April 14, 2015 - Issue 20

The Review

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f D e l a w a r e ’s i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r s i n c e 1 8 8 2

TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015 VOLUME 141, ISSUE 20

SOFTBALL COACH OUT OVER “HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT”

MATT BUTLER Managing News Editor

Softball head coach Jaime Wohlbach was dismissed Monday afternoon, a stunning change for a team with 12 games remaining in the regular season. The decision is effective immediately, according to a statement from the Athletics Department, and assistant coach John Seneca will be the interim coach until a national search is conducted this summer for a permanent replacement.

Wohlbach said she was blindsided by the decision, which came during a meeting

with Athletic Director (AD) Eric Ziady. The only reason Ziady would give for her dismissal was that she created a “hostile team environment.”

“I asked if they could please explain to me what that means, but they just kept saying, ‘It’s a hostile environment,’” Wohlbach said. “They would not share anything with me.”

Wohlbach was also unsure if the firing was a result of a player complaint, though she was told during the termination meeting to never contact the players again. She said she was never told of any player problems and had never been called in for a meeting to

discuss a complaint that year.

“These players are great kids, they’ve been playing to win and working really hard,” Wohlbach said. “There’s not one time this entire year that I can tell you that these players have been yelled at or even talked to in that tone. These things are not happening.”

She said she had a history of problems with Senior Associate AD Joe Shirley and, to a lesser extent, Ziady.

Wohlbach told The News Journal that higher-ups at the university had been bullying her for several months. The decision leaves the Hens (2115, 5-6 CAA) in a state of limbo

heading into the homestretch of their season. Members of the team declined to comment.

She also said she was unaware of whether or not the rest of the coaching staff planned to leave with her, or if they were being dismissed as well. Assistant AD Scott Selheimer said the Athletics Department had no further comment on the matter, beyond what was posted on the website.

“There was no prep leading up to this,” Wohlbach said. “I just have no idea. No coach should ever have to go through this.”

Campus workers protest to save bus drivers MATT BUTLER Managing News Editor Screams and signs broke the normal midday Monday malaise, as members of the university workforce gathered to protest the school’s impending decision to outsource bus driver jobs to a private, non-union contracting company.

About 30 members of the Local 439 chapter of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees labor union came out to show solidarity with the campus bus drivers, toting signs and asking for support from passing students and motorists. The group was made up of mostly custodians, grounds workers, trash-truck operators and other employees of the university from the union.

Several cars, including every university bus that passed, let out a supportive honk and waved to the protesters lined along Main Street and outside of Trabant University Center.

Diane Muckle, the executive vice president for Local 439, said their anger stems from a February meeting in which the university told its bus drivers they may no longer have jobs by July 1.

“Who will be driving your children?” bellowed one protester.

“Stand with your bus drivers!” yelled another.

Freddy Sierra, one of the leaders of the protest, said if the university eliminates union

workers from bus driving jobs they could come after union members in different departments afterward. Once that precedent has been set, Sierra said, it is sometimes very difficult to reverse the tide.

“They have been trying to do this for the last 10 or 15 years,” Sierra said. “It never comes about, but this time it seems like they have pushed it a little bit further [...] I just think they don’t want to have to deal

with the unions anymore.”

Sierra said during the February meeting, school officials indicated they no longer knew how to handle transportation responsibilities for the growing campus, and this was influencing their decision to bring in a specialized company.

Muckle said if the switch occurs, the 11 full-time bus drivers would be able to retain their jobs but they would no longer be employed through

the university. This means they would lose their Delaware state pensions and their benefits as a university employee. Part-time bus drivers on campus would lose their jobs entirely.

More protests are planned in the future, including on Decision Day, which is this upcoming Saturday, Muckle said. Muckle’s and Sierra’s main concern about new drivers would be the lack of union guidelines, which they said could lead to a lack

KIRK SMITH/THE REVIEW With the university toying with the idea of a private transportation company, union members took to the streets to rally support for the bus drivers. A private company would mean unemployment for some drivers.

of background checks for bus drivers.

“You don’t even know who you’re getting to drive your students around,” Muckle said.

Alan Brangman, vice president of facilities, real estate and auxiliary services, confirmed the university has begun looking into outside options for their bus drivers. Brangman also said the university has reached out to 10 companies for financial proposals without any responses currently, but they expect to hear back from those by the end of the month. He described the school’s actions as “testing the waters.”

The possible switch would be part of a larger changeover for the university’s transportation system, Brangman said, which would include changing routes, general service enhancements and a new master plan for the shuttle system. A transportation company might be able to provide all of those at a more economic price, he said.

Brangman said the fears of a lack of background checks are unfounded.

“If a company doesn’t do background checks, they probably won’t be doing business with the university for very long,” Brangman said.

The school is not in danger of a bus driver strike, Sierra said, as a stipulation in the union’s contract with the school bars the workers from walking off the job.

Changes to general education requirements debated PATRICK WITTERSCHEIN Senior Reporter A panel from the Faculty Senate General Education Committee answered questions about the future of universitywide course requirements at an open hearing Monday night.

Charged with creating a new plan that will more effectively “capture learning outside the classroom,” the committee has developed new changes to the university’s requirements.

John Pelesko, who moderated the panel discussion, said a significant reason for the

WHAT’S INSIDE

KIRK SMITH/THE REVIEW After a feverish debate at a previous Faculty Senate meeting, Monday’s open hearing gave further spotlight to the controversial gen-ed reforms.

PROFESSOR RICHARD WOOL REMEMBERED page 3

revisions was to allow students to abandon the “check-thebox mentality” that currently dominates course selection.

Pelesko said under the current breadth requirement system, students have no academic reason for choosing one course over another.

The goal of the revisions to the general education requirements is to create a developmental curriculum with developmental advisement, which embraces multicultural and experiential learning.

The new general education requirements would create two new core courses that each student at the university would need to take in order to graduate. The committee has proposed a pilot program for the implementation of these two courses to determine their feasibility.

Some faculty members have raised questions about the feasibility of forcing students to take two mandatory classes in addition to the required English 110. The scalability

and consistency of the classes remain a concern.

Political science professor Stuart Kaufman said it would be very difficult for the university to create a course with 150 sections and objects to the process of the General Education Committee and General Education Task Force.

“Making everybody take the same class is a bad idea, for both teachers and students,” Kaufman said. “We could better use faculty expertise by building this from the bottom up.”

During the hearing, he also asked the committee why academic departments, and students especially, have not been consulted during the General Education revision process.

When developing university-wide requirements, Kaufman said faculty and the General Education Committee should ask, “What is it that we can teach that we think every student should know?”

From Kaufman’s perspective, if the changes are passed, it

UD ACCEPTS POTENTIAL CLASS OF 2019 page 3

could mean fewer options for students when they choose classes.

“If they do this cookie cutter thing, the quality of classes will be lower than it is now,” Kaufman said.

Sophomore Megan Barnett is worried about the standardization of the mandatory First Year Experience courses, as well as the general lack of knowledge about these changes of students on campus.

Barnett said she is disappointed by the lack of student engagement throughout the revision process.

As an English education major, Barnett has been to previous Faculty Senate meetings about the revisions but is still concerned about what the changes will mean for new students.

“Students aren’t being told about this, so they can’t formulate opinions,” Barnett said. “They can’t speak out or be listened to.”

A LOOK AT UD’S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN page 6

udreview.com

TUESDAY, APRIL 14 -Psychic tarot card readings, 12:30 2:30 p.m., Trabant Food Court -Fulbright Student Program Information Session, 3:30 p.m., Career Services Center -USC Quizzo: Mythology, 7 - 8 p.m., Perkins West Lounge

PENCIL IT IN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

TL;DR Clinton and Rubio announce presidential bids

New writing center opens to assist students

Marathon Faculty Senate meeting results in new resolutions

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Florida Senator Marco Rubio both launched campaigns to win the White House in 2016.

Clinton, who is widely favored to be the Democratic nominee, announced her candidacy though a online video on Sunday. Rubio faces tough competition from what is expected to be a crowded field of Republican candidates.

Last week, the Multimedia Writing Center opened in the basement of the Morris Library. The center offers assistance for all writing projects. The new center was opened to provide expanded resources to students and faculty. The hours of the center are the same as the Memorial Hall location, and appointments can be made through the website.

The two and a half hour March Faculty Senate meeting resulted in the passage of 12 new resolutions. These includes resolutions related to faculty research and a new cybersecurity major. Professor Michael Chajes provided an update on the findings of the Senate’s commission on sexual assault.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

-LGBT Caucus Campus Climate Keynote and Workshop featuring Shane Windmeyer, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Trabant Theater/Perkins Rodney Room -Botanic Gardens guided walk with Director Dr. John Frett, 4 - 5:30 p.m., Fischer Greenhouse Laboratory -Student comedy show, 8:30 p.m., Perkins West Lounge

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

-Fall semester 2015 registration begins -“La Feria Hispana” annual celebration, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Trabant Patio -Nico and Vinz concert, 8 p.m., Trabant Multipurpose Rooms

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

-Blue Hens Downstate Day, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., Smyrna High School -UD REP presents, “All in the Timing,” 7:30 p.m., Center for the Arts

-Day of Silence, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Trabant Patio -International Coffee Hour with DJ Miles, 4 - 6 p.m., 44 Kent Way -Rebound: The Chris Herren Story, 7:30 - 10 p.m., Trabant Multipurpose Rooms

“Too long; didn’t read” gives you weekly news summaries in 200 words or less.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

-Softball vs. James Madison, 12 p.m., UD Softball Stadium -Baseball vs. College of Charleston, 1 p.m., Bob Hannah Stadium -“We are the Best!” International Film Series, 7 - 10 p.m., Trabant Theatre

Editor-in-chief: Elizabeth Quartararo Executive Editor: Cady Zuvich News: Matt Butler, Meghan Jusczak, Jay Panandiker, Alison Wilson Mosaic: Jagoda Dul, Jennifer Finn, Abbie Sarfo

MONDAY, APRIL 20

-Healthy HENS Kiosk, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Trabant University Center -Crime novelist Amara Lakhous lecture, 5 - 6 p.m., 127 Memorial Hall

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Sports: Jack Cobourn, Meghan O’Donnell, Jack Rodgers Copy Desk Chiefs: Cori Ilardi, Monika Chawla, Amanda Weiler Editorial Editor: Elizabeth Catt Visual Directors: Krista Adams, Hannah Griffin

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#TBT

2000 “Spring Cleaning” In the spirit of spring, and perhaps April Fool’s Day, students thought they would spare the faculty the trouble of cleaning the fountain located between Kirkbride and Smith Halls by filling it with laundry detergent. The fountain replaced an old piece of art and was put up shortly after The Colonnade (the curved overhang and columns outside Purnell and Smith Halls) was finished in 1999.

Of course, students couldn’t wait to play their pranks on the new fountain. It happened at least twice in 2000 and likely a few more times after that. The fountain had to be flushed at least three times to clear out all the foam and bubbles left by the detergent, but not before students got a good laugh as the foam covered the entire area surrounding the fountain, creating the look of a giant bubble bath.

IDEN BEAT EMERY COOPERSMITH/THE REVIEW

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APRIL 14, 2015

Springtime is here!

Let the presidential nominations begin.

Will we hear anything from Uncle Joe?

