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(04/29/03 12:00pm)
The College's Women's Rugby Club have won both of their matches at the Inaugrual East Coast Division III Championships in Bethlehem, Pa. held April 26-27.
"We just gained our school a national title," Michelle DiFedele, president of the College's Women's Rugby Club, said. "It's grown so much in the United States, and high schools have started girls' teams and in the future those girls are going to look at the College because we have such a good program."
Women's Rugby
The Lions received a bid to the Championships because they had won the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU) Division III Championships in the fall. The Lions were joined with their division's second place finisher, Widener University and the top two teams of the New England Rugby Union, first place University of Maine and second place SUNY Cortland.
Lions 5, Red Dragons 0
The Lions won their first round match on Saturday 5-0 against the Cortland Red Dragons.
Senior inside center Grace Rarich scored the only try of the match at the 28-minute mark in the first half. With this try, the Lions were able to advance to the finals.
Lions 25, Black Bears 5
The Lions showed what true champions are made of as they annihilated the final competition, the University of Maine.
Junior prop Val Vaccaro scored the first try of both halves, which kept the Lions ahead 10-0.
Later in the second half, captain flanker Vanessa Polizzi led the Lions with two tries and junior fly half Kristine Sinisi scored the additional try to increase the Lions lead to 25-0. The Black Bears were able to score with only seconds left in the second half, resulting in a decisive victory for the Lions.
Polizzi was named the 2003 East Coast Women's Collegiate Rugby Championship Division III MVP. "The whole weekend was great, we played so intense," Polizzi said. "It felt so good winning. I don't think any other women's team deserved it. I've been walking around with a grin on my face."
Polizzi said she was shocked when she received the MVP award. "There were so many other girls that deserved it on our team but at the same time, it's an unbelievable feeling and an honor to receive that trophy."
"I'm so honored and proud to be a part of this team," DiFedele said. "Our team has so much skill backed by so much heart it's unbelievable. I couldn't ask for a better end to this year then to win such a prestigious title after doing so well this entire year, it's such a great feeling."
Men's Rugby
The Men's Rugby Club won the First Annual Jon Valentine Tournament at Lafayette College. Five teams competed at the event, and even though the Lions had lost the second match to Albright College, 10-5, they were able to advance to the finals.
The Lions played Albright again in the finals, winning 32-7.
During the first match, the Lions defeated Ursinus College 28-5. The Lions were led by sophomore Seth Kruska and freshman Mike Chiumento, who each scored one try.
During the first match with Albright College, senior fullback Kevin Cashman scored the only try in the Lions 10-5 loss.
Despite the loss, the Lions advanced to the finals with Albright because of the high point differential in the first match.
Junior fly-half Jeff Baer drop kicked the ball in the middle of the play, scoring three points for the Lions. Junior inside center Rick Nuss and junior fullback Ken Johnsen each scored a try in the match.
"We didn't have many guys going, we had 19," junior president Matt Jacobsen, said. "Besides a pathetic second game, it was good to have the opportunity for a sweet redemption, which we seized after a long day."
(04/22/03 4:00pm)
The men's outdoor track and field team took second in a field of four teams at the Lehigh University Invitational while the women's outdoor track and field team took fourth place.
The invitational consisted of three Division I teams and the Division III Lions, who were able to win crucial events and break school records while competing at Lehigh.
"The meet was team-scored but that wasn't our concern," head coach Steve Dolan said. "The women's team could have done better if I had made different entries but I don't think that team-scoring is what you go for."
Men's outdoor
track and field
The men's outdoor track and field team bested Lehigh University (178.5) and Rider University (166.5) with a score of 182. Monmouth University won the invitational with a score of 193.
Junior Joe Lacovara-Switzer won the men's steeplechase (9:22.14) with an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) provisional qualifying time.
The steeplechase is a 3,000-meter event that also involves five wooden barriers that competitor's hurdle, one of which has a 10-to-12 foot water pit.
"I was pleased with my time and there really wasn't that much competition, but with the lack of competition I felt that my time and race was good," Lacovara-Switzer said. "I know we were missing some key people, but overall the team did a very good job, I think, and if those people were there we could have won the meet."
Sophomore Matt Molski won the 800-meter (1:54.83) and freshman Stephen Andrews won the 100-meter dash in 10.94.
The Lions inched for a win in the 4x100 relay with a provisional qualifying time of 3:16.4 behind sophomore Jesse Mesina, freshman Mike Stomiany, junior Kevin Semanick and sophomore Tim Wilson.
In the men's field events, sophomore Brian Wanner won second place in the pole vault jumping 14 feet, six inches. Freshman Jeff Schwerdtman took third in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, five inches.
"As far as individually, a lot of people had their best of the season," Dolan said.
Women's outdoor
track and field
The Lions placed fourth with a team score of 146, which placed them behind Monmouth University (212), Rider University (173) and Lehigh University (156).
The Lions won the 4x100 relay with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 47.63, which also broke a school record.
The winning relay included senior Irene Leidenfrost, freshman Brittny Boyd, sophomore Johane Clermont and freshman Tiffany Clark.
"We haven't ran that (4 x100) in a long time," Boyd said. "Considering we haven't done it in a while, we ran it really well."
"That day a lot of people on the women's and the men's side had personal bests so it wasn't about winning the meet but getting those personal bests," Boyd added. "Everyone gave a lot of heart that day."
Clark also won the 400-meter dash (56.05), while Lindsay Scarborough won the steeplechase (11:24.80), both Lions finishing their events in NCAA provisional qualifying times.
In the women's field events, freshman Lauren Detrick won second place in the pole vault with a jump of 9 feet.
Freshman Christine Solomon was able to throw the discus 121 feet, five inches for a third place at the meet.
Upcoming Meets
The men's and women's outdoor track and field will attend the Penn Relays on April 24-26.
They will host the Lions' Invitational on April 26.
"With two good meets this week, I didn't want to over extend anyone," Dolan said. "I think, overall I'm happy with our performance and I'm optimistic for our team's potential for the rest of the season."
