The Merciad, March 29, 2006

8/6/2019 The Merciad, March 29, 2006

1/10

Mercyhurst students may have toreach deeper into their pockets nextyear to accommodate their tuition bill. According to Vice President of

Finance Jane Kelsey, tuition will hike6.24 percent from the national averageof 5.9.The increase, up 1.04 percent from

last year, rounds the total cost for the2006-07 school year to $27,822 fromthe current $26,187.The new price will include: tuition at

$18,930, room and board at $7,458 andmandatory fees at $1,434. According to a release from the

financial aid office, the student govern-ment fee will remain the same from the2005-06 school year at $165. Roomrates increased 4.9 percent or $174,

while board rates increased six percentor $210.

In many aspects it is like we are run-ning a small city, said Kelsey. Thereare necessities that need to be paid:trash removal, maintenance, water andelectric.

Kelsey noted that the increase is alsodue to salaries. We need to increasesalaries to attract and retain very goodfaculty, she said.

Other causes included science labinvestments and maintenance of build-ings. We must constantly preserve and

improve students learning environ-ments, said Kelsey.

Kelsey pointed out that Mercyhurstis still in the lowest total cost of atten-dance out of 16 schools, including

Please see Tuition on page 2

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929

SPORTSFEAUTURES

Page 9Page 3

Vol. 79 No. 18 Mercyhurst College 501 E. 38th St. Erie Pa. 16546 March 29, 2006

MERCIADTHECurioddesseyshop offers antiqueand exoticmerchandise

Hurst LAXplayer goesprofessional

Tuition jumps 6.2%Students struggle to keep pace with rising tuition costs

By Joshua WilwohlEditor-in-chief

Senior Brenda Steib helps sophomore Hillary McCormick and other students with financial aid questions.

Corrie Thearle/News editor

Students will vote for MSG representatives in the student union.

KRT photo

MSG elections gives students a voiceBy Sarah SheehanContributing writer

The Mercyhurst Student Governmentelections for the executive board will beheld on April 5 and 6.The positions that students will vote

for will include president, vice president(on the same ticket), treasurer and sec-retary positions.

Elections will also be held on April12 and 13 for MSG senior, junior,sophomore, resident and commuterrepresentatives.The voting will take place in the Stu-

dent Union on the dates mentionedabove.This year there is a formal application

process to be completed in order to beon the ballot.

In previous years, all that was neededwas a letter of intent.

This year on the MSG Web site athttp://msg.mercyhurst.edu/ the form

required is available to fill out. The form asks the candidate ques-

tions about involvement within MSGand the college, information about whothe candidate is and why their fellowstudents should vote for them.

In addition to this information, aphotograph of the candidate is alsorequired.All of this information will be made

available to voters on election day.Ryan Palm, the current treasurer of

MSG, commented on this process.We feel this process is better than the

Letter of Intent process because thiswill allow voters to have more informa-tion about the candidates they are goingto select, he said.

Instead of blindly choosing candi-dates, students now have the option ofreading up on the candidates and makingan informed choice, he explained.

Palm went on to say that, Just as inthe presidential or congressional elec-tion, voters often wish to be informed

of who they are voting for, and we areproviding that opportunity.

Palm also explained the purpose ofsupplying a picture.

The idea of the picture is so thatvoters will be able to put a face with aname. Often times students might notknow a persons name, but they arefamiliar with the persons face.

This allows for a better informedchoice, Palm added.Anyone who plans to run for a MSG

position must fulfill the requirements ofcompleting the candidate form.They must submit their personal

photograph and also read the Rep-resentative Application Informationdocument on the MSG Web site.

Candidates must sign the last page ofthis document before April 5.The forms can be turned into the

Office of the Student Union & StudentActivities and the picture can be emailedto [email protected].

LiteraryFestivalpresents

wide arrayof talent

The Mercyhurst College LiteraryFestival brings its second artist, authorRobert Coover on Tuesday April 11.Coover, winner of the Willaim Faulkner

Award, will speak at 7:30 p.m in theTaylor Little Theatre. The event is freeand open to the public.

Coover is a professor in the literaryarts program at Brown University. Heis also a renowned American writer.He has written 15 books and his stylecan be described as fabulation andmetaficiton.

Coover has written many novels, someinclude The Origin of the Brunists,The Universal Baseball Association,Inc. Pricksons and Descants, ANight at the Movies, and Pinocchioin Venice.

He has won a variety of awards thatinclude The William Faulkner Awardand has received the DungannonFoundations Michael M. Rea Award

for his lifetime contribution to theshort story.Not only has Coover won awards, but

he has also contributed to the estab-lishment of the Electronic LiteratureOrganization (ELO). The ElectronicLiterature Organization is a non-profitorganization initiated in 1999 to pro-mote the creation and enjoyment ofelectronic literature.

English professor Dr. Kenneth Schiff,discussed the selection of RobertCoover as a speaker and the upcomingevents of the Literary Festival.

Schiff said he chose Coover to speakbecause he was quite famous and isan excellent writer. He thinks thatCoover is one of the major fiction

writers today.Schiff has read some of Coovers

short stories and enjoyed them becausethey are experimental and interesting.He hopes and expects that the audiencegains an appreciation of contemporary

Please see Festival on page 2

By Alecia GuerraContributing writer

ResearchColloquiumplanned

Kappa Delta Pi, the EducationHonors Society, is excited to presentthe First Annual Colloquium of Edu-cational Research and Teaching onMarch 31.This event will feature a number of

student presentations, panel discussionsand a presentation and question-and-

answer session by mental health expertJohn Perricone.

Dr. Ruth Auld, Assistant Professorin the Special Education Department,said that, the education department

wanted to organize this function toshow Mercyhurst College that educa-tion majors do more than make bulletinboards and that education majors haveto do a lot of research just like othermajors. All student presentations are from

Mercyhurst education majors whohave done research on everything frombias in the classroom, to stereotypesand socioeconomic status, as well asa number of presentations on ways toimprove the classroom environment forboth students and teachers.

The panel discussions will featurestudents who have chosen to modifytheir courses by making them keystonecourses.A keystone course, according to Auld,

is much like an honors course. Thesestudents have simply chosen to goabove and beyond in the classroom inorder to enrich their experience.

Keystone classes ask a student tolearn through the lens of an educa-tor. Through these projects students

will apply skills that they have alreadylearned and skills they will need for the irfutures in the classroom.

One major highlight of the Col-loquium of educational Research and

Teaching is the presentation on the Zenand Art of Public School Teaching by

John Perricone.Perricones presentation can actually

benefit not only Education majors, butalso students majoring in psychology,

Please see Teaching on page 2

By Jessica KocentContributing writer

The graph above displays the rise in tuition over the past three years,

along with the new tuition cost for next school year.

KatieDileygraphic


2/10

PAGE 2 THE MERCIAD March 29, 2006

To contact: [email protected]

The full U.S. Senate is due todebate a controversial immi-gration reform bill that wouldtoughen laws dealing with illegalimmigrants.

Demonstrations have beenheld over plans within the bill tocriminalise illegal workers.

President George W. Bush hascalled for a civil and dignifieddebate.The bill which was passed by

the House of Representatives in

December, has been attacked byboth conservatives and pro-im-migrant groups.

In its first step to full legisla-tion, the proposal was approvedby the Senate Judiciary Commit-tee on Monday.

Polls have closed in Israel in anelection billed as a referendum

on the future of the occupiedWest Bank. Despite last-minuteattempts to persuade people to

vote, turnout was the lowest inthe nations history.

Exit polls suggested a narrowlead for the new centrist Kadima

party, which proposes unilateral withdrawal from parts of theWest Bank by 2010.

The centre-left Labour party was placed second, while theright-wing former ruling party,Likud, slumped to fourth.The vote was called by Kadima

founder and Prime Minister Ariel

Sharon, who suffered a massivestroke in January that has left himin a coma.

More than one million peopleare estimated to have joined dem-onstrations across France againstthe governments controversialyouth employment laws.

Fighting broke out as protest-ers gathered in Paris, and missiles

were hurled at police as theymoved into the crowds to try toremove troublemakers.

Reports from Paris explain thatthe protest was initially mainlypeaceful, but the mood had de-

teriorated.Extra riot police were deployed

before the march, after a rally inParis last week led to running

battles. A nationwide strike has alsocaused travel chaos throughoutthe country.

Fossil hunters in Ethiopia have unearthed an ancient skull whichthey say could be a missing link between Homo erectus and modernpeople. The cranium was found in two pieces and is believed by itsdiscoverers to be between 500,000 and 250,000 years old.The projects director, Dr Sileshi Semaw, said the fossilised specimen

came from a very significant time in human evolutionary history.It was found at Gawis in Ethiopias north-eastern Afar region.

Palestinian militant groupHamas has won a parliamentary

vote of confidence, clearing theway for it to take power. The newadministration will be sworn intoday, two months after Hamassurprise election victory.

Incoming Prime Minister Is-

mail Haniya said this week thatHamas was ready to talk to inter-national mediators about solvingthe Middle East conflict. But thegroup rejects international pres-sure to renounce violence andrecognise Israels right to exist.