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Irish jokester, professor Richard Wool dies at 67 ALISON WILSON Associate News Editor The 44-year marriage of Professor Richard Wool to Deborah Fitzgerald Wool began in Ireland with an eight-word question—“do you want to go to a party?”

Deborah Fitzgerald Wool recounted the romance, which began her senior year of college when she went to Ireland with her father who was on sabbatical. Richard Wool took her out that night and she said she has “been at a party ever since.”

They decided to marry on their first date, and within two years, he moved to the United States to become her husband.

Richard Wool, father of three daughters, unexpectedly died Tuesday, March 24 of brain anoxia post cardiac arrest. He was 67. Wool had worked as a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the university for over two decades.

For his colleagues, such as Babatunde Ogunnaike, dean of the engineering college, Wool’s Irish soul brought the “joy of life” to faculty meetings.

“It’s going to be hard to see that empty chair at the meetings,” Ogunnaike said.

Ogunnaike and Abraham Lenhoff, chair of the chemical and biomolecular

engineering department, both commended Wool’s pioneering work in the field of green chemistry.

This work, which involved manufacturing chemicals in a benign way, was very popular with students in the chemical engineering department and beyond, Lenhoff said.

“Richard’s passion for for developing materials from renewable resources included mentoring the next generation of green engineers, made him a highly visible spokesman for the area,” Lenhoff said in an email message.

Wool was born in Cork, Ireland where he attended University College of Cork and received his bachelor of science honors degree before getting his master’s degree and doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of Utah.

In addition to his love for science and teaching, Wool had many other interests that filled his time. He was an avid musician who could play the guitar, piano and ukulele and he loved tennis and boating.

His wife said he had a knack for combining his academic and professional life with his private life.

Wool would take his graduate students and undergraduate students who worked in his lab sailing and host Christmas parties for

COURTESY OF DEBORAH FITZGERALD WOOL Wool had many passions outside of his chemical engineering field, such as boating.

“It’s going to be hard to see that empty chair at the meetings.” ­—Babatuna Ogunnaike Dean, College of Engineering

them at his home. He also invited foreign students to his house on Thanksgiving when he could.

His daughter Meghan Wool said her father always made time for her and her two sisters no matter how busy he was with work. He made up bedtime stories featuring the three girls as main characters and woke them in the morning playing the guitar in his bathrobe.

“He was…kind and generous with his time, with money and with knowledge,” she said.

She said her father brought each niece and nephew from Ireland to stay with their family for an entire summer during the years of their sixteenth birthdays.

“He was not only a great family man with us, but also with his nieces and nephews,” she said. “This helped keep the family close.”

Wool was also quite the jokester. Back when the family was living in Illinois, he had an electrician wire the television up to a hidden switch in a cupboard. It took his daughters years to figure out how he was turning the T.V. set off without pulling the power in the entire house.

Last fall, BBC was filming Wool in his lab, his wife said.

They were doing a piece about his engineering work.

Wool had arranged for four

of his students in the school band to march right through the lab during filming. This practical joke provided further evidence he paired his professional and private lives.

Wool had gone into cardiac arrest March 17 and was in a coma for days until he was pronounced brain dead March 23. As an organ donor, the next day his kidneys and liver were donated.

Wool’s family clapped for him as his body was wheeled into the operating room where doctors took his organs to save three lives.

“The Irish have a great ability to laugh and cry at the same time,” his wife said when asked about her husband.

Wool is survived by his wife Deborah, his three daughters, Sorcha, Meghan and Breeda, as well as his sisters, nieces and nephews.

There will be a universitysponsored memorial service held in his honor at 5 p.m. in Mitchell Hall on Wednesday, April 15.

Meghan Jusczak contributed reporting to this article.

Here comes the class of 2019 CADY ZUVICH Executive Editor

COURTESY OF UDAILY

COURTESY OF UDAILY

PHOTO FROM FILE

University commencement speakers rarely receive compensation ALLISON WINTERS Staff Reporter Wise words of successful, intellectual and established alumni are priceless. Literally.

The the university does not tend to pay the public figures that take time out of their schedules to leave graduates with one last shred of guidance and encouragement before they accept their diplomas.

If a compensation is made, it is usually a small amount, said university vice president and secretary Jeff Garland. Yet the university has managed to assemble a long and distinguished list of commencement ceremony speakers, including notable Chris Christie and Joe and Jill Biden—all of whom spoke for free.

Inside HigherEd, a higher-education industry magazine, reports that most universities still do not pay their guest speakers, but the invaluable foresight may come at a large price for some.

According to the magazine, a few establishments nationwide are paying big bucks to secure celebrity commencement speakers.

After initially trying to hide the pay for actor Matthew McConaughey, the University of Houston confirmed that he will be receiving a $135,000 check to speak at the ceremony in May. “It looks ridiculous, especially in a time of tremendously tight budgets everywhere, particularly in the higher education sector,” public relations and advertising professor Carolyn Bartoo said. “I

would be furious if my child went to UH as a parent, let alone as a strategic communication professional because it’s absolutely clear to me this would blow up in their face and dramatically damage their reputation.”

Bartoo said the frivolous spending makes the university appear shallow and irresponsible, regardless of whether it is actually true.

As for Delaware, Garland said that students at the university are working very hard, and that resources can be used more wisely elsewhere. In the search for speakers, his office, which organizes the ceremony, looks for distinguished and relatable alumni who are excited to address the graduating class.

Garland reminisced on particular speaker Larry Probst III, whose job position out of school was as a construction worker.

He is now chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee and Chairman of the board of directors of the Electronic Arts.

“I believe it’s more meaningful for students to hear a story that they can really relate to and inspires them,” he said. “We want speakers to deliver the speech because they love our students and our university.”

On Thursday afternoon, the university announced that alumnus David G. DeWalt, who was named one of the 25 top influential executives in high technology, is scheduled to speak at the 166th Commencement Ceremony this May. DeWalt, who graduated with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering with

the class of 1986, is currently the CEO and chairman of the board of FireEye Inc., a leading cyber security company. He also currently serves on the boards of Delta Airlines and Five9.

Senior Danielle Andrade said it is exciting and encouraging to see how far an alumnus has come in catapulting his career.

“Being he has been named one of the 25 most influential executives in high technology, I feel honored and inspired to have the opportunity to hear his insight on such a pivotal day in our lives,” she said.

Senior Brian Chavez also studies computer science, just like DeWalt did when he was a student.

“As a computer science major, it’s inspiring to see an alum of the program become so successful,” he said. “Someone with his vast experience will no doubt have invaluable advice to instill in our graduating class.”

Last year’s speaker was United States Vice President and UD alum Joe Biden. He spoke to students about the promise of the future, and returned to the university at no cost.

“Joe Biden was so excited to be here last year,” Garland said. “That to me is what commencement is about–– celebrating our students, and having someone who was once one of them. You never know where you could end up after graduation.”

Get ready, UD. The (soon-tobe) freshmen are coming.

Prospective members of the class of 2019 filed onto campus this weekend for the university’s Decision Days. Around 26,600 hopeful Blue Hens sent in applications for next fall, with 15,400 applicants admitted so far.

This represents a slight drop in acceptances from the university since last year, an intentional move by admissions, said Deputy Director Doug Zander.

“We came in heavy last year,” Zander said. “This year, we admitted fewer deliberately.”

The university faced over enrollment last year when 400 more students than anticipated enrolled. The bloated class of 2018 created a housing shortage, and 30 percent of students were placed in extended housing where three people would room inside a two-person dorm.

Zander said UD’s applicant pool is doing well despite the declining market in higher education. Other colleges are not meeting their admissions

goals, Zander said, with other universities struggling since 2010 to bring in students.

International student applications are also up, with 16 percent more applying this year.

This is due to an expansion in admissions outreach, Zander said.

“We’re not done yet, and we are looking at coming weeks to shape the class,” Zander said.

“We are anxious to gain traction with international students–– that’s an important piece.

Admissions also saw more applications from racially and ethnically diverse students, Zander said. The Class of 2018 was the university’s most diverse student body, with 26 percent of the class coming from minority groups.

The university has come under fire this year for its lack of diversity. The NAACP penned a letter to President Patrick T. Harker, writing that there is a “serious systemic problem regarding diversity. In the fall of 2013, black students made up 4.9 percent of the total student body.

See BAILEY page 5

16,000

out of 26,200 applicants accepted in class of 2018

15,400

out of 26,600 applicants accepted in class of 2019

2,300 to Honors class of 2018

out of 5000 applicants accepted

2,300 accepted to Honors

out of 4200 applicants class of 2019

KATELYN CONTE & KRISTA ADAMS/THE REVIEW In an attempt to correct last year’s over-enrollment, the university has made a conscious effort to bring down its acceptances.

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On-campus housing demand means delays, roommate shuffling

ELIZABETH QUARTARARO Editor-in-Chief Anxiety is high for some rising sophomores waiting to determine their room assignments for next year.

For freshman Stephanie Becker, placement on the “guaranteed waitlist” meant she did not know when she would be able to enter the housing system to select her room, nor whether she would be able to live with her desired roommate.

While an initial email said she may not get a room selection date until June, she ended up coming off the waitlist last week.

As a student with financial aid that can only be applied to on-campus living, she was hoping for a room in the Towers. Instead, she found a spot for both she and her roommate in Sharp Hall— rooms with two open beds, she said, were scarce.

An email explaining her status on the guaranteed waitlist noted a high demand for housing.

“As a result of a large first-year class and a very high demand for on-campus housing, there were more requests for housing than the number of spaces currently available,” the email stated.

“Therefore, you will not receive a time slot to select a room at this time.”

The email said she and others on the guaranteed waitlist could expect to learn of their room selection time by the end of the semester. By the time Becker was able to select a room, many of her friends had already dropped out of the oncampus housing search.

“Most of my friends got frustrated and dropped out of housing,” she said, noting that by doing so, they forfeited their $200 housing deposit.

Kathleen Kerr, executive director of residence life and housing, said the waitlist system occurs because of the large number of students who,

between registering for housing and the start of the school year, decide not to live on campus.

This happens with about 500 students because they become Resident Assistants (RA) and live in RA rooms, get into study abroad programs, choose to live with their Greek organizations or withdraw from school, she said.

She said her office and the Office of Admissions are “talking constantly.”

“Admissions and the university have enrollment targets, and so we know what that enrollment target is before we designate these spaces set aside for returning students and we’ll make some adjustments,” Kerr said.

Among the adjustments for next year are the opening of the Academy Street Dining and Residence Hall, the reopening of Harrington and the re-allocation of Ray Street and Smyth Hall, currently an upperclass housing unit, to freshman housing. These changes, which will mostly affect incoming freshmen, will open about 3,400 spaces, while the closures of Rodney and Dickinson will remove about 1,496 spaces.

Students who registered for “early bird housing” had earlier room selection times, and thus were able to find more desirable rooms, likely with their ideal roommate. While the traditional registration date is in late February, early bird housing opens in the fall for students who pre-pay the $200 housing fee and sign the housing contract.

Registering at that time awards students five “priority points,” granting them an earlier date to select their room.

Kerr estimated that 1,500 students went through the early bird process this year. Firstyear students who were still in forced triples come October 1 this past year also received one priority point toward next year’s housing.

In addition to points,

priority is given to students in higher grade levels, and within grade level groupings, to students with more credits.

From there, selection times are done by lottery. So, students who are still without a room or without a room selection time are most likely current freshmen who registered on time, but not within the early bird registration window.

