THE CAMPUS SERVING ALLEGHENY COLLEGE SINCE 1876 - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2012 - VOLUME 137, ISSUE 10 WWW.ALLEGHENYCAMPUS.COM INSIDE ► opinion IN CULTURE Columnist defends California’s decision to vote down Proposi- tion 37. PAGE 4 ► NEWS VETERANS DAY Allegheny alumnus Ser- geant Robert Taylor takes lessons from football field to battlefield. PAGE 3 ► SPORTS SENIORS HONORED Football to graduate 19 seniors after loss to OWU. PAGE 8 FEATURES Orchesis debuts CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUS For the students involved in Orchesis Dance Company, the past eight weeks were an exhausting, yet rewarding process of preparation which culminated in the production’s premiere Wednesday evening. Orchesis, a completely student-driven organization, produces a show every fall se- mester. See ORCHESIS | Page 6 Election Day excitement ID law confuses voters Kerri Barron, ’15, a choreographer for Orchesis, directs her dancers into a pose for a group picture during the Orchesis dress rehearsal on Nov. 5, 2012. CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUS Taisha Thomas, ’13, celebrates as President Barack Obama wins a second term. Students gathered in the Campus Center for an Election Day party put on by the Center for Political Participation. See page 2 for more coverage. Although the implementa- tion of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law may have ground to halt, many voters arrived at polling stations confused on Tuesday, unsure if they would be re- quired to show ID to vote. Brian Rocks, ‘13, hastily pulled out his college photo ID when he saw others ahead of him in line at First Christian Church had theirs ready. “ey didn’t ask for it, but I handed it to them,” Rocks said. “I was actually kind of worried, because my ID is one of the older ones without the expira- tion date on it. But that didn’t seem to be a problem.” Another student, Charlie Scott, ‘17, proffered his college ID to get out of line faster. “I just showed them my ID to speed up the process a little bit. Nobody asked me, though. I volunteered to do it. It was fairly straightforward,” Scott said. “I can imagine why that a lot of people would be con- fused into showing their ID, not knowing that the law has been delayed.” Crawford County Commis- sioner Jack Lynch said the con- fusion stemmed from voting guideline packets sent to each Pennsylvania precinct from county election officials, which contained green pamphlets in- correctly stating voters must present ID at the polls. Crawford County was not the only place where voters and pollsters alike were perplexed. “We’re getting anecdotally reports from across the state that’s it’s universal, that there’s confusion across the state, and it’s not germane to one county,” Lynch said. “at is extremely unfortunate during such an important election. at’s all I have to say. You don’t need any kind of doubt.” Lynch expects the law will be implemented in later elec- tions to clear up the confusion. “If there’s any good to be had of this, there’s an aware- ness that’s an expectation that will be the law down the line,” said Lynch, “but this time it was not.” Part of the confusion stemmed from inconsistent posting of signs explaining that IDs must be presented in order to vote. “New state laws require all voters who appear to vote in a precinct to provide officials with proof of identification,” the notice read. e sign angered several voters, said poll watcher John Hartner. “ere’s been lots of com- plaints. Earlier on, we had some signs that offended people,” Hartner said. “A lot of people have taken issue just to judges using their IDs to match their names and get their names right, which is just easier for them.” Voters who opposed the law reacted most strongly, Hartner recalled. “ey were generally Dem- ocrats. e kids earlier were willing to raise a fuss, but the older people occasionally took pretty adverse attitude to it,” he said. At Wesbury Barco Chapel, the green pamphlet remained taped to the doorway, despite its inaccuracy. Judge Jane Smith, however, explained that information re- garding provisional ballots and complaints was correct, and so the pollsters leſt it up. “No one wants to disenfran- chise anyone,” Smith said. “We bend over backwards to make sure everyone has a chance to vote.” Some poll watchers chased aſter voters to ensure every vote was counted. “Girls! Come back!” Mi- nority Inspector Barabara Mc- Climans called as she pushed through the long voting line in pursuit of a vehicle wheeling out of First Christian Church’s parking lot. “You forgot to con- firm your vote!” By KATIE MCHUGH News Editor [email protected]Voters, officials unclear on details, inaccurate information displayed Students collaborate to cre- ate a production which is origi- nal from the bottom up. “Our adviser signs a sheet for us saying we’re still an or- ganization, but everything else is done by us,” said Orchesis President Bethany Walker, ’13. In addition to choreograph- ing her own arrangement, Walker also performs in four different pieces. Walker said the organiza- tion is responsible for every aspect of production from cho- reographing to auditioning to ordering clothing and advertis- ing the show in the community. is year, Orchesis was also responsible for equipping Shafer’s stage with new mar- ley, which is the top layer of springy, shock absorbent floor- ing that diffuses impact for dancers. By MOLLY DUERIG Features Editor [email protected]► F E AT U R E S DIA DE LOS MUERTOS Unión Latina celebrates Latino Heritage Month with a tradi- tional observance. PAGE 5
Transcript
THE
CAMPUSSERVING ALLEGHENY COLLEGE SINCE 1876
- FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2012 -VOLUME 137, ISSUE 10 WWW.ALLEGHENYCAMPUS.COM
INSIDE ► o p i n i o nIN CULTUREColumnist defends California’s decision to vote down Proposi-tion 37.
PAGE 4
► N E W SVETERANS DAYAllegheny alumnus Ser-geant Robert Taylor takes lessons from football field to battlefield.
PAGE 3
► S P O R T SSENIORS HONORED Football to graduate 19 seniors after loss to OWU.
PAGE 8
FEATURES
Orchesis debuts
CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUS
For the students involved in Orchesis Dance Company, the past eight weeks were an exhausting, yet rewarding process of preparation which culminated in the production’s premiere Wednesday evening.
Orchesis, a completely student-driven organization, produces a show every fall se-mester. See ORCHESIS | Page 6
Election Day excitement
ID law confuses voters
Kerri Barron, ’15, a choreographer for Orchesis, directs her dancers into a pose for a group picture during the Orchesis dress rehearsal on Nov. 5, 2012.
CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUS
Taisha Thomas, ’13, celebrates as President Barack Obama wins a second term. Students gathered in the Campus Center for an Election Day party put on by the Center for Political Participation. See page 2 for more coverage.
Although the implementa-tion of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law may have ground to halt, many voters arrived at polling stations confused on Tuesday, unsure if they would be re-quired to show ID to vote.
Brian Rocks, ‘13, hastily pulled out his college photo ID when he saw others ahead of him in line at First Christian Church had theirs ready.
“They didn’t ask for it, but I handed it to them,” Rocks said. “I was actually kind of worried, because my ID is one of the older ones without the expira-tion date on it. But that didn’t seem to be a problem.”
Another student, Charlie Scott, ‘17, proffered his college ID to get out of line faster.