(04/22/03 12:00pm)
Two seniors move into their respective homes for the 2003-2004 academic year. Senior #1 moves into the same boring townhouse room she was in the year before. In it, she has to use the same bed, dresser and desk. She doesn't get a closet; she has no living room and couldn't fit a couch in her townhouse floor no matter how hard she tried. She has a makeshift kitchen, forcing her to eat campus food for the fourth year in a row.
Senior #2 has a single as well, but also can spend some of his free time in a living room, dining room, full kitchen, basement and even on his front and back porch. He gets to use his own furniture, which includes a sweet water bed. He can make his own food, which in comparison will be cheaper then the food served on campus and he can move in as early as June 1, giving him a year-long freedom from curfews he has never experienced.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that senior #2 got the better end of the deal. And poor Amanda, aka senior #1, is stuck living on campus, while I get to move off campus and live down the street from a bar! It is all this and more that I argue that living off campus for your senior year is the better choice.
Sure some claim that having to park a car is too much of a hassle, but those people aren't saving up to two thousand dollars by moving off campus. Plus, I get to live in my house throughout the entire summer, thanksgiving break, winter break and spring break. I never get forced out of my home.
If it snows and the College decides to have classes, Amanda has to go because she has no excuse to get out of it.
Meanwhile, I have a perfectly legitimate excuse to missing classes because the four inches of snow have trapped me in my driveway.
Sure, Amanda and her senior cronies that chose the dorm life for four years straight get free cable, internet, and electricity but I did I mention I get a waterbed! Plus, my rent and utility expenses for six months won't add up to one semester of on-campus living.
Deciding to move off campus for my senior year was a stressful decision, as it usually is for many rising juniors and seniors.
Unlike many of my friends, I had guaranteed housing, so it was a matter of my choice, not the whim of the lottery.
Making the decision was a bit scary I must admit, but when I realized who I would be living with the multitude of benefits of moving off campus, I had to take the chance, and so far I believe it will be one of the greatest decisions of my college career.
I know a lot of students are afraid to make the jump, because living on campus is extremely convenient and it's just the safe thing to do. But frankly, moving off campus and living an independent life that involves cooking and balancing rent payments better prepares you for the real world.
You can't always swipe a card for food, your job and classes will never be just a five minute walk away so take the step to living a real life and move off!
Did I mention I get to do my laundry for free? Take that shmanda.
(04/22/03 12:00pm)
With recent violent events that have been taking place in the Major League Baseball (MLB), perhaps I should take back my commentary from two weeks ago. Apparently, baseball players and their umpires face a lot of danger, not so much from the ball or bat, but from the rabid fans.
On April 16, the Kansas City Royals - Chicago White Sox game was halted in the eighth and attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz.
Diaz was able to suppress the fan with his own strength before Royals' teammates and Diaz's fellow umpires quickly arrived to help secure the fan.
I find it sad that baseball fans must resort to violence, but I must admit the situation is amusing. Out of all the umpires for this fan to attack, he chose Diaz, who was in the Marine Corps Reserves and is built like a football player. The fan probably had a better chance if he attacked a player.
This isn't the only time violence has erupted on U.S. Cellular Field, formerly Comiskey Park. On Sept. 19, 2002, two fans assaulted Royals' coach Tom Gamboa. Gamboa lost some hearing in his right ear as a result of the attack.
Earlier in the season, two fans ran out with an antiwar banner during the Expos 5-3 win over the Mets in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The banner read "No a la Guerra (No to the War)" with a drawing of a gun.
The fans did not hurt anyone with their protest, but their action on the field does raise some critical questions. What are the stadiums doing to prevent violent fan invasion on the field? Why are fans stupidly attacking beefy, athletic baseball umpires when they would have a far better chance against the feeble football umpires?
Thankfully, no such violence between fans and players has yet to happen at the College's fields of play this season. I suppose I was wrong when I doubted baseball injuries.
It seems that players, coaches and umpires are never safe as long as drunken fans can hop a fence.
(04/08/03 12:00pm)
It's no secret that my favorite season of sports is fall, when the beefy football players come out to pass and kick around the pigskin.
I don't terribly mind the winter season, because I love hockey and find basketball mildly interesting. As the snow melts, (hopefully this will be the last time we see it melt for a while) we head into the season of spring, which is dominated by professional baseball. Despite the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs, spring means baseball for many sports fans.
As the season opens, two pivotal players have found themselves injured. The N.Y. Yankees lost Derek Jeter in the season opener against Toronto, when he collided into Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby. Jeter is expected to be out for a minimum of six weeks, but he is currently seeking a second opinion.
For his third straight year, Ken Griffey Jr. has injured himself before the first road trip of the season. He separated his shoulder when he was making a diving catch in a 9-7 loss against the Chicago Cubs.
Griffey somehow found it possible to hit the bone completely out of its socket. Poor Griffey, after 11 years and only one injury with the Seattle Mariners, he somehow has gotten injured three times with the Cincinnati Reds.
I'm not a fan of baseball. I can generally stand it when I actually attend the games, but not on television. When I watch baseball on television ... well, I don't really watch it. It puts me to sleep pretty fast.
But I guess the real point of this commentary is I don't understand how you can get injured playing baseball. Hockey players have to avoid getting hit by sticks and skates, boxers repeatedly hit each other in the face, football players violently tackle each other, rugby players tackle each other without pads, but I don't see what baseball players collide into that causes injuries.
I understand that baseball is a very athleticly rigorous sport and I'm not challenging the talent that is in baseball - talent I do not possess - but I honestly don't understand how they get hurt. Can anyone explain this to me?
(04/01/03 5:00pm)
The Men's Club Lacrosse team increased its record to 4-0 with a pair of wins over the Rowan University and Delaware Valley College club teams.
"This season is a stark contrast to last season," senior attacker Keith Glock said. "Last season, we were 2-8, and this season we are already 4-0."
"We play with a lot more confidence and when we execute the fundamentals, we know we can be really successful," Glock said.
The Big Blue lacrosse team, as not all club teams chose to identify with the Lion mascot, has scored 49 goals this season in four games, more than the total goals scored in last years 10 games.
The Big Blue defeated Delaware Valley College 14-3.
After senior attacker Jeff Martorana left the first quarter due to injury, freshman Jeff Lageman, who usually plays midfield, took his position as an attacker and scored five goals for the Big Blue.