Last week, 175 people came off the waitlist, and this week, Kerr anticipates that another 150 will come off. After commencement, she says there will be another handful of open spaces. Kerr said there is still a possibility of students getting “very desirable” rooms, which, for most, means the rooms have two open beds so they can live with a roommate of their choice. Because the process allows students to choose their specific room, students without a desired roommate can select a single bed in a double room, creating a situation where several beds are open, but not in the same room.

An email Becker received from Housing about the guaranteed waitlist said that if her priority was to live with friends, she may want to consider moving off campus.

For students like Becker, this could mean jeopardizing certain kinds of financial aid and finding a space in apartments late in the game.

This year, popular offcampus housing group Lang Development Group had its application opening day back in October—students camped out overnight in order to secure the best apartments for the 201516 school year.

Kerr said the suggestion to look into off-campus housing comes from the office’s ability to guarantee students a space but not a specific roommate.

“If your priority is to live with your best friend but you were at the bottom and so you ended up on the guaranteed waitlist, we want to be as transparent as possible,” Kerr

SAM WILES

POLITICS STRAIGHT: NO CHASER What’s in a name?

One of the more popular refrains in the Republican Party today is the assertion that President Barack Obama will not call groups like ISIS or Boko Haram “radical Islamists.” Those in the party, like Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and a plethora of others, say not calling these groups radical Islamists makes the president––and the United States––weak.

Their battle is directed at semantics over substance, and that needs to change.

I don’t think anyone, Republican or Democrat, would disagree that these groups are heinous and need to be stopped. In fact, the president has already taken action to fight these groups, at least to a degree. So the battle over what we’re calling these groups then seems a little ridiculous.

I say ridiculous because certain Republicans are calling the president weak for not using an ill-applied designation while he is simultaneously ordering bombings against these groups.

The strategy of attack

can be better debated, but debating over a name detracts from the main issue at hand.

While I agree that it is important to name our enemy, it’s equally important to name our enemy correctly and not to give them any more legitimacy than they deserve. Not calling these groups Islamic extremists is probably the best way to go about it. There are over a billion Muslims all over the world, and a great majority of them are nonviolent and peaceful people.

Applying the name of an entire religion to a group of terrorists that absolutely do not represent that religion is absurd.

Labels generate meaning, and meanings have consequences. By letting these groups use the name of Islam we generate a disdain towards all people who follow that faith.

It’s happened in the past, especially in our country. For example, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States forced Japanese Americans to live in internment camps, simply because they were of

Japanese ancestry. The animosity Americans felt toward the Japanese after that attack was wrongly directed towards American citizens.

We were at war with Japan, not Japanese Americans.

The semantic battle is completely u n n e c e s s a r y .

Republicans starting this battle use it to rally their party’s base, and they do it to paint the president as weak.

There’s a real, tangible enemy out there that we need to defeat. We shouldn’t be getting lost in the artificial fight. But when it comes to the nature of these groups, I believe the fictional Lord John Marbury from “The West Wing” says it best, “A terrorist is a terrorist even if he wears a green necktie and sings ‘Danny Boy.’” —Sam Wiles samwiles@udel.edu The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent the views of The Review.

said. “We want to be as honest with students as possible. So will you have a space with us? Absolutely. Will you have a space with your chosen roommate? Maybe not.”

When placing 6,700 students, Kerr said, that is the reality.

Kerr named extended housing—triples—as a way to manage inventory for incoming freshmen, especially because of

students who transfer out of the university.

“We’ve studied the numbers, we’ve studied the history of the numbers, we work closely with admissions and then we manage the inventory that way,” Kerr said.

“So we’re pretty confident that we’ll be able to meet the needs of the returning students and the first-year students in terms of guaranteed space.”

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EMERY COOPERSMITH/THE REVIEW Many students feel uncertainty about their housing situations next year, toiling away on the guaranteed waitlist while their fate remains unknown.

COURTESY OF JESSICA STEIN Students work on a bushy hillside in West Virginia. UDaB offered trips to 11 sites this year all over the United States.

Alternative breaks program continues to expand DAPHNE WERTZ Staff Reporter This spring break, a group of dedicated students opted out of a typical tropical vacation to give back to communities across the country and around the world through University of Delaware Alternative Breaks.

In the course of five short years, University of Delaware Alternative Breaks (UDaB) increased the number of trips offered from five to 11. Last spring, UDaB sent 186 participants on eight alternative break trips and completed over 6,150 hours of service work. This year it has grown larger.

The program was launched in 2010 and five trips were organized the following spring. In the first year, 92 student participants and 12 student leaders aided five different communities around the world.

UDaB encourages student-led teams to travel to various locations around the world, coordinating with local community organizations. According to its website, the program receives most of its support from family and friends of participants, as well as a grant from the university’s alumni association.

UDaB held its first international trip, “Bridges to Community,” this past winter term. Site leaders Bimal Amin and Julia Conrad brought 16 students to the small community of El Portillo, Nicaragua. There, students built two houses for two families.

Amin joined his freshman year after a recommendation from his sister. His first experience with UDaB was his freshman year, when he traveled to Bayboro, N.C. to assist the National Relief Network. There, Amin helped to reconstruct houses damaged in Hurricane Irene.

See STEIN page 6

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BAILEY: ‘UD WILL GIVE ME MORE OPPORTUNITY.’ Continued from page 3 Admissions has made diversity one of its main focus points, and looking to reach out to the most diverse applicant pool. Diversity is also a key tenant of Delaware Will Shine, the university’s newest strategic plan.

In the plan released last week, the authors of Delaware Will Shine write that, “going forward, the University of Delaware will put diversity efforts at the forefront of every undertaking.”

Adding onto this, Zander said being an inclusive campus means “practicing what we preach” and being committed to diversity beyond bringing the students through the front door.

“We have a history of not being an inclusive, welcoming place,” Zander said. “We have to be mindful of working to overcome that and be real about it. Its really key not to just be

advertising, but to live it.”

Zander cited the hiring of Carol Henderson, the current vice provost of diversity. Her position was created last year under Provost Domenico Grasso.

Henderson leads advancement efforts in diversity, inclusion and human rights.

One aspect of admissions that serves minority students is Destination Delaware, a program in which students stay overnight at the university. Zander said this one-on-one interaction with current students draws prospective students in.

“I think the most important piece is using our currently enrolled student of color to help us talk to students and to reach out to other students of color,” Zander said.

Freshman Dante Marcelle worked Destination Delaware, and hosted prospective students who spent all of Saturday paired up with student Diversity Enrichment Leaders (DEL). Part

of his job a DEL is to attract groups who maybe were not previously thinking of college.

The lack of diversity, Marcelle said, could keep students from applying at first.

“It’s a mostly white school,” Marcelle said. “Just walking around seeing no students of color is what keeps them away.

Eric Bailey, 18, of Wilmington decided to enroll in the university after visiting for Decision Day. A prospective elementary education major, Bailey said it was the professors he met on Saturday the stood out the most. He was choosing between Monmouth University and UD until Saturday.

“Monmouth seems like a great school, but it doesn’t have as much to offer as UD does,” Bailey said. “UD will give me more opportunity, and more availability than Monmouth would.”

Students talk beauty and diversity at documentary screening

HANNAH TATE Senior Reporter

A discussion of beauty and diversity on campus burgeoned Thursday night in Perkins Student Center at the screening of “Through the Eyes of the Beholder: Perceptions of Beauty.”

Junior Georgina ClassPeters’ documentary covers African-American women at the university and how attitudes shape their views of beauty.

Subjects of the film included the media’s portrayal of beauty, society’s view of natural hair and skin color.

“I got the idea just by thinking about what makes people beautiful and just trying to understand for myself what beauty is, how you define beauty and how you qualify beauty,”

Class-Peters said.

With a summer fellowship grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research, ClassPeters produced and filmed her documentary last summer. She was surprised with what she discovered.

“Everyone struggles with beauty issues and [...] with self esteem and self confidence— not only women and not only men,” Class-Peters said.

The documentary was paused halfway through the screening to foster an open discussion led by junior Monica Lindsay, Class-Peters’ copresident of the new Resident Student Organization (RSO) Sisters On the Move.

Sisters On The Move was born out of her documentary, Class-Peters said. The new RSO is an organization that seeks

to empower female student of color, “inspiring professional physical, spiritual and educational growth by laying the foundation for the next generation of women leaders.”

Their main goal is to bring mentorship and health promotion to the university’s surrounding communities by bridging the gap between college students and high schools students, Lindsay said.

“We want to get the University of Delaware and the greater community involved, and make sure that we’re talking about beauty and ideas of beauty and how the minority community sort of operates under these ideas of beauty,” Lindsay said.

See CLASS-PETERS page 6

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APRIL 14, 2015 udreview.com

STEIN: ‘I HEARD REALLY GREAT THINGS ABOUT UDAB, SO I APPLIED.’ Continued from page 5

“I think my most memorable moment would have to be meeting the people in the town of Bayboro, North Carolina and more specifically Larry Bush, who was the main site coordinator for the North Carolina Baptist Men,” Amin said. “Everyone in the town was so grateful to see that students would volunteer their spring break to help out a town that they never had even heard of.”

This year, 11 UDaB trips, as well as trips through the nursing program, Honors Program and the Blue Hen Leadership Program, traveled to locations ranging from Philadelphia to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

UDaB Program Coordinator Jake Paston joined the team his sophomore year. His involvement with the Hurricane Sandy Relief Program inspired him to continue with volunteer experiences.

“I am very confident the program will grow in continuing years, not just in number of participants and trips but in the quality of work as well,” Paston said. “Each year as we grow we are able to offer higher quality trips that service different issue areas all over the country and offered at all different breaks.”

Students interested in participating go through a selective application process.

Paston said this is due to the limited size of the trips, and he hopes the program will

grow so that every student interested will have the opportunity to participate.

Junior Jessica Stein traveled to West Virginia this spring break to work with the Appalachia Service Project.

Stein and a team of 21 students worked on repairing houses in a rural town.

“I chose UDaB because last year I went to Peru with MedLife, and it was awesome and very fulfilling, but I wanted to find something in the U.S. that I could do for a service trip this year,” Stein said. “I heard really great things about UDaB, so I applied.”

Her group worked nonstop every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Despite the long hours, Stein recalls the immense satisfaction students felt when the families saw their homes after the repairs.

“After you see the finished construction and the families reaction to it, it reminds you of the good you can do for someone that will benefit their everyday life,” Stein said.

“Some of the families even hosted barbecues for the UDaB members.”

“Seeing how happy the community was even though the families lost everything truly opened up my eyes on how important community service is and how much of a difference this organization is making,” Says Amin.

Paston said this summer UDaB will be sending a group of students on another abroad trip, with the recruitment process beginning in a few short weeks.

Delaware Will Shine draft released for public comment

JAY PANANDIKER Managing News Editor

The 13-page draft of the Delaware Will Shine strategic plan was released Wednesday, laying out goals for the future of the university. The plan will be open for public comment through April 20. The draft states that Delaware Will Shine will build on the previous successes to create a model for access, affordability and student success.

“Our goal is to be a preeminent learner-centered research university led by exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to excellence,” wrote Delaware Will Shine drafters.

The plan is described as a living document, meaning changes can be made to adapt to shifts on campus and in higher education, and is led by the same five guiding principles as the Path to Prominence: commitment to the state, diversity, partnership,

engagement and impact. The plan is made of five strategic initiatives, each of which is made of specific priority recommendations.

