and the unbearable tension of the Cold War in the 1980s. By showcasing emotional performances and highlighting, but not drowning us in 1980s nostalgia, the series proves itself to be one of the best new shows of the season. If FX’s previous track record means anything, The Americans should be on television screens exciting audiences for several years to come.
February 5th, 2013
Arts In Memoriam: 30 Rock
The Chronicle
Volume 81 Issue 20
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A Farewell to Liz Lemon and the Gang at TGS By ANDY GILCHRIST Staff Writer Last Thursday night, America lost one of its great national pastimes. 30 Rock, one of the greatest comedies of this generation, aired its final episode. The finale capped a seven year run of 138 truly hilarious episodes about the inner workings of a sketch television show. The brainchild of comedienne Tina Fey was more than just another sitcom; it made jokes faster than rapid-fire speed, constantly put its stars in humiliating situations, and regularly made fun of politics, gender and race issues, fame, and even television itself. Now that the credits have rolled on a comedic masterpiece, the world is a little less
funny. Debuting on Oct. 11, 2006, 30 Rock was created by the incredibly funny Tina Fey. An alumna of the greatest sketch show of all time, Saturday Night Live, Fey pitched the series to the NBC network as a show-within-a-show, the stories of the inner workings of a sketch comedy series. Starring Fey herself as Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch show TGS with Tracy Jordan, the series immediately gained critical acclaim. Starring alongside Fey were Academy Award nominee Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, an NBC executive who constantly interferes with TGS, Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, an erratic film star brought in to revamp and save the failing TGS, Jane
Krakowski as Jenna Maroney, the original star of TGS and a complete prima donna, and Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell, an always happy NBC page whose life revolves around television. The series was well-known for its revolving roster of guest stars, either playing themselves or characters, such as Oprah Winfrey, Wayne Brady, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, Al Gore, Condoleezza Rice, Salma Hayek, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Matthew Broderick, and Brian Williams.
“The brainchild of comedienne Tina Fey was more than just another sitcom...and [it] regularly made fun of politics, gender and race issues, fame, and even television itself.” Andy Gilchrist
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Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy.
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Jane Krakowski as Jenna.
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Jack McBrayer as Kenneth.
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Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan
The show instantly connected with both audiences and critics, as it was watched by millions of viewers every week. The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy series for its first three seasons and has been nominated for the award every year it has been on the air. The show gained abundant nominations in other categories, many for Fey and Baldwin, but also for the show’s writing, directing, and hilarious guest stars, eventually amassing 57 Emmy nominations for its first six seasons. The show also started strong with viewers, maintaining acceptable ratings throughout its first few seasons, but slowly began slip in total viewers. Despite
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Tina Fey starred as hapless nerd Liz Lemon on the critically acclaimed NBC sitcom 30 Rock. the ratings decrease, the show’s content remained in top form, convincing NBC to renew it for a new season every May. Eventually, the cast and crew decided to end the show before the jokes stopped being funny and its seventh season was announced to be its last, which sadly concluded last Thursday. What separated 30 Rock from the numerous sitcoms flooding television today was its habit of making fun of everything, then immediately moving on to the next joke. In a time where toprated comedies such as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory rely primarily on sex jokes, 30 Rock would make the funniest sex joke you’ve ever heard before instantly jumping to a bit about politics or women’s rights. Furthermore, Fey used her SNL training to skewer current events for maximum laughs. When Comcast bought NBC from General Electric in 2009, the NBC within the world of 30 Rock was also bought
by a cable company, called Kabletown, which became a recurring theme for the remainder of the series. The 2012 Presidential race occurred during the final season and 30 Rock, of course, made its statements with characters pointing out the bizarre quirks of both the Democratic and Republican positions. Though it didn’t have the reputation or overall reception of SNL’s political satire, 30 Rock’s standings on the issues were just as relevant and sometimes even funnier. 30 Rock, one of the greatest comedies since the turn of the century, ended its award-winning run on Thursday, January 31, 2013. The show gathered millions of fans worldwide and numerous awards and nominations during its seven year run. Though all of its cast and crew will go on to other projects and continue to make us laugh so hard we vomit, I doubt we’ll ever see another show as crisp, on point, and utterly hilarious as 30 Rock.
