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                    <text>Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA

The

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW
FEBRUARY
A
PRIL 22, 2008
5, 2008

In This Issue...

Autism Awareness
Weekend

Page 9
LOCAL BAND
SPOTLIGHT:

ON THE ROAD
TO PLAYOFFS ...

,

Page 20

Inside

News................................1-5
Opinion.............................6-8
Lifestyles.........................9-11
Arts &amp; Entertainment....12-15
Sports...........................16-20

Issue 21
13

Bill Clinton speaks at Wilkes before primary
Only the second president to speak at university
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon News Editor
President Bill Clinton spoke to a thin crowd
of approximately 300 on Saturday, April 19, at
the Wilkes University Arnaud C. Marts Center
gymnasium on behalf of his wife, Sen. Hillary
Clinton, D-NY.
President Clinton’s stop at Wilkes is his second to Wilkes-Barre in a month; he spoke at
Coughlin High School in March.
Congressman Paul Kanjorski, D-PA, who
supports the New York Senator’s candidacy,
introduced the president.
Speaking fondly about the levee system located along the Susquehanna River, Kanjorski
noted how instrumental President Clinton was
in its creation. “… It would not have happened
without this president,” said Kanjorski.
When President Clinton took the stage he began his address by thanking several people.
Angela (Alex) Wood, President of the Political Science Club at Wilkes University, was one
of the people President Clinton thanked.

See CLINTON page 5
Page 12

Volume 60

www.wilkesbeacon.com

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

President Clinton works the crowd of people along the rope line in the Marts Center gymnasium. Clinton spoke briefly about why his wife should be the next president of the United States
and was then off to his next campaign visit.

Committee decides not to fund enhancements
Departments must go without additional resources for now
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon News Editor
As part of the budget process for the 2009 fiscal
year, each department forwards a list of enhancement requests for the coming school year. The
requests can range from new support for existing
programs or initiatives, new equipment, or new
projects.
This year, however, none of the enhancements
were approved, except one for the Information
Technology (IT) department to build a new computer lab.
“Part of the budget process is to ask every department if they have any enhancement requests,
and they can submit them along with their regular budget,” said Petra Carver, Vice President of
Finance and Support Operations.
According to Carver, an enhancement is something new and not currently included on their
budget.
According to documents from the budget

committee titled “Summary of Budget Enhancements,” enhancement requests reached
$1,047,492 for this year. The requests included
projects from all different parts of the institution.
The size of the various requests varies significantly. From the listing of Social Sciences, for
example, is a small request for $40 for postage
and shipping. From the College of Science and
Engineering there is a request of $53,555 for
various things including ABET, which is the Engineering accreditation. From the chemistry department there is a request of $11,837 for things
such as the implementation of a three-year program to replace equipment that is used on a daily
basis.
According to Carver, the enhancements are
“whatever they would like to submit for the budget committee to consider. The budget committee reviews and then depending on availability
of funding we would prioritize.”
Mike Frantz, Vice President for Enrollment and

Marketing, echoed this. “It depends on available
funds in any given year. I don’t know that there
has ever been a year that I’ve been here that we
were able to fund every request,” said Frantz.
Carver said that the committee did not approve
any this year except for “one big one.”
She added that, “We did not approve any of the
departmental ones that were submitted. What
we did approve was an additional computer
classroom, because both the IT committee and
the budget committee felt that there is a need for
additional computer enhanced space, because it
is kind of tight…and that left nothing over for
other enhancements.”
There is hope, however, that additional enhancements will be approved, but there are a
few possibilities.
“It could go both ways…we have to have a
balanced budget…meaning we can’t spend more
than we take in on the revenue side. Should we

See BUDGET page 5

�NEWS
APRIL 22, 2008

2

William Kennedy
SG Notes
Clinton continued

3
4
5

Farley Library institutes “Forgiveness Month” to reclaim overdue materials
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Staff Writer

dent at Wilkes, checks out books
on several occasions and has rented a few DVDs from Farley Library and is responsible enough to
always bring the materials back,
meaning no fines. As to whether
“Forgiveness Month” will be beneficial to the community, Cortright
said, “probably, if they [people
with overdue materials], are hesitant to deal with the fine or if having the money to pay the fine is an
issue.”
The fine for overdue books is
ten cents per day after the due date
and one dollar a day for DVDs.
Although it is not a high fine, it
adds up after several days of being overdue. The librarians have
witnessed fines up to $50.00. “We
hate to fine the students because
money is tight, but we do have
to enforce the policy,” Selecky
commented. Even if the DVDs or
books are damaged, the library is
still asking for them back.
“The books that are checked out

tend to be useful, popular subject books, so we will have to replace them anyway…we have to
take out book money to buy lost
books, so there’s less money for
new books,” said Sacolic. “We are
given a finite amount of money,
so we would much rather use the
money to buy new books than older books,” Selecky added.
Occasionally, transfer students
forget to return books after they
leave Wilkes University. Furthermore, returning a book or library
material may slip from faculty
members’ minds since they are
able to check them out for a whole
semester.
“We hope it’s very positive…it

is forgiveness of fines…We hope
that the faculty and Wilkes community responds to us,” said
Sacolic. In the past, the library observed a fair amount of return.

LIBRARY HOURS

The Farley Library has recently commenced a “Forgiveness
Month” for Wilkes University students, faculty and alumni.
For an entire month, people can
return their overdue library materials, which includes books, DVDs
and other resources without penalty. The forgiveness initiative began April 16 and will last through
May 16. When people return materials, whether six months or six
years overdue, no questions will
be asked. Additionally, returns are
only accepted if the materials were
overdue before April 16.
“Our library, like all libraries,
has problems with materials being returned on time,” said Brian
Sacolic, reference librarian and
co-director. “Forgiveness Month”
is not unique to the Wilkes community, he explained, but it is a
product of a problem that comes

with the library profession. Typically called “Book Amnesty,”
public libraries tend to do it more
than academic libraries.
“We just decided it was time to
do it again in an effort to get our
books back,” commented Heidi
Selecky, co-director of the library.
“Part of this has to do with an inventory of various parts of the library sometime in the near future.
It won’t be complete unless we get
the books back,” she added.
Forgiving fines is not an annual
occurrence at the Farley Library,
but happens every three or four
years. Sacolic explained that it is
frustrating to students and others
who go upstairs with the book call
number and cannot find the book
because someone did not return it.
It is the students’, faculty members’ and alumni’s responsibility
to return the library materials on
time, which will avoid any fines
and keeps both sides content.
Kyle Cortright, a pharmacy stu-

day

Monday-Thurs

8 AM-11:45PM

Friday

8AM-5PM

Saturday

11AM-6PM

Sunday

11AM-11:45PM

BEACON

Serving the community through fair and accurate reporting
while supporting the views and opinions of our readers.

Editorial Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Nick Podolak
Email: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com
Managing Editor: Alison Woody
Email: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com
News Editor: Andrew Seaman
Email: news.beacon@gmail.com
Op/Ed Editor: Mark Congdon Jr.
Email: thebeacon.oped@gmail.com
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Email: beacon.lifestyles@gmail.com
A&amp;E Editor: Marissa Phillips
Email: thebeaconae@gmail.com
Sports Editor: Carlton Holmes
Email: beaconsports@gmail.com
Photo Editor: Cara Koster
Advertising Managers: Stephanie Yachim
Dana Zlotucha
Email: thebeacon.ads@gmail.com
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz
Established in 1936
PA Newspaper Association Member
Printed on Tuesdays during the academic school year.

The Beacon / Gino Troiani

“Forgiveness Month” at the Farley Library began April 16 and will continue until May 16. Students
and faculty members with overdue library materials are urged to return them between these dates so
they will not be charged with fines. Although fines for overdue books are only ten cents a day and one
dollar a day for DVDs, Farley librarians have seen fines add up to $50.00 in the past.

130 S. River St.
First Floor, Conyngham Hall, Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
(570) 408-5903
wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

www.wilkesbeacon.com

�APRIL 22, 2008

NEWS

3

William Kennedy to serve on Creative Writing advisory board
Pulitzer Prize winner takes seat and visits campus next June

BY MEGAN KRISANDA
Beacon Staff Writer
Another Pulitzer Prize winner makes his way onto
the Creative Writing Masters Program’s advisory
board. A master of almost every genre of writing,
William Kennedy, will be contributing new ideas to
the program.
Kennedy is a close personal friend of the late
Norman Mailer, who served on the advisory board
until his death in November. The advisory board
searched for a replacement with equal stature according to director of the Creative Writing Masters
Program, Dr. Bonnie Culver.
“He’s a major national contemporary author and
we spoke with him about the program and asked if
he would give us the same advice and attention that
Norman always had,” said Culver.
Kennedy will serve on the board immediately, but
will not make his first campus visit until June of
2009. Board members of the program attend campus during the time of residency on a rotating basis
delivering special readings, handing out awards and
serving as keynote speakers according to Culver.
Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel
“Ironweed” which he converted into a screenplay.
The movie version starred Meryl Streep and Jack
Nicholson, both nominated for academy awards for
their leading roles. He was born in 1928 in Albany
New York and pursued a career in journalism until
1959 when he decided to pursue a full-time career
in fiction writing.
“Kennedy writes in many genres, such as fiction,
nonfiction, screenplays, stage plays. So, our program offers tracks in five areas, the only area I think
he hasn’t done yet is poetry. But he is quite accomplished in those areas,” said Dr. J. Michael Lennon,

advisory board member.
Kennedy is the head of the New York State Writer’s
Institute in Albany. The institute’s aim is “ to enhance
and celebrate literature, writing, and performance,
and to recognize the position of writers as a community within the larger community”, according to their
website www.albany.edu/writers-inst. The institute
offers writing programs, film series, summer writing
programs, young writers programs, writing and theatre workshops, and a writing online program.
“He is a major figure in the American literary
scene. I think he’s one of the most important American novelists alive today. I think we’re very fortunate he has agreed to serve on our advisory board,”
said Lennon.
“He’s right in the middle of the creative writing
game. He has significant accomplishments and we
choose him to be the lead speaker at the Mailer memorial at Carnegie Hall last week because we knew
he had great teamwork ignition and he did a fabulous
job,” added Lennon.
Lennon is responsible for the addition of Kennedy
to the writing program. Lennon has known Kennedy
for many years through Normal Mailer.
“Kennedy has been involved with the Norman
Mailer Society and of course Wilkes University is
deeply involved with the Mailer Society because
Wilkes students go there every conference and give
dramatic readings,” said Lennon.
Lennon and Culver were looking for someone who
could help advise the program and Kennedy fit their
idea of a candidate for the open seat.
“His has a strong reputation as well as a tie to Norman Mailer, the society and to creative writing. He
was interested in advising us on how the program
might be run and might be improved,” said Lennon.

