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(04/18/07 4:00pm)
The College's softball team continued to struggle this week, dropping three out of four games, leaving the Lions (12-12) victorious in only two of their last 11 games.
The Lions were swept in a doubleheader by Rutgers University-Camden with scores of 6-3 and 6-0.
In the opener, the Scarlet Raptors led the Lions early on, scoring two unearned runs in the first inning. The Lions offense picked up in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from senior outfielder Jen Hughes followed by a solo home run from senior Tara Harrigan in the fifth inning.
"I've just been trying to get on base so we can try and score some runs," Harrigan said. "I've been seeing the ball really well and the home runs and the doubles just come with it."
The Lions couldn't keep up with the Scarlet Raptors as they scored three more runs in the fifth inning. Senior pitcher Julianne Lajiness took the loss for the College after giving up four runs (two earned) in four innings.
The second game of the doubleheader saw the Scarlet Raptors take another early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning. The Scarlet Raptors continued to shut out the Lions, scoring a run in the second, fifth and sixth innings - all unanswered by the Lions.
Coming off its losses against Rutgers, the College went on to play another doubleheader against No. 13 Montclair State University (MSU). The Lions were shut out for the second time in one week as the Red Hawks won the opener 5-0. Once again, Lajiness took the loss, allowing five runs, seven hits and striking out six. Lajiness is 7-4 on the season.
The Lions finally found their offense in the second game, plating four runs in the third inning. They added to their lead with two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, taking the game 6-0.
"We came back and showed them how we really play," Harrigan said. "We have the ability to beat anyone in the conference like that, as long as we go out and attack them."
Senior pitcher Heather Hoffman allowed only three singles and one double by MSU, keeping the Red Hawks scoreless the entire game. Hoffman earned her first win of the season.
Lions softball continues at home against Lebanon Valley College on Thursday at 3 p.m. The College is then scheduled to visit New Jersey City University on Saturday for a conference game at 1 p.m.
(04/18/07 12:00pm)
The Nor'easter couldn't keep pop-punk/emo band The Academy Is. from rocking out Kendall Hall Monday night in a concert sponsored by the College Union Board (CUB) and organized by CUB event coordinator Steven Hunt. The band performed along with piano-rock group Copeland and CUB's Battle of the Bands winner, The Embassy.
The majority of the songs The Academy Is. played are featured on its debut album "Almost Here," including crowd favorites "Black Mamba," a song featured in the movie "Snakes on a Plane," and "Checkmarks," the band's first single off the album.
After releasing "Almost Here" in 2005, the band gained a loyal fan base by touring with such bands as Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate and Less Than Jake before headlining its own tour with Panic! at the Disco last year.
The Academy Is. introduced the audience to songs off its newly released sophomore album "Santi." The audience sang along even through the new songs, with a noticeable rise in excitement for the band's latest single, "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands."
"After tonight, that's definitely my favorite song to perform live," drummer Andy "the butcher" Mrotek said. "There was such energy from the crowd."
According to Mrotek, "Santi" displays a more mature sound than the band's first album, and he attributes this maturation to inspiration from older bands.
"We've definitely gotten more influence from bands like The Clash for this album," Mrotek said.
The band has graduated from its old pop-punk sensibilities, making for a more traditional rock & roll feel, which was obvious in the band's performance.
After about a 45-minute set that was balanced between old and new, the band members left the stage. However, the crowd couldn't get enough of the band, chanting for an encore. The calls of "one more song" brought the band back on-stage for just that.
"Thank you so much," lead singer William Beckett said to the audience. "This definitely wasn't expected." The encore song, "Attention," is one of the first songs the band released. Beckett expressed surprise and appreciation for the number of audience members who knew the track, turning the encore into a sing-along when he pointed his mic to the crowd.
Supporting act Copeland warmed the crowd up before The Academy Is., playing some of the group's older songs and tracks from its latest album, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat."
Lead singer Aaron Marsh brought audience members to their feet while performing the band's latest single, "Control Freak."
"I'm not sure how I feel about people sitting at a rock concert," Marsh said to the audience, planted firmly in their seats. "Stand up!"
Marsh used his voice, a piano and a guitar interchangeably to create the poignant and aching melodies for which Copeland has become known. Though the band is most widely known for its subdued sound, the members surprised the crowd with a high-energy set and an upbeat stage presence.
