Crescent Magazine September 2011

crescent University of Evansville

College Culture Upfront • September 2011

PADDLE PERFECT

A bunch of rain doesn’t stop UE from its hosting duties

POT PARADOX

the Exploring America’s stance on marijuana legalization

SPANDexclusive

Heroes and everyday citizens step up to save the day

We’re mad as hell — and we’re going to post a status about it!

SLACKTIVISM 9/11 REMEMBERED

A decade after the terror, America continues moving forward

A NEW SENSE OF THEMSELVES Trinidad & Tobago provides a memorable time for seven students

$2.50

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crescent MAGAZINE

09.2011

24

Spandexclusive

Superheroes have become part of our popular culture, and they are changing to reflect a new generation.

14 Paddle Perfect

Civil engineering students host a historic competition, proving concrete can float.

20 Slacktivism

The definition of activism has changed with the rise of social networking.

28 Fascinating People Students back from Trinidad and Tobago share their experiences.

w w w

17

The Pot Paradox Marijuana has as many nicknames as there are perspectives on its use. Why is the debate more complicated than it seems?

32 The Other Futball Understanding what we see and hear when we watch the world’s most popular sport.

2/Viewpoint • 3/Dorm Storm • 4/Vox Populi • 7/Arts & Entertainment • 8/Giving Back • 11/Health & Science • 13/Food 31/Sept. 11 — 10 Years Later • 34/Third & Short • 36/Off the Wall • 38/The Lists • 39/A Closer Look • 40/That’s What She Said 09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Our Viewpoint

crescent

NEWsmagazine

MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

Crescent makes its annual alterations.

Change is a necessary part of our nature.

Whether the Pot Paradox word strikes resistance into duSlacktiviSm bious hearts and is looked on with all the enthusiasm of an impending enema, or whether it comes as a beacon of hope, change is, in fact, the stuff of progress. It has to happen for things to improve.

Here at Crescent Magazine, we fully agree; we believe a certain amount of revisioning is necessary to give you, our wonderful readership, the very best possible newsmagazine. Change is good, we have found, and we’re kicking off a new year with plenty to show for it.

In addition to a striking new style — a sharper, cleaner, more streamlined design, we are incorporating a number of exciting new segments into our line-up, in a grand sort of “out with the old, in with the new.”

You will notice the addition of multiple columns: opinion, for the parsing of current events; sports, for comment postkickoff, -putt or -slam dunk; and health and science, to help keep campus green and provide other cutting-edge facts.

But that’s not all. This year, food items will duel for restaurant preeminence, Wall is equipped with some saucy new bits

crescent University of evansville

College Culture Upfront • September 2011

magazine

paddle perfect

a bunch of rain doesn’t stop Ue from its hosting duties the exploring america’s stance on marijuana legalization

Spandexclusive

Heroes and everyday citizens step up to save the day

we’re mad as hell — and we’re going to post a status about it!

9/11 remembered

a decade after the terror, america continues moving forward

a new SenSe of tHemSelveS trinidad & tobago provides a memorable time for seven students

$2.50

and new content Dorm Storm will peer into the lives of extraordinary students in their everyday worlds.

You may also notice we have put the kibosh on our per-issue crossword, which, we understand, may be the one change that is too much to bear. But, before you come wielding torches and pitchforks, encircling the StudPub office in a human blockade, take this small token for your continued sanity and word-circling delight: bestcrosswords.com, for unlimited games.

Speaking of change, this month’s feature story will delve into the trend of online activism, as our generation attempts to make a difference — but only at the click of a mouse.

Let’s face facts. We don’t stand at the picket anymore when “we want change, and we want it right now.” We take to the Internet to air our concerns.

We vent, complain away out into the ether, and we feel a bit better, having sounded out. But what are we doing to actually change those things that spike our blood pressure, that so pique our moral compasses that we are moved to Tweet them — anything physically?

Are we so glued to our computers, unwilling to come out from the glow of our monitors, that we should not take to the streets for the causes we support? Have we become a cohort of burgeoning couch spuds, a generation of inaction? Turn to page 20 to find out.

Writing Director: Mindy Kurtz Writing Editor: Kate Wood Research Editor: Danielle Weeks Columnists: Mark Boxell, Lacey Conley, A. J. Ogundimu Contributing Writers: Josh Garrett, Brodie Gress, Taylor Hamilton, Kayla Hammel, Corey Hart, Jessica Ingle, Jenna McCord, Chelsea Modglin, Christine Mueller, Amy Reinhart, Amanda Squire, Rachel Willis

EDITING Editing Director: Lacey Conley Copy Editors: Janelle Clausen, Esther Coghill, Glen Miller

CREATIVE Creative Director: Amanda Squire Photo Editor: Nathan Edmiston Page Designers: Yolanda Alvarado, Kaylee Harden, Katie Schneider Advertising Designers: Jeffrey Buente, Andrew Schulingkamp Contributing Photographers: Jessica Crihfield, Sunny Johnson, Amy Rabenberg

MARKETING & SALES Marketing & Sales Director: Blair Wissinger Advertising Sales Manager: Ryan Cramer Sales Associates: Qassem AlMosslem, Jordan Chapman Marketing Assistant: Taylor Paquette Circulation Assistant: Michael Armanno

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HOW TO CONTACT US Address: Ridgway University Center, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Ave., Evansville, Ind. 47722 Editorial E-mail: crescentmagazine@evansville.edu • Phone: (812) 488–2846 • FAX: (812) 488–2224 Marketing & Sales: (812) 488–2221 and 488–2223 • Marketing & Sales E-mail: crescentadvertising@evansville.edu

CRESCENT MAGAZINE is the University of Evansville’s student magazine. It is written, edited and designed by and for students, and distributed six times during the academic year. It is funded through advertising revenue and a subscription fee paid on behalf of students by the Student Government Association. Circulation is 1,700. © 2011 Student Publications, University of Evansville. Editorial Policy. Commentary expressed in unsigned editorial pieces represent a consensus opinion of Crescent Magazine’s Editorial Board. All other columns, articles and advertising are not necessarily the opinion of the Editorial Board or other members of the magazine. Letter Submissions. E-mail letters to crescentmagazine@evansville.edu and write “letter” in the subject line. Crescent Magazine welcomes letters from UE students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni, but material the Editorial Board regards as libelous, malicious and/or obscene will not be published. Letters should not exceed 400 words. For verification, letters must include the author’s name, year in school or title and e-mail address. Crescent Magazine does not print anonymous letters or those that cannot be verified. Letters will be edited for length, style, grammar and spelling.

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

DORM STORM

A Hughes Hall resident assistant is the resident expert on keeping life quirky and classy.

by Danielle Weeks

M

Make your way up to the third floor of Hughes Hall, turn right and walk down the hallway until you will see a door with a wire moose wearing sunglasses and holding a plastic cup of condoms, a dinosaur drawing taped to the door and a plaque that reads “Resident Assistant.” You have arrived.

Meet senior Kevin Connor, a 21-year-old secondary education social studies major.

Besides housing a Cincinnati Bengals shrine in his room, he keeps a collection of eclectic ties and bowties, a pair of bear-paw slippers and a variety of musical instruments — including a didgeridoo he bought at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

Though Connor was a shy youngster, he said he started coming out of his shell in high school. All shyness had vanished by college.

“The shell was like 50 miles back,” he said.

Connor proudly wears one of his several bowties and a sweater vest to Castle High School every Monday, where

WHO KNEW?

covered such titles as “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and “Jabberwocky,” all with a tongue-in-cheek death metal sound. Connor said he loved that they were not serious and did it for fun.

When he was younger, he said he would ride around on his Big Wheel wearing a Batman cape, backward Mighty Ducks hat and racing goggles.

“Nothing has really changed,” he said.

He has a full, exciting life, but still keeps his head on straight — with the help of a bowtie or two.

Quick Facts

he is student-teaching social studies.

“Being a teacher’s all about being on stage,” he said.

Conner’s students think he is a little crazy, which is good.

His humor and corny jokes keep students entertained and interested in what he has to teach them. Connor hopes to eventually get a job at a Title I school after he graduates in May. “I wanna help people,” he said. “If I can do that in any way, shape or form, I will.”

Besides teaching, music and sports keep Connor busy.

He participates in intramurals and has done everything from refereeing volleyball to playing quarterback for Tau Kappa Epsilon.

“That’s my big stress reliever,” Connor said.

Whether he is playing guitar or blasting his didgeridoo down the Hughes hallways to call residents to a meeting, Connor is surrounded by music.

Although he is not a member of a band right now, he helped create one — Life Metal MAXX — with two of his friends. Together they

n Nickname: “The Bear” n Hometown: Newport, Ky. n Idols: His grandfather and Washington Nationals leftfielder Jonny Gomes n Favorite bands: Muse, Queen, Ben Folds, Metallica and Van Canto n Plays: Piano, dulcimer, guitar and didgeridoo n Would love to: Open a Caribbean Islands tourist attraction or a pirate ship- themed restaurant n Ties in his collection: Jerry Garcia, leprechaun, Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds, patriotic fireworks, Snoopy, rock star snowman, black sheep, zoo animals n Confession: “I love Perry the Platypus.”

When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate. They do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul Students will take a hit financially with the recent cuts made by Congress to raise the debt ceiling.

Vox Populi / A. J. Ogundimu As anyone who has ever The National Center for Education Statistics reports uphad to make a car payment wards of 3 million graduate students in the United States, would know, it is never a good with 70 percent of those at the master’s degree level receividea to default on a loan, and it ing aid of some sort and an even higher percentage at the is an even worse idea to let an doctorate and professional levels of education. These cuts argument get in the way. spell trouble for any college student looking at postgraduThat was exactly what ate work. would have started happening last month to the United On top of this, S&P lowered America’s debt rating from States if a deal had not been reached to raise the debt ceilAAA to AA+. While this still sounds like an excellent grade ing — the amount of money the government could legally — above average to say the least — some analysts fear this borrow. could lead to rate increases on private loans, including stuLuckily, Congress finally reached a decision and a bill dent and parent loans. was passed that would allow America to pay its debt. UnStudents may be forced to pay even more on top of the luckily, it was at a cost to the avrising tuition and other education erage college student, especialcosts. Of course, only time will tell Among the list ly those wanting to continue their what kind of repercussions the of programs taking studies at the graduate level. downgrade is going to have. The The debt ceiling debates endbattle over the debt ceiling was hits is the ed with a compromise. Some of merely the latest in a long line of Stafford Loan the massive spending cuts desired ideological debates that have held

by Republicans got through to the up real business from getting done program, which many tune of about $917 billion. Demoin Washington. students rely on crats got to increase the amount With the rise of the Tea Party that could be borrowed by $900 biland the president’s perceived libannually to help pay lion. And a so-called “super Coneral policies coming on the heels for tuition and other gress” will make further cuts, and of eight years of Republican leadif it fails to provide a list of reforms, ership, Congress has been engaged educational expenses. a mandatory $2.1 trillion round of in petty arguments that have led to cuts will take place. dissatisfaction on every side.

So, who were the big winners and losers at the end of Business as usual, many would say, yet this is the secthe day? While it is clear that a crisis was averted, there ond time this year a deal has been rushed through to allow have been a number of negative side effects as a result. the government to do its job.

Among the many programs taking hits is the Stafford Loan There was the threat in April of a government shutdown program, which many students and parents rely on annualover a budget debate that, just like the debt ceiling, ground ly to help pay for tuition and other educational expenses. to a halt over whether tax increases should be allowed.

Graduate students will no longer be able to get subsiFrankly, it is worrisome to watch lawmakers almost fail to dized loans — the interest free part of the program — and reach a deadline of this importance twice in one year. instead can expect their payments to increase even more.