Compiled by

Corrie Thearle

World BriefsInternational news

Youth law protest

Ancient skull unearthed in Ethiopia

Low Israel Turnout

Immigration Bill

Hamas takes power

White House chief-of-staff resigns post

White House chief-of-staff Andrew Card has resigned and will bereplaced by budget director Josh Bolten.The move was announced by U.S. President George W. Bush.Bush said Card, 58, had suggested earlier this month leaving the

post that he had held since Bushs first day in office.The move comes amid a sharp drop in Bushs approval ratings and

calls for him to bring in new blood, a BBC correspondent says.Republicans have for months argued that the Bush administra-

tion fumbled a number of key issues and high-profile changes wereneeded, the BBCs James Westhead in Washington says.

Literary festival provides different outletsof enjoyment for all Mercyhurst members

Continued from page 1

literature.Coover will conduct a book

signing following his lecture. The Literary Festival willalso welcome Li-Young Lee on

Wednesday April 19.Lee is an accomplished poet

and poetry reader. The climax of the Literary

Festival will be the unveiling ofthe Lumen, Mercyhursts award-

winning magazine.Many students submit mate-

rial to the Lumen each year forpublication. The Lumen is comprised of

short stories, poetry and a wide

range of other artistic medi-ums.The Lumen will be presented

as both a hard copy magazine

and an interactive CD.This year, the Lumen will bein 3-D, accompanied by 3-Dglasses. The CD also includes dance

clips from the dance department,music from the music depart-ment and full color art from the

art department. This years Literary Festival

promises to provide enjoymentfor all members of the Mercy-hurst College community.

Writer Robert Coover will speak at the TLT on April 11.

Contributed photo


Family Consumer Science Pro-grams and Sociology.

Perricone has been a teacherfor nearly 30 years and has sucha wonderful presentation and

dynamic presence that he wasasked to write a book describinghis experiences.

In addition to his lengthy ca-reer in teaching, he possessesexpertise in the field of mentalhealth.

Perricones presentation willask the audience to participate in

exercises to find ones identity asa person and as a teacher.

He will also discuss the motivesfor becoming a teacher, what onecan gain form teaching, how toavoid burnout and mortality.Junior Ashley Herrmann, who

has played a major part in orga-nizing the colloquium said, You

dont have to be an educationmajor to get something out ofthis, and encourages everyoneto participate in this event.

EducationColloquiumoffers vitalinformation

On Friday, April 7 senior socialwork students will make theircontribution to the Erie commu-nity with The Different Fa c esof Poverty in Our Community,a panel discussion.

The discussion and luncheon will take place at the MartinLuther King Center from 11:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Cost to attendis $10.The panelists attending, whom

are all social service providersworking in the field, will provide

increased awareness of povertyin Erie.

Panel members will be repre-senting organizations in the Eriecommunity.

Some of these include Com-

munity Shelter Services, ErieHomes for Children and Adultsand the Second Harvest FoodBank of Northwest Pennsyl-

vania.Mercyhurst sociology and so-

cial work department chair Dr.Laura Lewis, who is advisor ofthe student-run project explained

the programs goals.The program goal is to in-

crease awareness of poverty inthe Erie area, provide a betterunderstanding of the resourcesavailable to low-income indi-

viduals and families as well as

the gaps in services and promoteincreased advocacy of poverty-related legislation, Lewis said.

Panelists will share the eco-nomic struggles of the groupsthey work with and also discussavailable services, including gapsin services as well.A presentation given by Mer-

cyhurst students on pending

legislation and its effects on low-income individuals will conclude

the event.Becca Piechochi, a senior social

work major, takes pride in the ef-forts of her and her classmates.

The issue of poverty is not

discussed enough and manypeople dont realize how large ofa problem it is right here in Erie,said Piechocki.The event is funded by a Mer-

cyhurst College Diversity Enrich-ment Grant.Tickets can be obtained by call-

ing Shirley Greene at 824-2266.

In a proactive effort to deal

with hate crimes and bias-basedacts, the Residence Life Officeis sponsoring a Stop the Hate

campaign.One way students can become

involved in this campaign isthrough the poster contest.

Brent Scarpo, 1984 Mercy-

hurst graduate, has becomeinvolved in the event.

Scarpo heard about the cam-paign through e-mail and im-mediately wanted to help.After speaking with Resi-

dence Life, Brent rounded upfive celebrity judges for theevent.

Two judges will be Scott WolfofEverwood and Party of Fiveand his wife Kelley of MTVs

Real World New Orleans.Another judge is Jeff Probst,

host of popular TV showSurvivor.

Renee Byrd-Mullins, daugh-ter of James Byrd, a hate crime

victim from Jasper, Texas willalso be a judge in the competi-tion.

Sue Bea Montgomery whosemost recent Hollywood pro-duction includes the movie

Hoodwinked,will be the fourthjudge. The final judge is David

Lewis, a former ColumbinePolice officer who was at thescene of the Columbine HighSchool shooting in 1999.

Scarpo has over twenty years

of experience as a speaker,educator, producer, writer,director and casting director inHollywood.

He has directed a documen-tary film, Journey to a HateFree Millennium and haspresented this program across

the United States, includingMercyhurst College.

This started off as a basicposter contest and now we areso excited at the turn it is taking.

We are going to make it a yearlyevent and this is a great way tostart, said Dara Zirkle, Assis-

tant Director of Residence Lifeand Student Conduct. The winning poster will be

unveiled at a reception onMonday, May 8.At that reception, cash prizes

of $500, $200 and $100 willbe awarded to the top threeposters.

Scarpo will be speaking atthis event, and all Mercyhurst

students, faculty and staff arewelcome to attend.

Residence Life is hoping thatthe local media will attend theevent in order to give this cam-paign and the winning postersrecognition in the community.

Zirkle said that by involvingScarpo, the celebrity judges andlocal media, students will havethe opportunity for a lot ofexposure of their work.

Laura Zirkle, Director ofResidence Life and StudentConduct, has been wanting to

do a Stop the Hate campaignfor a while.

She saw how other schools

had started programs like thisand how they have raised aware-ness of issues that are often nottalked about.Jill Long, Hall Director of the

Mercy Suites said, Res Life ishoping to make students moreaware of the issues of tolerance

and are very excited about get-ting quality posters.The Residence Life Office is

seeking submissions that willserve as a visual tool to educateand inform individuals about

the prevalence of hate-relatedacts and crimes.The winning poster will inno-

vatively and creatively expressa message of tolerance andcommunity through an originalartistic medium.

Each entry must include the

artists name, address, phonenumber and valid e-mail ad-dress on the back of each post-er. Posters should be no largerthan 9 inches by 12 inches.

Judges will base their selec-tions on expression of message,originality, artistic merit, andoverall impact.

The deadline for submissionwill be Tuesday, April 25.

Complete guidelines for sub-mission can be found in theResidence Life Office, 311 OldMain.This poster contest is funded

through the Diversity Enrich-ment Grant 2005-06

For questions about submis-sions, please contact Trina

Williams or Dara Zirkle at824-2422.

By Lakyn BiancoContributing writer

Teaching ToleranceStop the Hate poster contest seeks applicants to create

and design visual tools to educate and eradicate hate crimes

Social work majors examine poverty in ErieBy Zoe ContesContributing writer


Gannon University, whose tuitionrose to about seven percent.

Kelsey noted the increasing

number of students on campusdoes not have anything to do

with the tuition hike. Only ifwe had to add a faculty memberto the core courses to accommo-date the students, she said.According to Kelsey, the finan-

cial aid office has no intentions

of increasing scholarships forstudents to help with the cost.

The financial aid package is

fixed when a student comes tothe college in their freshmanyear, she said. Generally, thisis not adjusted while they are in

school.She also noted that the school

is aware of government cutson student loans, and said theschool understands students andfamilys financial needs.

We spend a lot of time onthis, she said. We only do whatis absolutely necessary.

Students, however, have mixedviews on the schools new price

tag.

I cant understand why weneed to increase tuition six per-cent, said junior Phil Hallman.

With my student loans alreadyhuge, and being a junior andtaking all my major classes now,the last thing I need is a tuitionjump.

Sophomore Breanne Spinellishares Hallmans opinion. Thisis crazy, she said. We payenough as is, and I am not really

sure where all the money goes.Sophomore Trevor Mattice

does not see the increase as

a burden. The rise in tuition

is reasonable, he said. Theschool has to compete with the

increasing tuition costs of otherschools, but raising it too muchcould result in a loss of currentstudents. Junior Andreana Simone

agreed. Every schools tuitionincreases every year, so I dontthink its that big of a deal,she said. My dad always tells

his friends that Mercyhurst is agood deal, and Im getting a goodeducation for the money that hespaying. Thats what matters.

Ismail Haniya is set to besworn in as prime minister.

Tuition increases 6.2% to pay for salaries, science labs


3/10

FEATURETo contact: [email protected]

March 29, 2006 PAGE 3THE MERCIAD

Spring and summer fash-ion is all about having funand experimenting withbolder patterns and prints,brighter colors and new silhou-ettes. Nothing screams summermore than the nautical style thatis making waves this season.

From the standard stripes, tobrass embellishments, to cordedtrims, sailor chic is the mostsophisticated theme for thissummer. Luckily, this trend iseasy for anyone to pull off, and,in fact, gives all wearers a verypolished and classy look fromhead to toe.

Nautical styles represent thesporty leisure that Americanfashion is known for, epitomizedperfectly by designers like RalphLauren, whom repeatedly comesback to this central idea for hiscollections.

