Sept. 9, 2008

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Volume 135, Issue 2

Mosaic’s newest fashion and sex columnists page 21 The University of Delaware’s Independent Newspaper Since 1882

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2 September 9, 2008

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Editorial

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Opinion

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Mosaic

21

Fashion Forward

27

Classifieds

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Sports

29

Sports Commentary

THE REVIEW/Steven Gold

Dunkin’ Donuts replaced Starbucks in the Scrounge this summer.

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Students make do without trays in the dining halls.

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Rock Band is a popular new addition to the Hen Zone.

Editor in Chief Laura Dattaro Executive Editor Brian Anderson

Graphics Editor Katie Smith Web site Editor Quentin Coleman

Editorial Editors Sammi Cassin, Caitlin Wolters Cartoonist Jan Dickey

Managing News Editors Jennifer Heine, Josh Shannon Administrative News Editor Kaitlyn Kilmetis City News Editor Lydia Woolever National/State News Editor Maddie Thomas News Features Editor Samantha Grayson Student Affairs News Editor Ashlee Bradbury Senior News Reporter Brittany Talarico Blogger Caitlin Wolters

Copy Desk Chiefs Sarah Esralew, Jennifer Hayes Photography Editor Ricky Berl Assistant Photography Editor Justin Bleiler Staff Photographers Steven Gold, Melanie Hardy, Justin Maurer Layout Editor Andrea Ramsay

Managing Mosaic Editors Caitlin Birch, Larissa Cruz Features Editors Sabina Ellahi, Amy Prazniak Entertainment Editors Ted Simmons, James Adam Smith delaware UNdressed Columnist Alicia Gentile Fashion Forward Columnist Sabina Ellahi Managing Sports Editors Seif Hussain, Ryan Langshasw Sports Editors Patrick Maguire, Alex Porro Copy Editors Jordan Allen, Greg Arent, Nicolette Lotrionte, Andrew Lynch, Emily Riley Advertising Director Alexa Hassink Business Manager Lisa McGough

September 9, 2008

3

Voters to decide close primary election today Grahpics courtesy of Katie Smith

BY JOSH SHANNON Managing News Editor

When Delaware voters go to the polls today, they will see something rare: two strong candidates running in the Democratic primary for governor.

The race features two statewide-office holders, Lt. Governor John Carney and State Treasurer Jack Markell.

Joseph Pika, political science professor, said it is uncommon in Delaware for either party’s primary to be competitive.

The scheduling of primaries in Delaware discourages primary elections because the late date allows little time for the winner to mend fences with supporters of his primary opponent, Pika said.

“Normally, the primaries involve a strong candidate and a weak candidate – they’re asymmetrical,” he said.

Pika said both candidates this year were ready to run for governor and were unable to work out a deal to avoid a primary.

“Their career timelines happen to coincide, so they’re interested in advancing their careers through the same job,” he said.

Pika said he expects the race to be close because each candidate has specific advantages in the campaign.

“Markell clearly has been able to raise more money and has been spending it on his campaign,” he said. “Carney has had more endorsements from the party structure.”

Campaign finance records show Markell has raised $4.1 million since January 2007, while Carney has raised $1.3 million. Carney was endorsed by the Delaware Democratic Party.

Scott McConnell, a Carney spokesman, said the disparity in fundraising will not hurt Carney.

“We’re running a grassroots campaign by knocking on doors, making phone calls and holding community dinners,”

McConnell said.

Although the lieutenant governor in Delaware often becomes that party’s nominee for governor, Joe Rogalsky, a spokesman for Markell, said that should not be the case this year.

“This may not be Jack’s turn, but it’s his time,” Rogalsky said. “Delaware needs to go in a new direction.”

Pika said the desire for a new direction as well as the national emphasis on this being a change election may prove to be an advantage for Markell because Carney serves under Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who Pika said is not very popular.

“It’s clearly part of Markell’s strategy to tie Carney very tightly to the Minner administration so any shortcomings Minner is seen as having are projected onto Carney,” he said.

Delaware primaries usually have a low turnout. However, Pika said the two well-known candidates will likely draw more voters to the polls. A high turnout will probably benefit Markell, he said.

The College Democrats have endorsed Markell, Paul Ruiz, the organization’s president, said.

“His consistent message of change has resonated with our members,” Ruiz said. “That’s what we want – someone who brings a unique and fresh perspective to Dover,” Familiar candidates in GOP race The Republican primary for governor pits former judge Bill Lee against commercial airline pilot Mike Protack.

Neither are strangers to running for office.

Lee, who became known statewide while presiding over the Tom Capano murder trial in 1998, unsuccessfully challenged Minner in 2004. Protack has run in several primaries, including a 2004 gubernatorial primary against Lee, in which Lee won with 70 percent of the vote.

Pika said Lee will most likely win today’s primary, as well.

“Protack has not been embraced by the Republican loyalists who are going to show up to vote in the primary, so it will clearly be a Lee victory,” he said.

However, Protack will still be on the general-election ballot as the endorsed candidate of the Independent Party.

Delaware law allows candidates to run as the nominee of multiple parties.

Since being drafted by the Republican Party to run, Lee has declined to participate in several debates.

“He’s aiming completely at the general election,” Pika said. “He knows he’s the dominant figure, and I think he feels it would be a mistake to, in a sense, give a greater standing to Protack.”

Democrat likely to win in November Pika said most political observers believe the winner of the Democratic primary will win the general election, no matter who wins the Republican primary.

“Delaware has now become projected as a solidly blue state, not as a competitive one like it had been until about two election cycles ago,” he said. “I would think it will not be a close election.”

Pika said the loser of the Democratic primary has a good chance of being appointed to fill the possible seat vacated by Sen. Joe Biden, if Biden wins the vice presidency in the general election.

Polling places around the state will be open today until 8 p.m. Only registered members of each party may vote in that party’s primary. Delaware does not allow same-day voter registration.

The candidates speak: Why should college students vote for you?

The Republicans The Democrats

Courtesy of John Carney

John Carney

Currently: Lieutenant governor since 2000 “My first priority will be creating new jobs and growing our economy by focusing on science and technology and emerging industries, such as renewable energy and health care. We need world class schools to provide the workforce for those jobs, which is why I’m committed to strengthening Delaware's schools and improving higher education.

“I've laid out detailed plans to create 55,000 new jobs, and I have a track record of bringing people together to get things done. One example is the work I did to get the Bluewater Wind project done. As Governor, I will provide the energy, vision and leadership to make the changes we need a reality.”

Courtesy of Jack Markell

Courtesy of Bill Lee

Courtesy of Mike Protack

Jack Markell

Bill Lee

Mike Protack

Currently: State treasurer since 1998 “We need a new direction that fosters entrepreneurialism, helps grow small businesses and doesn't leave minority and creates thousands and thousands of good jobs.

Right now, too many college graduates cannot find a well-paying job in Delaware, and that must change.

“We need a direction where Delaware provides more financial aid to college students, so our graduates exit college without a heavy load of debt.

“Together, we can make Delaware America's First State again. We need to raise our expectations. Together we can make Delaware an even better place.

“I need you to join me.”

Currently: Retired judge “Our state has been politically stagnant for the past eight years, our public education system mired in mediocrity, our economic growth now ranked last in the nation and our environmental laws largely ignore by persistent polluters. Wilmington produces multiple murders every week and state government produces scandals almost as regularly. The size and cost of government has almost doubled and government services have deteriorated.

“We require leadership committed to changing the people and policies that have caused these problems. We must reduce the size of government, cut taxes and create 21st century jobs. The Democratic candidates helped create this mess, although one acknowledges it and argues for change.”

Currently: Commercial airline pilot “I have a very optimistic view of what Delaware can become. I think we should tie in the components of universal health care that works for businesses and individuals, a really strong education system that maximizes choice and a really solid economic program.

“No matter what you want to do in Delaware, we’ll make it available for you so you can prosper, have fun, enjoy any vocation you want and have a great place to live, but we have to hit those three big issues really hard. That’s what most college students, and young people in general want to hear, ‘What is the future going to be like?’ I think it’s going to be a better future and that’s why I’m running.”

4 September 9, 2008

Student’s memory to be honored in charity race this weekend Twenty-five committee members helped put the event together. All proceeds go to the “Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be eas- Melanoma Research Foundation. ier.”

Farro said Miles for Melanoma of University student Michelle Rigney frequently repeated this Delaware has raised $38,000 to date and the quote throughout her three-year battle with melanoma. Rigney organization is hoping to raise $50,000 so it passed away June 17 at age 22, but her advocacy work and ded- can receive a research grant from the ication to skin cancer awareness has impacted the lives of the Melanoma Research Foundation in honor of people she touched.

Michelle.

“She had that smile that would knock you dead,” Sherrill She said the organization chose the MRF Rigney, Michelle’s mother, said. “Even as a kid, with that smile because all its money goes to promote awareand those dimples, she would get her way. She was beautiful.” ness education and research for melanoma, and Rigney said her daughter was diagnosed with stage 1B it provides information for melanoma patients. melanoma in March 2005. Doctors removed a cancerous mole Farro said the committee members are on her right shoulder and found the surrounding lymph nodes to wearing pink shirts with black writing in honor be cancer-free. of Michelle.

From that point, Michelle had to visit her doctor every six “On Michelle’s last days I was sitting with Courtesy of Christina Rigney months for screenings. Sixteen months later, doctors found the her, and she said she wanted a balloon arch at University student Michelle Rigney passed away on June 17. cancer had spread to both lungs, and Michelle was diagnosed the event,” she said. “She suggested black balwith stage IV melanoma. loons with silver stars. She was a fighter until people there hadn’t met Michelle in person, they just read about “She didn’t want to be known as the person who had can- the end.” cer, but later on that didn’t matter, because it became ‘I’m fightAn upcoming goal for Miles for Melanoma of Delaware is her or heard about her somehow. She connected with so many ing this battle now, but I don’t want anyone else to have to fight to talk at middle schools and high schools about sun safety and people.”

She said Michelle was passionate about music and loved this,’ ” Rigney said. “She took the diagnosis and came home and the dangers of tanning, Farro said. said, ‘I want to do a fundraiser. I want to raise money.’ ” “Michelle was diagnosed at stage 1, which means she had a bands like The Used, Panic at the Disco, Death Cab for Cutie Michelle co-founded Miles for Melanoma of Delaware 97 percent chance of never getting melanoma again,” she said. and Jack Johnson. She enjoyed going to concerts and crowd with Anna Maria Farro, a 41-year-old mother of three from “It is important to inform the youth. That was Michelle’s big surfing.

“Michelle was gorgeous in so many ways,” Christina said.

Middletown who was diagnosed with stage III melanoma in thing.” summer 2006. Farro said she met Michelle at the Helen Graham Rigney said Michelle wanted to reach out to young people “She had a very good heart and a good spirit. She cared about Cancer Center in Newark around the time Michelle was diag- to educate them about the dangers of excessive sun exposure and making good decisions in life and working hard to help people.”

After the cancer spread to her brain, Michelle was given nosed with stage IV melanoma. tanning.

“I was searching for someone else in the same boat as I was “Michelle would want people to learn and practice sun safe- three months to live, she said. She died three weeks later.

“This was the first time she was given a time frame,” battling this disease,” she said. “Michelle and I had a very simi- ty and stay out of tanning beds,” she said. “Everyone thinks it Christina said. “She wanted to go to Disney, so the whole familar personality. We had our battles. It was a sister-sister type of can’t happen to them.” relationship.”

Rigney said Michelle was studying nutrition and dietetics at ly went to Florida to spend time with her. She rode on Space Farro said Michelle suggested the idea of coordinating an the university and planned to help others who were suffering Mountain in the very front car. She had some really good moments there.” event to raise money and awareness about melanoma. from cancer. She wanted to work in the oncology field.

Katie Rhoads, a university alumna and Michelle’s close “My biggest fear at the time we were discussing a fundraisShe said Michelle was always a focused student and a lovfriend, said she met Michelle freshman year at Newark High er was not that we couldn’t pull it off, but the fear of not know- ing and caring person. ing what was ahead,” Farro said. “The disease could take our “She loved hanging out with family and friends,” Rigney School.

Rhoads said Michelle had a strong, courageous attitude lives, and I didn’t know if we were ready to attack the project said. “The whole house would be filled with her friends. My while battling cancer.

100 percent. Michelle’s biggest fear was not being there.” house was the hangout.”

“I remember introducing Michelle to some friends and they The charity race Michelle helped organize before her death Michelle had a beautiful voice and “music was her savior,” could not believe she had cancer,” she said. “Even while she was will be held Sept. 14 at Rockford Park in Wilmington, she said. she said.

Rigney said Michelle was an advocate for federal legisla- sick, she was always smiling.”

Michelle loved to sing and was part of the choir in high tion regarding health insurance. Most students have health insurance through their parents, but once they turn 19, they are school, Rhoads said.

“We used to do Key Club together,” she said. “I remember only covered if they are full-time students. If a student has to leave school for treatment, he or she could lose health insur- when Michelle was running for class president, and in all the posters we made we spelled ‘sophomore’ wrong. We left out the ance.

The legislation, passed by the U.S. House and currently ‘o’ after the ‘h.’ We went around for the rest of the year saying awaiting a vote in the Senate, would guarantee college students ‘soph-o-more.’ ” Rhoads said she will be helping Farro direct the race on can take medical leave without losing their insurance, she said.

The bill was named “Michelle’s Law,” not after Michelle Sept. 14. Michelle was always trying to spread word about skin Rigney but Michelle Morse, a student at Plymouth State cancer.

“We used to call people who were overly tan, extra crispy,” University in New Hampshire who had to remain at school full-time to maintain her health insurance while battling colon She said. “She would go up to people and say, ‘I have melanoma and you have to stop doing this.’ ” cancer.

University alumna Julie Weiner played soccer with “Luckily UD worked with us,” Rigney said. “My Michelle was constantly worried about staying in school full-time to try Michelle in middle school and the two remained friends through and keep health insurance. It was so stressful for her going college.

“Michelle never let anything bring her down,” Weiner said. back and forth.”

She said one of Michelle’s treatments cost $55,000 per “She always put everyone ahead of herself in every situation.

She always wanted to help people.” week.

She said Michelle was very true to herself.

Rigney said Michelle met Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., at a “Whether it was pigging out at her favorite restaurant or speech she was doing in Rehoboth on sun-safety awareness.

“She told him about her concern of losing her health insur- letting out a big burp, she didn’t care what people thought,” ance,” she said. “When Michelle’s Law came to the House, Weiner said. “She was a very honest person.”

Rhoads said people from all over the world still post on Representative Castle immediately thought of Michelle Rigney to become an advocate. The law currently has 27 senators on Michelle’s Caring Bridge Web site even afer her death.

“A melanoma survivor from Ohio ran a race around the board.”

Christina Rigney, Michelle’s sister-in-law, said Michelle time Michelle died to honor her,” she said. “She had never met was also instrumental in convincing legislators to inroduce the Michelle in person. You can tell by that how many people Sun Act, a new federal legislation the would mandate that all Michelle touched.”

Christina said Michelle never gave up hope throughout her sun block and sunscreen protect against UVB and UVA rays. battle.

Christina said Michelle enjoyed her time at the university.

“She would write that all over everything — ‘never never “It was very important to her to have a worthwhile career beyond herself, a helping profession,” Christina said. “When never give up.’ ” she got sick, she was like, ‘If I’m going to die early, I better make a difference on this planet before I go or what good am For more information about the Miles for Melanoma Delaware charity walk visit www.miles4melanomade.org.

Courtesy of Christina Rigney I?’ ” Michelle made friends everywhere she went, Christina said.

Michelle was in her high school choir and worked to raise “Her viewing was a mob scene,” Christina said. “Some money for melanoma while at the university.

BY BRITTANY TALARICO Senior News Reporter

September 9, 2008

5

New Web site tracks crime on campus University, surrounding areas added to UCrime.com which requires schools to report crimes taking place on campuses.

As another school year begins, a new Web Senior Kristen Walsh said it is important to site is tracking university crime across the counhave Web sites like UCrime.com in order to try in an attempt to increase student safety and alert students of campus happenings. awareness. www.UCrime.com, which debuted “It gives a quick reference to all crime last month, showcases a simple way to find spearound here and we can compare it to other cific crimes on college campuses. schools here and see how the University of Greg Kastner, a UCrime.com employee, said Delaware is doing with crime,” Walsh said. it is vital for students to be aware of the threat of She said she frequently goes online to check crime around and within their universities. After crime in the area, but it is better to know there creating SpotCrime.com, which allows users o is a site specifically designed for campuses. It is view different crimes occurring in their neighborgood to be aware of what is happening in the hoods last January, the company recognized the state but the campuses occurrences are more need to expand to colleges. important, Walsh said.