The Embassy opened the concert by performing what lead singer and senior secondary education/English major Matt Morone called "good old-fashioned rock & roll songs." The band, which includes two seniors and two alumni, announced that the performance would be the "last (College) concert."
The Embassy was treated with plenty of support from fellow students in the crowd, and each member got shout-outs from friends and family in the audience.
After the show, The Academy Is. sat down for a meet-and-greet, where the members signed autographs, posed for pictures and talked with fans for over an hour. Starting next month, the band will go out on the road again, performing on the Honda Civic Tour with Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes.
Copeland is currently on a headlining tour in the United States until mid-May and will be opening for Anberlin overseas starting at the end of May.
"All three bands were excellent," Mike Kelley, junior philosophy major, said. "But Copeland was definitely my favorite." Kelley also said "the intermissions could have been shorter, but other than that, I think the Kendall Hall crew did a great job and made it possible for the bands to have such a great show."
- Additional reporting by James Queally and Allison Singer
(04/11/07 4:00pm)
The College's softball team suffered a double defeat this week, losing both games in a doubleheader to Richard Stockton College.
In the first game, the Lions were only three outs away from a victory, holding a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Facing defeat, Stockton managed to rally against senior pitcher Julianne Lajiness with an RBI double by senior first baseman Jessica Williams to tie the score.
With two outs, the Ospreys followed with an RBI single from pinch-hitter sophomore Melissa Baumgartner to clinch the game by a score of 2-1.
The game turned out to be a pitchers' duel as Lajiness allowed only five hits along with six strikeouts. Lajiness was out-dueled by sophomore Jessica Ricciuti, who pitched a two-hitter with one unearned run.
In the second game, the Ospreys managed to shut out the Lions completely for a 2-0 victory.
Freshman Ellen Seavers provided a consistent offense for the Lions in the second game, accounting for two of the team's six hits. The Lions made contact but had difficulty scoring runs, leaving eight players on base.
"Stockton just found a way to get hits and we didn't," Seavers said. "We just need to go out there and hit like we know we can. Everyone on this team is capable of producing runs."
Stockton earned the only runs of the game in the fourth inning with another RBI single from Baumgartner.
In the first game of the doubleheader against Kean University on Monday, Lajiness pitched 6-1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts in the 4-0 win.
The College lost the second game to Kean, 7-6, after squandering an early 3-0 lead.
The Lions visit Hunter College on Thursday at 3 p.m. and then travel to Montclair State University for a New Jersey Athletic Conference match on Saturday at 3 p.m.
(03/28/07 4:00pm)
The dreams of a perfect season came to an end for the men's and women's tennis teams, which suffered their first losses of the year against the University of Mary Washington Eagles.
The men's No. 1 singles featured two nationally ranked players, with Lions junior Michael Klimchak falling to Eagles sophomore Jon James 6-1, 6-1. This was Klimchak's first dual match loss of the year. Junior Roger Mosteller lost at No. 2 singles to sophomore Randy Loden.
It wasn't a total loss for Klimchak and Mosteller, who teamed up to earn a win for No. 1 doubles. The duo bested Loden and freshman Zach Detweiler to advance their record to 13-2.
"Overall, I'd have to say that it was a disappointing weekend," Klimchak said. "Things just didn't go our way. But I'm confident that we're going to bounce back from this. That's just the kind of team we are."
Freshman Jeremy Eckardt was an all-around winner for the Lions, winning in both No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles with sophomore James Vance.
The men's team record stands at 6-1 overall.
The outlook for the women's team, ranked No. 29 in the nation, looked good as freshman Jackie Shtemberg came out on top in No. 1 singles, grabbing two-of-three sets for the win over sophomore Stephanie Kurti.
Meanwhile, junior Cristina Contrafatto held a 6-3, 6-2 win in No. 2 singles over sophomore Rebecca Morse-Karzen.
However, the wins by Shtemberg and Contrafatto were not enough as the Eagles, ranked No. 11 in the nation, pulled a 6-3 victory over the Lions. Shtemberg and Contrafatto lost in a tough doubles match, 9-8 (7-3).
"We knew it was a tough team going in," Contrafatto said. "We just wanted to put up a fight. We were actually up on them at first, and then they put pressure on us and they came back."
The women's tennis team now holds an 8-1 record after ending its 10-match win streak dating back to April 12, 2006.