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Arts
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Kickin’ It With KJ: Catching Up with the New and the Old Ro Ransom, Ransomania
By KEVIN JACOB Staff Writer Welcome all to another edition of Kickin it With KJ. After a bit of a slow period I’ve finally caught wind of some new releases. Some are fairly new and some are a little bit older, but since I’ve just caught onto the older music that I’ve stumbled upon, I thought I would share some of my almighty insight with you guys. Let’s get into it.
Pusha T, Wrath of Caine Neighborhood Push for a while now has been saying that he would be releasing Wrath of Caine, and then his highly anticipated debut album, My Name Is My Name. I was pretty hyped for this mixtape because we haven’t really heard a lot from Push lately. He was on the Cruel Summer album and has had a few verses here and there but we haven’t had a full project from him since Fear of God which was released almost two years ago. So we’ll say I was pretty hyped when this dropped. I’m not completely satisfied with it though. I mean, I’m not one to complain about free music, because mainly that’s what this column is about, but for one this mixtape has got to be longer. Only 11 songs?! And only 10 with Pusha T?! (one is an Ab-Liva solo track). It’s just not good enough. Besides the length, I just wasn’t completely impressed with the
overall project. I will say I love that Troy Ave makes an appearance on “Road Runner,” because dude deserves to get some more shine, and “Millions” has started to grow on me daily. “Only You Can Tell It” brings forth probably the best song off the tape. There’s just more I didn’t like than I did like. “Trust You” is whack and “It Doesn’t Matter” I couldn’t stand, mainly because of the God-awful French Montana hook. In the end, I think that this tape from Neighborhood P will satisfy diehard fans but will leave them really wanting. Especially after the second best song on the tape in “Revolution” is one of the shortest songs on the project. How can you have a Neptunes banger like that be only that long? Mind blowing.
Rating 4.5/10
The UnderAchievers, Indigoism The UnderAchievers just released their first full length project, Indigoism. Members of the beast coast movement, along with the likes of the Flatbush Zombies and the Pro Era crew, The UA definitely are like both groups. They talk about drugs as much as the Zombies and are deadly spitters similar to Pro Era. UA seems to bring both worlds together perfectly on this project. The lyrics are there and the production is fantastic throughout the whole project. A lot of stoner spaced out trippiness, but mixed really well with classic hip-hop tendencies. “Herb Shuttles,” “The Mahdi,” “Maxing Out,” and “Philanthropist,” were some of my favorites on here, but overall I thought that tape was definitely bangin’. UA Beast Coast. Peep this one.
Rating: 9/10
I first saw a post about Ro the other day on a blog that I frequently visit and saw that the photo was of him and G.O.O.D. music artist Travis $cott who I’m a fan of, so I decided to check it out. I liked what I heard and looked up more about Ro and found out this mixtape came out around July of last year. I guess I was sleeping because the whole tape was pretty dope. Surprisingly enough, I’d heard of Ro when he was going by the name Nero, but wasn’t aware at all that he changed his name. Maybe it’s for the better because Ro goes a lot harder then Nero did. The tape starts off with Trill/Trippy “Ransomaniac,” and keeps it rolling with heatrocks such as “Limousine” and “All Eyes on Me” with Trae the Truth. The best track on the tape for me is “Howl,” which was produced by AraabMuzick. IT’S A BANGER. Ro spits some of the hardest bars on the tape on “Howl,” and I enjoyed it the most out of everything else on the tape. Although this tape was really good, I don’t know how I feel about Ro singing as well as rapping. Drake made the formula possible for success for many, but I feel that if Ro just kept to the rhymes, the project would’ve been better off. I’m interested to see what Ro does next. I think this kid could blow up. You heard it here first. Check out Ransomania.
Rating 8.5/10 Om’mas Keith, City Pulse I haven’t really heard much of Om’mas Keith before, but the other day when scouring the net, I noticed that he did quite a bit of work on Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange album and was interested to see what this first full project would be like. It’s really funky, very soulful, and even a bit of auto-tune is used, though Om’mas doesn’t even really need it. The project starts off really well with “Slow Motion” and gets even better with songs such as “Pulse of the City” and “Explode,” which is definitely the catchiest song of the whole tape. I will admit I haven’t really listened to this enough to give you some of the songs I didn’t really like, but out of everything I listened to I enjoyed most of it. Very solid debut, Mr. Keith.