“I just showed them my ID to speed up the process a little bit. Nobody asked me, though. I volunteered to do it. It was fairly straightforward,” Scott said. “I can imagine why that a lot of people would be con-fused into showing their ID, not knowing that the law has been delayed.”
Crawford County Commis-sioner Jack Lynch said the con-fusion stemmed from voting guideline packets sent to each Pennsylvania precinct from county election officials, which
contained green pamphlets in-correctly stating voters must present ID at the polls.
Crawford County was not the only place where voters and pollsters alike were perplexed.
“We’re getting anecdotally reports from across the state that’s it’s universal, that there’s confusion across the state, and it’s not germane to one county,” Lynch said. “That is extremely unfortunate during such an important election. That’s all I have to say. You don’t need any kind of doubt.”
Lynch expects the law will be implemented in later elec-tions to clear up the confusion.
“If there’s any good to be had of this, there’s an aware-ness that’s an expectation that will be the law down the line,” said Lynch, “but this time it was not.”
Part of the confusion stemmed from inconsistent posting of signs explaining that IDs must be presented in order to vote.
“New state laws require all voters who appear to vote in a precinct to provide officials with proof of identification,” the notice read.
The sign angered several voters, said poll watcher John Hartner.
“There’s been lots of com-plaints. Earlier on, we had some signs that offended people,”
Hartner said. “A lot of people have taken issue just to judges using their IDs to match their names and get their names right, which is just easier for them.”
Voters who opposed the law reacted most strongly, Hartner recalled.
“They were generally Dem-ocrats. The kids earlier were willing to raise a fuss, but the older people occasionally took pretty adverse attitude to it,” he said.
At Wesbury Barco Chapel, the green pamphlet remained taped to the doorway, despite its inaccuracy.
Judge Jane Smith, however, explained that information re-garding provisional ballots and complaints was correct, and so the pollsters left it up.
“No one wants to disenfran-chise anyone,” Smith said. “We bend over backwards to make sure everyone has a chance to vote.”
Some poll watchers chased after voters to ensure every vote was counted.
“Girls! Come back!” Mi-nority Inspector Barabara Mc-Climans called as she pushed through the long voting line in pursuit of a vehicle wheeling out of First Christian Church’s parking lot. “You forgot to con-firm your vote!”
Voters, officials unclear on details,inaccurate information displayed
Students collaborate to cre-ate a production which is origi-nal from the bottom up.
“Our adviser signs a sheet for us saying we’re still an or-ganization, but everything else is done by us,” said Orchesis President Bethany Walker, ’13.
In addition to choreograph-ing her own arrangement, Walker also performs in four different pieces.
Walker said the organiza-tion is responsible for every
aspect of production from cho-reographing to auditioning to ordering clothing and advertis-ing the show in the community.
This year, Orchesis was also responsible for equipping Shafer’s stage with new mar-ley, which is the top layer of springy, shock absorbent floor-ing that diffuses impact for dancers.
► F E AT U R E SDIA DE LOS MUERTOSUnión Latina celebrates Latino Heritage Month with a tradi-tional observance.
PAGE 5
[NEWS] || November 9, 2012 || The Campus 2 AlleghenyCampus.com
THE CAMPUS www.alleghenycampus.com
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CRIME BLOTTERADVERTISEMENT
November 4 - Alcohol violation - Baldwin Hall A student is being investigated for underage
drinking.
November 3 - Disorderly conduct - Brooks Two female students arguing. Both students
had consumed alcohol and were underage.
November 2 - Theft - Campus CenterA female student was caught stealing food from
McKinley’s Food Court.
October 31 - Theft - Brooks Dining HallA wall clock was stolen from Brooks.
In a problem unrelated to hurricane Sandy, the B3 men’s restroom in Baldwin Hall has been flooding on and off for the past two weeks, a setback which has been problematic for the residents in both B3 and A3 halls.
“At first it was just a leak, and then there was something wrong with the first shower, now all of a sudden the whole bathroom floor is covered with water,” said Baldwin resident Oreill Henry, ‘16.
According to residents of both halls the bathroom had been having minor problems but nothing of this degree. Stu-dents stated that at one point, there were only two working showers for the 23 male resi-dents in both halls.
Some students who reside in these halls suspected there
was something wrong with the bathroom toilets.
“I feel dirtier walking out of the shower than I do walking in,” said another Baldwin resi-dent, Joe D’Amato, ‘16.
Baldwin RA Lee Scandina-ro, ‘14, said that maintenance was working hard to fix the problem and that the Physical Plant responded quickly once the order was put in.
“The first order that came in was for a flooded toilet on Oct. 22,” said Brian Gilleppe, assis-tant director of Physical Plant.
Another call came in for water all over the bathroom floor. Physical Plant found that the problem was slow draining from the shower drain.
“I’d like to not have to swim from the door to the shower when I walk in the bathroom,” said resident Tyler Nuzzo, ‘16.
According to the Physical Plant, the problme is now re-solved.
Nov. 6, 2012 was an impor-tant day for the nation and for many of the Allegheny stu-dents.
For most of the members of the student body, this was the first presidential election that they were eligible to par-ticipate in.
“Voting was easier than I thought,” said Melanie Perez, ’15. “I will be voting every election till the day I die.”
Zach Cramer, ’15, partici-pated as both a voter and as a supporter of Obama’s cam-paign during the days preced-ing the election, said he was enthusiastic, but exhausted.
“Despite how tired I was go-ing into the polls, it was defi-nitely worth it,” he said. Cram-er congratulated everyone who
voted, regardless of political stance.
“The reason why we have politics in America is to allow people to disagree,” he said.
However, for some students
voting was difficult. Rachel McCarthy, ’13, faced
a great deal of trouble getting her absentee ballot in on time.
“I didn’t receive my absentee ballot in the mail and I was pre-pared to drive to New Hamp-
shire to get my vote if I needed to,” McCarthy said. “I ended up receiving my absentee ballot the day before the election. I wound up paying about $20 to send it express so that it would
be received on time. I even called a voter hotline to scare my town so my vote could be counted.”
Several students com-mented on the long wait at the First Christian Church, where many students voted.
“I spent an hour and fif-teen minutes waiting in the cold,” said Brian Rocks, ’13.
Zach Bauer, ’15, agreed that much could be improved about the long lines at polling places.
“I was not expecting to wait for two hours,” he said.
drying racks, unplugging ap-pliances and congregating in the same room at night to re-duce the use of lamps.
A sticky note hangs on the front door of Green Liv-ing, with “GREEN ENERGY CHALLENGE” written in all capital letters in green marker.
Resident C.C. Licina, ‘13, put it there to remind her housemates to conserve en-ergy.
During October, similar notes were posted next to the house’s appliances, with re-minders such as “TURN OFF.”
Resident Abby Beerman, ‘14, joked that Licina used “scare tactics” to threaten her housemates into reducing their energy consumption, but ad-mitted these practices weren’t much of a stretch.