Photo Courtesy of www.upress.state.ms.us

Pulitzer Prize winner William Kennedy will join the Creative Writing advisory board next summer. Kennedy started his career as
a journalist, but began a full-time career writing fiction in 1959.
Aside from fiction, Kennedy also writes nonfiction, screen plays and
stage plays. Kennedy’s Ironweed (1983) won the Pulitzer Prize and
National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.
Elementary students partcipating in
Wilkes’ Women Empowered By Science (WEBS) program race handcrafted solar cars on the greenway,
Tuesday April 15.
A second solar car event was held at
Kirby Park on Friday, April 18, in
honor of Earth Day.
Students from area schools will also be
on campus Friday, April 25, for the biology department’s annual Adventures
in Science.

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�APRIL 22, 2008

SG Notes April 16, 2008

NEWS

Treasurer’s Report
All College: $4,135
General: $4,008
Special Projects: $2,150
Spirit: $1,560
Leadership: $4,550
Conferences: $6,051
Start-Up: $1,200

4

games and some equipment. There was much discussion over the
team’s constitution and whether or not the money could be used for
equipment. After the motion was approved by the board, SG President
Matt Brown vetoed the action of the board. After a failed attempt to
overturn the veto, SG members decided to grant the lacrosse club its
fund request without the equipment.
• Faculty/Staff Choice Awards - Several faculty and staff positions were
named for the awards. The nominations were narrowed down to five
and was voted on in in the presidential election survey sent to students.
Old Business
ICA Fund Request
Zebra Donation
OCC’s Block Party

Club Reports
The following clubs presented updates on their events:
Programming Board
New Business
• Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) fund request - Several members of
SIFE came to SG and asked for a fund request of $4,000. The money will
be used to pay for their trip to Chicago to attend the national competition,
in which they will compete. The organization has already done extensive
fundraising for the trip. This was approved by SG.
• APhA Donation Request - asked SG for approximately $1000 to help make
a larger donation on behalf of their 5K. SG decided to grant them $500 to
their project.
• Lacrosse fund request - The Lacrosse Club asked for $1,773 to pay for

Events
Relay For Life - April 26 and 27, on the greenway
Commuter Council Trip to NYC - April 26
IRHC’s Study Break Party - May 4,HSC first floor lounge
* At 8 p.m., a motion was made to adjourn the SG meeting. The motion
was approved.
(SG meetings are open to all students. They are held every Wednesday
in the Miller Conference room on the second floor of the HSC.)

DRINICINe UAIIIT!
Compare your habits to those below to gage how
appropriately you use alcohol. It is not necessary for a
person to have every symptom to frt these categories.
A Social Drinker Typically:
- Drinks slowly
- Knows when to stop drinking
- Eats before or while drinking
- Never drives after drinking
- Respects nondrinkers

HE

IN

RS

A Problem Drinker Typically:
- Drinks to get drunk
- Tries to solve problems by drinking
- Experiences changes in personality
- Drinks when he/she should not (before class/work)
- Harms himself/herself/family/friends/strangers
An Alcoholic Typically:

I
t '!
.·

k .(570 ' 823-

'
9

i

- Spends lots of time thinking about drinking and
planning where and when to get the next drink
- Keeps bottles hidden
- Loses awareness of the amount consumed
- Denies drinking
- Drinks alone &amp; before facing stressful situations
- May have "blackouts"
- Provided By Health Services -

http:llwww.acha.org

�APRIL 22, 2008
CLINTON
from FRONT PAGE

“I have…played a role in the set up of the
events as well as getting the word out about
them. Campaign stops tend to be very last
minute, and you usually get confirmation
about the event 48 hours before the event,
if you’re lucky,” said Wood.
She added, “It can be rather hectic, but it’s
great. I love it. When [Clinton] thanked me
in his speech, I was totally blown away….
It’s amazing to be able to do something you
love, and get recognized by someone that
you admire. I feel so blessed and so lucky.”
As for the rest of his speech, the former
president kept things brief, only about 13
minutes.
He included many themes touched on in
previous speeches as well as the one delivered last month at Coughlin High School
rally.
One point he raised was the fact that Sen.
Barack Obama, S-Ill., does not take money from oil companies. Clinton says this
is because it is illegal to take their money.
He noted that Sen. Obama’s claim that he
doesn’t take the money is akin to someone
saying, “I don’t rob banks, vote for me.”
Another point he emphasized was that
while his wife has been “outspent” in the
some states, she manages to win them, or in
his words, “She won anyway.”
Referencing his own experience, President Clinton talked about the economy and
providing jobs to those unemployeed. Then
after talking briefly about some other points,

NEWS
President Clinton made one final plea for
everyone in the audience to vote and he was
off to his next campaign stop.

5

“On Wednesday night’s debate we all saw
who should be the next president of the
United States. With your help on Tuesday

she will win and it will be a very different
world,” said President Clinton.
Wood said that she was happy with the
turn out, but admitted it was thin.
“I think the crowd was [thin] for several
reasons. The first being the time of day and
the day of the week. Many students, and
people for that matter, sleep in on Saturday
and asking them to be up and at the door at
7 a.m. can be hard.” She added, “Another
reason, I think, is that because we have had
so many political events, especially in the
past three weeks, many students may have
already attended an event and therefore,
may have decided not to attend this one.
The last reason is the short notice.”
As the Pennsylvania primary looms this
week, President Clinton’s stop at Wilkes
signaled the end-run efforts of both candidates. Sens. Clinton and Obama both have
scheduled stops in Scranton over the next
few days. Sen. Obama will also bring Sen.
Bob Casey, D-PA, and Caroline Kennedy as
his guests.
President Clinton is the second president
in Wilkes’ 74-year history to make a visit
to campus. The first was President Nixon in
the early 1970s after the flood of Hurricane
Agnes to discuss funding for the college.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Three young girls applaud President Clinton during his speech at Wilkes University on
April 19. The youngsters were just three of the approximately 300 people who attended
the former president’s speech in the school’s gymnasium.

For Pennsylvania primary
election results, please check
www.wilkesbeacon.com on
Tuesday night, April 22.

BUDGET
from FRONT PAGE

have a revenue windfall, meaning enrollment exceeds what we have
budgeted or we have some additional revenue that is not included in the
current budget, then we can go back to enhancement requests and distribute some of the extra revenue to these enhancements,” said Carver.
On the other side, “Should we have a revenue short fall, we will have
to go back and take another look at what we will need to eliminate. So,
it goes both ways,” added Carver.
Currently it is unclear whether the budget will experience windfall or
shortfall, meaning the budget is still a work in progress.

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Rob Tonnesen, Rob Donahue and Dave Sborz stand in front of the C-SPAN bus during its visit to Wilkes
University on April 19. Students had the chance to upload videos that they created in the bus’ portable
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�Opinion

Angry Rant
Here’s to You
Analog TV

APRIL 22, 2008

7
7
8

6

School violence indicates need for character education
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

kindness, generosity, courage,
freedom, equality, and respect.”
The goal of character education
is to “raise children to become
morally responsible, self-disciplined citizens. Problem solving,
decision making, and conflict
resolution are important parts
of developing moral character.
Through role playing and discussions, students can see that their
decisions affect other people and
things.”

Character education could also
decrease bullying in schools and
According to a recent article on
lead to a learning environment
USAToday.com, an art teacher in
in which students feel safe, wela Baltimore school district was
come and respected. This type of
attacked by one of her students
safe and valued atmosphere could
after she told the student to sit
also encourage students to do betdown and behave. Someone from
ter academically.
the class recorded a video on their
Biskup added, “Ensuring student
cell phone and posted it on the insafety in school is a crucial matter,
ternet. The teacher, Jolita Berry,
but it is one that cannot simply be
now says she is afraid to go back
resolved by installing more metal
to the classroom.
detectors and doling out different
Unfortunately, this disturbing
forms of punishment. We
violence--and students’ apparneed to effectively address
ent attitudes that real violence
the root causes of these
“Character education...is proven to reduce aggressive behavior, in- violent behaviors-why chilin the classroom is actually a
form of entertainment--is not an crease self-control, increase children’s ability to tolerate frustration and dren are bringing weapons
increase effective conflict-resolution strategies.”
anomaly. In Waycross, Georto school or committing
gia, a group of approximately
acts of aggression.”
Susan Biskup, Wilkes University Campus Counselor
six to nine third-graders plotted
Though it should be the
to hurt their teacher after she
responsibility of parents
scolded a student for standing
to foster character in their
on a chair. WSBTV.com, the lo- home and at school about social
Susan Biskup, Wilkes Universi- child, social circumstances such
cal ABC News affiliate out of At- responsibility?
ty Campus Counselor who taught as divorce, economic need to work
lanta, Georgia, recently reported
A potential solution was offered character education in schools multiple jobs to pay the bills and
that the students were caught after by Maryland State Schools Su- before coming to Wilkes Univer- resulting lack of supervision often
a pupil told a teacher that one of perintendent, Nancy S. Grasmick. sity, believes schools should in- limit parent-child contact hours.
their classmates brought a knife to She called for “increased charac- corporate character education into As a result, in many cases, the job
school.
ter education, community partner- the curriculum because it works. simply is being left to peers, media
Waycross Police Chief Tony ships and parental responsibility.” “Character education teaches messages, and formal education.
Tanner said, “The scheme inThough some parents may teach
The Beacon staff agrees with students emotional literacy, selfvolved a division of roles. One Grasmick that character education control, social competence, posi- values many are not or can not,
child’s job was to cover windows and other security steps are neces- tive peer relations and interper- and as a result, individual students’
so no one could see outside. One sary not only for the safety of the sonal problem-solving skills. It disruptive behavior adversely imwas assigned to clean up the blood teachers and students, but also has is proven to reduce aggressive pacts peers. Thus, teachers spend
after the attack.”
the potential to enhance the learn- behavior, increase self-control, valuable class time trying to solve
WSBTV.com went on to report ing environment. Since students increase children’s ability to toler- disputes and conflicts.
that, “Police seized a broken steak are influenced greatly by what ate frustration and increase effec“Though parents, guardians or
knife, handcuffs, duct tape, elec- they are taught at a young age, tive conflict-resolution strategies. caretakers are the first teachers
trical and transparent tape, rib- character education should first be There are curricula developed and of children, they are not always
bons and a crystal paperweight taught in elementary schools and implemented in some schools at the most informed teachers,” acfrom the students, who apparently continue to be taught throughout the present time... it is necessary knowledged Biskup. “Through
intended to use them against the the duration of high school.
to amend the public school code lack of parenting education and
teacher.”
The Association for Supervi- to mandate the implementation of sometimes their own hurtful past
These incidents are admittedly sion and Curriculum Develop- behavioral modification programs experiences, parents sometimes
extreme examples, but reports ment defines character education in all public schools to be adminis- do not know how to be effective,
of violence in schools are on the as, “teaching children about basic tered by the department of educa- loving, nurturing parents.
rise and indicate myriad issues human values including honesty, tion in grades k-12,” said Biskup.
In order to enhance the learning
environment and safety of schools,
A Sight for Sore Eyes: By Aleksander Lapinski
other
steps should be taken. Police
ot
offi
oJ cers and metal detectors should
be placed in schools in order to try
bt
to
to detect and deter weapons and
bad behavior. Additionally, menbi
toring
programs with teachers and
to
RAM~
school
officials as well as peer
SC
OUG Hey» Aww mentoring
programs should also
m
be utilized.
bt
for communities. First, if third
graders are organizing gang-like
plots of violence, communities are
challenged to look inward to examine how and why such behavior
has emerged. Where are children
learning that violence is the solution to anger? Additionally, if the
first response among children who
observe such behavior in the classroom is to grab the cell, record the
incident, and post it to YouTube,
what are young people learning at

Beacon Poll Results
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overall
attitudes of students on campus. Results are based on 31
responses.