Rating: 7.5/10
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Pusha T recently released his new mixtape Wrath of Caine as a precursor to his upcomng debut album My Name Is My Name. And that does it for another edition of Kickin’ It. The column should be coming back in full regularity because February and March are supposed to be pretty big for some artists with a couple of highly anticipated projects dropping.
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Opinion
C11 The Liberal Legislation A Retreat to Last a Lifetime Continues- Abortion
February 5th, 2013
By KATHERINE BAKAITIS Staff Writer
Governor Cuomo is on a roll. He has been spitting out more legislation than the Mom on “19 Kids and Counting” birthed children. Cuomo’s recent controversial bill is the Reproductive Health portion in the Women’s Equality Act. Currently, in the state of New York, if you want an abortion, you have to be less than 24 weeks pregnant. Part of this new bill says that you can get an abortion into the third trimester if it is too dangerous to proceed with the pregnancy (your life or overall health has to be in jeopardy). Of course, the House Republicans, who are now the majority in the state Senate, are all opposed to the bill. Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos announced his opposition by saying how "abortion is already safe and legal in New York State. It's not going to be changed, and what I see is the expansion of partialbirth abortion, in from the radical left. It's an extreme measure and I don't think it's absolutely necessary." Skelos believes that women will wake up one day when they are 8 months pregnant and think to themselves, “I don’t want this baby anymore, so I’ll abort it”. I highly doubt that any woman is that stupid; plus it would only be allowed if the life of the mother was in danger.
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A majority of the Senate Democrats supports it and the Independent Democratic Conference leader Jeff Klein supports it with most of its members. Kathleen M. Gallagher, Director of Pro-life Activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, warned Catholics in the state not to be deceived by "Governor Cuomo's ideologically driven political agenda, an agenda that is extremely harmful to mothers, infants and religious liberty." First of all, this is not harming anybody’s “religious liberty”. Nobody is going to force anyone of pro-life beliefs, or anybody else for that matter, to have an abortion against their will. If you do not believe in abortion, do not get one. The same idea goes with religion; if you do not believe in other practices, practice something else. Believe it or not, a lower class (predominantly single) woman getting an abortion would probably be the best thing for her and society, economically speaking. By forcing her to keep a baby she cannot afford and has no business raising, she and the child will suffer a sharp personal financial decline and lower their quality of life. What if she chooses adoption? There are already too many children in the foster system that still need to be adopted, and chances are that child will end up in some sort of correction facility when they are too old for the fos-
ter system, which also costs a lot of money. It is really better off for society, and for that individual, to allow abortion. There is another alternative to all of this that conservatives have also rejected (I still fail to understand their “logic”): free/cheap birth control. Why not just stop it all from the beginning instead of having this heated debate about when life begins (conception or at birth)? Sometimes I cannot help but wonder if all of this liberal legislation Cuomo’s proposing is just a ticket into the 2016 presidential election. “You have to think it has a lot more to do with Cuomo's future political aspirations, and getting to the left of Hillary Clinton," remarked Rev. Jason McGuire. Personally, I am pulling for Hillary if she decides to run, so I want her to have as little competition as possible (even though Cuomo is no match for her). Plus, I do not think being a one term Governor (possibly two terms in 2014) makes him qualified yet. Whether or not you are in support or opposition of abortion, it will still no doubt be interesting to see how this all pans out. And remember that your opinion is just that – an opinion. We do not know who is really correct, or ifthere is even a correct solution for these types of issues; we can only do what is best for society.
