No. 6 (October 4, 2012)

U University News Thursday, October 4, 2012

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Vol. XCVI No. 6

A student voice of SLU since 1919

Administration and faculty address current difficulties in communication

By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor

Both administrators and faculty members at Saint Louis University have noted communication difficulties concerning proposed faculty evaluation systems throughout the 2012-2013 academic year.

Despite agreement on the desire to improve SLU as a whole, faculty and administrators cannot seem to agree on the best process to obtain their goals.

The communication issues regarding faculty evaluation began in the fall of 2011. Multiple committees were formed to address a

problem with the method of faculty evaluation at SLU— a problem recognized mutually by the faculty and administrators.

Following the reports presented by each committee, the Faculty Senate tapped Terry Tomazic, professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, to lead a new committee in drafting a proposal for an annual faculty evaluation process to present to Vice-president of Acadmeic Affairs Manoj Patankar. The proposal was presented to Patankar on June 5, 2012.

The faculty proposal placed a high value on transparency in the methods of evaluation and re-

warding high-performing faculty. It was also evident that the faculty thought faculty evaluation had to maintain a certain qualitative nature, not settling on a strict points system. Instead, the proposal made an attempt to use a points system that allowed for the best judgment of chairs and deans in each assessment to override a need for adherence to very strict metrics.

Of particular importance in the proposal was revision of the merit pay system currently in place at SLU. The proposal describes the current system as a “zero-sum process” and states that there is not enough demonstrated recognition of excel-

lence.

According to Dr. Mark Knuepfer, head of faculty senate, the faculty did not recognize any of their recommendations in the evaluation process proposed by Patankar.

The draft proposal set forth by Patankar in August was demonstrably different from that developed

by Tomazic’s committee.

According to Patankar his draft was based on all of the feedback he had received from the different committee reports and data collected by his own team members over the last two years.

See “Plan” on Page 3

Vice-president of Academic Affairs Manoj Patankar is working to improve communication between the faculty and himself.

Job Market: Assessing the future

Biondi rejects Faculty

Employers seek out specific characteristics when hiring

Senate’s stance on VP

Number of 2012 College Graduates Source: census.gov

3.4 million

Average Starting Salary for 2012 CollegeSource: Graduates Huffington Post

$42,569

Unemployment rate for 2012 College Graduates Source: CNN Money

7.2%

Unemployment Rate (2008)

Unemployment Rate (2012)

National: 6.1% Missouri: 6.1%

National: 8.1% National: 7.8% Brianna Radici/ Design Director

By PATRICK OLDS Senior Staff Writer

Are you better off than you were four years ago?

No, that was not supposed to be an impersonation of Mitt Romney’s campaign slogan. Four years ago, the Class of 2013 was preparing to enter the land of higher education. These seniors are poised to enter the job market, but there is question if they are ready to get a “grown-up” job.

There is more uncertainty about the job market than ever before, due in part to a presidential election and a lagging economy a According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while Missouri’s unemployment

rate is below the national average at 7.2%, the national average unemployment rate lags behind at 8.2%.

The workforce is becoming increasingly flooded with job seekers that have a college degree. With the growing pool of labor, available jobs are more difficult to come by.

There are, however, particular qualities that stick out to large companies such as Four Seasons, The Boeing Company and Express Scripts, each leaders in their respective industries.

“One must have a high level of emotional intelligence in order to work in any career field,” Stephanie Huffines, Human Resource Manager at Four Seasons

St. Louis, said. “One of the most essential attributes of a job seeker is the ability to build relationships within an organization.”

Four Seasons operates hotels at 89 properties worldwide. Fortune Magazine has featured Four Seasons in their annual “Top 100 Places to Work” rankings since 1998.

According to Huffines, there is no particular major that one must have in order to work with the Four Seasons. There are a few individual characteristics that the company seeks out when hiring.

“Number one, one must have a positive attitude because the nature of the job is dealing with people and

change,” Huffines said.

“If you cannot adapt then you’re stuck, Four Seasons is about change and hard work, in order to deal with adversity, one must carry a very positive attitude and persona.”

Huffines said that the workforce is very different than school and not all things will come fast.

“The idea that someone can get everything right at this second is not a reality,” Huffines said. “You have to be willing to put in your dues and gain experience in order to move up in the Four Seasons.”

According to Huffines, See “Jobs” on Page 3

Two into one: Public Health, Social Work combine

By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor

Phot courtesy of Public Health

INSIDE:

The Salus center currently houses the School of Public Health, which will join with the School of Social Work to become the College for Public Health and Social Justice.

NEWS

After several months of planning, the Board of Trustees approved the formation of a new college at Saint Louis University on Sept 22. The college will be a reorganization of the current School of Public Health and the School of Social Work to create the College for Public Health and Social Justice.

“We believe that the new college will put SLU ‘ahead of the curve’ in terms of public health and global health in the 21st century,” Edwin Trevathan, Dean of the School of Public Health, said. “This transformative move will allow the new

2 OPINION

>> Meet Jonathan Sawday

>> How to build SLU

college to simply be better and do more than the two schools separately.”

Trevathan explained that the new college will better reflect the values of Saint Louis University.

“The new college, with the fields together,” Trevathan said, “allows us to better focus on social justice, social determinants of health and the health and well-being of the underserved and the disadvantaged – key for us living out the Jesuit mission of public health and of social work.”

The planning for the college began when the leadership of Public Health and See “School” on Page 3

4 SPORTS

sation and develop mutually-acceptable solutions.”

The Senate also wrote that flawed procedures In response to last were applied to the evaluaweek’s vote of no confition of the College of Edudence against Manoj Pacation and Public Service tankar, Vice President of with out prior consultation Academic Affairs, from on the matter with the facthe Faculty Senate of Saint ulty. Biondi stated both the Louis University, Lawrence Executive Committee of Biondi S.J., President of the Faculty Senate and facSLU, sent out a letter statulty representatives from ing his disappointment in the College were involved the vote and reaffirming his in the process, which was support for Patankar. consistent with the faculty “I fully support Dr. Pamanual and based on enrolltankar and have confidence ment data in the college. in his ability to lead the acaAs for the faculty’s condemic division of the Unicern that adequate leaderversity,” Biondi said in his ship was not being provided letter. on issues remaining after The letter was released the reorganization of the on Oct. 2 in accordance Graduate School and issues with the Faculty Senate’s rewith approval procedures quested response deadline, for administrative activias stated in their message ties, Biondi stated the isto the President on Sept. sues were being dealt with 26, which outlined their with input from the faculty, reasons for voting no confiand that it could not be validence. In the Sept. 25 Facdated if the ulty Senate processes meeting, the for adminvote of no confidence I fully support Dr. istrative apwere passed with and have proval hurting 50 out of Patankar 57 senators confidence in his abili- faculty provoting in the ty to lead the academic ductivity.

To the affirmative. division of the Univerclaims that In the sity.

Patankar same letter, was neBiondi went glecting to on to ad- -Lawrence Biondi collaborate dress each with facof the grievulty on important issues ances stated in the Senate’s and disregard faculty feedmessage. back when he did collect it, To the Senate’s assertion Biondi asserted that faculty that Patankar had advanced feedback has been and will a proposal to remove the continue to be considered. protections of tenure, a “All input, consultation move that would contradict and advice are considered the agreements in the facin decision making,” Biondi ulty manual, Biondi stated said in his letter. “Just bethat the policy drafts were cause an exact faculty recmeant to begin a conversaommendation is not enacttion to work toward a faculed does not mean that the ty review policy that would faculty feedback and efforts ultimately benefit the Uniwere not considered.” versity.

Finally, when the Senate “While we may have difstated that Patankar’s Straferent perspectives as to extegic plan was developed actly how a post-tenure rewith with minimal input view should be implementfrom the faculty, despite the ed at SLU, there is nothing significant role the faculty fundamentally wrong with would play in the plan, Bionthe concept,” Biondi said di said that from the initial in the letter. “Now that Dr. development, the faculty Patankar has withdrawn the had been involved, and that draft policies, I believe it is Faculty Senate President, in the best interest of the University for the Faculty Senate and the Administration to return to the converSee “Biondi” on Page 3

By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor

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7 ARTS

>> Legend celebrates 40 years

>> Gateway to Taste

11

2 NEWS

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OCTOBER 4, 2012

Let Us Introduce You: Jonathan Sawday English professor hails from Great Britian, loves sailing

By KATHERINE KELLIHER Staff Writer

Working in an office with bookshelves filled to the ceiling, Jonathan Sawday seems to be a typical Literature professor. The newlyappointed English Department Chair holds the position of the Walter J. Ong, SJ, Endowed chair in the Humanities Department.

Originally from Leicester, England, he received his Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from the University College of London Before coming to Saint Louis University in 2009, he was a professor of English at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sawday’s love of literature began at a young age.

“I was one of those kids who always had his nose in a book,” he said.

Sawday said his favorite series as a child, the ‘Biggles’ novels of Captain W. E. Johns, were what piqued his interest in reading.

“The hero drank, smoked, and was clearly sexist and racist. The books were not at all what we would give our children to read today. But we knew no better then,” he said.

Such was his eagerness to read more of his favorite childhood hero, that he needed special permission from the public library so he could check more than four books out at once.

“I love the kind of escape of a novel,” he said. “It’s an alternative sort of world.”

Sawday also credits his love of literature to a “fantastic” English teacher he had at school in Yorkshire, England. As a student at London University, Sawday considered studying Economics instead of English, but says his lack of mathematical skills helped him make the right decision.

Sawday, however, does not only lead a life in academics. His second identity

THE SLU SCOOP 8:18 a.m. - ACCIDENTAL INJURY

underneath the stall divider in her direction.

Tuesday, Oct. 2

11:16 a.m. - SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

An officer noticed a large amount of water running down the walkway by Marguerite Hall. The officer found the source was from a damaged water line that was connected to Marguerite’s fire sprinkler system.

Maintenance was notified.

Monday, Oct. 1

All Information Provided by Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Friday, Sept. 28

3:41 a.m. - SICK CASE

Pro Staff contacted DPSEP and advised of an intoxicated underage student with injuries. The student said that he fell on his face while walking from the Coronado Apartments. Officers arrived and discovered the student had cuts over both eyes. Medical treatment was refused.

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

is that of a broadcast journalist. Well-versed in both radio and TV, he has contributed to multiple radio stations in Britain, including BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, and the BBC World Service.

Sawday’s third identity resides in his passion for sailing. He tries to sail off the west coast of Scotland each summer and owns a boat named for a Scottish island: the Colonsay of Crinan. His experience goes back to the 1960s, when he learned to sail as a child in Cornwall.

Sawday has a lot of experience teaching in the United States. When it comes to comparing American and British students, however, Sawday stated that we are more similar than different.

“Students all over the world have the same issues, problems, skills and attributes,” Sawday said. “One big difference, though, is the different cultural references shared among U.S. as

opposed to U.K. students.”

The developing English department at SLU was a big attraction for Sawday.

Another attraction was the title of his position: the Ong Endowed chair. Ong was a Jesuit priest and a professor at SLU who died in 2003.

Sawday teaches both graduate and undergraduate classes. His particular research interest is in how literature intersects with technology, claiming that a poem can be thought of a kind of technology.

“A poem may be one of the most complex pieces of technology ever devised… whose precise meaning and use can shift over hundreds of years,” Sawday said.

When it comes to SLU students, however, Sawday has a piece of advice for all, regardless of background: “Take an English class at SLU with our faculty,” Sawday said. “The professors here are quite extraordinary.”

An employee tripped and fell on his left knee on the sidewalk near the west side of the garage. DPSEP Officers and EMS arrived. EMS transported the employee to SLUH ER for medical attention.

A female student reported that she was using the restroom when she heard a noise coming from a neighboring stall. The female student bent down and noticed what she believed was a male looking

2:05 a.m. - PROPERTY DAMAGE

Be a Responsible Billiken STOP. CALL. REPORT. 314-977-3000 witness.slu.edu dps.slu.edu

No Confidence vote discussed by SGA

By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor

A potential vote of no confidence against Vice President for Academic Affairs Manoj Patankar was brought up by multiple speakers during the open forum of Wednesday’s Student Government Association meeting. Senator Becky Killian recommended that all senators read the bill of no confidence made against President Lawrence Biondi

by SGA from 1999. She and Senator Andrew McLaughlin offered to collect grievances from the student body concerning Patankar and the the university’s administrative plans.

The bill tabled from last week concerning the ability for Senate to react to a pocket veto power currently held by the SGA president was brought up again. An

amendment was proposed to reword the bill. Senators wanted to ensure the bill did not take power from the president and didn’t create any new issues with loop holes and unnecessary details. The bill was tabled.

A resolution to accept the SGA directives for spot funding was proposed. The only addition to last year’s directives was a note, stating explicitly that “failure to properly transition executive boards does not justify a spot funding request.”

Debate ensued about the local transportation limitations on spot funding, with some senators challenging that the current directives did not operate well with groups that were based on travel. Vice President of Finance Vidur Sharma defended the directives, stating that allowing exceptions is bad practice and that al-

tering the transportation directive would incur significant cost to the Activity Fee. “This finance committee… will be fair, just and consistent in all our allocation with every student group regardless of what they are or who they are,” said Sharma.