The Lions play again on March 31 with the men's team starting at 10 a.m. and the women's team beginning at 1 p.m.
(03/28/07 12:00pm)
The College Art Gallery is presenting "Dress Code," an exhibition of works by three emerging artists.
For the exhibit, the artists abandoned the traditional perception of art and replaced it with performance and public intervention.
"Dress Code" presents a different view of clothing, emphasizing the social and emotional impact of clothing on today's society. The three international artists, Elke Lehmann, Jillian Mcdonald and Momoyo Torimitsu, each use clothing as a means of expression.
The exhibition first presents the video work of Torimitsu titled "Miyata Jiro," which in Japanese translates into "salary man." The artist created a lifelike robot of a Japanese businessman and had him crawl along the streets of different business districts around the world, including Paris, New York, Tokyo and Amsterdam.
Torimitsu accompanied the crawling robot dressed as a nurse, implying that the situation was "taken care of."
At the opening for "Dress Code," Torimitsu explained, "I didn't want to do this for an art crowd." She felt the exhibit would get a different variety of reactions from regular business people walking the streets.
The reactions of the passersby ranged greatly depending on the city. In New York City, curiosity got the best of the people walking by, while in Torimitsu's native country of Japan, no one spoke to her at all.
The second artist featured in the "Dress Code" exhibit was Mcdonald and her work "Seams."
A year after Sept. 11, Mcdonald set up a storefront in Manhattan and invited people walking by to lend an article of clothing that held some significance in that person's life.
Afterward, she spoke with everyone about their own personal fears and anxieties. Mcdonald then translated each person's fears into "personal protection messages," which she stitched into the seams of their clothing.
Messages ranged from "for patience, wisdom" to "for protection against greedy war enthusiasts and their actions."
The last part of the exhibit featured artist and former professor Lehmann with "Rebagged." Lehmann took different pieces of clothing and incorporated the signature shopping bags in which they were purchased into the actual tops, skirts, hoods and pockets.
The different pieces of clothing hang on mannequins and feature garments and bags from stores ranging from the Gap to Armani Exchange. The purpose of this particular project was to show the impact that logos and brand names have on a piece of clothing.
Lehmann became inspired for the idea while living in New York City and constantly witnessing the different shopping bags and how they came to be status symbols.
Liselot van der Heijden, assistant professor, curated the exhibition to display the different aspects of contemporary art. The exhibition can be seen at the College Art Gallery until March 31.
(01/31/07 12:00pm)
The College Union Board (CUB) presented its first "Nooner" of the semester with comedian and magician John P. Hopkins.
Hopkins took over Brower Student Center for an hour on Monday, displaying his talent with various magic tricks and special illusions. He caught the attention of students by flinging playing cards at those sitting and walking through the student center as a way to start off his act.
When it became obvious that the audience members were skeptical about participating in some of his tricks, Hopkins began to pull unsuspecting students on stage with him. "Just so you know, you're now my assistant," Hopkins joked. "I shall now refer to you as Trixie."
Hopkins' comedic charm was evident throughout his entire act. He shocked students as he pulled out a fairly large butcher's knife and said, "I'd like to dedicate this next trick to my ex-wife. Guys don't know what happiness is until they're married . and then it's way too late," he said.
For one trick, he took four stainless steel rings, interlocked them and took them apart again. When it seemed the trick was too simple, he challenged junior journalism major Matt Biondi to separate the two interlocking rings. After several attempts, the rings hadn't budged.
The trick was taken to a new level when Hopkins retrieved three diamond rings from three very reluctant female audience members and interlocked the three pieces of jewelry.
"I hope you all live near each other, because I'm not sure if I can get these apart," Hopkins said. While the three girls did not seem amused, the rest of the audience laughed.
The rest of Hopkins' act went over just as well with the audience. At one point he seemed to "magically" turn a four of spades into an eight of spades on cue. For his last trick, he attempted to split a straw in half with a bullwhip. The catch? The straw was being held in place by the mouth of the current "Trixie."
After the main show, Hopkins, who is often referred to as a "close-up performer," spent a lot of time interacting with several different audience members. In that time he performed a variety of different and just as impressive card tricks.
Hopkins has been taking his act around the country for the last six weeks, performing at a variety of clubs and colleges. He recently signed a contract to perform on HBO.
CUB presents a "Nooner" every couple of weeks. Contrary to many other CUB events, the "Nooner" gives students something to do in the middle of the day, rather than at night. Most of the events take place in the student center and are free to students.
