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NEWSPage 2 January 5, 2011
Hursts graduationrate 13th in nation
Mercyhurst College is in the top20 for best graduation rates amongmany colleges and universities.
The Chronicle of Higher Educa-
tion recently ranked Mercyhurst astying for the 13th best graduationrates out of the 555 schools desig-nated as masters universities.
The Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion used six years of federal informa-tion up to 2008 to compile the list.
Mercyhursts graduation rate of73 percent earned the school itstop 13 spot. This graduation ratemeans that 73 percent of first-timestudents who enroll during fall termgraduate with a degree from Mercy-
hurst within six years. Vice President of Enrollment
Management Michael Lyden, Ed.D,explained why Mercyhurst is able tomaintain a high rate.
The number one reason is thequality of our academic programsas well as the average financial aidpackage that out students receive,he said. Many students and parentsfeel that Mercyhurst represents anexcellent value compared to manyother colleges or universities.
The graduation rates of Mercy-hursts athletes help the colleges
overall graduation rate.Lyden said the graduation rates
of Mercyhurst athletes are muchhigher than almost any other Divi-sion II school.
Not only are their graduationrates higher, but their grades arehigher too.
The womens softball team at
Mercyhurst has an average GPA of3.6, the second highest Division IIGPA in the country.
The colleges location helps toattract students as well. Many stu-dents who live within a few hoursare drawn to Erie.
Erie is able to attract studentsfrom many major metropolitanareas, such as Cleveland and Pitts-burgh.
The distance from these areas isthe right amount for students who
want to get away from home butstill be close enough for family to
visit.I love the beautiful campus and
friendly faces here, freshman Cor-vette Morrison said. Mercyhurst ismy home away from home.
Sophomore Kyle McIntyre likesthe Mercyhurst campus for its livingarrangements.
I like the school because weget to live in apartments starting atsophomore year up instead of alwaysliving in resident halls, he said.
In a recent press release Lyden
explained how other colleges selec-tion processes allow them to havehigher graduation rates.
Most of the other top-rankedschools, such as Villanova and Provi-dence College, for example, are muchmore selective in their admissions
when compared to Mercyhurst.He explained that Ivy League
schools, such as Harvard, haveextremely high graduation rates butonly admit about 10 percent of stu-dents who apply.
At Mercyhurst, about 80 per-cent of applicants are acceptedand qualifications are not as strict.
This enables Mercyhurst to provideopportunities for students who maynot have done as well in high schoolor had lower SAT or ACT scores.
Lyden has high hopes not onlyfor these students futures but for
Mercyhursts future as well.I think our graduation rates will
only get better and that Mercyhurst will move into the top 10 out of500 other schools in the next fewyears, he said. My reason is that
we are admitting excellent studentsand every student that we admit toMercyhurst has the personal abilityto graduate and be very successfulin either their chosen career, gradu-ate or profession school.
By Stacy Skiavo
Staff writer
By Kelly Luoma
Managing editor
Correction
The Dec. 15 issue of The Merciad contained a story titled,Cost of play: How Mercyhurst funds its varsity athletics. In
that story, several key figures were incorrectly reported.
Mercyhurst College spent $76.6 million in 2009-10, but thattotal does not include the amount spent on financial aidan
addition of nearly $36 million that was left out of our story.Thus, Mercyhurst spent 9.6 percent of its total budget on athlet-ics last year, not 14 percent as the story stated.
The Merciad also reported that the college spent more than$250,000 in game-day expenses on mens basketball and footballlast year, which was incorrect. The actual total was $235,102.
Finally, Edinboros reported athletic participant count was 406,while the 2009-10 official total was 347. We apologize for theinaccuracies, skewing of numbers and any confusion they may
have caused.
LakerNet not yet
gone for good
The Mercyhurst Portal was sup-posed to be phased out by Laker-Net at the end of December.
The phasing out of LakerNet was pushed back because peoplestill use the site for the quick links,
Web Programmer Matt Engelsaid.We just want to be careful about
the pace we introduce new changeor changes, he said.