“We’re all passionate about the environment,” Beerman said. “We all have the lifestyle
for this house instead of a dorm.”
That lifestyle revolves large-ly around food. On Thursday night, Beerman and Brittany Iafrate, ‘14, were canning beets in the kitchen. Malachowski was in the first stages of mak-ing vegan cheese. Licina had a pot of soup simmering on the stovetop.
“There’s always food,”
said resident Tiffany Ng, ’14. “Someone’s always cooking.”
As a special-interest house, Green Living holds events for the student body, such as a can-ning workshop and an upcom-ing class about weatherproof-ing.
“It’s a common area,” said Beerman. “It’s a space for the community.”
CODY MILLER/THE CAMPUSAva Carvour, ’14, Nathan Malachowski, ’14 and Tiffany Ng, ’14, lounge around the living room of the Green Living House on Loomis Street.
Last week, a group of con-cerned students wrote 1,200 letters to be distributed to stu-dents’ mailboxes.
Clay Grego, ’13, one of the mailing’s organizers, discov-ered when he returned to the post office that the letters were not mailed and that they were opened and read. The staff in-formed Grego that they were waiting further instruction from their supervisor, Kathy Roos, director of communica-tions.
Grego met with Dean of Students Joesph DiChristina, Provost Linda DeMerritt, As-sociate Dean Kazi Joshua, Kathy Roos and a number of other students.
“We never anticipated merging forces with the direc-tor of communications, Kathy
Roos,” Grego said. “The inci-dent happened near the time we had planned to talk about diversity issues on the cam-pus… We had already sched-uled the meeting, and it turned out because of this incident happening, it only seemed ap-propriate to invite Kathy Roos in order to involve her in the conversation.”
The meeting was carried out in two parts: Grego’s response to the incident, and then a re-sponse to Grego’s concerns from Roos.
After the meeting, Roos sanctioned the mailing.
Roos clarified on the series events.
“When we have a large quantity of identical pieces of campus mail with no return address - and no way of know-ing where they originated - it is standard procedure to open one piece…it could be free
advertising for a pizza place or even a mailing that violates our Statement of Community,” Roos said.
Roos said that a particular number hasn’t been placed on what constitutes a mass mail-ing, but that steps would prob-ably be taken to clarify their policy.
Roos also wanted to make sure that students in the future will talk to the post office staff before sending their letters.
“We recognize that stu-dents can put a lot of effort into writing, duplicating, and ad-dressing a mass mailing,” she said. “We just want to remind everyone not to miss a criti-cal step: talking to the campus post office in advance about a mass mailing. Our post office staff are professional and help-ful, and a conversation with them can go a long way toward avoiding misunderstanding.”
[NEWS]The Campus || November 9, 2012 || 3AlleghenyCampus.com
TO AFGHANISTANSergeant Robert Taylor graduated from Allegheny in 2005.
Allegheny alumnus and U.S. Army veteran, Sergeant Robert Taylor, was not ex-pecting a reunion with his old football coach, Mark Matlak, when he signed on to talk with Professor Cheryl Hatch’s news writing class.
“If I was there, I’d give you a big hug,” Matlak said.
The Skype interview that reintroduced the former player and coach shortened the 3,887 mile distance between Taylor’s station in Fairbanks, Alaska and the classroom in Mead-ville, Pa.
Taylor, 31, was born in
Morristown, N.J. to a blue-col-lar family and raised in Tampa, Fla.
He gave credit to his father for much of his own success and for teaching him the im-portance of confidence and ra-tionality.
The tattoo that Taylor has on his right bicep of a ’77 El Camino and the word “Pops,” the name he called his dad, helps him remember these les-sons. He got the ink in 2001 after his father died of cancer.
The tattoo is a constant re-minder to Taylor that his dad is always with him.
Taylor, who is now start-ing his own family, hopes to be a similar father figure to the
child that he and his wife, Liza Jane, are expecting in March.
Liza Jane transferred to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to be closer to Taylor at his sta-tion in Fort Wainwright. She is studying sociology.
“I guess the answer is…I haven’t figured it out yet,” Tay-lor said when asked how he plans to balance his new family with his military career.
Taylor said he prides him-self on the importance of his family, but also credits his success to the relationships he built during his time at Allegh-eny College, specifically on the football team.
“Allegheny football was a huge part of my life. You know, you always hear about team sports…but it’s a family,” Tay-lor said.
Taylor’s father died during football season. Matlak helped him cope by speaking to his professors so they would give him extra time to complete his assignments.
The support that Matlak provided for Taylor extended their relationship beyond the football field.
During his Allegheny foot-ball career, Taylor started as a running back and then transi-tioned to special teams and de-fensive back.
He graduated with a major in Economics and a minor in English.
When Matlak coached Tay-lor, he explained to the team that they always needed to play the next play and move on, and Taylor applied this advice to another part of his life, the military.
Taylor knew he wanted to join the military in high school, but went to college because he was not ready to quit playing football.
After graduating from Al-legheny, he worked for North-western Mutual Life Insurance and Financial Services in Pitts-burgh until his sister became pregnant and he transferred closer to home to the Tampa office.
At 28, Taylor decided to join the Army.
“If I didn’t do it, I was never going to,” he said.
Taylor was deployed to Af-ghanistan from April 18, 2011 until April 22, 2012 with the 2nd Squad 3rd Platoon Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion 5th Infantry Regiment 1/25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
Taylor was assigned to be the 2nd Squad Bravo team leader who would patrol areas in Afghanistan during combat operations.
He held a mine detector and was responsible for clearing the area for his team.
Taylor said that the relation-ships that he formed with the other soldiers in Charlie Com-pany were similar to his rela-tionships with players on the football team, because team-work was imperative in ensur-ing success.
“You create a team; you cre-ate an atmosphere,” Taylor said, “Offense and defense, they be-come your family because you
do the same thing day in, day out.”
Taylor learned to rely on the other men he was with, which helped him maintain his confi-dence.
His team consisted of auto-matic rifleman Pfc. Carlos De-paz, rifleman Pfc. Robert Sipes and grenadier and rifleman Pfc. Cody Sampolski.
Currently, Taylor is sta-tioned in Alaska until 2013, where he has taken over a po-sition within Charlie Company and is now in charge of 13 sol-diers.
He has plans to make a career out of the military and eventually retire as a commis-sioned officer in the U.S. Army.
Taylor said that, if his child were a boy, he would support his decision to join the military if he wanted, just like his father supported him.
“I’ve definitely become pas-sionate about what I do, which has given me a little bit more purpose,” Taylor said.
He emphasized that it’s not necessary to have life planned out completely before college graduation.
“Find something you’re pas-sionate about,” he said, “The day you graduate, you don’t have to know that answer.”
Before signing off, Matlak said goodbye to his former stu-dent.
“I want to tell you I love you, take care of yourself, and God bless.”