“We realized over the past spring the need Kastner said UCrime.com plans to evolve for students,” Kastner said. “Crime is a large over the next few months. He said he hopes the issue that draws attention. Students need to know Web site will become available to every school what is going on around them, so we started layin the country in the future. ing the groundwork for UCrime.com.”

“Right now, there’s 150 schools and there He said when he was a student at University should be 200 soon,” he said. “We want to get of Virginia there was a significant amount of to the point where everything is updated weekcrime — including a serial rapist who frequented ly.” the campus during Kastner’s time there. The new Subscribers of UCrime.com can also be Web site will help students be aware of serious alerted of crimes in their neighborhood via text crime in a fast and convenient way. message and e-mail, he said. A user can enter in UCrime.com considers an overlap of crime his or her address and be alerted of all crime THE REVIEW/Katie Smith reported in the surrounding area. when a school is located in a city, Kastner said.

UCrime.com uses city reports from SpotCrime UCrime.com currently posts criminal activity from 150 schools nationwide.

Kastner said UCrime.com also encourages and also reports from each university’s Web site. users to report any criminal activity they witJames Flatley, director of public safety, said ness. During a normal search, viewers cannot Kastner said much of the information comes directly from although he had not heard of UCrime.com, the idea of posting the university and local police departments. see user-reported crime. However, the Web site features an daily crime statistics online has been around for some time.

“Because of the Clery Act, it’s necessary to make crime option that, when selected, displays crimes students witness.

Public Safety updates is Web site with crime information every data public,” he said. “We work with or get crime data from the Walsh said being aware of crime is one of the most imporweekday. police department weekly and use it to map on the Web site. For tant things a student can do while living on a college campus.

“We firmly believe in putting information out there,” higher-profile crimes we use media sources but we try to keep it “This is where we live, and if it’s not safe for us to walk Flatley said. “Serious crimes are put on UDaily. Students can get directly from the source.” around, either we as students need to adjust what we do when we alerts by e-mail. There are plenty of ways to hear about crime.”

Flatley said the Clery Act is a law enacted after a student go out or the city has to adjust — or a little of both,” she said.

He said educating the community about crime is a priority, was murdered at Lehigh University. The victim’s parents were “It seems like every year there is a new e-mail being sent out as long as it is accurate and allowed to be shared with the pub- not informed about crimes occurring in the residence halls or on about a new crime happening. They’re not doing enough.” lic. His only concern about UCrime.com was the accuracy of campus. After hearing about the surrounding crime, they worked information on the site and their sources. to pass the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990,

BY CAITLIN WOLTERS Editorial Editor

Delaware schools feel nationwide money crunch

BY DANIELLE PRO Staff Reporter

As K-12 schools across the country are decreasing their budgets for education, they are now also dealing with the problem of caring for an increasing number of impoverished students.

Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association, said schools today are dealing with a two-fold problem.

“We are currently in a perfect storm situation where costs are going up and revenues are going down,” Bryant said. “This is absolutely a national problem that is affecting just about every school system.”

Schools are being heavily affected by the increase in the cost of fuel and food, while the revenues that keep the schools operating are remaining stagnant, she said.

Bryant said changes are being made within school systems to adjust to increasing costs. These adjustments include eliminating non-essential field trips, purchasing Global Positioning Systems for buses to make sure routes use the least amount of gas, expanding the number of blocks students must walk to a bus to eliminate certain routes, turning off the air conditioning and investing in energy-efficient light bulbs. Some schools have also implemented a shortened school week.

“Some school boards seeing the rising cost in fuel are considering a four-day school week,” she said. “The problem is there is no data on student achievement and how this is impacted by a longer school day.”

The four-day week also creates consequences for the rising number of impoverished or low-income students, she said.

“For most students the most nutritious meal of their day is the school lunch,” Bryant said. “Many schools have also started serving breakfast to poor children because of the link between a solid breakfast and school performance. One less school day is another way that students will be affected.”

She said the only relief in the future for schools would be a change in legislation concerning funding for education.

“It is essential to figure out how the federal government can help states to help schools,” Bryant said.

The Delaware school system is also facing economic difficulties. According to the Delaware Board of Education, $19.6 million of education funding was cut for the 2009 fiscal year. Each district in the state has had to deal with the cuts in its own way.

Pati Nash, public information officer for the Red Clay School District, said the schools in her district are feeling the impact of the economy.

“We are experiencing tighter financial times,” Nash said. “Schools can’t react as quickly as businesses can to the change in economic conditions, but costs are increasing and we are watching every dollar.”

Last year the Red Clay School District has made $10 million in cuts due to economic and See AT-RISK page 11

THE REVIEW/Steven Gold

After-school programs are being cut in some local schools.

6 September 9, 2008

Prof. completes charity race after cancer scare

BY JORDAN ALLEN Copy Editor

University English professor Mckay Jenkins helped raise over $30 million toward cancer research when he participated in the PansMassachusetts Challenge this August.

The challenge is a long-distance cycling athletic fundraiser, the purpose of which is to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. Athletic fundraisers such as this race raise over $1.5 billion each year.

Jenkins said he was motivated to participate in the PMC after having his own serious scare with cancer.

Doctors found a tumor in his abdomen they believed could be malignant. Jenkins underwent surgery to remove the tumor.

“There was concern that they may have to cut some nerves in my abdomen and that I wouldn’t be able to ride again,” Jenkins said.

Yet the post-surgery results proved favorable — the tumor was benign and Jenkins suffered no lasting damage. However, the experience did provide him with a new perspective.

“It gave me a bit of insight into what people face when they do have cancer,” he said.

On top of this personal motive, Jenkins said he had more practical reasons for why he took on the PanMassachusetts Challenge.

“It seemed like the perfect thing to try,” he said. “I had friends who knew about it, it was a cancer fundraiser and I love riding long distances, so it just made sense.”

Jenkins rode a two-day PMC

route, biking roughly 90 miles his first day and 80 miles his second day.

The bike route was set along roads beginning at Wellesley, Mass., and going to Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. He said he rode approximately 120 miles per week to train for the event, cycling in both steep and flat terrains so he would be prepared for the rolling hills on the PMC route.

While riding five to six hours in one day and burning many calories, Jenkins said his thoughts turned to his hunger.

“I think about how tired I am, how much food is left in my body and when is the next food stop,” he said.

But rides like the PMC offer participants more than just food and a rest break.

“When you show up for a race with 5,000 riders it’s very energizing and very thrilling,” Jenkins said.

“Add to that all the money the riders have raised for a good cause and you get a sense of satisfaction.”

Jenkins said he has been bike riding for 15 years. He has ridden along the Pacific Coast, across Virginia and through the Canadian Rockies.

Jenkins’ wife is also a serious rider, and when they had children they decided to switch from bike tours to one-to-two day long-distance rides.

Jenkins said he, like every other rider, was required to raise at least $4,000 for the PMC. “It’s the first time I’ve ever asked anyone to donate money,” Jenkins said.

He said he sent e-mails to

friends, family and colleagues, and found he was able to raise the money almost instantly.

“When it’s a good cause,” Jenkins said, “people are willing to donate.”

PMC spokeswoman Jackie Herskovitz said the PMC hopes to combat a three-year standstill in national funding for cancer research by raising and contributing more money each year than any other athletic charity event in the nation.

“Every rider-raised dollar goes directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund,” Herskovitz said. “Half of the Jimmy Fund budget is from the PMC.” Most fundraiser events give 60 to 80 percent of what they raise to charity and use the rest of the money for operating expenses, she said. The PMC is able to donate almost 100 percent of what it raises to charity because of sponsors such as Overstock.com and the Boston Red Sox Foundation.

The PMC has a 5,500-cyclist limit and the spots are on a firstcome, first-served basis. Riders must register in early January to get a spot on one of the two-day bike routes, though the one-day routes are usually still open until the spring.

Jenkins and his wife plan to take their 7-year-old son and their 4-yearold daughter on their first overnight bike trail from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Annapolis. Jenkins will also be participating in the Sea Gull Century in October and he hopes to keep doing long-distance biking as long as he is physically able.

Courtesy of McKay Jenkins

THE REVIEW/Steven Gold

The university’s decision to go trayless has become a point of discussion on campus.

Dining halls lose trays to conserve water

BY JESSICA O’HARA Staff Reporter

In an attempt to create a greener environment on campus by reducing waste and preserving resources, Dining Services has gone trayless.

Irene Felker, administrative assistant of Dining Services, stated in an e-mail message that the idea to go trayless has been in the works for several months.

“Starting last Spring Semester, Dining Services began to test the idea of trayless dining during Earth Week and included questions regarding trayless dining in the Spring Dining Styles survey,” Felker said.

She said the decision to go trayless was widely encouraged by student leaders on campus.

“Representatives from the Student Government Association and Resident Student Association were contacted and wholeheartedly support the efforts to go trayless,” Felker said.

She said research provided by Aramark, the food service provider on campus, shows the environmental benefits of Dining Services’ plan.

“It was found that it takes between one-third and one-half gallon of heated water to properly clean a tray using a dishwasher,” she said.

“It was also found that the average person reduced the amount of food waste per meal by two ounces. With

thousands of meals served per day, even the smallest amounts of savings will result in significant contributions in waste and energy reduction.”

Julian Dautremont-Smith, associate director for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, which serves as an informational resource to universities that are creating programs to decrease their negative effects on the environment, said going trayless is a simple way to go green.

“Going trayless is one of the easiest ways to do something for the environment,” Dautremont-Smith said. “It saves enormous food, energy and water waste.”

Felker said she remains confident that trayless dining will help achieve the goal of becoming a more environmentally friendly campus.

“The trayless dining initiative is another step toward achieving the goal of becoming a ‘Green’ university,” she said. “We will be joining many universities and colleges across the nation that realize trayless dining considerably reduces energy and water usage, while also reducing the amount of solid waste being contributed to landfill.”

Senior Owen Smith, who created the Facebook group “Protest Dining Services Trayless Initiative,” said he disagrees with the university’s decision to switch to trayless dining.

“I think the idea was poorly thought out and does not take into consideration the many inconveniences and difficulties it will cause,” Smith said. “For example, people juggling plates, utensils and glasses have a higher risk of dropping items and wasting food.”

He said he deems sustainability important and necessary but he does not agree with the methods used by the university.

University professor McKay Jenkins rode approximately 170 miles in a charity bike race this summer.

THE REVIEW/Katie Smith

See OPINIONS page 11

September 9, 2008

7

Wikis, polls and blogs new features on replacement for WebCT He said WebCT remains the same, but Sakai can continually change.

Across campus, buzz has been steadily spreading about a “We are working with whole Sakai new service provided by the university called Sakai. From a link community to make the product better and on the university homepage to a Web address listed in various that’s something that wasn’t there with course syllabi, Sakai has surely entered the university’s con- WebCT because we were using basically sciousness. the same version of WebCT for four years,” Michael Korcuska, executive director of the Sakai Plorde said.

Foundation, said Sakai is a course-manAlthough the switch agement system, the primary purpose of from WebCT to Sakai may which is to support collaboration in the seem strange to users at first, university community.

Sakai is a more advanced sysCourtesy of the University of Delaware Sakai was created through a parttem, Korcusca said.

Sakai will completely replace WebCT after spring 2010. nership between University of “Things may look a little Michigan, Stanford, Massachusettes different but you can do every“We have a tool that can help them innovate in their coursInstitute of Technology and Indiana thing you can do on WebCT on Sakai, and so much University in 2004. Today Sakai opermore,” he said. “Part of the reason to use Sakai is not es and try to get students involved with student-generated conates in 200 universities has over a miljust to use the product but to join an open-source tent and active learning,” Plourde said. “It gets the students lion users worldwide. community and a collaboration of universities work- involved and gets their hands dirty a little bit. We believe that’s the best way to learn and that’s what were trying to promote.”

Janet DeVry, manager of instrucing to propel the system. ” DeVry said Sakai is efficient and has the potential to tional services, said the university The Sakai Foundation’s Website deems empower user-created content that will greatly extend the classjoined educational institutions across Sakai’s mantra “Collaboration and Learning — Janet DeVry, the globe using Sakai because WebCT, Environment for Education: Free to use, free to room’s reach.

“It’s technology to enhance learning,” she said. “It’s not just manager of the university’s former course managedevelop, freedom for education.” technology for technology’s sake.” ment system, was purchased by its Korcusca said Sakai promotes innovation instructional services DeVry said professors have not been forced to use this servbiggest competitor, Blackboard. among its members. ice, but some have because they feel Sakai is an improvement. on WebCT’s Devry said support for WebCT was “The overall aspect of Sakai is the coopera“No one has required faculty to use this -- they have found diminishing because of decreased capation between universities across the world,” he said. replacement bilities, which caused the university to Although a major aspect of Sakai is the com- that it improves the teaching-learning experience,” she said.

Richard Gordon, instructor of computer science and inforseek another learning-mechanism sysmunication encouraged between universities, Sakai tem. Although WebCT will still be will be tailored to each specific university, Korcusca mation science and information resource consultant for IT, said available through spring 2010, the unisaid. Each university has the ability to add its own Sakai exposes students to technological advances and modern versity is in the process of transitioning from WebCT to Sakai. capabilities to the product, including blogs, wikis, quizzes, polls styles of communication they may experience after graduation He said the collaboration Sakai promotes not only prepares Mathieu Plourde, an instructional designer at IT User and timelines.

Services, said Sakai is superior to WebCT. In the first week of the semester, more than 9,000 students, students for the work world but also enhances each university “One of the biggest differences between WebCT and Sakai out of the approximately 16,000 undergraduates, accessed Sakai community as a whole.

“There are educational institutions over six continents all is that Sakai has a lot of tools,” Plorde said. “WebCT is very and 419 courses had been published by 266 faculty members. streamline. Sakai is a much more powerful platform than Plourde said he believes the response is because Sakai pro- contributing to this, which means it’s a tremendous opportunity for growth,” Gordon said.

WebCT.” vides university professors with valuable resources.

BY KAITLYN KILMETIS Administrative News Editor

“It’s technology to enhance learning.

It’s not just technology for technology’s sake.”

Oil prices lead to rise in electric costs for city

BY LYDIA WOOLEVER City News Editor

As of Aug. 26, Newark’s electric rates increased 17.5 percent.

According to a press release, the increase reaches across the board to include industrial and commercial businesses, as well as the university.

Dennis McFarland, director of finance for the city of Newark, said the city had to raise its price because its supplier did so first.

“We buy all of our electricity from wholesale markets through Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation,” he said.

“DEMEC has experienced some significant price increases in the second quarters so they passed those increased costs on to us.

In return, we recover those costs from the city’s customers.”

Roy Lopata, interim city manager, said the city officials hesitated to increase the rates.

“We were forced reluctantly to have to increase the cost that we charge our customers,” he said.

Dana Johnston, community affairs officer for the city of Newark, said the rise in rates comes from a purchased power cost adjustment.

“This was a rate that was previously the wholesale power costs.” uncharged,” she said. “So it went from zero Transmission costs from the electric cents to 2.4 cents, which is what caused the grid spiked this summer as well, increase.”

McFarland said.

Johnston said the city’s rate is still 7 “That is how much it costs you to percent lower than that of Delmarva Power. move power from one place to another and 10 to 18 perplace, like cent lower than to the towns that homeownbelong to er,” he said.

DEMEC’s cor“Those are poration. called conThe most gestion significant cause costs and for the increase they rose was the dramatic dramaticalrise in oil prices ly during in the first part the same of the year, period.”

McFarland said.

Mayor “Natural Vance A. gas prices tend Funk III to move in said the response to oil p r i c e prices, so they increase is went up as a reflection well,” he said. of the oil “This was the THE REVIEW/Steven Gold crisis. single greatest The city’s rise in electric rates is causing many residents “Most factor driving up to focus on energy conservation. of the elec-

tric utilities in this part of the country are powered by coal or oil,” he said. “Any time those commodities become more expensive, the costs that we receive go up.”

Johnston said other factors are involved as well.

“There were historically high congestion costs, and higher consumption by DEMEC members, which included the city of Newark,” she said.

McFarland said the increase is on a per-kilowatt rate.

“Looking at it in terms of money, a lot will depend on how much power is consumed by our customers in the next few months,” he said.

McFarland said he would not be surprised to see people beginning to do what they can to conserve.

“We know that electric consumption is price sensitive,” he said. “We would always encourage people to conserve in any event.”

In terms of conserving, Funk said the increase could have some positive repurcussions.