Sophomore mid-fielder Chris Haggerty also led Big Blue as an attacker with three goals and four assists.
"The confidence they are showing between the incoming freshmen and the improvement of the sophomores has made all the difference in the world for our team," Glock said.
"I was injured on Friday and Saturday, so it was good to see them step it up on Saturday, and they did a good job," Martorana said.
Big Blue 13, Profs 4
After the Profs scored the first goal of the game, the Big Blue went onto a six-goal streak in a game, which ended with a 13-4 victory over the Profs.
Senior attacks Glock and Martorana led the Big Blue in what will be their final home game unless they host a game during the playoffs.
Glock had two goals and two assists and Martorana had three goals and two assists.
Glock also praised freshman goalie Andy Llerena, who has started every game this season as a goalie.
"He's been wonderful," Glock said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do."
"Obviously, you play to win," Martorana said. "It feels good to play on the turf in front of your fans and the home crowd, and hopefully we'll play home again in the playoffs."
The Big Blue lacrosse team has scored over 10 goals in their last three games. The Big Blue haven't scored over 10 goals in that many games the past two seasons combined.
Upcoming Game
The Men's Club Lacrosse team next game is at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) on April 4, at 8:30 p.m.
They also play a doubleheader at Millersville University against Millersville University and Bloomsberg University on April 5, starting at 11 a.m.
(04/01/03 12:00pm)
He Said
Man vs. woman, editor vs. editor, friends that can become foes. That's what bowling was about on March 26.
It began simply enough. I screwed around with the computer while Heather bought a beer, (Heineken). She offered me a sip, I declined. I wanted to keep my mind clean for the battle of might.
The first game started with a spare for both of us. All was going as planned. After the sixth frame, I was still in the lead. Then Heather had a strike while I only hit three pins in the seventh frame. It was at this point that I thought, "I can't believe a girl is beating me." Then I thought, "I can't believe, as a feminist, that I actually thought that." Finally, I came to the simple conclusion: "Screw her, she's going down."
It was not to be. Even though I matched her in the final three frames with one strike each, and in the final frame we both scored 9, Heather defeated me, 124 to 105. I declared a rematch. I would have my revenge.
New game, new blood. Heather began the game with an eight, a spare and a strike. I only scored a pathetic three, nine and five. She went on a three-frame streak later in the game in which she scored two strikes and a spare. I only had one strike and two spares the whole game! It was in the ninth set, in which Heather only got six pins, that she said, "The fatigue is setting in." I had to point to the Heineken, even though she only had one. But it was Heather who got the last laugh, beating me 131 to 95.
The point of this venture was to evaluate if bowling is a sport. Some of our fellow bowlers seemed very convinced that it is. After reeling from my loss, I cannot fully support the sport of bowling, but I can say that next time I bowl against Heather, I will have my revenge (and get her more drunk to assure my victory).
She Said
I came. I saw. I bowled. I humiliated John, rather than myself for once. It was a Wednesday. It was raining outside, but I didn't mind. I was in the zone. I was going to outdo my co-sports editor even if it took all night.
Off we sped through the streets of Ewing. We burst into Slocum's high on competitive adrenaline, but the place was overrun with large men with dry elbows. It was either a league night or the local 'Order of the Moose' was convening. Who knew? Not these two grand poobahs. We peaced out to Curtis' Suburban Lanes, a more suitable location to battle it out.
John was all a fluster trying to figure out how to fit my new very uncool nickname (Shady McDeaf Girl) in the computer, so I got up and got myself a Heiney. When I came back, he was still messing with the computer, so I made friends with the guy sharing our ball return. His name was Eruc (spelled with a u) and he was a Yuengling man.
Finally, we were ready to roll. (Ha! Get it? Roll!) The competition brought a new excitement to the game. I started off with a spare and was ecstatic, being that I'm horribly uncoordinated. John came right back with a spare of his own yelling, "oh man, they're still falling! WTF!" Eruc looked over and gave us a little nod; he was impressed. I finished that game with two spares and three strikes, beating John by 19 points. I rule.
I was pretty content and could have left right then and there, but John's pride was wounded so we played another game. I was cleaning up in our second game. His mood changed drastically, giving me dirty looks. Two of my favorite bitter John utterances of the game were "Ha! Nine, I hope that's all you get." and "What? Is this funny for you?" It ended, 131 to 95. My good friend slumped over in his plastic seat, his pride shattered. He should have taken the sip that I jokingly offered him to ease the pain.
Our goal in this excursion was to decide whether or not bowling could indeed be considered a sport. I don't know if I can in good conscience call bowling a sport. There are lots of crusty elbowed folk out there that would disagree with me, however. I think the real sport of this outing was beating John. Don't go entertaining any thoughts of revenge now, brah!
(04/01/03 12:00pm)
At the time this went to print, there were 1805 signatures on the Web site protesting the removal of the clock tower logo in favor of the new graphic identity which the College has adopted.
By the time this article is published I am sure there will be far more signatures on the petition, but I, for one, don't see what the big fuss is about the College's logo makeover.
I have heard the screams of the graphic design and art departments who claim that the crest is not pleasing to the eye, does not have the correct spacing in the letters and is just plain ugly.
They are proclaiming injustice in the world of art, as are many other artistically challenged students that flat out hate the new logo.
I think the crest is so cute, I like how the "T", "N" and "J" are all in a diagonal row and the little "C" is lower and not in the row. I feel so bad for the little "C." It's very symbolic and represents the feeling of being left out that we all feel at some time or another when we come to college. That "C" represents us, this wonderful crest represents the student body.
That stupid clock tower never sparked such emotions in my heart, except that I would curse it as I ran late to class every day.
I've heard a lot of arguments against the crest, and I've heard a lot of anger thrown at Gitenstein, but it's not her fault.
I doubt Gitenstein's down with the logo, any blame people want to place needs to be placed on Jesse Rosenblum and his cronies from College Relations. I've also heard anger at the supposed $15,000-plus that was spent on the logo, but it seems nobody read the e-mail we received from Cindy Friedman, the assistant director of College Relations.
Friedman clearly states that whatever funds were allocated to the redesign of the logo were already allocated prior to the budget crisis, as were the funds that were allocated to the construction.