Each initiative comes with metrics for measuring success.

Diversity is a common theme throughout the plan. The document says the university will ensure an accessible and safe campus with zero tolerance policy for bigotry and targeted recruiting towards underrepresented minorities.

“Going forward, the University of Delaware will put diversity efforts at the forefront of every undertaking,” it says in the draft. “We will address issues of campus culture and community through open dialogue, inclusive decisionmaking, clear communication and accountability.”

Another common theme is increasing civic engagement by offering more opportunities for community members to be engaged leaders. The university

is aiming to achieve this through more research opportunities, cultural programming and community outreach.

New offices in both sustainability and community engagement will help reach this goal.

The university also wishes to become a leader in interdisciplinary and innovative education by strengthening advising and creating new approaches to the curriculum within each major. The plan also calls for better health and wellness across campus, which includes a reduction in binge drinking and evaluating best practices for sexual assault and harassment.

“Together, we will advance the University of Delaware’s reputation as one of the world’s finest universities, where students gain new knowledge and learn how to use their unique strengths in service to others.”

“The question that immediately arises when one reads the draft of the Delaware Will Shine plan or the Path to Prominence is why must it be permeated by such empty and trivial clichés. “I appreciate the effort that was put in by those who devoted so much of their time to these strategic plans, but never has so much time produced so little of value.”

—Law and Accounting Prof. Sheldon Pollack “The holistic nature of UD’s plan to address local, regional and global sustainability issues is essential in preparing an educated campus community ready to create innovative solutions. Sustainability crosses all disciplines and UD’s recognition of this will help ensure the success of an Office of Sustainability.”

—Senior Becky Bronstein

CLASS-PETERS: ‘I [HOPE] THAT PEOPLE LEARN TO ACCEPT PEOPLE WITHOUT JUDGING THEM BASED OFF THEIR LOOKS.’

Continued from page 5

Lindsay asked how college has affected audience members’ perceived images of beauty and many were quick to mention the lack of diversity at the university and how it negatively impacts their self-confidence. They commented on being the only African-American student in

an all-white floor or class and how everyone looks the same.

“I think coming into UD, they try to say that there is a lot of diversity when in actuality there’s not,” sophomore Bryn Johnson said. “And I think they could do a lot better job of making the diversity more known.”

One of the main themes of the discussion was how

to break down the cultural gap between classmates on a campus so lacking in diversity. Some suggested cultural classes be a bigger requirement in college while others thought it should be taught to students before they even enter college.

Lindsay refocused the audience on the concept of beauty, wrapping the

discussion up by posing questions: “How do you know you’re beautiful? How do you recognize beauty?”

Class-Peters said she hopes these topics are explored and discussed further after people watch her documentary. “[I hope] that people learn to accept people without judging them based off their

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looks,” she said, “and just really learn to love each other and love people.”

Class-Peters is the president of Cultural Programming Advisory Board and was recently appointed to the Presidential Search Committee.

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APRIL 14, 2015 udreview.com

EDITORIAL

7

General Education changes promising; The Review welcomes reactions Monday’s Faculty Senate meeting provided an opportunity for professors to voice their opinions on the university’s new general education requirements. While some professors expressed their concerns over the changes, we applaud the efforts of the General Education Task Force to make our curriculum more accurately reflect the needs of 21st century college students.

Professors who expressed concern over the new

requirements did bring to discussion valid arguments for retaining the current structure. Many suggested that the university needs to make a stronger case about what problems the current curriculum is causing, because changing it will cause disruption.

We agree that there is not anything “wrong” about the today’s requirements. However, there isn’t anything particularly “right” about them either. As students, we look forward to a

curriculum that isn’t a random smattering of courses labeled A,B,C or D. Students often choose breadth requirement courses based on perceived ease or time of day offered. Evidence of this fact abounds in several Facebook groups dedicated to sharing knowledge of easy breadth requirement courses.

The newly designed core curriculum will ask students to study quite literally the great debates and grand challenges of the future and the past. We like

the thought of taking a unifying course alongside all of our peers. The new requirements will also emphasize experiential learning, which we as students know is often more beneficial to our future competencies than anything we could learn in a classroom. We are glad to see the wide breadth of experiences that can fulfill the Engagement and Encounters credits, including leadership in student organizations and undergraduate research, and

appreciate that this requirement can be seen as a substantial part of our college experience.

We hope that the newlyproposed core curriculum provides new opportunities for debate of contemporary topics, discussion of society’s accomplishments and practical application of the skills we develop during our time at the university. We invite our readers to submit comments on the proposed changes to letters@ udreview.com.

EMILY BRYMER/THE REVIEW “I’m limiting my caffeine to one cup a day”

HAVE OPINIONS? Send letters to letters@udreview.com

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April 14, 2015 l udreview.com

IT’S A CHILD’S WORLD Things are going to get glittery. Serious creativity juju will be exchanged. But, fear not, ‘Preschool Mastermind’ will prevail.

MOSAIC The Review

PAGE 12

COURTESY OF HANNA AGAR PHOTOGRAPHY

MOM, CAN I SLEEP IN YOUR BED TONIGHT? It Follows will leave you keeping all your lights on at night.

PAGE 13

COURTESY OF NORTHERN LIGHTS FILMS

Check it out!

Tuesday, April 14th Trabant MPRs

COURTESY OF WWW.POSTSECRET.COM Despite an increasingly digital age—and declining postal service—PostSecret founder Frank Warren’s mailbox is always filled to the brim with secrets.

Are you there, Frank?

It’s me.

JENNIFER FINN Managing Mosaic Editor Frank Warren opens his mailbox Monday through Saturday to a smorgasbord of secrets. They’re artistically spilled on postcards and letters, as well as items he never knew could be mailed free of additional packaging: a bra, a Rubik’s Cube, a raw potato. He heads inside his Maryland home to hundreds of thousands more—piled high and weighing in, he estimates, at about one ton— and sits down to read the latest batch of confessions, sent by strangers across all seven continents.

Warren founded PostSecret in November 2004 by passing out postcards— addressed to himself—to the public, inviting people to mail him a secret they’d never before shared. The project’s viral response prompted many new products: a renowned blog, a TED talk, six books, a museum exhibit, a national play and a new iPhone app called “PostSecret Universe.”

(Additionally, Warren has since built an extra room onto his home—a shrine to virtually every secret he’s ever received, save for perishables and glittercovered concoctions—and has become uncommonly well-acquainted with his mail carriers.)

Warren is presenting a “PostSecret Live!” event Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Trabant Multipurpose Rooms, during which he promises to share the most controversial secret he’s ever received, among other stories and surprises. In a phone interview from 13345 Copper Ridge Road, he spoke about exploring the gravity of secrets. A condensed, lightly edited transcript follows.

What personal life experience(s) inspired the

idea of PostSecret, and what ultimately made you decide to put that idea into action?

Well, I’ve been thinking about this lately—10 years later—why I started, because I didn’t really know at the time. It just felt like this creative prank. But I believe now that there was much more meaning and purpose to it. Growing up, I realized that our family kept secrets, and that those family secrets were kept from me. And that experience in my formative years, I think, really, created this fascination with real secrets—mine and others’.

What surprised you most when you first started receiving secrets, and what surprises you now, years after the project has become a global phenomenon?

I think at the beginning I was most surprised by how personal and intimate and vulnerable the secrets were— these very intimate stories of people’s deepest secrets. To be trusted with them felt like quite an honor. And I still feel that way. Ten years later, I’ve gotta say—the fact that our secrets seem inexhaustible is quite a surprise. Maybe, like poems and songs, we just don’t run out of our secrets.

In addition to paper postcards, you’ve received a wide range of objects in the mail.

That’s been one of the surprises of the project, too—how people have chosen these artifacts to invest their secret into and onto. And for me, it gives the confession that much more pathos.

It gives it more poignancy when you receive a secret on a package of birth-control pills, or a postcard with a wedding band attached to it, or a secret written on a flipflop. I’ve received all kinds of crazy stuff as itself: a flipflop with my home address on it, stamped; a license plate with my address on it

and a secret; a Rubik’s Cube, a bra, a purse, a mask, an uncooked Idaho potato—you can actually mail that!

Why did you decide to begin giving talks on college campuses?

I think the talks started as book tour events when I was promoting my books.

But then, for me, the most gratifying part of the project is traveling to colleges and universities, sharing the extraordinary stories behind the secrets and showing how these postcards have changed lives and brought people together. And I even get a chance to show some of the secrets that were banned from the books, so that’s always a thrill. But for me, it’s pretty special because oftentimes students will share their own secrets, live.

And that can really touch an audience, and make it more emotional and memorable for sure.

Do people ever approach you in public to identify themselves with a secret they’ve sent?

That doesn’t happen too often, no. I think people don’t really care what I think about their secret. They know I’m gonna read it and accept it and keep it. I think for them, it’s finding the words to take ownership of it—and letting it go—that’s important.

Has your work changed your everyday face-to-face interactions with people?

I think I’m much more aware of people’s hidden struggles and stories and secrets. Sometimes I feel like Mel Gibson in that movie “What Women Want,” because I feel like I can hear people’s internal voices sometimes. And I say, every hour of every day, something happens in my life that reminds me of a secret I’ve read. It’s almost like secrets haunt me in a positive way.

PostSecret Snippets

“YES, BEING ‘YOUNG AND STUPID’ HAS ITS PERKS.” ALEXANDRA STRAUSMAN / PAGE 10

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April 14, 2015 udreview.com

/COLUMNS it’s all in your head

No one ever wants to be proven wrong.

None of us really enjoy making mistakes. At the same time we’re certainly aware it’s still a part of life.

Yet we still often find ourselves justifying our actions, trying to convince ourselves that we’ve been right all along—to save face, to avoid embarrassment, to uphold reputations.

In the fall, Rolling Stone reporter Sabrina Erdely published a sensational account of a gang rape on the University of Virginia campus. We experienced, through the eyes of the victim known only as “Jackie,” her horrific trauma and the awful stigma that followed the assault.

Jackie’s story attracted millions of readers and sparked a national debate about on-campus rape.

However, Rolling Stone’s story unraveled almost as quickly as it went viral.

The Washington Post began to investigate some major holes in the story, including fabricated quotes from Jackie’s friends, as well as a lack of identification of any of the alleged rapists’ names.

To maintain some sense of journalistic integrity, Rolling Stone enlisted the help of the Columbia School of Journalism to conduct a thorough investigation of the reporting, editing and fact-checking that went into Erdely’s “A Rape on Campus.” As painful as the truth would be for both the magazine and the general public, Columbia’s review revealed some extremely detrimental lapses in the story. And so, after dragging us through this emotional rollercoaster of a news story, Rolling Stone officially retracted the whole article.

So, how did Rolling Stone manage to dig itself that deeply into what I’d like to

Walking a thin line

call a “J-hole” of complete and utter journalistic failure?

The failure started virtually from square one.

According to Columbia’s review, Erdely began her article with a very clear picture in mind of what she wanted: “a single, emblematic college rape case that would show ‘what it’s like to be on campus now…where not only is rape so prevalent but also that there’s this pervasive culture of sexual harassment and rape culture.’”

She specifically contacted a UVA staff member working on sexual assault issues at the school, and found Jackie to be the “emblematic” victim that she wanted.

Psychologically speaking, it’s very easy to see why Erdely, and the rest of us as readers, absorbed Jackie’s story like hungry sponges.