“As a city, we promote conservation, so if higher rates cause people to use less See CITY page 11

8 September 9, 2008

Free tech toys for classroom cause debate

BY MOLLY YBORRA Staff Reporter

Following technology into the future, some universities across the country, including the University of Maryland, have initiated programs giving their students iPod Touches and iPhones. The universities are hoping to grant students easier access to university information and integrate more technology into the classroom.

Phyllis Dickerson Johnson, director of communications for the office of information technology at Maryland, said 133 scholarship students have been given free iPod Touches and iPhones. The students are responsible for paying the monthly bills for their use.

Johnson said Maryland has yet to obtain student or faculty feedback from the new program and has had little information about the campus response.

She said as the semester progresses, Maryland will start researching the benefits and consequences of giving students the iPod Touches and iPhones.

According to Maryland’s Web site, students can use the devices to look at class schedules, grade reports, dining hall menus and weather reports; respond to teachers; complete online activities related to class; and find the quickest routes to and from classes.

Abilene Christian University in Texas, a school with approximately 4,000 undergraduate students, has given its students an even larger number of iPhones and iPods, 600 and 300 respectively, as part of its mobile-learning initiative.

Kyle Dickson, an associate professor of English and the director of Mobile Learning Research at ACU, stated in an email message the mobile learning initiative is a program designed to improve communications on campus.

Dickson said the program is in its early stages and its full effects will be examined and investigated throughout the school year.

“Phase one of the initiative has been focused on deployment and training for faculty and students,” Dickson said.

He said the iPhones and iPod Touches will use Google Apps for Education, which creates a custom dashboard on the phones for viewing class assignments and upcoming events at ACU. At Maryland and ACU, the devices will also replace class-

room clickers because the products can run software similar to a clicker.

Steven Mortensen, assistant professor of communication at the University of Delaware, said too much multi-tasking in the classroom at one time can distract students and hinder learning rather than support it.

“I probably wouldn’t use iPhones or iPods because I think that it would just be distracting and I think that students are very caught up in multi-tasking too much of the time anyway,” Mortensen said. “What we all need to be able to do is mono-task more, to pay attention to one thing at the time and give it our full attention.”

Alberto Delgado, instructor of foreign languages and literatures, said he would integrate the devices into his classroom.

However, Delgado said academic dishonesty could be a problem if the technology is not properly regulated. Some Web sites such as ChaCha.com allow students to receive immediate answers on their phones via text messaging.

“You need to establish clear rules for the use of those devices,” Delgado said.

While the iPhones and iPod Touches may cause problems within the classroom they also may serve an important purpose in keeping students quickly informed about news on campus, including emergencies.

Sophomore Chris Morales said the technology could allow students to get faster alert updates from the university because not all students can constantly check their e-mail accounts throughout the day.

“You’re never in your room and you never check your emails unless you’re in the room,” Morales said. “If you have [an iPhone] around it would be easier to check your e-mails on the regular.”

Carl Jacobson, interim vice president of information technologies, said the university has succeeded at putting emergency alert systems in place on campus.

“If there’s an emergency, we will send a phone message to your cell phone, we will send a text message to your cell phone, we will send a phone message to your dorm or apartment and we will send an e-mail message to your e-mail address,” Jacobson said.

However, one goal he said the university is working toward is making the campus more equipped for wireless access so

THE REVIEW/Justin Maurer

Some universities are using giveaways to test the use of devices like iPhones in the classrom. devices like iPhones can be functional if a student sees fit to buy one.

“Our approach would be to improve mobility on campus, to keep expanding the wireless network,” Jacobson said. “We just added 20 acres of the Green to the wireless network. So that’s what our approach would be — it would be on the push side to get better coverage and better applications that would work on the iPhone, and allow the student to make the choice that they’re going to move to iPhones.”

Delaware among leaders in hurricane aid

BY NICOLETTE LOTRIONTE Copy Editor

This hurricane season, Delaware has been a leader in disaster relief, sending aid to southeastern states threatened by the most recent hurricanes, including Gustav, Hanna and Ike. Tech. Sgt. Ben Matwey, public affairs specialist for the Delaware Air National Guard, said Delaware was one of the first four states to respond to Hurricane Gustav by sending disaster relief to the Gulf Coast. More than 60 Delaware National Guard members have responded to Gustav, which hit Louisiana on Sept. 1. He said as of last week, 150 troops were also on standby storms Hanna and Ike. “We sent 36 people down there who are medical specialists to help evacuate patients who are elderly, people who can’t walk, who THE REVIEW/Katie Smith are sick and children,” he said. “We sent people The university’s Red Cross club raise money to help victims of Hurricane Gustav. like medical technicians and flight nurses.”

In addition, Matwey said the Delaware Air Peninsula, said the Delmarva Red Cross Valle said the Red Cross established sheland Army National Guard sent two Black deployed more than 40 trained disaster volun- ters in 12 southeastern states and residents will Hawk helicopters with a team of communica- teers, nurses and mental health professionals to remain there indefinitely. tion and search and rescue specialists, as well as Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“It’s going to take quite a bit of time before a Joint Enabling Team. The JET, made up of 21 The disaster workers are doing mostly those people will actually get back,” he said. additional communication specialists and mass-care work, which involves providing food “It’s a very big job — there’s a fair number of members of the media, flew down to Camp and shelter for evacuees, Valle said. unanswered questions. There were 800,000 Beauregard, La., 100 miles northwest of New Sarah Gilmour, manager of volunteer serv- households in the affected area when the storm Orleans. The JET is expected to remain on the ices at the Delmarva Red Cross, said there are hit. We need to continue to provide adequate Gulf Coast until Sept. 15.

8,000 Red Cross workers from around the support and sheltering and feeding for all of He said the Delaware National Guard suc- country stationed along the Gulf Coast. The these people.” cessfully evacuated 285 hospital patients from Red Cross has opened 572 shelters and served Valle said Wilmington is home to a call potentially dangerous areas in Louisiana and more than 440,000 meals, she said. center, where victims in threatened areas can Texas. Most patients were moved to larger hos“We really didn’t know what to expect call for information about where to get help. pitals in Texas, once used for Hurricane Katrina because you never know what direction the The center received hundreds of calls from victims. storm is going to go in,” Gilmour said. “But we Gulf State residents this week.

Daniel Valle, chief executive officer of the were definitely prepared. The Red Cross Senior Nikhil Paul, former president of the American Red Cross of the Delmarva believes in being prepared as much as we can.” university’s American Red Cross club, said the

call center is one of 30 call centers throughout the nation.

“These call centers are manned by volunteers who say, ‘We’ll get help down your way’ or, ‘We’ll get aid’ or, ‘Here’s the nearest motel,’ ” he said.

Paul said the club has a fundraiser every month in order to prepare for future disasters of this nature. Their annual “Top Model” fundraiser will be held in October.

In preparation for Hurricane Gustav, Delaware’s National Guard sent personnel and supplies southeast before the storm hit, rather than in the wake of the aftermath. They also set up safety facilities and evacuated patients to prevent catastrophe.

“You never want be caught on your heels when you have an incident that can harm people,” Matwey said. “In some ways we were caught on our heels with Hurricane Katrina.

There wasn’t good planning.”

Paul said he believes since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 the Red Cross is better trained and prepared to handle situations involving natural disasters.

“Now we have the resources and we have much more experience in this case as opposed to last time,” he said. “We’re definitely much more prepared and we have protocols in place to handle situations like this.”

Paul said he believes it is also important for states to help other states in times of need.

“States that are not affected have the resources, have the manpower and the financial stability to help the state that is affected,” he said. “Once one part is affected, every other part is at gear to help that one part.”

September 9, 2008

9

Study abroad trip makes stop at Beijing games

BY CLAIRE GOULD Staff Reporter

As part of a unique study abroad opportunity, 45 students traveled to China and attended the Olympic games. The trip was open to students of all years and majors.

Sponsored by the exercise science department, the program featured classes on the History of the Modern Olympic Games, Women’s Sports History and Chinese Sport and Leisure, Kevin Sun, director of the trip, said. He runs a study abroad trip to China every year and teaches topics such as Chinese life, culture and philosophy. Professors of health, nutrition and exercise science David Barlow and Stephen Goodwin also went on the trip.

Senior Andy Sacher said some of the classes were taught in nontraditional locations, such as the hallway and dining room of the hotel.

“We were originally supposed to stay at this university an hour outside the city, but that fell through, so we had to get a hotel,” Sacher said. “That’s why we held one of the classes in the hallway.”

The group stayed in an area approximately 20 minutes outside of Beijing, he said.

Senior Abby Myers, an exercise science major, stated in an email message she enjoyed staying in a more rural town.

“It was nice to stay in a poorer area and then travel to more touristy places to compare,” Myers said.

Senior Quinn Megargel stated in an e-mail message the students were able to visit some of Beijing’s most popular tourist spots, including the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the pearl and silk markets.

Sacher said in their free time, students were able to go downtown and shop.

He said the students also were able to sample a variety of local restaurants.

“I expected the food to be delicious, and it was,” Sacher said.

Myers said she was less enthusiastic about China’s food selection.

“I got pretty sick of rice,” Myers said. “But I also ate some weird things off the street — like lamb testicle.”

The students could also go to Olympic events on their own, Sun said. Students saw a variety of events including basketball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and weightlifting.

“I made friends with one of the 70,000 Olympic volunteers — anyone working at the venue, they were all volunteers,” Sacher said.

Megargel said security at the games was “very strict and annoying, but it’s something they had to do to ensure the safety of everyone.”

Sun said the trip also served to challenge some of the preconceived notions the students had about China. “A student said to me, ‘I never thought about China this way — the people are so friendly, and it is so safe. We could go anywhere, nobody bothered them,” he said.

“We never heard any ambulances or firetrucks — no sirens at all.”

Megargel said the town the students stayed in was friendly and secure.

“I felt safer there than I do in some areas of Delaware,” he said.

Myers said her experiences changed the way she felt about China.

“In some ways it was more advanced than I thought and in others, much farther behind,” she said.

“I thought girls would be looked down on. People in China were very friendly, very courteous and loved us for the sole reason that we were American.”

Myers said she would like to go back to Beijing.

“I got to go to 11 events and I loved every second of it,” she said.

THE REVIEW/Court Walton

University students visit the Great Wall of China on a summer study abroad trip.

THE REVIEW/Steven Gold

The new enrollment services building is located on the corner of South College Avenue and Winslow Road.

New central location for admissions, other services

BY ALLYSON HEISLER Staff Reporter

Due to the growing number of visitors and prospective students each year, the university needed a larger space for its enrollment services including Admissions, Scholarships and Financial Aid, and the University Registrar.

Situated at the intersection of South College Avenue and Winslow Road, the Enrollment Services Building opened at the beginning of the school year and provides a facility to house these three departments in one location.

Joseph DiMartile, associate provost at the Office of the University Registrar, said the building is a significant improvement because enrollment services used to be housed in several different locations across campus.

Deputy Director of the Office of University Admissions Jeffrey Rivell said this two-story, 24,000square-foot building consolidates the various locations once used for the admissions process and also provides a number of amenities.

“The new building provides ample space for the entire admissions process with more than 30 available computers for student workers and staff members,” Rivell said.

DiMartile said the building provides a space large enough to accommodate the entire enrollment services faculty.

“We have a total staff of approximately 70 full-time work-

ers in this building,” he said.

Rivell said in addition to the increased amount of space, the building contains a communications center that allows staff members to take questions from prospective students.

“In August, the center answered approximately 2,300 phone calls and 800 e-mails,” he said.

“Prospective students can also chat with a student or staff member via Web chat,” Rivell said. “The new Web chat feature has grown increasingly popular with prospective students, as over 100 Web chats were held in the month of August alone.”

He said because of the increasing number of students who apply to the university, the university needed more space than the previous visitors center provided.

“Approximately 60,000 people visit the University of Delaware each year, including 20,000 prospective students and their families,” Rivell said.

The new Enrollment Services Building allows prospective students the opportunity to meet with staff members for all their admissions needs, he said.

“Not only does the new building house a larger receiving area for the public, but there are also several interview rooms,” he said.

“In these rooms, staff members from the offices of admissions and scholarships and financial aid can meet with prospective students for

interviews and answer any questions.”

DiMartile said the building was planned two years ago, before former university President David Roselle left.

Rivell said the old Visitors Center, the main headquarters for the Blue Hen Ambassadors program, is still in use. Paired with the new building, the adjacent Visitors Center forms an admissions complex.

“With the addition of the new Enrollment Services Building, both buildings have become known as the University Visitors Annex,” he said.

Senior Jordan Wolfson, a Blue Hen Ambassador, said the new Enrollment Services building is an exciting improvement for the university.

“The building was definitely needed and made a great addition to the campus as the previous building was older and out of date,” he said.

Wolfson said the new Enrollment Services Building will aid him as a Blue Hen Ambassador.

Wolfson said the new building will greatly enhance the admissions department at the university.

“The staff has a brand-new, high-tech area to work in and no longer will need to work between several different locations,” he said. “This will make the admissions process much quicker and easier.”

10 September 9, 2008

THE REVIEW/Melanie Hardy

One possible use for the Chrysler property is new athletic facilities.

University expresses interest in buying Chrysler property

BY KAITLYN KILMETIS Administrative News Editor

Chrysler has finished accepting bids for its Newark property and is expected to announce a buyer in October. The 270-acre property will be vacated when the auto manufacturer closed its plant.

The university has bid on the property and could use the site to build a technology park or expand its athletic facilities.

Chrysler spokeswoman Mary Beth Halprin, stated in an e-mail message the official date for the decision has not yet been announced.

“We’re currently evaluating the bid proposals,” Halprin said.

“We do not have a public deadline of when a decision will be made.

When a decision is made, we will first share the updates with our employees and then with other key stakeholders outside the company.”

Newark Mayor Vance A. Funk III said community officials hope Chrysler officials choose the university to buy the property “Our preference is the University of Delaware,” he said.

“They’re a major industry in our town and we need to support them as much as we can.”

Funk said he believes the site will be used for a number of exciting additions to campus that will enrich the Newark community as a whole.

“I think it has been in the press that the university plans to use the land to build a new football stadium,” he said. “Also, the university is running out of space in their tech park and they want to expand that in the Chrysler area.

The university will support satellite industries which are developed through the university professors so that property has the opportunity to be a really neat tech park for us.”

Though he would neither confirm nor deny any specifics, Executive Vice President Scott Douglass said the university is looking into purchasing the site.

“We are very interested in the Chrysler site,” Douglass said. “It’s an opportunity for us that we’d like to have the opportunity to explore. We have been talking to Chrysler.”

He said he thought the plot of land could provide a number of unique opportunities for athletic resources, though he denied Funk’s implications that the university plans to build a new football stadium on the site.

“It would be nice if we had some more athletic fields probably more for recreation [and] intramural and club sports along the [Route] 896 / South College corridor,” Douglass said.

He said the site would mostly be used for furthering the academic goals of the university.

“I think the majority of the land we would be interested in using for things related to our academic mission and the nexus between academic research and commercial research,” Douglass said. “That’s something that is valuable not only to the university in terms of making it very interesting for faculty to be here but also would be beneficial to the state and its economy.”

See BIDS page 12

September 9, 2008

in the news Bush withdraws from nuclear agreement with Russia The White House plans to formally pull from congressional consideration an agreement with Russia for civilian nuclear cooperation, Bush administration sources said.

The move would be the latest effort by the administration to convey its displeasure with Russia over its military actions in Georgia in the past month. Last week, the White House proposed a $1 billion package of humanitarian and economic assistance to help Georgia recover from its war with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Days later, Vice President Cheney pledged U.S. support and blasted Moscow over its invasion of

Georgian territory.

The civil nuclear agreement was signed in Moscow four months ago, after two years of negotiations. The deal would facilitate joint ventures between the Russian and U.S. nuclear industries and would clear the way for Russia to import thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel, a business potentially worth billions of dollars.

But the accord must be approved by Congress, a step widely seen as impossible after the GeorgiaRussia war, according to administration officials and experts on Russia.

Government intervenes in mortgage crisis The U.S. government announced on Sunday it was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It said the companies’ weakened finances had made it impossible for them to carry out their missions to support the struggling housing market.

At a news conference in Washington, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. laid out a plan to place the companies into conservatorship, under which the government will direct its operations from now on. The plan also calls for the Treasury to make capital injections

into the companies, up to $100 billion each over time, and to lend them money as needed.

Current investors in the companies will not have their shares canceled, but the value of the stocks could easily be wiped out entirely, depending on how much taxpayer money is required to stabilize the companies.

The decision to take over the companies is the latest move by the government in its year-old struggle to respond to what some say is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Advocates want Cheney to disclose his documents Months before the Bush administration ends, historians and opengovernment advocates are concerned Vice President Dick Cheney, who has long bristled at requirements to disclose his records, will destroy or withhold key documents that illustrate his role in forming U.S. policy for the past seven years.