There was concern about the inability for the directives to cater to disabled students who joined CSOs late and required special transportation. Sharma stated that he had never heard of the issue, but should it come up he would refer first to precedence and then to open discussion. The resolution passed.

The meeting concluded with the passage of two spot funding bills to Phases of Motion and the SLU Italian Club. The budgets of both groups were lost in the inbox of last year’s assembly.

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OCTOBER 4, 2012

Jobs: Businesses look for variety of majors Continued from Page 1

there are qualities college students can begin developing now.

“Qualities to work on throughout a college student’s career for this industry include cooperation, innovative service thinking, the willingness to travel and above all, harboring a positive attitude,” Huffines said.

Another industry leader in St. Louis, The Boeing Company, will look to hire 12,000 to 15,000 new employees within the upcoming year.

“One must possess ability to think critically and creatively and possess strong teamwork qualities,” Stephen Davis, spokesperson for The Boeing Company, said. “One must be able to adapt to rapid industry change and re-apply new skills.”

According to Davis, the top college majors that Boeing hires from are engineering science, mathematics, statistics, information technology, design and manufacturing processes. Aside from the fields of study that are normally associated with an aerospace company, many different positions are necessary to be filled that include sales, business, human resources and physical life science.

Davis said that learning should continue beyond college and that job candidates should develop and maintain ethical behavior.

“A college graduate must not lose that desire for learning; it should be a lifelong desire,” Davis said.

“One must be continually motivated to learn while maintaining the highest ethical standards.”

Davis said that during one’s college tenure, Boeing will look for school projects and activities that would translate well to real projects within the company. One of the biggest things an extracurricular activity can show a company like Boeing is the ability to apply classroom-learned skills.

“We recruit Saint Louis University very hard because we recognize their curriculum prepares students best for the job responsibilities at Boeing,” Davis said. “We have actually selected SLU as a top-tier recruiting institution.”

The Express Scripts is a pharmacy-benefits managing company that maintains its headquarters in St. Louis. They are located on the campus of University of Missouri – St. Louis but harbor a good relationship with SLU and, more specifically, with the John Cook School

of Business.

“We have had great success with hiring from SLU’s business school as well as the masters of Health Sciences program,” Jessica Wiese, Talent Acquisition Specialist from Express Scripts, said. “We carry a very good relationship with the students and faculty.”

Express Scripts employs around 33,000 people nationwide. According to Wiese, the positions that they look to fill are wide-ranging and include information technology, human resources, business, sales/marketing, supply chain, finance/ accounting, and operations.

There are a certain number of specific personality traits that are beneficial as well.

“One must contain a strong work ethic, good attitude, passion and be team oriented,” Wiese said. “An education is extremely important and necessary but tailoring oneself to good traits go a long way to future careers.”

According to Wiese, it is important for students to understand that they will not apply only what they learned in the classroom.

Extracurricular activities and internship experiences are also important to developing skills employers’ desire.

“Once [college students

realize] that, they can begin to focus on specific qualities that Express looks for,” Wiese said. “You can be made better through experience of any kind whether it be internships or extra-curricular activities.”

Express Scripts looks for students with strong values, as well as skills. The company dedicates a companywide initiative called Expressway that includes values of service, alignment, integrity, passion, mutual respect and collaboration.

“Express Scripts puts a huge emphasis on how an individual can work in the big picture,” Wiese said. “It has been shown that these qualities promote the type of individual we look for.”

According to Wiese, Express Scripts is seeing substantial growth and do not anticipate any slowdown or freeze on hiring. Express Scripts will continue to seek out top talent.

Huffines also stressed the importance of college students seeking out qualities that build a complete person, not just a complete employee.

“You must contain the passion for helping and service while maintaining the integrity and willingness to learn,” Huffines said.

Will you be better off in four years?

Come Out and Play takes Over the Quad

Kristen Miano / News Editor

Students run an inflatable obstacle course during Rainbow Alliance’s event, Come Out and Play on Monday, Oct. 1 in the Saint Louis University Quad. Come Out and Play is the kick off event for the organization’s Coming Out Month, a month dedicated to celebrating a spectrum of sexual orientation.

Plan: Faculty, administration agree on issues, but struggle to find compatible solutions Continued from Page 1

Patankar’s original draft made no mention of altering the merit pay system, which the committee cited as a major issue with the current method of annual assessment.

His proposal instead focused on a new and rigorous system for annual review.

Patankar placed emphasis on a universal system of grading professors’ performances.

The system was based on various metrics, and according to Knuepfer different facets of the grading system were weighted to be of more import than others.

The faculty summarily described Patankar’s proposal as “irremediably flawed.” The original draft was taken off the table.

As of October a new draft of the faculty evaluation policy was in discussion.

The new draft demonstrates an attempt to work more closely with the concerns and desires of faculty members.

The evaluation now has a “Comprehensive (FiveYear) Review,” and neither the loss of tenure status nor the termination of contract are possible outcomes of the review.

He also added the possibility of a “substantive merit increase,” which demon-

strates more consistency Strategic Plan there is a with the evaluation policy very strong focus on speproposed by Faculty Sencific metrics. The evaluaate. tion of faculty effectiveness “I made it very much a in the draft of the plan indevelopmental process and volves an Academic and took out any aspects of puResearch Index, which has nitive interpretation,” Pathree sub-indices focused tankar said. on academic performance, He has met with SLU research and scholarship Medical School chairs and performance, and financial with Doisy College to disviability. cuss the new proposal.

According to Patankar Both conthe work stituents of the said the commitnew draft is tees on I made it ver y an improveteaching ment. ef fectivemuch a developAnother ness, remental process and area where search communiand scholtook out aspects of cation has arly prodpunitive interpretabeen an isuct, and sue as of ser vice tion. late is in the impact d e v e l o p - -Manoj Patankar will have ment of the a demonUniversity strable Strategic impact Plan. on the The prouniversicess for developing a straty-wide strategic plan, with tegic plan to improve all their findings plugging in facets of SLU began in 2010. directly to various aspects A faculty “think tank” of the plan. He stated that was put together to draft a the strategic plan is not inframing document for the tended to be a blanket polistrategic plan that SLU adcy for the campus. ministrators and educators Instead he plans on many hoped to develop and impledifferent plans being develment in the coming years to oped with similar goals in ensure the growth and immind across the different provement of the university. units and schools comprisBased on the current ing SLU. iteration of the University However Eleonore

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Stump, professor of Philosophy and one of the members of the original think tank, said the development of the Strategic Plan is “seriously disheartening.”

“Its emphasis is on such things as ‘performance metrics’ to be used for ‘reward systems’ intended as incentives,” Stump said.

She finds the current plan to be a departure from the original intention to “highlight the University’s core commitments and values, which ought to govern its strategic planning.”

The framing document makes no mention of the metrics or indices in the current draft of the plan.

Instead the framing document numerated the mission and values distinct to SLU and listed ways in which the University might continue to demonstrate and develop its character.

While the faculty and the administration agree on the fact that SLU needs to make improvements, the lack of a shared methodology has been a major detriment to the development of a cohesive plan thus far.

As University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J. rejected Faculty Senate’s no confidence vote, Patankar and Faculty will be left to reconcile their differences or attempt to function as two different brains trying to control the same hand.

NEWS

3

School: College to focus on social justice fairs, President Lawrence Biondi S.J. On Sept. 21, the Academic Affairs Committee of the Social Work recognized Board of Trustees recomcommonalities within their mended the creation of the academics and mission College for Public Health and began to investigate and Social Justice. The next ways to further collaborate. day, the Board of Trustees Both schools have similar voted unanimously to begin cultures and a strong emreorganization. phasis on social justice and The new College will behelping the disadvantaged come fully operational beof society. ginning July 1, 2013.

“We have high expectaStudents currently entions for the new college,” rolled in the Schools of Donald Linhorst, director of Public Health and Social the School of Social Work, Work will be absorbed into said. ”We believe it can be the new college, with the transformational, helping exception of those graduto position our college and ating this academic year.

Saint Louis University as a Students graduating before leader among its peers in July 2013 have the option to interdisciplinary research, request their diploma say teaching and service, and they attended the College doing so within a social jusfor Public Health and Social tice framework.”

Work.

By February 2012, disWhile the School of Socussion had begun about cial Work the poswill remain sibility of its own cr eating school una new der the new college.

We want to create a college, the A Committee on new college that would p r o g r a m s w i t h i n Potential R e o r - be truly unique, en- P u b l i c g a n i z a - hance each school be- Health will become tion was f o r m e d , yond what it could do their own c o n s i s t - on its own, and make d e p a r t and ing of contribu- ments the current e i g h t important centers and f a c u l t y tions... institutes represenin the two t a t i v e s -Donald Linhorst schools from the with carry School over into of Public the new Health structure. and four Core requirements for from the School of Social those enrolled in Public Work. Other member of Health programs will not the faculty and staff of the change with the reorganischools were involved in zation, but those in Social “Impact Groups,” which inWork will have an addivestigated reorganization tional public health class possibilities and made sugto take. Students in the colgestions to the Committee. lege will have the opportuIn April 2012, after apnity to choose from a wider proximately two months variety of electives in their of meetings and collection programs. of faculty and administra“Social work students tive input and feedback, the will have a competitive adCommittee recommended vantage in the marketplace the formation of a new colwith a strong foundation lege to encompass both in public health. Public schools.

Health students will be bet“The concept of the reter prepared to work in the organization was viewed real world in collaboration as potentially positive by with social workers and the university senior leadleaders of non-profit orgaership, but only if A) the nizations,” Trevathan said. new college would be truly “All students will have more ‘transformative’ and allow elective course opportunithe new college to do more ties in the new college.” than the two schools could The College for Public do separately,” Trevathan Health and Social Justice explained in an email to The will strive to emphasis the University News, “[and] B) social justice mission of the an acceptable financial plan, university while creating good business plan and a connections so students are good transition plan could capable of working across be developed.” disciplines in the future.

Over the summer, the “We wanted to create a Committee and leadership new college that would be within the schools contintruly unique, enhance each ued to collect feedback School beyond what it could from faculty, staff and studo on its own and make imdents and began to draft portant contributions to our financial, business and tranrespective professions and sitional plans to be submitthe individuals and commuted to Manoj Patankar, Vice nities we serve,” Linhorst President for Academic AfContinued from Page 1

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Biondi: President finds Faculty Senate vote ‘disappointing’ Continued from Page 1

Mark Knepfer, had voted affirmatively in support of the strategic planning process at the Sept. 27 meeting of the President’s Coordinating Council.

Over all, Biondi stated that he did not believe the Senate’s actions were correct or well supported.

“The letter to me provides no concrete of credible facts supporting the Senate’s assertion that the University’s reputation has been severely eroded, nor do the assertions support the action of no confidence in Patankar,” Biondi said.

Biondi concluded by urging the Senate to focus their efforts on the Blue Ribbon Committee, a committee working toward better shared governance at the University, and to use their leadership to work for the “greater good of the University,” namely by refrain-

ing from actions that would damage SLU’s reputation and standing.

Kneupfer conceded that what happens with the Vice President of Academic Affairs is ultimately the President’s decision, but he is happy that faculty voices are at least being heard.

“The [post-tenure review] policies were removed, that was first and foremost,” Kneupfer said.

“We had felt the Vice of Academic Affairs was not capable of doing his job. We feel it is a difficult job to do, and he has not had much experience at this management level. It’s a complex university, but we feel we have voiced our concerns.”

Kneupfer hopes that the faculty and administration can reach a mutual understanding.

“The faculty don’t have the right to fire the vice president, just the right to make our voice heard,” Kneupfer said

U OPINION

OCTOBER 4, 2012

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“Getting back to solutions” after tenure controversy

Erika Klotz / Chief Illustrator Mike Hogan/ Opinion Editor

The best way to build a better university Amidst the recent tension between faculty and the administration, SLU’s leadership has reiterated its goal of ranking the university among the top 50 in the U.S. This aspiration is meant to act as a unifying force for the university community, and ever yone can agree that this is a positive goal for SLU, right?

The answer is yes but with a caveat.

SLU has another mission statement, one that reflects its status, not just as any university, but as a Jesuit, Catholic university. Though other Catholic schools around the countr y may distance themselves from their religious identities in order to bring in more students, it is vital that SLU remains true to its mission statement: “the pursuit of truth for the greater glor y of God and for the ser vice of humanity.” Entering the top 50 schools isn’t necessarily the best way to glorify God. That said, SLU should inarguably work to become the best university it can be, while remaining true to its Catholic identity. The question that arises, then, is how to accomplish this goal.

The cornerstone of a great university is its faculty.

Great professors and researchers drive for ward the intellectual progress not just of the university, but of the entire world. Thus the main focus for SLU should be to attract acclaimed academics and give them the tools they need once they’re here.

Of course, these two activities go hand in hand.

The best way to bring in talented scholars is to build the facilities they need to proceed in their work.

These building projects are inevitably ver y costly, and so the university must continue to grow its endowment in order to provide resources for its faculty

and students.

How can SLU get the funds it needs to improve and expand its operations? As a private university, tuition is one major component. Alumni donors are another source, and yet SLU’s alumni donation rate is unfortunately quite low.

To encourage alumni to give back, SLU must strike a balance between bringing in students and taking care of them once they’ve matriculated, all the while making intelligent fiscal decisions. Many students feel that SLU is sometimes more focused on attracting new students than on meeting the needs of current ones. While this approach may seem positive in the short run, when the influx of tuition dollars enters the coffers and admissions become more competitive, it may harm the university in the long run when alumni don’t feel inclined to donate.