The Beacon asked:
What’s your favorite springtime activity?
• Tanning on the campus
greenway - 0%
• Frisbee - 6%
• Flying a kite - 0%
• Horseshoes - 0%
• Wiffleball - 3%
• Skipping class- 52%
• Walking or Running
outside - 19%
• Eating ice cream or
Rita’s Italian Ice- 13%
• Picnic in the park - 6%
• Other - 0%

Next Week’s Question:
Who do you want to be the
vice-presidential candidate for
the Democratic party?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Barack Obama
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�APRIL 22, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Smoking is for losers
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

Ah, cigarettes. Man’s gift to the masses.
The little cancer stick that could. The bar
of tar. The purveyor of many a case of bad
breath and a nagging cough, leading to
many spoiled nights in the back of a car at a
place that is known as “Makeout Point.”
The life of the tobacco industry has been
an interesting one. In the 50s, everybody
smoked. Literally. Doctors, lawyers,
garbage men. Everybody.
As time passed, cigarettes began to
lose steam (or smoke, as it were) until it
culminated into a civil lawsuit that cost the
tobacco industry over $200 billion, which
pretty much confirmed what we already
knew: cigarettes are bad.
I know what you’re thinking. It was
shocking to me, too. I mean, how could
cigarettes be bad for you? Some of our
most beloved entertainers smoked! Johnny
Carson, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis
Jr. liked to light them up every now and
again, and it’s not like they died from
complications related to emphysema or
throat cancer or anything.
These days, cigarettes are a pariah of
the public, and the television shows and
the movie studios took notice, all but
eliminating casual smoking on camera in
their productions, avoiding harsher ratings
and protests from the anti-smoking groups.
While Hollywood seems to be cleaning
up its act, the same cannot be said for our
nation’s teenagers. While the smoking rate
among teenagers is on a steady decline, I
can’t help but feel that not enough is being
done to curb this problem.
Case in point: A few weeks ago I was
outside of the Mall at Steamtown, and there
was a gaggle of teenagers smoking, despite
the fact that none of them were over the age
of 16 or possessed a valid driver’s license.
To say that I was appalled is an
understatement. Maybe I’m just getting
old, or maybe I never understood why a 15year-old needs to smoke (too much stress?
I guess the last episode of The Hills was
really upsetting), but the sight of a group of
kids smoking was just infuriating.
Why is it that teenagers feel the need to
smoke? Is it some sort of initiation to high
school freshman? Do kids need to have a
black lung to graduate these days? It’s not
like cigarettes have a good taste or anything.
In fact, one could argue that smoking a
cigarette is akin to having a bonfire set on
your tongue that consists of human hair and
poop.
Seriously, does anyone light up for the
first time and say “Wow, this is delicious;
I could see doing this for the next 20
years, while dropping a small fortune and

effectively cutting 30 years off of my life!
Awesome!” No. They don’t. That would be
ridiculous.

weeks ago. A family came into a restaurant;
an older man, a younger woman and a baby
who was no more than 16-months-old. It

times.
Maybe I’m wrong here (I’m not), but if
you’re smoking in front of an infant, then
you’re no better than someone who drives
drunk with children in the car. A child
cannot voluntarily unbuckle themselves
from their car seat to get away from their
chain-smoking mother, who is probably too
busy looking at her dye-job in the mirror
while talking on her cell phone to her
bouncer boyfriend, debating with him about
whether or not to get another tattoo of Bret
Michaels.
The moral of the story is this: Kids, don’t
smoke. You literally have no reason to. It
doesn’t make you look cool. In fact, it makes
you look minature versions of Burgess
Meredith from Rocky. Do you want to look
like that guy? A short, haunchy man with
pastey-white skin and a voice that sounds
like a rusty chainsaw? Do you want to look
like that guy? I didn’t think so.
So instead, why don’t you spend your
precious allowance on the Juno soundtrack.
At least it’s a little more intelligent.

Photo design created by Gino Troiani

This looks just as stupid as when you do it!
The problem I have with the whole
situation is that kids can smoke all they
want in public; however, no one ever
does anything about it. If you get caught
consuming alcohol while under the age of
21, then you could get into some trouble with
the law. Why aren’t cigarettes viewed in the
same light? How can these babies smoke on
the sidewalk in plain view of police officers
and not be punished or reprimanded? Do I
need to tell you that two of leading causes
of death in this country is heart disease and
cancer? And guess what? They are both
linked to smoking.
This country needs to pull its head out of
the sand here, and take a look at the bigger
problems. Everyone wants to complain
about illegal immigration, or abortion, or
this or that, but it seems that smoking is
never given enough attention.
Smoking is a proven killer, whether it’s
first hand or second, but yet there are no laws
to prevent people from doing it illegally.
Here is what I propose: If you can’t buy
cigarettes, then you can’t smoke them
either. That means that all those kids who
like to smoke with their little friends should
get punished, or fined, or something.
Furthermore, if you are of the legal age
to smoke, then you shouldn’t be allowed to
smoke in the presence of those who can’t
smoke. Which means that you can’t smoke
in front of your four-year-old kid who is
sitting across from you in the smoking
section of a restaurant.
Honestly, I witnessed this travesty a few

wasn’t bad enough that they were letting
the baby drink soda, but the man decided
to smoke right in front of the kid. Several

Here’s to you...

Mr. Foreign lotion salesman!
BY GINO TROIANI
Staff Writer/Photographer

Drawing By: Zac Wilson
With such persuasive lines as, “Let me show you something amazing,” and “One
minute of your day can change the rest of your life” how could anyone turn
down your free lotion samples? I envy you because you are the hustler of all
hustlers. Your crafty marketing schemes have led you to prey on unsuspecting
women in malls all around the U.S. Keep on keeping on!

�APRIL 22, 2008

OPINION

Rules of engagement ignored in Haditha case
BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Staff Writer

On March 28, the US military dropped all
charges against Stephen Tatum, a marine,
who was involved in the civilian killings in
Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005.
Tatum was charged with “two counts
of involuntary manslaughter, of unarmed
children, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault” according to the BBC
News. Spokespeople for the Marine Corps
said that they dropped all charges “in order
to continue to pursue the truth-seeking process into the Haditha incident.”
“I’m not satisfied with the outcome because the punishments don’t come close to
the crimes committed in Haditha,” Abdul
Rahman Al-Mashhadani, a member of the
Hammurabi Human Rights Organization,
said in the Frontline feature “Rules of Engagement.” “We expected that the soldiers
would be exonerated. I thought the soldiers
would be let off or...claim insanity.”
According to official reports of the incident in question, after a roadside bombing,
U.S. marines were told to clear all the houses around the area. Tatum claimed during
his trial that he was told by his squad leader
to treat the houses as hostile, according to
the Frontline report. Tatum said that he
heard shots had been fired before he en-

tered the house, so he threw a grenade into
the room he thought the shots were coming
from.
“The grenade just went off, dust was in
the air, smoke was in the air, couldn’t really
make out much more than targets,” Tatum
said. As a result three men, two women,
and a child, all unarmed innocent victims,
died, because Tatum failed to positively
identify them.
Rules of engagement require that soldiers
must positively identify enemies before
firing. According to Gary Solis, Adjunct
Professor at Georgetown Law School; Marine (Ret.), ‘positive identification’ means
simply that: “Before you can fire on an individual, you must positively identify that
individual as representing a threat to you or
your fellow Marines or soldiers.”
Tatum proceeded into a second house
using the same procedure and never took
more than two to three steps into any of the
rooms, which resulted in the death of five
more children and two more women, according to the Frontline story. Tatum said
he did not see the women and children and
only fired because he was coming to the aid
of a fellow marine who was all ready shooting.
The prosecution argued during the trial
that the marines should not have used aggressive house-clearing tactics and they
presented evidence that there was enough

light for soldiers to identify the women and
children before shooting.
“I’m not comfortable with the fact that
women and children died that day,” Tatum
said in his Frontline interview. I know I
might have had a part in it. I don’t know
if my rounds impacted anybody. That is a
burden I will have to bear.”
Tatum should have received some form
of punishment, because it was clear that
he was not following the “rules of engagement,” one of which includes positive identification. The rules of engagement entitle
every solider the right to defend themselves
against threats, but also tells them when
and against who they can use deadly forces
against.
If the military and government courts
choose not to prosecute soldiers who violate
such important and long-standing rules, the
United States could face a military that runs
amok. Defense of the nation is about discipline and following orders, both of which
seemed, at least in the moment at Haditha,
absent.
Based on the evidence, this was not a situation that required deadly force and maybe
Tatum would have realized that if he actually looked at the people he was about to
kill. The courts and military personnel need
to carefully examine the potential fall-out
from a decision to drop the charges in this
case.

Make way for all-digital format

8
What do you think?

-

■

The Beacon wants your voice to be
heard. Your Voices is the opportunity
for students to voice their concerns.
If you want your voice to be heard,
please contact The Beacon with the
following information:
1 Contact information including your email address and a
phone number where you can
be reached
2 Your name, major, and year
3 Your opinion

thebeacon.oped@
gmail.com
The Beacon reserves the right to edit
submitted pieces for space and content.

Analog television goes the way of the dinosaurs
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Staff Writer/Photographer
I remember the good old days as a young
boy sitting around my parent’s blocky old
television set with rabbit ears topped off by
long strands of tin foil rolled up reaching
towards the ceiling.
Since the early 1920s, analog transmissions have been, and still are, the industry
standard for broadcasting. But, as of February 17, 2009, all broadcasters will be mandated to shut down analog broadcasts and
switch to a digital format.
Why is this happening?
In 2005, the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) designed the Digital Television Transition and
Public Safety Act, which laid the guidelines
for the switch from analog to digital transmissions.
The transition will be most beneficial to
first responders who use radio signals to
communicate with each other. Once analog television broadcasts are terminated,
previously used airspace will be auctioned

The switch will not impact these
off, and available for many
viewers. Those directly affected will
first responders. This is key,
be people who rely on free broadcasts
because not only will it add to
received through an antenna and an anaopen airwaves and cut down on
log television set.
communication overloads, but also
For those who still rely
the ability to transon analog broadcasts,
mit over higher
there are a few options
and more powerout to help compensate
ful
frequencies
for the switch.
will be available.
First, analog television
This could help
owners can buy the contremendously in
verter box, which is exthe case of a catapected to run anywhere
strophic event, and
from $50 to $70. The
could very well
box will act as a medium
end up saving hubetween the antenna and
man lives.
Courtesy of
television, converting the
In addition to
telstarlogistics.typepad.com
digital signals to an analog
freeing up airspace,
format.
HDTV viewers will
The second option is that
be able to enjoy a
broadcast with enhanced audio and video viewers can go out and buy a digital television set, which will automatically be comquality.
According to MSNBC, an estimated 85% patible with digital signals.
A third option is to obtain a membership
of Americans pay for their television programming via cable or satellite providers. with a cable or satellite provider. And last

but not least, viewers could sit back and do
absolutely nothing at all.
Also according to MSNBC, there are an
estimated 15 million households that still
use analog transmissions, so to help relieve
these people of the financial burden, between January 1 and March 31 2009, the
NTIA will be distributing up to two $40
coupons per household that can be used for
the purchasing of converter boxes. Citizens
are able to obtain these coupons by calling
888 DTV 2009, or going to DTV.gov.
Although many people are upset about
the conversion, in time it will prove to be
a wise decision by the NTIA. As a former
volunteer firefighter, I know how important
and crucial communication between first responders can be.
When the coupon is used, the consumer
should only have to pay between $10 and
$30 for a conversion box, a small price to
pay for free television broadcasting. In addition, analog television sets will most likely become extinct in the near future. If and
when this happens, there will no longer be a
need for the analog conversion boxes.