The tenor of discussion on The Hill is getting worse inThat is up to $8,500 worth of interest-free aid that graduate stead of better. As students undergo financial difficulty in students will no longer receive. This is being done to bolthe hopes of getting better employment and opportunities, ster Pell Grants for lower- and-middle-income undergraduCongress shows with this latest deal that when it comes ate students. time to pay, they do not mind dipping out of college stuIt is fantastic that undergraduate funding is not being atdents’ pockets to make a payment. tacked, but with more and more students entering postgraduate programs, this move shows a lack of concern for Vox Populi columnist A.J. Ogundimu is a senior creative those wishing to further their educations. writing major from Evansville, Ind.

WHO KNEW? 4

From birth, our eyes are always the same size, but our noses and ears never stop growing. • A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

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09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Making it another

uniqUE year at UE

UE Alumni A S S O C I AT I O N

Working for You! • Student Alumni Association • Alumni Mentoring Program • UE Connect/Professional Job Network is riday F y . r e Ev at UE y a d i r eF ar Purpl to we e r u s e.

Be purpl t s e b en your w wh o n k ever ROL You n E PAT L P R U the P trike! will s

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Upcoming Events: • Family Weekend • Sept. 23–24 • The Watson Twins Concert • Chandra ‘97 & Leigh ‘97 • Sept. 23 • 2011 Homecoming Reunion Weekend • Nov. 11–13

UE is proud of its Treasures & Traditions • evansville.edu/alumni

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

Entertainment

“Rocky Horror” is more than a movie — it’s an experience, as the classic returns to The Centre.

Country music artists Martina McBride and Jack Ingram will perform Oct. 1 at a free concert, sponsored by Independence Bank, in Henderson, Ky.

LOCAL SCENE

There are plenty of bands roaming round Evansville and playing the circuit. But why pay a cover charge for a band you might not like or a night you will soon forget?

Check out these bands.

The “Sounds of Independence” concert will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at Liberty Square, 76 Green St. Nashville promoters expect as many as 20,000 people to attend.

McBride is a four-time CMA “Female Vocalist of the Year,” has sold more than 18 million albums and has had six No. 1

Arts & Entertainment / Mindy Kurtz hits. Ingram won the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for “Best New Male Vocalist” and has been rocking roadhouses, theaters and stadiums since 1997.

For more information, visit soundsofindependence.com.

eWoman Today With more than 100 exhibits, fashion shows, informative seminars and special guests, eWoman Today, scheduled from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sept. 17 at The Centre, is an event celebrating women.

Sponsored by Evansville Woman Magazine and the Evansville Courier & Press, in partnership with Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure,” attendees can take advantage of show specials as they shop exhibitor booths, enjoy presentations, enter to win door prizes and benefit from some well-deserved personal time. For more information, contact franklinc@courierpress.com.

Jazz & Wine Festival 2011 Enjoy an evening downtown listening to jazz and sampling some of the best wines the area has to offer at the Jazz & Wine Festival, 4–11 p.m. Sept. 17 on Main Street between Third and Fifth streets.

The festival includes 10 Indiana jazz bands, eight Indiana wineries and eight local restaurants. Advance tickets can be purchased for $15 through Sept. 16 by visiting evansvillephilharmonic.org. Tickets are $20 at the gate.

WHO KNEW?

Alison Krauss & Union Station Alison Krauss & Union Station will bring their Paper Airplane Summer Tour to The Centre at 8 p.m. Sept. 23. Tickets are $59.50 and $49.50 and can be purchased at the Roberts Stadium and Centre box offices, and through ticketmaster.com.

Paper Airplane is Krauss’s 14th album.

A highly sought-after collaborator, she has worked with some of the biggest names in popular music, including James Taylor, Phish, Dolly Parton and Bonnie Raitt.

Native American Days A culmination of everything Angel Mounds has to offer, Native American Days, set for Sept. 23–25, spans space and time to present a full narrative of Native American life ways.

The event, which runs from 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. each day, includes demonstrations and hands-on activities and an Indian market. Cost is $10 per vehicle. For more information, call 812–853–3956.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” It’s once again time to do the “The Time Warp” as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” returns Sept. 30 to Mesker Amphitheater.

The campy 1975 cult classic starts at 11 p.m. Tickets are $6 in advance — or $10 if you want the bag of audience participation props — through The Centre box office or online at ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $8 the day of the show.

ANDY JONES

A lone guitarist with a folksy voice is enough to fill silence but leave room for conversation.

And after you hear Jones’s original music mixed with covers from bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and Radiohead, you’ll definitely have something to talk about. His next serenading session is Sept. 30 at The Hockey House, 803 S.E. Second. St.

SKELTON’S MONTOURAGE

Jazz and funk are fused and in tune when this band plays. With the sultry sound of a saxophone, they create a rhythm that’s reminisent of when Miles Davis was on stage and people knew soul. Get your heart pounding and your feet tapping Oct. 5 when Skelton’s Montourage plays at Deerhead Tavern, 222 E. Columbia St.

CALABASH

Originality is the core of any indie group, and this rings true for Calabash, a two-man rock band that originated in Nashville, Tenn. Their songs create a groovy atmosphere wherever they play. If you want to get in on that groove, go catch the band at 10 p.m. Sept.

10 at the Lamasco Bar and Grill, 1331 W. Franklin St.

More than 10 people a year are killed by vending machines. • About $25 million is spent in Las Vegas each year on lap dances.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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by Danielle Weeks Donating money directly to charities is not the only way to make a difference. Now, with your purchase, companies pledge a portion of their profits to efforts all over the world. Giving back can be as simple as buying a T-shirt. n TOMS Shoes Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS after befriending children in Argentina in 2006. Those barefoot children faced soil-transmitted diseases and infection.

TOMS started the One for One Movement by donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every one purchased. Now, TOMS will also donate a pair for buys like shirts and necklaces. Besides shoes, TOMS has started giving sight. For every TOMS Eyewear purchase, the company gives medical treatment, a pair of glasses or surgery to a person in need.

—toms.com

Giving Back

Want to get that great pair of shoes but still give to charity? How about that T-shirt you just can’t live without? These companies help make it all happen.

n L’Oreal Color of Hope

n Better World Books

n Give and Take Tees

n Give Something Back

The Color of Hope cosmetics collection supports the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, which promotes cancer education and research. Five percent of each purchase goes to the fund, and with its fashionable campaign against cancer, L’Oreal has raised more than $18 million in the past 13 years. The OCRF Hope Line also offers counseling, support and financial help to callers. President Karen Fondu said the company’s signature phrase, “Because I’m Worth It,” represents their dedication to female health.

Better World Books aims for a positive social, environmental and economic impact. Part of every purchase goes toward literacy, library and scholarship programs. BWB has raised $9.4 million and has sent more than $4.5 million to Books for Africa, the National Center for Family Literacy and Feed the Children. BWB has re-used or recycled more than 70 million pounds of books. They have thousands of books for $3.98, with free shipping and their eco-friendly shipping has offset 21,000 tons of carbon so far.

Buying a shirt helps fund the company’s partner organizations such as Autism Speaks, Best Buddies and the National Parks Foundation. Wearing these shirts also promotes awareness. The organizations represented in the artwork support medical research and education, create community programs and work to protect the environment. Shea Mullen, shirt designer, is battling multiple sclerosis. Give and Take Tees is her way of creating a stylish, accessible way to support causes and promote activism.

Give Something Back office supplies donates an average of 75 percent of its revenue to nonprofit organizations working for causes like animal welfare and human services. They have donated more than $5 million. GSB is also a fully certified green company and works to collect and recycle old electronics. Anyone wishing to set up an account may do so and can order online. The company’s prices are actually lower than those of both Staples and Office Depot. And at GSB, shipping is free.

—lorealcolorofhope.com

—betterworldbooks.com

—giveandtaketees.com

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

—givesomethingback.com

University Worship

Passionate. Engaging. Community.

Everyone Welcome!

10:30 a.m. • Sundays

Not tonight...

CM 09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Starving Artist?

UE students are invited to showcase artwork for FREE

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

Health & Science / Taylor Hamilton

Living to be a healthy 100 How do accidents lead to discoveries? Why does she tan and I don’t?

What does touch have to do with self confidence? Read on to find out.

Man Cured of AIDS

Food for Thought

Researchers in Berlin celebrated a victory over the AIDS epidemic when one man received a bone marrow transplant as treatment for leukemia and was inadvertently cured of the disease.

Apparently, about 1 percent of Caucasians lack the gene whose product allows the HIV virus to infect cells. One donor with resistance gave the man scientists are calling the “Berlin patient” his bone marrow in 2008. The recipient is now HIV-free, even after discontinued retroviral medication.

While this is obviously an enormous triumph in the fight against AIDS, researchers are cautious to call it a cure.

The likelihood of repeating such a complete bone marrow transplant without donor rejection is low, especially considering the rarity of donors missing the gene that causes HIV receptivity. This particular case, found at nejm.org, is yet another example of how accidents yield great discoveries.

A new study in Science Magazine suggests the textures and weights of the things we touch may influence our perceptions of completely unrelated situations.

In the study, participants were given a puzzle to complete; some were coated with sandpaper and some were not. Those who completed the “rough” puzzles judged an ambiguous social interaction to be more harsh and uncomfortable than did those who completed the “smooth” puzzles.

“At a young age, children begin to take in a lot of their surroundings through touch,” said senior Jenny Weger, a psychology major. “Our hands are more finely tuned and complex than we realize.”

The study also suggests that holding heavier objects may lead to more self confidence. What’s the point? If an argument is on the horizon, carry a textbook — not a wool blanket.

What The Fact?

Many of us want to avoid death at all costs.

Fortunately, according to cdc.gov. the four most common forms of death for Americans are all preventable. You’ve heard it a million times, but with a healthy diet and regular exercise, death by its most common causes can be postponed.

Diet and exercise even help prevent diseases like breast cancer and influenza. So the next time you head to the dessert counter in Cafe Court, think “Do I want to live to be 100, or do I want that cheesecake?”

Ever wondered how your roommate sits outside for 45 minutes and comes back looking perfectly bronzed, but if you do the same you end up with something pink and painful? The answer is not that the sun loves her more than you.

Environmental Graffiti tells us that for whatever reason, her melanocytes — a type of skin cell — respond better and more effectively to UV radiation than yours do.

What we commonly refer to as a tan is actually the body’s natural sunscreen, forming a protective barrier of melanin — brown pigment — around the nuclei of skin cells to protect them from the sun’s radiation.

A sunburn occurs when there is not enough melanin present to protect cell DNA, and the cell undergoes an inflammatory response — pain, redness and swelling.

WHO KNEW?

Health Alert

Health & Science writer Taylor Hamilton is a senior applied biology major from Owensboro, Ky.

Living Green Helping the Ozone

Whether you are into organic or you plan on naming a hole in the ozone after your hairstyle, there are ways to get green while in college. Thevibe.socialvibe lists ways to help your wallet while saving the rainforests. It’s win-win.

Fresh Air

Air fresheners are a must for residence hall rooms, but everyday air fresheners like plug-ins, sprays, gels and oils can emit harmful chemicals into the environment.

Companies like SC Johnson post the ingredients to their products online and are making an effort to be more ecofriendly, so do your homework.

For a natural way to freshen that stinky dorm room of yours, add a few drops of essential plant oil — lavender, lemon, vanilla, etc. — to a spray bottle of water and spritz.

The Big Resist

An easy way to be green is to reuse your old stuff. Instead of buying a new set of school supplies, resist the Target ads and put a new spin on stuff you already own.

Coughing can cause air to move through your windpipe faster than the speed of sound — more than a 1,000 feet per second.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Munchies?

We’ve got ‘em!

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Weinbach Shopping Center Corner of Weinbach & the Lloyd

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Sept. 21 ••• 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Sept. 22 Ridgway University Center 252

by Christine Mueller

Fro-Yo throw down

F

As the hottest new cool treat, frozen yogurt tempts the discriminating palate.