Although I do think the College could have saved money by utilizing the free talent that is here on this campus, this money was already spent way before the budget crisis of 2003.
What people need to accept is that the College loves to rename stuff - I guess you can call it a hobby. Why can all the students have fun with their hobbies, and the College Relations people not have any fun?
The biggest reason I like the new logo is because it reminds me of Princeton University's shield logo. I could never get into Princeton University, and this new logo brings me closer to their greatness and I really appreciate that the College has brought me closer to that identity.
We have stolen Princeton's old name, we have similar mascots so let's steal their logo to complete the image coup we spend so much time and money on.
This is just one more desperate, yet wonderful attempt in praising the College's earth god Princeton and I, for one, support it.
As I supported the name changes of Community Commons to Eickhoff Hall and the excellent name change of 31 South to the 1855 Room, I support the new logo. I heart the crest.
(04/01/03 12:00pm)
"Head of State" was funny as hell. It may just have been the people I went with, because not all of the audience was laughing quite as hard as the group I was with. "Head of State" is not a perfect movie and it has a couple of jokes that are a little overdone, but overall it was a light satire that reflected where some elections of the past have brought us and where some elections of the future may bring us.
Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is a Washington D.C. alderman who tries to make a difference in the poorer neighborhoods of the capital. After a freak accident in which the presidential and vice presidential nominees' planes crash into each other, an unidentified party is left without a candidate. Senator Bill Arnot (James Rebhorn) is the party's first choice, but he feels he can't win so close to the election date.
As head of the party, Arnot decides that they should do something really radical to pull in more voters for the election. The party decides to run Mays, a man of the people, to win the minority vote for future elections.
Mays' life is already in the dumps when the government comes calling for him. He has been fired from his job, he loses his car and his crazy girlfriend Kim (Robin Givens) dumps him because he's going nowhere in life.
Mays Gilliam begins to run a campaign under Debra Lassiter (Lynn Whitfield), a Condoleezza Rice-like character. The party also hires a superwhore, Nikki (Stephanie March) who will gladly sleep with any man to cause a political scandal.
Mays struggles through the early part of the campaign, not saying what he wants to say and sounding like any other politician. He gets advice from his brother Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac) to speak to the people about the problems as he really sees it.
Finally, Mays begins to run his own campaign, and declares Mitch his running mate. They are up against tough competition - Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy) has been vice-president for eight years, is a war hero and is Sharon Stone's cousin. Lewis lives by the motto "God Bless America - and no place else," and seems to be a chilling mix of former vice-president Al Gore and president George W. Bush.
A lot of the elements in this movie worked, such as the combination of Chris Rock and Bernie Mac. The relationship between Chris Rock and love interest Lisa Clark (Tamala Jones) was also believable. Most of the other minor characters, while stereotypical, were over-the-top in an entertaining way.
This film was directed and co-written by Chris Rock and I must say he did a wonderful job at poking fun of the election and campaigning process that so many Americans have become accustomed to.
The message of this movie, similar to the message of other election movies, is that America wants a candidate who doesn't deliver bullshit.
As I walked out of the movie, I was saddened because that's all we ever get from our political candidates, and I don't see it changing anytime soon. But I still had to smile for a movie that was in no way perfect, but in every way humorous.
Bottom line: If Chris Rock ran for president, I would vote for him.
(04/01/03 12:00pm)
Both the College's Men's and Women's Rugby Club teams shutout the LaSalle Explorers on Saturday. The Women's Rugby Club defeated LaSalle University 44-0 while the Men's Rugby Club performed a 25-0 shutout later in the day.
"For our first game, I think we played really well," hooker Michelle Difedele said.
"Any problems we had I think are from not playing together for a whole semester," Difedele said.
"We played smart and clean and I'm looking forward to this season," she added.
The Women's Rugby match opened with a try by sophomore flanker Erin Scaglione.
Her try was followed by tries made by junior prop Val Vaccaro and senior inside center Grace Rarich, increasing the Lions lead to 15-0 after no conversion kicks were made.
Vanessa Polizzi, junior flanker, and Victoria Welsh, junior outside center, also scored tries in the first half, where the Lions held a commanding 25-0 lead.
"They were a young team," Polizzi said. "They just started last semester. They have a really good coach and they played really well, but they just aren't up to our standards."
Senior eight-man Kait Daniels scored a conversion kick after Welsh's try, which closed out the first half 27-0 lead over the Explorers.
In the second half, Rarich scored two more tries, one of which was followed by a conversion kick by junior fly-half Kristine Sinisi.
Freshman inside center Kerri Matthes scored the final try of the day.
The match closed with a 44-0 commanding victory for the Women's Rugby Club, as the team, currently Division III, heads into a Division II challenge match against the University of Scranton.
If the Lions defeat the University of Scranton, they will advance to become a Division II team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU).
"We worked really hard in practices this week and that prepared us for this game," Rarich said.
"LaSalle is Division III," Rarich said. "The rest of the season we will be playing Division II and Division I teams, so the rest of the season we'll have more competition."
"I feel we played really well with a lot of intensity and we're definitely ready for Scranton, but I just wish we had more hitting because LaSalle pitched the whole game," Welsh said.
The Women's Rugby Club had a B-game against the LaSalle Explorers, in which just one half was played.
During the B-game, Matthes scored the first try while Daniels scored both conversion kicks and the second try of game, which ended with a Lions B-game win, 14-0.
Men's Rugby:
Lions 25, Explorers 0
The Men's Rugby Club was led by the athletic speed of senior wing Josh Ganz, who scored three tries, one of which he sprinted from over half the pitch.
"I was a little worried going into the game after beating Lehigh the previous week," Ganz said.
"The win gave us an ego boost and I was concerned that this would cause us to lose focus," Ganz said. "However, we all maintained focus and worked as one, that is what contributes to our recent success."
Senior full-back Kevin Cashman began the match with a try, followed by three tries by Ganz.
After Ganz's second try, junior fly-back Jeff Baer scored a conversion kick. The final score of the match was a 3-point penalty kick by Ganz, resulting in a final score of 25-0.
"We lost to LaSalle the last two times we played them, so this is one of the games this season that I especially wanted to win," junior outside center Matt Jacobson said.