�LIFESTYLES
APRIL 22, 2008

Real Conversations 10
Student of the Week 11

9

Autism Awareness Weekend involves family, community
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor
Like many little girls,
six-year-old
Deanna
Capece loves to
color, play with
her dollhouse, and
watch the latest
Disney movies.
But unlike most of
those girls, Deanna
would have difficulty
telling you any of this.
Deanna, a kindergarten
student at Tamaqua Elementary School, suffers
from autism spectrum
disorder, a diagnosis that
encompasses a group of
neurodevelopmental disorders that cause substantial impairments
in social interaction
and communication.
As a result, Deanna’s
speech and nonverbal
communication with
others is limited.
“Looking at her, you
would never think
that there was anything wrong with her,”
said her mother, Gloria
Capece, a psychology
major at Wilkes University. “She has issues
with communication
and eye contact. She
talks to me more than
she does with anyone, but that’s probably because I’m her
mother.”
Since the 1990s, autism
diagnoses in the United
States have increased
rapidly. According to
the Autism Society of
America, autism has
increased 172 percent
during the 1990s, compared with a disabil-

ities increase of only 16 percent. Currently,
one out of every 150 children born in the
U.S. will be diagnosed with autism.
In order to raise community awareness
for the growing number of cases, April
has been designated as Autism Awareness
Month. Autism organizations and support
groups nationally and locally have been
hosting events this month to bring about
greater community involvement.
The Autism Coalition of Luzerne County
will be sponsoring its first annual Autism
Awareness Weekend from April 25-26. A
candlelight vigil will be held at the Luzerne County Courthouse on April 25 at
6:00 p.m. The next morning, an Autism
Awareness Walk will take place at the Forty

a sibling support program,” said Koretz.
The children who were diagnosed in the
1990s spike are now entering their teen
years, bringing about a whole new set of
needs for the affected population. Before,
autism support was focused on young children and their educational needs in the
classroom.
Now, organizations such as the Autism
Coalition are looking to implement programs that can ease the transition from
childhood to adulthood, whether it is by
providing services that can allow more independent living or help with jobs.
“Currently, a lot of support exists until
they graduate high school, with many students not graduating until they are 21. After

Deanna.
In school, Deanna attends a regular-education kindergarten classroom in the morning with the help of an aide, and an autistic support program in the afternoon. She
receives speech and occupational therapy
during the school day. Outside of school,
she has Therapeutic Staff Support, where
the TSS worker comes to her home or
within the community to help her one-onone. Capece also enrolled her daughter in a
swimming program for aquatic therapy, and
is looking to find a dance program for her.
Within community programs, Capece
says that sometimes instructors are a little
shaky with autistic children because they
don’t entirely understand what the disorder
entails.
“I found that some of the instrucThey think if your child is acting up in a store, then it’s necessarily a tors were a little put off,” she said.
say they’re not scared, but
bad child...If people are aware of the extremes, it makes things a lot “They’ll
you can tell they’re standoffish.
easier, not just for yourself, but for your child.
Especially my daughter, she can
tell when they’re like this.”
Gloria Capece , psychology major
The sharp spike in the number of
autism cases makes it especially
Fort Recreation Complex, with registration that, there is a definite lack of support ser- important for the community to understand
beginning at 8:30 a.m. There will also be vices,” said Rebecca Mehnert, a professor the disease, since it is becoming more and
children’s activities, a silent auction, and at Wilkes who is also a Behavior Specialist more prevalent in all areas.
“The community needs to understand and
tables set up with information from various Consultant and a Mental Health Evaluator
mental health agencies.
at Children’s Service Center in Wilkes- talk about autism,” said Koretz. “Many of
“It’s an opportunity for families to come Barre. “At this time, the Bureau of Autism these kids are nonverbal, they have extreme
together and support each other,” said Tara Services is focusing their efforts on devel- sensory reactions, and limited social interKoretz of the Autism Coalition. “The goal oping programs to assist adults with autism, actions. It’s harder to interact with them,
of this is to raise awareness and money including providing assistance as young because they look very typical, and it’s not
for the cause. We hope to make it a yearly adults transition from school to work or col- until you talk to them that you see something is not right.”
event.”
lege or other programs.”
Capece believes that better community
According to Koretz, all of the money
Locally, the Autism Coalition works to
raised from the silent auction and registra- bring about those changes in the area. The awareness is necessary because some comtion for the walk will be used to support the only organization like it in Luzerne County, munity members may demonstrate a lack
programs in the area for children and adults it joins together community resources that of understanding when confronted with the
with autism.
can offer more help and support for the behaviors of an autistic child.
“They think if your child is acting up in a
The money raised from Autism Aware- community members affected by autism.
ness Weekend will provide the startup costs
“It’s a grassroots program that can help store, then it’s necessarily a bad child. It’s
for a new program that will aid families promote ongoing progress,” explained Ko- very frustrating sometimes. My daughter’s
with autistic children as they enter young retz. “We work together to come up with gotten a lot better at this, but when she’s
adulthood.
ideas for more programs. We help more of throwing herself on the floor and flipping
“We’re raising money in the hope of the community as a whole, not just one spe- out, people kind of look at you like ‘why
can’t you control your child?’” she said. “If
creating another program for children and cific family.”
adults with autism, like a more transitional
Capece, whose daughter was diagnosed people are aware of the extremes, it makes
not just
program to help autistic children out of
when she was just over three years old, things a lot easier,
for yourself,
but for
high
school, and
has utilized the programs available
your
in her
area for
child.”

�LIFESTYLES

10

APRIL 22, 2008

Real Conversations bring real issues to the forefront
BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Staff Writer

Students voiced their opinions about social economic discrimination in Real Conversations on April 15, an event hosted by
Dr. Ebonie Stringer, an assistant sociology
professor.
“This is a good topic to start on because
so many students deal with economic issues,” Stringer said. “As a matter of fact,
one might argue that the economic strain of
being a college student is one of the top issues that students are dealing with.”
Richard Czyzyk, a graduate assistant, developed Real Conversations, which is a series of monthly events at which students can
engage in meaningful conversations about
thought-provoking topics of their choice.
This discussion design encourages students
to use language they’re most comfortable
with to talk about issues facing their campus or the nation, in a safe environment.
The Center for Global Education and Diversity also helped develop the program,
along with support from Dr. Maria Suarez,
Dr. Ellen Flint, and Brenda Stanley.

“[Students] needed an outlet to speak,”
Czyzyk said. “We wanted to provide an
environment that was safe and protective, where they didn’t have to fear being
ridiculed or laughed at, or physically attacked.”
The program was created to get students
to step out of their comfort zones and ask
questions about current issues in the world.
The conversation was mostly generated by
students, but Stringer started the discussion
with an introduction on social economic
discrimination.
“It’s hard to wrap your brain around it, but
our economy is suffering, and because of
that the gap between the classes is increasing which is apparent everywhere,” said
Valerie Martinez, a junior political science
major. “This is certainly a problem that
concerns the institutional body of Wilkes
University because we all pay Wilkes for
something or get paid by Wilkes for something, so we have economic ties.”
The conversation was well-structured and
included one-on-one talking along with
group discussion, which was informal and
comfortable, according to Amber Kozo, a
freshman psychology and criminology ma-

jor.
“I think the real conversation event allowed
students with different
opinion[s] on a topic
[to] speak their mind
and help broaden the
knowledge of those in
the room,” Kozo said.
“It brought together different people on campus
who may not have ever
met otherwise.”
At the pilot meeting,
22 students attended
and said that they would
The Beacon/Cara Koster
like to have future conversations about racial Dr. Ebonie Stringer facilitated a Real Conversations event
discrimination, college about economic discrimination on April 15. The series of
social grouping, the monthly conversation are meant to provide a place for stunegative and positive dents to talk about important issues in a safe environment.
aspects of virtual communities (Facebook and Myspace), the in their home communities,” Czyzyk said.
presidential race, gender equality, religious “They have to prepare for a global economy
tolerance, the digital age, sexism, and col- in order to be successful and we want them
lege student &amp; social implications.
to start thinking about multiple perspectives
“The world that they [students] enter into and providing them these outlets will be a
when they graduate isn’t just going to be great opportunity for that.”

"Live Acoustic Music"
Wednesday. April 23rd
6 :30-8 :30pm
Aaron Mc Curdy

"Steve Beisser"
Friday, A ptil 25th
7 :30-10 :30pm
Live New Musician in Cafe'

Dorit forget to s,ell yollI' textbooks brl any ··
time at the booksto.re~ We wiD. be on campus
du.ring the week of exams for buyback!
CA + BILL HENRY at 215-?6H619
0R CHECK THE WEB S.11iE OR IN FORMATION

1

Justgo to: "u-BFREE"

�APRIL 22, 2008

LIFESTYLES

BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer

procedures, and confusing traditions, which allow for a more dynamic learning expeonly become more frustrating for people rience. I knew that by getting involved in
who do not speak English. I witnessed first such a school, my comments and concerns
hand how nurses and physicians have treat- would be taken more seriously and have
ed Vietnamese immigrants. They can be more influence than going to other more
unprofessional, careless, and inappropriate established schools. I know that decisions
in failing to honor their promises to provide made because of my class will affect the future of graduating Wilkes pharmacists.
quality patient care.
For example, the Vietnamese elderly use
The Beacon: Explain this volunteer
traditional creams and lotions that have
program that you are involved in.
scents unfamiliar to health care
Nguyen: The volunteer proprofessionals of the Western
gram in Binghamton, New
world. As a result, physiYork, has many services.
cians and nurses would
Since the new immiassume that these pagrants are not accustients are unkempt
tomed to life in the
and unsanitary. They
United States and do
would then speak to
not speak English,
these patients from
they need help with
the hallway or use
many things. We
sticks to perform
help with all facets
physical examinaof everyday living:
tions. The patient
explaining cultural
was left feeling inhudifferences, translating
man and unfit to be in
paperwork for health
the presence of the docinsurance claims, accomtor. To make things worse,
panying patients to physieven the pharmacists treated
them with indifference. Con- Photo courtesy Oanh Nguyen cian visits, and even getting a prescription refilled
sequently, so many of these
Vietnamese immigrants would take their at the local pharmacy. As a pharmacist, I
medications incorrectly and were discour- will have that much more knowledge to imaged from obtaining further medical assis- part on the community, hopefully making
life easier for a few more people.
tance and advice.
I wanted to become a pharmacist to serve
The Beacon: Why did you decide to volas a communicational bridge between the
health care system and patients. I chose to unteer?
Nguyen: Volunteering was not a hard
attend Wilkes because its pharmacy program was still developing, which would decision. I was once an immigrant to this