Its a timeless look for spring,as it offers a smooth transitionout of winter by offering a shiftfrom darker colors to crisp whitesand golds. To get the nautical look this

season, all you need are a few keymix-and-match pieces in your

wardrobe. The most fundamental

aspect of the nautical theme isthe color.Traditional navy blue and white,

has now evolved to incorporateother colors, as well, such asblack, red and especially goldaccents. Stripes are a major com-ponent of this look, and usuallylook best horizontally on top,paired with a simple counterpartto achieve a clean, fresh look.

Equally important as the mainpieces are the tiny details that

make nautical styles so unique.Designers find nautical inspi-

ration everywhere and in themost unlikely places, such assplashes of color for footwearor handbags, brass trimmings,and over-sized buttons, which arefeatured on most nautical themedgarments.

From jackets, to T-shirts, toshorts, cute buttons trace theessence of nautical all the way

back to the Navy sailorsuniforms of the 1940s andpossess a fun, vintage ap-

pearance.Most importantly about this

look is to remember not to com-bine too many nautical pieces

into one outfit (you dont wantto look like a cheesy sailor, doyou?).Fortunately, this season there

is a larger variety of pieces tochoose from to get just the rightamout of nautical in your outfit.

A safe bet is simply pairing solidnavy and white with sea inspiredembellishments or a corded beltfor a sophisticated and lady-likestyle. This crisp, clean and classic

look is hotter than ever this sea-son, thanks mostly to designersfeaturing trends on the fashionrunways.

If you take a peak into anyclothing store, youre guaranteedto find cruise-liner styles to getyour wardrobe sea worthy whilethe weathers heating up.

Fashions from the high seas

This weekend, Kim McClelland,the artistic director of the Roadhouse

Theater, opened a chic new store, KimmiKs Gallery Tooloose, at 2716 PeachStreet.The small, inviting store offered soft

drinks as well as finger foods for thefairly large crowd that rolled throughthe doors.

Kim is calling her store a curiod-dessey shop. Weve all heard of curi-osity shops before, but Kim wanted toget a little creative...and she did! When Ientered the store I immediately thought60s meets India with a spiritual twist!This little shop is full of eclectic an-

tiques, original artwork from local artistsand authentic Indian artifacts orderedstraight from India and Morroco. In-cense filled the room and surrounded

the spiritual paintings and figurinesneatly placed throughout the store.

Kim has also incorporated clothinginto her store. I wasnt able to talk withKim directly because she was so busy

with sales but I did overhear her talkingwith customers.

Kim actually plans on getting manymore clothes into her shop but insteadof putting them up for sale she wants tototally redesign them. When her clothingcomes in, Kim will, literally, take themapart and add her own, creative twist to

the clothes.The store has a very calming feel to

it. Candles and soothing light makethe customers really feel the presence

of what the store has to offer. Largecushioned sofas, intricate fireplaces andconvenient tables invite the customersto sit and enjoy the atmosphere.Although Kim was busy and I was un-

able to speak with her, I got the chanceto speak with her husband instead. ScottMcClelland has been a large drivingforce in helping to open the store.

My biggest question for Scott waswhere his wife came up with the ideafor a store like this. Only living a fewblocks down the street, Kim regularly

passed the Victorian building and lovedits structure.

She always told me that she lovedthis house so much and she thought it

would be the perfect place to open astore Scott said.The idea of running two businesses

at once was an idea that brought manyquestions to mind for the couple, butScott knew that this is what Kim wantedso they went for it. They were allowed two months of

free rent to renovate the space andreally fix it up for the grand opening.

With new fixtures, paint, molding andsome rebuilding, the store became fullyfunctional and gives the eclectic space

character.I also asked Scott where the name of

the store came from. It was very Mou-lin Rouge inspired. Kim loved the John

Leguizamo character, Lautrec Toulouse,

and thought it would be a cool ideato name her store after him she justspelled it differently, Scott said, andpointed to the painting on their sign.This is a character of one of his paint-ings too. She loves his designs.

Scott pointed out to me that there isreally something for everyone in thisstore. Gorgeous antiques, contempo-rary art, exotic incense, unique hennaand goat skin lamps, greeting cards,calendars, 60s inspired posters as wellas scented oils and soaps are only someof the treasures that can be found atMcClellands store.

Prices are very reasonable, and I sawKim even bargain with a customer. Shejust wants people to get what they wantat a reasonabe price. The store will be

open Tuesday through Saturday 2-8p.m.

Youve got nothing ToolooseVisit Kim miKs Gallery Tooloose, a new store with unique art and antiques.

By Kate Collins

Contributing writer

Unique, antique lamps and vases are just a few of the goodies youll find in Kim miKs Gallery Tooloose.

Kate Collins/Contributing photographer

More memorabilia from miKs.

Kate Collins/Contributing writer

Kim miKs store sign.

Kate Collins/Contributing writer

At noon one day in April,Mayor Michael Bloomberg was

very publicly eating lunch inChinatown at the same momentthat the head of the tourismbureau was treating some upstatehigh schoolers to a Times Squareconcert by the cast of the hitshow Mama Mia!

In both cases, the message wasthe same: New York City is fun.New York City is safe. New Yorkis inexpensive, or at least lessunaffordable.

Hotel occupancy, Broadwayticket sales, restaurant checks

all the indicators of an impor-tant tourism economy werejust beginning to stagger backto pre-9/11 levels. Then camea long, brutal winter; a brief

Broadway musicians strike; the war in Iraq; and severe acuterespiratory syndrome.

Our industry is being bat-tered from so many differentdirections, said Jonathan Tisch,chairman of the Loews Hotelchain; the Travel Industry Round

Table; and NYC & Co., the citystourism agency.

Crowds are down all over, in-cluding the observation deck ofthe Empire State Building.

The winter just killed us, saidLydia Ruth, the buildings direc-tor of public relations. Throughthe end of April, well be down10 percent over last year.

Wall Street is New Yorks maineconomic (and tax) generator,but tourism is second, with animpact estimated by NYC & Co.at up to $25 billion a year.Wall Street has been in its own

slump for nearly three years,seriously wounding the cityscoffers.

But the mayor can have only alimited impact there. Instead, heand others have strained to getthe tourists to return.

Its a great time to come toChinatown, Bloomberg saidat the Sweet N Tart restaurant.You can get a table, and thefood is spectacular.The Times Square event was

meant to encourage studenttravelers to come back to thecity, said Cristyne L. Nicholas,president of NYC & Co.

There are still some schoolgroups reluctant to come to New

York City, she said. Nicholassaid the citys visibly heightenedsecurity including rifle-totingofficers at Grand Central Termi-nal and other high-profile spots

should allay concerns.But it isnt just school tours that

have shied away.Hotel occupancy for the first

quarter was 75 percent, accord-ing to PKF consulting, compared

with more than 84 percent for2000.

Even worse, the average dailyrate the hoteliers were able tocharge fell from $237 in 2000to $193.

Those are the lowest rates in

10 or 15 years, Tisch said. Busi-ness is quite challenging.

He said the casualties werespreading through all groups thatmake a living housing, feeding orentertaining visitors. When Midtown Manhattans

established French restaurantLespinasse where meal checksaveraged about $100 a head an-nounced earlier this month thatit was closing for economic rea-sons, many saw it as symptomaticof the wider downturn.The fewer travelers who do

come to New York arent spend-ing as freely as they once did.

Tisch said that high-end restau-rants are losing it around theedges, still able to fill tablesin prime time, but with moreseats empty around 6 p.m. orafter 10.

Particularly missed in New York are the longest-staying,biggest-spending tourists: theforeigners.

Nicholas said there have beennoticeably fewer visitors fromGermany and Japan since 9/11.

And there has been continued weakness in spending by U.S.business travelers on expenseaccounts.Arrivals at all three local air-

ports Kennedy, LaGuardiaand Newark plunged in 2001and recovered only partially in2002.

It is too early to say what im-pact the war, a soft economy, andSARS have had more recently,Nicholas said.

By Larry FishKnight Ridder Newspapers

New York Citys skyline as seen from the Jersey shore.

Contributed photo

New York City tourismstruggles to recover

ClarificationIn the story in the March 15 edition of the Merciad about the tropical marine biology classs trip

to Jamaica we neglected to say that Mrs. Summer Ekelund was also involved with the trip.

with Jen Gildea


4/10

Two Mercyhurst dance majors will be living out their dreamsby performing in New York Citythis April.

Lindsay Bonfante and JustinHogan will travel to Hunter Col-lege in New York to perform ahistoric ballet piece at the Shar-ing the Legacy Conference on

April 5-8. The Mercyhurst dancers will

perform a dance named LittleImprovisations that was origi-nally choreographed in 1953 by

Antony Tudor. Assistant Profes-sor of Dance C. Noelle Partuschreconstructed and taught thedance to the students.This years conference theme

is Reconstructions of the 20thCentury. Ten colleges fromacross the country are planningto participate.

Were one of the smallest col-leges going (to the conference),said Partusch. Mercyhurst hasone of only two ballets in theconference.

Partusch said being chosenfor the conference is a featherin the hat for these dancers andthe school. When asked about the up-

coming performance, Bonfantesaid, Im a little nervous aboutperforming in New York City.Not only is it a huge city, but itis definitely considered a hub inthe dance world.

The pressure is on to danceand perform well (because) not

only am I representing myselfas a dancer, but also the dancedepartment here at Mercyhurst,she said.