The Chronicle
By NINA BUONAROTA Contributing Writer
G4G stands for Girls for God. It was started By Tinamarie Stolz. It is a group that helps girls become more aware of how cruel and harsh the media is and how we should OWN the word “Beautiful’. There should be no strict definition, or size, or shape that means “Beautiful”; it is whatever you are. At the retreat that took place this past weekend at the beautiful Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Latham, we spoke about how young girls are looking up to stars like Rihanna and Vanessa Hudgens. However, these celebs are posing seductively or half naked in ads. It is a disgrace that girls want to be like them. All Rihanna sings about is sex and lust and that should not be highlighted in our media today. We also spoke about how companies like Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana, Abercombie & Fitch, and especially American Ap-
parel objectify women and make it seem like it is completely okay to have men looking strong in ads and women as miniscule and unclothed. G4G has taught me that I am what I make of myself. I have been taught to not be affected by today’s media and that I have the power to change my own mindset and the mindset of my peers. We do not have to give into the norm. There are more girls that are size 16's than sizes 4-6. We all deserve to live happy and fulfilled lives. We are all beautiful and unique in our own ways. Young girls really need to start believing that and stop comparing themselves to Victoria’s Secret models. They need to stop giving in to the pressure and power of the media; it is not healthy. Jesus would not have died for us on the cross if he did not think we were worth it. Reach Nina Buonarota at Buonartoan964@strose.edu
Reach Katherine Bakaiktis at bakaitisk161@strose.edu Twitter: @KTattack
ATTENTION CLUBS: Would you like to have your club’s voice heard in The Chronicle? Contact Opinion Editor Regina Iannizzotto at iannizzottor407@strose.edu.
The solutions to this puzzle can be found on www. strosechronicle.com. Be sure to check them out and see how many you were able to come up with!
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The Chronicle
Opinion
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
The Environmentalist
Listen to Liv!
How Not To Be Wasteful
The Cardinal Rules for College Dating - For the Ladies
By COURTNEY CARR Environmental Club Thinking about the environment is not just for warm weather. With that in mind, here are some questions to get you thinking: Do you really need three plates in the dining hall? I mean, I get that sometimes chocolate cake cannot go on the same plate as mashed potatoes and gravy, but every plate that is used means a bigger impact on the environment. That is because after using a plate, it obviously has to be cleaned, and that means more water is being used to clean those three plates as opposed to just one. Do you actually want to eat the before mentioned three plates of food you have? Food is a resource; all those years of your parents shaming you into eating all the food off your plate are partially justified. You do not need to be a farmer to realize that water is once again a crucial element in this part of your life as well as realizing the sheer waste that not eating everything on your plate results in. Do you need to press the button to open the door? This one not only boils down to laziness (that is unless you have a disability – that, of course, gives you the right
to use the button), but also energy. When you feel like you do not have the energy to open the door and decide to press the button, that is using electricity. You may think “I’m not paying for it”, but in the long run, you are – that is my only hint to global warming you will find here. Do you need to take the elevator to the second floor? Once again – energy. I know the stairs to many of the classrooms in Albertus make it feel like you are climbing to the point of Mount Everest, but I have faith that you can climb to at least the third floor. Taking the stairs, I have been told, is even good for your health. My intent for this article was not to guilt or sass you into thinking about your choices, but merely to just plant the idea of using less from our surroundings. Environmental changes are not instantaneous, but happen over a long period of time, and because of this, the desire to take three plates in the dining hall may never affect you first hand. However, with this being said, just in case the water shortage does hit during our lifetime, I want to have a guilt free conscious. Reach Courtney Carr at
By OLIVIA DECK Contributing Writer
your man and a girls’ night for your girlfriends.