Sweet CeCe’s shows how sweet it is with bright cheerful colors and plenty of seating — both inside and out. The temperature inside is chilly though, so those sensitive to cold may find themselves shivering over their fro-yo cups. Orange Leaf is a great place to hang out, with funky chairs surrounding low tables, a big orange couch and plenty of seating along the windows.

Each store allows customers to pile on the toppings. The selection at Orange Leaf falls short with only a small topping buffet. But Sweet CeCe’s offers the works with a wall of crushed cereals, cookies, graham crackers, candy and more.

They also have a topping bar of fresh fruits, brownie and cake bits, sprinkles, whipped cream, hot fudge and caramel sauce.

Try their yogurt chips; they add extra dash of creamy goodness.

Orange Leaf has a wide variety of fro-yo.

Choose one or more of the 16 flavors, from traditional vanilla and chocolate to the more exotic pomegranate or snickerdoodle.

Sweet CeCe’s only offers eight flavors, and none are out of the ordinary.

Taste is the most important part of any fro-yo experience.

Sweet CeCe’s fro-yo is good but leaves the taste buds wanting.

The vanilla creme dulls well before the last bite, and the flavor isn’t as full as it could be. Cupcake batter is a better option; it tastes just like the real thing.

But Grandma Ruby’s Cookies & Cream tastes like plain old chocolate with no cookies.

In contrast, yogurt flavors at Orange Leaf like to have parties on your taste buds. The flavors are full and stick around until the final bite. The vanilla is rich, creamy and flavorful to the last drop. The birthday cake fro-yo will make you wish it was your birthday, and the red velvet cake will leave you wondering whether you are really eating yogurt or the cake itself. A fabulous selection of toppings is nice, but in this yogurt battle, Orange Leaf’s bold flavors leave a more lasting impression than Sweet CeCe’s mediocre ones.

Domino’s 600 N. Weinbach dominos.com

Greek’s Pizzeria 240 S. Green River Road greekspizzeria.com

Pizza King 1033 S. Weinbach pizzakingevansville.com

Turoni’s 4 N. Weinbach turonis.com

Domino’s menu now has much more than just pizza.

Try one of their bread bowl pastas or oven-baked sandwiches. Choose from penne pasta and boneless wings.

And no order is complete without a serving of cheesy bread. Finish up with some Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes or Cinna Stix. For the Domino’s pizza purist, a medium two-topping pizza is $10.99.

For a variety of specialty pizzas, visit Greek’s Pizzeria. There, rather than choose between pizza and wings, try the restaurant’s gourmet wings pizza. Or create your own: a medium pizza is $9.54, and each additional topping is $1.44. They also have a selection of sandwiches and pasta dishes. Or sample one of the restaurant’s “shells” — Greek’s new take on the traditional calzone.

Pizza King is a great choice for pizza, with its 14-inch costing $10.70 and an additional $1.55 per topping. But the restaurant’s claim to fame is the stromboli. With several different types to choose from, you can’t go wrong with a strom.

Or try one of Pizza King’s other sandwich varieties, including ham and cheese, Italian beef and submarine. They even have lasagna.

An Evansville staple, Turoni’s is within easy walking-distance from campus and is perfect for those who need their thin crust fix. A medium two-topping pizza is $11.03, and with a variety of toppings, you can always get your first choice. Or for an extra tasty treat, try one of Turoni’s many gourmet pizza options. Also on the menu are sandwiches, salads and appetizers.

Forget ice cream. Frozen yogurt is the hottest cool treat around, and it even has fewer calories. Evansville has joined the fro-yo craze with two locations — Sweet CeCe’s, 4827 Davis Lant Drive, and Orange Leaf, 701 N. Burkhardt Road — serving this delicious and nutritious frozen concoction.

Both offer the same style of self-serve fro-yo: walk in, grab a cup, fill it with yogurt, add toppings, weigh and pay. At 45 cents per ounce of yogurt, each fro-yo store has its pros and cons, but one will leave your taste buds tingling with flavor while the other is only “medi-yogurt.”

Others of Interest

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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by Mindy Kurtz UE’s Concrete Canoe team welcomes 23 schools to campus, battling it out with the best and showing everyone that this small Indiana college throws a party just like the big boys.

S

PERFECT

ummer afternoons usually find students soaking up their long-awaited break, suffering through jobs to help pay for college and trying to find time to relax before August returns. But on June 18, all the civil engineering students who were competing in the 24th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition could do was huddle under a short building at Audubon State Park in Henderson, Ky., and wait for the rain to let up.

UE hosted the event, and members of the planning committee were up at 5 a.m., listening to the thunder that signaled a strong storm. Ryan Witters, ‘11, a member of the committee, was worried right away about whether or not the race portion of the competition would be completed.

“I was beside myself,” he said. “We knew then that we had to be as prepared as possible for the rest of the day.”

While the weather dampened the final day of competition, the first two days of the event went off without a hitch. Starting early on June 16, 24 teams showcased their canoes, explained their products and tried to convince five professional civil engineering judges they were the best.

Although the final day’s races were supposed to start at 10 a.m., the lingering

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storm pushed them back for nearly three hours. But the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the budding civil engineers. During their early lunch break, teams began to chant and play impromptu games of volleyball in the ankle-deep mud.

“That day was the true test of the students,” said Mark Valenzuela, associate professor of civil engineering and adviser to UE’s team. “They handled it well.”

By 1 p.m., rays of sunlight began to peek through the clouds. Teams celebrated by diving into the lake and doing the chacha slide near the shore. One group painted their chests blue and began to bang on

“It was like putting a 7,200-piece puzzle together. But when you have the right people, it makes the process that much easier.” makeshift quad drums built out of empty buckets. Suddenly, “The Final Countdown” began to blare from a boom box. The super bowl of canoe races was set to begin.

This art of racing concrete canoes is

nothing new. It started in the 1960s when members of the American Society of Civil Engineers began to sponsor intramural races. Both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California, Berkley claim to have hosted the first regional competition in the 1970s, but the first official competition was hosted by Michigan State in 1988 and included 18 teams.

Over its 24-year history, the competition has welcomed more than 480 teams and 6,000 students.

For this year’s competition, teams from as far away as California and Canada gathered in Evansville to compete for bragging rights and a $5,000 scholarship.

Each team picked a theme and represented it in both their canoe design and informational display. Students from the Florida Institute of Technology, whose theme was “The Space Shuttle,” even wore orange spacesuits in the 90-degree heat to add to their theme.

Not only was this the first time UE had

Although sophomores James Gabe and Nathan Ramsey are the two competing for UE in the men’s sprint, sophomore Rachel Bush and seniors Sara Ornelas, David Wichman, Trevor Weaver and Ryan Sisk join them to help move the precious canoe into the water. n The team’s product display, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Harlaxton, grabs the attention of juniors Sandra Dunn and Katelyn Spainhour, who take some time to evaluate the team’s good work. n Keeping a sense of humor, this University at Buffalo canoer combines a little fun with truth as he checks out the displays on the Front Oval. photos by Sunny Johnson/Crescent Magazine

ever hosted the competition, it was also the smallest school to ever do so. But for the planning committee and the 20-person team, hosting the event brought a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“It was like putting a 7,200-piece puzzle together,” Witters said. “But when you have the right people, it makes the process that much easier. Doing this let other people know about UE and that we could do the

same thing as bigger schools. I think we really did our best.”

UE’s team learned in late April that they had won the hosting responsibilities. But having home-field advantage did not mean the team had an easy time building their 309-pound vessel.

“Even though it was their project, I wanted to help them develop a vision and direction,” Venezuela said. “But ultimately,

it was up to them.”

And their vision was an appropriate one. Their canoe, named “Crux Scrutum,” is Latin for “the cross is my sword and shield.”

“We all chose the theme together,” senior David Wichman said. “We decided on Crux Scrutum because it’s the motto of the family who founded Harlaxton. It seemed fitting for the 40th anniversary.”

After the preliminary work was completed, the best part of the competition was the most anticipated. Teams were originally scheduled to compete in five different types of races, but unfortunately, the inclement weather forced ASCE officials to shorten the length of some. And because of the weather, paddling proved to be even more of a challenge than usual.

“We had practiced on the lake, and we were just focused on keeping the canoe straight,” junior Amanda Hopf said. “The wind could be brutal sometimes.”

After the last canoe was docked, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, was declared the winner, its second victory in as many years. UE placed 20th.

Project leaders for next year’s competition are already planning and have selected a tentative theme, which pays homage to this year’s event. And what is that theme? The Storm, of course.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

by Kate Wood

The Pot Paradox Domestic plants turned into illegal drugs gone wild.

Will the madness about reefer ever stop?

People have been altering their states of consciousness and changing the way their minds function since Adam took a big bite out of that tempting apple. Techniques such as prayer, meditation, sacred dances, hypnosis, alcohol and other substances, including marijuana, have been used by people in various cultures as ways to seek pleasure, insight, worship, diversion and healing.

Marijuana was outlawed by many states long before the federal government banned it. The Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics launched a campaign in the 1930s to show that marijuana was a powerful and addictive drug. The 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness” and campaigning by FBN Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger led to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. While marijuana was listed until 1942 in pharmaceutical manuals and used medicinally, pot and hemp were officially criminalized in 1938.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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Since then, opinions have mingled with myths, and politics have forced everyone — from hippies to doctors to students — to take a stance on legalization.

In his book “On Being Stoned,” parapsychologist Charles T. Tart, a University of California, Davis professor emeritus of psychology, wrote that drugs — natural and man-made — have been an important means of inducing altered states of consciousness throughout history.

“Our culture today is one of the most drug-oriented cultures in history,” he wrote in 1969. “We go by the millions to our doctor (or our dealer) for drugs to pep us up, calm us down, wake us up, put us to sleep, relax our tensions, make us forget or enlighten us.

“As a whole, our cultural attitudes toward some drugs are irrational to the point of absurdity. We mightily praise some whose detrimental effects are enormous and well-known, such as alcohol, and condemn other drugs about which we know very little.”

Some would say not much has changed over the years. Senior Nick Joyner views the prohibition of marijuana the way people viewed the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s: It does not work. The only difference is that he would rather have alcohol — not pot — outlawed.

“Alcohol is the bigger demon,” he said.

That is Joyner’s opinion, but there are certainly facts to support his viewpoint.

Nearly 73 percent of students drink at least occasionally, according to the Core Institute, the largest national statistics database on alcohol and drug use by college students in the United States.

Additionally, a 2010 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism study found that drinking by college students contributed to an estimated 1,825 student

na was essentially the devil’s bud, she had no experience with it either. But after trying both, she came to the conclusion that marijuana has a significantly more desirable effect.

“Smoking doesn’t change me; it just makes me feel better,” she said. “But drinking makes me do things I wouldn’t normally do.”

If anything, she thinks marijuana laws should be equal to alcohol laws: Don’t get wildly intoxicated, and do not drive if you have used it.

Legalization of marijuana has been a much-debated issue for years. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a group of former and current law enforcement workers who have started their own campaign for legalization. In Indianapolis, former police officer Chad Padgett is working with LEAP to have pot legalized, specifically in Indiana.

On a WIBC 93.1 FM broadcast, Peter Crist, one of Padgett’s colleagues, said there would always be a drug problem as long as there are human beings and drugs, but the marijuana policy is something that can be changed.

LEAP attributes social and personal problems not to drugs, but to drug prohibition. Members believe the cost is greater than the benefit. With drug prices declining and taxes used to make drug arrests increasing, they think the war on drugs is largely unproductive and harmful.

Joyner said he has witnessed the social harms of the drug war firsthand. When he visited Juarez, Mexico, it was obvious that drug lords counted on pot for power.

“The power of the cartels has a horrendous destabilizing effect when public officials are being gunned down,” he said. “No one should have to live with that.”

Senior Ben Quinn is pro-legalization for economic reasons. Although he does not smoke pot himself, he thinks govern“Smoking doesn’t change me; it just ment officials are so makes me feel better. But drinking makes consumed with using tax money to me do things I wouldn’t normally do.” make arrests they overlook potential indeaths. No deaths have ever been attributcome that could be made from legalization. ed to marijuana use.