The whole thing has what is called “face validity,” which simply means that it sounds legitimate. Elitist frat boys are raping girls at their exclusive, over-boozed parties? Duh. So, it’s an easy story to buy. It’s also very easy, not to mention morally right, for us to sympathize with someone like Jackie. In the world we live in today, most of us know someone who’s suffered that kind of trauma. We care about this story in a very natural and human way, and we want to help.

Once we’ve started from this basic standpoint of face validity and sympathy, it can be nearly impossible to backtrack.

To use a small-scale example, imagine that you have a choice this weekend of either studying for your upcoming midterm, or going out to parties—let’s say you choose the latter.

You’ll probably end up telling yourself, “I had so much fun this weekend. It’s

filmaholic

Rita Hester, Coco Williams, Tyrell Jackson, Lorena Escalera, Mia Henderson, Kandy Hall, Kelly Young, Kristina Grant, Betty Skinner, Brittany-Nicole KiddStergis—the list of transgender homicides goes on and on.

Their names flash fleetingly in newspaper headlines before returning to obscurity.

In 2013, the Transgender Murder Monitoring Project cited 238 lives around the world taken by ignorance, the majority occurring in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela and the United States. The statistic only accounts for reported murders, and it is likely the real figure is exceedingly higher.

Though you wouldn’t know it yet, the transgender movement is shaping up to be the next big civil rights crusade.

Last week we discussed a few films that started to garner attention for the issue. Here are two more films that explore the complicated topic of sexuality: TRANSAMERICA (2005) Transgender woman Bree (Felicity Huffman) receives a phone call from jail from her 17-year-old son, looking for his father Stanley Schupak only one week before her vaginoplasty. Wishing to shed her past transgressions as a male, she decides to ignore the son she never knew about.

But the past doesn’t die so easily. Bree’s therapist refuses to grant permission for the surgery unless she faces the boy, sending her on a road trip from Los Angeles to New York City to retrieve him.

Not quite ready to admit to her son Toby (Kevin Zegers) that his father is in fact a transgender

Gender Benders Pt. 2 woman, Bree pretends to be a Christian missionary come to deliver him back home to his stepfather. If Bree thought her transformation into a woman was difficult, motherhood is a feat in itself. Toby is an addict and small-time prostitute with little respect for anything in this world, especially authority.

At first, peace seems impossible, but the hours spent confined in a small vehicle drives the two closer together.

It is later revealed that Toby’s mother killed herself, leaving his stepfather free reign to molest and abuse him until he was able to escape.

Director Duncan Tucker and co-writer William H. Macy (Shameless) based the film off of conversations Tucker had with his roommate Katherine Connella.

The most remarkable aspect of the film is Bree’s character: mild-mannered with a penchant for dressing like an outdated schoolteacher, she is not outrageous in her femininity the way transgender women and cross-dressers are often depicted. In his portrayal of Bree, Tucker depicts transgender people as ordinary, reducing the sense of strangeness.

TOMBOY (2011) The first scene opens with a family driving through the idyllic French countryside.

Laure (Zoe Heran) stands with arms extended to the world; her hand softly caresses the wind.

She is at peace. Director Celine Sciamma captures the naiveté of youth, an integral theme of the film.

When 10-year-old Laure moves to a new neighborhood in Paris with her sister (Malonn

important for me to have fun in college, not just work all the time. And I’m doing so well in that class already, I’m sure I know the material better than I think.”

Whether those selfjustifications turn out to be true or not, there’s no doubt that you’re repeating them to yourself all the way until 2 a.m. before the exam when you’re all strung out on Red Bull and test anxiety.

We justify these stupid decisions basically because we have to. Or, it’s at least a much more tolerable way of life to do so. When we self-justify, we’re reducing what’s called cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is essentially when you have two incongruent thoughts in your mind, particularly as they relate to your behavior or subsequent decisions. It’s very mentally taxing to hold those two things in your head; so inevitably, you have to choose one over the other.

And then comes that feeling we’re all familiar with—regret. We don’t want to regret our potentially bad decisions because, well, it just doesn’t feel too good.

We don’t want that cognitive dissonance. So, we justify our decisions to make ourselves feel better.

We’ll do this even if those decisions hold the very high stakes of tarnishing the reputations of highprofile publications and institutions. The higher the stakes, the bigger the need to self-justify.

Of course, there’s no way of really knowing why Sabrina Erdely or the editors at Rolling Stone chose to go forward with a story like this, with such little facts to back them up in the end.

But we do know that cognitive dissonance is a powerful, and very real, phenomenon. Any of us are susceptible to its control, even if it’s literally our job to report entirely without its influence.

simply stylish

If you believe that athletic shoes are only for the gym, then I suggest you change your mind now. They lend a relaxed vibe to your everyday look and can easily be dressed up or down. From runway to street style, you can’t find any “it girl/guy” without an impressive pair of sneakers finishing their outfit.

Trainers, or fashionable sneakers, made their first haute couture appearance on the sneaker-heavy runways of Chanel and Dior for the Parisian houses’ latest shows.

Directly after, trendsetters like Cara Delevingne, Olivia Munn and Alexa Chung adopted the new and improved sneaker craze.

The fine line of when to wear dress shoes and casual kicks has been broken by some of the most respected brands and people in the fashion industry, making this trend an easy one to follow.

Fashion forward men and women like Pharrell and Lucky Magazine Editorin-Chief Eva Chen are now pairing unthinkable outfits with a casual pair of sneakers, such as the everso-stylish white Adidas Originals Superstar shoe.

This past February, Fashion Week took place all over the world. The weather is not always stiletto-friendly in the middle of winter, especially in New York City.

Attendees at Fashion Week swapped their high heels for comfy athletic shoes like Nike Air Maxes, Adidas Originals Superstars and New Balance 620s.

The best part: fashionistas didn’t compromise their outfits to wear a pair of sneakers.

Leather moto jackets and full skirts looked just as great with a pair of Nike Roshes.

Companies like J.Crew have adopted the trend by partnering with Vans, New Balance and Nike. Slip-on Vans have been paired with

Run with this trend everything from bell-bottom jeans to dresses this spring as one of the most popular shoe trends.

This time last year, Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy’s creative director, collaborated with Nike to produce his own design of the Nike Air Force 1 hightop sneaker. Nike continued to amaze fashion fans with their incredibly light Flyknit technology sneakers.

Men and women began to wear these sneakers as a lifestyle shoe rather than as a workout necessity.

Kanye West’s first collaboration with Adidas Originals created the Yeezy Boost, limited-edition sneakers. The minimal yet high-end sneaker is different than most on the market.

This will not be Kanye’s last time collaborating with Adidas Originals. The rapper debuted his fashion line this past February at New York’s Fashion Week.

British pop star Rita Ora also partnered with Adidas to create a new collection of Originals Superstar shoes, inspired by Asian symbols and futuristic patterns.

Celebrity endorsements have taken the sneaker trend to new heights.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a sporty-type, the sneaker can be a part of your everyday shoe selection.

Sneakers are easy to slip on before running out the door to make it to class.

Choose comfort over anything else but remember: sneakers are now a toppriority fashion accessory.

This is a trend you want to run with.

HANNAH WORSH hworsh@udel.edu

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

ALLIE STRICKLER ajaye@udel.edu

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

Levana), father (Mathieu Demy) and expecting mother (Sophie Cattani) she is given the opportunity for reinvention.

After helping her family unpack, she sees a group of boys playing outside. She goes to join them, but is too late.

Instead, she meets fellow neighbor Lisa (Jeanne Disson), who asks her name using the male pronoun, insinuating she is a boy. Going by her new identity as Mikäel, Laure quickly infiltrates the group of neighborhood kids with Lisa’s help, soon coming to see the amiable bunch as friends.

“Tomboy” is a quiet film and the audience is often made to feel like an observer.

We watch as Laure/Mikäel interacts with family, we watch her budding friendship with Lisa, we watch as she flexes her muscles in the mirror and spits like a boy. Laure’s mother does not disapprove of her short haircut or her baggy clothes, nor does she refuse to paint her room blue. Even her sister Jeanne brags to her new friends about her “big brother” after discovering Laure’s secret.

The fantasy only dissipates when Laure gets into a trouble with a boy in the apartment complex. Her mother, realizing that Laure has been posing as the opposite sex, forces her to wear a dress and explain herself to the boy and her crush Lisa, leading to her big reveal as a girl in the forest.

The exploratory film refuses to define Laure’s feelings towards Lisa, or determine whether her lie is indicative of her sexuality or an experimental phase in her life.

AMBER JOHNSON anjohns@udel.edu

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

unfiltered commentary Your last first sober kiss When was your last first kiss a sober one? Was it in seventh grade when you were peer pressured into playing seven minutes in heaven? Or was it after a first date on a chilly summer night—your coat around her shoulders, her laugh imprinting on your mind?

When was the last time you decided you liked a smile across the room and had enough guts to not press a drink to your lips before walking over to say hello?

Somehow, this feat has become a rare one.

Alcohol has become an excuse—or a cover—that affords two people the perfect icebreaker. It allows for the first interaction between two to become a little lighter. Its placement in our hands allows for our eyes to have an easy escape point—cliché, but our eyes gravitate downward, focused on the inside of the cup, a place where it seems possible to drown out our fears.

Does the first kiss get lost in translation when alcohol is involved? I don’t always think that’s the case. Alcohol’s presence introduces a kind of casualness that a sober first kiss would not have.

A sloppy first kiss can turn into a relationship and gives two people the chance for a remake of a first kiss— but in sober time.

As young adults, we are so focused on being the right amount of flirtatious, producing the right amount of laughter, the right amount of my-hand-on-his-sleeve and the right amount of care in our eyes or emotion in our hearts.

Being inebriated allows the rationalization of failures and justification of mistakes. When you’re sober, if something doesn’t

work out there is nothing for you to blame your failures on—but alcohol is that something on which we can blame our mishaps.

Let’s take it back. When was your very first kiss? I toggle between saying mine was in second and eighth grade. The idea of innocence and its placement in my memories allows me to smile at the nervous young teen inside of me that closed my eyes so hard, hoping that when I opened them it wouldn’t be so painstakingly awkward to see someone looking back at me.

So what is the difference between your very first kiss and a first kiss? What is it about a first kiss that is so repetitively uncomfortable and giddy and exciting at the same time? There’s that one moment before it happens and then that one moment after. That shared experience—maybe it’s whatever, maybe you’ve been kissing a bunch of frogs—but when it is more than “whatever,” it can be damn near great.

Yes, being “young and stupid” has its perks. It has its list of pros telling me I should take risks and goodie bag of excuses lined up for when I mess up tremendously.

The inevitability of alcohol makes its way from our hands into our conversational exchanges, and maybe it is alcohol that is the true matchmaker in our 21st century world of awkward hellos and wondering eyes.

ALEXANDRA STRAUSMAN astraus@udel.edu

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

April 14, 2015 udreview.com

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MORGAN BROWNELL/THE REVIEW Students took selfies and hung them on the first floor of Pencader Dining Hall, where passersby were encouraged to leave positive comments.

NICOLE SULLIVAN Senior Reporter A picture might be worth a thousand words, but with the advent of modern technology and the increased use of social media, is it worth a thousand likes?

At the “Love Your Selfie” event on April 10, students from the George Read Complex came together to break the traditional ideas of how “selfies” are promoted and give students a chance to actually interact with their captured images.