Sgt. Rob Taylor watches a movie while on duty with the Quick Reaction Force at Forward Operating Base Shoja in the Horn of Panjawa’i in southern Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on March 1, 2012. Taylor, ‘05, served with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 5th Infantry Regiment 1/25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYL HATCH
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK MATLAK
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYL HATCH
“Allegheny football was a huge part of my life. You know, you always hear about team sports…but it’s a family,”Sgt. Robert Taylor said. Taylor played on Allegheny’s Division III championship team in 2003.
Robert Taylor poses with Coach Mark Matlak after graduation in 2005.
Sgt. Robert Taylor waits to begin a patrol near Khenjakak in southern Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in March 2012. Tay-lor’s platoon regularly teamed with soldiers from the Afghan National Army to train them to take over after the U.S. leaves.
VETERANS DAY
At 28, he fulfilled his lifelong ambition :he joined the Army.
[OPINION] || November 9, 2012 || The Campus 4 AlleghenyCampus.com
On Tuesday the people of California voted “no” to Proposition 37, a ballot initiative that
would have established a statewide labeling system for genetically modi� ed food products.
� e initiative grew out of ongoing questions as to whether customers should have the “right to know” if their foods contain genetically modi� ed organisms (GMOs). Global debate of the issue heated up in 2003 when Europe moved to enforce GMO labeling on its food.
Now, a� er Tuesday’s loss at the polls, Proposition 37’s supporters have not yet given up hope that Cali-fornia may still follow Europe’s example—but they should. Proposition 37 and GMO labeling systems like it are inherently � awed, and they are problematic for science and the GMO debate as a whole.
While classical genetic methods traditionally in-volve selective breeding for desirable traits, modern genetic techniques o� en involve the selective transfer of individual genes from one organism to another. In most cases, GMOs are created with the hopes of in-troducing one or more bene� cial traits to the target organism.
Crops, for instance, are modi� ed to provide every-thing from nutrient supple-mentation to longer-lasting fruits. � e so-called Flavr Savr tomato became the � rst commercially available GM food in 1994; its modi-� cation increased shelf life by delaying ripening. Now, plant scientists can intro-duce genes for stronger stalks or for drought, cold, disease, insect and herbi-cide resistance. Each of these modi� cations involves a speci� c process, and each modi� cation is unique.
Certain GMO crops spark more public debate than others. � e popular Bt-corn strain produces a toxin meant to selectively a� ect certain insect pests like the European corn borer; the toxin does not a� ect humans because our physiology di� ers greatly from invertebrate insects’. Bt-corn allows farmers to spray fewer potentially harmful pesticides on their � elds. Still, there remains some concern that Bt inadver-tently a� ects the health of non-target organisms like monarch butter� ies and honeybees.
� e solution to consumer misgivings about these and other perceived problems with GMOs, the sup-porters of Proposition 37 argue, is to label the com-mercial food products that contain GMO material. Unfortunately, broad GMO labeling will not move us any closer to a meaningful discussion of poor agricul-tural practices or potential ecological consequences.
For one, a standardized GMO label implies a cer-tain kind of standardization among GMOs as well. But GMO is too vague a term for someone to sug-gest that a potential environmental con� ict with one modi� ed crop will necessarily apply to all others.
� e proposed label would do nothing to inform the public about the important di� erences between all types of genetic modi� cations—between something like Golden Rice, which contains higher levels of Vi-tamin A in the same way that water contains � uoride or salt contains iodide, and Monsanto’s Roundup re-sistant soy. It would not distinguish between disease-resistant plums and Bt corn.
Using ‘GMO’ as a single umbrella term is unhelp-ful and misleading because genetic modi� cation is a tool, not a comprehensive identi� er.
A GMO label suggests, wrongly, that genetic modi-� cation is a technique to avoid. � ese sweeping argu-ments against GMOs seem overly simplistic and hy-peraware of the strangeness of moving bits and pieces of genetic material cross-kingdom from bacteria to plant.
It makes sense that the process would feel unnatu-ral to so many, but “natural” is a relative idea. Consid-er, for example, that ancient maize looked nothing at all like its modern ancestor, which we have selectively bred for eating.
Hold a piece of maize beside a modern ear of corn, and you will see that maize is smaller, darker, and completely inedible by comparison. � ough farmers
used no molecular tools to do it, they e� ectively al-tered the genetic composition of a crop to meet hu-man needs.
Meanwhile, there are many compelling reasons to use techniques like GM to our advantage and fewer to ignore those bene� ts for the sanctity of tradition. Ge-netic manipulation is a valuable method for limiting the use of external chemical means, and it is safer in many cases than previous solutions. Bt toxins, while perhaps imperfect in an ecological sense, succeed in avoiding much of the synthetic pesticides that would normally be applied in large quantities. And GMOs may actually assist in the development of sustainable agriculture down the line.
Interestingly, if poor environmental practices exist, they are not limited to a select few GM food manu-facturers. Many organic brands—brands that would not carry the proposed GMO label—are owned by large multinational parent companies. For instance, Kelloggs, Smuckers, and PepsiCo are the owners of Kashi, Santa Cruz Organic and Naked Juice respec-tively.
� ese parent companies invest in GM food for their other brands, and they are the companies most likely to support monoculture and other damaging agricul-tural practices. A consumer hoping to avoid support-
ing GM foods because of manufac-turers’ corporate policies would still have trouble doing so even if labels were available. As long as premium branding has the potential to draw large pro� ts, oversights and double standards in corporate parent poli-cies will always be a problem.
Of course, this deceptive mar-keting hints at a problem rooted in corporate transparency for con-sumers and perhaps also explains the strong public desire for unam-biguous product labeling. But it is not a scienti� c problem, and it is not a problem with genetic modi� -cation as a method.
Yes, there are important and interesting environmental factors to consider when it comes to the future of biotechnology and sustain-able agriculture, but it seems unlikely that a labeling system would consider the realities of that argument (and how could it, when there is no way to di� erenti-ate between types of GMO? Between farming tech-niques?). It seems far more likely that a label would incite fear about the potential for health e� ects, en-couraging many consumers to group GMOs with di-sasters of the past like Agent Or-ange and DDT. A quick glance at many of the comments of most re-cent opinion pieces against Prop37 reveal that many consumers do indeed have this fear. � e o� cial Proposition 37 website itself also reads that GMOs have not been proven safe to eat.
However, there is no scienti� c evidence to indicate that GM foods are inherently more dangerous or less healthy than normal foods. Recent analyses, including one from Stanford that analyzed decades worth of data, suggest that there is no signi� cant dif-ference between organic and non-organic foods when it comes to potential health bene� ts.
On the other side, one recent and o� -cited study in rats, in which rats fed with GMO corn later developed tumors, was deeply � awed and has been widely criti-cized within the greater scienti� c community. Still, GMO opponents claim that GM foods pose risks to human health.