On Tuesday a banner was addedto the top of every page except themain page of LakerNet that says,This web page has been archived,but made available for histori-cal purposes. To view more cur-rent information please visit themy.mercyhurstportal.
No new information will beadded to the LakerNet pages, andinformation will gradually disap-pear from the site. The site willmost likely be gone by the start ofspring semester.
Although the IT staff is notquite ready to get rid of LakerNet,all necessary information has beenadded to the portal.
The core set of departments that were on LakerNet are all on theportal, and on Dec. 22, single sign-
on to Blackboard was added.Since Nov. 15, the porta l has had
11,037 unique visitors. This is alarge increase from the 1,569 people
who visited the portal during Sept.4 through Oct. 4.
Engel said he thinks the amountof visitors is where it should be,but he said he would like there tobe more consistency between howmany people visit the portal each
day of the week.Mercyhurst students are work-ing on adding features to the portalthat would increase the number ofpeople who visit the site on Sat-urdays, which is the day with thelowest number of visitors.
Junior Scot Bly is working on aWhats Cookn section for the web-site that would allow students to
write if they like or dislike the mealthat is being served on campus atany given time.
Sophomore Amanda Grim isworking to add a Mercyhurst clas-sifieds page.
Engel is looking for studentswho are interested in joining a stu-dent technology committee that
would discuss technology ideas.Interested students should con-
tact Engel at [email protected].
Read the full version of thisarticle at merciad.mercyhurst.edu/news.
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FEATURES January 5, 2011Page 3
Happy New Year!
What is your New
Years resolution?
Focus on develop-ing real relationshipswith people in person(face-to-face with actualcommunicating), in com-parision to the virtualfriendship of lots of Face-
book and texting.-Natalie Pertz, freshman
To read at least threeclassic novels notrelated to school work inany way. I think litera-ture classics and readingin general are an unde-
rutalizied tool of relax-ation that I would liketo take advantage of.-Megan Duane, senior
To not spend money
unless absolutely neces-sary--- bread and milkare a necessity; iTunesand clothes are not.-Adam Ferrari, sopho-more
Alum featured in painting
at Army Aviation Museum
No Safe Haven will hang in the U.S. Army Aviation Museum.
The painting was created by artist Larry Selman.
Contributed photo
Stay active to beat the winter blues
The best way to beat the winter
blues, says Student Health Centercounselor Judy Smith, Ph. D. is to
resist the urge to sleep the season
away, and instead be active.
This is easier said than done with
a foot of snow on the ground and
a pile of homework waiting in your
dorm.
Its hard for people to even get
out of bed with a situation like that
to look forward to.
To fight these blues, Smith urges
students to get out of their dorm or
apartment with friends.
Organize a breakfast squad of
friends who agree to wake each
other up, get to class and grab
breakfast, says Smith.
Its important to stay social inthis weather, because while elec-
tronic communication is great,
having people right there with you
makes you laugh, move and get
energized, she says.
Another way to stay active
during the winter is to get involved
in a winter sport. Even sledding in
Garvey Park gets students up and
out of their dormitories.
Also students can check when the
college is hosting an open skatingsession to get themselves moving.
Even go for a walk on one of
the rare sunny days: anything to get
blood pumping. This helps those
Vitamin D levels, Smith said. A
good multivitamin with D can also
be a good thing.The monochromatic view outside
also contributes to making winter a
depressing time of the year.
Even if spring wont come
for a while, you can bring a little
green indoors with plants and
colorful posters of nature scenes
or your favorite bands or movies.
An extra lamp can also do won-
ders.
Remember, EMTA offers free
rides to Mercyhurst students, andyou can use this service to get out
and explore the city, hang out with
friends at a restaurant or go to a
movie.
Smith also suggests volunteer-
ing if you find yourself with too
much time on your hands. Vol-unteer opportunities abound
within an easy bus ride from the
campus and would be beneficial,
said Smith.
Being active and social in Erie
during the winter is difficult to
do, especially for students who
arent used to so much cold and
snow.