Ultimately, SLU must look at each student not as a sum of tuition and fees, but as an investment. And not just as a financial investment, either; as the Jesuit ideal is to educate “the whole person,” so SLU must invest in all aspects of life for its student body. The returns on these investments should be measured based on the positive impact SLU students have on their communities and on the world at large, not just on the university’s balance sheets. Ever y hour of service, ever y advance in research, ever y act done for God is a step for ward for this university.

So while becoming one of the top 50 colleges in the countr y necessitates running SLU efficiently as a business, it is important to remember that our university is more than just a business. It is a center of learning, a fount of ser vice and a place of worship.

Lessons learned from NFL officiating fiasco Football fans worldwide breathed a collective sigh of relief as the regular NFL officials returned to work last week. At Thursday night’s game between Cleveland and Baltimore, the refs took the field to cheers from Browns and Ravens fans alike.

The three-month lockout was a classic case of notknowing-what-you-have-until-it’s-gone for the NFL and its fans. Indeed, officiating is often best when it is least noticed; rarely do NFL fans say, “That was a perfect spot, great work RJ 112.” Yet a bad spot will inevitably draw the ire of thousands. Thus, the referees were often taken for granted.

Now, that will not be the case—at least for a little while. The multitude of highly debatable calls by the replacement refs demonstrated just how vital the officials are in maintaining the quality of play in the NFL. The players and coaches may get most of the glamour and attention, but the entire system is completely dependent on a team of highly skilled professionals to keep the show running.

Hopefully, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL higher-ups have learned a lesson after the lockout fiasco: take care of your skilled employees. Three weeks of games have shown that the officials cannot be replaced—or at least, not replaced ver y well. If they leave, the integrity of the game collapses. Perhaps the television ratings for NFL games did not suffer in the short run, but had the lockout continued it is ver y possible that fans would have

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found another sport to watch.

Football is, after all, a ver y contrived sport. Officials are not only responsible for calling penalties, but for maintaining the overall pace and flow of the game.

They even defuse heated disputes between players, and increased hostility when the replacement refs were on the field was obvious. Beyond that, there are thousands of rules and technicalities to be learned.

It’s impossible to give someone else all that knowledge and experience overnight.

Given how essential the refs are to the game, it seems fair that they should receive as sizeable a chunk of the NFL pie.

And a large pie it is: the games bring in an incredible amount of revenue which is reflected in player salaries, stadium sizes and the absurd price of advertising during the Super Bowl. This huge revenue stream should also be reflected in the salaries of the officials.

Whether through greed or pride or simple miscalculation, the NFL leadership failed to appreciate how much the officials deser ve those high salaries. It took turning the entire sport into a farce to bring them around.

So be appreciative of the NFL officials and remember that ever y system is dependent on select people who can’t easily be replaced. Then, just sit back and enjoy the show and be glad that once again, the only arbitrar y officiating in the NFL is the coin toss.

I do not speak for all students of Saint Louis University, but I know that many share this sentiment. If SLU administration wishes to advance our university to a position of prestige among the top 50 in the U.S., then why attempt to enact policies that antagonize and affront academia with this latest controversy regarding tenure?

Personally, I fail to understand the actions of the president, Vice President Patankar or even the Board or their attempt to radically alter academic tenure here at SLU. There is a widespread feeling amongst SLU students and faculty that the administration consistently fails to act with our best interests in mind. Recent events: failure to construct new dorms after new policies requiring students to live on campus for 2 years; widespread, national controversy surrounding tenure considerations; and controversy surrounding the handling of SLU Law funds. All these demonstrated the level to which the administration is out of touch with those it holds most dear.

Yes, President Biondi has achieved wonderful things for this university. He has taken a small commuter school and brought it to the forefront of Jesuit education. However, there is a point when it is time to step down and allow new leadership and new ideas to enter the equation. SLU has the potential to achieve status among the top 50 U.S. universities, but, in my opinion, the administration must work toward transparency and harmony with its faculty, students and alumni. After all, we are the greatest asset to this university, now and moving forward.

I agree with Dr. Patankar, “It’s time to get back to solutions;” it is time for the Board of Trustees to begin a transition of power; it is time for new leadership.

“

- Patrick Hitchins is a senior in the John Cook School of Business

Quotes

of the week

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-Bill McDermott, men’s soccer public announcer

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” ”

See Page 7.

It is my idea and my mantra to do something more meaningful beyond music.

-Alonzo Lee, Grammy-winning producer

See Page 13.

2012-13 EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief Brian boyd eic@unewsonline.com

”

My first national game that I covered was the St. Louis Stars vs.

Dallas Tornado. All I remember from that game was that it was hotter than hell.

General manager connor berry gm@unewsonline.com account executives Rachel Cambell natalie grasso Nick Steinauer advisors laura thomson don highberger advisor@unewsonline.com the editorial board of the university news recognizes avis meyer, ph.d. as the newspaper’s faculty mentor.

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OCTOBER 4, 2012

OPINION

5

Health care: Obama, Romney differ in diagnosis Editor’s note: Leading up to the presidential election, each week two commentaries will focus on an issue that is important to voters. One will be written from the perspective of a supporter of President Obama, and the other will be from the perpective of a supporter of Gov. Romney.

Obama: Better for our health

The Obamacare debacle

Health care policy has been enormously important in this election, and for good r e a son. We spend more on health c a r e than any other developed countr y – 17.6 Zara Petkovic percent of GDP as opposed to the average 9.5 percent. For all that money, one would hope that we’d be healthier. Rather, the average American lifespan is shorter than the developed world average; we have fewer doctors per person; and ordinary, middle-class people are often unable to get the care they need. During his 2008 campaign, President Obama made it clear that he was going to fight for health care reform and followed through on that promise, signing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010.

Through the ACA, President Obama addressed health care on three levels: cost, access and systemic improvements. All three elements are needed in order for every hardworking person in this country to have access to basic health services for their family.

If costs are high or care is difficult to access, people go without, and without a system that effectively promotes health, methods of care can be inefficient.

One of the things President Obama has done to help reduce health care costs is to put new initiatives in place to cut the administrative costs of insurance. This means that more of our money goes toward receiving quality care – in fact, 80 percent of each insurance dollar must now be spent on health care, and insurance companies may

The Affordable Care Act is a horrible idea. Let me tell you why.

T h e bill is at least 2,000 pages long. By my own calculations, it would weigh m o r e Kelsey Massa than 75 pounds.

No member of Congress read the thing, and our president certainly didn’t take time out of his busy schedule to do so. Who can forget when Nancy Pelosi trilled that the bill must pass through Congress so the American people could find out what was in it?

Discomforting as the circumstances surrounding Obamacare’s passing may be, what’s even more frustrating about Obama’s health care reform is that, quite simply, it’s not go-

be held accountable for unreasonable rate hikes. Insurance exchanges, which come into effect in 2014, will also reduce costs by helping individuals and small businesses find appropriate coverage. As of 2014, insurance companies will also no longer be able to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, and in the meantime, such individuals are able to receive coverage through a Pre-Existing Insurance Plan.

In regards to health care access, President Obama has worked, through the Affordable Care Act, to ensure that people are able to get the care they need regardless of location, age or medical history. Part of the law allows young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. As a college student who will probably be paying off loans until then, this extension is a blessing. Also, once the law is in full effect, insurance companies will no longer be able to refuse coverage due to gender or medical background. The ACA also includes provisions to encourage the development and support of community health centers, an important source of care for many people, as well as the support of health care providers in rural communities.

Finally, the ACA contains systemic measures such as new procedures to cut down on Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP fraud, which will reduce the cost of the system as a whole. As of 2015, physicians will be paid based on the quality, not quantity, of care they provide, thus improving patient outcomes.

The ACA also focuses on preventative care; without it, people who have insurance end up indirectly paying for those who don’t. For example, if a hospital had five emergency cardiac patients in 2010 and only one of them had enough money

to pay for their visit, the hospital loses income. The hospital has to stay solvent to keep running, so what must it do? Raise prices. This is why President Obama supports preventative care: not only to keep us healthy, but to keep costs down for those who would otherwise bear the burden of the uninsured.

What I’ve mentioned above only brushes the surface of the ACA. However, what it comes down to is this: President Obama believes that health care should be affordable and accessible for hardworking Americans of any background, and during his first term in office, he has fought to make that dream a reality. Gov. Romney, on the other hand, promises to repeal the extraordinary progress that’s been made, making health care more expensive and less accessible for millions of Americans. The choice is clear: President Obama is better for our health.

Mike Hogan / Opinion Editor

Faculty-administration tensions A specter is haunting education - the specter of rankings. Such a specter h a s e v e n come to our very o w n Saint Louis U n i versity, and the havoc it brings Noah Berman with it has the power to change our campus - for the worse.

It is sneaky, the specter of education-as-a-contest.

Most recently, it comes to us disguised as a proposal to swap out our tenure system (which gives our faculty security and the freedom to research in peace) with a system in which they would be subject to periodic performance reviews.

This would have disastrous results: with no system of protection or long-duration promotion for faculty, it would be more or less impossible to attract quality new hires. The proposal would also result in a drop in academic quality on campus, as professors handle the new stress of the review system. They would be forced to publish a higher quantity of papers rather than quality papers, hurting their own academic careers and our education. The idea here is to make it easier to fire professors, limiting the number of expensive promotions and expected pay raises that take away profit.

Fortunately, the proposal was rescinded, but it would not surprise me if it returns. In the midst of the chaos, the Board of Trustees released a communiqué. They closed the letter by insisting that they

supported the people (the administration) who don’t support the people (the faculty, us) that they also support (the same). All of this is in the name of our “Strategic Plan.”

So, just what is this “Strategic Plan” exactly?

A search of the SLU website brings up a document called “University-Level Strategic Plan.” A search of the document brings up the word “education” only twice, no mention of the word “teach,” and two mentions of “student.” The document is concerned entirely with ratings and academic/research performance standards (of our faculty and administration),

“

Education is not something that you can reduce to data-points on a spreadsheet.

”

with assessment and review listed as the prime goals of our university. It is clear that our administration’s priorities are devoted solely to the numbers -- data they can use to show other people how great we are.

Education is not something you can reduce to data points on a spreadsheet.

This is a case of missing the point so seriously our leaders might well have circled the globe twice, gone skiing in Death Valley and surfing in the Himalayas, then landed somewhere three miles to the left of the point -- facing backwards.

Seeing it this way might

be profitable in terms of rankings you can use for advertising (and/or federal funding, depending on the school), but it does the students and faculty no good.

If professors are stressed about output, output, output, then they can’t do as good a job of teaching us, so we suffer, too. In nonuniversity level education, such a misunderstanding is having disastrous effects on students nationwide - in short, standardized tests do not take into account the fact that students and teachers are people, rather than education machines.

So what can we do? On a national level, we need to elect people who support more schools and smaller class sizes. On a local level, we need to support our professors , which in turn means supporting ourselves. We must stand up for ourselves and our teachers; we need to make it clear to the administration that we need a good education first and a good US News and World Report ranking last. We are here to learn if by doing so we boost our school’s rating, so much so the better, but that can’t be the priority. We must write to our parents, or alumni we know, and ask them to contact the administration and voice a concern about the dangers to our education. Assuming we go here for purposes of bettering ourselves, becoming more knowledgeable about the world, we need to stand up for education for the sake of education, not the sake of our rank. As the president and vice presidents of our university seem to care only for rankings and campus appearance, we need to show them that we are here because we want to learn, no matter the rankings.

ing to work. To quote my favorite political writer, P.J. O’Rourke, “No government proposal more complex than ‘This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private’ ever works, and that one hasn’t been working lately.” Obamacare in all its complexity will redirect an unthinkable amount of power and money to Washington, and for what? It certainly won’t lower costs. If Obama really wanted to do that, he would have tackled medical malpractice reform, taken measures to sever the archaic ties between employment and health insurance, and removed restrictions on buying insurance across state lines. Reforms like these would open up the market and reduce real costs without negatively affecting the quality of medical care.

Instead of angering plaintiff’s lawyers and employee unions, Obama took the politically safe route and directed collective outrage at entities no one likes: insurance companies. Surely, if every American citizen had health insurance, then health care costs would decrease. After all, uninsured Americans who seek emergency treatment cost the American taxpayer a pretty penny every year. However, President Obama fails to realize, or refuses to acknowledge, that there may be a rational explanation as to why 46 million Americans are uninsured. (Just a quick note, that number is not completely accurate. 10 million of the uninsured are not actually American citizens, so it’s a bit misleading to count them as such. And as many as 14 million uninsured Americans qualify for social insurance from Medicare, Medicaid and other state-run programs, they just have not yet been enrolled. Always question statistics, people.) Anyway, perhaps the reason people don’t have health insur-

ance is because they don’t want to buy it. They have crunched the numbers and decided to go without. This makes sense, as nineteento-twenty-nine-year-olds are the largest and fastestgrowing segments of the uninsured population. Their entry-level jobs don’t come with benefits, and they tend not to have serious medical conditions that insurance would help pay for, so they don’t see the need to purchase it.