Other segments of Proposition’s 37 supporters sug-gest that this is a straw man argument, that informed supporters aim their e� orts primarily at big agricul-ture. But if we want to criticize agricultural giants like Monsanto and ConAgra, this is not the most e� cient way to do it.
GMO labeling cannot be a catch-all for an amal-gamation of worrisome corporate practices and po-tential environmental oversights that vary widely from crop to crop and manufacturer to manufacturer. It does not have the capacity to serve consumers in that way. Instead, labeling GMOs in� icts collateral damage by confusing the issues. Economic and so-cial arguments easily become tangled with scienti� c arguments, until labels become a vehicle for scienti� c misinformation and a byproduct of a sentimental and
perhaps romantic devotion to ‘naturalness.’At a smaller, more practical level, too, this measure
places the onus of regulation not on the large agricul-tural companies it was inspired by, but on the grocery owners themselves. � e proposed legislation would hold retailers responsible for the correct labeling of the foods that they stock. In this way, Proposition 37 fails even at its grasp for corporate accountability.
� en, there is the heavy emphasis on a consumer’s “right to know,” in the initiative’s proposal and else-where.
“Proposition 37 gives us the right to know what is in the food we eat and feed to our families,” the pro-posal states. “It simply requires labeling of food pro-duced using genetic engineering, so we can choose whether to buy those products or not. We have a right to know.”
� e public does have a right to know more about their food supply, but how that information is con-veyed matters just as much. Because Proposition 27 neglects the way in which it aims to convey informa-tion, it did not deserve to pass voting. It misinforms and emphasizes the wrong things. It reduces a com-plex host of problems to a compact choice and by do-ing so assumes—in fact encourages—an overly sim-plistic, one-dimensional consumer response: support GMOs or do not. Eat GMOs or do not. Su� er negative consequences or do not. In the end, these labels may restrict a consumer’s informed choice more than any-thing else. � e right to know something becomes an elaborate e� ort to reveal nothing.
Instead, consumers might demand that organic brands like Kashi and Bear Nature disclose their larg-er corporate parent clearly on their packaging. Buyers might also take a long, hard look at the commodi� ca-tion of the “organic” brand that has emerged in recent years and wonder if the structures of these companies still align with the fundamental values of their con-sumer base. � ey might begin a dialogue, also, about where those values come from.
Or even better, the public could move to support funding for basic research in environmental science, ecology, genetics, plant and agricultural sciences while recognizing that the scienti� c community holds itself to rigorous standards for its burden of proof; that the � eld prides itself on re� ning knowledge and conveying it as accurately as possible; and that dozens of studies suggesting that there are no adverse human health e� ects of GMOs should bear more argumenta-tive weight than a few problematic studies that sug-gest the opposite.
To that end, we must consider practical conse-quences and trade-o� s and accept that a sloppy label-
ing system now could mean even weaker ties between the scienti� c community and the public in the future. � is is a consequence that we cannot a� ord in a time when basic research still struggles.
If the public does not trust the work of its scientists, and if as consequence the public does not push for funding in basic plant science and ecol-
ogy, the future for science outside of big agriculture corporate funded projects looks bleak.
What the public cannot do is continue to is aggres-sively challenge or ignore what data overwhelmingly support. GMOs are not unsafe to consume, and they are no healthier (or unhealthier) than non-GMOs.
Some argue that we have nothing to lose by adding an additional label -- that those who wish to ignore it may -- but we have much to lose. Like Pascal’s Wager, it becomes a naive viewpoint to hold.
With every unnecessary condition that we support “just in case,” we undermine our continuous faith in the credibility of science. We bypass the careful pro-ceedings of experimentation and statistics and replace those methods with our own hunches and amateur guesswork. Most of all, we forfeit a chance at a en-gaging with the larger, more nuanced discussion by gripping onto its weakest part, and we do ourselves a disservice by not demanding better.
Check out “In Culture” online each week for related links.
Visit alleghenycampus.com
Why labeling GMOs is not worth the effortProposition 37 fails in California:
� e public does have a right to know more about their food sup-ply, but how that in-formation is conveyed matters just as much.
� e right to know something becomes an elaborate e� ort to reveal
[Features] || November 9, 2012 || The Campus 5AlleghenyCampus.com
This year, Unión Latina and Spanish faculty spon-sored a variety of events to celebrate Día de los Muertos, a Mexican tradition which honors life,
culture and family. At a late-night event on Oct. 27 in the Campus Center,
students made sugar skulls and papel picado, tissue paper that is cut and designed for decorating. Their creations sugar skulls were later taken to Grounds For Change to be placed on an altar display.
The altar, piled high with brightly colored decorations and memorials of loved ones who have passed, is more than just a piece of artwork in this celebration.
Veronica Dantán, professor of Spanish and advisor of Unión Latina, described the significance of the skulls and the altar in the Día De Los Muertos tradition.
Dantán explained that each sugar skull is dedicated to the life of an individual human being, alive or dead. One can even make a skull for himself to reflect on life’s temporality.
Each life being honored also receives an altar which should reflect what the individual was like when he or she was alive. Typically altars are decorated with items such as the individual’s favorite music, food and drink.
“In that sense, we feel their spirit and their influence in us are still present,” said Dantán.
Unlike a gravestone, which have a sorrowful connota-tion, the altar welcomes the dead’s spirit to remain among the living.
“It is like saying, ‘We haven’t forgotten you. We know you are with us at every moment but today especially,’” said Dantán.
Neal Shah, ’15, co-hosted another Día De Los Muertos event held Nov. 2 in the Max Kade International Lobby of North Village.
He said that Día De Los Muertos is a two-day event. The first day honors children that have passed; the second, adults.
“It is different from Halloween, where you think of de-mons coming at you,” Shah said. “It is instead a joyous day.”
Sharon Zavala, ‘15, explained that Día de los Muertos is based off Aztec traditions that date back to the sixteenth century.
“Although this celebration is associated with the dead, it is not portrayed as morbid or depressing but rather a time of happiness, color and fun,” Zavala said in an e-mail.
Participating in events such as these help to preserve an-cient culture.
Ziania Narvaez-Garcia, ’15, believes Unión Latina has
More than 50 people attend-ed a live musical performance in the Phi Kappa Psi basement this Monday, which featured folk-rock artist Nevin James and his band as well as a guest performance by Phi Psi brother Joe Tonzo, ’15.
James played harmonica and sang while his band ac-companied him on piano, drums and guitar. Band mem-ber Liz Bennett also provided vocal accompaniment.
Phi Kappa Psi brother Jo-seph Tonzo, ’15, was a special guest at James’ performance. Tonzo, an experienced cellist, jumped at an impromptu op-portunity to play James’ music.
”It was a neat experience to play with Nevin,” Tonzo said. “Immediately we connected through the universal language of music.”
Tonzo said he’s played the cello for 10 years. This year, he was chosen as Allegheny’s Greek God after playing cello in the talent competition.