Partusch and the dancers ex-

plained their upcoming perfor-mance.The scene of Little Improvisa-

tions is a rainy, dreary afternoonin England. A brother and sister(ages 12 and ten respectively) areplaying indoors. The entire danceconsists of movements that aremeant to mimic the games andthings the siblings make up intheir nursery.

The movement itself tellsthe story. Its not just gorgeousmovement with emotion thrownon top of it, said Partusch. Itsnot a typical, accomplishedpiece like traditional ballets, sheexplained.

Its supposed to look like kids

are dancing, said Partusch. Thecostumes really help to portraythis image with big bows, a pinkdress and white shorts.Although the dancers are acting

like children, the piece is certainlynot created for the novice dancer.The dancers who perform LittleImprovisations must be well-trained in order to execute thedance movements. At the sametime, the dancers must concen-trate on making sure that theyare dancing like children, whichis often difficult.Tudor created the movements

so that it feels very awkward todance, explained the perform-ers. The dancers must work tomake the performance, whichincludes some difficult choreog-raphy, look perfect for a 10- or12-year-old.

Its a lot harder than it looks,

said Hogan after he performedhis solo the first time.

In addition to the dancing, theperformance also incorporatesa lot of emotion and acting inorder to tell the story. The danc-ers have very expressive facesto help the audience membersunderstand and relate to theperformance even more.

I love this piece! (Eventhough) it is not an easy (dance)to perform whatsoever. I lovethe acting aspect of it; I am ableto put myself in the role of a10-year-old girl and play with themovements, said Bonfante.

Partusch and Dance Depart-ment Chair Tauna Hunter bothhave previous experience withLittle Improvisations. Partuschperformed it for a senior projectat Purchase College and has setit before, and Hunter also per-formed it in college.

The piece is not done veryoften at all, said Partusch.

Both Partusch and Hunterlearned the piece from an in-structor who worked directly

with Tudor. Because of this,Mercyhursts Little Improvisa-tions is almost an exact replica-tion of the original. To ensure the performances

accuracy, Partusch is using hermemory, a video and a com-plicated form of written dancemovements known as Labono-tation. Every element of theperformance is being carefullyanalyzed from the movements tothe props to the costumes.

FEATURESTo contact: [email protected]

March 29, 2006 PAGE 4THE MERCIAD

A healthier column

If your idea of a fresh salad is apile of iceberg lettuce, a half cupof ranch dressing and a handfulof bacon bits, then think again. Although salad might seem

fit only for rabbits when notdrowning in dressing or adorned

with hunks of ham and cheese,there are healthy toppings whichcan spice up any bed of greens

which add flavor without all ofthe fat. A fresh salad is an excellent

way to obtain many vitaminsand minerals, which will helpyour body with many biochemi-cal processes.

Dark green vegetables contain vitamin K, which is importantfor blood clotting and is in-

volved with bone formation

and repair. Also, for all of youout there chugging orange juiceand munching vitamin C supple-ments to ward off a cold, youllbe happy to hear that a saladadorned with fresh fruit and veg-gies will give you a great boost ofthis vitamin.Vitamin C is not the cure for

the common cold, but it doesplay very important roles in thebody. For one, it helps to formcollagen, which helps providestructure to skin, teeth, bonesand some tissues. Vitamin A is also found in

carrots, spinach, red peppers

and many other vegetables. It isimportant for vision, the skinssurface cells, maintaining a goodimmune system and more.

Salads also contain many othervitamins and minerals, but the listand their benefits would be verylong. The addition of nuts, seeds,egg, fish, lean meat and cheese toa salad, and consuming this mealregularly is a great alternativeto spending money onsupplements.

Keep in mind thatmany supplements,such as Vitamin Cand B-Vitamins are

water-soluble vi-tamins. The bodycan only absorb somuch of each vitamin

every day, so any excess vitaminwill be excreted from the bodythrough urine.Therefore, a diet packed with

fruits, vegetables, lean meats andlean dairy is optimal, becausethe foods will naturally containenough vitamins for a healthydiet. Also, it will save you money

because food providessustenance, whereas a

bottle of vitamins willempty your pockets without filling you

up.

Vitamin packed Spring Salad

Directions1. Most importantly, wash every vegetable in cold water and dry with a paper towel before it enters the salad

bowl. If you have a salad spinner, spin the greens after washing and tearing in order to get the water off.

2. Rip lettuce into approximately 3 pieces. Add to salad bowl.

3. Carrots have much nutrition directly under their skin. Instead of peeling with a regular vegetable peeler,

scrape the skin with a chefs knife by dragging the blade down the carrot, but do not face the blade in the

direction the knife is moving, otherwise you will gouge the carrot. Just scrape repeatedly until enough of the

surface comes off to make the carrot look palatable.

4. Chop peppers into strips, make sure no seeds are present, and chop into 1 pieces.

5. Place chopped pears, grapes, almonds or sunflower seeds and chopped turkey in 2 strips into separate

bowls.

* This will make about 6 servings, so I usually make this at the beginning of the week and put the salad into

a container to eat between classes or on the run anywhere. Add dressing directly before consuming, and in

order to use the least dressing for the most flavor. Add dressing to salad in a sealed container such as a

Ziploc bag or plastic container, cover and shake so that dressing is evenly distributed.

* Enjoy a fresh dose of vitamins and minerals with this tasty salad, or alter dressings and vegetables to yourtaste for a unique yet nutritional creation!

With Jen

Ingredients

1 head romaine, red leaf or green leaf lettuce

5 Carrots

2 peppers (choose from red, green, orange or yellow)

2 pears (try Bosc or Bartlett)

About 20 purple grapes

Sliced almonds or sunflower seeds out of

the shell

Dressing: I recommend Kens

Steakhouse Light Caesar (only 6 grams

fat and 70 calories in 2 Tbsp.)

lb. Turkey, sliced thickly at the deli counter.

By Lori LetenderContributing writer

Mercyhurst dancers reconstructhistoric piece in New York City

Nothing is secret anymore.Everyone knows, hears or

even reads what you did, you aredoing or plan to do, thanks tothe worldwide mass media fadsMySpace, Facebook and blogsites everywhere.

No one is to blame for this in-formation getting out except forthe person who put it there. Thatis why it is important for every-one to know the possibility thatunwanted information may endup where it does not belong.

Dangers from Facebook can be

long-term, including harassment,stalking or even getting killed.Handing out valuable infor-

mation could get you in moretrouble than one could possiblyimagine. Some college graduateshave discovered the hard way thatFacebook is being used by poten-tial employers to look up infor-mation on job candidates beforethey even apply for a job.That is not all. Facebook and

Myspace are also being used asan admission tool at some col-leges, which has resulted in somepotential students being rejectedfor some foolish statement orphoto they posted on one ofthose sites.

Online social networking sitesand blogs threaten anyone thatmisuses them and are not edu-cated on how to properly handleit. Joe Howard, the Mercyhurst

assistant director of residencelife and student conduct, recentlyproduced a brochure warningstudents at Mercyhurst about thedangers of Facebook.

I hope that some people learnsomething from this, Howardsaid.

(Facebook is the) cutting edgeway to interact with people. Thisis going to be part of our culturefor awhile, he said. Instantmessage was hated during itsearly ages and now its a fan-tastic thing. I think this is too,but rather than play it down andnot encourage people to joinFacebook, you just need to makesure that people are educated andresponsible.The Facebook/Myspace con-

cept is interesting and fun, ifused properly to be able tonetwork not just among friendsbut also among people whosomeday might help land you agood job.

But for some people, they aresometimes doing just the op-posite.

Instead of making a valuednetwork system, plenty of hor-ror stories have occurred. Andstudents on campuses around thecountry are becoming paranoidabout it.

Student Affairs offices at manycolleges are under pressure tohelp their students with Face-book/MySpace troubles.

We have seen places to useit as a positive tool, said Laura

Zirkle, the director of residencelife at Mercyhurst. Where theyuse it for socializing, getting in-formation out and have studentscreate there own positive groupsand things like that thats good.But we have also seen it usedbadly.

I think it is about the choicethe students make and how theydeal with it. We decided to tryto educate students about it andsome of the threats and dangersthat come from it in hopesthey will make better. There aresome real safety issues. There aresome real long-term job issues

with it, she said.We certainly arent trying to

discourage it. I think that we arereally focused in trying to warnpeople about some choices thatthey will make to hurt or can hurtthem professional later on andthings like that.The majority of students un-

derstand there are real dangers

online.I think that the kind of illu-sion is that its a students-only

world, Howard said. Its kindof a place where you can blowoff stream and be crazy andshow your wild side. But its anillusion, he added. Its this illus-tion that gets kids in trouble.

We (Mercyhurst) have beenfairly lucky, Howard said. Wecertainly had a couple here andthere that have been brought toour attention that we had to deal

with. We want to prevent themfrom going in that (harmful)direction.

Facebook does not need to bedangerous but students need toeducate themselves.

We have learned that schoolswhich have been successful havebeen those that embrace it as partof the ir community, Howardsaid. So they encourage theirfaculty to be on it, they encour-age student government andemployees to use it. Facebookhas a lot of potential to be a reallygreat thing, he said.

We are encouraging faculty,staff and administrators to be onit. We are encouraging studentsto use it positively, Zirkle said.

The more people that attempt touse Facebook in a more positivelight the less harmful and danger

will it become.Incoming freshmen in Septem-

ber can count on learning aboutthe dangers of Facebook.