11

Student of the Week: Oanh Nguyen
Oanh Nguyen is a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant currently in her fourth
year of pharmacy school. Though she is extremely busy, she still finds time to help out
in the community.
Nguyen volunteers as a translator for new
Vietnamese immigrants trying to establish
themselves in the local community in her
hometown of Binghamton, New York. Here
at Wilkes, she decided that she wanted to
continue helping others by taking an independent study class while she volunteers at
a local clinic helping less fortunate people
receive free medical care.
In addition to volunteering, Nguyen also
helped organize drives to raise funds for
the community and obtain supplies for the
clinic. Because of the volunteer work she
does for Vietnamese immigrants in her
hometown and for the people here in the
Wilkes community, The Beacon has chosen
Nguyen as its Student of the Week.
The Beacon: Why did you decide to
come to Wilkes?
Nguyen: My decision in coming to Wilkes dates back to when I was child. Initially, I made the decision of becoming a
pharmacist at the age ten years old when I
first came to the United States.
With my unique background, I have seen
through fresh eyes how healthcare can affect people’s lives, especially those who
are new to this country. The healthcare
system is a mystery for the general public
with its convoluted language, extensive

country and also needed help. I was fortunate enough to learn English and advance in
society. I remember how hard acclimating
to society was. Volunteer work is a rewarding experience because I know that I am offering a helping hand that no one did for our
family.

The Beacon: What do you plan to do after
graduating? Do you plan to do more volunteer work in the future?
Nguyen: The program is experiencing
new changes to the population. We have
a decreasing number of actual immigrants
to the area; however, new complex issues
have arisen. These issues include alcoholism and drug addiction. Therefore, the program needs a different type of volunteer because solely time and effort is not sufficient.
Last year, I decided go to the University of
Utah School of Alcoholism and other Drug
Dependencies. Not only did I learn about
addiction to drugs, but I also realized that
addiction is much more complicated than it
seems. Addiction can arise from not only
poor choices but also genetic predisposition
and just plain unfortunate circumstances.
I also learned a lot about myself on this
trip. I learned how obsession could be a
form of addiction and that blaming yourself
or others is not a healthy way to deal with
addiction. Blame is an active way to ignore
a difficult situation. The only real method
to deal with addiction is to accept it and actively pursue those steps towards resolving
the true problem at hand. Hopefully, when I
graduate, I can return to New York to start a
service to help as many people as I can find
those steps.

Are you voting in the April 22 primary?

“Yes I am, because I think voting
is essential. I think everybody should
vote. You actually get to voice your
own opinion for something.”
Ryan Holmes
junior, English major

“Yes because I think that we have
a voice and people forget that we
have a voice…”
Ashley Yob
sophomore, psychology major

“No, I’m not planning to vote.
The reason being I really don’t follow politics, and I don’t believe I
should have a vote on something I
have no idea about.”
Joshua Pauling
junior, nursing major

“Yes, I’m planning to vote because it’s my first opportunity to do
so.”
Katie DeBias
junior, education major
All photos The Beacon/Matthew Gogas

�A&amp;E
APRIL 22, 2008

Emo violence abroad
Crossword/Website
River Grille

13
14
15

LOCAL BAND SPOTLIGHT: The Big Green
'

BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Asst. News Editor
Three years after competing in a local high school talent show, The BIG Green has
switched gears, battling area bands of all genres for prizes as big as a stage on the 2008
Van’s Warped Tour.
Inspired by the Disney movie, The BIG Green, the ska band frequently plays at Cafe
Metropolis. After a few member changes and a self-described unforgettable “crappy”
band trip, The BIG Green has settled down and formed a stable fan base in WilkesBarre.
The Beacon recently sat down with Pat Zeigler, sophomore communications major,
and Matt Duffy, undeclared freshman, to speak about a band that was formed in order
to get into ska shows for free and has since become something that all six members of
The Big Green are passionate about.
The Beacon: How would you describe
your music?
Zeigler: I would describe us like…
Thanksgiving dinner. It’s just a lot of different stuff coming together, but ska is
definitely the mashed potatoes for our dinner because it’s our common ground. Everything we do is based off of ska, but we
have a huge punk influence and we’re all
secretly emo fans deep down. We all enjoy
metal, hip hop, rap, and reggae.
The Beacon:: Who are the other members and what do they play?
Zeigler: Tim Bendick is our drummer.
Mike Galli plays sax. Duffy is rhythm guitar, if you want to get technical. Rick Berry
is bass and Billy Barnes is lead guitar. And
I’m trombone.

The Beacon:Tell me about your first show.
Zeigler: It was the Dallas High School talent show almost three years ago.
The Beacon:Did you win?
Zeigler: I don’t remember.
Duffy: We had fun. That’s all that matters.
Zeigler: We made fools of ourselves and just had fun. That’s basically what we do.
The Beacon:Have you won any other contests or shows?
Duffy: Second place is our forte. We never quite move up but we don’t suck completely,
so we’re always right in the middle.
Zeigler: We’re usually always second place and I think we’re really cool with that because if someone was like “Yeah, we got first!” we’d be those guys that go, “Well first is
the worst and second is the best!”
The Beacon:What is the biggest show
you’ve played?
Zeigler: The Toasters; it was absolutely incredible…
Duffy: I think another big highlight
for me was the first Metro show ever.
We might not have played as well as we
do now - like we were terrible - but I
just loved it. It was like a dream come
true, almost. I always wanted to play
in Metro and we finally did and it was
awesome.
Zeigler: Bigger Thomas was a big
show, too. And they actually liked us.

The Beacon: Are you currently working on any projects?
Zeigler: Right now we’re kind of taking a hiatus to get new stuff together,
but we have some shows coming up…
The Beacon: What makes your band
We’re also working on trying to get in
unique?
to play at some colleges next fall.
Zeigler: We all basically write and sing
Duffy: I want to play at Wilkes really
all of the songs.
Photo courtesy The BIG Green
bad.
Duffy: It’s not one person. We don’t
Zeigler: We’re trying to finalize a
really have a leader. That’s something a The Big Green competed for a spot on the Vans Warped Tour on April 19. Here [left to
little different about our band, you know? right] Pat Zeigler, Mike Galli, Tim Bendik, Matt Duffy and Rick Berry perform at the CD. Right now it’s all up in the air
because we don’t have money. We’re
Usually bands have a set leader, but we Sherman Theater. Missing from the picture is guitarist Billy Barnes.
broke musicians.
definitely don’t.
Zeigler: When we’re onstage we all talk, we all lead songs, even Bendik on the
The Beacon: What do you want the Wilkes community and your fans to know about
drums.
you?
Duffy: It has its ups and downs, though, but that just comes with the territory of
Duffy: That we’re single.
sharing responsibility.
Zeigler: And that we like to have a good time. We’re always down to play; we’ll play
anything. We love to play music and get together and hang out. Basically, that’s all we
The Beacon: What would you say are your greatest influences?
want to do: play music for people, even for people that aren’t into ska. I think most people
Duffy: It changes every week. I’ll find a new band that I love and listen to them all
never give it a chance.
the time.
Duffy: I’ve had people come up to me at shows before and say, “I’ve never listened to
Zeigler: Old Catch 22, Suicide Machines, Op Ivy, Rancid. We all love The Slackers
ska before, but I liked you guys.” And that’s what keeps me going.
and The Toasters and we take tips from them... We always try to break down and bring
Zeigler: We’re just trying to represent the genre in this area and give it a good run...
in horn parts and bring in really strong powerful music. Sometimes I think we may
Basically, we’re ready and willing.
even be inspired by Streetlight Manifesto.

�APRIL 22, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

Emo culture endures violence abroad
BY MARISSA PHILLIPS
Beacon A&amp;E Editor
The emo subculture just never seems to
win.
In terms of subculture satire, emo is the
losing party, always the brunt of the jokes.
In terms of subculture warfare, emo kids
are struggling in a battle that seems almost
surreal.
As absurd as it may sound, subculture
war isn’t just some notion reserved for
song lyrics and periodic music venue scuffles. Recently and pretty close to home,
problems have reached newsworthy proportions. In the passing months Mexico
has seen an anti-emo movement that’s
grown to significant proportions and resulted in multiple acts of violence.
According to Rolling Stone magazine,
“...800 young people came to the city of
Queretaro with the sole purpose of finding emo kids to beat up,” News of the
violence has made it into numerous other
news sources outside of Mexico, such as
TIME magazine and L.A. Weekly. Log
onto Youtube.com and you can even find
footage of mobs attacking their victims
and chanting “Death to Emos.”

For those who may not be entirely wellversed on what emo is, it is a subculture,
comparable to punk or goth, in that it extends from a particular musical preference. While emo is a genre of music, there
is also a fashion style and value ideology
that is usually associated with the subculture. Although, as with any subculture, it
is impossible and unfair to place a set of
stereotypical standards, a general description of the subculture offered by laweekly.
com notes, “They are drawn to the music
of bands such as Dashboard Confessional,
Hawthorne Heights and Alesana. They like
the style - shaggy bangs, skintight jeans,
studded belts...and the loose ideology of
getting ‘emotional.’”.
One of the key issues that led to the attack
on the emo subcultre is the fact that popular TV host Kristoff, of the Mexican channel Telehit, went off on an anti-emo rant
on television, calling emo kids “idiotic”
and attacking their subculture and lifestyle
(mtv.com). Although the host attempted to
dismiss his statements as a joke after the attacks, the damage was already done.
After the incident in Queretaro, more violence occurred, with emo kids as their vic-

tims. In response to
the violence, emo
kids organized a
non-violent march in
protest, but despite
well-intentioned efforts, that eventually turned violent
as well.
There may not be a large-scale anti-emo movement in the U.S.,
Although the U.S.
but the subculture still suffers from a heavy amount of critihasn’t seen any
cism, as seen in this picture from duckduckrevolution.com
grand-scale anti-emo
Whether or not the events in Mexico dimovement compararectly
effect the U.S., the incidents certainly
ble to Mexico, it can’t exactly be said that
demonstrate
subculture disdain to an exemo kids are accepted with open arms. Fortreme.
Although
there may not be an antimer Wilkes student, Andrew Pryor stated
emo
movement
resulting
in large-scale acts
that in the U.S. “Emo kids are viewed as the
of
violence,
it’s
impossible
to determine
annoying trend jumpers.” He explained that
when
a
long-running
joke
can
turn ugly.
he could imagine events similar to the ones
Former
King’s
student,
Pete
Phillips, exin Mexico “happening among the more implains
that
he
doesn’t
rule
out
the
possibility
mature scene kids.”
of
confl
icts
to
increase
in
the
US
in
the near
A search of the world wide web bears a
future.
“People
in
America
wouldn’t
let that
slew of anti-emo games, songs, blogs, and
get
that
far
on
a
grand
scale
because
parents
articles. Go to Newgrounds.com and you’ll
find the game “Kill the Emo,” and look up are ridiculously overprotective. But if you
“emo” on popular site, urban dictionary.com ask me if something like that can happen ten
and one of the listed definitions is, “Some- years from now. Based on current events…I
think grand scale violence is on it’s way to
thing all stereotypes agree on they hate.”
becoming more prevalent.”