James, 24, and band mate Bennett, 22, both went to Up-per Saint Clair High School in Pittsburgh and have been friends for 10 years. However, they did not start performing together until six months ago.
After graduating from high
Nevin James band visits Allegheny in its first tour
school, James moved to Mal-ibu, Cal. to attend Pepperdine University. It was there that he met drummer Jeremy Delia, 20, about five years ago, and the pair has been playing music to-gether ever since.
About two months ago, James’ current band, which also includes lead guitarist Tony Willoe, 30, from Pitts-burgh, began playing together. James said he previously re-corded a record with a different group of people, but wanted to reconnect with his high school friend Liz about six months ago.
The band played 10 songs, including some tracks from James’ first album, Jealousy, as well songs that will be on James’ next album. Select songs were written by band members.
Currently in the middle of their first tour, the band per-formed in Pittsburgh before coming to Allegheny and plans to perform in New York City, Boston, Syracuse, N.Y. and Providence, R.I.
Donations were accepted at the door for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
“It was a great event for a great cause,” said Patrick Fritz, ‘13. “I am glad we could facili-tate the event, not only to raise money, but to promote a great band. I hope they return to Al-legheny in the future.”
Future plans for the band are currently up in the air. James said that after the tour he plans to take some time off to relax.
This January, James said he hopes to sign with a record company before completing his second album.
James loves performing in front of people as well as play-ing with them.
“It’s not me, but us playing. I enjoy sharing the experiences with the other band members,” James said.
helped her learn more about her own culture.“Although my family has always known about Día de los
Muertos, it was not something that we actively celebrated,” Narvaez-Garcia said in an e-mail
At the event held in North Village, Dantán gave a lecture titled, “Ranchera Blues Over A Rainbow: Celebrating the Life and Death of Chavela Vargas.”
The lecture focused on the life of Chavela Vargas, a fa-mous female Mexican Rancheras singer.
This type of music often dealt with a man’s unrequited love, accompanied by a small ensemble of instruments sim-ilar to a mariachi band. Vargas sang in this style, with her open identity as a lesbian, breaking the barriers of what it meant to be a Rancheras singer.
Vargas was iconic in her ability to re-define the Rancheras genre. Dantán said she believes it is important to celebrate Vargas’ life in the context of Día de los Muertos, because she was an influential woman in the past, present and future.
“Vargas opened up new paths for women and men that came after her,” Dantán said. “She gave many of us hope for new roads of the future.”
Unión Latina’s upcoming schedule for Latino Heritage Month includes a presentation from a keynote speaker Ke-nya Dworkin.
Professor Wilfredo Hernández, Unión Latina’s second ad-visor, knows Dworkin on a professional level. He said that Dworkin investigates the presence of Spanish writings in American colonial literature
“She is interested in showing how multicultural the Unit-ed States was,” Hernández said.
He said he believes that not many people consider this an important topic, and for this reason Dworkin’s visit should be informative.
Hernández added that the celebration of Latino Heritage Month as a whole is important. People can evoke memories from the past and learn more about themselves in the pres-ent.
“We want the community to know more about the cul-tural meanings of these celebrations,” Hernández said.
He encouraged the Allegheny community to learn about Latin-American heritage by participating in the month’s events and experiencing the culture for themselves.
During the rest of the month, Unión Latina will sponsor a fundraiser for the Pulsera Project to help improve economic hardships in Nicaragua.
Additionally, AquiTango, a quartet of musicians accom-panied by two tango dancers, will also visit campus to ex-plain the significance of tango dance and music. This event will include music along with an explanation of the genre and a tango dancing performance.
Hana Falein, ’14, finishes painting her face for the Dia De Los Muertos celebration, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, in Meadville, Pa. The event in-cluded face painting, a presentation by professor Dantan about the singer Chavela Vargas and a candle light vigil at Bentley Hall.
Despite its incredible cin-ematography, set design and visual effects, Cloud Atlas failed to leave any kind of lasting im-pression on me.
Of course, I am speaking from the perspective of some-one who has not read the epon-ymous novel by British author David Mitchell, which was published in 2004. The expe-rience of watching this movie will likely be vastly different to someone who has read the book.
But as someone who ap-proached Cloud Atlas head-on, without any prior contextual knowledge, I must say I was slightly disappointed.
Directors Lana and Andy Wachowski (the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta) and co-director Tom Tykwer clearly envisioned a spectacular world for the plot to take place. Indeed, co-direc-tor Tom Tykwer co-composed the movie’s original orchestral score. But the directors’ pas-sion for their creation does not immediately qualify the movie as particularly meaningful or enjoyable.
Cloud Atlas is an ambitious attempt to combine six differ-ent plots, which take place in six completely different time periods and physical locations, into a unified account of hu-man history. This span of histo-ry stretches from the mid-19th century until the year 2321. Al-though the narrative shifts er-ratically between time periods
and requires rapt attention, the movie’s structure is not its big-gest problem.
My biggest issues with Cloud Atlas are the six detached protagonists, who never come close enough to the audience to allow us to relate to them. We get a distant overview of each of these characters, and perhaps we find one or two of them more intriguing than the rest. Ultimately, though, it is difficult for me to empathize with any one of them.
The movie’s overlying mes-sage is that our actions have lasting effects on people from other time periods. To convey this point, actors play a num-ber of characters from differ-ent plot lines. Their costumes adapt not only to different time periods but different races.
With the help of CG edit-ing, makeup and prosthetics, Caucasian actors Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, James D’Arcy all appear as Asians at different points in the movie. Korean ac-tress Doona Bae plays a Korean clone from the future, as well as a Mexican woman and a colo-nial wife, in three distinct plots.
Although the directors may have intended to promote cul-tural diversity, the result is more confusing than enlight-ening.
All in all, if you happen to be looking for a way to kill three hours this weekend, I rec-ommend you steer clear of the movie theater and vouch for a more reliable option, like one of the first two installations of the Godfather trilogy.
Service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega held its sixth annual Dance-a-thon on Sat-urday, Nove. 4 in the Campus Center lobby.
APO member Pranov Arora, ’14, said that each participating student organiza-tion or group had its own 45-minute time slot to dance and raise awareness for the Autism Outreach Center of Meadville.
The event also featured a raffle for a number of themed, donated gift baskets, a Kuerig and a Kindle. Between the raffled prizes and the Dance-a-thon entry fee, Arora said that APO raised more than $4,000.
“We had started this project with very humble expectations,” he said. “We’re very happy because all of the money is going to help start and retain projects at Outreach Meadville.”
Kathleen Macie/The CampusAPO members and other students do the hokey-pokey at Saturday’s dance-a-thon.
Dance-a-thon raises money, awareness
[Features] The Campus || November 9, 2012 6 AlleghenyCampus.com
Orchesis 2012 debuts in ShaferAfter eight weeks of preparation, students unveil self-designed dance show to public
The Design
The Choreographers
From page 1
Recording Secretary Anaïs Schindler, ’13, said the nine members comprising Orchesis’ executive board co-operated with the 18 choreographers to lay marley on the stage one Saturday morning.