But getting out into the commu-
nity can help students feel healthy
and happy, improving grades andspirits.
By Faye ClarkStaff writer
Artist Larry Selmans paintingNo Safe Haven was acceptedinto the U.S. Army AviationMuseum at Fort Rucker, Ala., onDec. 14.
The event is not only a celebra-tion for Selman, but also for Mercy-hurst alumnus Eric Carlson, who isfeatured in the painting.
Selman, a south-central Pennsyl-vania native, works in the Westernfine art market, primarily in mili-tary printmaking. He paints bothhistorical and modern war scenes,as well as other subjects related to
times of war.His recent work, No Safe
Haven, depicts one of the manyhigh-risk air assaults conducted bythe 82nd Airborne Division and7th Special Forces Group (Air-borne) in Eastern Afghanistanduring 2007.
Carlson was serving as a UH-60Blackhawk pilot with the Division
at the time, working with the 7thSpecial Forces Group.
Selman used actual footage of anApache Attack Helicopter to createNo Safe Haven. In the painting,Carlson is depicted piloting theUH-60 Blackhawk.
Selman wrote in his descriptionof the painting, Thanks to ourmilitary, there is no where in the
world terrorists will feel safe.There is nowhere American sol-
diers will not chase them to, and
as this painting depicts, there is nosuch thing as a Safe Haven, andthere will be no sanctuary for ter-rorists as long as the 82nd AirborneDivision and US Army GreenBerets remain on point for thenation, he wrote.
Prints of the painting were soldthroughout the U.S., many of which
were signed by Carlson and hiscomrades. The director acceptedthe original painting into the U.S.
Army Aviation Museum on Tues-
day, Dec. 14.
A paintings acceptance into themuseum has great significance forboth Selman and Carlson, as every
Army aviator who graduates FlightSchool receives his or her wings atthe museum.
Now, every Army pilot earn-ing their wings will be able to seeSelmans work, reminding them of
what being an Army aviator really
entails.Carlsons brother, Capt. Ernie
Carlson said, The painting isnow on display where every avia-tor from this day forward, andanyone who visits the museum,
will see this painting and the nameof a product of Mercyhurst Col-lege.
Indeed, Carlson has proudlyshown what Mercyhurst graduatesare capable of.
Eric Carlson is an Erie native
who graduated from MercyhurstPrep and Mercyhurst College.
He is a part owner of The Key-stone Armory in Edinboro, anorganization through which citizenscan buy, sell and trade firearms andmilitary collectibles or commemo-rative.
Carlson now works at Penn StateMain Campus as part of the Nit-tany Lion Battalion Cadre, instruct-ing future Army officers. He holdsthe rank of major, and is an MSIII
Advisor.
By Lynn DulaStaff writer
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According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, sustainability is a
call ...for policies and strategies that
meet societys present needs without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
(epa.gov/sustainability). The international
movement toward sustainability seeks
to address the social, economic and
security needs of all peoples now
and far into the future. Sustainability
represents a profound paradigm shift
in human experience that is (albeit
slowly and incrementally) redening
how we think about everything from
economic development to national
security to agriculture and necessitating
a fundamental reorientation of our
relationship with the natural world.
Here at Mercyhurst College, our
sustainability efforts have for the past
decade or more been primarily aimed at
improving the environmental performance
of our physical plant by, for example,
making buildings more energy efcient.
We employ renewable energy wherever
we can and experiment with sustainable
building materials and practices such as
our new green roof. More recently, courses
across the curriculum, focused through
our Sustainability Studies academic
program prepare our students for a future
in which the principles of sustainability
(environmental and public health, localized
development, social equity) will increasingly
shape and impact every walk of life.Much of the movement toward a
sustainable future is driven by a desire
to strengthen local communities ability
to feed themselves and provide for their
energy needs.
This is seen in the widespread
emergence of farmers markets, which
provide healthier food choices for
individuals and families, while also
supporting local farmers and offering
tangible lessons in sustainable economics.