Whether or not the decision to remain uninsured is in any given individual’s best interests is not for the government to decide. And yet Obamacare requires citizens to purchase a product they may not need or be able to afford. It imposes a fine (or a tax, if you prefer) on those who refuse to purchase health insurance.

People will choose to pay the tax, because it will be cheaper than purchasing the insurance plan. This tax increase will disproportionately affect the middle class, and they will still be uninsured when all is said and done.

The CBO estimates that Obamacare will cost $2 trillion over its first decade and will leave 30 million Americans without health insurance. This is just unacceptable.

Speaking of things that are unacceptable, I cannot end this column without at least mentioning the birth control mandate. It’s a religious freedom issue if ever I have seen one. The government cannot require a religious institution to provide a service that directly conflicts with its beliefs. Why people don’t understand this concept, I couldn’t tell you.

America simply cannot afford the Affordable Care Act. It must be repealed, and Mitt Romney has made it his goal to do just that. He has my vote and he should have yours.

Technology: Moving us backwards?

In this day and age, we are programmed to think that technology is an integral part of our d a i l y lives.

While s o m e t e c h nologies are essential in certain situBritta Norwick a t i o n s , this is only to an extent. New technologies in medicine are advancing the field further than ever before. Businesses are finding simple and easy way to communicate and network with other businesses. Although these relevant examples show how technology can be helpful in the workplace and be an added benefit to their respective fields, the excessive use of technology is definitely not necessary in our personal lives.

We don’t really need to have our cellphones within a foot of us at all times.

We don’t need to spend excessive amounts of time checking our email on our iPads. And we don’t need to constantly be updating our Facebook or Twitter accounts from our laptops.

In reality, all of our timewasting activities, if eliminated, could free up more time for other productive areas in our lives to do much more than we ever thought possible: exercising at the gym, cooking a homemade meal or spending quality time with family and friends. All of these activities could be enjoyed daily if we learned to live without the unnecessary technology that ties us down.

But, does this obsession with technology rob

us from more than just our precious free time?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines technology as “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge; new technologies for information storage.”

If the proper use of technology allows us to truly “accomplish a task” can we really say that our personal uses for technology— texting, tweeting, commenting, checking email, etc.— allow us to really accomplish anything worthwhile?

end to a distraction from being productive and efficient.

Instead of allowing us to primarily accomplish tasks and maintain or improve efficiency, technology in this strain does not move us further into the future, but rather moves society’s potential for success backwards.

You might want to ask yourself, “Do I use technology too much?” If you think you don’t, try calculating the amount of time you spend per month on unnecessary technological use.

According to The Telegraph, “Americans spend more time surfing the Internet than anyone else the world, with users Can we really say in clocking up an average of nearly 28 hours a month.” that our personal Imagine what you could do with 28 extra uses for technolo- hours a month. The possibilities are endless. doesn’t even include gy... allow us to re- This the amount of time you on useless iPhone ally accomplish any- spend apps or text messages to your friends. thing worthwhile?

If you find you waste too much time on technological devices for internet use, the solution ultiAll inventions, since the mately lies within you. dawn of civilization, were If you know that technoland are intended for a cerogy is a distraction for you, tain use and are a product turn it off, hide it or just of advanced human knowlsimply keep it out of reach. edge. But in contemporary Without these devices readsocieties, our personal acily available, you’ll be able tivities on our smartphones, to focus on what you need iPads, and computers actuto be doing. ally distract us from accomThough there are many plishing tasks. How are we remedies for avoiding techsupposed to stay focused at nology, there is no chance work or be productive when of its altogether disappearwe are constantly being disance. Today’s technoltracted by our own personal ogy provides users with too desire to use technology for many entertaining activities our private interests? and is an endless source of For this reason, technolcommunication and connecogy takes us in the wrong tion with the outside world. direction, away from an In the end, it’s your decision advancement of human – do you want technology to knowledge to achieve an help, or hinder?

“

”

unewsonline.com

6 GAMES

CROSSWORD

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

SUDOKU

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

WORD SEARCH

U SPORTS

WHO TO

CHEER

European Ryder Cup Team

Courtesy of rydercup.com

The Europeans overcame a seemingly insurmountable 4-point deficit Sunday afternoon, shocking the United States with victories in the afternoon’s first five matches. Justin Rose highlighted the European’s comeback with 3 lengthy putts on the final three holes to win his match against Phil Mickleson.

Martin Kaymer capped off the comeback with a six-foot par putt to beat Steve Stricker and secure the cup for Europe.

WHO TO

JEER U.S. Ryder Cup Team

Courtesy of NY Daily News

It was a brutal Sunday afternoon for the Americans.

Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker, three of the four captain’s picks, went a combined 2-8-1. The lowlight of the afternoon shined on Furyk, who bogeyed the last two holes after being one up. Six of the day’s 12 matches went to the final hole-The Americans won just one of them.

WHO TO

FEAR Greg Zuerlein Rams kicker

Courtesy of bleacherreport.com

First, “Legatron” set the franchise record with a 58-yard field goal, then he broke his own record with a 60-yarder. “Young G Z” has made his first 12 field goal attempts, including eight from 40+ yards (three of those have been from 50+ yards). In an interview with The ITD Morning After on 590 “The Fan” KFNS, “Greg the Leg” said he hit a 74-yarder at Missouri Western.

By Brian Haenchen Staff Writer

unewsonline.com

OCTOBER 4, 2012

Bill McDermott: A true SLU legend Through 40 years, “Mr. Soccer” has left an indelible legacy on the game

By CHARLES BOWLES Sports Editor

For anyone spending time in the press box of Robert R. Hermann Stadium, Bill McDermott’s voice and soccer commentary becomes a major part of the evening. McDermott’s passion and excitement for the Billikens’ soccer team is unmatched by anyone in the press box, which is reflected in his commentary throughout the game.

McDermott’s voice might be the most important voice among the thousands that attended the homecoming game, not just because of his position as the men’s soccer public announcer, but because his depth of knowledge of the game of soccer is greater than anyone in the press box and perhaps in the entire United States.

McDermott was the color commentator for the 1994 and 1998 World Cup for ESPN, announced the first soccer game ever on ESPN (consequently a SLU soccer game), has been the public announcer for the men’s soccer team since 1972 and played for Saint Louis University from 19671970, contributing to two national championships in 1967 and 1969.

It is no wonder he is called “Mr. Soccer” by NBC’s Bob Costas. Despite all of his accomplishments both locally and nationally, SLU is what McDermott calls his first love.

“This has been such an immense part of my life, this is my first team,” McDermott said.

McDermott grew up in North St. Louis in Walnut Park, and played at St. Philip Neri, where McDermott said it was a requirement to play soccer.

“It was a sort of indoctrination; the schoolyard was a proving ground for everyone who wanted to play soccer,” McDermott said.

It was there that McDermott first gained an upclose view of SLU soccer; the “commissioner” at St. Philip Neri was famous SLU soccer player Don Ceresia.

Charles Bowles / Sports Editor

Bill McDermott sits atop Hermann Stadium to announce every Saint Louis University homecoming game. The SLU graduate has been the public anouncer for the men’s soccer team since the 1972 season.

Ceresia acted as commissioner for the schoolyard and determined when players were ready to move up and play against better competition.

“If you proved yourself to Don, you would then play against the upper school kids, and if you proved yourself there, you then began to be part of the traveling team and play against other CYC (Catholic Youth Council) schools,” McDermott said.

McDermott’s interest in SLU also came from spending time with his grandparents, watching SLU play soccer games on the old fairgrounds.

Eventually, McDermott came to SLU to play soccer under then head coach Bob Guelker.

However, McDermott and his fellow teammates were soon shocked to learn that Guelker was leaving to establish the soccer program at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville.

“We were Bob’s last re-

cruiting class, but then we learned that they were bringing in Harry Keough and Val Pelizzaro and everything changed,” McDermott said.

Besides watching SLU play while he grew up, McDermott also watched the St. Louis Kutis S.C. The Kutis team was one of, if not, the best teams in the nation and dominated the soccer circuit, winning multiple national championships in the 1950s. In fact, the Kutis team was the designated United States national team in 1958 and played in the World Cup that year. McDermott said Keough and Pelizzaro were the best players on the Kutis team and that he grew up idolizing both of them.

“We knew what it meant to have them as our coaches. We wanted to do the best for our school and family, but we really did not want to disappoint Harry and Val,” McDermott said.

McDermott and his

teammates did not disappoint. Under Keough and Pelizzaro’s leadership, he and his teammates won two NCAA national championships in 1967 and 1969.

After a few years at the Chicago School of Fine Arts, McDermott returned to St. Louis where he served as an associate athletic director for SLU from 1972 to 1976 and began to serve as the public announcer for SLU men’s soccer games in 1972. However, his national commentating for soccer began when Ted Kopler at KPLR Channel 11 approached McDermott about being a color commentator for a North American Soccer League game.

“My first national game that I covered was the St. Louis Stars vs. Dallas Tornados. All I remember from that game was that it was hotter than hell,” McDermott said.

Forty years later, McDermott is still going strong as the public announcer for

Kristo celebrates homecoming with 2 goals

By CHARLES BOWLES Sports Editor

The bright lights of Hermann Stadium and the pressure of national rankings did not deter the men’s soccer team during their homecoming game. The Billikens took care of business and easily defeated Central Arkansas 3-0.

The Bills (6-2) concluded their non-conference season on a high note, scoring 10 goals in their last three matches and defeating two nationally-ranked teams during the course of the non-conference season.

The Bills also matched their win total from last season with their victory over Central Arkansas. The Bills will begin their Atlantic 10 conference season on Friday against nationally-ranked Xavier, followed by Dayton on Sunday.

“I thought we played really well, we’re six and two.

It was a good win for us,” Head Coach Mike McGinty said. “It was a great end to our out-of-conference season and a fantastic result, but you don’t win any trophies in September.”

The match started off slow, as both team battled for possession of the ball, but SLU had the upper hand. After the slow start, SLU broke through with the first of its 3 goals in the 37th minute. The ball was passed to Jon Roeckle, who curled a beautifully placed ball in the box to Robbie Kristo, who headed the ball past the Central Arkansas keeper.

“It was a great ball in the box,” McGinty said. “Robbie just went up and made it his.”

The Bills went into halftime with the 1-0 lead.

After the halftime fireworks, the Bills created their own “fireworks” on

Charles Bowles/ Sports Editor

Midfielder Michael Robson lines up for a corner kick against Central Arkansas. The Billikens impressed the huge Homecoming crowd with a 3-0 victory. the field, scoring 2 more goals.

In the 49th minute, with the Bills pressuring Central Arkansas, the Bills had a free kick, which was well-defended by Central Arkansas, but the ball was regained by the Bills. David Graydon attempted to control the ball, and then tapped it behind him to Alex Sweetin, who rocketed a ball outside the box into the net for the Bills’ second goal of the night.

In the 66th minute, Kristo shot through the Central Arkansas defense and tacked on his second goal of the night as the Bills gained a 3-0 advantage.

“I think [my performance] was all right. I mean, I had two goals so it worked out,” Kristo said.

The team now turns its attention to the A-10 conference season. SLU men’s soccer has a tough task ahead. The team was predicted to finish fourth in the A-10 preseason rankings.

“I like where we are at, but these matches that we just played doesn’t matter now,” Kristo said. “Now it is conference play so it is a completely different story.

We start at 0-0 with a brandnew record and a brandnew sheet.”

SLU will play two nationally-ranked teams in

Charlotte and Xavier during their conference season and the team has their last three conference matches at home, facing Charlotte, George Washington and Butler. If the Bills finish in the top eight of the conference, then they will move on to the conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C. on Nov. 7-11.

The Bills will open their A-10 season on the road with No. 19 Xavier on Friday, and then travel to Dayton to play the Flyers on Sunday. The Bills will play their A-10 home opener against Virginia Commonwealth University Friday at 7 p.m. at Hermann Stadium.

SLU men’s soccer, also doing play by play and color commentary for Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew. Amazingly, McDermott has also covered every World Cup since 1970.

Perhaps the height of his commentary career was when McDermott was the color commentator for the 1994 and 1998 World Cup for ABC and ESPN. McDermott also said the best game he has covered was a second round game between Argentina and England in the 1998 World Cup. “Both teams had their history with the Falkland Islands conflict. The ‘Hand of God’ goal by Diego Maradona [of Argentina] in this game, was amazing for various reasons,” McDermott said.

The game went to a penalty kick shootout, which Argentina won 4-3. However, the game is more See “McDermott” on Page 8

The playoffs finally pack some parity The Major League Baseball playoff table has been set, and after enduring a fall mar red by replacem e n t referees and a looming National Hockey League lockout, spor ts Brian Boyd fans are ready to feast. Though the former postseason parties invited only the elite eight teams from the regular season, it’s time to make room for two more. The hunt for October glory graciously welcomes an additional Wild Card qualifier in each league.

While adding more teams to the already lengthy playoffs might evoke grumbles among fans, fear not.

The two Wild Card teams in each league will have one shot to advance to the Divisional Series. Additionally, they’ll earn the dubious distinction of ‘best team to sneak through the backdoor into the postseason’.

Before I go any further, let us marvel at the fact that both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles will be eligible to compete for the World Series Trophy. Let that sink in for a second. The Orioles haven’t sniffed the postseason air in fifteen years. The last time the Nationals were in the playoffs, they weren’t even the Nationals—their last appearance came as the Montreal Expos in 1981.