Certainly the brochures wehanded out this year, we will giveto students again, so that theyknow some of the danger beforethey get here to be careful aboutit, Zirkle said.

Facebook:friend or foe?By Katie McAdamsPhoto editor

Lindsay Bonfante and Justin Hogan practice their dance.

Katie McAdams/Photo editor


5/10

Ever since Facebook came to Mercyhurst wayback last year, students have been using it as aforum for expression and recreation.

I even know a few guys who used it to talk to

freshman girls before they even came to campus.Who knew the guys here were so nice!?

L i t t le d id w e k n o w that while we

were harm-lessly makingconnections

with our fel-l o w c l a s s -mates usinggroups like,

the cookie monsters and the classic its Pop notsoda club, (how dumb) there were other peopleusing FaceBook for evil.Yes its true, and just like any bunch there are a

few bad apples that threaten to spoil everything!Rather than putting pictures of themselves

playing checkers and doing charity work, theseirresponsible few opted to depict themselves par-tying and doing other things that people who goto real college do.

Naturally, the adventurous minds that constitutethe administration at Mercyhurst smelled fun and

wanted to get involvedwho could blame them?It was only after they got past the Erie wintersucks club that the reality of the situation hithome for them. After a thorough investigation, they came to

some shocking realizations about Mercyhurststudents. We were not only drinking, but we weredoing drugs as well, and sometimes we took pic-tures of ourselves doing it.

Immediately they set out on a mission to save usfrom ourselves. What would happen if GrandmaGertrude, Professor Perkins, Sam the Stalker or

anyone else who suffers from name alliterationsaw those pictures or some other important pieceof information? What would happen?!The truth of the matter is that this is not and

should not be the concern of the faculty of thecollege but the concern of the students whomanage a Facebook profile. There are instances

where community among students and faculty areappropriate and desirable but Facebook certainlyisnt one of them.

Having gotten this off my chest, I am going tocategorize the nude pictures I posted last night.

Sadly I cannot join in all the fun which takes placeon Facebook because I do not have an account. I

cant say that Im anti-Facebook because I wouldbe a hypocrite.I have a bunch of pictures posted on Webshots.

When Im falling asleep reading in front of mycomputer, Ifind myselfreading ran-dom profileson my Bud-dy List. Its

not that Ima stalker; Imjust bored andneed something to take my mind of how muchhomework sucks.

I think Facebook is just a much larger elaborationon this phenomenon. Instead of a small profile on

AIM, you can have a much larger and funnier oneon Facebook. If you end up spending 30 minutesjust laughing at funny stuff on Facebook ratherthan doing work, mission completed. We all needsome laughs everyday and if you can get that off

of Facebook, then its not so bad after all.Ive also heard of a bunch of people who are

contacted from old friends through Facebook.When you can hook up with someone whom you

havent seen in years because of Facebook, then itsserved another good purpose as well.Unfortunately, there is the new controversy about

people other than your friends scoping your profileonline. When Mercyhurst faculty and staff mem-bers are encouraged to create profiles and check outtheir students online, this is a gross violation of ourprivacy. Please dont try and claim that its in our

best interests because the last time I checked, Impretty sure most of us were adults and could makeconscious decisions when posting things online.

For the idiotic person who doesnt know thatanything they place online could be viewed byanyone (especially future employers), they deserveany type of repercussions that come from puttingup an incriminating photograph.

Its really sad to find out that once again the ad-ministration is overstepping its bounds and claim-ing that theyre only trying to stop students frommaking poor decisions. What students choose to

do in private is their choice, and they are the onlypeople that have to take responsibility for those ac-tions. I know I certainly didnt come to college tobe lectured both in and outside of the classroom.

OPINIONMarch 29, 2006 THE MERCIAD PAGE 5


MERCIADJosh Wilwohl Editor-in-Chief [email protected]

Corrie Thearle News Editor [email protected]

Melissa Jack Features Editor [email protected]

Allison Moore Opinion Editor [email protected]

Ryan Palm Sports Editor [email protected]

Melissa Brandt A&E Editor [email protected]

Katie McAdams Photo Editor [email protected]

& Production Editor [email protected]

Melissa Brandt Advertising Manager [email protected]

Chelsea Boothe Copy Editor [email protected]

Emily Crofoot Graduate Assistant [email protected]

The Merciad is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College.

It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms

week and finals week. Our office is in the Old Main, room 314. Our telephone

number is 824-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and

names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the letters

for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Letters are due the

Thursday before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit

letters to box PH 485.

The

The Good, the Bad, & the UglyThe Good

Sister Maura Smith, RSM received the Archbishop Oscar Romero Award on Tuesday. Sister

Smith is a vocal advocate of peace, justice and sustainability. This award is quite an honor andSister Smith is more than deserving as a recipient. Congratulations.

The annual Mercyhurst Literary Festival brings in its second artist on Tuesday, April 11. TheFestival always brings interesting and engaging speakers to campus. The Festival is bringing RobertCoover, the author of an impressive 15 books. Go and be intellectual!

Spring term is in full swing and already nearly 50 percent behind us. The sun is starting to shine,the birds are starting to sing and students can feel summer beckoning. Another year is quicklycoming to a close.

The Bad

The warmer weather, while bringing smiles to students faces, has also contributed to the rapidspread of germs across campus. It seems as if everywhere one goes people are sniffling or hack-ing up a lung. As we all know, germs spread like wildfire within the close quarters of college life,so please cover your mouth and wash your hands!!

The Ugly

Tuition has been raised again. Surprise, surprise. Another six percent increase will go into effectnext year, undoubtedly putting an extra strain on students and parents poketbooks. The school

asserts the increase is necessary due to escalating costs from salaries and structural changes, like thenew geology lab. With the latest tuition hike, the total cost of attending Mercyhurst now hoversaround $27, 000 . . . a daunting amount for current and prospective students to grapple with.

To have an eclectic group of people is an honorin any respect, whether it be in the form of a lunchcrowd, a close group of friends, classmates or evena sports team.

Surrounding yourself with persons that are

different from you is one way to enhance socialskills, learn about yourself and overall enjoy thecompany of others.

One aspect many colleges strive for in their ad-missions is to create a diverse student body.When most

people thinkof the worddivers i ty , they automat-ically assumea variety ofethnicities.

However,the word di-

versity does not mean the color of ones skin.Being unlike a mass group of people is what

makes you different. Factors such as socio-eco-

nomic class, the way you dress, religion, nationality,

the place you were raised (i.e. rural countrysideversus an urban setting) all contribute to diversity.The values and morals that people develop throughtheir upbringing, as well as different life experi-ences, are other factors that make an individualunique.A combination of such individuals is what makes

a community diverse. There is no doubt that living

in an assorted community makes a person morewell-rounded and understanding of persons otherthan themselves.When this understanding is reached, people can

begin to live among one another as neighbors and

friends. Equilibrium must be reached where peopleof different cultures can live and work together.An example of this is seen in the game of col-

lege admissions.In the case of our own institution, it is believed

by many that Mercyhurst does not have a diversestudent body. Whoever makes such a remark isobviously ignorant of the fact that diversity is nota black and white issue.The truth is we have a very diverse student body,

although it may not be obvious by simply lookingat people.We have international students from all over the

world and students from many different regionsof the country.

On the surface yes, a majority of the studentbody come from Caucasian middle class lifestyles.However, if you actually engage in conversation

with people outside of your safe social circle, you

will soon realize that the variety of which I amspeaking is not far below the surface.If schools truly want to emphasize a diverse

student body they will look past the box markedethnicity on applications and look at the applica-tion and interviews to see the individual for whothey really are and not a future statistic that they

will proudly display in the Princeton Review.

Diversity: More than skin color

Ms.Malarky

Mr.Malarky

EllenKoenig

Ask the MalarkysWhy is Facebook so popular with students . . .and now faculty and staff? Whats the big deal?

Dont like what youre reading?

Have an opinion?

Want to make an extra $10 a week?

If you want to see a change, then write forthe Merciad!

If youre interested in letting everyone know how youfeel about campus, local, national or world issues thensubmit your work!

Send your opinions to [email protected] and let your voice be heard!

Nothing creates a sense of urgency quite like a ticking clock orspeeding train.

In startling ads debuting Thursday, the Ad Council, the g roup thatcreated some of the most memorable public-service ads in history,agitates for action now to slow global warming.

Going straight to the public, the highly respected nonprofit bypassesthe ideological stalemate in Washington and brings the long contro-

versial issue into the mainstream. A successful campaign could inspirelong-needed aggressive action on this growing global threat.

Evidence mounts daily that melting ice caps, unusual weather andtropical-disease outbreaks are linked to the Earths increasing tem-perature. Scientists increasingly believe the world is headed toward

a tipping point, after which no action may be able to stop flooding,disease and species extinction. As the worlds worst contributor tothe problem, the United States needs to step up.Through history, the 64-year-old Ad Council has motivated people

with now-familiar phrases and old friends: A mind is a terrible thingto waste, The toughest job youll ever love, and Friends dont

let friends drive drunk. It used Rosie the Riveter to recruit workers,Smokey Bear to fight fires, and Iron Eyes Cody to Keep AmericaBeautiful.As in past campaigns, the Ad Council aims to change attitudes

one person at a time, not by lobbying Congress or the White House.Polling shows that Americans believe global warming is real, but con-

sequences are distant. Even if they want to mitigate climate changeseffects, they dont know what to do. The ads prod them into wantingto act and then show them how.