Through an old-school Polaroid and with some tape, 95 individuals “posted” their selfies to the first floor Pencader walls and allowed passersby to write positive thoughts on each of them.

“It’s all about learning about positive self-image and supporting that through campus,” student engagement advisor for George Read, Rebecca Russell, says.

Russell started the program in George Read in October 2014, and with its

success, planned a larger scale event in Pencader Dining Hall with the help of fellow RA’s.

“Selfies are usually all about yourself,” Russell says. “This event is more about other people.”

The selfie, which was added to the Oxford dictionary in August 2013 and is defined as a “photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media,” has become a worldwide phenomenon.

According to data from Samsung, selfies make up almost onethird of all photos taken by people aged 18-24 and are typically posted to sites like Facebook and Instagram, or are shared through text or Snapchat. Some selfies, like the one taken

by Ellen DeGeneres at the 2014 Oscars, have actually become so famous that they are worth millions—and also gave Twitter a run for its money when it crashed the system shortly after being posted.

But by providing a platform for users to post negative thoughts,

yourself the more you over analyze things. Personally I like taking pictures of other things.”

Pfund, who normally dislikes the use of social media to promote one’s self, decided to participate in the event, saying that it was a unique way to get people involved instead of just liking an Instagram picture.

“They might even take less selfies after that because they’re less worried and will stop searching for more likes and actually appreciate those one or two more genuine compliments,” Pfund says.

RA and senior psychology major Jordan Barnada says although there is potential for negative feedback on individual’s pictures, the uniqueness of the event and the good vibes from other posts promote an

“It’s all about learning about positive self-image and supporting that through campus.”

REBECCA RUSSELL

sometimes anonymously, higher social media use can have negative social impacts, such as lowered self-esteem and sometimes depression or mental disorders.

“It’s a negative cycle,” participant Davis Pfund says. “The more you look at

overall positive outlook for participants, deterring derogatory or inappropriate commentary.

For Barnada, she says the littlest compliment can impact a student’s entire day, and to make them smile is what makes the event successful and beneficial.

“I’m taking a class about mentoring and helping relationships and how important it is for people to feel good about themselves before they can have lasting relationships with other people,” Barnada says. “So it’s nice to see this actually come to life.”

The RSO Care About Living More (CALM) also joined in to promote their goals of providing students with resources to achieve a healthy balance of mind, body and spirit.

Students could enter in raffles to places on Main Street and all donations were sent to Body Gossip, an organization that campaigns through arts and education to empower everybody to be the best version of themselves.

WHEN BEN MET ISAAC: ‘Make Me Famous’ takes Internet by storm LEAH RODRIGUEZ Senior Reporter Two cousins, alumnus Isaac Greenberg and current Northeastern University student Ben Fenster, made a plan to start a business together when they got older, not entirely certain of where that path would take them.

The two grew up bonding over television, and as they grew older, the pair noticed changing trends in entertainment.

“We were always discussing business ideas and what the world was missing,” Fenster says. “One trend we began to pick up on is the change in the way TV was being produced, publicized and consumed.

Catching an episode of a show at its original airdate was no longer such a priority.”

This idea helped Greenberg and Fenster develop Make Me Famous, a website that allows musicians promote themselves and allows viewers to vote at their convenience rather than tuning in every week.

Fenster pointed out how TV developed into a viewer controlled entity, available with the powers of TiVo, Netflix, Hulu and illegal websites like Project Free TV. While the search for contestants in the YouTube database of musicians is the most arduous part of developing the website, contestants are able to promote themselves, which Greenberg says takes care of all promotion for Make Me Famous.

“We find people who are talented and have a substantial following—someone who could win,” Greenberg said.

“By creating a simple voting process, anyone can vote, and the artists do all the promotion for us. Advertising takes care of itself.”

Greenberg and Fenster noticed that the competition shows like “American Idol” and

the “X Factor” failed to utilize this model of instantaneous viewership. Through social media, Make Me Famous allows contestants to rally support from their YouTube followers, a highly functional system that requires little outside interference from Greenberg and Fenster.

The first tournament, which recently ended, featured seven artists.

English musician Lilly Ahlberg was the first to win.

The prize for this season was $5,000, which Greenberg says Ahlberg used to purchase professional recording equipment. Each season will reward the winning artist with cash prizes or music equipment, the prize money coming from various sponsors.

“We both watched these shows at different times in our lives but got sick of them,” Fenster said. “America as a whole seemed to get sick of these shows as well, as proven by their downturn in viewership ratings and by a survey we conducted.”

Though their business intentions were not geared solely toward a musical subject matter, Greenberg recalls brainstorming with Fenster about feasible business models.

“We were looking for something we could bring online and modernize, considering the logical way it would happen,” Greenberg said.

Both Greenberg and Fenster wanted to move away from the TV format, which they found problematic.

“You have an hour long program with about 45 minutes of filler and hype with very little substance,” Greenberg said. “We began bouncing around ideas and came up with the tournament format, which lets viewers just watch the contestants sing whenever it’s convenient.”

Because Greenberg and Fenster draw on a YouTube

database for contestants, the tournament garners a global viewership that each artist brings with him or her. With Google Analytics, they were able to see the locations from which votes were coming.

“There were viewers from countries we never possibly imagined would watch like Kenya, Tanzania, Ukraine, the Philippines, Morocco and South Korea,” Greenberg says.

Greenberg and Fenster have already begun recruiting for the second season of Make Me Famous. Since the first season was an attempt to see how well their business model would work, they intend to expand the amount of artists competing to a number between 16 and 32.

“We have high hopes for Make Me Famous,” Fenster said.

“The dream is to have Make Me Famous be the premier online music competition and talent discovery website.”The prize money came from various sponsors.

Because Greenberg and Fenster draw on a YouTube database for contestants, the tournament garners a global viewership that each artist brings with him or her. With Google Analytics, they were able to see the locations from which votes were coming.

“There were viewers from countries we never possibly imagined would watch like Kenya, Tanzania, Ukraine, the Philippines, Morocco and South Korea,” Greenberg says.

Greenberg and Fenster have already begun recruiting for the second season of Make Me Famous. Since the first season was an attempt to see how well their business model would work, they intend to expand the amount of artists competing to a number between 16 and 32.

“We have high hopes for Make Me Famous,” Fenster said.

“The dream is to have Make Me Famous be the premier online music competition and talent discovery website.”

COURTESY OF SOURCE Alumus Isaac Greenberg (right) and his cousin Ben Fenster grew up bonding over television and used that platform to launch their website, Make Me Famous, which allows musicians to promote themselves.

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April 14, 2015 udreview.com

Young Americans for Liberty talk conservative stigma, libertarian goals

ALEXA HOSINO Staff Reporter

The political spectrum is complicated. It’s easy to assume people either fall into the conservative category or lean more to the left with a more liberal ideology. Jason Stewart, sophomore and president of the university RSO Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), is fighting this misconception.

The libertarian group YAL focuses on raising awareness of political issues and getting students involved on an campus.

“We are speaking for issues that college students are actually interested it,” Stewart says. “We are activism driven.

We want to take action.”

Stewart says the YAL organization is often

as Libertarians. They seek to identify, educate, train and mobilize young people committed to “winning on principle,” as their website says.

National statistics show that YAL is the largest, most active and fastest-growing pro-liberty organization on America’s college campuses. Stewart says the university’s chapter is not having as much luck being recognized as others. Stewart says this is due to the apathetic nature of the university’s campus.

Stewart says another obstacle YAL must overcome is the negative stigma of the overly conservative stereotype they receive.

“There is an important distinction between libertarian and conservative,” senior

“Libertarian is a wide spectrum, and many people don’t realize it...”

MICHAEL ASHLEY

associated with the stigmas of being conservative, but the group prefers being known

member Charles Jenkins says. “Libertarians have a better chance with the young

MORGAN BROWNELL/THE REVIEW Members of the RSO have been working to fight stereotypes against Libertarians and seek to identify, educate, train and mobilize young people. than conservatism because they frame the struggle as being against the oppressive authorities.”

Stewart describes the organization as being socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

In favor of gay rights and constantly challenging the war on drugs, YAL is not your typical conservative club.

“We just think the government shouldn’t be making mandates and that there are better ways to do things without infringing upon people’s liberties,” Stewart says.

With hopes of membership

COURTESY OF HANNA AGAR PHOTOGRAPHY Alumna Michelle Joni accepted 10 individuals into her competitive adult preschool program held in her Brooklyn apartment where “students” relive favorite childhood activities.

PRESCHOOL 2.0: Alumna embraces inner child NICOLE DUGAN Staff Reporter With her fire-engine red hair, neon eyebrows and leopard-print miniskirt, alumna Michelle Joni doesn’t look like the average preschool teacher. Her students, too, are far from traditional.

Joni, 30, began a month-long workshop on March 3 called “Preschool Mastermind,” combining her love of creativity and childhood education to bring a new experience to adults in New York City.

Participants met at Joni’s Brooklyn apartment every Tuesday night for five weeks to relive many childhood favorites—arts and crafts, finger painting, show-and-tell, dress-up, music, naptime and the beloved snacktime.

“Starting with a beginner’s mindset gives [you] the possibility to see things differently—more positively—and I think sometimes adults, including myself, need that,” Joni says of her decision to develop the workshop.

Joni and her assistant Candice Kilpatrick, known to students as Miss Joni and Miss CanCan, designed the course to bridge childhood and adulthood, allowing grownups to “re-learn the basics and experience the magic of life as it was originally intended,” according to Joni’s website.

“Preschoolers believe that they can do anything,” she says. “They don’t have fear.

It’s more candidness.”

Joni only accepted 10 individuals into the competitive, intentionally closeknit program, so she urged potential classroom candidates to be as creative as possible when filling out their application.

Using crayons, glitter glue and markers, applicants answered questions about their favorite color, greatest superpower and belief in magic. They also selected a value

they were willing and able to pay from a “sliding scale”—between $333 and $999— to ensure a wide range of participants, Joni says.

Accepted individuals included a litigator, a health coach and a mother who teaches and runs a nonprofit.

“We usually start the night with a 15-minute playtime, typically adding a rule like speaking with an accent or something else to get them to play hands-on, while also bringing about a lesson,” she says.

Joni graduated in 2007. Before switching to a fashion merchandising major—and founding UDress Magazine— she studied early childhood education for a year and a half. While she loved working with children, she realized that she ultimately wanted to go beyond the classroom and work in several environments.

Joni has since been involved in numerous creative jobs and projects—for example, she founded a skipping club in which adults congregate to skip through the city on custom tours complete with music, costumes, games and activities.

“Sometimes you need to start before you’re ready, declare it’s going to work, and things will fall into place,” she says.

“Eliminate the fear. That’s the biggest piece of advice I would give college students, because if I had let fear rule me, I wouldn’t have had the guts to start UDress or develop Preschool Mastermind.”

Preschool Mastermind garnered worldwide media attention during its run, concluding March 31 as a major success, Joni says. She and Kilpatrick plan to conduct the workshop again with new rounds of students, beginning with a “Summer S’Cool” edition.

“You still can be anything you want when you grow up,” Joni says.

growth, YAL is constantly working on new ways to increase awareness and attract students. Last semester, the club created a free speech wall. The wall was designed to celebrate the ability to say what’s on your mind no matter how controversial and campaign to end censorship.

“We pulled in over 80 emails and signatures, which was really exciting,” Stewart says.