Similarly, new companies developing
renewable energy sources and ways
to improve energy efciency help to
strengthen the security of communities
that are now at the mercy of the utility-
controlled power grid and long-distance
What is Sustainability?
By Brittany PrischakSustainability Coordinator transmission. Even long-established
companies such as the giants of the
American auto industry are nding new life
and generating American jobs by developing
more fuel efcient and smarter vehicles
that can help wean America away from our
dependency on oil and minimize future
environmental disasters like the recent
Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
Every step counts, no matter how small.The old bumper sticker slogan is true:
Everything is connected. Turning off the
lights when you leave the room is linked to
the urgent need to end mountaintop removal
coal mining in West Virginia. Buying local,
buying less, buy fair trade, replacing your
light bulbs at home, walking, biking or using
public transit when you can, using reusable
water bottles, turning off the lights and
computer We all know what we need to do.But if youre not convinced, then remember
what we at Mercyhurst have learned, along
with countless businesses and governments
around the worldbeing environmentally
responsible does save money. Get involved.
Planning for Earth Week events have commenced. If you would
like to be a part of the planning committee for environmental
education programs in April, please join us on Wednesday,
January 5th, 2011at 3:30pm in the Egan 315 conference room.
A theme is yet to be determines. Although we have several
ideas, we would love additional help organizing and coordinating.
If you would like to help or are interested in more information,
please contact Brittany Prischak at [email protected]
or Analida Braeger at [email protected].
Help plan Earth Week 2011Old phonebooks are once again being collected on campus for
recycling. Drop off last years yellow pages in the bins in the foyer
of Preston/Old Main, next to the stack of 2011 phone books, or in
the bin located in the library lobby, next to the Merciad newspaper
stand. Remember, recycling phone books benets the Second
Harvest Food Bank and supports Erie Energy Products, a local
business. They churn phone books into home-insulating material,
which in turn saves energy. This is a win-win-win project!
Phonebook recycling begins
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No need to ship spent toner cartridges long distances for
recycling. From now on, toner cartridges can be placed in the ink
cartridge collection bins. Recycled ink and toner cartridges as well
as cell phones will all be sent to the Funding Factory, which is a local
recycling company. The Funding Factory deals with remanufacturing
and reusing of these recycled materials. Collection bins are located
in Old Main on the second oor next to the Center for Teaching
Mercyhurst now recycles toner cartridgesExcellence, in Preston on the rst oor near the corner ofces and in the
basement next to the Mailroom and in Hirt on the second oor next to
the stairwell. A cell phone collection bin is located in the basement of
Preston near the Mailroom. Reducing waste sent to the landll, relling
cartridges for reuse, and recycling whats left; its the three Rs of
recycling accomplished with one easy action.
Earth Week Planning Committee Meeting
Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 3:30 p.m.
Location: Egan 315
Bike/Run Duathlon Planning Committee
Sunday, Jan. 8 at 8:00 p.m.,
Location: 118 Hirt.
All Campus Green Team Meeting
Monday, Jan. 17 at 3:30 p.m.
Location: TBD Stay Tuned
Bike Proposal
By Angelina Viveralli
As campuses across the United States
work towards a more environmentally
friendly future they have begun tackling
problems in areas such as waste, energy,
food, and transportation. Mercyhurst
has made great strides in the areas of
waste, energy, and food however, there
are fewer opportunities to promote green
transportation on a primarily residential
campus. Students are able to use public
transportation in the city and soon, they
may be able to borrow campus bikes.
The Green Team is developing a series
of proposals for the Green Energy Fund to
both reward those students already using
bikes as transportation and hopefully to
inspire more students to cycle. One idea
is to implement a bike rental program on
campus. Other ideas are to plan events on
campus to promote bike riding.
After an evaluation of existing bike
racks, the Green Team will requestfunds for more convenient bike racks
and storage areas on Briggs and Lewis
Aves. We will also propose to purchase
a bike rack to be mounted on one of the
campus vans in order to allow bike trips for
students to Presque Isle and other
local trails.