Okay girls, we have all had that experience where we had to make the choice between a new love and an old friend. There is a difference between managing your time and managing your hormones. First Rule: Prioritize. We are in college for a reason. SCHOOL COMES FIRST. If you notice that your grades are suffering because you decide to hang out until 2 a.m. with your crush “watching a basketball game” or sucking face, STOP. Having a new guy in your life, obviously you want him to like you as much as you like him. I am not saying you can’t ever hang out with him, but limit your time. If he asks you to come over, set a time to leave to do classwork, or get it done before you see him. Second Rule: Sisters before misters. There is a difference between hanging out with your friend, and hanging out with your friend AND your boyfriend. There was this one chick I used to be friends with who made me third-wheel every single time we hung out. She would ask me to come over and BOOM, as soon as I walk in, there’s her boyfriend. It is awesome to have your boyfriend get to know your friends, but limit it. You don’t want to lose a lifelong friend for a temporary boyfriend. Keep a date night for
Third Rule: Don’t over-obsess. You are going to scare him away. Do not follow him to the dining hall. Do not creep in his classroom. Do not walk by and make sure his light is on in the dorm room. I am a girl, and I know we get crazy. Oh, and if you are one of these girls, do not tell anyone. In the beginning stages of dating, act hard to get. He is a man. Make him text you (but if he does not text you immediately, do not freak out. He is probably busy). Once the conversation is flowing (and he’s not giving you one-word answers) ask him to do something casual. Ask him to come over and watch a movie with you and your friends. That way, it is not awkward for you, and you slowly move on to a more personal level. And, your friends get to meet him. Being a girl, I know that your girlfriends’ opinions matter. Side-note: If he is giving you one-word answers, CYA BYE. Fourth Rule: Keep it classy. Respect yourself. Do not get too sloppy too soon. He will get the impression that you are the hit-itand-quit-it type and will not come back – ever. You are a woman and you know what you are comfortable with. Do not let him be gross (you know what I mean). If you do not like where it is going, you can stop it at any time. We are not in the 1800s, and as women,
we have a say as to what goes on in our relationships. In the words of Marilyn Monroe, “Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman, but loose enough to show you’re a lady.” Fifth Rule: Recognize the red flags. 1. I will say it again, one-word texts are no-no’s. I hate to break it to you, but he is just not that into you. 2. In the words of Patti Stanger, “No sex before monogamy.” If he is trying to get in your pants too soon (and you know what too soon is), then he is not looking for a girlfriend, he is looking for a friend with benefits (and really, he might not even be looking for a friend, just the benefits). If he asks you to hang out past midnight, it is a booty-call. 3. You are smart. If he is using dumb excuses to blow you off, move on and find someone new. Believe it or not, there ARE genuinely nice guys out there. What you settle for is what you end up with. Do not settle for anything less than what you deserve. I am obviously not a professional, but if you would like advice from a friend, I am willing to listen. Please email me at decko938@strose.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!
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Find our Page by searching “The Chronicle at The College of Saint Rose.” Hope you Like It.
Love, Liv XOXO
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Sports
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Sophomore Mariah Lesure posting up in the paint against Amanda Saab of Franklin Pierce.
Women’s Basketball Gets the Win at home against Franklin Pierce, While the Men’s Team Loses Their Ninth Game of the Season Junior Dominykas Milka racked up 17 points and eight rebounds in a 78-65 lose to Franklin Pierce.
Photos By Kelly Pfeister
Junior Dan Mundweiler leading the charge against Franklin Pierce on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.
Sophomore Mariah Lesure scored 23 points for the Golden Knights.
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Sports
The Chronicle
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
A-Rod In Trouble Yet Again
By NICHOLAS BUONANNO Staff Writer New York Yankees All-Star third basemen Alex Rodriguez finds himself in trouble again for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in his career. Rodriguez, who is well known for his power hitting and MVP stats throughout his career, earned one of the biggest contracts in all of baseball when the Yankees signed him five years ago to a 10 year, $275 million contract. Rodriguez’s secret of his first steroid usage emerged when he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs while playing with the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. After Rodriguez’s press conference telling the details about his past steroid use in 2009, it
seemed like most people forgave him when he sounded sincere about being sorry for his past. However, a Miami newspaper, The Miami New Times, published an article last week saying they had proof and documents saying Alex Rodriguez and his cousin Yuri Sucart bought steroids in recent years. The newspaper received the documents and interviews all from former employees and customers of a Miami clinic ran by 49 year-old Anthony Bosch. The documents showed the Yankees slugger name sixteen times, and included former Yankee outfielder Melky Cabrera and pitcher Bartolo Colon, both who were previously suspended 50 games for failing a MLB random drug test. The documents in Rodriguez’s files from the clinic showed that he and his cousin both purchased
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
General Manager Brian Cashman will be looking for a way to void Rodriguez’s huge contract
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Alex Rodriguez’s reputation is once again tarnished due to use of performance enhancing drugs.