Their most recent activism campaign is Incarceration Nation. This campaign focuses on the ironic notion that the United States is considered a free land, and yet imprisonment

for small crimes is at an all time high, such as for the procession of marijuana.

Another possible setback YAL has to overcome is the simple fact that most students are uneducated about the Libertarian ideology.

“Libertarian is a wide spectrum, and many people don’t realize it, but they are libertarian, and there is a club out there for them,” Michael Ashley, vice president of the club, says. “We are really inclusive, we respect opposing opinions and if you have something to contribute, we value that.”

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April 14, 2015 udreview.com

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MORGAN BROWNELL/THE REVIEW In her commentary this week, Abbie joins prospective students on their tour of the university campus, visiting prime locations such as Redding, Trabant and Gore.

It began at Perkins, moved down The Green and ended with sore feet

k e ABBIE SARFO s Managing Columns Editor e Tours: Are they honest e representations of our e school or sinister sessions e of half-truths, meant to b lure unsuspecting kids to a l deceitful institution? e As I find out firsthand, y they’re pretty legit! And also g outrageously boring. e This is not to say that e my tour guide is bad, but it doesn’t help that he’s pretty disinterested in the tour he’s giving. I sense Guide Guy passed his threshold for caring long ago—his commentaries are a huffy combination of breakneck pacing and lackluster delivery. It begs the question: Just how many of these tours has he done?

I pity this guy so hard.

After brief introductions in Perkins, we knock out the most important part of any college tour: seeing a dorm.

We shuffle into Redding—an understandable choice, but

one with no balls behind it.

Why not show the shabby darkness of Russell? Or the uninspired twin rectangles of Thompson and Lane?

It’s not nice to give these children false expectations.

Chances are, at least one of them will have to live in these newly anointed “Worst Freshman Dorms.” (R.I.P. West Campus; you will forever be the best at being the worst.)

Next, we pass by the library. Guide Guy voices his hatred of the old “Hugh Morris is ‘humorous’” one-liner. And yet, in the same breath, he turns around and calls the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment “the College of Earth, Wind and Fire.”

Obviously, he thinks this is

a Good Joke™.

It’s not a good joke. In fact, it’s marginally worse than calling Hugh Morris “humorous.” How can he find one funny, but not the other?

Perhaps the most important thing I learn today is the perplexing existence of a Dad Joke snob.

regales us with CliffsNotes versions of university folklore.

Do you know the story of the Kissing Arches? What about the “MOM” building?

Do you even know where Biden’s old window is located?

Like a good Blue Hen, I already know these legends.

Like a slightly worse Blue Hen, I also just don’t care.

My tour group doesn’t appear to care either.

The parents are too busy dissecting everything with hawk eyes, trying to determine whether or not the university is good enough for their precious, snot-nosed hellions. The kids, for their part, affect total boredom.

On the steps of Gore,

Tours: Are they honest representations of our school or sinister sessions of halftruths, meant to lure unsuspecting kids to a deceitful institution?

While strolling up The Green, Guide Guy rattles off building names, functions and campus amenities with lightning speed. He also

Guide Guy launches into a speech about the university’s dedication to campus safety.

Mistakenly, he chooses this safety spiel as an opportunity to mention UD Alerts.

As we students are well aware, UD Alerts do not exist to make us feel safe. They have but one purpose, and that is to inspire distrust in every hoodied, 6-foot male we know.

I chalk this up to an honest mistake on the part of our guide.

After Gore, we make our way to Old College.

Here, Guide Guy announces the tour will filter silently through Trabant, then back down to East Campus to complete the loop.

I use this opportunity to splinter off and do some touring of my own.

Specifically, I would love to learn more about the interior of Grotto’s.

REEL CRITICISM

‘IT FOLLOWS’ SAM RICHTER Film Columnist

COURTESY OF NORTHERN LIGHTS FILMS

Certainty is inherently terrifying. Knowing that within an hour, then in 10 minutes and then in one moment your soul will leave your body and you will cease to be a person is a chilling thought. But the true terror is in the inescapability of this outcome and your powerlessness to prevent it. So says Yara (Olivia Luccardi), in what must certainly turn out to be the best horror movie of the year, “It Follows.”

Watch enough movies in this genre and almost all of them will begin to feel derivative.

In contrast to the many “Saw VII’s” of the world, “It Follows” is astonishingly original, yet also manages to preserve the best elements of ’80s horror scare flicks that made so many flock to the genre to begin with.

The resulting nostalgia–– mixed with masterful suspense––overcomes one instantly. Your correspondent, not easily scared, could be found in a perpetual state of mild anxiety throughout, and even after, this movie.

The film is aided by a pulsepounding score that brings to mind “Friday the 13th” and is a constant reminder of the impending doom that is getting ever closer.

The setting is disorienting, and in many ways is just as interesting as the story itself.

Black and white televisions and dated station wagons, circa

1970s suburbs, yet there are subtle hints of modernity. This seems to be a ‘70s town trapped in amber.

At the crux of this film is the tale of the most unnerving and horrifying venereal disease you have never heard of. To put this in perspective, this film makes your 10th grade health teachers’ tales of chlamydia sound like a positively cheerful outcome.

Jay (Maika Monroe) is a typical 18- to 21-year-old girl who spends her afternoons lounging in her above ground pool, being innocently spied upon by the 12-year-old boys next door. She is seeing a new guy as well, who is equally handsome as her of course, named Hugh (Jake Weary).

Yet, he seems anxious and unsettled. He is circumspect and often he acts downright weird.

In the end, Jay pays no mind, and they go into the backseat of his car to engage in—gasp— consensual sex.

Cue the chloroform. When our once innocent hero Jay wakes up she is told, while bound to a chair, that she will be followed relentlessly. It had followed Hugh, but he has now passed it on to her. And it can take any form it needs to get close to you.

It is slow, but it will never stop following you until the day it at last kills you.

As a result, in all scenes one must watch the entire room and everyone in it for people walking slowly and deliberately toward Jay, who are unrecognized by

5 OUT OF 5 STARS “This movie is fun, it is morally complex, it is novel and it is the new archetype for suspense.”

other characters that are not “infected.”

If Waldo were an unstoppable murderer, this would be the venereal and horrifying equivalent. This is suspense done properly.

There is hope, however: Jay can pass it on. Hugh tells her “You’re a girl, it will be easy.”

Surprisingly, it is easier than even Hugh suspected. Jay does not need to delude men into sleeping with her throughout the film, despite the fact that doing so is a near-death sentence.

This raises an interesting psychological and ethical question regarding whether these men do this because they are ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’ (their stated motives), or because Jay is fantastically attractive and they are using her obviously weak mental health as a means to their own carnal ends (their potentially more likely ulterior motives). Regardless, there exists a wonderfully interesting morality play throughout the film.

This movie is fun, it is morally complex, it is novel and it is the new archetype for suspense.

Two pieces of advice follow: go to this movie immediately and remember to always ask your partner if it follows—it could just save you from an inevitable and certain death.

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

April 14, 2015 l udreview.com

SPORTS The Review

46.5 11,008 1.56 percentage of faceoffs won by the men’s lacrosse team

the earned run average of freshman pitcher Ron Marinaccio, the best ERA on the baseball team

the number of total strokes played by the men’s golf team this year

JACK RODGERS/THE REVIEW Senior Dave Caspers watches his Harvard equivalent walk away after receiving his betting shirt. This marked the first time Delaware’s varsity team beat Harvard.

MEN’S ROWING

Men’s crew shocks Harvard and rowing community JACK RODGERS Sports Features Editor While the majority of the student body went home or somewhere warm during spring break, the men’s crew team stayed on campus and battled wind and unseasonable cold as they practiced during their vacation. Through the training the rowers had one thing on their minds: they would soon have the opportunity to make history.

On April 5, the men headed to Princeton, N.J. for a tri-meet that included Georgetown and well-known rowing powerhouse, Harvard. For the first time in Delaware’s varsity history, the

team would leave with a victory against Harvard.

Students and team members lined the banks of the Carnegie River and cheered as Delaware’s 1V and 2V boats finished in first place in their separate events. The 1V men rushed to the finish about three seconds ahead of Harvard and nine seconds ahead of Georgetown, while the 2V glided ahead, extending their margin to five seconds past Harvard and 17 seconds past Georgetown.

While Delaware’s 1V and 2V boats logged success in Princeton, the 3V and 1F, while rowing great times, could not overcome their Harvard rivals.

The 3V managed to finish ahead

of Georgetown by 11 seconds; however they fell to Harvard by four seconds. The 1F, dueling solely with Harvard, fell short by almost 12 seconds despite a fantastic effort.

As the rowers returned to their trailer, boat on their shoulders and smiles on their faces, the men of the first varsity boat were met with a hero’s welcome as parents, students and even passing cyclists stopped to applaud their efforts.

No one was more excited than head coach Chuck Crawford, who wore a grin as he looked over his team—congratulating them with handshakes and pats on the back.

“While the freshmen have

beaten Harvard in the past, we’ve never won the varsity,” Crawford said. “To win the varsity and the two varsity, that’s a testament to our program.”

As the team settled in to remove riggers from their boats, a silence washed over onlookers as the team was approached by the Harvard 1V boat. The men shook hands and were given their first ever Harvard varsity betting shirts, as the team in crimson quickly receded back to their trailer after the exchange.

A member of the 1V boat, Andrew Kershaw, had been dreaming of defeating Harvard for as long as he could remember.

“They’re just so good, and

you hear about them all the time rowing in high school,” Kershaw said. “They’re all everyone talks about. And then you come to a team like Delaware and end up beating them? It’s a dream come true.”

The team is far from finished. Coach Crawford says they still have work that needs to be done.

“There’s still a lot of good crews out there,” Crawford said.

“Cornell is ranked number one right now, so we still have some work on our plate. Hopefully we’ll get a little faster and see what we can do.”

The men look to continue their success against M.I.T. in Princeton April 18.

SOFTBALL

Softball a family affair for Kolofer

ANDREW KUCZMARSKI/THE REVIEW Sophomore infielder Giovanna Kolofer gets ready to hit the ball against Villanova. Kolofer said she credits her father, Eddie, for encouraging her to play the sport.

MATT BUTLER Managing News Editor The youth movement of Delaware softball has been particularly visible so far this season and, as with most teams going through such a transition, the roses come with thorns.

Three weeks into the season, the team has been a model of inconsistency. The highs have been undeniably impressive, including two weekends of four wins out of five games.

Sandwiched between these two weekends, however, was a stretch of just one win in five games during a road trip around the deep south.

The team deserves some slack for the rough streak, playing those five games over three days in three different states and traveling overnight through

rain and snow. Additionally, the team was without budding star sophomore Giovanna Kolofer, out with the flu.

Kolofer, known as Jo to her teammates, has a classic infielder’s body—short but with a visibly powerful lower half— with long, brunette hair and her father’s nose. She has been a key cog in the team’s successes over the past year and a half. Though she has been unable to replicate her stellar numbers from her rookie season so far, much of that can be attributed to her missing several games due to sickness. If the team is to take a step forward from last year, Kolofer getting back into her routine is essential.

That is where “shake and bake!” comes in.

These words, made famous in “Talladega Nights,” carry

a much larger importance to Kolofer. She sends a text with these words to her father, Eddie, a man who uprooted his life in California to follow his daughter’s softball career to Delaware, before every game she plays. Now in the middle of her second season, her father has only missed one of the team’s road trips, earlier this year when she was sick.