A bike rental pilot program would
inspire more bike use on campus.
Through this program students would be
able to rentfree of chargeone of four new
bicycles and helmets purchased from local
bike shops. Although the exact details of therental program are still in the works, we are
condent that the program would run in half
to full day rentals and that the bikes could be
taken off-campus.
Call for Submission from Students and
Faculty: Narratives of Travel and Navigation:
English by Water, Air, Land, and Imagination.
Does the end of the term have to mean the
end of students coursework? Is the recycling
bin the inevitable destination of graded
assignments? Can the three Rs of recycling
ever apply to essays without plagiarizing?
Students who have taken Western Classics,
American Classics, some history classes,
and perhaps a few others may have written
something for class that could earn a wider,
real world audience. The Pennsylvania College
English Association (PCEA) invites proposals
for original creative works and critical
interpretations of any genre of travel narrative
or stories of journeys or quests for self, real or
imaginative. Analysis of landscapes in travel
writing and inquiry into attitudes about nature
and the natural world in literature would
support the conference theme.
In addition to the special sessions on
the topic of travel and navigation, PCEA
welcomes all proposals related to the study
and/or teaching of literature, lm, composition,
and linguistics, as well as creative works.
The conference will meet in Eries Bayfront
Convention Center, March 24-26th. It couldntbe easier to attend!
Graduate and undergraduate students who
submit an abstract for the conference may
also compete for the Best Paper Award, which
is given by PCEA in three categoriescritical,
creative poetry, and creative proseand carries
a small monetary prize. Award winners will also
be considered for publication in PCEAs journal,
Pennsylvania English.
For more information about submissions
for the conference or the essay contest, visit:
http://www.english.iup.edu/pcea.
Need more incentive? The Student Creative
and Scholarly Research Fund supports research
opportunities for undergraduate students
at Mercyhurst College by reimbursing them
for research and travel expenses to present
completed research at a professional research
conference such as the PCEA conference, or
to present or perform an artistic creation/
exhibition. In other words, you could share your
important academic or creative work, get an
accolade for your career le, and enjoy a day or
two off campus on the Bayfront for free.
For more information, visit
http://lakernet.mercyhurst.edu/students/
student_research_fund.php
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 6January 5, 2011
As a dance major with an art
therapy minor, junior Kelly Clymer
has a special interest in the power
of art to heal.
Hailing from Cleveland, Clymer
has been dancing from a young age,
and she hopes to dance profession-
ally in the future. Since coming to
college, though, she has discovered
an interest in movements uses in
therapy. After her professional
dance career ends, she intends to
transition into the dance movement
therapy field and work with dis-
abled children.
Dance and movement also
serve in a remedial capacity for
Clymer herself. Dance is an
escape from everyday life for
me, she said.
Clymer was one of the students
who assisted with the creation of
Yoga Club, a new RSCO advised by
Betty Amatangelo. Having discov-
ered how much she enjoyed the yoga
classes offered on campus, Clymer
was excited to help with the forma-tion of the organization. She now
serves as the secretary for the club.
Its a very close-knit group, and
its a lot of fun, Clymer said. I
really like yoga a lot. Its nice to have
some introspective time.
In addition to her talent as a
dancer, Clymer is also a choreog-
rapher and a gifted visual artist.
She studied art in high school,
and now she likes to integrate
her art background with herdancing. She is currently choreo-
graphing a piece for the dance
departments winter concert,
Raw Edges, which explores
the idea of color s on the color
wheel coming alive.
Clymer describes her choreog-
raphy as generally light and often
humorous, and she says that she
likes to have fun in the studio while
she works.Combining academic pursuits with
her dance studies is important to
Clymer as well. I feel like its impor-
tant to also have an academic side in
college while dancing, she said.
She is an active member of the
Honors Program and secretary for
the Honors Council. Clymer also
serves as the vice president for Mer-
cyhursts chapter of Nu Delta Alpha,
a national dance honor society.