illegal performance enhancing drugs from 2009-2012. After the newspaper published the story, a public relations firm for Rodriguez denied the allegations, saying that he never purchased those drugs and does not know the owner of that clinic. Now that this story and the files of Alex Rodriguez from the Miami newspaper have been published, the New York Yankees are rethinking that big contract that still has five years left on it. Due to the tarnish Rodriguez has brought to the Yankee organization, as well as the lack of production, New York’s front office has been looking for a way to void the rest of Rodriguez’s contract. Voiding the huge contract may
be helpful to the Yankees in many ways. The most important is that they, at the very least, chip away at the embarrassment Rodriguez has brought the Yankees over the year from his cheating ways, to his too highly priced contract. Voiding the contract also allows the Yankees to spend the saved money elsewhere in future years. Perhaps the free agent class of 2015, which is due to contain players like Justin Verlander and Elvis Andrus, interests them. It will also permit newly signed third baseman Kevin Youkilis to perform without having to mind the return of Rodriguez for his position. The Yankees would have to find quite the loophole to void Rodriguez’s contract, but it still may be possible to do so due
to stipulations in the deal such as receiving medical treatment from a non-team physician without team consent. The Yankees cannot begin to try to breach his contract yet, though. They first have to wait for Major League Baseball to investigate the documents from the clinic and interview the players involved. Although Alex Rodriguez will already be out half of the season, and possibly the whole year due to another hip surgery, the MLB could suspend Rodriguez after the full investigation takes place. According to ESPN, Rodriguez says he plans to come back and help the Yankees after he completes a sixmonth rehabilitation program.
Sports
D15 The Double Standard for Quarterbacks
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
much blame the tools. Why is it acceptable for some people to say Randy Moss is the best wide receiver of all time when he has never won a Super Bowl (Sunday pending), but it is not acceptable for anyone to think Dan Marino is the best quarterback of all time? Moss can blame the quarterback, but Marino can’t blame the players that were around him?
The Chronicle
The point I am trying to make is that just because a quarterback has never won a Super Bowl doesn’t mean he can’t be considered elite. Also, just because a quarterback has won a Super Bowl does not mean he is of the “elite” quality. Right now, even though Eli Manning has won two Super Bowls I would rather have Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers on my
team, whom only have one. Just because Ben Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls does not mean I would rather have him on my team than Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning. We need to not only look at the quarterback’s performance, but the team’s performance around him as well before deciding who the “elite” quarterbacks in the National Football League are.
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Many consider Eli Manning an elite quarterback for his two Super Bowl wins. By SAM MAXWELL Staff Writer Sports talk radio and ESPN have revolutionized the conversation of sports fans. This has caused useless and unnecessary debates to take the forefront of “Sportscenter” and every sports talk show across America. One of the biggest wastes of times is trying to answer the debate of, “Who are the elite quarterbacks in the NFL?” It is a waste of time because there is a double standard when debating the topic. If a team wins, the credit goes to the quarterback. If a team loses, all the blame goes to the quarterback. Last time I checked, football is not tennis. If a professional tennis player hasn’t won any tournaments in tennis, you can make the argument that he may not be a good tennis player because it is he, and only he, who control his destiny. But in football, if a team loses 61-60, it’s somehow the quarterback’s fault that the defense let up 61 points. If a wide receiver drops a perfectly thrown ball in a crucial part of the game, it is the quarterback who cannot “win the big one.”
On the other hand, if a quarterback plays awful but his team wins, then adjectives like “gritty” and “gutsy” are thrown around to explain his performance. The quarterback can never have a game where he was bailed out, and should be thankful. The best example of this is Ben Roethlisberger. In Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks he had one of the worst performances in Super Bowl history. According to profootballreference.com, he was 9 for 21, with 123 yards passing, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. His passer rating for the game was a mere 22.6. An outstanding defense and a running game bailed him out, and yet he gets deemed “clutch” and “a gamer.” Roethlisberger can be in the discussion as an “elite” quarterback even though in both of his Super Bowl victories he played pedestrian, at best. It puzzles me why the other ten players on the offense can blame the quarterback, but the quarterback cannot blame any of the other 10 players. One of my favorite sayings is a good carpenter never blames his tools. My response to that is if the tools are broken, you can pretty
Ben Roethlisberger is another quarterback considered elite because of Super Bowl victories.