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�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

67

BY CHRISTOPHER KUDRAK
Beacon Staff Writer
1
5
9
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
23
24
25
26
27
29
32
34
35
36
38
39
41
42
44
45
46
47
49
50
51
54
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66

ACROSS
70’s Hairstyle
Furniture accumulation
Hoard
Back end
Catch sight of
Pluto’s number
Europe volcano
Summit
Red headed orphan
Controversial energy source
Campfire remains
Mr.’s mate
Happiness
Conjunction
Large pond bird
Intense anger
Billiard stick
Pottery fragment
Musician ____ Charles
Failure
Possessive pronoun
Stirred to action
Squeeze by
Comply
Ace possibility
Bill &amp; ___’s Excellent Adventure
Charged particles
Star Wars character ____ Solo
Like a fox
Roman god of the sun
Sheep cry
Made too easy
Acid in a protein
Las Vegas lake
As well
Tortilla dip
Lima country
Messy person
Hit with ones leg
Dance movement

:,

....

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
21
22
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
36
37
40
43
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59

Variety
DOWN
Amphitheater
Unborn child
Cattle or Dude
Freud stage
Leave
Computer operators
Fight
Young child
Large jungle snake
Like most toothpaste
Domini preceder
Mix
He opposite
Australia flightless bird
Partly open
Spelling contest
Farm structures
Peddlers item
Monopoly piece
Autumn tool
Hurricane center
Cola type
Like some cars
Front part of the leg
Allow
Reading or B&amp;O, for example
Star Wars Character Obi____ Kenobi
Hardy ____
Bank robbery, for example
A.K.A. Clay
Sight, for example
Bowling term
Famous outlaw “____ the Kid”
Greek fabulist
Sun-dried brick house
Persian Gulf country
Wretchedly bad
Little demons
Encounter
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Inquire

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we,e,£

Perezhilton.com
BY STEPHANIE GERCHMAN
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor

If you’re like me you love to keep up with what’s going
on with all of the celebrities. Well, I get all of my information from PerezHilton.com, Hollywood’s most-hated
website.
It’s probably Hollywood’s most-hated website because
it exposes drug problems, flopped records, plummeting
careers, and ugly fashion choices. With celebrities described as being “gay, gay, gay,” “shiteous,” “icky icky

poo,” and “yummy yummy screw,” no one can top Perez’s
way of insulting everyone. He also throws in random news
bits that are interesting or bizarre and labels them “News
of the Weak.”
Well, you’re probably wondering who is this Perez Hilton
guy, anyway? His real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira,
Jr. He got the name Perez Hilton as a play on Paris Hilton,
of course. He claims that they are friends and the name is
all in fun. Originally he began his career as an actor and
got into media relations for GLADD and started blogging
from there.

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APRIL 22, 2008

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Since then he has taken pride in outing gay celebrities
and telling the truth about others. Perez not only blogs, but
he is also launching a radio show in early May. He acts as
a celebrity news correspondent for MTV’s TRL and he has
his own show on VH1 called “What Perez Sez.”
He never posts information before he is sure about it, so
you know what you’re reading is true. He posts pictures
and videos that will be sure to make you laugh…or at least
smile. I give Perezhilton.com an F... for Fabulous!

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

Dinner Review: River Grille
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

With the summer heat fast approaching, a relaxing dinner on the patio after a long day of work can be just the
fix. But where, locally, can diners go for an affordable
meal while still enjoying the outdoor atmosphere?
River Grille, which opened approximately two months
ago, is just that, affordable with the luxury of outdoor dining.
Located at 670 North River Street in the Waterfront
Business Complex, the River Grille varies from affordable prices for burgers and sandwiches to more costly
pasta and meat entrees.
The casual fare and burgers menu ranges from $7.00
for a “half pound Angus” burger to $10.00 for a sampler,
which includes mozzarella half moons, zucchini fries and
shrimp. All burgers are served with fries and a pickle.
The pricier entrees range from a grilled chicken dish for
$13.00 to a 10 oz. Angus filet mignon for $28.00. Entrees
are served with either soup or salad and the appropriate
sides.
Hoping to dine outdoors on a warm Friday evening,
my guests and I arrived at River Grille at approximately
6:00 p.m. Unfortunately, the outdoor patio was filled with
guests enjoying the Happy Hour specials. Already hungry, we opted for a table indoors.
The atmosphere of River Grille is casual. Some fellow

CUMB

APRIL 22, 2008
The Beacon/Alissaa Lindner

diners appeared to have come straight from office while
jeans and a nice top were certainly also appropriate. The
actual dining room felt private, offering a great option for
a summer date. The outdoor patio and bar seemed more
playful, definitely a place to meet old friends to catch
up.
Our server was very prompt in bringing our drinks and
warm Italian bread with an oil and herb dipping sauce.
My guests decided to split the Maryland crab cakes as
an appetizer and we all chose meals from the casual fare
menu, as we are college students on a budget.
The Maryland crab cakes for $9 were a bit pricey, and
deceiving. Although delicious and full of flavorful crab,
the appetizer is one 4oz. crab cake. At almost $10, despite The River Grille is located in the Waterfront Business
good flavor, the crab cake was not worth the money.
Complex on North River Street.
Our meals arrived approximately 20 minutes after placing spring season was evident in the juicy tomato and crispy
the order. Each was sizzling hot and presented very neatly onion served on the burger.
on white plates.
The other guest chose the sampler, which offered chicken
I chose the BBQ cheddar burger, which comes topped tenders, onion rings, shrimp, mozzarella half moons and
with cheddar, BBQ sauce, bacon and onions. The burger zucchini fries. For $10 the sampler was small; however
was served on a large Kaiser roll and grilled to medium- each option was full of flavor.
well perfection. The BBQ sauce was a bit spicy but not unAt approximately $40 for three meals, tax and tip, River
bearable and fries are always the perfect side to a burger.
Grille offers affordable prices for casual dining. The atmoOne of my guests also opted for a burger, choosing the sphere is more appropriate for a date night; however, those
half pound Angus. Her burger, grilled to medium and wishing to dine with friends may enjoy the outdoor patio.
served on a Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato and onion was
Grade: A“perfect,” in her own words. The delicious produce of the

LAND

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• Free Internet access
• Laundry
• Free off-street parking
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• Secure entry/ Remote access-buzz in
• Fully-equipped granite kitchen
• Cable TV

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Wilkes-Barre, PA
www.cumberlandliving.com

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�SPORTS

16

APRIL 22, 2008

Commentary

G
AME OF THE WEEK
MLB: Atlanta Braves v New York Mets

NL East rivalry heads to Queens

BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
For 11 years, there was only one team to
beat in the National League East: the Atlanta Braves. During that stretch, they went to
the World Series five times while winning
one, in what is accepted as one of the greatest stretches of success in baseball history.
That run ended in 2006, however, as the
New York Mets easily won the division, becoming, almost overnight, the future of the
NL East.
Now, one season after both teams failed to
make the playoffs, all bets are off.
The Atlanta Braves let long-time centerfielder Andruw Jones walk in the off-season,
opting instead for an outfield that consists
of Matt Diaz, veteran Mark Kotsay (.220,
1 HR, 3 RBI) and future star Jeff Francoeur
(.281, 3, 12).
They bolstered their starting rotation by
bringing back Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.38), who
spent his formative years in Atlanta before
spending five years with the Mets. Glavine,
who brings two Cy Young awards and 300
wins to the team, will join ace Tim Hudson
(2-1, 3.38) and future Hall-of-Famer John
Smoltz (2-0, 0.82) in one of the more formidable rotations in the National League.
On the offensive side of the ball, the
Braves find themselves busting at the seams
with youthful talent, including catcher
Brian McCann (.271, 3, 9) shortstop Yunel
Escobar (.345, 3, 11) and second baseman
Kelly Johnson (.261, 1, 4), who join the veteran switch-hitting tandem of Chipper Jones
(.404, 2, 11) and Mark Teixeira (.204, 2, 6).

Double Take

Steph examines
the stats that
truly matter...

BY STEPHANIE GERCHMAN
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor

While the Braves are packed with veteran
leadership and young stars, the one problem that has arose with the team has been
in their bullpen, as Peter Moylan and Rafael
Soriano have landed on the disabled list,
joining fellow reliever Mike Gonzalez, who
is currently recovering from Tommy John
surgery.
While many have predicted the Braves to
be a contender in the division this year, they
first need to get by their stiff competition in
the form of the New York Mets, who made
the biggest splash of the off-season when
they acquired pitcher Johan Santana from
the Minnesota Twins.
His help is needed on the Mets, who are
still trying to forget last season, when they
memorably blew a seven game lead with 17
games left to play to lose the division to the
Philadelphia Phillies.
Santana (1-2, 3.05), a two-time Cy Young
winner, makes an already solid pitching
staff even better, as he leads a young staff
that consists of John Maine (1-1, 3.78), Oliver Perez (1-0, 3.38) and Mike Pelfrey (2-0,
1.50).
The Mets are currently without
veteran ace Pedro Martinez, who
injured himself during his first start
of the season and will be out until at
least the middle of May.
While the starting rotation for
the Mets is a major strength, their
bullpen will need to remain healthy
if they want to be effective in September.
Led by veteran closer Billy Wagner (2 saves), the bullpen consists
of setup men Aaron Heilman (9.2
IP, 5.59) and Pedro Feliciano (3.1
IP, 5 K), as well as sinkerballer Joe
Smith (6.2 IP, 1.35) and the hard
throwing Duaner Sanchez (1.0 IP,
1 K), who is back after missing the

entire 2007 season due to injuries.
The lineup, which is as potent as ever, is
anchored by rising star David Wright (.313,
4, 15), who is turning into one of the best
third basemen in the game, while his partner on the left side of the infield, shortstop
Jose Reyes (.292, 7 runs, 1 SB), is looking
to rebound after a tumultuous 2007 campaign where he hit .251 after the All Star
break.
The slugging due of centerfielder Carlos
Beltran (.289, 1, 7) and first baseman Carlos
Delgado (.245, 1, 5) round out the offense,
although the newcomers Ryan Church
(.340, 2, 9) and Angel Pagan (.348, 9 runs,
10 RBI) have made a splash in the young
season, helping to offset the absence of injured veteran outfielder Moises Alou.
The Mets and the Braves have had their
fair share of memorable games over the
years, and this series should prove to be no
different.
The veteran pitching of the Braves is
deeper than the young guns of the Mets,
although Johan Santana is the most proven
arm of the two teams.
Although the Braves’ offense has a slight
edge, the series is going to come down to
relief pitching, where the Mets’ late-inning
arms will make the bigger difference.
The Pick:
Game 1: Jurrjens vs. Pelfrey
New York Mets: 6
Atlanta Braves: 2
Game 2: Hudson vs. Maine
New York Mets: 3
Atlanta Braves: 2
Game 3: Smoltz vs. Figueroa
Atlanta Braves: 6
New York Mets: 3