In partnership with Environmental Defense, the council created a

cute icon a globe, belted with a tape measure to encourage Americansto count carbs, as in carbon dioxide, a main contributor to climatechange. At fightglobalwarming.com, citizens will find easy steps toreduce harmful heat-trapping gas emissions around the house.Alone, actions such as running only fully loaded dishwashers and

washing machines seem trivial. But collectively, millions of Americans

pitching in could make a difference.If every household replaced three regular light bulbs with newcompact fluorescents, the United States could save the equivalentin emissions of taking 3.5 million cars of the road. Plus consumers

will save money. Although more expensive to buy, the fluorescentbulbs last 13 times longer. Energy efficiency is the heart of manyof the low-carb ideas.The Ad Council inspired Americans to buy war bonds, wear seat

belts, prevent crime and protect themselves from AIDS. It has theright message again: Protect the planet.

Global warming advertisements: Start counting carbsPhiladelphia Inquirer, editorialKnight Ridder Newspapers


6/10

1st year summer student employees - $6.00/hr2nd year summer student employees - $6.50/hr.

Students who work at least 180 hours during thesummer will qualify for a 50% reduction in their

housing.

Jobs available in maintenance, housing,and various administrative offices.

Applications may be picked up in Main 101 fromMarion Nies and should be returned by

April 21, 2006.

For more info contact: Marion Nies at ext. 2124.

Jesse Cook, the world-re-nowned rumba flamenco gui-

tarist, composer, arranger andproducer, is bringing his exoticsound and brilliant rhythms toMercyhurst College for the sec-ond time.

Last year, four performersaccompanied him from his vari-ous albums; this time there willbe six.With his charismatic persona

onstage and his wide-rangingmusical imagination, he trans-forms his unique flamenco styleand turns it into a blend of con-temporary global pop.When asked in an interview

with Milwaukee Journal Senti-nel whether or not he thoughtpeople in the United States wouldever stop listening to his music,

Jesse Cook responded, theonly way to really have a lifelongcareer in the music business is todo it on a worldwide scale.Jesse Cook was born in Paris,

and at three and a half yearsold moved to Canada, where hegrew up.

His mother had an insatiableinterest in flamenco music, so shegave her son a guitar.This was only the beginning of

this fantastic performers music

career.He instantly became a connois-

seur of music, exploring soundsfrom all over the world.

His signature style of play-ing can heavily be attributed tothe percussive approach of theGipsy Kings.To further his studies, Jesse

Cook attended Eli KassnerAcademy, the Royal Conserva-tory of Canada, York Universityand Berkley College of Music inthe United States.

Altogether, he has releasedfive albums including Tempest,Gravity, Vertigo, Free Falland his latest and most personalalbum, Nomad.

Nomad took over two yearsto collaborate and record dueto the cross-cultural music heincludes and the fusion of tra-ditional genres of music with ahost of world influences.

He traveled to seven differentcities in three different countries.Some cities on the itineraryinclude London, where he col-laborated with fellow membersof world music phenomenon,the Afrocelts.The next city on the list was

Cairo. There is a string sectionrecorded for Nomads dazzlinglead, track a traditional Arabtune, Qadduka-I-Mayyas.

Last on the list of diverseplaces was Madrid, to enhancethe vocals on the disc with theastonishing Barcelona-born,Gypsy flamenco sensation, Mon-tse Cortes for the feisty bulerias,Toca Orilla.

Currently, Jesse Cook tours allover the world including Canada,

the United States, Singapore,South Korea and New Zealand.

He reflects on dedicating hislife to listening to music froman array of cultures as diverseas Spain, Africa, Cuba, Egypt,France and Brazil: Learning mu-sic is sort of a lifetime goal. Youspend your whole life chasingthis elusive thing, says Cook.

He still finds at least threehours each day perfecting histechnique in addition to workingon new technique.

His music has been heard onthe television series, Sex andthe City.This performance promises to

be upbeat and culturally sundryand is guaranteed to have the au-dience entranced with jaw-drop-ping riffs and zealous rhythms.

Cook will perform at the MaryDAngelo Performing Arts Cen-ter on Saturday, April 8 at 8 p.m.For tickets call 824-3000 or visitthe Box Office. Mercyhurst Col-lege Student: $15.00 with ID (one

ticket per ID).For more information about

Jesse Cook and upcoming eventsin the PAC, please visit our web-site at http://pac.merchurst.edu/event/php.

ENTERTAINMENTARTS &



tHe

BuZzMARCH 29. 30 Secondsto Mars, Aiden. House of

Blues, Cleveland.

MARCH 31. Elevation (U2tribute). House of Blues,Cleveland.

MARCH 31. Lareau. Shaw-bucks, Jamestown, N.Y.

APRIL 1. Stone PonyBand: Tribute to BruceSpringsteen and Southside

Johnny, Pieces of Eight.House of Blues, Cleve-land.

APRIL 1. Eileen Ivers andImmigrant Soul. Reg LennaCivic Center, Jamestown,

N.Y.

APRIL 2. Johnny Hi-Fi.House of Blues, Cleve-land.

APRIL 3. Korn, Mudvayne,10 Years. Chevrolet Centre,

Youngstown, Ohio.

APRIL 4. Heartless Bas-tards, Soledad Brothers,

Whiskey Daredevils. GrogShop, Cleveland.

APRIL 5. Eisley. GrogShop, Cleveland.

APRIL 5. Tower of Power.

House of Blues, Cleve-land.

APRIL 5. Kittie. Rex The-atre, Pittsburgh.

APRIL 7. Galactic. Beach-land Ballroom, Cleveland.

APRIL 6. Saves the Day,Circa Survive, Moneen.House of Blues, Cleve-land.

APRIL 7. KC and theSunshine Band. House ofBlues, Cleveland.

APRIL 7. Joe Satriani. Pal-

ace Theater, Greensburg.

APRIL 8. Humor. DavidSedaris. Akron Civic The-atre, Akron, Ohio.

APRIL 8. Joe Satriani, EricJohnson. Agora Theatre,Cleveland.

APRIL 9. Anti-Flag, Ca-sualities. Agora Theatre,Cleveland.

APRIL 10. She Wants Re-venge. Grog Shop, Cleve-land.APRIL 11. Hinder, Theoryof a Deadman. Club Zoo,

Pittsburgh.

APRIL 11. Luka Bloom.Club Caf, Pittsburgh.

APRIL 12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Agora Theatre,Cleveland.

APRIL 13. EleventhDream Day. BeachlandBallroom, Cleveland.

APRIL 14. Tower ofPower. Town Ballroom,Buffalo.

APRIL 14. Red Want-ing Blue. House of Blues,Cleveland.

APRIL 14. Strokes. AgoraTheatre, Cleveland.

APRIL 15. Matchbook Ro-mance, Early November,Chiodos, Amber Pacific,Roses are Red. House ofBlues, Cleveland.

APRIL 15. Charlie Wilson.State Theatre, Cleveland.

APRIL 16. Toots and theMaytals, Southland. Houseof Blues, Cleveland.a Courtesy of GoErie.com.

Quince wins Battle of the Bands

Last Saturday the annual Battleof the Bands took place at theMercyhurst Athletic Center.Students experienced the SlamPoetry of Gary Williams and per-formances by 10 of Eries bands.Only one band walked away withthe $500 prize though.

Quince.The four members, Joe Stadler,

Brian Nevinsky, Steve Marzkaand Mercyhurst RIAP major PeteZawistoski, rocked the MAC and

walked away with the recognitionthey deserve.

Quince plans to use the moneyfrom the competition to record-ed a full length album and investin promotional material.

Its going to pay for puttingout the CD and getting moret-shirts made.

Quince has been together forabout three years. Theyve playedshows in Erie, Edinboro, W.V.,

Ohio and N.Y.Zawitoski says the band plays,

kinda straight out rock and rollwith Indie and punk influences.

I think its kind of pointlessto stereotype bands anymorethough.

Other bands who competedwere Rob Morrison, EZ Compa-ny, The Apple Pirates, The PlasticBlue and Sour Diesel Experi-ment, Altered Dominance, SevenSecond Chances, Skulldeathgut-corpse and Copernicus. The event was put on by the

Mercyhurst Community Club(with SACs help) to raise moneyfor the Community of Caring. The Community of Caring

is a shelter in Erie that is forhomeless persons with mentalillness, substance abusers (drug& alcohol) and anyone in need ofemergency temporary shelter.

Club Vice President Katie Beilsays, At the event we raised over$200, which is really an accom-plishment for our club.The revenue was made from

collected donations throughoutthe night and also raffled offmerchandise that Skulldeathgut-corpse, Seven Second Chancesand Copernicus donated.The night was a great success

for the shelter and especially forQuince.It was one of the best shows

we played in a very long time,the crowd was really cool, saysZawistoski.

Look for Quince next year atBattle of the Bands.For more information in the

mean time, access www.myspace.com/quince.

By Melissa BrandtA&E Editor

Jaw-dropping Cook to entertain at the PAC

By Christina FerrantiContributing writer

Jesse Cook promises to amaze with his rhymthic styles.Photo courtesy of the PAC

Larry and blue collar diningBy Sarah CaramContributing writer

Sick of seeing previews for

comedies that trick you intothinking they are something that

will make you laugh so hard thatyour side hurts?