D16
Sports
The Chronicle
February 5th, 2013
Volume 81 Issue 20
Golden Knights Conclude Northeast-10 Championships By JOSHUA NATOLI Sports Editor
Both the men’s and women’s Golden Knights swimming and diving teams took a trip to New Haven, Connecticut this past weekend to take part in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships. The Golden Knights faced competition from all over the conference, including Southern Connecticut State, Assumption, Le Moyne, Bentley, Pace, Adelphi, and Saint Michael’s. At the end of Thursday’s competition, the men’s team sat in fourth place of seven teams, while their female counterparts were fourth of eight teams. Senior Caitlin Brauer finished third in the 200-yard individual medley with a qualifying time of two minutes and seven seconds.
Brauer also won her preliminary heat with the same finishing time. Sophomore Alexa Patnaude set a Golden Knights record on the one-meter board with a preliminary score of 334.90. Freshman Samantha Hall placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle with her time of five minutes and 17 seconds. The Golden Knights were also successful in the 400-yard medley relay. The combination of Brauer, senior Naomi Woodcock, junior Kelsey Kraft, and sophomore Kiersten Beckford earned a third place finish with a four minute time. On the men’s side, junior Kyle Wilson finished second in the 500-yard freestyle and earned second-team All-Conference honors with his NCAA “B” time of four minutes and 39 seconds. This would be the second consecutive year that Wilson took
second in the event. Also, freshman Timothy Wilson, brother of Kyle Wilson, swam a fourth place time of four minutes and 47 seconds. On the diving side, senior Ryan Butler was fourth on the three-meter board with a score of 295.30. As the meet resumed the next day, two Golden Knights studentathletes and a relay team won events. Both the men’s and women’s teams finished the day sitting in both fourth place spots. Wilson defended his 200-yard freestyle title that he earned last year with a win. Wilson dominated the event, beating his next closest competitor by almost two seconds with a qualifying time of one minute and 40 seconds. The men's 800-yard freestyle relay team, featuring the Wilson brothers, Eric Howard, and Jordan Gregg placed first, setting a
COURTESY OF SAINT ROSE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Caitlin Brauer and Naomi Woodcock enjoyed success at the NE-10 Championships.
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A number of Saint Rose records were broked this past weekend. school record time of just over seven minutes. Howard also had a second place performance in the 100-yard backstroke. On the women's side, Woodcock broke her own school record with a qualifying and first place time of one minute and four seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke. Furthermore, Brauer placed second in the 400-yard individual medley with a qualifying time of four minutes and 28 seconds, while Beckford finished third with a time of one minute 56 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle. On the final day of competition, the Golden Knights would see two more school records broken as well as the men’s team finishing fourth of seven teams and the women’s squad finishing fourth of eight teams. Woodcock swept the breaststroke events by winning the 200yard event with an NCAA “B” cut time of two minutes and 21 seconds. Brauer placed third in the event with a time of two minutes and 23 seconds. The last women's event of the meet featured Woodcock and Brauer, along with Beckford and Kraft, setting a Saint Rose record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a fourth place time of
three minutes and 38 seconds. Also, Patnaude broke the Golden Knights record by scoring 342.75 points on the three-meter board. Two men's swimmers turned in second place finishes to end the meet. Kyle Wilson finished with a time of nearly one minute and 55 seconds in the 200-yard butterfly while Howard finished with close to the same time in the 200-yard backstroke. Kyle Wilson and Howard were joined by Timothy Wilson and Gregg in the 400-yard freestyle relay, earning a third place finish in three minutes and eleven seconds. Three Saint Rose studentathletes- Woodcock, Brauer and Kyle Wilson, earned NCAA provisional qualifying times in five different events. In total, five Golden Knights records fell during the course of the three-day event. Host school Southern Connecticut State finished on top in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Next up for the Golden Knights are the Metropolitan Conference Championships to be held Feb.15-17 in Piscataway, NJ. Reach Josh Natoli at Natolij477@strose.edu • Twitter: @JustJoshinYa845