The saying serves as a coverall for Jo and her dad, like how best friends can say everything they need to without saying much at all. Kolofer’s parents divorced when she was three years old, and she went to live with her father. Over the years, she said, her relationship with her dad grew exponentially stronger. Unlike some children of divorced parents, Kolofer said the breakup may have actually been a good thing for her long term.

“Dealing with the divorce made me who I am today,” Kolofer said. “I think it helped me. It made me more independent and strong-willed as an individual. There were some negatives, but it’s helped me throughout my whole life.”

Kolofer has spent most of her life on a grassy diamond, but there was a time when that path was in doubt. When she was six

Weekly Roundup

years old, gender restrictions in her native California forbade her from continuing to play baseball.

Disillusioned with not being able to play the sport she adored, she announced to her family she was quitting sports. But after encouragement from her dad, she decided to give softball a shot, and a new love affair began.

Teammate Jessica Grisler, for one, is glad Kolofer’s dad stepped in when he did. Kolofer and Grisler have developed a close relationship, Grisler said, both on and off the field. Both came to Delaware from California, and both have families who took the unusual step to move to the east coast to stay closely connected to their daughters. She said even from an outside view, it is clear the role Eddie Kolofer plays in his daughter’s life.

“I think it is a huge support system for her,” Grisler said. “For me, freshman [and sophomore] year, the east coast just wasn’t home to me, and I was very homesick. Having her dad that close brings a little bit of home, a little bit of California to her.”

Kolofer agreed with that sentiment and said her dad serves as a steadying force if things are going poorly, on the field or off. The transition to the east coast easier, she said, because she could turn to him.

GAME RESULTS MEN’S TENNIS Delaware 1, Drexel 6 MEN’S LACROSSE Delaware 8, Drexel 9 WOMEN’S TENNIS Delaware 0, Drexel 7 WOMEN’S LACROSSE Delaware 9, Drexel 6 SOFTBALL Delaware 4, Elon 5

“He’s just a great guy to have around, after every game we go out to dinner,” she said.

“It’s nice to have that security blanket around if I ever need it, especially being so far away from my home. He’s always there.”

Grisler said there are similarities between herself and Kolofer on the field as well. Both had success early on—Kolofer was selected to the All-CAA second team last year—and this has led them to often push too hard to live up to expectations.

“I put way too much pressure on myself, and I see Jo do that a lot as well,” she said.

“She expects so much of herself and critiques herself so much, and that’s definitely a flaw I had as a freshman.”

Grisler said she is confident Kolofer will learn to put these pressures aside, as she did throughout her career. Kolofer also thinks she will be able to adapt over time but sees her career as much more than just four years at Delaware.

“That would be such an awesome thing to do once I am done here,” she said. “To play overseas, in Italy or somewhere, half my family lives there so that would be a great opportunity.”

If she does fulfill that dream, you can bet the “shake and bake” tradition will continue.

UPCOMING GAMES SOFTBALL Rider (DH) Wednesday, 3 p.m. & 5 p.m.

BASEBALL College of Charleston Friday, 3 p.m.

SOFTBALL James Madison (DH), 12 p.m. & 2 p.m.

BASEBALL College of Charleston Saturday, 1 p.m.

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April 14, 2015 udreview.com CONCUSSION ASSESSMENT, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CONSORTIUM

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Blue Hen concussion study will help soldiers

Thomas Buckley, assistant professor of kinesiology & applied physiology, will help lead a program for concussion research at the university.

STEPHANIE LOCASTRO Staff Reporter

According to brainline. org, an estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sportsand recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. As of 2015, the University of Delaware has been chosen to participate in a twoyear study managed by the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education

Consortium (CARE). This is a $30 million NCAA-U.S. Department of Defense funded program that provides the most in-depth study of concussions and head impacts ever done.

Thomas Kaminski, director of athletic training education, and Thomas Buckley, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, will run the program here at the university.

Some might ask why would the NCAA would team up with the U.S. Department of Defense. The answer is because athlete concussions are very similar to those found in soldiers fighting the Iraq War. According to PBS, traumatic brain injury, commonly known as TBI, has been called the new signature wound of Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There are many similarities between soldiers and student-athletes that might be overlooked— similar age, physically fit, highly competitive and driven personalities,” Kaminski said. “A soldier

getting hit by a blast wave at mid-distance is equivalent to a safety getting hit by a linebacker.”

The tests being done to athletes with concussions can provide insight into the head trauma of soldiers.

About 600 student athletes in 21 sports will undergo a 60 to 90 minute baseline test that consists of demographic and personal health history, cognitive testing, balance testing, visual processing testing and reaction time testing. They will continue to be monitored throughout the season with no additional testing unless they are diagnosed with a concussion, at which time they will begin post-injury testing administered by the athletic trainer within four to six hours of the concussion.

Women’s ice hockey is the number one sport for concussions. Junior Sarah Ehrlich has been goalie for the University of Delaware’s women’s ice hockey team since her freshman year and was surprised but could understand why hockey has a high concussion rate.

Ehrlich said she has never had a concussion herself but says it is not rare for one of the girls on her team to suffer one at any point throughout the season.

“Girls are constantly colliding with one another on the ice causing them to fall down and hit a sensitive spot on the back of their heads,” she said.

Kaminski went on to describe in a virtual sense that filling a glass of water with ice cubes and shaking it around is similar to what your brain does inside of a skull at the time of a concussion-causing impact.

One’s brain can only take so

much, which is what Buckley was alluding to when he said one’s threshold decreases significantly after just one concussion, let alone multiple.

Nothing about the university’s involvement in this protocol will change the clinical care that student athletes receive. The research team at the university does not diagnose concussions nor does it make return-toplay decisions. The athletes certified athletic trainer and the team physicians will manage all concussions.

“A soldier getting hit by a blast wave at mid-distance is equivalent to a safety getting hit by a linebacker.”

THOMAS KAMINSKI

sports commentary Image is Everything

RANDI HOMOLA/THE REVIEW

Junior defender Erin Wein opens up for a pass. Wein had two groundballs on Friday, in addition to causing four turnovers by Hofstra.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Blue Hens fall to Pride in last home appearance ERIN BOLAND Sports Assignment Editor After two impressive wins over Princeton and Elon, the women’s lacrosse team was ready to take on the Hofstra University Pride on Friday evening.

The Blue Hens came out wearing custom-made Adidas uniforms in honor of their B+ Heroes game and in recognition for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. It was a cloudy day at Delaware Stadium, but it did not faze Hofstra as the Pride defeated the Blue Hens 6-5, giving Delaware its first conference loss of the season.

Junior attacker Casey Lyons said she knew the team would be a competitive Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponent.

“This is a tough loss to swallow,” Lyons said. “They capitalized on our small mistakes, which we were unable to overcome.”

After this loss, the Blue Hens’ record changed to (9-5) for regular season and (2-1) for the CAA. It looked like a close competition in the opening minutes, as Delaware got itself

on the scoreboard first thanks to a goal from sophomore Jamie Schwartz. This was due to the precise pass made by Casey Lyons.

Hofstra answered back just a few minutes later with an unassisted goal from freshman midfielder Amanda Seekamp.

But the tie didn’t last long.

The next two goals of the game were in favor of Delaware, giving the Blue Hens a slight lead.

The credits of these goals were given to senior captain Caitlin McCartney and sophomore Kirsten Hale. This 3-1 opening looked promising for Delaware, but the Blue Hens faltered.

Hofstra scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 advantage going into halftime and held Delaware scoreless in the final 18 minutes of the first half.

Senior April Iannetta tallied two off passes from teammate Brittain Altomare.

Then it was Altomare who found the back of the net, giving the Pride the halftime lead.

When the second half began, Delaware came out fighting.

Juniors Lyons

and Shannon Hawley both contributed a goal, making the score 5-4 with plenty of time remaining.

Sophomore Tiana Parrella of Hofstra answered back, making it a tie game.

With about 12 minutes left, the Pride scored the final and game-winning goal of the game. Brittain Altomare capitalized on a free position shot and secured the win for Hofstra.

Despite recording six saves, senior goalie Alex Zaugra was credited with the loss. Junior defender Erin Wein scooped up two ground balls in addition to a gamebest four caused turnovers.

The Blue Hens did not come up with the win, but head coach Kateri Linville was pleased with the effort the team displayed.

“Our team played tough for 60 minutes, and unfortunately we didn’t capitalize on some of the opportunities that we had,” she said. “I thought we battled, and I’m proud of the team for that. That’s how we’re going to have to keep playing in the CAA, and we have to find a way to come out on top in the next few games.”

Last Sunday, I sat down to enjoy the final match of the Miami Open tennis tournament between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

With the two best players in the world, how bad could this possibly be?

It was awful. Both players were moody and passiveaggressive as they played a dull baseline game.

This match, more so than others, highlights the image problem I feel men’s tennis has. It has no soul, and, in my opinion, the technology has ruined the game.

For one thing, men’s tennis needs more personality to make the game more interesting. In the 1980s, viewers had the bro-type aggression and fun of Jimmy Connors, the tortured genius of John McEnroe, the claycourt poet Guillermo Vilas and the Thor-like style of Björn Borg. These men made tennis exciting and totally worth watching with their clashing styles and attitudes.

Nowadays, every player seems to be a cookie-cutter of one another. In addition to Djokovic and Murray, you have the neurotic Rafael Nadal, who has worse OCD than TV detective Adrian Monk, and the boring style of John Isner, who puts me to sleep. All have the same attitude of keeping their emotions buried like Borg rather than letting them out like Connors or McEnroe.

I want this for men’s tennis’ image change— abandon the Hawk-Eye Challenge System so that players get to argue the calls. It would make for an interesting viewing, a chance to see a glimpse into these finely-tuned athletes’ minds.

For this, players shouldn’t be fined for these outbursts.

Such outbursts should be welcomed.

The other image change that should be done is the technology.

Small-headed

racquets with natural gut encouraged players like McEnroe with his Dunlop Maxply and Max 200G, and Stefan Edberg with his Wilson Pro Staff 85, to serve-andvolley. Despite this, Borg with his Donnay wooden racquet and Lendl with his Adidas graphite could still play a game of power from the baseline. But it isn’t just the sticks—it’s the surfaces.

The grass at Wimbledon and the hard courts of Flushing Meadows were faster back in the 1980s and made the games faster.

Today, Nadal’s Babolat with synthetic strings, coupled with slow grass and hard courts, keeps games in the two-minute range for fast ones and up to five for slow ones. Isner played a 1:15 game in Miami—an eternity in the ‘80s. The players stay in the backcourt, and when they come to the net they miss the shot, which scares them from doing it again.

Limit the racquet size to 90 square inches or less, like my 85-square-inch Max 200G, and install natural gut strings to make the game more finesse rather than power so players have to net-rush more. In addition, speed up the grass and hard courts and watch the players fly. Games would last no more than 90 seconds, which would make TV stations happy as they could fit in more tennis in the timeslot.

Men’s tennis needs this change if they want to keep interest. It’s only April, and I’m already bored. As Andre Agassi once said in a Canon advertisement, “Image is Everything,” and tennis needs to realize that.

JACK COBOURN Managing Sports Editor

The views reflected in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Review.

COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

John McEnroe’s loud conversations with the umpire is something Cobourn believes tennis lacks nowadays.

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