If so, comedian Larry theCable Guy who brought you thefamous saying Git-R-Done ofthe Blue Collar Comedy Tour,

will break the cycle of disap-pointment with his laugh outloud new movie called Larry theCable Guy: Health Inspector.

Filled with nonstop politicallyincorrect phrases and good olebathroom humor, this film isguaranteed to make you laughmore than any other standardcomedy of today.

Before the basic plot of the

film, you should be aware thatthis movie is definitely of interestto the Erie audience.

Fifteen minutes before showtime Friday, March 24, Larrythe Cable Guy: Health Inspec-tor was pronounced sold outfor that time slot.

Now to the plot. Larry theCable Guy: Health Inspectoris about a man named Larry

who works in a profession thatdemands order and cleanlinessfrom its clients, but he himselfis anything but.

Larry is a man who is incred-ibly messy and pretty much flatout disgusting and who isnt fond

of playing by the book.He is soon assigned an ex-

tremely organized partner named

Amy (played by Iris Bahr) whoplays completely by the rules andhas the health code memorizedby heart.

Larry and Amy live on com-pletely opposite sides of thetrack and struggle to find a wayto put up with each other.Within their town, there is a

contest where all of the expen-sive, high quality restaurantscompete to become one of twofinalists who enter a cook-off todetermine the winner of a largesome of money.

Larry and Amy soon discoverthat many of the contestantsare having mysterious cases of

food poisoning that ruins theirreputations and knocks them outof the contest.

Larry and Amy soon believethat these contestants are beingsabotaged and are faced with thetask of solving this unique case

while trying not to kill each otherin the process.While the plot isnt one that is

uniquely special, the performanceand style of Larry the Cable Guycertainly makes up for it. This will make you laugh so

hard that you might miss the nextpunch line, guaranteed to sendyou into another fit of laughterand because of that, it is defi-nitely a movie worth seeing.

Larry the Cable Guys big-screen comedy promises laughs.Photo courtesy of www.healthinspectorthemovie.com

The four band members of Quince won the $500 prize at this years Battle of the Bands.Photo courtesy of Pete Zawistoski

Recycled Percussionbrings in the beat

Three drummers and oneturntablist will fill the PAC withrhythms from recycled instru-ments. The group is known for the

ballistic visual show and mes-merizing muscle-driven drum-ming. Whats unique is what theyre

drumming on. The four membersof Recycled Percussion createmusic from buckets, industrialdrums, monstrous power tools

and one massive drum kit.Dont let the derelict music

sources cloud your impressionof the group, though. Theseboys are masters at their craft.Founder Justin Spencer boaststo be the worlds fastest extremedrummer. The crew promises astonish-

ing musical discipline, physicalathleticism and an amazing visualperformance.

SAC encourages all studentsand faculty to attend the showon April 1 at 9 p.m. in the PAC.Contact the PAC for more in-formation.

By Melissa BrandtA&E Editor

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT

at Mercyhurst College


7/10

ENTERTAINMENTARTS &

March 29, 2008 THE MERCIAD PAGE 7


Reservoir Dogs explodes on stageBy Melissa Brandt

A&E Editor

Try your best to avoid pictur-ing the well-known directorof the Kill Bill volumes andReservoir Dogs in leotardsand Shakespearean ruffles afterthis next sentence.

Quentin Tarantino, on stage.

Well, not him exactly, but theRoadhouse Theatres adaptationof Reservoir Dogs certainlydoes a great job of bringing hischaracters to the Erie audience.The Roadhouse Theatre re-

ceived special permission from Tarantino to adapt his mov-

ie script into a stage perfor-mance.This year marks the 10th pro-

duction of Reservoir Dogsat the Roadhouse, so if yourewondering if the transition fromstage to screen really works, theanswer is yes.

Answering the why is morecomplicated, but without de-stroying the mysticism behindthe magic of the theater toomuch, there are a couple rea-sons the show seems to be sosuccessful.

For one, there is a blend ofTarantinos film produced ele-ments and stage-necessitated

changes that make the showfluid and realand funny. Tarantinos super sounds of

the Seventies musical choic-es from Roadhouse Theatres

speakers are powerful tools thatbridge the gap between the bigscreen and the open stage.Then of course, the actors.From stature to voice quality,

the actors are able to success-fully mirror Tarantinos originals.The physical likeness of nearly

all the characters to their Hol-lywood counterparts was reallyamazing. The most impressive resem-

blance of the g roup was byartist Mark Gardener, (his art is

on display in the theatre) whoplayed the role of Mr. Pink.

Steve Buscemi played thischaracter in the motion picture.Gardener captured the samemannerisms Buscemi employedin the movie with great suc-cess.

If Mr. Pink was one of your

favorites in the movie, he will beon stage, too.Aaron Pacy plays the role of

Mr. Blonde (Michael Madison)and fits the role to a tee. Fromsoda sipping to ear-severing cha-

cha-chas, youll be impressedwith his performance.Director Scott McClelland

played the role of Joe Cabot,and is responsible for bringingthe production to the stage.While the actors (others in-

clude Rick DiBello, Mike Lech-ner, Chris Bucci, John Biggieand Bryan Lechner) all workedtogether flawlessly to recre-

ate the tension of Tarantinosscenes, there is something to besaid for staging and effects.The lighting effects and scene

staging only add to the produc-tion, pulling the audience intoa completely believable andentertaining experience.

Performances are Fridays andSaturdays at 8 p.m. until May 6.Reservations are a must for

this show and can be made byphone at 814.456.5656 or inperson at the Theatre Box Of-fice 145 West 11th Street.

Tickets are $5 with a studentID, $10 regular, $12 riser and$15 VIP.

Mark Gardener, Rick DiBello and Aaron Pacy in the Roadhouses Reservoir Dogs.Photo courtesy of Rick DiBello

Spring films at the PACFilm, Paradise Now examines the bonds of friendship tested in a time of hardship.

Photo courtesy of the PAC

Paradise Now is a grippingand timely story of two men whoare recruited as suicide bombersby a Palestinian organization.

Sad (Kais Nashef) and Khaled(Ali Suliman) are childhoodfriends who work as auto me-chanics together in the West bankcity of Nablus.When a Palestinian man in-

forms Sad that he and his friendhave been appointed to carry outa suicide mission in Tel-Aviv,the two men must spend their

last 48 hours preparing for themission while keeping the plana complete secret from theirloved ones. As the impending mission

weighs in on the two men, Sadbegins having doubts when hethinks of his girlfriend, Suha(Lubna Azabal) and her differing

views about the act of violenceagainst Israelis.

Nevertheless, Sad and Khaleddecide the promise of a glori-ous afterlife in paradise is afair exchange for the suicidebombings.

As the duo cross into Israel,the plan goes array, and Khaled

backs out of the mission. Sad,however, decides to continueon alone.

Suha and Khaled travel to-gether to find Sad and try tochange his mind before its toolate. This is a compelling moviethat reveals the lengths that some

will go to if they believe that theirrewards will be even greater inparadise.

Paradise Now also exempli-fies the great bond between twofriends and how far one friend

will go to save another. ParadiseNow will play on Wednesday,

April 5 at 2 and 8 p.m. in thePAC.

By Megan OHareContributing writer

Experience the relationships and tensions couples fight to overcome in Junebug.

Photo courtesy of the PAC

Junebug tells the story of an art curatormeeting her husbands eccentric family for thefirst time. Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) is thehigh-society British woman who travels to NorthCarolina to visit a rural artist who happens to livenear her in-laws.

She is astonished when she meets Georgesfamily in N.C.

Amy Adams (nominated for an Oscar for BestSupporting Actress) delivers an outstanding per-formance as the quirky Ashley, the high-spiritedsister-in-law who is expecting her first child withher husband, Johnny (Benjamin McKenzie).

This film is an excellent interpretation of theexperience we all face when we meet a significantothers family for the first time.

Peg (Celia Weston) is the uptight, critical motherof the family who instantly dislikes her son

Georges new wife.She seems to want the best for her sons, but

in the process does not consider what they wantfor their lives. The father of the family, Eugene (Scott Wil-

son) is overshadowed by his controlling wife andspends most of his time secluded from the rest

of the family.They have gotten used to their everyday life in

N.C. and when George and Madeleine come tovisit, the whole family is turned upside down.

Junebug re-examines the relationship betweenfamily and what is most important in life. Mad-eleine learns more about George and begins torealize that she must love his family for who they

are and be there for them over anything else.Junebug will be shown on Wednesday, April

12 at 2 and 8 p.m. in the PAC.

The Frays unprejudice appealBy Joe FidagoContributing writer

Upon seeing that commercialon VH1 for Artists You OuttaKnow for the thousandth time,I finally decided to go online andsee exactly what bands VH1 felt

were so groundbreaking.According to VH1, The Fray

was one of these bands (Imsure this isnt new informationto you if you have watched VH1for more than 20 minutes at agiven time).

Shortly after all those commer-cials ran, I read someone describ-ing The Fray as a cross between

Jimmy Eat World and Coldplay (across between anyone and Cold-

play is going to grab my attention I dont care if the other artist isWang Chung).

I knew then that I had to checkthis band out.

So, curiosity getting the best ofme, I decided to check out theiralbum, How to Save a Life.

Now I know this CD came outin September, so it isnt techni-cally a new release, but it is good,so you should know about it. The CD starts off with the

song She Is, which is a niceopener to the disc, and gives

you the idea of what you are infor from the rest of the album

as well.The next track, Over My Head(Cable Car), was the single re-leased, and is one of my favorites,along with All at Once.