See “Playoffs” on Page 8

8 SPORTS

OCTOBER 4, 2012

unewsonline.com

Softball splits double-header with Rolla

Miguel Flores, from Mexico with love

By DJ BARGER Staff Writer

Charles Bowles/ Sports Editor

Pitcher Julian Austin thows to home plate against Missouri University of Science and Technology. Austin had a rough 4th inning, giving up 4 runs.

By DJ BARGER Staff Writer

The Billiken women’s softball team split a doubleheader on Sunday against Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The Miners from Rolla, Mo. took the first game in a low-scoring affair.

Julian Austin pitched well for the Billikens until the top of the fourth when she gave up four runs. The knockout blow was a tworun home run from Miners designated hitter Becca Strope.

The Billikens did not put up much of a fight on offense, as they were held to no runs on just five base hits.

The closest they came to registering a run came in the bottom of the second inning, when they left runners stranded at second and third base.

Kelsey Biggs led off with a hit to left field. After the left fielder took time getting to the ball, Biggs took

second. The next batter, Alyson Brand, reached base with a single, leaving runners at the corners with no one out. With Brianna Lore at the plate, Brand stole second, but Lore lined out to the shortstop.

While the next batter, Olivia Roback, was at the plate, Biggs was caught stealing home in what appeared to be a miscommunication between the runner and coach. Roback made an out and was followed by Katie Kroeger.

Kroeger popped out to the pitcher, ending what came to be the Billikens’ best scoring opportunity.

After the second inning, the Billikens never got a runner as far as second base. The Miners also never mounted any offensive threat after the fourth, and the game passed quickly with a final score of 4-0.

In the second game, the roles were reversed dramatically. After retiring the Miners in the top of the first, the Billikens got started right away scoring

runs. The first batter, Jessica Buschjost, got on base with a single. The very next batter, Lindsay Friedman, drove her in with a double.

Friedman was the offensive star of the game, as she also drove in runs in the second inning.

With two runners on base and two outs, Friedman drove a pitch from Miners pitcher Becca Strope deep over the center-field wall for a home run.

The blast put the Billikens up 3-0 and knocked Stope (the offensive hero from the first game) from the game in favor of Miners reliever Amber Duncan.

In total, Friedman went 4-4, collecting three singles and two RBIs. The Billikens scored two insurance runs in the fifth inning, making the final score 6-0.

SLU will pick up action with another doubleheader at home this Saturday, Oct. 7. The first game, against Southeast Missouri State University, starts at noon.

The second game is at 4 p.m. against Missouri State.

America SCORES scores a world record

By TONY TRAINA Associate Sports Editor

This past weekend, Saint Louis University students and thousands more nationwide bested the United Nations.

If the number stands, participants at Saint Louis University’s Hermann Stadium and nine other nationwide locations set a world record for the most people dribbling a soccer ball at one time.

Indeed, all the world was a stage, as the recordsetting effort spanned stadiums from Seattle to New York, connected via satellite. A reported 2,149 people dribbled simultaneously, topping the United Nations’ previous record set in the scorching Gaza Strip.

America SCORES, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing soccer and poetry to inner-city youth, organized the effort.

All proceeds went directly to the programs of the cities that participated in order to continue their efforts of youth involvement in soccer and poetry.

Participants around the country dribbled over blades of grass to the beat of America SCORES’ theme song, “I Believe in Me,” which features the youth of SCORES St. Louis.

In last year’s inaugural effort, St. Louis contributed 428 dribblers to the effort, the most of any city, silenc-

One of the more exciting recruits to SLU’s athletics teams this year has been Luis Miguel Flores. Several schools competed to bring the freshman from Mexico City to their campus, but a variety of factors contributed to SLU’s win in the recruiting battle. Flores has already proven an excellent addition to the Billikens men’s tennis team.

It might be easy for someone who was heavily recruited to be over-confident and self-centered, but Flores is anything but that.

Always willing to praise others, Flores enjoys the experience of being at SLU and being on a team.

Flores grew up in Mexico City and speaks Spanish and English. For a time he played both soccer and tennis, but tennis quickly gained his favor.

“I would always get injured playing soccer. I decided tennis was healthier,” said Flores. “I would play every day except Monday when the club was closed.”

As he became better at tennis, Flores was invited to play in tournaments in both Mexico and the United States. Many of these tournaments took place in Texas and Florida, where he quickly caught the eye of many Division I coaches.

He reached as high as No. 3 in Mexico’s rankings for juniors and won five state championships.

But Flores’ eyes were set on Saint Louis University, far away from Mexico City, Texas or Florida. He first met a former SLU player while training in Texas.

Courtesy of Billiken Media Relations

Miguel Flores is one of Saint Louis University’s new freshman tennis players. Flores ranked as high as No.3 in Mexico’s junior rankings.

After learning of SLU, he decided to further research the university and was even more impressed. The campus, Coach Jon Zych and the team all left him with a desire to return as a student-athlete.

Having arrived at SLU, Flores is very happy to be here, saying, “there are a lot of things to do.”

According to head coach Jon Zych, Flores worked exceptionally hard to become eligible for the fall season. Flores is also excited to be on a tennis team, something he isn’t used to.

“It’s kind of different, but I really like it,” he said.

Flores added that he is impressed with his teammates thus far. “Bobby [Kidera]… plays at a really high level.

He’s always playing the best tennis at the most important moments.”

McDermott: Still passionate after 40 years Continued from Page 7

and a good joke. He was the kind of person you always wanted to spend time with on that trip,” Dellacamera said.McDermott still has plenty of smiles and jokes while in the press box of Hermann Stadium. He frequently compares current players to past SLU soccer players and asks soccer trivia questions that only he knows the answer to.

memorable for David Beckham receiving a red card after being shoved hard by an Argentinian player and subsequently kicking the Argentinian player.

In his 40 years of covering soccer, McDermott has seen a lot. He is a historian, comparing memories and past players to the current players he sees on the pitch as he calls games from his perch atop Hermann Played at SLU (1967-1970) Stadium.

His knowledge is Won two NCAA a valuable asChampionships at SLU in set and praised 1967 and 1969 ubiquitously by other commenColor Commentator for tators.

ESPN for the 1994 and “Bill brings 1998 World Cup a different perspective.

He is the best hisColor Commentator for torian of the ESPN’s first televised game,” soccer soccer game (SLU vs. announcer JP UCLA) Dellacamera said. Dellacamera covered the 1998 World Cup with McDer“Join me and (Central mott for ABC and ESPN. Arkansas’) Daniel SampeDellacamera lived with dro as we discuss the SpanMcDermott during the ish Civil War,” McDermott 1998 World Cup for more said as he practiced his rathan four weeks. He said dio voice by using the difthat McDermott was a sinferent names of opposing cere guy, devoted family players in a mock converman and a superb soccer sation about an intellectual analyst. topic.

“He always had a smile

Bill McDermott

Charles Bowles / Sports Editor

Some of the 2,149 participants who helped break the record for most soccer balls dribbled simultaneously. ing any notions of St. Louis’ sporting irrelevance.

America SCORES St. Louis uses a unique approach to engage students, allowing them to become the masters of their own fate. By partnering with urban public schools and training teachers to be effective poetry and soccer coaches, America SCORES hopes to train students in creative writing and leading. In addition, students participate in community service projects throughout the year. Youth create original poems and perform them at the annual poetry SLAM. While creating house-

hold names like David Beckham and Walt Whitman is no easy task, America SCORES seems up to the task after topping the United Nations’ great accomplishment.

America SCORES is back in action this Thursday with Fall Frenzy, its annual ode to autumn, at the Medical Center Recreation Complex. SLU students will help teach soccer skills, paint faces and provide mentorship to program participants.

In a bit of poetic justice, America SCORES has indeed scored their spot in the record books.

Zych’s effect on the team, according to Flores, is very positive and professional. “He supports and challenges us to be good at tennis and school.”

Flores is majoring in business administration in the John Cook School of Business. His favorite class is Writing for International Students, which has helped him improve his English.

After leaving SLU, Flores hopes to turn pro and follow in the footsteps of his favorite players, Roger Federer and David Ferrer. If his dreams of going pro don’t work out, Flores would like to use his business degree to be a stockbroker or financial adviser.

Flores and the rest of the SLU men’s tennis team will play next in a tournament on Oct. 14, hosted by Southern Illinois at Carbondale.

McDermott’s soccer knowledge is what sets him apart from everyone in the room and in the rest of the nation. His memory of details and sharpness for the game is what makes him different, and, of course, his dedication to his university is unquestioned. Even if he was not the public announcer, McDermott says he would be attending every SLU soccer game.

“I would be going anywhere. In 1972, they needed an announcer and I have been doing it ever since,” McDermott said.

Ironically, if McDermott were in another country he would likely be revered, hailed for his sweeping soccer knowledge; however, in the United States he does not receive nearly as much attention due to soccer’s lack of popularity.

However, when one sees McDermott high above Hermann Stadium, reflecting and commentating on SLU soccer past and present, one cannot help but feel McDermott is right where he belongs.

There is a reason he is called “Mr. Soccer,” and after spending time with him, it is clear why no one is more deserving of the title.

Playoffs: Orioles, Nationals and Athletics make this year’s field an unlikely one Continued from Page 7

The odds of both making the 2012 playoffs were remarkably improbable at the beginning of the year.

To put into context how long the National’s franchise has gone without a playoff berth, consider this: not a single starter in Washington’s rotation had been born. The Nationals will face the Wild Card one-game playoff winner: the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals facing the Braves. The Braves are a solid team looking to send Chipper Jones off with another World Series ring, but

after last year, should anyone doubt the Cardinals?

They turn into the Space Jam Monstars when the playoffs start, transforming from (sometimes less than) average to a well-oiled destruction machine. With Kyle Lohse on the bump, I’d take the Cards over nearly anyone in the league, let alone the Braves.

Elsewhere in the league, the NL West champion Giants take on the NL Central champion Reds. Despite Tim Lincecum’s brutal season, the Giants are still pretty good. Matt Cain, Mason Bumgarner and Ryan Volgelsong are arguably the

best set of starting pitchers in the league. If anyone needs a break, Barry Zito has finally started to earn his $126 million contract.

Well, sort of. Five years late is better than never…right?

Over in the American League, the New York Yankees will face the winner of the Orioles vs. Texas Rangers one game playoff.

Detroit made a push in the final days of the regular season to steal the AL Central from the White Sox. The Rangers did the exact opposite. They watched a fourgame division lead disappear in the final six games of the season. Five Texas

losses and six Oakland Athletics wins later, the A’s are division champions. I wanted to pick the A’s to win the World Series, but then it hit me. Bartolo Colon is their third best pitcher. Game over.

The Yankees are, well, the Yankees. Boasting a payroll worth the gross domestic product of most underdeveloped countries, the Yankees posted the best record in the American League. TThe Yanks finished the season ranked second in runs scored and first overall in slugging percentage. Their pitching rotation might be the worst

in the playoffs, with only C.C. Sabbathia and Hideki Kuroda posting earned run averages under 4 per game. Who will be their third starter in a seven game series? That leaves the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics in the final Division Series matchup. The question “Why did the Tigers only win 88 games this season?” ranks somewhere between “What happened to Atlantis?” and “Are they called pancakes or flapjacks?” on the unanswerable question hierarchy. I offer two hypotheses.

The first contends that the Tigers, inspired to become

more like their animal mascot, crouched stealthily in the shadows for 150 games while waiting to pounce and rip the hearts out of White Sox fans everywhere.

The second more likely explanation is that the back end of their starting rotation didn’t come around until the last month of the season. With Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister shoring up the rotation along with an improving Anibal Sanchez, the pitching should continue to trend upward.

Throw in their ridiculous offense, and who can challenge the Tigers?

U SCIENCE

TRUST or BUST?

Bacteria and Germs MYTH: It takes five seconds for bacteria to cling to dropped food.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Five. That’s how long it is typically considered to take for bacteria to transfer from the floor onto a piece of food. In all reality though, that bacteria is already on your cracker before you even kneel down to retrieve it. Ninety-nine percent of bacteria are transferred almost immediately, making the time of contact obsolete.

Factors that do contribute to the contamination include the type of food, floor, and bacteria. Maybe next time just let the dog get it.

BUST

MYTH: The toilet seat is the dirtiest thing in a public restroom.

Surprisingly, the toilet seat is actually one of the cleanest things in a public restroom. The University of Arizona published a study revealing that a public toilet seat has an average of 49 bacteria per square inch, low in comparison to the 6,267 located on the bathroom faucet handle. Other hot spots include the door latch, the sinks, and even the air once the toilet is flushed.

BUST

MYTH: Sponges don’t clean, they only spread germs around.

While sponges are efficiently mopping up your kitchen counter they are simultaneously picking up germs and bacteria— lots of it. A sponge can contain 10,000,000 or more fecal bacteria, making this cleaning utensil one of the most germ infested objects in the house. It isn’t too difficult to believe when one considers that a sponge is wet and just picks up more fuel for the bacteria to thrive on. Kill these bacteria by microwaving the sponge, ensuring that it is damp before putting it in.

TRUST

MYTH: Antibiotics will help treat a cold or flu.