“We cut it into sizes so it fits perfectly into Shafer, and we don’t have to piece anything together,” Schindler said. “It fills more of the stage and it’s a lot nicer to dance on this year. Last year our marley was just really worn down.”
In addition to 19 dances, this year’s production features one piece designed by all the choreographers, as well as a “senior piece” open to all members of the senior class. This year, the senior piece was a medley of songs from the 1990’s.
“Our generation is kind of like the first 90’s children…we got to live through the entire decade. So we kind of wanted to do a throwback to that,” said Publicity Chair Jillian Ranker, ’13.
Lighting design is also a student-run enterprise.“You don’t think about all the stuff that goes into a production…like what kind of light-
ing are you going to use, who’s going to be your stage crew, your stage manager,” said cho-reographer Kerri Barron, ’15.
Lighting assistant Katie Snively, ’15, explained that the lighting technicians become in-volved primarily during tech week, the week before the show.
“This year, some choreographers already had an idea of how they wanted to light the dances,” Snively said. “We picked out the colors for the lights and let them know those choices, and they gave us up to six cues per dance based on that.”
Snively has run the light board for a number of different theatre productions at Allegh-eny. She works in the Playshop Theatre.
ELIOT BARTELS/THE CAMPUSOrchesis choreographers strike a pose for the opening piece, which is created through a collaboration of all the choreographers. This year’s song was “Gangnam Style,” by PSY.
Schindler said Orchesis board members develop leadership skills as a result of their experiences. Treasurer and choreographer Erick Tineo, ’13, added that Orchesis has also strengthened his organizational and communication skills.
“It’s a balancing act,” Tineo said. “Being so involved this year has caused me to organize my priorities and schedule essentially all my time. If you come in not really knowing what you’re doing academically or what your schedule looks like, you’re in for disaster.”
Though he has danced in Orchesis before, this was Tineo’s first year holding an execu-tive position and choreographing.
“It’s a huge commitment, but it’s a worthwhile commitment,” he said.This year’s production showcases a wide range of dance genres: jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop,
modern and ballroom are all represented. A number of choreographers blended elements of different genres to create their dances in the styles of afro-modern, contemporary lyrical or contemporary jazz.
Vice President Jillian Tavares, ’13, is one of the few choreographers with previous cho-reographing experience. This is her third year choreographing for Orchesis, and before coming to Allegheny, she created routines for her high school dance team to perform at basketball games. However, Tavares said her goal was to create a dance simple enough for a wide range of dancers to do.
“I told the dancers the first day of practice, we’re not gonna do any big turns, no leaps and no floor work,” Tavares said. “I ended up throwing in floorwork. But I like to make my dancers look really good, so if I can’t do a trick, I’m not gonna make them do it.”
Students from a wide range of dance backgrounds audition for Orchesis.Sophie Klancher, ’16, had no dance experience prior to Orchesis, but at her friends’
persuasion she decided to participate due to the low-pressure audition process. She ended up dancing alongside some of her friends in “It’s Raining Men,” a musical-inspired piece choreographed by Sara Townsend, ’15.
Other dancers came in with much more experience.“I’ve been dancing since I was three…and there’s always been a professional teacher or a
guest choreographer coming in to teach,” said dancer Alex Isenberg, ’14. “I’ve never expe-rienced working with only student choreographers before.”
Isenberg performed in four different pieces, which is the limit for any one participant in Orchesis.
Brittney Griffith, ’15, felt inspired to audition for Orchesis after seeing last year’s produc-tion. She appears in M.I.A.’s “Bucky Done Gun,” a hip-hop piece choreographed by Taylor Smith, ’14.
“I have a fear of going in front of people, especially on stage,” Griffith said. “It’s gonna be rewarding when I can actually overcome that fear…it’s a challenge I put myself through, which I didn’t have to do, so it kind of feels good.”
Another first-time participant, Jessica Repasz, ’13, said she has lost 25 pounds since the start of the semester, a result of dancing in Orchesis as well as in her three dance classes. She appears in sophomore Erin Sumerfield’s contemporary piece, “The Bird and the Worm,” as well as “It’s Raining Men.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life,” Repasz said. “I only ever took ballet in high school, so [Erin’s piece] is way outside of my experience. There’s a lot of floorwork and a lot of harsh movements, and I’ve only ever done legato, ballerina stuff.”
Repasz said dancing in this piece served as an emotional outlet.“I have a tendency to let my emotions get the best of me,” Repasz said. “With [Orchesis] I
have to channel that negativity…in a constructive way, a way that helps me better the dance but doesn’t leave me frazzled afterwards.”
Dancers in Sumerfield’s piece, which was choreographed to a rock song by The Used, thrash and wave their hands in bird-like claw shapes. Corey Carlson, ’14, dons feathers and heavy makeup to star as the “bird” of the song’s title.
Carlson, returning to Orchesis for his second year, said the organization is a good way to learn about different types of dance. Though he began at Allegheny taking only ballroom dance classes, he is now versed in a variety of other dance styles thanks to Orchesis.
“I come from an Italian background, where there’s always dancing, so I figured I wanted to get into ballroom,” Carlson said. “But here, you learn different styles of dance you nor-mally wouldn’t. The school only offers so many strict-type classes of dance, but you come here and it’s more free. I’m trying to branch out.”
Choreographers have the freedom to design whichever types of pieces interest them.Katherine Krackhardt, ’13, collaborated with Timothy Grabnic, ’13, to choreograph a
ballroom piece to Pitbull’s “Shake Señora” which blends elements of meringue, salsa and rumba. It is their second time choreographing together for Orchesis.
“I do a lot of musical theater, so I wanted to see a musical theater piece my freshman year,” Krackhardt said. “And then my sophomore year we wanted to see ballroom, so we made a ballroom piece.”
This year, Krackhardt said the most challenging part of choreographing was teaching techniques to dancers who had never previously danced in a Latin style. Grabnic said time management was the most difficult aspect of Orchesis for him.
“We only have seven weeks, and you want it to be difficult and to look difficult, but it can’t be too difficult or you won’t be able to complete it in the right amount of time,” Grab-nic said.
The Dancers
Orchesis is also a social forum.“You get to meet a lot of people you might not otherwise get the chance to know,” said
third-time participant Mimi O’Leary, ’14. “You’re all struggling to learn [the dance] to-gether and stressing about tech week...you get really close within dances.”
Dance and Movement Studies professor Eleanor Wiseman said the dance department stopped sponsoring Orchesis in the fall of 2004, due to the show’s increasingly provocative content. Since then, Orchesis has been affiliated with the Communication Arts department.
“The dance faculty at the time did not consider what the students were doing to be art-fully done,” said Wiseman, who did not yet teach at Allegheny when this shift occurred. “But it’s gotten so much better over the past few years, and we now have a much better relationship.”