In a pre-emptive move, several historians and advocates have agreed to join the nonpartisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is asking a federal judge to declare that Cheney’s

records are covered by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and cannot be destroyed, taken or withheld without proper review.

The goal, proponents say, is to protect a treasure trove of information about national security, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, domestic wiretapping, energy policy and other major issues that could be hidden from the public if Cheney adheres to his view that he is not part of the executive branch and is not required to make his papers public after leaving office.

11

City’s electric rates increase 17 percent Continued from page 5 energy, it’s better for our environment,” he said.

McFarland said he hopes the city can eventually lower the rate.

“We essentially try to come out with our wholesale power costs roughly on a dollar-to-dollar basis,” he said.

Johnston said residents should not expect the rate to go down immediately.

“It could change, but at this point, I wouldn’t count on it — it is dependent on the cost of base fuels,” she said.

McFarland said although the new rate is in effect for the current billing cycle, most consumers have not reacted strongly to the increase. He attributed this to residents being prepared for the cost hike.

“I think fortunately most folks knew the costs of it,” he said. “They knew full well oil prices were going up and natural gas prices as well as gasoline prices were going up. Obviously no one ever likes to see an increase in utility bills.”

Funk said the rates were held at bay for as long as possible, so consumers saved throughout the summer months.

“In a way, the residents and businesses are lucky because the rates went up as of June 1,” he said. “We waited as long as we could to not increase the electric rates because we were hoping it was just temporary.

“Over 90 days, it didn’t prove to be temporary, so they actually saved on electricity over the summer.”

McFarland said as for now, the city will continue to monitor the rates to determine whether they can be lowered in the future.

“When the increase started, we told folks we assumed wholesale power prices would tend to moderate in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We will revisit the rate then to see what it is we need to do.”

Funk said the city will re-examine the wholesale costs every 30 days.

“We always hope that because the oil prices are starting to come down that our costs will go down, and that we can pass those savings on to our customers,” he said.

Opinions on new trayless dining mixed Continued from page 6 “I am absolutely in favor of the sustainability initiative,” Smith said. “However, I am opposed to ideas of little or no sustenance. The same people telling us not to use trays water the lawns of the university, consuming thousands of gallons.”

The university’s actions seem inconsistent and contradictory, he said.

“I think if the university continues to pour water on the lawn for the purpose of having an attractive image, they may as well let us have trays to keep the customers happy,” Smith said.

He said he remains skeptical about the effectiveness of the dining halls without trays.

“I wouldn’t mind giving up my tray if it actually made a significant difference,” Smith said. “But it doesn't — other methods of conservation are much

more effective and less inconvenient.”

Felker said Dining Services and the rest of the university remain committed to introducing new programs to benefit the environment in addition to the removal of trays on campus.

“This year we have introduced the Eat Green program and increased the availability of reusable and refillable containers for use at our locations,” she said. “We have been committed to expand our support of local vendors, purchase produce from local farms, reduce the amount of solid waste from our locations and increase our recyclables.”

Felker said she believes in addition to these other changes, trayless dining halls will make a significant difference at the university.

“We truly feel that trayless dining is one of the largest potential areas that any campus can use to reduce its carbon footprint,” she said.

At-risk students most affected by cuts

— compiled from the L.A. Times and Washington Post news wire

police reports BREAK-IN AT COURTYARDS Police were dispatched to the University Courtyard apartments on Monday, Sept. 1, at 9:07 p.m., in reference to a subject who entered an apartment through an unsecured door, Cpl. Gerald Bryda of the Newark Police Department said.

The victim, a 20-year-old Courtyard resident, stated that as she walked out of her laundry room, an unknown man was standing in her apartment. She told him to leave and upon her request, he complied.

However, after leaving, he attempted to re-enter the apartment due to severe intoxication.

Police found and arrested the suspect, 33, of Wilmington, for criminal trespassing and public intoxication, Bryda said.

MYSTERY TRESPASSING ON WOLLASTON Police were dispatched to Wollaston Avenue, on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 3:12 a.m., after an unknown subject entered a residence, Bryda said.

The victim, a 20-year-old woman, was asleep in her first-floor bedroom with her boyfriend. She awoke and observed a subject standing in front of her desk. She could not make out who the subject was due to poor visibility.

It appeared the suspect was going through items on her desk. The suspect walked out of a sliding glass door, but then came back inside the house and proceeded to exit via the living room.

There was no adequate description and the unknown subject fled prior to police arrival. Charges would have been criminal trespassing in the first degree, Bryda said.

There were no signs of forced entry into the residence and nothing was reported missing. There are no leads at this time.

— Lydia Woolever

Continued from page 5 budgetary issues, she said.

“The students are being affected,” Nash said.

“Different activities and opportunities are lost when our costs go up.”

The Jefferson County school system in Louisville, Ky. has also taken drastic measures to save money by raising the price of lunches and reorganizing bus routes to eliminate 17 buses from being used.

Eddie Muns, director of accounting for Jefferson County Public Schools, said the school system is trying to make changes to save money without a large impact on students.

“We are a big organization, and eliminating those 17 buses has saved us money but has also resulted in our kids being on buses for longer,” Muns said. “Our challenge is to spread reductions in a way to minimize how they are felt at the school level.”

Muns said the school system is also dealing with a rising number of at-risk students.

“In total, 55 percent of our county is considered to be at risk,” he said. “Impoverished children tend to need extended school services like after-school programs and tutoring and those grants were slashed by $3 million.”

Muns said an increase in federal funding would help alleviate the situation.

“The federal government established the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grant and said they would fund 40 percent of the education,” he said. “They have tried to increase the funding but they are still well below their goal. The under-funding

totaled about $44 million.”

Delaware resident Shawn Allen, the director of Youth Empowered to Strive & Succeed, said a group that gave out over 300 backpacks filled with supplies to students who could not afford to purchase their own.

“I wanted to help out because I know how it feels — no clothes, no supplies,” Allen said. “I went to school to get lunch. I understand the hopelessness.”

In addition to backpacks, the group also arranged for free hair cuts for 119 students. Allen said he is witnessing first-hand how the economy is affecting Delaware school systems.

“I got a letter about my son’s school lunch going up,” he said. “If the school lunches have to go up to keep after-school activities and better teachers that is fine, but I don’t think education should be cut for any reason.”

Senior Joy Tydings said she understands making financial sacrifices to maintain after-school programs.

“We can spend more time on a bus or even pack a lunch if the price goes up, but if we take away afterschool programs and don’t allow students to experience more than just books, they might not become well-rounded,” Tydings said.

Bryant said she was hopeful for the future of the school systems.

“The economy will bounce back and relief in the future will come when we curb energy costs,” she said. “I will be glad when this happens. Schools are fabulous places to see kids striving and performing.”

12 September 9, 2008 Bids made for Chrylser plant Continued from page 10 He said the university’s plans would include facilities that would enhance economic opportunities for Newark residents.

“What we want to do is consistent with what the town, city council and the mayor are focused on, which is that they hope this is a high-value facility that is business focused whether it’s high-end industrial a research park or something like that,” Douglass said. “I think that what they hope is that we can continue to focus retail down on Main Street and we wouldn’t want to start opening a Wal-Mart or anything like that.”

Funk said he would be disappointed to see the land sold to a commercial chain because of the negative impact it would have on the Newark community.

“We’re against any regional shopping centers because we don’t want to put anything on that property that will interfere with the development of our downtown Main Street area,” he said.

Funk said the site has the opportunity to provide great economic gains for Newark.

“We’re very excited about the development of this site because presently the Chrysler corporation buys there electricity from an outside provider,” he said. “With the development of this site electricity sales will all be through the city of Newark which will help us with our revenue structure.”

Funk said he is confident if the university acquires the land,

they will work with the community to provide its residents with the best possible option.

“If they are the successful bidder, we’ll sit down and talk about our vision and of course they’ll share they’re vision with us and well work up a compromise that’s acceptable to everyone,” he said.

Funk said Chrysler officials have engaged Newark officials to determine future use of the land.

“We’ve had a very long and fruitful conversation with them about what our ideas for the site were and they’ve been very good about working with us,” he said.

“We’ve had several meetings and everything they’ve done so far is the way we’ve wanted them to do it.”

Halprin also said Chrysler officials have met with a number of community leaders at various levels to discuss what may be of interest in terms of future use of the Chrysler property.

Though the university could provide no specifics due to the confidential nature of the issue at hand, Douglass said the sale of this plot of land is of great interest to the university in a number of short and long-term aspects.

“It’s 270-plus acres of land right next to the university and there are not a lot of opportunities like that around,” he said. “We’d like to avail ourselves to that opportunity both immediately and for 20, 30, 40 years down the line.”

THE REVIEW/File Photo

Mayor Vance A. Funk III said he hopes to see the university purchase the Chrysler property.

September 9, 2008

13

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September 9, 2008

editorial

ONLINE POLL Q: Do you agree with the new trayless policy in the dining halls?

Vote online at www.udreview.com

14 Greener campus goes trayless

Shrub Toons

University can still do more to help environment there are a lot of ways to fit ecofriendly goals into the project while still modernizing the university’s technological status. Putting energy efficient technology in each classroom would be one positive improvement. Selling organic products in the school bookstore is another.

Thinking creatively is the way to make real differences and although trayless meals is one change, it isn’t the best the university can do by any means. One big question that remains is if the trayless solution is really making a significant change or if it’s just a filler until a better solution is found.

There is a long way to go before the university takes real, noteworthy steps to make the campus greener and more environmentally friendly. Although university officials deserve a pat on the back for now, it shouldn’t be dwelled upon for too long. There is a lot of work left to be done when it comes to the environment. The university should continue to make ecofriendly changes throughout the year and in the years to come.

THE REVIEW/ Jan Dickey and James “Geometric” Denver

For one day last year, the campus dining halls did away with trays in an effort to be more environmentally conscious, bring down costs, save water and reduce waste. This year, trayless dining has reached a new level.

Now that the dining halls are completely trayless year-round, it’s debatable whether the switch is, in fact, a positive one.

Some students complain that having no trays is a burden, making the dining halls unsafe and an inconvenience. But in the evergrowing need to reduce the university’s carbon footprint, getting rid of trays in order to reduce the amount of water used each day in the dining halls is a good but small first step.

There are a variety of ways to ease the university into a more environmentally friendly atmosphere and any little action taken is a step in the right direction. But going trayless is the very tip of the iceberg.

One of President Patrick Harker’s biggest projects since coming to the university has been the “Path to Prominence” and

New program trumps MyCourses Users find Sakai is a more efficient and high-tech system One of the many physical and technological changes the university underwent over the summer is the switch from MyCourses to the more high-tech Sakai.

The new program is an ampedup version of the old MyCourses and includes more complex features like blogging capabilities and an open environment for sharing ideas. Despite the fact the new system is better suited for a university setting than MyCourses and caters more to students’ and faculty members’ needs overall, classes are still split between the two programs.

Sakai is an improvement over MyCourses. The different technology and innovative new aspects of Sakai make accessing different online tools easier and help move the university further into the advancing electronic age.

But many students didn’t even know about the program until they started school this year and many still don’t know how to use it to its full capacity. Because classes are split between the two programs, the issue of which class is posted on what is leading to a disconnected campus.

The transition year students

and faculty have to get used to the new program is good, in theory.

But saying there is a new program that professors can choose whether or not to use until next year isn’t properly preparing anyone for the switch.

Teachers and students, alike, are getting excited about Sakai, which can only lead to good things.

Applying new teaching and learning techniques besides lectures and PowerPoint presentations will lead to better learning and a more positive classroom atmosphere.

The award-winning Sakai program is a giant step above the seemingly outdated MyCourses, which is exciting for both professors and students because of all the different aspects of the program available to utilize and encourage a more creative learning atmosphere.

But until the university makes it clear how the program should be used throughout campus, completely switching to Sakai and leaving MyCourses behind, it will be difficult for current non-users to catch up with those students and professors who have chosen to use the program this year.

“Study, now.”

WRITE TO THE REVIEW 250 Perkins Student Center Newark, DE 19716 Fax: 302-831-1396 E-mail: theudreview@gmail.com or visit us online at www.udreview.com The Editorial section is an open forum for public debate and discussion. The Review welcomes responses from its readers. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all letters to the editor. Letters and columns represent the ideas and beliefs of the authors and should not be taken as representative of The Review. Staff editorials represent the ideas and beliefs of The Review Editorial Board on behalf of the editors. All letters become property of The Review and may be published in print or electronic form.

The Review gladly welcomes readers to write in for letters to the editor and guest columnists.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us at theudreview@gmail.com

September 9, 2008

Be sure to check out The Review Web site for updated polls and breaking news. www.udreview.com

opinion 15

In November, everyone’s vote will count Guest Columnist John Pezzullo

Your vote for president does make a difference It was Abraham Lincoln who famously proclaimed, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” For his bold prediction to hold true, we the people, the next generation of leaders in the world, must take an active role in shaping our own future, and the future of the generations to follow.

Voting is one of the best ways to exercise this responsibility.

Some Americans are neglecting a civic duty, in respect to voting. The 2004 election saw the highest voter turnout since 1968, with 60.7 percent of registered voters casting their ballots. This equates to 78 million registered voters who did not cast their ballots in that election.

One can only wonder how we can be a government by the people, for the people, with only 55.3 percent of voting-age Americans playing the most basic role in our representative government. The irony of individuals living in a society that grants its citizens an enormous amount of freedom,

only to see the benefactors spoiling the opportunity to play a role in shaping the direction of their own government is almost unbearable.

Over the years I have wondered why voting rates aren’t higher in this country, and I have heard various excuses from individuals. Some say citizens, especially younger ones, feel powerless because their vote is only one of hundreds of millions.

Others complain they don’t have the time to wait in long lines at the polls on election day and some claim citizens in their state continually vote for the candidate of a certain party so their vote doesn’t really matter.

Nonsense. It’s true one vote is not going to decide an election — my apologies to this summer’s box-office hit “Swing Vote” — but if you feel you have no real say in the final results then certainly giving away your ability to influence a race at all will do more harm than good.

Democracy and representative government is about ideas and individuals engaging in discourse about what our future should look like and in what direction our country needs to go. It is about consensusbuilding.

Your vote counts as much as mine, but if you persuade 20 other people to vote as you plan to, then you are building a coalition and ratcheting support. The more people who join your movement, the more power you can ultimately yield.

With absentee ballots and mail-in votes, and with many businesses and schools — the university included — giving us ample opportunities to cast our votes, we as Americans have no excuse for not participating in any contest.

The state with the highest citizen-voting rate in 2004 was Minnesota at 79 percent, a battleground state carried by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., by less than 60,000 votes. In fact, there is no state in the union, in which the outcome could not have been altered if there was 100 percent turnout in

After all, the 2000 presidential race would have had a different outcome if less than 600 Floridian Democrats who stayed home had voted for Al Gore.

2004.

What is especially troubling is the fact that we re-elected a president who won with only 31 percent of the total population’s vote.

Ultimately, we are still uncertain of who the American people really wanted to see in the Oval Office in 2000 or almost any other year for that matter.

This year by most accounts, young vot-

ers are energized. Candidates have used technology, mainly the Internet as a vehicle to reach out to more potential voters and get students registered. The likes of Facebook, MySpace and text messages are all avenues for candidates to reach out to young voters in mass numbers.

However, this isn’t the first time people our age have been energized about an election. The youth turnout has been consistently inconsistent. Too frequently young voters have been excited but haven’t expressed themselves in significantly higher numbers at the polls.

With any hope this year will be different and on this campus we can be the ones to set the example for other colleges and universities. We need to mobilize and become involved, not just in this election but in every election. We have a say in how our taxes are spent, and whether our government is functioning how we see fit.

Now it is time as a country and as a key voting bloc in this upcoming election to make sure our voices are heard and ensure that those elected represent our will and are aware of our concerns.

Together, we can take our government back.

John Pezzullo is a junior at the university.

His viewpoints do not necessarily represent those of the Review staff. Please send comments to pezzullo@udel.edu.

This election, private lives should stay private Wolt This Way Caitlin Wolters

Politicians should share policies, not religious views If, in the last few months, you haven’t heard anything about a presidential election, then you probably still have your head stuck in the sand from the summer.

Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., are already vying for both swing states and swing voters. Their faces have been plastered everywhere — from the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” This is not an election you can escape.

And you shouldn’t want to. It’s entertaining to watch these guys squirm over the tough questions, not to mention the fact that this actually does affect each and every one of us.

While I do love seeing all the pre-election coverage, there’s one aspect of the overwhelming publicity that makes me cringe —

the in-depth coverage of candidate’s private religious beliefs.