This reads like a tricky true or false biology exam question. Antibiotics will only fight bacteria. Coughs, sore throats, earaches and all colds and flus are caused by viruses. So circle false, because antibiotics will not work on viruses and won’t aid in the recovery process.

BUST

OCTOBER 4, 2012

unewsonline.com

A bird’s-eye view on SLU wildlife Squirrels, birds and bugs populate the campus landscape

By MATT HESKAMP Staff Writer

Walking around campus, you might come across of the bare-naked statues, you could possibly encounter your favorite professor or there is the chance you might run into your friend. But what you are absolutely sure to come across is animal life. There are so many animals on campus that the daily bustle of campus life is being jeopardized.

Charles Dickens wrote a historical novel in which a bird from the Corvus genus was able to talk; Edger Allen Poe wrote a narrative poem about a bird in the same genus having a similar gift.

Come fall, however, when birds of the Corvus genus descend onto Saint Louis University, the only things talking are the students and faculty; and they talk about how the birds are such a nuisance.

While these aerial creatures may be annoying, they are extremely intelligent and social. As students, the draw of free food will take us to places and meetings that we have no desire to participate in. Crows do the same – flocking to any backyard, garbage can or tree to gather free grub.

And if crows are dining with you, make sure there is enough to go around.

In one nesting season a family of crows eats roughly 40,000 caterpillars, armyworms and any other

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

A squirrel on campus opens wide. To attack an opponent? Simply yawning? Showing off those pearly whites? Who knows, these critters are unpredictable. insect it can wrap its beak around. Consider crows to be nature’s garbage disposal.

Campus does have a lot of trashcans and food scraps but that isn’t the main reason we see the black clouds hovering in

Biology meets booze with fermentation alcohol exist – wine, beer and spirits – and each uses a slightly different variation of this fermentation process Campus runs on to achieve booze bliss. science. Where would we Ferment grapes and be without computers or the end result is wine. Feed cell phones? The invention yeast to barley and beer is of the light bulb has saved made. Tequila, vodka, gin us loads of trouble and and whiskey are distilled candle wax.

And there from simple fruit or grain is the obvious biological mixtures. But if it were this life saver, photosynthesis easy everyone would be stemming from our wellmaking it in their closet. watered plant life on West All three alcohols begin Pine.

Credit the study by crushing the sugars of science for all of these necessary to fuel the necessities. Appreciate it. yeast. This isn’t the sugar Understand it. Respect it. we put in our cookies or Because once the weekend morning coffee; depending rolls around, science takes on the food used, it is a on another essential roll to combination of glucose, most college kids – alcohol. sucrose, or fructose – the Ignore the risk factors three simple sugars found and dangers of drinking for in carbohydrates. a minute. Many of us have The grapes are been through D.A.R.E. or smashed while grains are S.H.A.R.P ground by now, and for beer appreciate and spirits the beverage creating for what it is m o r e Appreciate the – an artistic surface c r e a t i o n beverage for what area for rooted in the yeast biology. to attack.

T h e is it -- an artisic N o w b a s i c is where process of creation rooted in t h i n g s alcoholic begin to fermentation biology. differ. The is the grapes conversion for wine of sugars will head to energy, directly producing to the ethanol and fermentation tank while carbon dioxide as waste beer and spirits need to be products of the cell. This babysat for a while before anaerobic performance being ready to ferment. is responsible for rising The ground grains must bread dough and producing first be converted into ethanol fuel but most fermentable sugars, done importantly, the alcoholic so by boiling the grains beverages we know and in water at time-sensitive, love. specific temperatures.

For those without any During this time is chemical or biological when flavors and additional background, alcohol is ingredients are added. a clear liquid at room For instance, hops will be temperate that is highly added to beer for a kick flammable — so flammable of bitterness. A heap of that it can be used as a fuel honey tossed into a barrel source. It is also less dense of whiskey, making that than water but it does burn a little sweeter and easily dissolve, making smoother. it convenient to mix with It is then that the yeast Kool-Aid. can be added to begin all the Not all types of alcohol hard work of making the would pair well with fruit punch though.

Three See “Fermentation” on Page 10 different categories of

trees. As colder months approach, the birds begin to form large winter roosts in urban settings.

The city offers warmth and protection from the harsh winds and bitter cold in rural areas.

These omnivores have

some competition for the biggest nuisance on campus though.

Cockroaches, better known as the Hexapods from Hell, will eat next to anything – soap, paint, dead animals, you name it. These insects fall in the order

Coleoptera, which includes more species than any other order, constituting almost 25 percent of all known life forms. About 40 percent of all described insect species See “Animals” on Page 10

Back-breaking backpacks The carrying costs of lugging your books

By GABBY GEERTS Science Editor

“

”

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

A student showcases just how large our backpacks can get. In most cases, the backpack is wider than the carrier itself.

By KATHLEEN KAYSEN Staff Writer

Midterms are around the corner, which means many of us are loading every textbook we haven’t opened yet into our backpacks and heading to the library.

Have you ever thought of the effect the weight of your backpack has on your spine, especially when carrying a heavy bag is a daily occurrence?

According to the New York Times, years of carrying a heavy backpack heightens a person’s risk for stress fractures in the back, inflammation in the growth cartilage, back and neck strain, nerve damage in the neck and shoulders and chronic poor posture.

When a person wears a heavy backpack, the weight of it pulls the person backwards, and he or she may arch the spine in response to this. The arched position compresses the spine, pressing the vertebrae on the discs between each of them.

If a person responds to the backward pull by leaning forward, this leads to bad posture and rounded shoulders.

Maintaining these positions multiple times a day and through many years of schooling is what causes a problems to develop.

The best preventative measure for this issue is to purchase a well-designed backpack. This includes wide, padded, adjustable shoulder straps to widen

the surface area to which pressure will be applied Also, choosing a backpack that is no bigger than what is necessary encourages you to only carry what you really need, instead of seeing how much you can fit in one bag.

Adjusting the shoulder straps so that the bottom of the filled backpack is no lower than four inches below the waist makes the weight sit evenly and centered on your back Allowing the backpack to sit lower may cause a person to lean back if the backpack is heavy enough.

Finally, it is best to carry the backpack with both straps on the shoulders, See “Backpack” on Page 10

unewsonline.com

OCTOBER 4, 2012

SCIENCE

Beat ‘the bug’ and fight the flu Prevent, understand and treat the illness that plagues Fall

By KATHLEEN KAYSEN Staff Writer

Flu season is upon us.

Beginning in September and lasting as late as May, the flu often hits its peak in January or February.

In order to keep yourself healthy, it’s best to know the fast facts about the flu.

How does it spread? What are the classic signs and symptoms? How can you protect yourself before you get sick? Is having the flu even that big of a deal? Being aware of the answers to these questions and following preventive measures are your best bets for keeping the flu at bay all season long.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu viruses spread by droplets that travel through air from one person’s sneeze or cough or even during conversation to another person’s mouth or nose. While it is possible to catch it from touching surfaces previously touched by others with a flu virus, it is less common.

Additionally, an infected individual can spread a virus up to a day before he or she knows they are sick and from five to seven days after becoming sick.

If the virus is floating through the air, how can you stay safe? First, hand washing is the number one way to prevent spreading the virus. By keeping your hands clean, you lessen your chances of passing the virus into your own mouth or nose. Also, while you should try to avoid coughing or sneezing directly into your hands, washing your hands prevents others from coming in contact with your germs.

Another practical preventive measure is to keep your body healthy in other ways in order to make it strong enough to fight off viruses or at least lessen

Center For Disease Control

A close up look at an influenza virus, virion, through the lens of a transmission electron micrograph.

This particular influenza virus is a single-stranded RNA organism the severity of the disease if you catch it. Regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables for vitamins, not smoking and cutting down on alcohol consumption all build up your immune system, instead of suppressing its

Fermentation: Appreciation for alcohol alchemy Continued from Page 9

alcohol. Fermentation is a very sensitive process and any outside disturbances of oxygen, bacteria or temperature fluctuation can throw it out of balance.

For this reason, it is imperative that fermentation take place in an airtight, sanitized container in an area of consistent temperature.

The exact temperature depends on the desired product outcome but yeast does die at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and slows to the point of stopping around 55 degrees.Anxiously wait for a few weeks and alcohol will be made.

However, it isn’t ready for consumption.

Most alcohols will be transferred to another storage container where secondary fermentation and in the case of beer, carbonation, occur.

This is to let the flavors merry and to ensure complete fermentation.

Again, length of storage is dependent on desired outcome but it can range from as little as a week to a couple of years. Patience is a virtue in this business.

Beer and wine are then ready to package, distribute and consume. Spirits, on the other hand, go through an additional process called

distillation. Since alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water, it is boiled and the vaporized alcohol travels down a column.

This column is cooled externally which causes the vaporized alcohol to return to the final liquid state.

In the end though, what really matters is the buzz the alcohol will create.

Beer has the lowest amount of alcohol, ranging from four-six percent on average, making it easy to chug in high quantities.

Spirits range from a 45-90 percent alcohol meaning it can knock you over quickly while wine falls in the middle, ranging from 7-15 percent alcohol with its main draw being the classiness it portrays.

As an added bonus it is hypothesized that a glass of alcohol, particularly red wine, a day may be good for our health. So guzzle away and keep the doctor away.

When we get our hands on these beverages not much time is given to appreciate the drink, let alone understand it.

But by understanding the hard work and time, appreciation for the drink will follow. So don’t only thank Anheuser Busch or a fifth of bottom shelf liquor for your fun; thank the science that made it all happen.

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abilities.

Getting vaccinated for the flu is also an important preventive measure. Flu shots are inactivated vaccines injected by needle.

The flu shot is offered starting in September and continues to be

throughout flu season. It is recommended by the CDC that every person 6 months and older be vaccinated, especially those in high risk categories such as the elderly, pregnant women, health care workers and those with certain pre-

existing chronic conditions.

Well, you did all you could to try to fend it off, but you think you still caught the flu. How do you know for sure? Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, fatigue and less commonly, vomiting and diarrhea.

Remember that it is not necessary to have all of these symptoms, even a fever, to have the flu. There are various diagnostic tests the doctor can do to verify you have the flu, but they are not always accurate. Often, they are not necessary because the doctor will likely follow the same course of treatment whether you have the flu or a respiratory infection.

He or she may prescribe a decongestant, pain reliever, or nasal spray that is stronger than what you can buy over the counter, but since the flu is a virus, there is no antibiotic.

If a diagnosis is not always performed, how serious is the flu?

Its severity ranges from season to season, depending on several factors: what flu viruses are spreading, how much of the vaccine is available, when the vaccine is available, how many people get vaccinated, and how well the flu vaccine is matched the flu viruses that are causing illness that season.

When someone in a highrisk category contracts the virus, it becomes a more serious situation. It affects each person differently, and it can lead to hospitalization and, in some cases, death.

Overall, it is best to take every preventive measure and to get vaccinated in order to avoid the flu completely. By doing so, you are not only keeping yourself safe, but you are also protecting those you come in contact with often.

Animals: SLU is home to diverse group

Photo Courtesy of Wm Jas

Cockroaches, scientifically known as Blattaria, thrive in warm buildings, particularly the dorms on campus.

Continued from Page 9

are cockroaches.

The most populous insect on earth has not spared our university. No matter if you live in Reinert, Griesedieck, Marguerite or the Village, there is a story about cockroaches; you just have to dig deep enough into the cracks in the wall.

Unlike crows, cockroaches are around the whole year. When they are not bustling around outside, they are inside the dorms and cafeterias.

Cockroaches are most often seen in the dorms because there is an ample amount of food and it

is warmer. Dorms also provide the cockroaches protection from natural predators.

And once it is safely inside, killing a cockroach, short of stomping on it, is extremely difficult.

Cockroaches are one of, if not the most, hardy insects on Earth. Some species can survive on zero food for about a month; others scrape by with only consuming the glue on the back of postage stamps.

This survival mechanism is credited to the slow cell division – with juvenile cockroaches only going through cell division on a weekly basis at best.

It isn’t necessary to

live on campus to spot the abundance of our most famous animal – the squirrel.

These tree-huggers belong to a family of medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes chipmunks, woodchucks and squirrels.

Squirrels are indigenous to Africa and America.

But just because they are indigenous, does not mean all students welcome them.

The distaste for the SLU squirrel is rooted in jealousy. How is it that an animal eats better than I do?

Well, the crows only come once a year and the cockroaches are trapped inside, leaving all our garbage up for grabs. And since squirrels can’t digest cellulose, a component of plant cell walls, it relies on protein, carbohydrate and fat for sustenance.

Oddly enough, those are the foods that the student body consumes a lot of.

And since there aren’t nuts falling of the palm trees for these little guys to store, they feast on our leftover fast food.

Approach a squirrel with caution next time it snacks on your treats though.

Some predatory behavior has been observed in various squirrel species.

While it isn’t common, it could result in a harsh bite that is full of foreign bacteria and disease.

Animal life is impossible to avoid. We tend to forget that the animal’s homes were here before our university buildings were.

When we forget that they were here first, we forget to give them the respect they deserve.

So next time you are about to complain about the squirrels, cockroaches or crows, remember this: Mizzou has rodent and bat problems, making our creature friends more bearable.

10

Mosquito bites spread West Nile

By BINDU PARUCHURI Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again when the rain boots come out, the umbrellas pop open and the rain ponchos go on.