He thinks if pot were regulated and taxed, Before college, many do not have a lot the government could take that revenue of experience with alcohol, which was the and turn it into funding for prevention and case for junior Addy Anderson. And bedrug addiction programs. cause she had been taught that marijuaBut Gil Kerlikowske, National Drug Con-

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trol Policy director, believes it is marijuana itself — not prohibition — that causes gang violence and influences pot sales, along with negatively affecting youth and creating problems with medical distribution.

As far as government revenue goes, Kerlikowske argues that the number of arrests due to marijuana possession is insignificant in comparison to the number of arrests for alcohol-related crimes. Therefore, taxpayers should not be concerned about their money being spent on pot possession arrests.

There are many who would settle for decriminalization of marijuana. Labor economist Lawrence Boyd, of the University of Hawaii, distinguished between the two. He said if pot were legalized, there might not be any penalties for possession and distribution would be replaced with regulation.

Decriminalization is simply reducing the punishment for possession to a civil fine, as opposed to penalties or jail time.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, current Indiana law states that the possession of a single joint could cost a person up to $5,000 in fines or a year in jail.

Still, decriminalization would only help with keeping people out of jail, and other problems would be left unaddressed.

“Decriminalization would be an appeasement, but a faulty one,” Quinn said.

Quinn recognizes that overpopulated jails would free space, but there would still be no way of evaluating marijuana and making sure it remains pure before it is distributed.

Even though decriminalization is more likely to happen than legalization, a growing number of states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Indiana has held its stance on the subject with a firm “no,” but there is a beacon of hope for anti-prohibitionists: Indiana Senate Bill 192.

The bill, a study on Indiana’s marijuana policies, including costs for the state’s criminal justice system and the potential for regulation and taxation options, was passed in February.

The Indiana House reviewed the bill in late July, and if the bill passes later this year, all Indiana laws regarding marijuana will be re-evaluated. This includes possession penalties and regulation options along with medicinal programs.

About a decade ago, medical marijuana was deemed legitimate by the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit organization that

works outside of government to provide unbiased advice. It found THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, a good treatment for pain, nausea and vomiting, and a possible appetite stimulant.

TIME magazine reported in 2002 that THC had been shown to kill breast cancer cells, reduce swelling, battle liver cancer and fight common mental illnesses. And according to the International Business Times, an astonishing number of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This is inspiring researchers to look into ways medical marijuana could be used psychologically, not just physically.

Lora Becker, associate professor of psychology, said marijuana could potentially be used to help people with debilitating anxiety. But the DEA believes the legalization of any form of pot would lead to misuse and abuse, including addiction.

When it comes to addiction, Becker explained that physiologically marijuana is not addictive at all, especially compared to other common abused substances like cocaine, heroin, nicotine and alcohol.

“I hope we get to a point where we can use more medical marijuana because it’s less addictive and less harmful to the body,” she said.

Because medical marijuana is distributed in small doses, Becker argued it is safer than prescribed opiates. But as long as Kerlikowske is the nation’s drug czar, it will be difficult to convince legislators that medical marijuana is credible and safe.

He shares similar views with the DEA, arguing that science should determine how valid medical marijuana is, not how popular the idea has become. He thinks legalizing medical marijuana sends the wrong message to young people, tricking them into thinking pot is safe.

On the other hand, not legalizing marijuana might be doing more harm than good. Because people are afraid of facing prison time and other consequences, they are turning to synthetic forms of marijuana — a dangerous way of beating the system.

The problem with fake pot is just that — it is fake. There is no way to accurately mimic the effects of THC in a safe way.

NPR credits John Huffman, an organic chemistry professor at Clemson, with creating one of the most famous synthetic pot compounds: JWH-018. Once the formula

was published, the new “legal” marijuana started showing up in Europe’s party scene and n After alcohol, marijuana is the most popular recreational or moodaltering drug used worldwide. has since migrated to the United States. n According to one report, it would take 800 joints to kill a person Products that include — but the cause of death would be carbon monoxide poisoning.

THC imposters, such as K2 (or Spice) and Black Mamn The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug was in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nung, who documented ba, are packaged overseas the drug’s effectiveness in treating rheumatism and gout pain. and labeled as incense or potpourri, but are sold at a n The first law in the American colonies regarding marijuana much higher price than norwas a 1619 law that required farmers to grow the hemp plant. mal incense; it is the indusHemp was useful for making clothing, sails and rope. try’s way of keeping fake pot n At Mount Vernon, George Washington grew hemp as his alive, largely unregulated and primary crop in 1797. Thomas Jefferson grew hemp as a available to the masses. secondary crop at Monticello.

According to batavia.patch. com, the fake THC compounds n The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on paper made from hemp. sprayed onto these products is hundreds of times more potent n During the temperance movement of the 1890s, marithan organic THC. Since last year, juana was recommended as a substitute for alcohol. The more than 4,000 calls were made reason for this was that use of marijuana did not lead to to poison control centers nationdomestic violence while alcohol abuse did. wide related to the use of synthetn Marijuana usage is a ritual part of many religious ic marijuana. traditions throughout the world.

While some might have positive experiences with these substancn In 1936, the propaganda film “Reefer Madness” es, many times using them can end was made in an attempt to scare young Americans away from using marijuana. in a trip to the emergency room — or worse, since a number of deaths have n Reports indicate that 4.6 million Americans been reported. The DEA responded smoke pot on a regular basis. this year to the emerging threat and made the five most common chemicals n More than 400,000 Americans are arrested each year on marijuana charges. used to make fake marijuana illegal. But the ban on these products is temporary, n The use of medical marijuana was legalized in and Salvia — another popular substituCalifornia in 1996. tion — is still going strong.

Salvia induces more of a hallucinogenic state than the typical THC high and in the blood of people who have car acciis currently up for review as a Schedule dents, they omit that many times alcohol is I drug — the same classification as LSD. present as well.

Livestrong.com warns that Salvia may He also said anti-prohibitionists might cause psychosis or a relapse for people try to prove a point by citing a study conwho have struggled with mental illness, inducted on pot users that shows no signs cluding triggers for panic attacks, schizoof memory loss after chronic usage. These phrenia and depression. same people fail to mention how the tests When marijuana copycats harm more were easy enough for a person with depeople than actual marijuana, it shows that mentia to pass. legal should not be mistaken for safe. But For now, the debate continues and the with current testing and research methonly argument most people have are their ods, there is not a procedure to prove how deep-seated opinions. Eventually, people “safe” marijuana is in an unbiased way. will need to remain calm and literally know In his book “Understanding Marijuatheir pot. When people are ready to stop na: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence,” walking on eggshells and start listening to Mitch Earleywine said that while prohibithe facts, then marijuana can be returned tionists might mention how THC is often to its natural organic state: a five-leaf plant.

Random Marijuana Facts

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

19

slacktivism

by Mindy Kurtz

With more and more advocating happening online, it is worth asking: Are we really trying to “like” our way to a better tomorrow?

O

ne afternoon in February 1960, four freshmen students who attended North Carolina A&T, an all-black college, sat at a lunch counter in a Woolsworth’s department store in downtown Greensboro, N.C. They just wanted a cup of coffee.

When the waitress refused to serve them, they remained at the counter until the store closed at 5:30 p.m. “Tomorrow, I’ll be back with A&T college,” one of the students said before leaving.

The next morning, the protest had grown to 27 men and four women. By the fourth day, the number had spiked to 300, including three white women from the University of North Carolina. By the weekend, the sit-in had reached 600. By the end of the month, sit-ins were cropping up in states all over the South and involved almost 70,000 students.

These types of protests grew through the 1960s and became a

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movement that spread across the country. And it happened without Facebook or Twitter.

The way change comes about now differs from the protests of the past. Although the Internet allows people to collaborate endlessly, it has actually caused activism to become much less social and a lot less active. In a word, the twenty-something generation has become a generation of slacktivists.

In 2009, National Public Radio described slacktivism as a type of online anti-activism that has no political or social impact but makes the person performing the act feel as though they have made a difference. Journalist Warren Clements first coined the label slacktivism in a 2000 issue of U-Wire when he referred to documentary filmmaker Michael Moore as a self-confessed slacker-activist — slacktivist, if you will.

Slacktivism has thrived because of websites like Facebook, where a person can join a group against child abuse or genocide. But for many, clicking the “like” button is as far as they go in their protest against injustices and non-acceptable behaviors.

And since the development of the “causes” application, which includes more than 350,000 organizations, trading minimal support for maximum gratification is easier than ever.

“We seem to get a big bang for our minimal buck,” said Mari Plikuhn, associate professor of sociology. “You can send $5 to the American Red Cross, but not donate blood. Thirty years ago, you couldn’t follow the Red Cross on Twitter or Facebook. If you wanted to show your support for an organization or cause, you actually had to show it.”

But this is not the first time technological advancement has been a hot button issue.

“We’ve been afraid of atomization or the social fabric eroding since the ‘60s,” said Robert Dion, associate professor of political science. “People were saying all sorts of apocalyptic things when the telephone was invented, but we’re still here.”

But has social media changed the definition of protesting all together?

What used to be a fight to help people is now a result of anger toward a certain thing versus an ideal.

“When it comes to internal things, we seem to spend our time squabbling and having a very rigid, entrenched view, like we do with political parties,” Plikhun said. “I don’t know how it happened or how we managed to get there so dividedly.”

Students seemed to be the principle protesters in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Jet magazine reported that in 1969 there were 292 college protests. But many today believe demonstrations are reserved for extremist groups like the Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, an independent group known for its extreme stance against homosexuality.

Widely described as a hate group, their actions left many of us speechless until the courts restricted their ability to protest at military funerals and against certain religious denominations.

When looking back, a common theme between protesters was the risk involved. Plus, there was a connection made between those who believed in a certain cause. But why participate in marches and risk arrest when people can shout their feelings into the endless void of virtual space?

Malcolm Gladwell, a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine, said social media is made up of ties that are thin and easily broken, causing people to become unattached to the causes they support.

“Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with,” he wrote. “That’s why you can have a 1,000 friends on Facebook, as you never could in real life.”

To some, qualities associated with protests can be achieved without holding a physical demonstration.

“Protesting isn’t the only way to express yourself,” Dion said. “Protesting is the result of being outraged, frustrated and unable to get a favored response.”

But Dion is no stranger to protests.

Opposed to apartheid, he was a member of Stop Funding South Africa and said that as a graduate student at the University of Michigan in the 1970s, he and other SFSA members once disrupted a board of trustees meeting as a way to voice their opinions.

“Any kind of action needs to fit into two criteria: Are students expressing themselves, and are they bringing about change?” he said. “What if everything is said and done and nothing happens?”

He suggests trying typical channels first. If that does not work, take more forceful actions. But he views protesting as something belonging to the past.

“Some people feel cool about protesting,” Dion said. “The ‘60s were a time of disruption. You wouldn’t want to go back to that. There’s a way of getting your point across without getting a knot on your head.”

Effectiveness seems to be a key, and some humanitarian efforts using Facebook as a way to gather support have had trouble raising funds. The Washington Post reported in 2009 that more than 25 million of Facebook’s 200 mil-

U.S. College Protests z Kent State University: The 1970 protest at the Ohio university became one of the most famous of the Vietnam War era when students protested President Richard Nixon’s announcement that U.S. forces would invade Cambodia. National Guardsmen tried to disperse the more than 2,000 people who gathered May 4 to protest. Many refused, and Guard opened fire on students, killing four and wounding nine.

z Student Strike of 1970: Following the invasion of Cambodia, more than 450 college and high school campuses across the country were shut down by student strikes that involved more than 4 million. About 100,000 protested in May 1970 in Washington and 150,000 in San Francisco. While some protests were violent, New York University students hung a banner out a window that read “They Can’t Kill Us All.”

z Gallaudet: The Washington, D.C.-based university for the deaf had been lead by a hearing president since 1864. But in 1988, the board of trustees announced that the new president would be hearing. Students formed the Deaf President Now protest, claiming that a deaf president would better represent them. The protest lead to a campus shutdown, with students expressing four demands — that a deaf man be hired as president, that a board member who had made derogatory comments about the deaf be fired, that 51 percent of the board be deaf and that no protestors be punished for their actions. Demonstrators persevered, and the demands were met.

z Tuition Hike Protest: Students at University of California campuses protested a 32 percent tuition increase and faculty layoffs in November 2009.