This week we’ve got the New York Mets
vs. the Atlanta Braves.
I can’t compare these to animals. Making fun of uniforms and color has been
done. This time, I thought of three things
that come to mind when I think “Mets” and
three things that remind me of “Braves.”
Clearly, that would be the most accurate
way to choose a winner.
First, for the Mets would be “metrosexuals.” Basically, they dress better and use
more hair products than the average woman. They are feminine, yet manly, they
have got to be ready to take on anything
with the strength of a man and a woman.
Next, is the “Met,” that museum in New
York City. It’s huge and the stuff inside
is worth a lot of money. Last, I’ve got the
Metro, the subway system in Washington
D.C. It’s confusing, it’s dirty, but it’s fast.
If the Mets are well dressed, manly, worth
a lot of money, confusing, dirty, and fast…
they are sure to chase away the Braves.
The Braves bring to mind a song by the
Olsen Twins called “Bravery.” Yes, I used
to watch Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen videos with my cousin. She was Ashley, I was
Mary-Kate. Mary-Kate grew up to be a
creeper. Judge me all you’d like. Anyway,
“Bravery” is about not being afraid of rollercoasters and shots and monsters under
the bed. I’m pretty sure that if the Braves
can man up to the monsters under the bed,
they can take on the Metrosexuals. Next,
is possibly the best movie ever, The Brave
Little Toaster You can’t beat a movie in
which the heroes are used appliances, led
by the bravest of all, Toaster. Finally, just
the word brave. If you are brave, you definitely aren’t afraid of the Mets.
So, who’s the winner? Well, my silly little analysis one would guess the Mets will
win. I didn’t have much to say about the
Braves. Contrary to what you may think,
the Braves are going to win. After all, this
is the land of the free and the home of the
Braves.

�SPORTS

APRIL 22, 2008

17

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SPORTS

Will Formula 1 return to America?

Announcement expected on future of U.S. Grand Prix

BY GERRARD HETMAN
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

For many American sports fans, the international motor racing series known as
Formula 1 is often overlooked in favor of
American-based series such as NASCAR
and the newly-formed IndyCar series. Pitting the world’s top drivers and racing teams
against each other on an international tour,
Formula 1 has traditionally struggled to gain
widespread acceptance in America, despite
holding races in the US for many years. In
the coming weeks, however, an announcement on the series’ future in America is expected that could affect it’s popularity with
Americans for years to come.
For the first time since 1999, the Formula
1 calendar dose not include a grand prix
race in the United States in its 2008 lineup.
From 2000 through 2007, the series was
an annual visitor at the fabled
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), often considered to be the cathedral
of American motor
sports. However, the
race- known as the
United States Grand Prix
(USGP) - was not scheduled for 2008 after IMS owner Tony George and Formula 1
CEO Bernie Ecclestone failed to reach an
agreement on extending the contract for the
event beyond 2007.
Ecclestone, who is known for making inflammatory statements in the world press,
expressed no sorrow over the departure of
Indianapolis from the F1 schedule. However, the loss of the race ignited a firestorm
of complaints from racing teams, sponsors,
and car manufacturers- many of whom
were furious that their names and products
would lose exposure in the huge American
consumer market. Since then, many of the
teams and sponsors have demanded that the
series return to the United States, with Indianapolis being the only venue in America
capable of hosting an F1 race without extensive modifications. Media reports have
suggested that George and IMS administrators are exploring options to bring F1 back
to Indianapolis as soon as possible- perhaps
as early as 2009, when the venue will celebrate it’s 100th anniversary.
“It’s hard to judge from the outside, but
certainly there’s been more buzz about the
United States Grand Prix coming back than
there has been on other recent occasions
when a Grand Prix has been dropped” said
Keith Collantine, editor and publisher of the
blog f1fanatic.co.uk. “There are strong rumors that the car manufacturers and many

sponsors were unhappy at the race being
dropped.”
A major key to the return of the series to
Indianapolis is finding a title sponsor for
the race to help pay the exorbitant licensing
fees demanded by Ecclestone’s administration. According to press reports, IMS officials have hired a sports marketing firm to
help secure a title sponsor in order to put
forth a proposal to bring F1 back to the
world-famous venue.
Before coming to Indianapolis, F1
had been a regular
visitor to American
tracks. The series
held a grand prix at
Watkins Glen , NY from
1961 through 1980, while also
racing on temporary tracks built on city
streets in Long Beach, Detroit, Dallas, Las
Vegas and Phoenix in the years
during and after the Watkins
Glen races. F1 pulled out
of the US after the last
of three unpopular
races in Phoenix
in 1991, but appeared to find a
solid home at Indianapolis. The first
F1 race at the track
in 2000
drew over 200,000
s p e c t a t o r s , and the 2007 USGP saw
rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton score his
second straight career win. However, Indianapolis has also endured criticism after
several races failed to meet fans e x p e c tations. Most notable among
these was the
2005
USGP,
when only six
cars started
the race after
most of the
teams withdrew over
safety concerns with the
tires they were running on.
While Indianapolis seems
a logical choice, the possibility remains that
F1 could return to America at a different
venue in 2009 and beyond. Ecclestone is
keen to feature venues that promote glitz
and glamour, and has long suggested the
possibility of a race on the streets of a major city, such as Las Vegas or New York.
Other purpose-built tracks that feature a
road course layout, such as Road America
in Wisconsin or Laguna Seca in California,
have also been suggested by fans and commentators. However, some of these tracks

are in remote locations that create logistical
difficulties, and may also require millions
of dollars worth of modifications to make
the tracks compliant with guidelines for
hosting Formula 1 races.
Formula 1 officials normally announce the
F 1
schedule for the following season
towards the end of the
summer
months,
with many races
being secured under contract well

before the
announcement. As
the
2008 season races on, teams,
drivers, sponsors, and fans alike anxiously
await an announcement to see if F1 will return to Indianapolis- or any other venue in
the United States- in 2009. With Formula
1 expanding into new markets in Asia and
the Middle East, some question if a United
States Grand Prix is still relevant for the
commercial success of the sport. However,
many fans and experts believe F1 can succeed in the United States with a little give
and take.
“I do think the United States Grand Prix
can become a regular fixture - after all, it was
from 1959-91 and in 1982 alone there were
three Grands Prix in America.” Collantine
added. “ Ecclestone needs to treat Americ a
as a special case and realize a
world championship must
have a round in the United
States - even if he
only makes, say, $2
million per year out
of it instead
of five.”

Will F1 make a grand
American comeback in 2009? For t h e
sport’s dedicated fan base, it’s time to wait
and see.

APRIL 22, 2008

Golf team
headed to
playoffs
BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon Staff Writer

In the shuffle of the other spring sports
here on campus, the Wilkes University golf
team has the possibility of going unrecognized for their hard work. However, the
2008 squad has been quietly fashioning a
tremendous year on the fairways and is unlikely to remain anonymous for the rest of
the season.
The team came into last Thursday’s prestigious Susquehanna Invitational with an
overall record of 6-1 in tri and quad matches.
The lone loss stemmed from a single, questionable stroke to the pre-season conference
favorite Devils from FDU-Florham.
While the team came up short at the invitational, finishing in 16th place overall, the
golfers are optimistic about the rest of the
season which includes the upcoming Freedom Conference Championships later this
week.
“Overall, we did a fair job. We could
have done better, we just didn’t get the
breaks today,” offered assistant coach Guy
Rothrie. “It was the team’s first time playing on the course and there were a couple of
tough holes and some tight fairways we had
to squeeze the ball onto. The local golfers
had a much better knowledge and feel for
the course, but we missed some easy putts
that beat us up a little in the end.”
Sophomore Sean Madden, who carded the
low round of the tournament for the Colonels with an 83, echoed Rothrie’s statement,
“We did all right, but we missed some easy
shots.” Madden added, “[The team] played
respectable, but we definitely could have
done a bit better.”
A tribute to the team’s success this season can be credited to a trip they took to the
Peach State during spring break. They also
got some added help from one of the local
pro golfers from the area. “It was amazing,”
acknowledged Madden. “We got to golf for
six straight days and relax with the team. It
was a big advantage for us as we got to work
on our game and become more comfortable
with our swing a couple of weeks before we
could get outside back at home.”
“It kick-started the season and got us going early,” offered Rothrie. “Spending a
week together really helped out team chemistry and I think it prepared us for the season.”

See GOLF page 19

�SPORTS

APRIL 22, 2008

Colonels advance to
Freedom Finals
COURTESY OF
SPORTS INFORMATION
The second-seeded Wilkes University
men’s tennis team defeated third-seeded
Manhattanville College 5-1 on Saturday
afternoon at the Ralston Complex in the
semifinals of the Freedom Conference team
playoffs. The win improved the Colonels
to 14-2 overall, while the Valiants saw their
overall record fall to 9-6.
With the win, the Colonels advance to the
Freedom Conference championship game,
where they will play top-seeded FDU Florham in hopes of winning their first ever
conference crown.
Needing only five team points to advance,
Wilkes took the early lead by winning two
out of the three doubles matches. The Valiants received their only team point at first
doubles, as Julian Oribe and Allen Cheon
defeated Kyle Ungvarsky and Chris Cozzillio by an 8-5 count. However, the Colonels
would have control the rest of the way, by

winning five straight matches.
Wes McCollum and Jon Rohrbach earned
a 9-8 (11-9) victory over Lance Dorfi and
Kevin Lyons at second doubles, while Josh
Gardner and Brian Fanelli handled Gabriel
Mallen and Tim Crakes 8-2 at third doubles.
Heading into singles competition, Wilkes
needed three points to seal the win. Ungvarsky got the Colonels one of those points at
second singles, defeating Dorfi 6-2, 6-3.
Cozzillio would beat Cheon in straight sets,
6-3, 6-4 at third singles, and Gardner would
win at fifth singles over Crakes, 6-1, 6-1 to
earn Wilkes the trip to the finals.
Matches between McCollum and Oribe at
first singles, Rohrbach and Lyons at fourth
singles, and Fanelli and Mallen at sixth singles were unfinished due to the outcome of
the match already being decided.

GOLF from PAGE 18

How far has that team chemistry evolved? We will find out later this week on Saturday
when the Freedom Conference championships tee off. At the play-offs the Colonels will
get another crack at heavily favored FDU. “Our goal is to win the conference and qualify
for Nationals,” said Madden.
It sounds like a good plan, but winning the conference is not an easy feat, as the last
conference championship for the Colonels came in 1979. “We are pretty confident,” said
Madden. “As long as we stay focused and play like we know we are capable, we should
be all right.”