When this country was founded, our forefathers vowed to stand for the separation of church and state. Religion should have no basis when it comes to political matters.

However, our society continues to focus on the personal beliefs of candidates as a way to assess how well these men can lead.

Back in 2000 and 2004, President George W. Bush constantly advertised the fact that he was Christian and used God as a way to guide his plans for our nation. He notoriously worked against abolishing the separation of church and state to strengthen his faith-based initiatives. While advertising he was a born-again Christian may have helped him gain votes at the time, his beliefs clearly didn’t help him to become a better president.

Flash forward to the election of 2008 — it’s a similar story. Obama has been falsely affiliated with Islam on multiple accounts.

Many Americans expressed their outrage of even thinking over electing an Islamic president. Since these rumors persisted, Obama has repeatedly tried to prove to non-believers that he is indeed a Christian.

McCain has also had his share of religious drama this year. His recent nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Ala., has had

Christian conservatives abuzz with joy over her policies that strictly reflect her Christian beliefs. Palin makes it clear that she regularly attends church and opposes issues like abortion and sex education.

The only reason I know all this information to begin with is because the media constanty spotlights these issues almost as much as it does the candidate’s political agendas.

It’s not wrong for politicians to feel strongly about religion, but I don’t understand why it has to become a media firestorm when one says they feel strongly about a particular belief.

The idea that a president will be a better leader because he believes in God doesn’t strike me as logical.

Any guy can stand in front of hundreds of reporters and say he lives by God’s law and enjoys reading the Bible before bed, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true — or make him qualified. There have been plenty of subpar leaders in this world — hence the Bush example — who have proclaimed their religious feelings.

I’m not trying to say religion shouldn’t

factor into your voting decisions, either.

Everyone has thoughts about why a particular candidate is better-qualified to be president. These disagreements over morals are simply what makes America such a great democratic nation.

Whether you believe in an all-powerful God who sends punishment in the form of floods and earthquakes or your next-door neighbor’s cat that you’re convinced is almighty — vote in what you believe. But please, do not vote based along someone else’s religious ties. I, for one, am sick of hearing how great it is that a particular candidate goes to church every day. It won’t make them a better or worse leader for this country.

I guess I’m an idealist in a way. I like to believe that religion wouldn’t matter to voters because they’re open-minded to all people, regardless of what their private ideals are. But the reality remains that fascination over candidates’ private and religious affiliations still exists and will probably have some effect on this year’s election results, for better or worse.

Caitlin Wolters is an editorial editor for The Review. Her viewpoints do not necessarily represent those of the Review staff. Please send comments to cwolt@udel.edu.

16 September 9, 2008

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Newark

Film Festival NOW PLAYING see page 22

Behind the camera: Alumna directs ‘College’ see page 19

18 September 9, 2008

Under the Glamour-scope other styles, like Hip-hop — during her freshman year.

Senior biology major Ritika Samant Delaware Kamaal performs on campus, at admits that while she has read through charity events and in national competitions at the Glamour magazine in the past, she was university and on other campuses in the area. never a subscriber. Thanks to the encourageSamant’s dance team and research led to a ment of her professors and other faculty call from Glamour in May, announcing that she within the biology department, Samant has was a finalist. She and nine other girls would be been profiled in the magazine as one of the featured in the September issue after a long nation’s top role models of 2008. application and interviewing process that began “It’s really shocking and exciting recoglast fall, when Samant first submitted the applinition,” Samant says. “It was just really cation. Along with a profile, Samant’s applicahumbling to have that profile in a magazine tion included a personal statement and recomwhere other girls can read about it and be mendation letters. motivated by it.”

Once Samant was chosen as a finalist, she In the September issue of Glamour, had to go through a phone interview with repreSamant has her own feature in “America’s sentatives from the magazine, as well as some of Next Top (Role) Model,” a showcase of 10 her professors. Samant says a committee at female college students around the country Glamour added information to her profile every with extraordinary accomplishments. time she won a dance competition or new scholThe girls featured in the magazine are arship. given their own titles, such as “The Once Samant was selected as one of the Campaigner,” “The Performer” and “The magazine’s top 10, she says representatives from Champion,” based on their major achieveGlamour came to Delaware for a photo shoot for ments. Samant has been labeled “The Cancer the magazine. Recently, Samant traveled to New Researcher.”

York to meet with the other nine role models feaA resident of Hockessin, Samant says tured in the magazine. the biology department nominated her to In Samant’s profile photograph in Glamour, apply for the profile. She says she got the she has a coy smile behind her thin-framed notification from Daniel Carson, the chairglasses and dons a lab coat and blue safety person of the department. gloves. Beside the photo is her feature, which “He spoke with some professors and my reveals to readers that sometimes Samant will Courtesy of Kevin Quinlan name came up,” Samant says. “I think it has use her iPod while she works to inspire new a lot to do with my research for the depart- Ritika Samant was featured as a role model in the September issue of Glamour magazine. dance moves. ment, because I’ve been involved with it Samant says it means a lot that her research since I was a freshman.” is being recognized on a national level, and in a Samant says she has presented her work to earn scholarSamant says she spends approximately 20 hours per week ships. She says she thinks after this success, the faculty in her genre that is unrelated to research. in a lab researching cancer metastasis. This summer, she department brought her name up for Glamour’s contest.

“It was really interesting that you saw that other people worked full time.

When she’s not working in the lab, Samant is involved in were taking an interest in basic science research with no expe“It’s like my own independent project,” Samant says. “A dance. She and some of her friends founded the dance team rience in it,” she says. “It made me realize how important it is.” lot of my work is molecular-biology based.”

Delaware Kamaal — which fuses classical Indian dance with

BY AMY PRAZNIAK Features Editor

The World Wide thread

BY SABINA ELLAHI Features Editor

Beyond the Seven jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch tops and other retailed items lies a powerful component upon which the whole apparel industry depends — the manufacturer.

The Fashion International Business Education Response Journal, or FIBER, is operated by the university’s department of fashion and apparel studies. The project is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education and focuses on the global apparel trade industry. With over 2,200 users from 12 countries, the purpose of the online journal is to enhance awareness of the apparel industry while examining the process behind the manufacturing.

Marsha Dickson, department chairperson and professor in the department of fashion and apparel studies, is the co-project director. She says the site is meant to augment understanding of international business.

“It will help bridge the knowledge between the university and the rest of the trade industry,” Dickson says. “The project is meant to create more international learning in the classroom.”

Project director and Editor Hye-Shin Kim says the goal of the site is to bring various facets of information to the readers.

“The goal is to provide apparel manufacturing and retailing industry professionals and interested stakeholders with current news, research and insights into the globalization of the industry,” Kim states in an email message.

Dickson says FIBER is not limited to professionals though. Many research journals are written in technical terms because they are geared toward readers who are graduate students or work in business. The bi-annual FIBER journal targets all kinds of readers who are interested in learning about the business of the apparel industry.

“We try to put the research in light terms so everyone can understand it and attract more readers,” she says.

FIBER’s current theme focuses on specific countries. Kim says the site will focus on five countries who are active players in the business.

“The apparel industry is truly global in nature,” she says. “Most of the apparel we wear are manufactured outside of the U.S., so there is a need to understand the dynamics of the fashion industry within a global context.”

Dickson says the members of the team eventually want to create seminars on the various countries and industries to be posted on the site. Thailand is the main feature in FIBER’s latest issue, including interviews with people like the director general of Thailand’s department of industrial promotion and a former U.S. ambassador to Thailand.

She says the countries to be featured in future editions of the journal are China, Italy and India.

“The countries all represent different areas of the industry,” Dickson says. “China is the next country to be featured on the journal and its focus is on the mass market, whereas Italy focuses more on a consumer

market because of its production of high-end goods.”

George Irvine, the managing editor and project manager of the site, says the journal is a unique publication due to its in-depth study of the global supply chain.

Irvine is working to create non-credit cerTHE REVIEW/Katie Smith tificates for the departFIBER is a university-based online journal dedicated to fashion. ment to make its studies accessible for a wider audience. He says both of these ideas will ect was initially planned a year-and-a-half before they sent their proposal to the business help build the department greatly.

“The journal allows us to create interna- and international education section of the tional modules, which are accessible for U.S. Department of Education. Their grant required industry partners, so they received everyone,” Irvine says.

While he was based in Washington, support from the Delaware World Trade D.C., Irvine traveled to Thailand to work on Organization and a university partnership in the financial recovery after the country’s eco- Thailand.

Irvine says without the team’s hard work, nomic crisis in the mid ’90s. He says he was the one who pulled together all the informa- the success of the site would not be possible.

“We’ve had a great team effort, and tion for the journal’s focus on Thailand.

“I traveled to Bangkok for many years to we’re seeing the power of FIBER in commuhelp bring a U.S. perspective to the business nication and have had good feedback from markets,” Irvine says. “It was during those users,” he says.

Dickson says she hopes to see the site times where I made several contacts that are grow in the future and continue to put emphafeatured in interviews on the Web site.”

He says FIBER also allowed the univer- sis on education about international businesssity to build a strong partnership with various es.

“Our goal is to sustain the site beyond universities in Thailand.

Dickson says the team submitted a pro- the grant money,” she says. “We want to posal for the journal in spring 2007. The proj- spread the word about Delaware and convey the strengths of our department.”

September 9, 2008

19

From university to ‘College,’ alumna takes freshman experience to Hollywood

BY KATHERINE GUINEY Staff Reporter

Courtesy of Ryan Fox

The movie poster for College is pictured above.

If Deb Hagan had known her time as a student at the university would end up qualifying as research, she might have started taking notes at parties instead of in class.

Hagan, who graduated in 1992 with a degree in visual communications, recently directed “College," her first feature-length film.

“College,” which Hagan describes as a modern-day “Animal House,” is the story of three high school seniors who spend a weekend at a local college. Not able and not willing to stay in the residence hall room assigned to them, the three boys are taken in as pledges in a fraternity house.

Though Hagan was never part of the Greek system, she was, for a short time, a member of the women’s volleyball team. It was her initial reason for attending the university, she says, but she stopped playing during her freshman year.

It was this first year that would lend itself to Hagan’s film.

“I would totally dedicate my first year to research for the movie,” Hagan says. “I had a very good time.”

Although she admits to the good times, she says of any wild memories, “I probably tried to block those out.”

After graduating in five years, Hagan landed a job with the New York advertising agency that had previously employed her as an intern.

“They called me the day of graduation,” Hagan recalls.

The agency told her about an upcoming project and asked if she could be there the next day. She accepted the position of art director and made her way to New York.

Though she began her career as an art director, Hagan eventually found her way to commercial directing.

In a quest to prove she “could do something longer than 30 to 60 seconds,” Hagan applied and was accepted to the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women.

According to the AFI’s Web site, the DWW “focuses on the development and production of a short narrative project.”

During her time in the DWW, Hagan worked on the short film “Pee Shy,” which she developed, directed and executive produced through her own production compa-

ny.

“Pee Shy,” which Hagan describes as “a male-driven comedy,” won awards at more than 20 film festivals and was eventually purchased by HBO. The short film had “a life of its own,” Hagan says.

Due to her work on “Pee Shy,” Hagan was “lucky enough,” she says, to grab the attention of some important people in Hollywood.

Following the success of her short film and with her new connections, the scripts poured in for Hagan.

Among them was “College.”

Given Hagan’s love for teen comedies and comingof-age movies, it’s not surprising that the script for “College” caught her eye.

Like her times at the university, movies such as “American Pie” and “Animal House” had an influence on the film, Hagan says.

Despite her deep familiarity with teen comedies and her experiences at the university, Hagan still felt she needed more research before shooting began. In addition to visiting colleges, she investigated fraternity life.

Even though this was her first full-length film, Hagan says she was more nervous about meetings and presentations than she was about making the movie.

As a first time director, she was at the mercy of the producers and the studio. But, she says, both gave her space to work in and to produce a good movie.

The most difficult part of making the movie, Hagan says, was the budget.

“In the scheme of movies, $6.5 million is a very low budget,” she says. “I wanted the movie to look and feel like a $15 to $20 million film.”

At the end of every day, each department sat down and went over their finances.

While conducting the administrative tasks may have been somewhat stressful, life on the New Orleans set was decidedly not.

Cast members were allowed to bring ideas to the set and it was a “fun experience for everyone involved,” Hagan says.

“I’m very collaborative in the way I work,” she says.

The next project for Hagan will be producing “The Matadors” with Adam Shenkman for Disney. But for now, she hopes viewers enjoy “College.”

“This is not a heavy movie,” Hagan says. “It’s just meant to have fun.”

Engineering a better future for a foreign land

BY QUENTIN COLEMAN Web site Editor

Unlike most college students, Soraya Azahari doesn’t get to choose her own major or decide among the many available career paths upon graduation. Instead, her native country’s government makes the decisions for her.

Azahari, a 19-year-old junior, is pursuing a degree in environmental engineering.

She says she didn’t enter the major because she enjoys science and math, but because the Malaysian government is in dire need of environmental engineers.

“I’m not too good with math and science,” Azahari says. “I wanted to go into history or journalism, a triple language major — that was my dream.”

Azahari says she is one of many young Malaysian students attending schools in the United States, Europe and around the world.

She says the Malaysian government provides a full scholarship for native students who show promise. However, there’s a catch — the students are assigned majors, and must return to Malaysia after graduating to work for the nation for at least six to seven years.

Despite the rigid stipulations of the contract, Azahari remains optimistic.

“I like UD so it makes up for not being able to choose my major,” she says.

Azahari says she will likely end up working on storm water management for the Malaysian government, along with other students studying under the scholarship.

“Our country needs help,” she says.

“There are environmental concerns — people are hardcore littering there.”

See MALAYSIAN page 24

Courtesy of Soraya Azahari.

The Malaysian government funds Soraya Azahari’s education at the university.

A dizzying chase to the end

insight into the psyche — whether it’s accurate or not — of these suicide-bombers. An aborted mission leaves one aspiring bomber distraught and anxious for more. But as the kingpin later explains, what they’re doing is like a chess match — a big, bloody, ruthless, chess match.

Yet in “Traitor,” there are few moves marked by brilliance, and while it ends its match more victoriously than not, there is something left to be desired. Jeff Daniels, who plays a government official, is barely used in the film’s 114 minutes.

While compared to the “Bourne” movies, “Traitor” is far from the Matt Damon blockbusters. Horn has the military background to hold his own in a fight, but don’t expect him to get involved in any helicopter chases or overthe-top explosions. Instead, things work out pretty neatly, considering several of the characters are hell-bent on disaster.

Overall, “Traitor” offers a suspenseful and compelling story that isn’t reliant on effects or numerous twists. While it gets lost in its own attempt be smart and show both sides of the war on terror, it does offer something new to the spy genre — differing perspectives.

—Ted Simmons, tsim@udel.edu

A patchwork of sound The Quilt Gym Class Heroes Atlantic Rating: (out of ) Not since bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park debuted in the late ’90s has raprock been relevant. With the release of its fourth album, The Quilt, Gym Class Heroes brings the dual genre back to the mainstream, but often steps on both sides of the fence rather than straddling it.

Known for its playful sound and singles like 2006’s “Clothes Off!!” Gym Class expands its sound, but not without sounding patchy.

That clever streak is still there, though.

The second single, “Cookie Jar,” equates frequent cheating to serial cookie stealing, in which frontman Travis McCoy admits “I’ve got a sweet tooth that’ll never come loose.”

The group also cleverly titles a song about midnight texting “Drnk Txt Rmeo.”

Both tracks feature McCoy’s slick rapping, something he might have felt was an area of criticism. Not only does the Heroes’ new album contain more rap-rooted songs, but McCoy also defends his skills and motives in multiple places.

Later on, he addresses his “haters” on “Don’t Tell Me It’s Over, ” when he says, “Next time get your fact’s right / Google me and act right.”

His concern with bloggers and spectators continues, as he encourages his foes to continue to create gossip about his look and ways.

Between the band’s tongue-in-cheek and more serious songs, a lack of focus begins to emerge. This is only intensified by the later, alternative rock tracks.

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Two songs on the disc, “Live a Little” and “No Place to Run,” feature no McCoy vocals whatsoever. Instead, other bandmates sing over Weezer-esque tracks. While the songs are well-done, their context in relation to the rest of the album is confusing.

Gym Class Heroes deliver a solid, diverse release. Aptly named The Quilt, their latest effort seems to be several different pieces mended together to form an album. The lack of direction doesn’t take the whole disc down, but it does detract from an otherwise solid group of songs.

— Ted Simmons

Danger: Avoid Bangkok “Bangkok Dangerous” Lionsgate Films 1/2 (out of ) Somewhere in the process of rewriting their own 1999 release for American audiences, the Pang brothers decided to scratch the original story of a deaf-mute hitman with a condition allowing unusual ease with weapons.