About 200 protestors were arrested, and students at the University of California, Berkley took over a campus building. Demonstrators also occupied a campus building at San Francisco University for more than 23 hours before being forced out of the building by police. Despite the protests, the tuition increase was approved by the University of California board of regents.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

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lion members had signed on as supporters of at least one cause, but less than 1 percent had actually donated to a cause.

Sites on the Internet can be effective tools, albeit minor ones that are used to spread a message and are not the basis for actual change. Relying on the Internet alone may start efforts that ultimately come to a screeching halt.

“The Internet is a dialogue, not a monologue,” Plikuhn said. “We seem to have a problem taking that dialogue and taking it to the streets. We’re not using it to gather.”

Writing for BBC News, Anne Alexander, a University of Cambridge postdoctoral research fellow, said much of the protests earlier this year in Egypt were initially organized using Facebook. But the Egyptian government reacted quickly by blocking social network sites, then shut off the Internet entirely. Eventually, millions took to the streets, but Alexander said the success of the movement was not based on the web.

Instead, non-Internet resources, including religious leaders, satellite TV channels and democracy campaigners, spread the word.

When the Internet is paired correctly with social action, a dynamic change can occur. Avazz, an online protest group founded in 2007, is known for its involvement in organizing thousands of online petitions. It campaigns in 14 languages and reports it has nearly 1 million members.

But Avazz takes social action past clicking. It hosts real-life protests, including one in July of News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch outside of Parliament. Great Britain’s The Guardian reported in July that nearly 10 million people across 193 countries have taken part in Avazz’s form of social action, which includes sending e-mails, making phone calls and attending rallies.

While some of these actions may not seem like much, many make a difference.

As President Barack Obama campaigned in 2008, he utilized the Internet and social media. While young voters were not crucial to his victory, according to exit polls conducted by Pew Research, they were far more likely to have taken part in political activities on social networking sites and to have been contacted by the Obama campaign rather than by Sen. John McCain’s.

Clearly, change has happened, but it is not as effective as it could be. You can use social media to schedule a protest, just make sure you show up.

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Spandexcl The way superheroes have changed over the years tells us more about our culture than we realize.

G

o jump off a tall building. Stop a train with your bare hands or tackle a criminal to the pavement. Anyone can be a superhero. All it takes is a wacky wardrobe and a burning desire to do good — or a DVD player.

Superheroes have been saving the day for decades, and an upsurge in the number of superhero films is just one of the ways these masked crusaders are making a comeback. Familiar faces like Spiderman and Batman line store shelves and fill the free time of millions of people every day.

Freshman Kristen Levy believes we seek out superheroes because they allow us to live vicariously through them.

“We want to do something we know we can’t,” she said.

Superheroes save us from the ordinary. In his book “Superman on the Couch,” Danny Fingeroth said superheroes are popular because they have inward problems like our own but still manage to solve some of society’s problems.

We want to identify with them.

And if dorky Peter Parker can stop the bad guys, what about us?

Superheroes live their everyday lives and then put on a costume and mask to help them become super. But Superman, born with unhuman powers, is different.

“He puts on a costume to become a regular person,” Levy said.

And some common people have powers of their own. In a 2010 UCLA study, Richard Van Heertum and Kip Hinton reported that our terrorism-conscious culture is more aware of outside threats and

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finds greater value in everyday heroes such as firemen and policemen. They said Americans believe citizens have the opportunity and obligation to help people and fight crime. Superheroes appeal to this belief.

Not all people who wear masks in real life are attending comic book conventions. There are costumed crusaders outside fiction.

The Real Life Superhero Project is one such group dedicated to crime fighting. Volunteers members of the project suit up in masks and hodgepodge body armor to patrol their neighborhoods, and most of those who register on reallifesuperheroes.org have a military or martial arts background.

But these superheroes are not vigilantes. Although some of them, like San Diego’s Mr. Xtreme, have been injured while in pursuit of justice, project members are usually more like a neighborhood crime watch program. They report crimes to the authorities and assist citizens by participating in community service projects, such as helping out at homeless shelters.

HBO’s new show “Superheroes,” shot by filmmaker Michael Barnett, follows the lives of some of these would-be superheroes.

In an interview with Silas Lesnick of the online magazine Superhero Hype, Barnett said police forces and communities often offer support to these volunteer crime fighters as long as they do not become do-gooders.

“I think that, the more they do it, the more they become addicted to the anonymity and the altruism and the notoriety they get,” Bar-

lusive

by Danielle Weeks

Illustrations/Kaylee Harden

nett told Lesnick. “I think that’s a potent mix, and it empowers them to do more.”

Even Indiana has its own hero.

Doktor DiscorD is a real-life superhero who patrols the streets of Indianapolis. He breaks up fights and gives food to the homeless. In an interview with Rich Johnston of Comic Book Resources, Doktor DiscorD said he started getting involved because he felt the city’s police force was doing an inadequate job.

“Fighting is a last resort for us,” Doktor DiscorD said. “Many times, our very presence is enough to disrupt the criminal activity.”

Along with satisfying the urge for community activism, the popular superhero culture is fighting against a quiet enemy — illiteracy.

The Center for Educational Pathways and Dark Horse Comics hosts the Comic Book Project, which is designed to promote learning and literacy through comic books. Children write, design and publish original comic books.

The project aims to have children create and imagine rather than just receive information. Plus, getting children interested in comic books can get them interested in reading.

Print publishing has become a tighter market because of the rise of online material, but comic books are making a comeback. Librarian Daniel Phelps of the Fayette (Ind.) County Public Library said the library has increased its selection of comic books, manga and graphic novels in the past several years.

These books and novels are most popular with teenagers and

children. Younger students who do not usually check out novels will check out their illustrated counterparts. Phelps said he has noticed an increase in graphic-novelization of already-published books.

“Artemis Fowl,” “Maximum Ride,” “Black Beauty” and “Twilight” are now available as graphic novels.

This image-based format appeals to a younger audience.

“It’s a lot easier to imagine something if it’s right there in front of you,” he said. “You don’t have to concentrate as much on it.”

People still like the X-Men and Green Lantern, but these dated heroes have been re-suited for a new type of audience. Phelps said comic books are experiencing a resurgance in popularity because of an increasingly visual-based and instantaneous culture.

“I grew up in a generation when a lot of people didn’t have TV,” he said. “Nowadays you have 24-hour access to things like movies and Facebook — instant entertainment.”

This high-definition, high-speed generation has little patience for a story not told in a span of several hours — ­ and books are not released in 3-D. For a culture where fewer people are reading, graphic novels are a compromise between all-visual and all-print entertainment.

Recognizing this trend, publishers have released and educators are using educational graphic novels. The FCPL stocks graphic novels that deal with subjects and people like the Great Chicago Fire, World War II and medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

25

“They’re great because kids learn without realizing it,” Phelps said.

While some people still check out a library’s collection of comic books, more people are becoming interested in superheroes because of film, and superhero films have become a Hollywood staple.

Andy Jones, a sales clerk for Evansville’s Comic Quest, said superhero films are good for the comic book genre because they generate interest in the written comic and graphic novels. But once heroes take to the big screen, people have a tendency to forget or dismiss where those superheroes came from.

“I think it sort of denigrates the artistic side of the medium,” he said, “makes it like comics are inferior to film or literature.”

Jones said most people who patronize the Morgan Avenue store are comic book regulars. Single-issue comics are not as popular anymore, and most people who want graphic novels go to bookstores rather than comic book stores.

Comic books are by no means a quiet medium. Although the new superhero culture may be a sign of an increasingly passive, visual culture, comic books had their origin in rebellion.

Novelist Robert Crumb is one of the reasons for modern graphic novels’ adult-focused content. Roger Sabin’s book “Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels” explains how Crumb’s participation in the Underground Comix movement of the 1960s produced comics that dealt with sexual and violent themes forbidden by the Comics Code Authority.

The CCA once censored comic publishers, but as of 2011, no publishers participate. Crumb’s comics helped establish graphic novels as a valid medium through which authors and artists could discuss more serious topics.

“The Killing Joke,” a Batman installment written in 1988 by Alan Moore, treated the Joker as a tragic character and was a turning point in the literary nature of comics.

“It represented a shift in attitudes about superheroes,” Jones said.

Now superheroes and their nemises are treated as more complex characters and have found a new home in film.

Comics may find a larger audience with younger people, but most new su-

26

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

perhero movies, except for rare ones like “The Incredibles,” are marketed toward adults rather than children. Films such as 2008’s “The Dark Knight” explore darker themes and characters. While good versus evil is a common theme in these films, they star morally ambiguous heroes who deal with the gray areas of good and evil.

In her book “Packaging Boyhood,” Sharon Lamb, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, said this new superhero culture has a damaging affect on young boys. She said superhero films associate masculinity with aggression, where modern superheroes no longer fight solely for the good of humanity and are often influenced by selfish desires. Lamb objects to heroes like Tony Stark from the film “Iron Man” who are trusted as protectors but are selfish, solve most problems with violence and objectify women.

And other than serving as spunky or sexy sidekicks, women are not represented in the new superhero culture.

Major comic-hero films like “Captain America,” “Thor” and “Green Lantern” all star male leads. Lamb said the few female-centric superhero films — like “Catwoman” — are hyper-sexualized.

But Phelps said comics can teach good morals, since superheroes continue fighting no matter how bad things get.

Superheroes prove that the social order can always be restored — or changed.

“You have to believe in the future,” he said. “You have to believe that things get better.”

As the nation deals with new political and environmental challenges, people need this kind of optimism. Phelps said a huge draw for comic books is a sense of escapist activism. By reading about someone extraordinary saving the world, a person can imagine that he or she is doing the same thing.

“It’s not real; that’s a big thing,” Phelps said. “It’s fantasy. Through them you can live someone else’s life.”

Whether you find them online, on the screen, in the library or on the street, superheroes are available anytime we need to be saved or want to live vicariously through them. So go on. Put on your costume, crack a few skulls and save the world.

WHAT ARE COMIC BOOKS?

Comic books are serialized, thin issues, which feature heroes like the X-Men, even Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

WHAT IS A GRAPHIC NOVEL?

A graphic novel is an all-over term for a bound comic. Graphic novels tell stories using a sequential series of images. They can contain single storylines or run in a series.

WHAT ARE MANGA?

Manga are Japanese comics. Issues, though, tend to be bound in thicker books and have set endings, while American comics can run for decades with no end in sight.

campus n The following information was compiled from criminal offense reports filed Aug. 18– 29 in Safety & Security.

Aug. 23 — Calculator reported stolen from an office in the General Services Building. Calculator later found in the office.

Aug. 21 — Three outdoor ashtrays stolen from near Ridgway Center.

— Outdoor metal patio chair, stolen earlier from outside Ridgway Center, recovered at an off-campus location on John Street.

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27

a new SENSE of THEMSELVES

fessor of education, experienced the culture and worked with students in a typical Trinidad school.

The experience was part of Education 385, “Multicultural Understanding.” The course deals specifically with diverse lifestyles, introducing students to cultural differences, and includes a teaching component. Originally, only education majors took the course, but now it is a general education option, so any student who is at least a rising junior may participate.

“I think the university uses the year requirement as a way to make sure students are really ready to be a part of the program,” Arata said.