Upcoming Game
The College's Women's Rugby Club has a scrimmage at Princeton University on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and a challenge match at the University of Scranton at noon.
The College's Men's Rugby Club has an upcoming match at the Schuylkill River's Mayor's Cup on April 5 and 6 beginning at 9 a.m.
The College's Men's Rugby Club's next home game is on April 12, at 1 p.m. against Iona College.
(03/25/03 12:00pm)
"View from the Top" was shelved for over a year. It was supposed to be released shortly after Sept. 11. Admittedly, this film added nothing to my life, and didn't ever need to come out, but it does have entertainment value.
The movie's premise is pretty simple. Donna (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a small-town girl who wants to escape from Silver Springs, Nev. and travel the world. Although Donna seems a bit dimwitted and has no support from her family, she perseveres throughout the entire movie as a strong character.
Her life in a rut, Donna sees a television interview with a highly successful flight attendant, Sally (Candice Bergen). Sally's rags-to-riches story inspires Donna to go out and achieve her goals.
Donna gets a job as a flight attendant at a local, low-end airliner called Sierra Airlines, but she has never been on a plane. As the plane takes off, Donna frantically gets out of her seat screaming that they are going to crash. Seeing the normally reserved and refined Gwyneth Paltrow in teased 80s hair and a skintight tacky purple suit, screaming in the aisle of a plane, was hilarious.
Apart from that and a few select scenes, "View from the Top" is not an extremely funny film. Donna meets her two sidekicks, Sherry (Kelly Preston) and Christine (Christina Applegate) while working at Sierra Airlines. She also meets Ted (Mark Ruffalo), who is, at first, an underachiever. Inspired by Donna's motivation, he decides to attend law school.
Donna and Christine attend flight school for Royalty Airlines. Their instructor, John Whitney (Mike Myers), is extremely bitter about how he could have been an excellent flight attendant if it wasn't for the fact that he is cross-eyed. Myers is, as usual, hilarious. However, I think the part could have been written better.
In their final examination, Donna, the school's star pupil, finds out that she is assigned to work in Cleveland, for Royalty Express' discount branch. Christine, who is by far a poorer flight attendant than Donna, is assigned to New York City for Royalty Airlines. It is later revealed that Christine switched their tests.
Donna is stuck in Cleveland for at least a year, until she can be allowed to retest again. She runs into Ted again, who is conveniently a law student in Cleveland. They begin to date and fall in love, but after Donna retests and passes, she comes to a crossroad.
Gwyneth Paltrow displays a good mix of humor and intelligence in Donna's character. In romantic comedies, many female characters are either clich?d or lack character. The audience can cheer for Donna, and the obstacles she faces are believable. "View from the Top" reminded me of "Legally Blonde" in its timing and look, but I enjoyed "Legally Blonde" more.
Bottom line: It's safe to return to the skies when Gwyneth Paltrow is your flight attendant.
(03/25/03 12:00pm)
It's Wednesday night, and I have about an hour to kill before my 11-2 security shift. I knew I wasn't going to get any work accomplished, so I turned on the television. I channel surf all the way up to channel 71 to find MTV not playing videos, as usual, but "Sorority Life 2." I had to watch it.
I'm chilling there, watching my "Sorority Life" and bam! This program has been interrupted by coverage of the war with Iraq. After seeing the lie . I mean, speech given by President G-dubs (known as George W. Bush to all those not up with the lingo), we got to witness the surprise bombing of Baghdad.
I have a couple problems with the television media's coverage of the war. One is: why do more than five channels choose to broadcast the same damn thing?
The war on MTV isn't any better than the war on CNN. I didn't even check every channel, but I know that ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and MTV were all showing basically the same footage.
It's really great that these news programs are sharing the same footage, which I think belongs to CNN because they are one of the only American news organization left in Iraq, but it's getting a bit ridiculous!
Do you want to know what the highest-rated program was during that Wednesday night's speech? Fox's "American Idol." That's right, even though they weren't on at the same time, more people would rather see Simon bitching than Bush talking.
It tells you something about America's interest in the war, and, frankly, I agree with the stats.
I think the footage of the war with Iraq is going to have a similar effect that the footage of Sept. 11 had on a lot of people. After a few hours of watching the same footage over and over, I just couldn't watch the plane hit the building again. Yet, the news channels showed it again and again and again.
I can't sit and willingly watch the green screen or whatever color it is now. I can't watch those bombs fall, knowing somewhere people are dying. I can't watch a horrific event that has been trivialized to appear as a low-grade action movie or, in the case when the footage is green, an arcade game.
I must admit that I am interested in the events of the invasion of Iraq. As a journalism major and an interested viewer, I want to see many perspectives of what's going on with the war, but the media is not giving that to the people.
Instead, they are showing footage of "surprise attacks," which are no longer a surprise if you are broadcasting the footage all over the world. Even I know that's stupid.
CBS, MTV, NBC and ABC should not be showing the war. Let CNN be the War channel for however long the war lasts. The only reason I singled out CNN is because that's always been their job: news 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. CNN usually provides the greatest depth of information, and it is that forum in which we should gather information about the war, if we so choose.
Those other channel's can bring me "Survivor," "Sorority Life 2," "Friends" and I couldn't even name a good ABC show, but it's got to be better then repeated war coverage that provides no human compassion or intelligence.
(03/18/03 12:00pm)
Ah, stereotypes. We all live by them at some point in our lives and most of us try to find ways to break them. "Bringing Down the House" is a comedy set around a few things, but the political message seems to be breaking stereotypes.
The film revolves mostly around the white, WASP-y world of Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin), a Los Angeles tax attorney. Peter is lonely, middle-aged and divorced. The film opens to him chatting online with a woman whose screen name is "Lawyergirl." Lawyergirl is intelligent, refined and sends a picture that focuses on a thin blonde.
Peter sets up a blind dinner date at his home with Lawyergirl only to find Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) at his door. Charlene is not blonde, but a brilliant black woman. Upon closer inspection of the picture, Peter sees Charlene in it, being escorted into a police car. Over the next few scenes, Charlene invades Peter's life in order to gain his lawyer expertise to help her criminal case. As Charlene puts it, "I did the time, but I didn't do the crime." She wants her record expunged.