Although it has been a challenging experience, Orchesis has also been extremely re-warding for all the students involved.
“Orchesis pushed me to the maximum. I have some nice little scars that’ll never go away from it,” Repasz said, showing the scabs on her feet. “My knees are black and blue all over. I bust ass. It’s great. It’s beautiful.”
Walker said her greatest reward of being president will be watching the final perfor-mance, knowing it has all been produced by students.
“It’s about finding a group of people who is willing to put as much energy as you are to make it happen,” Walker said.
The ImpactCAITIE MCMEKIN/THE CAMPUS
Anais Schindler, ‘13 stretches while chatting with Emily Eckert, ’14 before the Orchesis dress rehearsal.
[features] The Campus || November 9, 2012 || 7AlleghenyCampus.com
CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUSPresident of Orchesis, Bethany Walker, ’13, talks to choreographers before a Nov. 5 rehearsal.
CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUSKate Rekrut, ’14, takes center stage during the choreographer’s piece, the show’s opening number.
ELIOTT BARTELS/THE CAMPUSTimothy Grabnic, ’13, leads dancers in the 90s-themed senior piece, open to all senior class members.
AJ CRAWFORD/THE CAMPUSCorey Carlson, ’14, far right, portrays a bird in “The Bird and the Worm,” choreographed by Erin Sumerfield, ‘14.
CAITIE McMEKIN/THE CAMPUSDancers crouch in a vertical line for the beginning of sophomore Erin Sumerfield’s choreographed piece. Three dancers also sat in the pit until approximately one minute into the song.
ELIOTT BARTELS/THE CAMPUSArtistic lighting accompanies a dramatic pose in “Waka Waka,” an Afro-modern piece choreographed by Maya Jones, ’15.
CARLY LUITGAARDEN/THE CAMPUSKerri Barron, ‘15, and Rachel Wallace, ‘16, leap into the air during, “Every Time it Rains,” a contemporary lyrical piece choreographed by Bethany Walker, ‘13.
[SPORTS] || November 8, 2012 || The Campus 8 AlleghenyCampus.com
CAITIE MCMEKIN/THE CAMPUSRob Wenger, defensive coordinator talks to Ryan Vietmeier, ’13, in between a play while teammates look on.
The football team lost their final home game of the season Saturday to Ohio Wesleyan 34-7. This loss marks the third straight for the Gators, who honored their seniors before the game.
The Gators will graduate 19 players this season. Head Coach Mark Matlak was ap-preciative of those 19 and their contributions to the team.
“Their effort and their at-titude have been really good,” said Matlak. “I’m going to miss all of those guys because they’ve contributed significant-ly to whatever success we’ve had in the last four years.”
It was an emotional day for players as well.
“Playing last weekend was very sad,” said senior Mick Betler. ”Not only because we lost but because it was my last home game ever.”
The Battling Bishops set the tone early, posting 27 points in the first half, and had four big plays for touchdowns in the game.
“The rule of thumb on de-fense is to keep the ball inside of you and in front of you,” Matlak said. “We had three balls go over our heads and
then a long touchdown run. You can’t do those things.”
On the offensive end, the Gators struggled to score. They lost quarterback Joe Dawida, ’15, in the first quarter on an 11-yard rush. Dawida has liga-ment damage in his knee cap and will not play in the final game of the season.
Senior Tim Werley was the bright spot for the offense with his career-high of 104 yards on the day. He also scored the only touchdown of the game on an eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Matlak cites an inability to execute as a reason for the team’s struggles on both sides of the ball.
“I think our effort is there, but our execution is poor,” Matlak said. “We usually have two or three missed assign-ments on every play that we run and that doesn’t bode well for us.”
Despite their three-game losing streak, Matlak believes his players have given their best throughout the season.
“I feel bad for the boys,” said Matlak. “I know how hard they’re trying during the games and preparing in practice and it hurts to see them not be suc-cessful.”
Looking ahead, the Gators
have one final game at Hiram. Players are hoping to put their last three games behind them, and are focused on the one re-maining, according to senior Rudy DeStefano.
“Our goal is to win the last game,” said DeStefano. “We do not want a losing record and the best that we can do is break even, so that is what we are go-ing to do and have fun doing it.”
Matlak stressed the impor-tance of avoiding mistakes in their final game.
“I talked to the guys about how we have to eliminate beat-ing ourselves before we can be successful or have a chance for success,” Matlak said. “It’s a crawl before you walk and walk before you run situation right now. That’s how I try to approach it with the guys.”
Win or lose, seniors like Betler are grateful for their time playing Allegheny foot-ball.
“The last four years at Al-legheny have been amazing, especially because of my senior teammates,” Betler said. “They have truly become my broth-ers and I plan on continuing friendships with them long af-ter I graduate.”
CAITIE MCMEKIN/THE CAMPUSWide receiver Derrick Emigh,‘15, tries to gain yardage during the 2nd quarter against Ohio Wesleyan.
CAITIE MCMEKIN/THE CAMPUSJoe Grecek, ’15, helps Zack Palmer, ’15, get his contact back in between plays after Sumner Beal, ’14, rinsed it off with water.
Football honors seniorsGators drop third straight against OWU
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Senior soccer player Ashley Lehr has been selected to par-ticipate in the Branch Rickey Mentoring Program, which takes student athletes, specifi-cally those who are minorities and women, and introduces them to the administrative side of their athletic departments.
The program is named for the four-time World Series champion manager who signed Jackie Robinson in 1945.
Through the program, Lehr has the opportunity to shadow Athletic Director Portia Hoeg through meetings twice a week. Hoeg also brings her mentee to other meetings she thinks will benefit Lehr.
Lehr is able to actively participate in such meetings; while the administrators are
far removed from their college experiences, Lehr provides a student perspective on certain decisions.
“This is such a unique ex-perience,” Lehr said. “We cover such a range of things.”
Lehr has enjoyed making use of the management skills she has gained as an econom-ics and Spanish double major. A two time all-NCAC selection in her four years as a Gator, Lehr believes an administrative job like Hoeg’s would suit her more than a coaching position.
Topics within the NCAA such as recruiting policies, player eligibility, and violations are debated between Lehr and her mentor. More Allegheny-related activities fill up the agenda as well. Hoeg admits that the job can be overwhelm-ing at times.
“Showing [Lehr] my sched-
ule will either scare her or en-courage her,” Hoeg said.
Lehr says she has gained an appreciation for Hoeg’s daily work. Not many student ath-letes understand what the ath-letic director does behind the scenes.
“She has to push the voice of the athletic department at Allegheny College wherever she goes,” Lehr said. “Portia is a great role model.”
The next event on the schedule for Lehr is the three day NCAA national conven-tion in Grapevine, Texas out-side Dallas. The expenses of her trip will be paid in full by an NCAA professional devel-opmental grant.