When it came to the course, the students found themselves immersed in the culture, and they immediately applied what Participants in the three-week cultural immersion trip to they had learned in their own classrooms. Some of the lessons the group taught were as simple as reading a book to the class or Trinidad & Tobago learn about the Caribbean countries conducting get-to-know-you exercises. and have their eyes opened to new possibilities.

“The goal was not to impose our teaching style on their teachers, because neither style is perfect,” Arata said.

by Jenna McCord While Harrington’s youngest student was 10 and his oldest was 14, they were all in the same grade.

“It was the same as [teaching in the United States],” he said.

For most students, studying abroad is synonymous “Kids are kids no matter where you are.” with going to Harlaxton. It is a semester where Harrington said one England is enjoyed and Europe is explored. of the biggest differencBut for seven education majors, this sumes for him was the strucmer’s trip to Trinidad and Tobago provided anture of the school buildother way to get a global fix. ing. Rather than one Seniors Jacob Harrington, Ella Weihe, Elwith typical walled-off len Miller and Daniele Albrecht, along with 2011 rooms, he described the graduates Mariel Arata, Sarah Rooney and StephaTrinidad school as one nie Gosser, spent three weeks of their break teaching long, extended room, — and learning — at one of Trinidad’s schools. with chalkboards sepBut before they could leave for the Caribbean archipelago, arating the different they had to acquire funds to make the trip. The program had classes and age groups. previously averaged about 15 participants during its first years, There were some partial walls, but the building as a whole was but since then, numbers have dwindled. This made raising funds open-air. There were about 100 students in the school, and the more of a challenge. setup of the facility made class days noisy.

“Part of it had to do with money, but the other part had to do “With that many people in one space, even if the students with students wondering ‘Where is Trinidad?’” said Arata, the were quiet, it was still loud,” he said. trip’s teaching assistant.

Weihe, whose emphasis is special And because it was just a three-week education, had a different experience.

“I used to think I didn’t program, marketing it to students was a Since she hopes to one day attend gradlike spicy food, but Trini bit more difficult. uate school for occupational therapy, What participants found out is that she got to assist a doctor in a medical food gave me a new Trinidad and Tobago, twin islands of clinic. She said she shadowed the docappreciation for it.” about 1.3 million people, are located in tor daily, worked directly with patients the southern Caribbean, northeast of and even helped make decisions regardVenezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Trinidad ing their health care — all things that would have required addiis about the size of Delaware and the larger of the two islands. It tional years of training in the United States. is mainly flat and rolling, with mountains in the north, while To“The doctor I worked with actually valued my opinion,” she bago is heavily forested. The people of Trinidad and Tobago are said. “It was weird, but I definitely started to like it.” mainly of African or East Indian descent and virtually all speak Weihe said she felt accepted by the patients, too. The doctor English. It is a parliamentary democracy modeled after that of asked if they minded having an American student present for exGreat Britain. aminations, and they were open with her about their medical Visiting Dalley, located in Trinidad and the village where Daconditions. vies Bellamy, associate professor of education, grew up, the stuWhile learning was a big part of the course, cultural immerdents, along with Bellamy and Chair Amy McBride, assistant pro- sion was also an important part of the overall experience. Morn-

F

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Crescent Magazine/09.2011

ings were devoted to learning, but afternoons were spent doing various activities in the village, either with their host families or on their own.

“The best way to learn about a culture is to actually talk to people from that culture,” Arata said.

Students lived with host families, and they introduced the students to things they probably would not have experienced if they had been typical tourists. Houses may not have had air conditioning to fight the 130 degree heat index, but the students still felt comfortable and at home with their hosts. And there was definitely a way to make guests feel at home — by preparing and serving food.

“Literally, every time you went to a host family’s house, someone would say ‘Oh, great, you made it just in time for food,’” Harrington said. “I usually wound up having two lunches and two dinners.”

Trinidad’s blend of African and East Indian cultures resulted in dishes the students had never tasted before. They were as multifaceted as the people who live on the islands. Since popular dishes were served again and again, the food became a bit monotonous by the end of the trip, but students learned it was the flavor and enjoying of meals that was the priority, rather than its nutritional value.

One thing the students never tired of was the spiciness of the dishes — many people in Trinidad cook with Scotch bonnet peppers, one of the hottest types.

“I used to think I didn’t like spicy food,” Weihe said, “but Trini food gave me a new appreciation for it.”

Their experience with food also led to more cultural experiences. Students attend-

Excerpts from the T&T Blog n May 30 — Initial Thoughts: It is different than we pictured. We thought dirt and huts when told “village” and were surprised at how modern it is. There is more intermixing of socioeconomic statuses, which was unexpected, but we did not expect a separation of cultures.

Religion is an important factor. n June 5, 2011 — Women’s roles in society seem to be similar to 1950s American women. They are more reliant on men, which is surprising. Ellen: I am enjoying discussing differences with the schoolteachers, and love the open village life. Ella: The clinic is similar to the United States, but the privacy laws are different, so I get to interact more with patients.

I like being involved and giving my opinions. Jake: I found school very

photos courtesy/Mariel Arata

ed Indian Arrival Day, a national holiday that is celebrated with a festival, which takes place each May 30 to commemorate the 1845 arrival of 225 Indian immigrants. Over the years, many Indians settled on the islands, and in many ways, it is said they brought India to the Caribbean. While at the festival, students met a member of the government who invited them to a private lunch. On another outing, they met Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Though their stay in Dalley felt similar to a weekend at home for some, trips to San Fernando, Trinidad’s largest city and its industrial capital, brought them back to reality and made them remember things like cultural differences and skin color.

“You sort of forgot you were white while you were in the village,” Weihe said. “But they called you snowflake in the city if you were a white girl.”

When they needed support for whatever culture shock they were going through — or a way to simply gush about what a wonderful time they were having — the group met in a setting somewhat similar to group therapy to talk and work together to process the experience.

“It took you out of your comfort zone on purpose,” Arata said, “and the group let you talk about why you were uncomfortable, if you ever were.”

They found that like other places in the world, Trinidad has its problems. But the fact that Trinidad is not perfect did not make them love it any less. Instead, it forced them to see that every place has its flaws — accompanied by its outstanding and special qualities.

interesting because it is so different from the United States in that things are not as scheduled. This may be due to the cultural differences. It is good, but a hard idea to grasp. n June 12, 2011 — End of Trip: We learned a lot about the culture, and we learned it from loving people who opened their homes and hearts, and from their laidback way of life. We learned how to dance and celebrate life. We are taking away a new sense of ourselves. Our eyes have been opened to new possibilities.

This experience taught us more than we could have expected.

FASCINATING THOUGHTS

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

29

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Leonard Pitts Jr. / McClatchy Newspapers

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

A decade after the terror Suddenly, it has been 10 years. That is an amazing realization when you remember how it was back then. Calendars still counted off days; our eyes told us this. Clocks still ticked off seconds; intellectually, we knew. But time — I would have sworn this in a court of law — did not move.

I remember, in those awful days of the aftermath, asking my colleague, Dave Barry, then the Miami Herald’s humor columnist, if he thought he would ever write jokes again.

“For the last week,” he told me, “I haven’t even tried to write anything funny, and for a while I thought maybe I never would, or should.”

Tech. Sgt. Cedric H. Rudisill/U.S. Dept. of Defense

Emergency crews try to extinguish fires at the Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001, after an airplane crashes into the building following similar attacks on the World Trade Center.

He had it; we all had it — that sense of being stuck, unable to find your way back to the life you had lived before. I wrote 10 columns in a row about the horror I had seen — the planes crashing, the lives lost, the buildings melting, the people covered in dust.

Finally, I had to force myself to write a column about something else, had to force myself to care about something that was not terror. That lasted for one column. Then I went immediately back to what was now the norm. I was all terror, all the time.

Now, somehow, that moment is a decade past. In measuring the distance, per-

In New York, at the Pentagon, at a field in Pennsylvania and in every nook and cranny of America, we move forward.

haps it is enough to note that today’s college freshmen were third graders then.

Thus do the clock and the calendar do their work. Thus do today’s terrors become tomorrow’s memories. Thus does news become history.

beings. Indeed, it may be some of the best of what is in us. Call it stubbornness, call it resilience, call it faith, but we always defy the random cruelties of life, always dig ourselves out, bury our dead, mourn our losses, rebuild and discover a way to move forward.

We did it when fire burned down Chicago, when an earthquake leveled San Francisco, when broken levees drowned New Orleans.

And we did it when terror astonished and devastated us on Sept. 11, 2001.

Granted, we emerged from that crucible changed in ominous ways. We find ourselves at war on three fronts, government more secretive and invasive than it has been in years. We are running a prison beyond the reach of habeas corpus in Jim MacMillan/Philadelphia Daily News/MCT A New York City firefighter looks at the ruins of the World Trade Center at dawn Cuba. The government may Sept. 12, 2001, a day after the terrorist attacks. not let you fly and will not tell you why.

Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead, and experts tell us the terror group he led is weakened and may soon follow. But terrorism itself remains alive and well, as does a fervent bigotry against Muslims that has seeped into the mainstream of American political thought where it exhibits itself with a shamelessness that once would have been unthinkable.

Lawrence Kesterson/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT So there is reason to be concerned at Family and freinds still place tributes to loved ones lost at the the place to which we have moved. But, site overlooking where Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pa. having felt stuck inside a nightmare, I And I find myself remembering how I know there is also reason to be grateful used to torture ants as a child, the happy we moved at all, that clock and calendar hours I spent flooding their nests with wa- did their work and that there resides in ter, watching them grab their larvae and us the stubborn resilience of ants. run for safety. The thing that struck me, It felt as if we might never go forward that earned my childish wonder and refrom that moment. But we did. spect, was that they always came back.

Destroy their world a hundred times, they Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitwould build it a hundred and one. zer Prize for commentary, is a columnist There is something of that in human for the Miami Herald.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

31

by Mindy Kurtz

“I have NO idea what they are doing.”

DEFENDERS • Players who work in the defensive third of the field. They are focused on stopping the opposition’s attackers from scoring.

MIDFIELDERS • Players positioned in the middle third of the field between the forwards and defenders. Their job is to link the defense and offense through ball control and passing.

FUTBALL the Other

Most Americans feel the same way Stephen Colbert does about the world’s oldest sport.

“Folks, it’s no secret that I don’t like soccer,” he explained to his “The Colbert Report” audience in June. “It’s like watching grass grow, but with a bunch of soccer players in the way.”

And judging by the results of data compiled by The Pew Research Center, most Americans share Colbert’s opinion.

Only 4 percent name soccer as their favorite sport.

But soccer is the world’s most popular sport, with an estimated 3 billion fans. People have been playing a game with a ball (historians suspect the first ones were severed heads) and their feet for as long as 3,000 years.

England is credited in the early 1860s with organizing the game and eventually popularizing the modern-day game the world knows today as football. Only Americans call it soccer.

While it has been played in the United States since before the Civil War, it did not gain much popularity in the U.S. until the 1970s, when Americans became interested in the sport because of the immense popularity of Brazilian soccer star Pele, who is considered by many to be

32

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

At times, it seems like soccer gets the short end of the stick.

But maybe this misunderstood sport just needs a little understanding.

the greatest soccer player of all time.

“In the ‘70s, if I wanted to learn about soccer, I had to read about it,” coach Mike Jacobs said. “Nobody played soccer, because it was recognized as a foreign sport.”

The United States did not form Major League Soccer until 1996, after hosting the multi-game World Cup in 1994.

The 1994 event drew massive media coverage, with average attendance of nearly 69,000, and broke records that had stood since the 1966 World Cup. Although soccer may not be America’s most popular sport, it definitely has made some strides.

“It is hard for soccer to grow because of other sports having that stamp of being American,” coach Krista McKendree said.

So what is one to make of a sport that only allows two people on the field to touch the ball? Some would argue that it is our love for continuous, physical action and high scores that keep us from enjoying the sport.