Charlene takes the role of nanny for Peter's two children, Sarah (Kimberly J. Brown) and Georgey (Angus T. Jones). It seems that the only acceptable relationship that Peter can contrive between himself and Charlene is that of Charlene as his servant. Peter is pressured by his racist friends and neighbors not to see her in any other light.
Peter is learning a lot more from Charlene other than lessons about race. She teaches him how to dance, how to relate and listen to his children and, most importantly, how to win back his ex-wife, Kate (Jean Smart). While there is some sexual tension between Charlene and Peter, the real romance happens between Charlene and Howie Rosenthal (Eugene Levy), who makes several remarks about how he would like to get freaky with her.
"Bringing Down the House" has a few special moments of comedy. In one scene, Charlene fights Kate's trampy sister, Ashley, in the country club bathroom. The two exchange some pretty nasty comments as they repeatedly knock each other across the bathroom. In another scene, Charlene tries to teach Peter how to be more aggressive in order to win back his wife. His son and uptight, nosy neighbor walk in while Charlene is in the climax of her lesson. While they are both fully clothed, all of the antics in the film cause Peter to lose a big account with Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), a racist.
Charlene takes all of this in stride, since she has her goals set from the beginning of the movie. She wants her name cleared, and the ignorance of others won't stop her.
I'll admit that "Bringing Down the House" did make me laugh. Although I feared that the trailer would feature all that this film had in store for its audience, there were a few pleasant surprises. I also liked that "Bringing Down the House" generally avoided the weak plot and sappiness that most comedies fall victim to and allowed most of the story to surround itself with funny situations.
"Bringing Down the House" is no masterpiece. While I could see its purpose in fighting stereotypes, the African-Americans still lived in the inner city while the whites lived in plush suburbian mansions. The film also failed to show Charlene's sensitive side to the racism she faced. Often times she expresses her anger violently, but we never saw the hurt that I'm sure her character felt.
Bottom Line: Hollywood can come up with a funnier and wittier way to fight modern day stereotypes.
(03/18/03 12:00pm)
Coming from a rugby family, I've been a fan of the sport for many years.
I have been attending matches for years now with very little knowledge of the sport. I decided that this week, I will be discussing some key rugby terms, positions and plays for all those interested in learning more about this crazy sport.
In rugby, there are eight forwards that primarily play defense and seven backs that primarily play offense.
However, unlike football these players are not restricted to these roles and all 15 players play offense and defense at any given point in the game.
The scoring is not done primarily by the offense because any player can score. A rugby match lasts for two 40-minute halves. These players are subjected to a lot in one match.
There is a maximum of five player substitutes throughout the entire game, with the exception of a replacement due to an injury. So, if some crazy dude broke his leg in the first half, he can't come back in the second half no matter how many beers he drank.
Scoring in rugby is as follows: a try, similar to a touchdown in football, except the ball must touch the ground or the goal post in the end zone to be counted, is worth five points.
A conversion kick follows a try, and is worth two points. Players try to enter the center of the try-zone, for the conversion kick is kicked from the angle in which the ball is touched on the ground in the try-zone.
The field is known as the pitch. What is a sideline in any other sport is a touchline in rugby. A ball is not out of bounds in rugby, it is called in-touch.
A scrum is a tight formation between two teams, in which all the forwards bind together to attempt to win advantage of a ball. Scrums occur after an off-side penalty or a knock, which is if the ball falls in a forward motion from someone's hand or is thrown forward. In rugby, the ball can be kicked forward, but can only be passed laterally or backwards.
A scrum takes place after a knock penalty. A penalty kick takes place after a more severe penalty. The scrum begins when the offensive scrum half places the ball into the scrum. The hooker holds onto two props, while trying to use their foot to kick the ball back to allow his or her teammates to gain possession of the ball.
A ruck is similar to a scrum. It's a looser formation that is created around a free ball or a player who has been brought to the ground with the ball.
If the ball goes in-touch, the players go into a line-out. The offensive hooker throws the ball in from the touchline, and a maximum of seven players line up to catch the ball. Up to two players per team can be lifted in an attempt to catch the ball.
While researching rugby, a violent sport in which the only padding players are allowed to wear is a mouth guard, I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would willingly subject themselves to play a game of rugby.
"I started playing rugby freshman year because I played sports in high school and I needed something to do in college," Michelle DiFedele, president of the College's Women's Rugby Club, said.
"My CA played and I went out and I loved it," DiFedele said. "Its intense but at the same time the girls who play are great, it's a friendly atmosphere and at the same time its competitive. It helps you get out your aggression in a somewhat healthy manner."
"I'm really looking forward to our challange match against the University of Scranton, where if we win, we will become a Division II team," DiFedele added.
"I play because it's a competitive game and every weekend you go into a battle against another team and it's a camaraderie with your teammates to face this other team, and that's why I have ice on my knee tonight," Erik Bailey, an outside center for Reading Rugby, said.
"It's the closest thing to being involved with hand to hand combat," Chris Bailey said. Bailey is a center for the Schuylkill River Exiles of Philadelphia.
"It's more of a thinking game then anything, Erik is right. There is a camaraderie among your teammates that is unlike any other sport I have ever played," Chris Bailey said.
I don't know the origins of rugby, but with all these crazy terms and rules, I'm sure the game wasn't found by anyone sane or even sober.
(03/18/03 12:00pm)
In one of my courses a few weeks ago, (Eat, Drink, Man, Woman), we were talking about what we were giving up for Lent. One student said she was giving up chocolate, another said she was giving up candy altogether. The whole time, I was thinking, "Shit, Lent is this Wednesday? What food am I going to give up this year?" I automatically thought about giving up food, nothing else immediately came to mind as something worth sacrificing.
After class, I had to question the motives of the students in the class and even my own motives. Since when did Lent become the new diet craze?
For some college students, eating habits and diets revolve around plenty of possible peak diet times. This can consist of New Year's resolutions, spring break, the summer bathing suit season or even the beginning of the school year.
According to Webster's New World Dictionary, the definition of Lent is "the period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter, observed variously in Christian churches by fasting and penitence." This year, Lent began on March 5 and will end on April 19.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends on sundown of Holy Thursday, which is April 17.