(11/29/06 12:00pm)
Poetry dominated the second Student Reading Series (SRS) of the semester, held in the New Library auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Promoted by 'ink,' the College's creative writing organization, the readings support creative expression among students at the College.
Rachel Kreller, sophomore English major, began the night with four of her poems.
The majority of her poems carried a central theme, consistently reflecting on her experiences with people throughout her life.
"This poem is based off an inappropriate third grade friend of mine," Kreller said before reading "What Felix taught me in third grade art class." The poem details her elementary school experience with watching a friend draw an anatomically-correct donkey.
Kristina Cusenza, freshman English education major, shared four of her poems as well. Two of the poems, titled "Letters from Mom" and "Roots," portrayed descriptions of Cusenza's mother.
"We have strange relationship. We love each other and we hate each other at the same time," Cusenza explained.
In "Roots," she depicts how she views her mom by relating it to her mother's love of flowers. "She is a daisy. Beautiful and stubborn. The strongest creature alive," Cusenza said in her poem.
Cusenza first discovered the opportunity to share her poems at the SRS through a friend and submitted some of her poems to 'ink.'
"I was excited when I got the e-mail saying that my portfolio was chosen to be read. I just chose a few poems that I was most comfortable reading," Cusenza said.
Tara Conte, senior English major, lightened the mood of the evening, providing comic relief with her humorous poems and her quirky narrative in between readings.
Conte revealed that her obsession with Benjamin Franklin became the basis of the poem "Return to Janet."
The woman in the poem has an affair with the Ben Franklin impersonator at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
"I try to inject humor into all my writing. I think it's something the audience can relate to," Conte said.
The audience seemed to most relate to Conte's poem "Sev," describing that one cool place to hang out back home as a teenager.
"Nothing else matters when you're 15 years old hanging out in the 7-11 parking lot," Conte said as an introduction to the poem.
The evening was a success, with the audience reacting positively to all of the readers.
"It was fun. The other two readers were really talented," Cusenza said.
The SRS is held three times per each semester. While the recent readers have preferred poetry, the SRS welcomes fiction and non-fiction readings as well.
(11/15/06 12:00pm)
Three very funny students showed they had what it takes to rise to the occasion by securing their spots as finalists at the "Catch a Rising Star College Comedy Challenge," held on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Rathskeller.
The students, Adam Mamawala, sophomore communication studies major, Jason Cantor, freshman business management major, and Vegas Lancaster, sophomore philosophy major, showed off their skills in stand-up comedy, beating out seven other contestants.
The three winners will compete with budding comedians from various colleges at the Catch a Rising Star comedy club in Atlantic City on Dec. 2. Other competing colleges include Rowan University, Centenary College and Stockton College. The ultimate winner will receive a paid spot performing in one of Catch a Rising Star's comedy clubs.
The 10 student participants performed comedic acts ranging from roommate horror stories to self-deprecating fat jokes. Mamawala became an instant crowd favorite, winning over the audience with his impression of a typical Eickhoff experience.
"Never go into Eickhoff when you're having a bad day, because most likely you're going to drop a cup that's going to bounce for one minute and 45 seconds," Mamawala said. "What are those cups even made of? Not only do you have everyone in there staring at you, but you have people walking through the door like, 'Hey! Did someone just drop a cup?'"
"I've never been nervous on stage before, but I was tonight. This was pretty big," Mamawala, who had performed his routine about five or six times at the College and at open mic nights, said after the competition.
The big laughs of the night came from host and touring comedian Rodney Laney, who performed a 30-minute set in between contestants. The New Jersey native had no problem joking about his hometown of Paterson: "Paterson is a tough town. Tough but small. It is so small that we used to get robbed by people we knew. I'd get held up on the street and be like, 'Rodney? Oh, I am so gonna tell your mom!'"
Lancaster also expressed his feelings of anxiety going into the competition. "I'm almost always far too nervous to look at anyone in the audience, but the competition was a lot of fun," he said. Lancaster is no stranger to comedy. He was recently accepted into the Mixed Signals, a comedy improv troupe at the College.
The winners have almost a month to prepare for the finals.
"In Atlantic City I'm just going to use what has worked best for me in the past and see what happens," Lancaster said.