With her natural cheer andenergy, Clymer is sure to be a suc-
cess in whatever arts genre she is
pursuing.
By Sarah MastrocolaStaff writer
Dancer spotlight: Junior
Kelly Clymer integrateshealing with dance
Junior Kelly Clymer is a dance major with an art therapy
minor, which she will put to use after dancing professionally.
Tyler Stauffer photo
PAC brings the WildWest to Mercyhurst
The Mary DAngelo Performing
Arts Center (PAC) will be streaming
the Metropolitan Operas presenta-
tion of Puccinis La Fanciulla del
West this Sunday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m.
The opera premiered in 1910
with the Metropolitan Opera (Met)
in New York City. Puccini was com-
missioned to write the opera for the
two leading stars, Enrico Caruso
and Emmy Destinn. It was the first
of many world premieres at the
Met, and after receiving outstand-
ing praise in the United States went
on to tour in Europe.
The opera is based on the play
The Girl of the Golden West by
David Belasco and depicts a mining
camp in the Sierra Nevada Moun-
tains in 1849-50 during the gold
rush.
Presented in Italian in three acts,the story follows the love of a local
Native American, and plenty of the
action and rough and tumble spirit
so prevalent in Wild West narra-
tives.
Indeed, American optimism is
shown boldly in the work in contrast
to the tragic demeanor adopted by
many operas. This hearty, frontier
attitude is likely due to the proxim-
ity of the wild frontier lifestyle and
the hope for the possibilities of thefuture as America moved into the
twentieth century.
In the version streamed at the
PAC and presented by the Met,
Deborah Voigt and Marcello Gior-
dani sing the lead roles in celebra-
tion of the operas centennial. This
particular production has not been
performed by the Met since 1993.
Though a bit of an unusual
opera, the work has won a loyal fol-
lowing due to its moving melodictendencies.
The New York Times praisesthe music and called it subtle and
boldly modern, wrapping the audi-
ence in rich textures and heartfelt
lyrics. In a sense the music gives the
audience what it needs and not nec-
essarily what it wants, or is expect-
ing to hear in any given scene.
The ability for the Met to stream
such performances has done a great
deal for the opera as well as all those
now able to be reached and touched
by art. In fact, the presence of suchshowings at Mercyhurst College
make quite a difference to the art
programs at the college, as well as
providing more accessible fine art
for the Erie community.
La Fanciulla del West is a sin-
cerely moving, honest and native
opera for the Ballet Met and is sure
to be spectacular.
Tickets can be purchased at the
PAC box office or by calling 814-
824-3000. They are $15 for Mercy-hurst students with ID.
By Claire HindeStaff writer
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September 3, 2008OPINIONPage 7 January 5, 2011
@mercyhurst.edu
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The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of
finals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 120B. Our telephone number is(814) 824-2376.
The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signedand 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. Lettersare due Mondays. by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submit
letters to box PH 485 or via e-mail at [email protected].
If you dont want it printed . . . dont let it happen.Editors
Ethan Magoc
Kelly Luoma
Alex Stacey
Victoria Gricks
Nick GlasierKathleen Vogtle
Samantha Williams
Tyler Stauffer
Ethan Johns
Chrissy Mihalic
Max Rivera
Bill Welch
Brian Sheridan
Positions
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Opinion Editor
Sports EditorA&E Editor
Graphics
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Copy Editor
Ad Manager
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The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the v iews of Mercyhurst College, the staff of The Merciador the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be e-mailed to [email protected].
Holiday spirit to remain through time
Like most college students, I
planned on working over Christ-
mas vacation. I had spent a lot on
gifts for my family, and I desper-
ately needed to replenish my bank
account. So, I texted my manager
at Subway, told her my availability,
and asked to be put on the sched-
ule as much as possible.
When she finally got back to
me about when I would be work-
ing, I was shocked she only
wrote me down for Christmas
Eve from 10 to 5. Angry about
my lack of days and knowing my
mother wouldnt even let me go
to work the day before Christ-
mas, I texted her back and told
her I didnt want to be on the
schedule at all.