“It has to do with how fast our culture has become,” Jacobs said. “We want things to come to us faster. Sports like basketball are like fast-food, while soccer is more like a sit-down restaurant.”

FORWARDS • Players who are responsible for most of a team’s scoring. They play in front of the rest of their team where they can take most of the shots.

CENTER • A pass from either side of the field toward the middle. It is used to get the ball closer to the front of the goal. “Center” and “cross” are used interchangeably.

CHARGING • A method of running at and unbalancing the player who has possession or is trying to gain possession of the ball. It is also the act of using a shoulder against an opponent’s shoulder to gain an advantage; allowed only when the ball is playable.

CLEARING • The act of moving the ball out of the area of one’s own goal by throwing (goalkeeper only) or kicking it.

FAKE • A move by a player meant to deceive an opposing player. Used to gain an advantage. It is frequently used when dribbling to get past an opponent.

HEADER • When a player passes or shoots the ball with his or her head.

FOOT TRAP • The use of the foot to control a rolling or low bouncing ball.

HEADER • When a player passes or shoots the ball with his head.

SAVE • The goalie stopping a shot that would have otherwise gone into the goal.

SHIELDING • Also called screening. Used by the player with the ball to protect it from a defender.

The ball carrier keeps his or her body between the ball and the defender.

TACKLE • The act of taking the ball away from a player by kicking or stopping it with one's feet.

TRAP • The use of one’s body to slow down and control a moving ball; most often using the chest, thighs or feet.

The game’s concept is fairly simple.

Each team has 11 players, including a goalie, and tries to get the ball into the opposing team’s net by using any part of the body except their hands. The team with the most points — or goals — at the end of 90 minutes wins. For those who are not soccer aficionados, the sport can be enjoyed. It just takes time to learn the ropes.

“I hate the Euro-snob attitude that’s sometimes perceived with soccer,” Jacobs said. “In a way that’s like ‘you couldn’t possibly understand our game.’ It’s not really like that.”

While the basic concepts may be simple, the strategies and techniques are anything but. Soccer is all about angles — triangles specifically — and the passes that take place between the players who make up the points.

“Sometimes people think we’re running around with our heads cut off,” women’s soccer midfielder Olivia Robertson said.

“But everyone has a job and is working together.”

But when a soccer field is so large — it is about the same length as a football field, but soccer’s is about 20 yards wider—it is

hard to notice how those jobs tie together.

“When a person has the ball, they need to have someone to the right, left and someone in front of them as options to pass,” Robinson said. “If a team is offensive, they’ll have people running near the sidelines to create space. If a team is more defensive, they’ll obviously have more people near the goal.”

The beauty of soccer is that the possibilities are endless. But it is ultimately about getting the ball to the right person’s feet.

Players have to be able to guess what opponents are going to do next, make quick decisions and communicate constantly with teammates.

Considering that players are usually in perpetual motion and are making small corrections to their positions rather than plays, the corrections are often missed by those who do not recognize the patterns. And when focusing on another team’s efforts, it sometimes makes moving the ball for the other team a grueling process. In turn, spectators may become rather bored.

“When you watch soccer, you have to be plugged in for 45 minutes at a time,” Jacobs said. “It takes patience.”

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Third & Short / Mark Boxell

Amateur cheating nothing new While policing and penalties by the NCAA intensify, trying to find acceptable solutions to college football violations is a topic that doesn’t have easy answers.

C

orruption and cheating in college football is nothing new.

From academic dishonesty surrounding the 1951 Army team to Southern Methodist’s two-year ban by the NCAA in the ‘80s because boosters paid players, high profile scandals in college football have been around since the sport became popular to fans and sponsors alike.

The NCAA has long had to cope with finding ways to preserve the amateur status of college sports, and a fresh wake-up call occurred this year when investigators delved into problems with Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel, who took over the helm at OSU in 2001 and resigned in May over allegations that he failed to report violations committed by his players.

The scandal centers on OSU players who sold memorabilia and practice gear, received free tattoos and borrowed cars from dealerships in Columbus. OSU’s coaching staff was aware of some — if not all — of these violations as early as April 2010.

And while the violations surrounding program are serious, they are not the only scandals affecting college football.

There are currently investigations into recruiting practices at Oregon, where questions surround the university’s payment of recruiting scouts. Oregon claims they were only paying for scouting reports, while

WHO KNEW? 34

others claim they paid the scouts to influence recruits into signing with the Ducks.

North Carolina coach Butch Davis was fired in July after some of his players accepted gifts from agents. These players were suspended, weakening an otherwise talented Tar Heel team.

Georgia Tech was fined, stripped of its 2009 ACC Championship and placed on four years of probation in July for violations within its football and men’s basketball programs.

And last month, officials began an investigation into allegations that Miami players accepted illegal gifts and services.

While Ohio State’s problems were widespread, they could have happened anywhere.

But the Buckeyes’ problems were important because they showed that violations could occur at even the most prestigious programs in the country — programs that don’t need to cheat in order to win.

And while Ohio State will receive their punishment, the NCAA has already hinted that different steps from the status quo should be taken to prevent

players from getting involved with people who only want to take advantage of them.

One solution is to pay student-athletes. Some schools rake in annual revenues in the millions of dollars, yet the players who are the centerpieces of their programs earn nothing outside of their scholarships.

NCAA president Mark Emmert said in April that he wanted to look into paying athletes.

But this is a solution that is unlikely to become reality. It would be a complete ideological shift for the NCAA, and the entity would no longer be the premier amateur sporting institution in the U.S. It’s hard to envision university presidents supporting this.

Furthermore, it would be difficult for smaller schools, such as UE, to pay their student-athletes, based on the fact that athletic revenue is hard to come by. How does a school go

about paying its athletes when its athletics department loses money on an annual basis?

The best solution the NCAA can come up with is more policing and harsher penalties, and strides have been made. Penalties have become harsher, and the problems surrounding college athletics have become more open to the public as media coverage grows.

It’s a hard business for coaches. They are expected to win and appease fan bases that are often larger and more invested in their team than professional team fan bases, all while keeping a clean program.

But the NCAA cannot ease up on coaches and athletics departments. Preserving the integrity of the NCAA is as much their job as winning games.

Third & Short columnist Mark Boxell is a sophomore history major from Evansville, Ind.

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COME MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS

and enter drawings for a chance to win:

Bring a valid UE ID and enjoy Festivities, Special Discounts & Prize Drawings

birthday basket

a weekly gelato

free monthly haircut

dorm diffusers

monthly meal & specialty drink

Prize benefits decided by each company.

No purchase necessary. You do not have to be present to win.

Weinbach Ave.

monthly pizza buffet

99 Steps from Campus

Lincoln Ave.

UE

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

35

off the wall WHO KNEW?

23 percent of all photocopier breakdowns worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.

DOTM

Watermelon Martini

Just because summer is about to end doesn’t mean the good times have to. Why not celebrate with this picnic in a glass? About.com says to combine ingredients in a shaker, top with ice and mix well. To prepare your martini glass, chill and wet the rim with watermelon. Then, dip the rim into some sugar and salt, and garnish.

Ingredients:

8 oz watermelon juice 2 oz vodka 1 oz simple syrup lime juice

it came from the library n While at Harlaxton

in March 1983, Tell City native and UE student John Bruce, 21, and another student took a side trip via plane from London to New York. At the request of other students, they picked up $400 worth of pizza and returned with it to the Grantham manor. n Jocko Dooley, a 15-year-old chimpanzee, was charged with violating Indiana’s anti-smoking law in 1905. Jocko was part of the Peru-based Carl Hagenbeck Circus, and he smoked an average of 200 cigarettes a day. n The Indiana

36

General Assembly passed a measure in 1891 that established flogging as the penalty for men found guilty of abusing their wives. Indiana was the first state to pass such a law. n The Digital Audio Flipping through family photo albums, what do you see? Shots from that Christmas when Mom made everyone wear matching sweaters? Pictures of Aunt Berta cradling her cats? Now we can all benefit from your embarrassing family pho-

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

Disc Corp. of Terre Haute began production in September 1984 on the nation’s first-ever CD. That first disc turned out to be “Born in the USA” by legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. tos. Awkwardfamilyphotos.com, started as a blog featuring a few odd shots from childhood, quickly exploded into an Internet sensation of unfortunate family vacations and holiday gatherings. n Everyone has had that moment when clumsiness took over and you broke something you were sure couldn’t be

GOTTA get IT Tired of boring nose, ear and tongue piercings? The disgustingly rich certainly are. Now those of us with overgrown billfolds can add bling to a new part of the face — the eye. For just $15,000, you can give those baby blues, browns or greens the extra sparkle they have always deserved.

Optometrist Chandrashekhar Chawan of the Shekhar Eye Research Center in Mumbai, India, has created the world’s first genuine eye jewelry, a diamond-studded contact lens. Each luxurious lens holds a whopping 18 diamonds, embedded on your choice of fixed. Fret no more. Seeifixedit.com gives solutions to repair mishaps and more. From a fistful of duct tape stuck to a lamp to a shot glass acting as that broken chess piece, let these pictures rouse your inner Mr. or Mrs. Fix-it. Or simply let it inspire a few laughs as you marvel at some fabulously bad luck.

hole in the wall

a white or yellow gold plate. And for those who find diamonds to be just a bit much, the lenses are available for purchase in a simple plain gold. The contacts weigh about 5 grams per set and are said to be, literally, easy on the eyes — they’re made to minimize eye irritation.

Designed to sit 6 to 9 millimeters away from the corneas, the lenses hold water, to irrigate and soothe. But order quickly or you might miss this perfect opportunity to “pimp your eye.” Creators of the exclusive eyewear plan to halt production at a mere 3,996 pairs.

there’s an

app

for that

t

A talk with a professor about that overdue paper, a date that’s going downhill fast — sometimes you just want to escape. With iTunes’ Fake-A-Call app, that perfectly timed interruption is just 99 cents.

Choose different voices to put you out of your misery: parent, doctor, friend and more.

A common reason men ejaculate somewhere other than the vagina is because they’re trying to reduce the risk of pregnancy. Another name for this is called the “withdrawal technique” or “pulling out.” Although it is moderately effective in preventing pregnancy, the Kinsey Institute says it is not nearly as effective as correctly using birth control such as the pill, patch, shot or ring. If you’re not ready to become pregnant together, explore other birth control options. Some people also believe that pulling out before ejaculating means that people cannot pass sexually transmissible infections, but that’s not true. Unprotected intercourse — even without ejaculating inside the vagina or anus — can still result in passing STIs between partners. Some men simply enjoy how it looks when they ejaculate and they want to watch themselves ejaculate rather than have it disappear into the vagina, anus or mouth. Try to keep an open mind about his reasons and see how you can both have a pleasurable sexual experience.

O ddlaws ca

dumblaws.com

Whale Season

ok

Soliciting a Hooker

It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle — unless the target is a whale.

Anyone arrested for soliciting a hooker must have his or her name and picture broadcast on television.

ri

ia

Repeat Customer

In Providence, a person may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.

Unlawful Winking

Within the city limits of Ottumwa, a man may not wink at any woman he does not know.

telegraph.co.uk

The Bottom Line The bikini is the new billboard. Betfair, an online betting firm, sponsored Olympic hopefuls Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin in exchange for their hosting a Quick Response barcode on their volleyball briefs.

A spectator who takes a picture of the players’ backsides with a smartphone will be linked to the firm’s site. Betfair claims this marketing strategy is the first of its kind.

When Cows Attack Watch out for lowflying cows. Police breath-tested Robert Citroen after he reported a cow had landed on his car. But he was sober. The frightened animal leapt a 3-foot fence and damaged Citroen’s car, which skidded 80 yards before he could stop.

Luckily, no other cars were on the road. The cow died, but Citroen walked away with only cuts and bruises — and a new outlook on life.

A Sticky Situation Jane and Neil Hutton caught a thief during their late-night sting.