In Christianity, Lent is the season when Christians are supposed to reflect, soul-search and repent. When Christians observe the 40 days of Lent, an individual Christian is supposed to imitate Jesus' retreat into the wilderness for 40 days.
The first time I heard of Lent being used as a diet was back in high school, when my eight-year-old neighbor told me she was giving up chocolate for Lent. Chocolate seems to be a common theme among those that diet during Lent.
A few years ago, a friend of mine did not give up all chocolate, but only the miniature chocolate doughnuts that they sell in the C-Store. She ate them every day and figured they would be really hard to give up for 40 days. She went back to them after Lent ended, of course.
Even I am giving up a specific food this year. I decided I would give up red meat, because I'm trying to become a vegetarian, and of course, I'm using Lent as a springboard for this movement.
I have a few other friends that are sacrificing food, one is giving up sweets, another candy and another soda.
The only person I know who is not giving up food for Lent is my friend Hara. She's giving up spooning. She claims that it's preventing her from developing a stronger relationship with God.
I've heard the suggestion that college students are too old to be giving up something for Lent. Perhaps, rather than giving up candy, booze or meat, things we will all be running back to in 40 days anyway, we should make an active effort to do something positive with our lives.
Rather then give up food, give some of your time to a local charity. Give something back to the world rather a take something meaningful away from yourself.
After 40 days of making a change in yourself or perhaps your local community, I'm sure you'll be able to develop a far greater sense of reflection or knowledge than giving up those miniature chocolate doughnuts.
(03/04/03 12:00pm)
For four straight summers, from the summer after my junior year in high school until the summer after my sophomore year in college, I was a slave for The Water Ice Factory. I have to say besides the arguments with customers, the stained hands and the scared knuckles, it was a really fun job. My hourly pay was pretty sweet and I made decent money with tips.
On top of all that, I loved my boss and to this day I am still friends with most of my co-workers. I'll paint a picture of a typical night at The WIF. It's a hot night in July, 20 or some-odd customers create a line to the street as myself and two co-workers maneuver around a very small counter and aisle, as we serve 33 flavors of water ice, ice cream and milkshakes.
For many years, I complained to my best friend Malika about how much I hated working in food service. Even though I generally liked the job, you just find yourself complaining a lot because come on, what else are you going to complain about?
Malika always worked retail and said that by far she had a worse job then I. No way bitch, food service is hell and anyone who has ever experienced food service knows that it's worse. We all know that both forms of work are truly evil, but which one is worse? Malika and I would try to one up each other's horror stories. She would complain about folding tables and tables of clothes, I would complain about how the line at the WIF would not end for over four hours during the peak nights of the summer.
That was until I began at The Gap last summer. Food service is purgatory compared to the hell that is retail.
Now I'm sure that The Gap isn't better or worse than any other retail outlets. Like the WIF, the management is really cool and generally I get along with my co-workers.
But has anyone that worked food service worked retail in December? Lines that would go from the cash register to the back of the store dressing rooms. Ringing customers with bills that ranked in the thousands of dollars with no tips or benefits. Having to stay at The Gap for an overnight because the sales floor has to be replenished. Give me my scooper and milkshake machine any day because Satan has taken over The Gap!
I work at The Gap at Quaker Bridge Mall and they decided that during the winter months, we should make customers feel like its summer. The Gap's strict dress code requires that you wear sweaters or long sleeve shirts, jeans and boots. It's unbearably hot. At the WIF, I would just throw on a "Give your tongue a sleigh ride t-shirt," shorts and sneakers and I'm on my way.
In addition to all this, you make a lot of money on tips in food service joints. There are very few pay increases in retail and no tips.
I've had customers yell at me, I've had them throw credit cards at me. I had a customer threaten to hit me because I couldn't find the leather jacket that he requested to be put on hold.
What makes me most mad about working retail is not the hours, or the pay, or even the customers, it's that Malika was right all along.
(02/25/03 12:00pm)
Imagine you're an athlete. Scouts are hunting you down, you are so amazing and you have so much raw talent, this imaginary university will even pay you money to play. Not cash in the pocket, but scholarship money.
Personally, that sounds to me like a pretty sweet deal. I was a swimmer for 12 years, and after slaving in that damn pool year in and year out, it sure would have been nice to get some money for it. Sadly, I do not even have the talent to swim for a Division III school.
When I came to the College as a freshman, I was excited with the prospect of being a walk-on for the College's swim team. I felt that I might have at least some talent to contribute to the team.
When I paid a visit to Brian Bishop, the swim team's head coach, I was confident that I would be starting practice within the week. However, after I heard the comparable times of a fellow Lions swimmer, I realized the team was not for me. I sucked.
The travel, the training, the effort - all that and there isn't even a guarantee that you can play. I had to ask myself why anyone would do it.
Why play for a Division III team? Why put all the time, the training, the blood, the sweat, the tears into a program that offers no scholarship money and few personal benefits? Even at a school with stellar athletic teams like the College, there is very little fame and attention provided for most of the Division III teams on this campus.
I decided to interview some of the College's athletes to get a better perspective.
Karen Murphy, a junior catcher for the softball team, was a walk-on as a freshman. "We all play because we love the game," Murphy said. "Some people could go to Division I and some couldn't, but we play more for the game than for the money. It's not about who's on scholarship and who's not."
Murphy understands the frustration that many athletes feel as freshman in a college level program. "As a college athlete, it was a big adjustment freshman year," Murphy said.
Senior Brendan Gallagher has been a swimmer at the College for all four years of his college career. "I think with Division I sports and scholarships, it's more of a job and with Division III, it's more for the love of the sport, because there is no money involved," Gallagher said.
"I liked the atmosphere of kids wanting to be here rather then being paid to play," Gallagher added. "In the realm of swimming, I'm ranked in the country and in Division I. I wouldn't have been there."
Adrienne Warner, junior center, has been a part of the women's basketball program for three years. "I was looking to play basketball in college, but I was also looking for a good education and our team has a good program, so I knew I would be going into a winning program," Warner said.
"I didn't want my college experience to be all about basketball," Warner added. "I wanted it so that I could get involved in other things, that's why I chose a Division III college."