I was disappointed that I
wouldnt be making any money,
but I couldnt wait to relax. It wasthe first time I wouldnt be work-
ing while on break.
During my time home, I
received several texts from my
managers asking if I could work,
and I made an excuse each time as
to why I couldnt. Sure, it sounds
mean, but I had no interest in
making sandwiches for custom-
ers or prepping food for several
hours.
A couple days after Christmas,however, my friend asked if I
could cover his shift. I contem-
plated his question for several
minutes before responding with a
yes. I guess the spirit of the holi-
day had put me in a g ood mood.
Youre probably asking your-
self why any of this matters. I
mean, who cares that I spent a lot
of money on gifts and whether or
not I worked over break? Well, let
me tell you why this is important.Have you ever noticed what
Christmas does to society? Its
the time of year when everyoneforgets their troubles and just
enjoys the holiday. People are able
to spend time with friends and
family, eat good food, and relax.
(Some even cover their friends
shift .) Its great.
What about after its all said and
done, though? The presents have
all been unwrapped, the new year
has begun, and its back to reality.
Well, I think its about time we
change that.I dont think the spirit of the
holiday has to disappear as soon
as January arrives. So, lets make
a New Years Resolution to keep
this cheerful attitude alive within
us all year long. Granted, there
will be days when we just hate the
world. But if we remember the joy
we felt at Christmas, we should be
able to get past that negative emo-
tion.
So, what do you say? Are youwith me?
By VictoriaGricks
Opinion editor
A plea for writers
When I first started college, I
saw the student newspaper as a
bit of a mystery.
It showed up on racks around
campus and was presumably put
together by the upperclassmenpowers that be. I knew none of
the names among the bylines and
was often dissatisfied with the
content and opinions expressed
within the pages.
If this was the official voice
of students, it sure didnt sound
like mine. And I definitely
wasnt about to read something
that carried little personal inter-
est.
But that was at a universitymore than three times the size
of Mercyhurstone where
my voice truly didnt count as
much as it might at a smaller
school.
Fortunately for you, fellow stu-
dent, you possess the opportu-
nity to make your opinion mean
a great deal more here.
The Merciad, Mercyhursts
official student newspaper for
more than 80 years, publishes
1,200 copies every Wednesday
morning. Our staff personally
distributes these inside the front
door of every major building
on campus and editions can be
found lying in many classroom
and hallway and corners.
Most importantly, we are the
best student-produced source of
information for campus news,
arts and entertainment, features
about your faculty and fellow stu-
dents and the place to catch up
on the most interesting varsity
sports story lines.
And, of course, the main place
to express your opinions and col-
lege experiences.
Yet we have lately run into a
shortage of talented or even reli-
able writers.
While theres still a steady
crop of dedicated scribes who
produce quality content each
week, our numbers have begun
to dwindle.
At the risk of sounding like a
public television station, Im not
going to say we wont survive
without your help.
Still, these pages are probably
going to start to lack quality very
soon if you dont come our way
with fresh story ideas, a differ-
ent perspective on an issue or the
ability to clearly communicate
your thoughts in writing.
Even if you possess none of
the above, and are simply eager
to be published or to write in
some form other than that lack-
luster essay you turned in Monday
morning, we want you.
Doesnt matter what your
major isthe more wide-ranging
the better.
While the majority of our
staff stems from Mercyhursts
communication department, to
truly continue this tradition as
a well-rounded publication and
not just a first-floor-of-Hirt-
shouting-box, we need you to
share experiences from all over
campus.
If you see any part of The
Merciad that youre interested
innews, features, entertain-
ment, opinion sportscontact
myself or one of our section edi-
tors on the right.
And know that anything you
write is guaranteed to earn you
$10, a byline and the knowledge
that your voice does indeed
matter.
By Ethan Magoc
Editor-in-chief
The GoodStudents are now able touse the portal to access
email, Blackboard, and
WebAdvisor without having
to log in multiple times.
The BadNow that Christmas
vacation is over, we have to
stay at school for the next
seven weeks before getting
another break.