This time around, it’s Nicholas Cage as a macho man — not hearing impaired — blasting through the Thai capital.

It’s his girlfriend, a Thai pharmacy assistant, who is deaf. And Kong, the name of the original character, is only his sidekick.

Joe (Cage), a typical movie assassin, is sent abroad to Bangkok to carry out a series of murders, including taking down a well-known politician. In the process he falls for a gorgeous Asian local and discovers his softer side. His allegiance changes, he finds out an ironic secret and then he has to try and escape Bangkok before it’s too late. No surprises here.

When the most entertaining aspect of the film is Cage’s hair, something is terribly wrong. In the same boat as Tom Hanks in “The Da Vinci Code,” Cage has adopted the European “fashion mullet,” a statement of measured amounts

of masculinity and urban sophistication.

Billy Ray Cyrus and Scott Stapp would probably approve.

Academy Award winner Cage, who also produced the film, has seemingly launched his mid-life crisis onto the big screen, continuing his unsound path to the B-movie league.

The actual content of the film is a series of carefully planned clichés. It would seem that the Pang brothers, filming in Thailand, would find a way to escape the look of Hollywood action flicks. Rather, the bustling urbanity of a foreign city like Bangkok is reduced to monotonous sequences of dark shades.

The absence of color, although trendy, drowns away the stimulation that would usually exist in an action film.

While the summer had an abundance of quality action blockbusters, there remains a mass of filmmakers with heavy pocketbooks pumping out formulas. There’s a reason critics aren’t allowed to preview these films before release date — they’re too familiar. In the “Halloween” films, the villain Michael Myers just won’t die away for good — these films are the same.

It’s the absence of danger — the flashy action sequences, tedious storyline and Cage selling himself as an action hero — that makes this flick not only grueling to undergo, but downright audience abuse.

—James Adams Smith, smithja@udel.edu

The Ocean and the Sun The Sound of Animals Fighting Epitaph Rating: (out of ) It’s hard to describe this progressive, experimental band with anything other than its name. While some bands mingle with multiple genres, The Sound of Animals Fighting completely disregards that such a thing as genre exists.

Skipping between light and dark, soft and loud, singing and screaming, children talking, grindcore outbursts, New Age undercurrents, whispers and foreign languages, the band delivers a richly diverse and vaguely haunting listening experience. Songs explode into Frank Zappa jazz fusion with restless spurts of energy and chaotic drum lines and then flow back into languid melodies.

The spacey riffs often resemble

bands such as S m a s h i n g Pumpkins and mewithoutYou, but are sliced with random outbursts of heavy experiCourtesy of Amazon.com mentalism reminiscent of The Locust and Q and Not U. Just as the sound rapidly shifts, the actual members of the band are constantly changing. At times, the lineup has had members of Circa Survive, Finch and Rx Bandits.

While eclectic inconsistency is not always considered a bonus, this act finds a way to blend a myriad of noises and moods. The result is a riveting and alluring collage.

— James Adams Smith

Courtesy of Jose Antonio — http://flickr. com/photos/jose_antonio1957/2489343038/

“Traitor” Crescendo Productions 1/2 (out of ) “Traitor” isn’t so much a film about betrayal as it is about perspective. In a world painted with radical Muslims and the FBI agents in charge of finding them, perspective can be the difference between a soldier and a murderer, a hero and a terrorist.

Don Cheadle plays Samir Horn, a Sudanese Muslim who travels from country to country selling bomb equipment to whomever is interested. When his religion causes him to cross paths with a member of a terrorist organization, Horn gets involved with the group’s plans and pops up on the radar of Officer Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce), terrorist catcher extraordinaire.

What unfolds is a cat and mouse game in which Clayton tries to uncover Horn’s involvement and stop any planned attacks — in America or elsewhere.

Much like Clayton, the film follows Horn without making any firm decision about what he’s doing. It’s well-established that his passion for Islam is what drives him, but beyond that is a mystery.

Also in question is the film’s genre. It wavers between psychological thriller and political experiment, with jihads and interrogations thrown in.

All characters but Horn are simple minded and predictable. Clayton’s cool head seems to get him perfectly where he needs to be, and the justification the terrorists provide for their violent ways stems no further than “American government is a democracy, so all its citizens are responsible for its government’s actions.”

Furthermore, there’s an interesting

Courtesy of Amazon.com

20 September 9, 2008

All Rebel Rockers Michael Franti & Spearhead AMER-I CAN/UNITY ONE 1/2 (out of ) Michael Franti, known for his blended and outspoken brand of Hip-hop, delivers All Rebel Rockers, his first album since 2006’s critically-acclaimed Yell Fire!.

The disc is reggae throughout, as Franti declares on the opening track, “The rude boy’s back in town.”

Elsewhere, he sings of

“riddim” — or rhythm — love and peace. Each track is infused with a genuine reggae vibe, with the help of horns, guitars, shaking percussion and chants of “pump the

Courtesy of Amazon.com

music up — selector.”

On “Hey World,” Franti sings over a melodic acoustic guitar about the changing world we live in, by asking questions: “Tell me why there’s child soldiers? / Tell me why they closed the borders? / Tell me how to fight diseases? / Tell me now, won’t you please.”

Franti’s sincerity and passion are heard in every song, making his endeavor into the Jamaican genre a success.

— Ted Simmons

September 9, 2008

delawareUNdressed It takes three to tango

Threesomes are wild.

The whole idea of them baffles me. How do you find yourself in a situation where doing the nasty with two other people is acceptable or comfortable? I just see so many possible ways it could go wrong.

A threesome is when three people engage in love making together.

It sounds simple, but there are many questions that come to mind. For example, who is the third person and how does it all come together? What kind of people get involved? How does one decide who gets the most attention?

I’ve spoken to several of my friends, and most haven’t had threesomes. This makes me think my friends are either very conservative or it’s not too common for people to do the nasty in groups of three. I did manage to find a couple of people who have had threesomes, so I tapped them for some info.

It seems most of the time, threesomes are a way to keep things interesting between

mediadarling Valiant people do good deeds every day. Usually people will donate food or clothes. Some may even rally for a specific cause. While I admire celebrities who get involved in fighting for a cause as well, I can’t help but feel that sometimes, they seem to take it to another level — perhaps an unnecessary level.

Last week, I heard that Brad Garrett from the ever-so-popular sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” was going to be receiving a rectal prostate exam live on Friday during the “Stand Up to Cancer” broadcast. The exam was slated to air on major television networks like NBC, ABC and CBS. As twisted as it may seem, I actually found myself saying “Wow, I have to see that.”

Brad Garrett, if I was picturing the right guy, played Raymond’s brother on the show.

But Garrett isn’t my idea of the large, studly hunk of a man who ought to be undergoing televised procedures , and I have to admit, I was deterred from watching the exam a little bit. Well, a lot actually. But I still admired his dedication to the cause — sort of.

I couldn’t help but wonder, was Garrett taking this too far?

And how graphic was this exam going to be? Knowing that the telethon was going to air on all the major networks, I had a feeling — or at least I hoped — it was going to be extremely cen-

Tell me what

you think

...for next week: 1. Has a friendship ever gotten in the way of a relationship?

2. How do you define the friend-zone?

Respond to aliciag@udel.edu For couples who engage in threesomes, choosing the third party can be tough. If you bump uglies with your friends, chances are you’re bound to create an uncomfortable situation.

Threesomes could be awkward enough without the addition of someone you’ll see everyday in class. I can’t see it being even slightly comfortable to bed someone who knows your mom or who you’ll have to live next door to all year.

Doing it with strangers also doesn’t seem too popular — who has the guts to go up to a complete stranger and ask if they wouldn’t mind having sex with two

other people at the same time? On the other hand, who in their right mind would agree to accept that offer?

With both friends and strangers out, acquaintances seem to take the cake — someone familiar enough to propose the idea to but not so familiar that you share a sociology textbook with them in class every Tuesday and Thursday. There is definitely a thin line that appears when it comes to choosing a third party in a threesome.

This seems like just another reason not to get involved. I don’t like the idea of sex being that complicated.

For the most part, I look at a threesome as completely overwhelming. Threesomes are chaos at its finest — unnecessary encounters between unfamiliar people, uncomfortable situations where you have to share the wealth and divide your time evenly. If it’s a thrill in a relationship you seek, I’m sure there are other ways to get that thrill.

So if you ever find yourself hanging out at the bar and a couple approaches you with the idea of adding you to the equation of love making, think about the potential mayhem.

An examination to remember sored, but the thought still made me uncomfortable. Regardless, I just had to witness it for myself.

So Friday night around 8 p.m., there it was — the moment of truth. I watched Garrett in all his 6-foot-8-inch glory pull down his pants and bend over a table while facing the camera and allowing a doctor to investigate where the sun doesn’t shine.

The awkward looks gracing Garrett’s face during the exam led me to believe it was all too real, and I’ll admit, I squirmed a lit-

tle.

Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t help but suspect it was all a farce. Or maybe I just wanted it to be. Nothing graphic was shown, thank goodness, but who’s to say it wasn’t all semi-good acting? I guess only Garrett and the doctor behind the table know the truth, yet the audience seemed fooled, giving a nice round of applause afterwards.

All in all, I was sufficiently creeped out by Garrett even more than I originally was, and now on a whole new level.

The exam only lasted approximately a minute and a half, but I’d say it was the highlight of the telethon.

I don’t want to come off the wrong way and seem like I’m dissing someone who’s just trying to help raise awareness for a big issue. I do like when celebrities make public announcements and the like, and getting rectal exams for men is obviously important. But this was just silly, and a tad over-the-top for me.

Thankfully, it was brief, but it was too awkward for my taste.

Perhaps Garrett was not the celebrity for the job. But then again, would I really want to see Brad Pitt or James Franco getting the same treatment? Probably not.

For all you folks with a slightly sick curiosity, you can catch Garrett’s exam on YouTube. Have fun with that.

— Amy Prazniak, amypraz@udel.edu Courtesy of Taís Melillo — http://flickr.com/photos/tais/68783405/

Alicia Gentile Columnist

engaged couples, to spice up a potentially boring relationship or provide bragging rights. I don’t understand why going on vacation to a foreign romantic place or doing the nasty in a scandalous spot doesn’t work but to each his own — I guess some people just think outside the box. I hope that any relationship I find myself in doesn’t necessitate threesomes in order to keep us together or entertained, but I guess I can understand why some use it as an option.

21

fashionforward British invasion on Broadway In terms of fashion, I’ve always dared to be different — or at least tried to be. Whenever I travel to Europe, I jump at the chance to shop because it’s my opportunity to explore new trends, find some Sabina Ellahi pieces that will spruce Columnist up my wardrobe and give me a break from the common American fashion market.

When I heard the popular high-street British retailer Topshop was making its way to our soil this October, I couldn’t contain myself — I was elated. Every time I have visited London, my suitcase has come back bursting at the seams with Topshop clothing. While living in New York this summer, I constantly walked by the Topshop site in anticipation, delighted at the idea of being able to immerse myself in European fashion trends without actually leaving the country.

Reality eventually hit me before I was able to cash in all my paychecks for my new fall wardrobe. The reason for the reality check?

Fashion history. Does the name Hennes and Mauritz ring a bell? They’re better known as H&M, the Swedish retailer that exploded in global expansion over the past decade. Even though the store has incredibly successful ties to the European fashion market while remaining inexpensive, H&M modifies what they sell in their U.S. stores, especially outside New York or any major metropolitan city.

Sure, some pieces are reminiscent of European trends, but Americans have a completely different outlook on fashion. Americans tend to like simplicity rather than intensive detail. Their main focus is not to be different, but to be comfortable while being somewhat trendy. For H&M, it can pose a huge gamble for their stores outside of an urban setting. For me, I feel like the store loses its charm when it tries to conform to match the market.

The Spanish retailer Zara succeeded in nonconformity when it opened its stores in the United States. The store prided itself on Spanish charm and European standard, while focusing on quality rather than quantity. Because of that ideal, Zara is rarely seen outside a city setting, even though its prices are relatively low for a high-street fashion retailer.

From an economic standpoint, it would make sense to modify what is being sold in U.S. markets in order to adapt to other competitors.

After all, fashion is a big business and each store needs to make sure it’s appealing to buyers. But must these stores spoil their own aesthetics and risk their identities in order to conform to current trends in a given country? Will Topshop simply become an expensive Forever 21?

Although Sir Philip Green, the British billionaire who owns Topshop, vows to keep the store “strictly British,” even with his planned expansion beyond New York, it’s hard to believe the retailer will not alter its looks in order to bring in American consumers. Perhaps he will remember that America’s fashion empire is heavily built on trends, but sometimes being different pays off.

While I’m beyond thrilled for the opening of Topshop — the countdown is 31 days — Green and any other European retailer on its way to America need to keep in mind they’re targeting a different crowd. They shouldn’t completely take away the trademark creativity and innovative execution put into their lines. Ideally, Topshop will stick to its London roots and give us girls a chance to be daring.

— sellahi@udel.edu

22 September 9, 2008

Time to get ‘reel’ at Cinema Center 3 Independent films hit Newark during annual film festival

BY JAMES ADAMS SMITH Entertainment Editor

For a few days every year, the Cinema Center 3 in the Newark Shopping Center doesn’t show any major release films. Rather, a multitude of hand-picked independent films are screened back-to-back as part of the annual Newark Film Festival. Beginning on Sept. 4 and running until Sept. 11, the festival is bringing more releases to Newark than ever before.

The festival, a brainchild of local residents Barry Schlecker and Lisa Lucas, was designed each year to enrich the local community and student body with the best of independent releases, ranging from acclaimed Sundance hits to locally-made documentaries.

“This is a labor of love more than anything else really,” Lucas says. “Barry and I both love a good film and good art.

More than anything else, what really fuels this for us is it provides a really great medium for a community event — especially when it’s busy on the weekend and raining out.”

Lucas met Schlecker in 2005, and after five months, they had the festival in full function. Since its debut in September 2005, the festival has almost doubled its attendance, Lucas says.

This year, the festival is showing 30 films with a total of 112 screenings, including appearances from some directors and guest speakers.

Although the festival has generated a dedicated following, getting the word out to students is one of its several difficulties. Lucas, who recently took a job at the university as the director of development for special projects, feels her job will help build a closer network to the student body.

Lucas’ daughter Robin, a junior at the university, gathers and trains volunteers for the event each year. She made a group for the event on Facebook, which she says was helpful.

“Not many people know about it, especially on campus,” Robin says. “We’re still not where we want to be.”

She says she’d like to see the administration and faculty be more active in the project.

“I’d like to see some independent films come here,” Robin says. “There are a lot on campus, but I think this is a step up from that. This is a bona fide film festival.”

She says there is not much of a profit margin. She and her mother do it out of an active passion for the enrichment

of the community.

There are numerous film series shown on campus, but Robin says this event is different because it provides the opportunity to see the films in a real movie theater.

The festival’s line-up this year includes the Sundance hit “American Teen,” a documentary about high school life, and “Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson,” a documentary of an eccentric and outspoken journalist.

Among the local films showing are “Leaf,” a biographical account of the Courtesy of Barry Schlecker short career of an NFL Both local and national independent movies are being screened at the film festival. quarterback, and “No Denying,” a Holocaust docGreen says that normally people have to drive to umentary featuring interviews with Delaware residents.

Philadelphia to see independent films, but the festival brings “The Counterfeiters,” the Academy-Award winning them all in one place. holocaust film, “Tell No One,” a french thriller, and “The For those who miss the films the first time around, the Band’s Visit,” an Israeli comedy, are among the festival’s for- festival is re-showing the best films at the Delaware Art eign features.

Museum from Sept. 12 to Sept. 14.

Sudi Green, a local resident, has volunteered for the fesMuch of the festival’s support comes from local spontival since it began. sors, many of which are small businesses, Lucas says.

“When you get here you see a lot of different groups of Lucas says things are running more smoothly than they people,” Green says. “People from the community, people ever have before, and she feels optimistic about the festival’s that maybe normally wouldn’t come here, but are attracted to future, especially with her new ties to the university. the art aspect.”

“I think we are really going to have a blossoming relaShe says she prefers the festival to the big conglomer- tionship with the university,” Lucas says. “I’m not pandering ates. here. I think there’s a new energy on campus for growth. You “I went the first year to see a couple of movies,” Green can feel it.” says. “Then the next year, I saw eight. This year, I’m volunteering again and I’ll get to see more.”

The festival has also worked to bring in more students with a $7 student discount price compared 2008 to the $9 regular price. Green says that it’s cheaper than seeing films in a mainstream cinema.