The Huttons, who own the sweet shop Beehive Treats in Marlow, England, had noticed cash disappearing from the till. After watching security camera footage, they caught the thief. While the black-clad Huttons hid, the thief triggered booby traps, like trashfilled bags and cream soda cans. The couple turned him in to police.

Talk of the Town Rhiannon BrooksbankJones, 19, decided to improve her language skills via surgery. The student, who hopes to live in Korea, said her short tongue made speaking Korean difficult. Her thick lingual frenulum, the flap of skin under the tongue, prevented her from pronouncing the Korean “L,” so she had a frenectomy to extend her tongue by 1 centimeter. Talk about scholarly dedication.

JANKY VS. JUICY

tidbits & assets

n Janky: Shorts with Pockets Hanging Out — Pockets hanging past the bottoms of shorts are like little flags for trashiness.

Why broadcast your sleaziness miles in advance? “I spot a ho from here.” n Juicy: Pleated Shorts — Dressy pleated shorts can class up any look and up that polished wowfactor for men and women alike. This 1940s-chic style works for a variety of body shapes and sizes.

And “What Not to Wear’s” Stacy London approves.

n Janky: Teeth Tattoos — Have you ever had an urge to display Abraham Lincoln on your incisors?

Then you’re probably one of the misguided people caught up in the new tooth-tattoo craze. Please refrain. I have a feeling Dudley the Dinosaur would disapprove. n Juicy: Flossing — Sure, it adds an extra step to your nightly routine, but it only takes a minute and can add many minty-fresh years to your life. They even sell electric flossers that make the process easier. n Janky: Duckface — You’ve seen this look before: cheeks sucked in, mouth puffed out in a weird half-kiss. Does that pose give you model cheekbones and pumped, pouty lips? No. It’s not attractive. Stop doing it. n Juicy: Smiling — Nothing beats a genuine smile.

Besides being a great cross-cultural way to break the ice, smiling can make you happier, too. Go ahead and flash those pearly whites.

09.2011/Crescent Magazine

37

1. “Lonesome Dove” Larry McMurtry

Nate Barchett

(Simon and Schuster, 1985) No pretentious writing, no claims to deep truths about humanity — just great storytelling. I’ve rarely been as taken with a central character in a novel as I was by Capt. Gus McCrae.

McMurtry can paint word pictures better than most, and this book transported me to cattle drives, saloons and campfires.

Freshman “The Dark Knight” (2008) It’s an incredibly well-done movie. The cinematography helps you get the sense of despair in what’s going on [with] the characters.

And I’m a real sucker for every member of that cast.”

Jonathan Hernandez

Senior “The Mummy Returns” (2001)

2. “Billy Budd” Herman Melville (Constable, 1924) Not to romanticize it, but I could smell the sea and feel the whip as I identified with Billy. His innocence is touching but maddening. At least it was for me as a high school student, when I read it.

It’s a fun movie. It’s interesting. I like the history about Egypt. I’m sure it’s a little fictional, but just the way the Egyptians used to live, the pyramids and that stuff.”

Samantha Pitt

Junior “Toy Story 3” (2010) It brought back childhood memories and was still really cute, even though I’m 19.”

as far as President Thomas Kazee is concerned. He said choosing favorites was difficult, but after much deliberation, here are his top five choices in no particular order.

3. “Frankenstein” Mary Shelley (Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818) This classic novel I read only recently when my wife gave me a Kindle. The book succeeds as a great story, but as a cautionary note about science and hubris, it is profound.

This is a book that demonstrates that economy of expression can be a virtue. Shelley’s creature is aware of the nature of its existence and the questions it poses.

4. “In Cold Blood” Truman Capote (Random House, 1966) A remarkable nonfiction account of the murder of the Clutter family

WHO KNEW? 38

of Kansas in 1959, Capote’s story is chilling from start to finish. From Capote’s perspective, we see how two extremely different men came to the same end.

best sequels

5. “Catch-22” Joseph Heller (Simon and Schuster, 1961) This book best captures for me the absurdity of life, the illusion that we live in a purely rational world. I read it as a college assignment and laughed until I cried. My roommate finally told me to go somewhere else while I was reading it. All of us, at times in our lives, feel like Yossarian, trapped in a world that seems full of Catch-22s.

Richie Paredes

Senior “Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace”(1999) It’s a different type of story than regular superheroes. It’s about training all your life for something and giving up things for certain ideas. It closes out the whole story.”

For beer commercials, they add liquid detergent to the beer to make it foam more. • Worms reportedly taste like bacon.

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

favorite road trip SONGS A Closer Look Students share their favorite songs to crank up during long trips in the car.

“Dirt Road Anthem” Jason Aldean “It’s a really relaxing song. I like how they redid it, from the old song, to make it a little more upbeat and up-tempo.” senior Luke Pakosta

“Blood Red Summer” Coheed and Cambria “It sounds depressing, but it’s actually very uplifting. It just has a catchy tune.” junior Patrick Bushnell

“Edge of Glory” Lady Gaga “It’s got a very ‘80s feel to it. And it’s about going to the edge of limits, taking it as far as you can go.” junior Matt Williams

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Diana Ross and The Supremes “It makes me wonder why I took a road trip, and I’m from Colorado. It’s just the mountains, seeing them, going over the Mississippi.” sophomore Eric Stoessel

“Hello Goodbye” The Beatles “I know all the words. It’s a really good song to just belt out. And it’s The Beatles!” junior Patty Schulz

Nathan Edmiston/Crescent Magazine

at Admission’s Gary Rigley

What do the Green Bay Packers, baseball and UE have in common? Try the associate director of Admission.

“From students to sports and everything in between, he remembers everything about everything,” prospect specialist Debbie Driggs said.

UE’s own encyclopedia, Gary Rigley is a man of many talents. He not only shows families around campus and helps high school seniors make one of the most important decisions of their lives, but he is also a huge sports fan who can generate historic information on just about any topic.

“Gary is so passionate about UE, and that excitement rubs off on the students he recruits,” junior Lindsey Meyer said.

In fact, Rigley’s passion rubs off in every aspect of his life. Prior to becoming an admission counselor, he worked in professional sports, primarily baseball, for 14 years. His repertoire includes spending time with four minor league teams — the Albany-Colonie (N.Y.) Yankees, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Cardinals, the Newburgh Black Diamonds (N.Y.) and eight of his 14 years with the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Class A affiliate for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Through his experience working

with these teams, Rigley was fortunate enough to receive an honor not many people in the world have had the privilege of receiving. And it happened not just once, but twice.

“I worked for the Blue Jays when they won the World Series back-toback,” he said. “I have two rings, one from 1992 and the other from 1993.”

Even though Rigley’s sports career was focused on baseball, he also worked with the Albany (N.Y.) Patroons, a minor league basketball team that is a member of the Continental Basketball Association. He also worked alongside former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson — before the legendary coach became famous.

Rigley’s sports obsession doesn’t stop there. He is also a diehard Aces fan and loves high school basketball.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see games in close to 50 different gyms across the state,” he said.

And he is also proud of a certificate that hangs prominently above the window in his office. It certifies that he owns stock in his favorite NFL football team, the Green Bay Packers.

It is safe to say that conversation with Rigley is never dull.

by Amanda Squire 09.2011/Crescent Magazine

39

That’s What She Said / Lacey Conley

Essay Scourge of the season When the leaves start to turn, a sound that is hybrid of car alarm and dog bark rises malevolently over the trees. Utterances of vengeance hum from uphead.

It is fall. Time at last to shuck off the sleepy cocoon of complacency and hedonism lent to us by summer, to clear the dust from last year’s purchase of trapper keepers and reanimate, come back from our video game-induced, comatose haze, reasserting ourselves as members of the academic world. For me, it is a time for the swapping of war stories. Post-traumatic stress. A time for boarding up windows, blanketing floors in flypaper grips and swaddling my Hagrid-esque hairstyle in tinfoil and crude camouflage bike helmet, promising myself “I will be prepared this time.”

It is, after all, cicada season, too.

Now, I’m no stranger to creepy crawlies. In a place like Hughes Hall, where I lived for three years, pests were an accepted part of the weekday.

There, as in any residence hall dubbed “historic” by its school, it was not rare to see the occasional hashed line of ants overtake a to-go box or, come December, to spot that one stunned-by-solstice, hibernation-fat roach lumbering out from behind the fridge. Even killing spiders was a sport you soon loved to hate — something extra special in the grit of the crunch, that pop beneath the protective barrier of tissue signifying a job well done.

But cicadas, man. Cicadas are different. Give an insect car alarm sounds and the gift of flickery, wing-snickering flight, and I am — most instantly — no longer a fan.

This bad blood, I assure you, didn’t come out of nowhere. It began sometime in late August, last year. I had just bedded down for the night in my single, courtesy mostly of the blistering heat. I

WHO KNEW? 40

was sprawled out naked on the unblanketed bed (to expose as much flesh as I could to the fan), and I was finally about to fall asleep when I heard something buggy ping the light.

Head up. I strained to get a look at the thing — one part concentric flight paths, another part rage. Head down. I decided to let whatever it was land.

Suddenly, something all mesh-lashing wings went totally Braveheart on the back of my head. Sputtering-barking, it plunked its fat body on the base of my neck and began parading up into my hair.

Needless to say, there is no shortage of expletives for times like these — “Dear sweet Jesus Christ on crackers! Mary, tap-dancing Mother of God!” — but none that could convey the degree of sheer panic, desperation to shed one’s body right down to the soul.

There are no words, I find — just, inadequate words — to describe having a cicada land on your head and perform its skittery, shuttery and in-no-way-fluttery wing display. “Back ye demon from whence ye came!”

When at last I peeled myself off the floor of my dorm room, I beheld it: cocky, green, bulbous-eyed bastard investigating my pillow and sheets. “Cool pad, bro,” he barked at me (probably). “I like it here. I think I’ll move in.”

This much I knew: In dispatching a beastie, you need sure-fire method.

One can’t just go in there swinging and expect not to be bitten or beetled knee-high. If you miss, you’ve gone and angered the thing. Game over, man. Pull back now. Retreat. So, steps careful, breath held, I brandished a

book. I raised the 800-page Stephen King hardback over my head, and mercilessly, if not tearfully, I brought down the boom. He was hell-fire pissed then, powder-white entrails heaving out where I held down the spine, incorporating a five-subject notebook to prison him, keep him from flapping up and eating my eyes.

Finally, when I deemed him sufficiently motionless, enough chalky belly parts ground into my bed, I rooted around for a functional casket. And, with precious little time before he’d revitalize (I have seen horror movies; I know how it goes), I shifted the remains of the still-twitching tree cricket into a leftover aluminum tin, with its red velvet crumbs and cake-muddy fork, only to watch him — insides on the outside — make a last few pleading “clickclick-click-click”s before I touchdowntossed him into the trash. And, finally, breathlessly, I retuned to my room, to lie awake for what was left of the night, mourning my ravaged sense of security, my still-dwindling mere iota of trust.

So — and because it is, in fact, fall — don’t be surprised if you see me stamping around through dead piles of leaves, preemptively popping exoskeleton husks, stacked high on protective elevator cleats. For even now, I hear the little wartime tymbals, the chorus bleating “Revenge!” from the trees. Gauzy, gossamer, metallic-green wings beat together like the wringing of hands, and I am ready for them. I hope that I am.

Essayist Lacey Conley is a senior creative writing and psychology major from Kendallville, Ind.

If you mouth the word “colorful” to someone, it looks like you are saying “I love you.” • Honeybees have hair on their eyes.

Crescent Magazine/09.2011

STUDY ABROAD — Your Adventure Starts Here —

Office of Study Abroad | SOBA 261 | studyabroad@evansville.edu

welcomes everyone to the 2011-2012 school year

and presents

NICK PIKE

September 24th Eykamp 251 @7pm

find us

follow us @ueSAB

SAB.evansville.edu