The UglyEven though we just got
back to school, we have
to worry about midterms
already. Blame the
trimesters.
8/6/2019 The Merciad, Jan. 5, 2011
8/8
Sports Page 8January 5, 2011
Schaetzle
goes forfootballcoach ofthe year
honors
Mercyhurst College head foot-
ball coach Marty Schaetzles accom-
plishments have garnered him
recognition inside the Mercyhurst
community and nationally.
Schaetzle has gained nationalattention as a finalist for the 2010
Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year
Award for leading Mercyhurst Col-
lege to its first Pennsylvania State
Conference title and to its first
NCAA Division II National Cham-
pionship playoff birth,
The Liberty Mutual Coach
of the Year Award is given to a
NCAA Division II football coach
who has achieved coaching excel-
lence throughout the 2010 footballseason.
Schaetlze made it to the final
round as he was voted in the top
15 candidates on www.Coachofthe-
Year.com and by an objective-scor-
ing model.
The objective scoring model
considers criteria such as wins,
team penalties, on-field sportsman-
ship, academic achievement by the
student-athletes and civic and phil-
anthropic endeavors.To be considered for this award
was a great honor for Schaetzle, but
he does not take all the credit.
It was great to be considered
for this award. Schaetzle said, It
was really an offshoot of what the
players did this season, though.
Schaetzle is not only happy with
what this award will do for his career
but what it means for Mercyhurst as
an institution and his players.
It is the work of the players that
got us to this point, and it is reallygreat to get our colleges name out
there, Schaetzle said.
Schaetzle has done a great deal
of work to build up a Mercyhurst
football program that before his
tenure had lurked in the shadows
of the colleges attention.
As the head coach, Schaetzle
has had his ups and downs at Mer-
cyhurst. This season was only the
second that the Mercyhurst football
program has finished with a win-
ning record.Despite these ups and downs
Schaetzle has been resolute in his
development of the program.
He has worked to greatly improve
footballs facilities and widen the
region of Mercyhursts recruiting.
Despite the highly successful
season, Schaetzle still sees ways that
he and the team can improve.
Going forward, we need to
learn to do a few things better such
as scheduling practices if we make
it deep into the playoffs again,Schaetzle said.
Schaetzle is busy on the recruit-
ing trail and has seen how a success-
ful season can help.
Our playoff run really widened
our recruiting base, said Schaetzle.
Now we know who we are and
what we are about as a program.
The winner of the 2010 Liberty
Mutual Coach of the Year Award
will be announced Jan. 10.
By Nick Glasier
Sports editor
Mercyhurst College head football coach Marty Schaetzle led the Lakers to their most
successful season ever.
Ethan Magoc photo
Sports
in fullswingthiswinter
There are activities for everyone
in college.
For an aspiring writer, there is the
school paper. For a basket weaver,
there is a basket-weaving club. For
athletes, there is athletics.
However, a varsity team can be
very selective, which is is why intra-
mural sports are a perfect fallback.
At Mercyhurst College, sports
are offered every term for students.In the fall, there is flag football
and ultimate Frisbee, and winter
term has basketball and volleyball.
Also, in the spring there is softball
and soccer.
According to Intramural Direc-
tor Joe Spano, the largest sports in
terms of par ticipation are flag foot-
ball and softball.
Each sport has had at least 16
teams with 10 students per team
over the last few years. Volleyball has been a steadily
growing sport. Since all sports are
co-ed, volleyball seems to benefit
the most.
With 14 teams already this year,
volleyball is very close to becoming
the largest sport.
Thankfully, with all the support
from students who participate,
there are only about two forfeits
per sport.
With no supervision on a team,forfeits could be common by teams
that are not committed, but that
does not seem to be an issue.
With the help of Spano, the
intramural sport events are sched-
uled around students schedules as
best as possible.
Different kinds of sports are
tried each year as well as the major
sports.
For the full article go to merciad.
mercyhurst.edu.
By Spencer Hunt
Staff writer