Newark Film Festival

Mosaic cover photo courtesy of Martín — http://flickr.com/photos/mfaras/1242782720/

Cinema Center 3

Tuesday “Tell No One” — 1 p.m.

“The Visitor” — 3:30 p.m.

“The Bands Visit” — 9 p.m.

Wednesdy “When Did You Last See Your Father?” — 1:15 p.m.

“Young At Heart” — 6:30 p.m.

“Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson” — 9 p.m.

Thursday “Red Balloon / White Mane” — 3:30 p.m.

“The Wackness” — 7:15 p.m.

“Chop Shop” — 9:15 p.m.

For full schedule, visit www.newarkfilm.com Courtesy of Barry Schlecker THE REVIEW/John Transue

The Newark Film Festival at Cinema Center 3 is showing 30 independent films through Sept.11.

September 9, 2008

23

Courtesy of Jessica Falborn

Jessica Falborn interned at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia.

Student secures summer post in Arabic nation

BY SABINA ELLAHI Features Editor

Senior Jessica Falborn found the perfect summer internship, and it didn’t include living in America.

Falborn, an international relations major, interned at the U.S. embassy in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The 10-week internship program through the U.S. Department of State allowed students to work in several regions throughout the globe.

Falborn says she chose two bureaus in areas of the world based on her knowledge of the country’s language — she decided on Latin America, because of her Spanish minor, and the Near East, since she has taken Arabic classes.

“I figured the job prospects are more promising if I have some knowledge of Arabic, especially in this given time,” Falborn says.

While studying abroad for Winter Session 2008 in Spain and Portugal, Falborn found out she was selected to intern with the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

“I was in an Internet café in Spain and I checked my e-mail and saw that I had been selected for the internship,” she says. “I just started crying in the middle of the Internet café — I was just so excited.”

Falborn says the e-mail did not specify where she was going to be interning. She eventually found out in March she was going to Tunisia, when she received another e-mail about the security clearance process she would have to go through prior to her departure.

“When I found out what part of the world I was actually going to, I did have second thoughts and thought maybe I shouldn’t go,” she said. “I had culture shock just thinking about going there.”

Eventually, Falborn says she realized she may possibly never have a chance like this in the future.

She says she began working with a company that specializes in helping

Americans go through security clearance.

“I was on my toes the whole time,” Falborn says. “I was on my best behavior because I was so guarded.”

She says when she arrived in Tunisia she was placed in housing owned by the embassy, which, to her surprise, was relatively pleasant.

“The accommodations were pretty awesome,” Falborn says.

“The house was just beautiful and was in a nice neighborhood.”

At the embassy, Falborn’s main project was overseeing securities advising, which was set up in the 1980s by the state department.

Her main job was to make sure American private sectors that have properties in the country are safe.

She also helped to form an executive council of businesses they worked with, which helped build her ambassadorial skills.

“The Tunis government needs to know what goes on if it happens outside of the embassy, so when we formed meetings with various groups and businesses beyond embassy lines, it was difficult,” Falborn says. “I didn’t anticipate how hard it was going to be, but it helped me enhance diplomatic skills.”

Beyond the difficulties of adapting to the culture and learning the language, Falborn says she feels she now has advantages because of her experience, as well as a changed perspective.

“It was a worldly experience — I now have this clichéd, humble view,” she says. “Clichéd in a sense that I realize how lucky I am to be an American.”

Khalil Masmoudi, professor of Arabic and culture, says Falborn’s knowledge of Arabic will help her greatly if she decides to pursue a job in the federal government.

See STUDENT page 25

24 September 9, 2008

‘Pong Toss’: Q for Questionable

BY TED SIMMONS Entertainment Editor

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Which came first, the drinking or the game?

For many students, the essence of beer pong lies in the drinking, but it is this very component that caused controversy over a newly developed videogame for the Nintendo Wii.

Developers at JV Games had the idea to create and market a beer pong game for the Wii console, but according to a July 2008 Time.com article, met much opposition from parents and even the Connecticut attorney general. The problem lies in both the name of the game and its content. Having the word “beer” in the title, as well as pixilated beer in cups, caused an uproar from critics. The result was to change the name of the game to “Pong Toss” and to replace the simulated beer with water.

Nicole Sullivan, an outreach coordinator for Wellspring, states in an e-mail message that such opposition isn’t surprising and anything that promotes drinking deserves scrutiny.

“Due to the consequences of high-risk drinking behavior, anything that has the potential to encourage or glamorize this behavior should cause an alarm,”

Malaysian student pursues degree at university Continued from page 19 Azahari says she is not looking forward to the low wages and expensive standard of living in Malaysia.

“A pair of shoes that would cost $15 here in the states costs about $400 in Malaysia,” she says.

Though she is not a U.S. citizen, Azahari has spent much of her life in America. Two months after her birth in Selangor, Malaysia, she moved to Florida with her parents where she lived for five years. She returned to Malaysia to attend primary school and moved back to the United States when her mother began work in a diplomatic position in Washington, D.C. “My father still lived in Malaysia,” Azahari says. “He came to visit us about once a year.”

After attending four years of high school in Fairfax, Va., Azahari was faced with a difficult choice — either return to Malaysia without an education or job, or apply for a scholarship with the Malaysian government.

Azahari says acceptence into the scholarship program is not easy, and is usually only given to Malaysian students who live in Malaysia. Students are required to take a rigorous exam to be considered.

“Sons and daughters of diplomats have a chance to get the scholarship without the test,” she says.

“The test is ridiculously hard —

Malaysian language and grammar.

There was no chance I would get it.”

The Malaysian government expects a lot from their students, Azahari says. Most students sent to the United States must attend Ivy League schools to be considered.

“My mother had to prove that UD could provide just as good of an education,” she says. “Professors in Ivy League schools don’t really care about their students — I wanted to go to UD.” Fortunately for Azahari, she was able to prove an education at the university was just as comprehensive as Ivy League.

“When I entered a few years ago, UD was high on the list of top schools, which helped,” she says.

While the university provides a more relaxed academic environment when compared with Ivy Leagues, Azahari is still under pressure. She says she must have at least a 2.75 GPA at all times to keep the scholarship.

“It’s like there is someone keeping an eye on you,” Azahari says.

“You need to do this or do that, or they revoke the scholarship.”

Even with the stressful situation, Azahari says she tries to have fun with her time at the university and get the most out of her education.

“I’m trying to live in the moment and enjoy the time I have,” she says.

Sullivan says.

Beer pong has been under fire from college administrations in the past — some schools have banned the game, while others have gone even further.

According to Time.com, Georgetown University took action last fall when it “banned beer pong, specially made beer-pong tables and inordinate numbers of Ping-Pong balls and any other alcohol-related paraphernalia in its on-campus dorms — even in the rooms of students of legal drinking age.”

The University of Delaware has also taken steps to outlaw the game, Sullivan says.

“Beer Pong and drinking games are prohibited activities at the University of Delaware,” she says.

Sullivan goes on to cite the Code of Conduct, which says in Section E under Alcohol Regulations that “The possession of any apparatus, including but not limited to beer pong tables and beer funnels, used to facilitate 1) the rapid consumption of alcohol or 2) drinking games” is strictly prohibited.

This culture of binge drinking has long been targeted by officials, but the emergence of “Pong Toss” carries that culture away from parties and colleges. The topic of debate no longer becomes actual consumption of alcohol, but rather the concept and thought of it.

Sullivan says drinking games encourage binge drinking, which in turn puts the consumer at a high risk of both health and in a student’s case, school problems. She says without playing or seeing the game, she could not say whether “Pong Toss” promotes drinking,

but Sullivan does say any game that depicts the act of drinking could be potentially harmful.

“I do believe that there are dangers associated with a game that may potentially glamorize a high-risk drinking behavior,” she says.

And there in lies the problem. Rated “E” for everybody, “Pong Toss” takes the game of beer pong out of the college or frat house setting, and into living rooms across the country.

Freshman Jill Kramer says while there may be no beer in the game, teaching children a drinking game isn’t for the best.

“It’s better to change to water,” she says.

“It’s bad for kids to play because then they’d learn [beer pong].”

The game itself gives players differing points depending on which cup they hit, according to JVGames.com. It features roll backs fireball bonuses, and allows up to four players at a time.

Freshman Danielle McKenna says she played the game online and thought it was fun.

How “Pong Toss” will be received by gamers and college students is unknown, but Sullivan says it may be considered akin to beer pong itself.

“Colleges across the U.S. are taking numerous steps to reduce the consequences of drinking on their campuses and must consider the potential consequences of this ‘virtual rendition of the popular college drinking game,’ ” she says. “Could this virtual rendition become a substitute for the prohibited apparatus? And will Wii Pong Toss become the new drinking for this college population?”

September 9, 2008

Student journeys abroad for internship Continued from page 23

“Arabic is very critical and very needed in this country,” he says. “The knowledge of Arabic will help bring people together and promote understanding of the culture.”

Masmoudi says the experience Falborn had benefits her not only in practicing her Arabic skills, but by letting her witness the culture for herself as well.

“This opportunity she had allows her to have her own idea of the Arab world instead of relying on the media,” he says.

Falborn first heard about the internship from a general e-mail from the political science department about job opportunities and internships.

Inspired to have a career in law enforcement in the federal government, she says she applied to one that particularly stuck out.

Professor John Quintus, who specializes in advising political science and international relations students, is one of the people responsible for helping send out e-mails about these internships, especially with the federal government.

“I help students figure out their interests and help them find an internship based on that,” Quintus says. “I basically augment what goes on in the process.”

Quintus, a retired Foreign Service officer, says there are many opportunities students don’t know about. He says his goal is to promote and encourage students to apply to these internships.

“Students learn about foreign service while getting a taste of another country or culture, which is an incredible experience,” Quintus says.

“Many of these opportunities can lead to full-time employment, which is what I have seen some of my students receive.”

With plans to attend law school in the near future, Falborn says the inspiration for her determination comes from her two biggest heroes and fans — her parents.

“My parents always worked hard and never settled for anything, and that sort of mindset passed on to me,” she says. “They are the reason why I am here.”

Courtesy of Jessica Falborn

Falborn’s knowledge of Arabic helped her while interning overseas.

25

26 September 9, 2008

September 9, 2008

27

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Saturday, September 13

“Talk Tables - Center for International Studies” Professionals available for recruiting and answering questions regarding domestic travel study and study abroad.

Smith Hall Lobby 10:45AM - 2PM

“Run Fat Boy Run” Film Wednesday Movies $2 with UD ID Trabant University Center Theatre 7:30PM

“Department of Physical Therapy Open House” The Department of Physical Therapy will hold an informational session to share informatin about UD’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Cirriculum, and the profession of physical therapy.

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“Just U Do It Days” Student Centers presents a second opportunity for new students to learn about fun organizations and activities on campus. Featuring additional student organizations not present at Activities Night, giveaways, and a caricturist. Be sure to stope by the tables in the food court on your way to class or lunch Trabant University Center 11:00AM - 1:00PM

Thursday, September 11 “Footbal Pep Rally” Coaches, band, dance, cheer, and YoUDee will be there Trabant Food Court Noon “Local Music Nights” www.scpab.com Perkins Student Center Scrounge 8:00PM

“Poles Apart: Photography, Science, and Polar Exploration” Photographs from the Library of the American Geographical Society.

University Gallery, Old College 1:00PM - 4:00PM

Friday, September 12

“Blogging Feminism, Blogging Race: The Internet as an Emerging Public Sphere for Spontaneous Protest” Lecture Ben Fleury-Steiner, associate professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice and Black American Studies at the University of Delaware will speak. The event is free and open to the public 206 Trabant University Center 12:15 - 1:10 PM

“UD MBA Student Council Golf Challenge” 2nd Annual MBA Student Council Golf Challenge. Come out and network with businesses, meet other professionals, or just to have a fun time playing golf on one of Delaware’s finest public courses!

Cost is $135 for a single golfer, $500 for a foursome. All proceeds of this event are forwarded to various Community Service Initiatives.

Deerfield Golf and Tennis Club 7:00AM - 1:00PM

Wednesday, September 10

“Iron Man” Outdoor film on the Green at dusk.

7:30PM

“Main Street Journal Interest Meeting” Interest meeting for Main Street Journal, a new literary magazine on campus. Please stop by one of our interest meetings to learn about submitting, helping with editing, PR, distribution, advertising, and other oppurtunities Perkins Ewing Room of Perkins Student Center 4:00PM - 5:00PM

Sunday, September 14

“Fall Fling” Part of Coffeehouse Series 8:30PM Perkins Student Center Scrounge Saturday September 13 “Ice Skating Public Session” Admission is $7 per person, $5 per youth 6 years of age and younger.

Skate rental is available for $3 Rust Ice Arena 1:00PM - 3:00PM

RATES University Affiliated: $1 per line Outside: $2 per line Bolding: $2 one-time fee Boxing: $5 one-time fee

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September 9, 2008

sports

Did you know?

Sophomore men’s soccer forward Darren Christie’s high school team won the Swaziland national title in 2005.

28

underp eview:

weekly calendar

Delaware v.

West Chester

Tuesday, September 9 Volleyball vs. Temple, 7 p.m..

Wednesday, September 10

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Tubby Raymond Stadium, Newark DE Managing Sports Editor

Why we can win:

The Numbers:

Starting this week, we will be providing our readers with weekly game previews, to help prepare and inform our readers for the upcoming game.

Every week’s preview will include information we feel is both interesting and pertinent, along with a prediction for the final game score.

These reports will be based upon press releasees,statistics and our own knowledge of Delaware athletics.

-The divisional divide: West Chester is a Division-II school and while there is often less disparity between most 1-A and the best FCS schools, there still remains a large gap between the FCS and Division-II. The Hens will have the advantage in size, speed and overall skill level throughout the depth chart in this one.

-We have a history: The Delaware vs. West Chester game has been a tradition for quite some time now. Each year it seems to get easier for the Hens and there is no reason to think 2008 will be any different.

-The A-Team is here: While Mr. T along the team’s defensive line would be a sight to see, the Hens have their own A-team defensive tandem, of cornerback Anthony Bratton and strong safety Anthony Walters. Bratton had a team high 14 tackles during the week one loss at Maryland and Walters came up with an interception.

46- Career touchdown catches for West Chester's Mike Washington, good for 8th all-time in division II history.

1906- The last year the Hens had a bye week right after their opener.

101- Career catches for wide receiver Mark Duncan, making him the 13th player in team history to reach that mark.

1951-The last time a Blue Hen player had started as a true freshman, until left guard Rob McDowell started week one against Maryland.

Why we could lose:

The Prediction:

BY RYAN LANGSHAW

Thursday, September 11

Friday, September 12 Volleyball vs. East Carolina, 7 p.m.

Women’s soccer vs. Sacred Heart 5 p.m.

Women’s Outdoor Track @ ECAC Championships (Princeton) Golf @ Navy Invitational

About the Teams: West Chester:

Saturday, September 13 Football vs. West Chester 6 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Lasalle 7 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Western Michigan 10 a.m.

Sunday, September 14

The Rams (1-1) are coming off a 37-6 rout of Lock Haven last Saturday. They are led on offense by wide receiver Mike Washington and quarterback Joe Wright.

The Hens:

The Hens are coming off a bye week and enter the game with a 01 overall record. The offense will be led for the second week by quarterback Robbie Schoenhoft and running back Johnathon Smith.

-Runnin’ Wild:

Anyone who saw the team’s defensive line play against the Terps knows they were shredded by Maryland runningback Da’Rel Scott, who rushed for 197 yards on the ground. If the Hens see a repeat performace out of West Chester’s Lee Hopkins, the makings of an upset could be there.

- No “Schoen-off”- Quarterback Robbie Schoenhoft did a good job of protecting the football against Maryland and if he does the same against the Rams, Delaware should have no problem moving the ball and keeping a lead. However, if the Hens take the Rams defense too lightly and Schoenhoft takes risky shots downfield, turnovers could keep the Rams hanging around.

-A little upset: Taking the Rams seriously could be the biggest test for the team Saturday. If Delaware plays down to their level, this game could get out of hand, considering the offensive show the Rams put on last week against Lock Haven.

In a normal year the Hens would have little trouble with a Division-II opponent and have handled the Rams in years past. However this year's team features a stronger offense than the Hens have seen in previous seasons. As long as Schoenhoft protects the ball and the defensive line gets in the face of West Chester quarterback Joe Wright, the Hens should extend their win streak against their downdivision rivals rather easily.

Hens 35, West Chester 17

Field Hockey vs. Syracuse (@ maryland) 12 noon Women’s soccer @ yale 1:30 p.m.

THE REVIEW/File Photo

The Hens’ defense looks to stop West Chester yet again this season.