Over My Head is a songthat is very easy to relate to foreveryone.

It talks about how even thoughyou are in a situation that youthink is perfectly under controland you can come out on top, ev-eryone else knows that in realityyou are in way over your head.

As everything comes to acrashing halt you still think thateverything is fine, but then thereality of you being a part of thepast / the part that doesnt last

in someones life finally kicks in.All at Once is a song writtenabout someone who is tryingto find that perfect person tobe with, a situation I think wehave all encountered, either firstor second-hand, being collegestudents.The song is saying that instead

of sitting around and trying tofind the person that will offer youno doubts whatsoever that theyare the one, just get out thereand open your eyes.

Someone you see all the time

could be perfect for you but youmay never see it.

Perfection is impossible to find,and the person you are lookingpast might not wait around muchlonger for you to make up yourmind then you will be left withnothing at all.

My only gripe with this albumis that the CD starts off so up-beat, but then the second half ofit is almost all slower songs.They should have done a better

job of mixing the order becauseI have a feeling that most people

will never go past the halfwaypoint in the CD after a fewlistens.

The songs arent bad, theyare just too mellow to be placedone after the other in the order

they are.This band can be appreciatedby anyone I let someone bor-row the CD over spring breakand they told me that not onlydid they like it, their parents didas well.Thats not a statement meant to

deter you from giving this a go,just to show you how versatilethis band really is. If you likemusic, youll like this CD.

Its that simple.

Check out the album, How to Save a Life, by VH1s commonly featured band, The Fray.Photo courtesy of www.thefray.net


8/10

SPORTS



LAKER

Tom Cashman had a promisingfuture in baseball ahead of him.

He was a top prospect amongseveral Major League teams, and

was a standout player in his twoyears as a starting first baseman atthe University of Pittsburgh. A severe injury to his domi-

nant throwing and power handchanged all that.

Cashman is the new hittingcoach of the baseball team atMercyhurst and has had an im-mediate impact.The baseball team has gotten

off to a great start this season,

and Cashman has played a largerole in the teams development.The team batting average so far

is .347, higher than last years by100 points.Through the first 21 games of

the season, the Lakers have sixhomeruns and have outscoredtheir opponents 154-88.The offensive production is a

huge turnaround from last sea-son when the Lakers won withdominant pitching.

Tom has been a great additionto this team. The players have

really taken to him and his knowl-

edge of the game has helped usa great deal, head coach JoeSpano said. Two years ago, Cashman, in

his senior year at the Universityof Pittsburgh, was one of thetop prospects in college baseball

when a car accident that severed atendon in his right hand changedeverything. The rehab on the injury was

extensive, but Cashman couldnot return to the form he was in

when he played at Pitt. At the time, he was being

scouted by such Major Leagueteams as the Pittsburgh Pirates,Cleveland Indians, CincinnatiReds, Montreal Expos (now

the Washington Nationals), Se-attle Mariners, and San DiegoPadres.

Cashman was a junior collegetransfer when he went to Pitt.His baseball eligibility as a Pan-ther lasted two years.

He went undrafted, but hookedup with the Mid-Missouri Mav-ericks of the Frontier League.

The Buffalo, N.Y., native was notcomfortable in Missouri, and hisstint there lasted only a coupleof weeks.

He returned to Buffalo and

remained there until he got an

offer from the Padres to play onthe Richmond Roosters of theFrontier League.With a solid performance in the

minors, Tom would have had theopportunity to play at the MajorLeague level.

However, his hand injury pre- vented him from moving upany further in the professionalranks.

For the first summer in a longtime, Cashman in 2005 was outof the game of baseball.

I was down for quite a while.Being away from baseball wassomething I was not used to atall, he said.

By coincidence Cashman found

his way to Mercyhurst College.Spano was running a baseballcamp last summer, and Cash-mans brother was scheduled totake part.The summer camp fell through,

and Spano called the Cashmanhouse to break the news.Tom Cashman took the call be-

cause his brother wasnt home.Spano and Cashman talked

baseball, and Spano invitedCashman to Mercyhurst in thefall to help with the team as aconsultant.

After attending several prac-

tices, Cashman agreed to stay onas the teams hitting instructor.The decision has paid dividends

to both the Mercyhurst baseballprogram and for Cashman.

Just to be back around thegame and actively involved hashelped me out a lot, he said.Once I settled in here I startedhaving fun. Ive gotten to knowthe guys really well and we havebecome really close. Hopefully I

will be back next year too.Cashman has had a positive

impact on the program in just ashort time.

Tom is an excellent teacher.He is very knowledgeable in thegame of baseball overall, not

only as a hitting coach, Spanosaid. He takes his role veryseriously and I have really gottenthe sense that the players are con-necting with him. His strength isthe one-on-one attention that hegives to each player.

Cashman had a bright future inbaseball, and despite his injury,his future burns bright now as acoach in the sport that he loves.

His road back to the game hasnot been an easy one, but he didit all for the love of the game.

Hitting coach Tom Cashman has helped Joe Mariano(above) and the other Lakers improve at the plate.


Asisstant coach pays off for baseball

By Chris Van Horn

Contributing writer

And on the Second Day, theyrested.Then they did media.So goes the brave new world

at George Mason University,a world in which a dozen re-porters and a half-dozen morecamera crews from around thecountry crowded into coach Jim

Larranagas small office at the Pa-triot Center on Monday, anxiousto know the secrets of a teamthat has suddenly thrust itselfinto the national consciousness

with its improbable run to theFinal Four.

Im very worn down rightnow, Larranaga said, but theresnothing Id rather be doing thanthis.

He was asked if hed be re-cruiting right now if not for thisstrange confluence of playersand moment, this run to India-napolis.

I am recruiting right now,he said.

Indeed. No matter how high

your recruiting budget, no matterhow many seats you can put in anew building, nothing gets theattention of a young man witha sweet jumper like being onnational television. Mason hadthe country all to itself Sunday

when it knocked off Connecti-cut. Saturday, the Patriots willagain be on center stage, playingFlorida in the first of two na-tional semifinals.Two wins away from the na-

tional championship.To call the Patriots underdogs

now would be folly. If they beatMichigan State, North Carolina,

Wichita State and Connecticut in

succession, why on earth wouldyou think theyd be scared ofFlorida?

In the back of your mind, youstill have to write underdog,senior guard Lamar Butler saidMonday. You still have to writeit. As long as you write it, I dontmind it, because the other team

will probably read it. I thinkeverybody knows were legit. Wematch up well with Florida. Imlooking forward to that game onSaturday.

First, though, Butler had toplead with his History of Vio-lence and Crime professor for amakeup exam.

Finally! Something these kidsare nervous about. On the court,they seem to fear nothing andno one.The only teams left in Masons

way are the Gators,LSU. andUCLA. At the Johnson Center on

campus, where a food court,library and bookstore form ahangin-out nexus for students,

they were showing Masons winover Connecticut all afternoonon a big screen hanging 50 feetabove the floor. Not everyone

was watching; these are youngadults, after all, and many hadother more pressing matters.But a lot of eyes were glued tothe screen, as if they werent surehow it would turn out.

There were hundreds of

people here on Sunday, saidAutumn Pusateri, a sophomorecommunications major. They

were here an hour before thegame, lined up. People every-

where.On the big screen, UConns

Denham Brown was drivingdowncourt again, with secondsleft in overtime, again, Mason uptwo, again.

Brown rose up and shot,again.

He missed it! said CBSs Verne Lundquist.

And there was applause,again.

The Patriots are the feel good story of the tournament.


By David AldridgeKnight Ridder writer

George Mason preparedto beat odds in Final Four

Shelby Chaney, a three-yearletterman on Gannons basket-ball team, closed out last season

with a win against the MercyhurstLakers.

Chaney will do the unthinkable(to the Gannon community) andopen next season playing forGary Manchel and the Lakersrather than against them.

Chaney, who has said he isleaving Gannon due to a dis-agreement on playing style withfirst-year head coach John Reillytold Duane Rankin of the Erie

Times-News that Mercyhurst ishis new team and he cant waitto get started.

I feel like I am a good jumpshooter and I want to show that,Chaney also told the Times-News.The Lakers were in desperate

need of a big man down low with

the graduation of Jeff Daisleyand Andy Kubinski and the teamhopes that Chaney will step inand fill or even improve the Lak-ers at the forward position.

Ive coached against him forthree years and anybody you haveto double team as a scoutingreport, shows a sign of respectsand a sign of talent, Mancheltold the Times-News.

Chaney a 6-9, 240-pound for-ward, has shown signs of anabove average player while play-

ing for the Golden Knights.In his sophomore year, Chaney

averaged 14.8 points per gameand was named to the All-GLI-

AC team.Last season Chaney was second

on Gannon in scoring (12.0 ppg)and rebounding (9.4 rpg).

Look for this move to makenext years series against Gannona more heated atmosphere thanever before.

Lakers grab a KnightBy Matt JacksonCo-sports editor

John Leisering, known for working long hours and goingabove and beyond expected re-quirements, is stepping down asMercyhurst Sports InformationDirector after eight years of workin the department.

Leisering began his work atM

Date post:	08-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	themerciad
View:	218 times
Download:	0 times

The Merciad, March 29, 2006

Documents