With this rain season comes not only puddles to splash around in but mosquitoes in droves.

Because many of them carry West Nile virus, mosquitoes are currently a great danger.

According to the Center for Disease Control, West Nile virus is contracted from mosquitoes feeding on infected birds. From there, when the female mosquito feeds on a human or animal subject, the virus spreads more widely.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this virus yet.

There are many symptoms associated with this virus making it more difficult to diagnose.

The CDC defines serious symptoms as having a high fever, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.

Milder symptoms are defined as fever, body aches and swollen lymph nodes.

Apart from death, in the most severe cases, severe irreversible neurological damage can occur.

Many people do not exhibit symptoms.

If symptoms develop, they develop between three and 14 days.

The greatest risk of getting West Nile virus comes from spending time outside unprotected. To be fully protected and to avoid being bitten, apply bug spray all over yourself.

Also, cover the areas of your body that are prone to coming into contact with stagnant water.

Moreover, avoid spending too much outside during the dusk and dawn because of increased risk during this time. In addition, adding netting over dorm windows or avoiding the opening of windows will greatly reduce the risks of the presence of virus-carrying mosquitoes.

There have already been over 50 reported cases in Illinois these past two months and 1,600 cases this past summer, making it the worst summer for West Nile virus since 1999.

Although this virus is rare, it is extremely deadly and caution should be taken.

Backpacks: Weighing the health effects Continued from Page 9

instead of letting it hang on just one shoulder. This allows the weight to be distributed evenly in the center of the body.

Other preventative measures outside the backpack itself focus on treating your back well.

Examples include lifting the backpack and other heavy items by bending the knees and lifting with the quads instead of with the back, not overloading the backpack with unnecessary items and placing the heaviest items in the backpack closest to your back to keep the weight centered and close.

Also, making good posture a part of your lifestyle, not only when you are wearing the backpack, makes it feel more natural and effortless. Standing and walking with the shoulders back, the breastbone tilted up and out, and the stomach in, keeps the back safe and healthy.

Now all you have to worry about is how you’re going to read all those textbooks in time for the exam.

U ARTS

OUT

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45 restaurants give a taste of STL City’s 42nd festival celebrating local food, art and wine Get a “taste” of these restaurants near campus!

on the

THE LOOP/UNIVERSITY CITY: Ben & Jerry’s The Melting Pot

TOWN

Arts Editor’s Picks

Music October 5 Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives Sheldon Concert Hall 8 p.m. $35

October 5 Ralphie May The Pagaent 8 p.m. $32.50

October 5

OCTOBER 4, 2012

MIDTOWN: Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria and Ristorante Pappy’s Smokehouse

SOULARD: Soulard Gyro and Deli Bogart’s Smokehouse Joanie’s Pizzeria

CENTRAL WEST END: Sub Zero Vodka Bar The Cup Tortillaria Mexican Kitchen Drunken Fish

THE HILL: Steve’s Hot Dogs on the Hill Gioia’s Deli DOWNTOWN: Hard Rock Cafe Jim Edmonds Steakhouse 15 Monty’s Sandwich Company Park Avenue Coffee Syberg’s on Market Tigín Irish Pub & Restaurant

TOWN AND COUNTRY Bistro 1130 Hot Wok Cafe

RICHMOND HEIGHTS Harvest Hank’s Cheesecake

WEBSTER GROVES Joe Boccardi’s Ristorante Milago Modern Mexican

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Program: Mahler 3 Powell Symphony Hall 8 p.m. $30 ($10 student)

October 5 JC McPhearson Bluberry Hill 9 p.m. $15

Art October 5February 9 ArtParty: Young Artists Celebrate the Centennial Sheldon Art Galleries Tues: 12-8 p.m., WedFri: 12-5 p.m., Sat: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. free

October 5January 19 Arnold Newman: Luminaries of the Twentieth Century Sheldon Art Galleries Tues: 12-8 p.m., WedFri: 12-5 p.m., Sat: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. free

Other October 5-27 Grant’s Farm Halloween Celebration Grant’s Farm weekends 6-10 p.m. $20 per car, $5 walk-in

October 6 7th Annual Grove Fest The Grove 2-11 p.m. free

October 6-7 20th Annual Historic Shaw Art Fair 4100 and 4200 Flora Place Fri: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. free

October 6-7 21st Annual Best of Missouri Missouri Botanical Festival 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $12

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

The annual Taste of St. Louis was held in Soldier’s Memorial this past weekend. The festival featured food from 45 restaurants, a culinary competition featuring, a music stage, and the new Grand Tasing Event. (above) An attendee tastes her meal at the festival. (right) A worker at the Taste prepares food to sell.

The lost art of drinking tea

By HILARY KORABIK Copy Editor

As the crisp autumn weather is slowly settling in, squashes, apples and pumpkin-flavored delicacies are cropping up everywhere. While it can be hard to find something more satisfying than a slice of pumpkin bread, fall weather necessitates a hot beverage that may have been ignored during the warm summer months: tea.

According to teamuse. com, iced tea makes up 85 percent of the United States tea market. Iced tea originated early on in American history, when people needed something to cool themselves down during the sweltering southern summers. However, now that the temperature has significantly dropped, it’s the perfect time to exchange that icy-cool drink for a nice, warm ‘cuppa’, as the Irish call it. Yes — the Irish love their tea almost as much as the English.

Of course, the Boston Tea Party is a great story from U.S. history. The men dressed as American Indians said, “Take your tea, and shove off,” clarifying their view of England, if anyone didn’t already know.

It’s clear from the structure of U.S. government and society in general that any semblance to English culture is avoided if at all possible. But if the people Republic of Ireland, who fought for freedom much longer than the patriots, can accept that English tea

culture is one good thing to adopt for themselves, then no U.S. citizen should hesitate to follow suit.

However, it was surely a good thing that rebels threw the tea overboard, otherwise the U.S. citizens might have been stuck drinking English Breakfast all the time. Unlike that of the English, American tea culture has many Asian influences, which adds not only variety, but also numerous health benefits to a well-rounded tea diet. Ginger tea is good for an upset stomach, green tea takes care of numerous health concerns, hibiscus tea can nip that high blood pressure in the bud and oolong tea can lower the levels of bad cholesterol.

Besides, in this individualistic culture, drinking tea could help us to take a break and to rebuild the community that is often forgotten.

The United States, sadly, has lost the Art of Drinking Tea. Here, tea is never served as an afternoon essential. The days of tea parties are long-gone, but tea dates and tea chats don’t have to be. There’s something so comforting about curling up with a cuppa and just talking and relaxing.

Additionally, tea is very versatile drink. One can drink it alone or in a group, with a meal, or by itself.

So next time you’re cramming for a test, curl up with a cup of tea. You’ll get just as much caffeine as from a cup of coffee, but when it comes to health benefits, tea’s got the win in the bag — literally.

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

Audiences fell quickly for Hansard

Glen Hansard at a music workshop in the summer of 2005.

By FRANCIS MCDONALD Staff Writer

It was a flawless evening.

Glen Hansard is an actor and musician best known for his performance in the Oscar-winning film, “Once.”

Last Tuesday, Sept. 25, he performed at The Pageant.

Although Hansard’s most popular song is his soft and powerful duet with Marketa Irglova titled “Falling Slowly,” his range of music varies drastically, as exhibited at his concert last Tuesday.

Hansard hails from Ireland, where he has been writing music since he was 13 years old. He has been famous in Ireland for many years as the lead singer of the rock band The Frames; however, his acoustic music is what made him famous in the United States. There-

fore, the crowd that was present at the show consisted of a wide array of fans, from teenagers to senior citizens.

The venue was set up with seats filling every inch of space, an unusual setup for a concert at The Pageant. After the first song or so, Hansard invited anyone to stand in the front (directly in front of people sitting in their front-row reserved seats). For the younger fans who were in the front, (I, of course, being one of them), the concert was a heck of an experience. I did, however, feel bad for the older-aged fans that probably could not see the stage very well over the many fans standing in front of them.

Hansard was the greatest live act I have ever seen.

He opened with four new songs off of his solo album

Photo courtesy of Jana @ simulacra.cz

that was released in June 2012 titled “Rhythm and Repose.” The recordings of these songs, although great, do not quite capture Glen in concert. The complaint about his solo album from some reviewers and fans is that the beautiful, acoustic, passionate yelling that drew in his American fan base was very minimalistic. However, in concert, he extended the songs, adding his yelling whenever he saw fit. For those who were not previous fans of Glen Hansard, the yelling might have been too much for them without a forewarning, but for those who have seen the movie “Once” and loved the music from it, the concert would be very enjoyable.

See “Hansard” on Page 13

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ARTS

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OCTOBER 4, 2012

Dancers fill streets of Grand Center SLU theatre kicks off Fall with “Wonder of the World” this week

By KRISTIN McGUIRE Staff Writer

Hosted by Grand Center, Inc. and sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors, the annual Dancing in the Street Festival returned for its sixth year this past Saturday.

From 1 to 8 p.m., visitors got a taste of the diverse dance talent that St. Louis has to offer.Dancers were presented on three separate stages on Grand Boulevard, between Lindell and Delmar boulevards. This free festival even offered a shuttle service to and from the Taste of St. Louis at Soldiers Memorial.

The festival featured over 1,000 dancers from 80 regional and local companies. Non-stop performances could be seen between 1-6:30 p.m. Genres like tap, ballet, modern and jazz, salsa, belly dancing, clog and Bollywood could be enjoyed by the audiences.

The hip-hop and break dancing seemed to be the crowd favorite of the event with massive crowds surrounding the stage in order to witness some big name artists, as well as live disc

Photo courtesy of John Lamb

Cast members reherse a scene from “Wonder of the World” which makes its public debut Friday, Oct. 5.

By SARAH MALLICK Staff Writer

Strap on your seat belts for the wild ride that is “Wonder of the World,” the first show of this year’s theater season at SLU! Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, this quirky, hilarious and absurdist play illustrates just how unexpected life can be, and how people work to find meaning in that chaos.

The main character of the play, Cass, is attempting to do just that: find her purpose in life.

Cass is a happy-go-lucky and optimistic woman who sets out to achieve her dreams and life goals.

Along the way, she meets a motley crew of people, including Lois and Captain Mike. Lois is the antithesis of Cass; she’s gloomy and more realistic.

Oh, and Cass meets Lois when the latter is deliberating suicide via barrel over

Niagara Falls. The two characters embark on an exciting escapade, full of highs and lows, and discover the true meaning of life.

Senior Gabrielle Greer, who plays Cass, said that throughout the whole play “Cass is searching for something, something elusive, for real happiness… but that in the end she has an epiphany about life, that true happiness is not in the destination but rather the journey.”

In a way, the play discounts the idea that “the grass is always greener on the other side,” and that life is more than a series of goals being checked off a list.

According to Greer, the cast was extremely close.

“There was never a dull moment, and it was a most hilarious play with a strong underlying message.”

The cast also held an earlier performance for Prison Performing Arts, a program that tries to integrate

&A

Q

performing arts into the lives of imprisoned children and adults. One inmate took away a special message from the play, which was, “The biggest thing about life is that no matter what life throws you, whatever you’re searching for, it’s not as important as the people you meet along the way and who you’re with when you get there.”

Evident in that idea is that the play has a poignant and heartfelt undertone in the midst of all the amusement.

It will cause the viewer to slow down and really wonder what is happening in their life, whether or not they are truly living in the moment.

“Wonder of the World” introduces the idea that the while grass may appear prettier on the other side, it actually probably isn’t, and the grass may be just as wonderful where you are standing if you made it that way.

jockeys. From 6:30-8 p.m., live music and open dance space was offered for visitors to show off their own moves.

SLU senior Mary Lee Ptacek attended the festival because of its close proximity to SLU’s campus. “I really liked the hip-hop performances, especially when they fused dubstep and classical music … I will definitely be back next year!” said Ptacek.

One of the big names of the festival was Gentleman of Vision, a group that has won the national step championship two times. Gentleman of Vision consists of 58 males from high schools around the St. Louis metropolitan area. The group hopes to instill leadership values and encourage academic excellence and community service involvement among its members.

Another exciting guest was Nick Gates, founder of Hip Hop Fanatics and a Season 1 finalist on “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Visitors saw his break dance showcase on the largest stage of the three.

Michael Kim, a break

dancer from St. Louis, danced with Gates during the festival. Kim has been teaching hip-hop and performing modern dance around St. Louis for the past three years, but this was his first time performing in the festival.

“The energy of the crowd is high … this is a great atmosphere for us to perform,” said Kim.Originally from Los Angeles, Kim had been a crowd member at the festival for a few years before he was asked to perform this year.

“People should attend Dancing in the Street because you will only see these dances once in a lifetime … they are never the same!”

Our own SLU step team performed in the festival as well. Stepping in the festival for the first time was SLU junior, Jared Castillo.

“It was a great experience! [The crowd] was really receptive… it helped that part of the crowd was actual SLU students who came over to the festival to come and support us. I would love to do it again next year!”

Castillo said.

English department hosts poet

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

Poet Tom Pickard gives a talk about the craft of poetry in DuBourg Hall on Sept. 25.

By MAGGIE NEEDHAM Associate Arts Editor

The English department invited poet Tom Pickard to SLU to be this year’s Jean Drahmann Writer-inResidence. This two week

position entailed giving a poetry reading and a craft talk, as well as visiting some of the department’s poetry classes.