Catch a Rising Star is a chain of comedy clubs in Princeton, Reno, Nev., and Providence, R.I. The original club, founded in New York City in 1972, has since gone out of business. According to its Web site, Catch a Rising Star is currently in negotiations to open a new club in New York City.
The Catch a Rising Star comedy clubs have had comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams and Chris Rock perform on stage.
(12/07/05 12:00pm)
For the second year in a row, the Women in Learning and Leadership (W.I.L.L.) program at the College received a grant of $20,000 from the Bunbury Company, a private foundation supporting charitable organizations from the central New Jersey area.
The W.I.L.L. program is in its sixth year at the College and combines an academic program with a student organization for its nearly 100 members. According to Mary Lynn Hopps, program director of W.I.L.L., the main focus of the program is for members to obtain the components of leadership skills, including public speaking and conflict resolution and to form a deeper understanding of women's roles in society. It is the only four-year program of its kind in the state.
Last year, the first $20,000 grant that was given to W.I.L.L. by the Bunbury Company was used for conducting leadership workshops as well as the sponsoring and co-sponsoring lecturers on women's activism, Hopps said.
She said the majority of the grant was used to send several students to Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN) seminars in Washington D.C. One student was also able to attend a competitive leadership conference at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
"Before we received the grant, I was only able to send one or two of the students to these seminars" Hopps said. "Now with this new budget, I'm able to send a greater number of the members."
The women speakers at these seminars have included Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Lifetime: Television for Women vice president for public affairs Mary Dixon and numerous senators and congresswomen.
According to the PLEN Web site, it is the only national organization whose sole mission is preparing women for public leadership. Besides offering many seminars, PLEN also offers internships that one student from the College was able to participate in last year.
Jen Braverman, sophomore art/education major, said she attended PLEN's Women, Law and Public Policy last year and found it "really empowering." "It had nothing to do with my major, but still the program was so interesting," she said.
While W.I.L.L. is not completely clear on where every penny of this year's grant will go, Hopps said a part of the grant will also be going toward sending two W.I.L.L members to an international leadership conference in Prague.
The funds from the awarded grant were also used to pay for supplies for W.I.L.L.'s academic capstone course. The course emphasizes women's leadership in order to bring about social change.
In the past years, the students of the class were able to reach out to the local community and address problems of the trafficking of women as well as women in poverty.
Currently W.I.L.L. is working on raising awareness around campus on the "many faces of domestic violence," a display that can be seen in Bliss Hall.
(10/19/05 12:00pm)
As part of the College's sixth annual Community Learning Day, author Marjane Satrapi came to the College to discuss one of her books, "Persepolis," which was this year's freshman summer reading book.
While the program was meant to involve a lecture on the book itself and Satrapi's native country, Iran, it focused on the author's views of the media, the government and the prejudices that each country holds for the foreign nations around it.
"I first came to the United States to find out why I was supposed to hate this country," Satrapi said. She said that while growing up, she was conditioned to believe that the United States was "evil." After arriving here, she realized that most of the harsh stereotypes placed on the country were untrue.
The lecture became heated after Satrapi compared the United States government with Iran's. "I don't think that they are opposite at all. I think they are the same," she said.
She supported her statement by saying that both governments concentrate on the fight against evil and each government believes it is in the right.
When audience members were given to opportunity to speak and ask questions, Matt Esposito, senior secondary education/history major and chairman of the College Republicans, asked Satrapi to elaborate on her claim that "the American government is shit."
"I never said the government was shit, but if you use that word, it's not very far from what I think," Satrapi said.
During the lecture, Satrapi did address "Persepolis" and the reason she wrote the book: to clarify the false impressions people have about Iran. She said she felt that the way Iran was portrayed on television and in newspapers didn't correspond with the life she had there.
"I once got asked how many wives my father had. Did I ride a camel? Did my parents beat me?" Satrapi said. "That wasn't how my life was."
Satrapi said using the comic-book style in her book was the best way to keep people interested while adding humor to an otherwise serious subject.
"I used my personal story to tell an even bigger story," Satrapi said. "I chose moments to portray in my book that people could relate to."
Students said they came out of the program with mixed opinions of Satrapi's lecture.
"I thought what she had to say was fascinating," Max Marshall, freshman international studies major, said. "She gave life and perspective to an already enlightening novel."
Esposito was not as impressed. "Her comments (about the American government) proved she is definitely out of touch with reality," he said.