"I have never once regretted my decision to play Division III basketball," Liz Martin, junior forward/center, said. "I heard several people playing Division I are doing it only for the money, but you know that if you are playing Division III it's not for the money it's because they love it."
Junior Tiffany Rhea was involved in the College's softball program from fall 2000 to spring 2001.
"Some of my friends play Division I and when I told them what I went through, they thought it was crazy," Rhea said. "In some regards, this school's athletic program is harder to go through then some Division I programs."
"This school's softball team is very competitive and the sport itself had an excellent tradition," she added.
After talking to various athletes, I realized that money isn't the bottom line when it comes to sports. What it comes down to is the love of the game, the love of competition and the love of being stalked by some crazy journalism majors for last minute quotes. I guess playing DIII does have its advantages.
(02/25/03 12:00pm)
"The Life of David Gale" reminded me of a movie that came out last year, "John Q," starring Denzel Washington. The movies had very little in common in terms of content, but they did both have political messages. "John Q" was centered around the notion that health care should be provided for all citizens equally. "The Life of David Gale" proposes an argument against capital punishment.
I should first say that I am against capital punishment, so one would think that this movie would appeal to me. It didn't and I can't imagine someone who supports the use of capital punishment sitting through a two-hour commercial against it.
"The Life of David Gale" basically revolves around one great irony, that David Gale (Kevin Spacey) has found himself on death row after being a major opponent of the practice in his home state of Texas.
Gale is found guilty of the rape and murder of Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), his co-worker in the Death Watch Organization, which fights for the rights of death row inmates.
With less then a week before his execution, Gale's lawyer, Braxton Belyeu (Leon Rippy), contacts journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) to inform her that Gale is willing to give her three two-hour interviews for half a million dollars. Bitsey, with her magazine's hesitant backing, jumps on the exclusive interview, in which she hopes to snag the story of her life.
Bitsey heads to Texas with intern Zack (Gabriel Mann), fully believing that Gale is guilty of rape and murder.
Most of the story is told in flashbacks over the three days of interviewing. The audience is not shown a pretty picture of Gale: he's a drunk, he's cocky and his wife is cheating on him with a Spanish lover. He only has two relationships in the movie that I can say put his character in a positive light - his relationship with his friend, Constance, and his relationship with his son.
Gale has sex with an ex-graduate student, Berlin (Rhona Mitra) at a party where both professors and students get drunk. Gale is then accused of rape, until Berlin drops all the charges and heads out of town. It is here that Gale's life begins to deteriorate.
He loses his job at the university and no other school is interested in hiring an accused rapist. On top of this, his wife and child leave him and move to Spain, where she uses his labeling as a rapist and his drunken past as a means to win custody of their child.
Gale begins to lose it all, and it is in this moment that he even loses his association with Death Watch. When accused, Gale swears he did not kill or rape his good friend, Constance, and he believes he is being set up by right-wing politicians, who want to stop his powerful voice in the local media.
The rest of the story revolves around ironies, hidden tapes that are given to Bitsey that point her towards the truth of the story and a cliffhanger ending that this reviewer refuses to disclose.
I can tell you that this movie is too contrived because I could predict most of what was happening before it happened and I'm usually really bad at that. Instead of making an intelligent movie that left the value of capital punishment open-ended for the viewers to contemplate, "The Life of David Gale" was too quick to assume that capital punishment is wrong.
I think what bothered me the most was that this movie had a lot of potential. I am a huge fan of both Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet, and both were excellent in their respective roles.
I didn't like some of the portrayals of women in this movie, and I found it interesting that this film chose to make a statement surrounding a white man's execution when mostly minorities are executed in Texas.
Bottom Line: I'm still against the death penalty, but I'm also against seeing this movie.
(02/25/03 12:00pm)
I love Madonna, let's put it out on the table. I love the music, the image, the woman, the movies, (well, maybe not the movies), but I really admire her.
Simply put, Madonna is the greatest female pop star of our time. She is part of a new feminist movement, a movement that gives more sexual freedom for women. She defies the male hierarchy.
I identify as a feminist and I think Madonna is topnotch when it comes to aggressively pushing the movement through her own methods and ideas. This challenge of male media is, indeed, a controversial idea, yet I feel that she has the intention of progressing the view of women in mass media at heart.
In regards to chart history, Madonna is among the elite of the music industry. She had 35 Top Ten singles, a feat only suppressed by Elvis Presley. She had 44 top 40 singles, more than any other female artist.
Madonna has placed a song in the Billboard 100 every year since 1983, with the exception of 1988, when she had no commercial releases. This record spans most college students' lives.
Some may call Madonna a slut, some may call her a silly no-talent pop star, but they're just jealous.
Madonna's success is in her business savvy, her ability to manipulate the media, through great intelligence, entertainment and talent.
I cannot say that Madonna is the best singer or the best actor, because she is not. But she does have complete control over her image and career, she does say what she needs to say, she does stand for something. All other pop stars lack these ideas.
Let's face it, Madonna has little competition for dominance over the pop world. I suggest we look at her competition, survey the land and see who comes out on top.
Mariah Carey - She can't write a decent song without sampling some hook from the 80s and, oh yeah, she's insane. She just doesn't compare.
Jennifer Lopez - The only contest J.Lo wins is the who-can-rack-up-more-divorces contest.
Whitney Houston - Whitney has told us that, "Crack is whack." You know what Whitney, you're whack.
Celine Dion - Who doesn't hate this woman? She's so busy with her marriage to her father ... I mean, her manager, that her career has become strictly a Vegas lightshow.
Janet Jackson - I have to admit, Janet is a close second in my heart to Madonna, but she only releases new material every four or five years. Sorry, Janet, you can take comfort in the fact that you are less insane then your brother Michael.
Shania Twain - She's moved to Switzerland and has claimed she is no longer comfortable in America. We don't like people from America Jr. (a.k.a. Canada) anyway Shania. I say we deport her.
Britney Spears - Some say she's the next Madonna. She may be hot - but this Pepsi bitty has only one asset that is greater then Madonna's, her ever-growing chest.
None of these wannabes, dare I say it, "divas", compare to the complete package. Madonna is the shit.
I am inspired daily by the words and life of Madonna. To live life like a virgin, to practice what my papa preaches, to see the ray of light in every day and, most of all - to express myself.