Students and faculty alike gathered in the fourth floor of DuBourg for Pick-

ard’s poetry reading on Sept. 25, where he read selections from his works. His poetry is celebrated for its range of emotion and style, See “Pickard” on Page 13

Grouplove talks new tour Just as Grouplove’s fall 2012 U.S. Tour kicks off, Joe Stein called up Ryan Rabin, the band’s charismatic and talented drummer and producer, to discuss the origins of the band, their upcoming show in St. Louis and what’s in store for us next.

JOE STEIN: Hey Ryan! We’re all excited for your upcoming show at The Pageant here in St. Louis. Before I get into the tour, I want to ask a bit about the band as a whole. I understand that Grouplove’s formation as a band wasn’t quite the typical situation. Could you fill us in on how Grouplove came to be?

RYAN RABIN: Yeah, you’re right, it was kind of strange and fateful. We ended up, a couple summers ago, in a little mountain village on the island of Crete in Greece for a sort of trial artist residency they were having. Basically, some people tried to start up this community where artists come and paint or musicians come and play music. They rented out some abandoned homes in sort of a run-down village. We came from all parts of the world and all just became quick friends out there.

We kept in touch afterwards and about a year later everybody came to visit Andrew and I out in L.A. We just started recording some stuff for fun, really. It still wasn’t really a band at that point. Only after that, once everybody had moved into my pa ent’s house and we had recorded seven or eight songs, we realized we really had something special.

JS: Each band has kind of a distinct way in which they write songs. Can you explain the typical writing process of Grouplove?

RR: Well, there isn’t really one typical way that we go about it. It’s different for every song because everybody in the band is a writer. It all really depends on what particular idea people are throwing together at that moment in time. Like, someone would come to

me with a melody idea, or even somewhat of a completed song, then we would either completely rework it and change it around or build off of someone’s simple idea. Sometimes we just start jamming off one another. Sometimes it’s all together, sometimes it’s just two or three of us, but eventually we will all put in our share on the song. It really depends from song to song.

JS: What would you say are your favorite and least favorite things about being on tour?

RR: Favorite thing: The really close personal relationships between the crew that develop. There’s 11 of us in a 12-person bus and it’s really close quarters. This particular tour, we’re really lucky to have a very tightly knit group of people working together. It really is a team effort, from the merch guy, to the sound guy, to the lighting guy, to the guitar check . . . we really went all out on this one. It’s just a great environment to be a part of. And then on the performance side, it’s just great to have a whole show that really wows people.

It’s something that you really don’t get to experience until you get to this level, and I feel really fortunate.

Least Favorite: The smells.

JS: I think most of my fellow St. Louisans would agree that there is just something special about The Pageant. What is it like to play at such a sweet venue?

RR: Oh, yeah, that’s a great venue! The staff there is really incredible. They’re super nice and are really pas-

sionate about music and care about the experience.

Bands love to play there because the experience is so great. They understand what it’s like for a touring band and they try to have everything there to make it as smooth as possible. I really like the stage because it’s pretty high but the crowd is so close to you. It’s a big venue but it still seems intimate.

JS: What’s in store for us after this tour? Have you started working on a new album yet?

RR: We’re still kind of in the early stages. We just released our recent album a year ago. Because there are always so many ideas floating around, I think it’s natural that we get a little impatient. We’re always writing new songs and there’s a bunch of stuff that didn’t make the first album because it wasn’t finished.

After the new year, we will really start hunkering down and working on it. We’re thinking probably next summer for the new album.

JS: Ryan, thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. I can’t wait for your show next week here in St. Louis!

RR: All right, man, thank you so much!

Ryan Rabin and the rest of Grouplove will be performing at The Pageant on Monday, Oct. 8th. Be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible, as many of their upcoming shows have already sold out.

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OCTOBER 4, 2012

ARTS 13

Copyright reform activist League of Laughter performs releases another YA novel first show of the school year

By ALANAH NANTELL Arts Editor

Where can you find a Bible salesman, an arsonist and a cookie-addicted monster sitting side-by-side in one room? Look no further than the Xavier Black Box Theatre, where League of Laughter performed on Friday, Sept. 28.

LOL, SLU’s only improv comedy group, is made up of students from all walks of their SLU career, ranging from undergrads to doctorate students.

Peter Hasser, now a first-year graduate student, has been involved with the league for about three years and considers it a “haven” that provides a break from the days of classes and meetings and makes time for laughter and an outlet to be one’s self.

“People are weird, and too often society tells us that these differences or oddities that we all have are unacceptable. We’re forced to bury the hilarious quirks that make us unique or risk being written off as weird. In comedic improv, those sorts of oddities are encouraged,” he said.

Jason McCoy / Staff Writer

Author Cory Doctorow speaking about his new young adult book “Pirate Cinema.”

By JASON McCOY Staff Writer

Most science-fiction authors write about the future while using antiqued methods to distribute books, but Cory Doctorow’s holistic approach to science fiction uses anything but antiquated methods.

Saint Louis University’s own young adult literature guru, Jennifer Buehler, has even called him an “Internet radical”, referencing anti-DRM (Digital Rights Management) creative commons licenses covering his work.

His best selling book “Little Brother” depicts a high school geek overthrowing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after a terrorist attack causes the creation of oppressive security policies.

On Oct. 2, Doctorow started a tour celebrating the release of his young

adult book “Pirate Cinema.”

This worldly literature juggernaut started his grand tour in the humble St. Louis County Library.

The usual battalion of bearded, white fanboys in black T-shirts stood out at the reading.

However, a diverse assortment of grade schoolers, teens, teachers and retirees that filled in the empty spots hinted at Doctorow’s mass appeal.

Doctorow let his activist side show as he laid out detailed critiques of current copyright legislation and possible solutions in a post-scarcity world. After outlining large sections of cyberpunk manifesto with practiced vigor, he read selected passages from his newest novel.

In “Pirate Cinema,” a teenage boy spends most of his time illegally downloading movies to cut and mix together into short films.

An appropriate comparison

would be the mashup artist Girl Talk, who does a similar thing by cutting and mixing with popular music.

Little goes wrong until the government catches him and deprives his household of internet access.

To avoid the wrath of his family, he takes to the streets of London to live a life of poverty.

His luck turns for the better as he meets a gang of street-savvy dumpsterdivers and squatters who help him survive on the rough streets and realize his ultimate goal: punishing the film industry that bankrolled repressive copyright laws.

As laughter from his German and English accents faded, Doctorow fielded questions about writing, internet policy and activism.

His final act before disappearing from the Midwest was defacing his own printed word with heartwarming notes and signatures.

Doctorate student Melissa Ford agrees. “The people in LOL are so funny and creative, it blows my mind what they come up with ... Being surrounded by great, funny, creative people brings out the best in you,” she said.

The quirks came out throughout the evening performance as each member of the cast created his or her own persona almost immediately following the issuing of a prompt. From criminals convicted of pooping on the White House lawn, to a couple of goofy one-line cops, characters were created instantly and kept the audience laughing throughout the show.

The entertainment ranged from skits such as “The Dating Game” when Ford had to choose between an unsurely group of men to a game called “Interrogation,” where Hasser and another cast member interrogated a “criminal” unaware of the crime he committed.

Ford said that this show was “great” and was comprised of all veteran cast members, making for a show where they “were

able to have fun and be relaxed on stage.”

Cast members were not the only ones having fun during the performance, as LOL engaged the audience throughout the entire show, asking for suggestions for everything from character types to settings.

Audience members only get to experience this sort of laughter during LOL’s periodic performances, but Hasser says that this is a weekly event for him during practice.

“I don’t think that most people fall into spells of gut-twisting laughter quite often enough. I get to have that experience just about every Friday, for free,” said Hasser.

According to Hasser, the group will begin to introduce higher-complexity games and formats throughout the year in order to create a better improv experience for both audience and cast members.

Ford encourages everyone who is interested in performing or just practicing their improv skills to join them on Fridays for practice.

Hansard: A show for all ages Continued from Page 11

He had a 10-person band behind him that consisted of his former band, the Frames, as well as a horn section. After these songs, the concert bounced around from full band soft rock to just Glen on stage playing acoustic songs (even taking some requests).

He played his original music as recorded with the Frames, Marketa Irglova (together known as The Swell Season), as well as music from his solo album. Not only did he play favorites from all of these bands (and from the movie “Once”), but he played covers by Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan.

The Marvin Gaye piece captured the essence of SKA. It was very unlike Hansard,

but it was impossible to not enjoy it.

He and the band were having so much fun on stage during this song (and throughout the whole concert) that even if you did not like the music, the fun they were having would still leave a smile on your face.

Hansard put on the perfect musical performance, immersed in passion and emotion.

Not only did he play music incredibly, but he even kept the audience entertained with his sense of humor and easy-going attitude.

He invited a random person on stage because she was trying to take a photo with her Polaroid camera, so he gathered the entire band with their arms around each other for a pic-

ture. Hansard was so laid back that the security of The Pageant did not know what to do half the time.

Even though they might not have appreciated it, the fans adored his friendliness.

Hansard built such a relationship with the audience that he even played three extra songs that were not on the set list because they were requested. It was evident that he really enjoyed the audience.

Not only did Hansard win over St. Louis with his music and character, but it would appear that St. Louis won him over, as well. Not many artists allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to enjoy an audience as much as an audience enjoys them, but one could see it on Hansard’s face that he did.

Grammy-wining producer Alonzo Lee stops by Hermann Stadium

By CHARLES BOWLES Sports Editor

It is not every day a Grammy-winning producer is at Saint Louis University.

However, on Saturday, Sept.

29, Alonzo Lee, who won a Grammy for his work on Ludacris’ 2006 album, “Release Therapy,” was in St. Louis to promote his work with America SCORES as they attempted to break a world record for the most soccer balls dribbling at one time.

America SCORES, which organized the event, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing soccer and poetry to inner-city youth.

All proceeds went directly to the programs of the cities that participated in order to continue their efforts of youth involvement in soccer and poetry.

“It is important to help America SCORES because …. it is important for [adults] to support the children and support important causes like America SCORES,” Lee said.

Lee is one of the members of Trak Starz, a hiphop production group from St. Louis.

He and another member, Shamar Daugherty, are credited with launching the career of St. Louis artist Chingy and producing his first hit single, “Right Thurr.”

After the success with Chingy, Lee went on to produce Ludacris’ platinum al-

bum “Chicken-n-Beer” and remix Britney Spears’ hit song “Me Against the Music (Trak Starz Remix).”

In 2007, however, Lee had his biggest success in music when he and Ludacris received the Grammy for best rap album. Their production of “Do Your Time,” featuring Beanie

“

It is my idea and my mantra to do something more meaningul beyond music.

-Alonzo Lee

”

Sigel, C-Murder and the late Pimp C, was the biggest contribution to this win.

Lee, however, was at the America SCORES event to make an impact beyond music.

“It is my idea and my mantra to do something more meaningful beyond music,” Lee said, “It is more important to do more meaningful work, like work with children and the program.”

Lee acknowledges that presence in the music business gave him the opportunity to have a voice and make a difference.

“Music has given me a voice and a position to be able to make a difference whether it is in one person’s

life or millions of people’s lives,” Lee said.

Lee credits Ludacris with not only his career in production, but the idea to give back to the community.

“Ludacris started a foundation and a lot of what I’m doing is modeled off what he does,” Lee said.

Besides Ludacris, Lee recognizes his mother for inspiring him to educate children. Lee’s mother is a retired educator and worked with children on a regular basis.

“At times, she would bring children back to the house and work with them and I saw the extra effort she was putting into changing their lives.

She got to see her kids grow up and become successful, so I lived and witnessed the power of what it means to give back, so I’m just following her suit,” Lee said.

Lee produced a song about the importance of education for America SCORES and had some of his performers perform positive songs about the role of education.

Lee also brought poets who spoke about how education changed their lives and the positive route they took instead of getting involved in other negative influences like violence and drugs.

Lee’s participation in the America SCORES world record shows how he uses his influence to give back to the community.

Photo courtesy of: www.glenhansardmusic.com

Glen Hansard’s album “Rhythm and Repose” is his solo debut, and was released earlier this year.

Pickard: On the craft of poetry Continued from Page 12

poetry is celebrated for its range of emotion and style, which he demonstrated that afternoon. Various themes intermingled in each poem; poems about love seamlessly followed poems about politics.

“I really enjoyed Pickard’s reading and thought that his poems were very personal and insightful,” senior Josh Pazderka said. “I had to read one of his books for a poetry class and listening to him really adds a new depth to his work.”

A week later, the audience returned at the same time and place to hear Pickard give a talk on the craft of poetry.

His focus on his hometown in rural England made it clear that geography is an influential force in his writing.

He also spoke of his relationship with older poet Basil Bunting. Pickard, who left school at the age of 14 in order to pursue his poetic aspirations, fostered a close relationship with Bunting, who became another large influence on his work.

Pickard discussed his

relationships and collaborations with local singer-songwriters and the audience listened to some of the music that his poetry helped create.

The event closed with a short question-and-answer session.

In addition to these two events, Pickard also visited the creative writing poetry classes in the English department to speak with students and aspiring poets in a smaller setting.

The English department hosts readings through the Sheila Nolan Whalen Reading Series.

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OCTOBER 4, 2012