29 September 9, 2008

BlueHenBabble Would you rather see the Hens start a rivalry with D-I Delaware State annually or continue to stomp D-II rival West Chester ?

We stomp West Chester every year.

Delaware State does well in their conference. Playing them would keep that relationship alive and add some culture to our rivalry.

Courtesy of Sports Information

All of Delaware’s sports facilities will soon be undergoing a complete makeover.

— Louis Neblett Junior

Delaware assessing new facilities

BY PAT MAGUIRE Sports Editor

University President Patrick Harker’s “Path to Prominence” is not just limited to academics. A sneak peak into the future of Delaware’s athletic facilities will be unveiled during the first home football game this Saturday versus Westchester.

“I think it’s great,” head soccer coach Ian Hennessey said. “These buildings, like most buildings throughout the ages, are symbolic and represent something. For us, they represent securing the university’s future as a nationally prominent university for the years to come.”

While the “sneak peak” is planned to occur during a football game, the facility improvements are not just limited to the Hens’ football program or to Delaware Stadium. Each varsity program and even club and intramural sports are likely to benefit from assessments made by HOK Sport, the architectural firm hired for the project.

“We are conceptualizing facilities that support the needs of not just one sport or team but as many teams and students as possible,” said Sherri Privitera, HOK Sport’s project manager for the study. “Our proficiency in athletic facility design includes a commitment to sustainable design and a focus on accommodating the entire athlete, coach and fan experience.”

Saturday’s preview will be just a small look into what is expected to be a substantial number of improvements, beginning initially with the expansion of weight training facilities, an academic support area designed to help athletes cope with an academic schedule while staying on top of their game athletically and a sports medicine clinic. Preliminary and more

commentary

SEIF HUSSAIN “Only in my fantasy... league”

detailed sketches are expected to be unveiled in the early months of 2009.

“We’ll be unveiling conceptual ideas,” Delaware Director of Athletics Edgar Johnson said. “We don’t have any definitive plans.”

HOK can take credit for stadiums and facilities such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. HOK also designed the University’s Bob Carpenter Center, which opened in 1992.

“HOK is the premier architectural firm in the country,” Johnson said “They were number one then and they’re number one now.”

Currently, HOK is working on detailed assessments of all of Delaware’s many athletic complexes, including the Bob Carpenter Center and the Carpenter Sports Building, the Delaware Field House, Fred Rust and Gold Ice Arenas, Delaware Stadium and the various baseball and softball fields located off of South College Avenue.

The assessments, which have been in the works since July, are simply a fraction of what is being displayed across the entire campus initiative.

The initiative, which is designed “to fulfill the mission of the university and to be recognized around the world as one of the great public institutions of higher education in America,” according to Patrick Harker in the document’s opening address, does not end in academia, as proven in HOK’s involvement and continued assessment in the university’s athletic needs.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Johnson said.

When the New York Giants upset my beloved Green Bay Packers in last year's NFC Championship game, I prayed to the football gods looking down from their private box seats, which I am sure are the only kind available in heaven.

Yes, I prayed for all sorts of nasty plagues to befall the Giants, shamelessly and with full faith my divine requests would be fulfilled. I only hoped the torment would start after they did me a solid by upsetting the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl (admittedly, I harbor more malice towards the “Beli-cheats” than any other sports organization, real-world enemy, or toughgrading professor could ever draw out of me).

A certain feeling, which comes from a complete commitment to ruining another team from top to bottom, simply out of spite and in a quest for unadultered revenge, does an amazing job at warming the cold blood of the brazen fan, especially when those chilly playoff games roll around.

So strong is the healing provided by watching a nemesis beaten into submission, that in a pinch it can be a decent substitute for actual winning.

So all the teams that have beaten one of my squads had better sleep with both eyes open, because sweet revenge doesn’t stop for rest and prayers of good fans don’t go unanswered, unless you are an Eagles fan and even then it is only the

I feel like we would still stomp Delaware State every year. We should get a better rivalry.

collective prayers of millions of Cowboys fans which thwart your best efforts.

The obvious connection in my mind between being a good fan and heaping expletives, flinging poo at, or otherwise berating any opponents makes fantasy football just that much harder for me to wholeheartedly savor.

As much as I have come to enjoy fantasy football, the “poison pick” is one tough pill to swallow. In this year's fantasy football season, it has already reared it’s ugly head and bitten me in the rear.

The fantasy football “poison pick” scenario: A player is selected in a fantasy draft, belonging to a rival or otherwise hated team. This acquisition creates an inescapable dilemma, as a sense of team pride often requires hatred of rival players and members of disliked teams. The resulting stress as the spirit of rivalry is made secondary to the best interest of the fantasy team is both awkward and uncomfortable, especially come Sundays.

This situation is the reason that, to date, I have sacrificed points in the interest of my own sanity, because if I had to watch the Minnesota Vikings defense steamrolling Aaron Rodgers even once this season (which they definitely won’t), knowing full well my fantasy team was benefitting from my pain, no amount of PeptoBismol could cure my resulting queasiness.

Hence, I passed on the Vikings defense and left

— Brittany Reed Senior

We should play Delaware State.

They are the other biggest college in Delaware. It should just be natural.

— Scott Sobocinski UD Staff

what could be a great unit this year on the board, because division rivalry runs thicker than blood.

As much as it hurts to admit, this year I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers and used my first round pick to draft Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady. It seemed like the correct choice at the time, but was a classic example of the poison pick. I labored through the first few series of the past weekend’s New England vs. Kansas City game, refreshing the stats online like a madman, when suddenly, in some horrid twist of fantasy karma gone wrong, Brady got rocked.

I first laughed in joy, but quickly shifted my gaze to my fantasy tracker and realized “The Golden Boy” wouldn’t be winning me anything for a while. Thus it set in; in a fantasy world, you can’t be truly satisfied unless your favorite team and players comprise your fantasy team and still manages to win them both titles, Super Bowl and fantasy.

So before you go making silly teams with witty names like “Eli is my homeboy,” “The Replacements,” or “The Monstars,” remember that real football is no fantasy and if you pick the wrong player for you, fantasy football might not be either.

Seif Hussain is a managing sports editor for The Review. Send questions, comments and a coupon for a free knee replacement surgery labeled T.Brady to seif@udel.edu

September 9, 2008

30

Transfer athletes happy as Hens

BY ALEX PORRO Sports Editor

Courtesy of The University of Connecticut

Johnathon Smith transferred to be closer to home.

Johnathon Smith sat in the dark film room, again.

Outside, the town of Storrs, Conn., buzzed with students running to class, crowding into the Homer Babbidge Library at the heart of the University of Connecticut, or stuffing themselves in one of the many cafeterias on the close-knit campus.

Smith was busy watching countless hours of game tape. Some tape prepared him for his role on special teams, others showed the correct angles to take for a tackle or the tendencies of the lead blocker he would need to beat the next week while playing linebacker or defensive end. Soon, it would be time for practice, where he would take reps lining up at runningback for the Huskies and head coach Randy Edsall.

“I was so spread out throughout different positions,” Smith said, “I never had a focus or a chance to get good or get better at one position.”

The demands of learning so many positions, combined with the rigors of practice and a struggle to get quality playing time began to catch up with the Camp Hill, Pa. native, specifically straining his academic development, which is when he began to look elsewhere for a better opportunity.

Smith is not alone. On the Delaware football team there are twenty transfer athletes competing for a chance to play. They range from quarterbacks Robby Schoenhoft (an Ohio State transfer) and Sean Hakes (Akron and Orange Coast College) to tight end Trevor Mooney (Washington State) and Defensive End Brandon Gilbeaux (Syracuse) and fall everywhere in between. Smith credits a good team environment and a sense of comfort as big factors in his Delaware decision.

“It was convenient,” Smith said, “my brother goes to Millersville and I’m an hour away from him. It’s close to home, I’m from Pennsylvania.”

Smith started the Hens’ season opener at the University of Maryland at running back — and only running back.

“There was a balance between getting on the field, being close to home, and academics,” he said.

“It was definitely a better fit,” Smith said.

The football team does not have a monopoly on the transfer market and many other teams are bringing in players looking for a new start.

Kasie Shover said she had watched her sister play goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team since she was a freshman in high school, but was recruited heavily by North Carolina State University and eventually signed with the Wolfpack.

“I wanted to do something different than my sister,” Shover said. “I wanted to play in the ACC [Atlantic Coast

Conference].”

However, after three weeks with the team, she said she had enough.

“It was horrible,” Shover said. “I called my parents and said, “I’m leaving this school. I hate soccer.”

Shover said the team’s coaches, and especially head coach Laura Kerrigan, were the reason for her departure.

“There were two women coaches and I’d never played for women before,” Shover said.

She said she never really got along with the coaches and though she played in every game, her situation with the coaches never changed. A poor team atmosphere didn’t help either, Shover said.

“NC State wasn’t one of the best teams in the conference,” she said. “It seemed like they were okay with that.

It was really negative.”

So, after a disastrous beginning to her collegiate career, Shover needed a change of scenery.

“I’m so glad I came here, everybody is so positive and works hard,” Shover said. “I wish I would have come here from the beginning, but I’m glad that I went there first. It makes me more grateful about being at such a good school.”

Though Shover is excited for the team’s prospects this season, she will have to watch from the sideline after breaking her leg during the preseason. She will redshirt and retain another semester of eligibility.

Other athletes choose Delaware for a chance to compete at a higher level of competition. Abdul Faisal Alhassan-Chibsah, a sophomore on the men’s soccer team left Carson-Newman College in search of a higher level of competition.

“Carson-Newman was a good school; it was one of the best Division II schools,” Alhassan-Chibsah said. “In Division I you’re facing more talent than in Division II and the CAA is one of the best conferences in the nation.”

Alhassan-Chibsah was born in Ghana and there were several Division I teams competing for the midfielder’s services.

He credits head coach Ian Hennessy and the soccer staff for his decision, saying they cared about him as more than just a soccer player. The coaches put pressure on their players to perform both on the field and in the classrooms, so that they will be ready for life after soccer.

The Hens’ coaches combined with the chance to play at the highest level of collegiate soccer appealed so much to Alhassan-Chibsah that he chose to play at Delaware, even with the risk that he might not start.

“He [Hennessy] is a smart guy and he is always there to help you out,” Alhassan-Chibsah said. “He makes sure that your classes are all right, your soccer is all right, your family. Anything that is a concern to you is a concern for him as well. He is not just on the field. He tries to take care of us like my own daddy would. I liked that a lot.”

Field hockey looks to find success this season

BY DAN MOBERGER Staff Reporter Delaware’s field hockey team has learned first-hand this season the devastating impact that injuries can have. The team was ranked No. 6 in the conference in preseason rankings, but after losing four straight games to difficult, high ranked opponents at last weekend’s Louisville Classic tournament and this weekend’s Blue Hen Classic, the Hens are still searching for win number one.

Part of the reason they have been struggling is that senior captain and twice reigning team MVP, Casey Howard, has been injured all season with an unspecified foot injury.

Highlighting Howard’s career as a Hen are her bids to the first team all-conference and all-region squads, so the team is hurt a lot by her absence.

In reaction to the low preseason ranking and how it sits with the team, she said, “not very well, but it gives us an opportunity to move up in the rankings. We have played four really good teams.”

Howard said the lack of offense is not any huge concern at this point in the season. She hopes to be back very soon, lists herself as day-to-day and has a doctor’s appointment coming up which could potentially get her back onto the field as soon as their next game on Sunday against Syracuse.

Last weekend’s matchups for the squad were against then No. 10 Michigan State and No. 12 Duke. The Spartans’ game was a 3-2 loss, Duke 0-2, but in both games the defense really

showed its remarkable talent.

Led by sophomore co-captain back Florence Sijbrandij and as senior goalkeeper Nikki Rhoades, the Hens’ defense has continued its strong performances after a season where they only allowed more than two goals in five of nineteen games.

Rhoades said the strong defense can be attributed to the whole team.

“I feel like our whole defense does a good job," she said.

“All five backs and midfielders really look great.We have at least two years together and everyone is very instinctual.”

This year’s team is loaded with ability up and down the roster and has more players with better experience after graduating just three seniors last year.

Even with the added experience though, the team has a lot of youth, with nine freshman, seven sophomores, eight juniors and only five seniors. Head coach Carol Miller has seen youth a lot being a head coach Delaware for 15 years.

“It’s always a process, getting a team to work together," she said. "We are working through that. Casey being off the field is tough.”

The team’s continual success can be attributed to not only the players, but the coaching staff, led by Miller. Joining the staff this year is new goalkeepers coach Erica Johnson-Crell.

Miller said her team has great experience in the defensive unit, but they are still struggling with scoring and executing under pressure.

With the re-addition of Howard, the team is looking to

rebound from their worst start since 1995 and still make the CAA tournament at the end of the season, after narrowly missing last season.

Courtesy of Sports Information

Nikki Rhoades highlights Delaware’s strong defense.

31

September 9, 2008

Volleyball tries to weather the storm Loss of key player Gibson puts young team to the test torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Head Coach Bonny Kenny said After winning the 2007 CAA title, no one doubted the although the team is feeling the loss of women’s volleyball program took a pivitol leap forward. Gibson, she is counting on the team leaders When Head coach Bonny Kenny first arrived at Delaware in to step up.

1998, she inherited a squad that won only nine times her “I expect our juniors to turn into first year, but as the years have passed the team has built up seniors and the rest of the team to play beta solid program. ter,” Kenny said. “A lot of these girls got But the reality of college athletics can be a harsh one at the chance to play a lot of volleyball last times, especially when it comes to the limited eligibility of year.” players.

The loss of Gibson along with The Hens felt this immediately after their success of starting the season on the road, made for a last year, when they lost seniors Megan Welsh and Colleen lot of distractions to start the year.

Walsh, the latter arguably the most talented player the team Sophomore libero Stephanie Berry has had in the last 10 years. said she feels the team is coming together This year’s team features only one senior, along with despite the tough start, and is now focused seven freshmen, the highest amount of any team in the on doing well in conference play and getKenny era. Add in the loss of a key player, and there is the ting the freshmen players ready to go. potential for a rocky start, which is exactly what the team “Obviously we have a young team, experienced during their season opening trip to California. but we are finding ways to get better,” Berry While playing in the Cal-State Fullerton tournament to said. open the season, the team dropped all three matches, and Middle-hitter Paige Erickson said lost key outside hitter Kelly Gibson for the season with a she believes the injury to Gibson was the main reason the team was not able to get off to a good start in California.

“We really were not prepared for her to go down, and it really left a huge hole in our lineup,” she said.

The Hens will have about a month until their first conference game, which will give the team a chance to figure out how to overcome the loss of Gibson, which both team captain Michelle LaLonde and Berry state is the most pressing issue for the squad right now.

Gibson is a key loss Paige Erickson from the squad for multiple reasons. She was the only senior on the team, and the tough task of leading the Hens’ forward now falls into the hands of middle-hitter LaLonde.

Many freshmen are also being counted on to show maturity beyond their years, something both LaLonde and Erickson say has been a pleasent surprise about this years new group of players.

“The freshmen are really stepping it up, and we are really just working hard as a team to step up our game,” Erickson said.

Some of the younger players have already begun to prove their worth for the Hens, including freshman outsidehitter Meghan Bonk. Bonk had six kills in against both matches against Courtesy of Sports Information Berry will be counted on to assume a leadership role this year.

BY RYAN LANGSHAW Managing Sports Editor

Courtesy of Sports Information

will be looking to add additional offense for the Hens.

UNC Greensboro and Cal State Fullerton.

Replacing Gibson will also be difficult because the team’s offensive attack was planned around her. Being an outsidehitter, the team will now look to focus its offensive attack more towards the middle, where experienced players such as LaLonde and Paige Erickson can take control.

Erickson, started all 36 games for the Hens last season, and said the team has been working on finding a more even distribution in practice, which worked well at the Delaware Invitational; in which the team won two of their three games this weekend.

“We have been training really hard since the off-season,” she said. “If we continue to work hard we’ll be able to get back on track and have success.”

Athletes of the Issue Anthony Walters Walters, a sophomore cornerback, was named the CAA co-defensive payer of the week for his performance during week one of the season at Maryland. Walters had a team high of 13 tackles during the game, and also came away with one interception.

Walters, a Philadelphia native, played quarterback, defensive back and wide receiver in high school.

Alli D’amico

Senior midfielder D’amico scored a game winnning goal last Friday night against Lafayette, leading the team to a 1-0 victory.

D’amico made her first appearance since suffering an injury at the beggining of the 2007 season which forced her to redshirt the year.

D’amico, a New Jersey native, is also a three-year letter winner for the Hens.

THE REVIEW/Jan Dickey

18-1?... Let’s try 1-18.

September 9, 2008

32