Baseball from PAGE 20
little flat in the second game,” said Garofoli. “Woz pitched a hell of a game but the
bats didn’t do it for him today.”
The Aggies 2-1 series win over the Colonels puts them in second place with an 7-6
conference record while the Colonels are 67. The Colonels are home against Baptiste
Bible tomorrow at 4pm. On Friday, they
play the initial game of a three-game series
with the DeSales Bulldog at home before
going on the road Saturday for the final two
games.

16

Number of season wins for
the Lady Colonels tennis team
following their playoff win on
Saturday.

19

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Wilkes freshman Wes McCollum takes a swing during a match on April 19 against
Manhattanville College. McCollum won his doubles match 9-8. Wilkes would go on to
defeat Manhattanville by a score of 5-1.

“DODGING FOR DOLLARS”

Freedom Standings
1. Manhattanville 9-4
2. Delaware Valley 7-6
3. DeSales 8-7
4. Arcadia 8-7
5. King’s 7-8
6. Wilkes 6-7
7. FDU-Florham 5-11

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

The Dodging For Dollars tournament was held to benefit Candy’s Place, a treatment
and therapy oasis located in Forty Fort, PA. Over $1,200.00 was raised.

NUMBERS OF THE WEEK

3

Home runs in the first game of
the Colonels baseball doubleheader versus Delaware Valley
in Saturday’s 9-2 Wilkes victory.

35

Total number of goals scored
in the Lady Colonels shootout loss to Manhattanville in
Women’s Lacrosse on
Wednesday afternoon.

4

Hits by Gina Stefanelil in
the softball team’s two-game
sweep of Susquehanna on
Wednesday afternoon
including a grand slam
homerun.

�Sports
APRIL 22, 2008

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back into the playoffs,” said 13th
year head coach Joe Folek. “Because once you get in, you can
make some noise. That’s our goal
and we can still do that.”
As for sneaking into the playoffs
at the fourth spot, the Colonels are
two games behind Arcadia and
that’s only because the Knights
played two more games than the
Colonels. Had Wilkes won both
games against the Aggies, they
would be sitting in second place.
During the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Colonels
posted a six-run rally in the fifth
inning after already holding a 3to
zero thanks to a two-run homer by
senior Kyle Follweiler and a single
homer by senior Brad Woznisky in
the third.
A single grounded to left field
by Follweiler helped start the
rally and senior Corey Helfrich
followed with a ground hit to right

leaving runners on both first and
second base. Woznisky’s double to
right field sent Follweiler to homeplate and Helfrich to third. Later,
sophomore Randy Dengler’s singled to right resulted in two RBI’s.
And the Kingston Army trucks felt
all of Bill Sisko’s solo shot with
one out on the board.
The Aggies sat gullible pitcher,
Dan Metague, and the inning
ended on an Eric Wetzel strike out
and a Mike Andrews ground-out
to third-base. Helfrich pitched six
innings, faced 27 batters, gave up
one run on five hits while striking
out four.
The Colonels needed a similar
rally in the second game but to
no avail. Woznisky surrendered a
two-run homer to left center in the
first and third innings which left

See Baseball page 19

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Colonels split with Delaware Valley
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Sports Editor
An eight-run blowout by Delaware Valley Friday night left fire
in the bellies of the Colonels for
Saturday’s doubleheader against
the Delaware Valley Aggies. The
Colonels smoked the Aggies
in the first game 9-2 but in the
second game the bats fell asleep
resulting in a 4-2 loss that left
Wilkes in sixth place for the conference playoff race.
The bright side to this year’s
playoff picture is there is only a
three-game difference between
Manhattanville (the number one
seed) and the Colonels with five
conference games remaining on
both teams schedule. This means
the Colonels still have a shot at
home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
“We still control our own destiny. If we win out, we can get

--

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-

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The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

the Colonels playing catch-up for
the duration of the contest but to
no avail.
“We couldn’t get the big hit
when we needed it and unfortunately we have to settle for a

split,” said Folek.
The team’s best chance came in
the third with one out on the board
but Garofoli’s hit into a double
play left three stranded.
“It’s seems like we came out a

Intramural B-Ball
Final Four
Shocker Squad

Finals

The Dudes

April 23

April 24
8:30 PM

April 23

l Dandies

Jaytorade

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The

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW
FEBRUARY
A
PRIL 29, 2008
5, 2008

In This Issue...
Top IO Ways to Get
Your DreamJob!

Page 9

FeVvtCl Le
co w,eot LCl IA.S

Funkmaster Flex mixer flames out

Shocker Squad Wins
3rd Straight
Championship

Page 19
r

Inside

News................................1-5
Opinion.............................6-8
Lifestyles.........................9-11
Arts &amp; Entertainment....12-15
Sports...........................16-20

Issue 22
13

Disc jockey never scheduled, say representatives
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Sports Editor
Two months of promoting a college mixer headlining the notorious disc jockey, Funkmaster Flex,
turned to questions of fraud when the party was cancelled at the last minute this weekend and a Multicultural Student Coalition (MSC) organizer came under
scrutiny for allegedly forging the entertainer’s name
on a contract.
Because the matter is currently under investigation
and is a disciplinary issue, the student’s name will not
be released by Student Affairs.
“The Student Affairs office has had preliminary
discussion with the principals involved in the event.
Beginning Monday, we’ll be investigating the situation in more detail and take appropriate action as is
required,” said Paul Adams, Vice President of Student Affairs.
According to MSC representatives, Flex, along
with his crew, was scheduled to entertain students in
the Marts Gym on Saturday, April 26, as a “personal
favor” because he is “a close friend” of the brother of

See FLEX page 3

Page 15

Volume 60

www.wilkesbeacon.com

Courtesy www.FunkmasterFlex.com

After two months of preparation and promotion, Wilkes University students were
shocked and disappointed when news broke that DJ Funkmaster Flex’s agreement to
perform at Wilkes was fraudulent.

SPIN Farm takes root on Ross and River Streets
BY NICHOLAS PODOLAK
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
&amp; NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Asst. News Editor
It looked like a scene from the movie Tremors: long cylindrical mounds of dirt mysteriously stopping at the corner of Ross and River
Streets on the lot where Brown’s deli used to
sit. However, 30 foot man-eating graboids
have been ruled out as the perpetrators.
The mounds are the result of an organic
community vegetable plot under the supervision of Dr. Ellen Flint, Lee Pressman and
Andy Rhinehardt, agronomy specialists from
the National Center for Appropriate Technology, who have made good use of the land left
over from the demolition of the abandoned
deli this winter.
“We did the tilling and made the beds on
Sunday, and it was pretty amazing to see the
community members come out and ask what
was going on,” said Pressman.

According to Dr. Marleen Troy, chair of the
Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Department, the committee for the SHE Building
was influenced by SPIN farms on various green
campuses, such as Dickinson’s, when they were
touring school grounds in search of features for
the proposed “green” science building.
“Fenner Farm,” as it will be called in honor of
Mr. George Fenner, Esq., an avid gardener whose
vegetable garden once spread across the greenway to the Stark Learning Center, utilizes a new
method of gardening called SPIN (Small Plot
Intensive); a relatively new, inexpensive type of
farming that makes it possible to earn an income
from plots of land under an acre in size, including
front and back yards. SPIN sells specialty howto packets online for anyone who is interested in
organizing their own sub-farm.
“We feel it would be a great honor to Mr. Fenner
and his great contributions to Wilkes,” said Flint,
Coordinator of the Undergraduate Experience.
As a handheld earthway seeder carefully sowed
the land, traces of arugula started to peek through

the soil, stretching for sunlight. Wilkes faculty including Troy, Shelley Pearce, Director of the Wilkes Music Conservatory and
Sharon Bower, Associate Professor of Art
were all on hand to help place floating row
covers over the plot, which act as miniature
greenhouses to help keep in sunlight as well
as moisture.
“It’s all very kind of low tech,” Flint
said.
“I like to be outdoors; I like to garden. It’s
an opportunity to learn, and the rewards in
the end are delicious,” added Bower.
A summer internship to work on the farm
has been proposed and is still waiting grant
approval from the mentoring task force. The
proposed internship would pay $8.50-10.50
an hour for four to six positions.
“There seems to be a great deal of interest
about the project, and I know the commit-

See SPIN page 3

�NEWS
APRIL 29, 2008

2

Flex continued
SPIN continued
Stewards of the Earth

3
3
4

Rossenn Lecture welcomes renowned paleoanthropologist
BY MEGAN KRISANDA
Beacon Staff Writer

The 27th Annual Max Rosenn
Lecture Series welcomes Richard Leakey as guest speaker
on May 4 at 7:30p.m. in the
Dorothy Dickson Darte Center.
Leakey is a paleoanthropolgist, activist and conservationist with a significant amount
of experience in field research
and is credited with changing
the notions of evolution and
the origins of human beings.
Leakey will be addressing climate change in his lecture,
“Humanity: The Past and Future of Climate Change.”
“He understands the climate
shift and its impact on humanity and the global perspective,”
said Dr. James Merryman, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology.
In the 1950s, Leakey and his
family discovered 3 million

year old remains of the earliest human ancestors at Olduvai
Gorge, Tanzania which defined
Africa as the origin of human
kind.
“His family, particularly his
father and mother, were the primary figures in the second half
of the 20th century, who really
pin pointed human origins in
East Africa. He was very much
a part of that upbringing. And
then he went on to do a lot of
discoveries. With his knowledge of human evolution and
geology he has a good position to talk about these major
changes,” said Merryman.
Both Leakey and Merryman
share related interests in the
field of anthropology. Merryman has always been highly
influenced by Leakey and his
family with their work in the
field. Merryman conducted research in Kenya for his dissertation. His research in Kenya

was affiliated with the Kenya
Museums with Leakey serving
as the director of the National
Museums of Kenya (NMK).
“I knew these people, I knew
their work. I know of them
much better than they know of
me. It very exciting and it felt
like an extreme privilege to be
working under his umbrella,”
said Merryman.
The Rosenn Committee is
responsible for Leakey serving as the guest speaker for the
lecture series. An invitationonly reception and dinner will
be held prior to the lecture and
a reception following the lecture is open to the public. The
reception following the lecture
will be in the upper lobby of
the Darte Center including coffee, tea and dessert according
to Rebecca Van Jura, director
of special events.

Courtesy of Marketing Communications

Richard Leaky, paleoanthropolgist, activist and conservationist

will be speaking at this year’s Rossen Lecture on May 4 at 7:30.

BEACON

Serving the community through fair and accurate reporting
while supporting the views and opinions of our readers.

Editorial Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Nick Podolak
Email: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com
Managing Editor: Alison Woody
Email: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com
News Editor: Andrew Seaman
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The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

The second annual Relay For Life at Wilkes University was held on April 26 and 27. According to Andy
Julian, Relay for Life’s co-chairman, the event raised over $18,000 for the American Cancer Society to
help fund cancer research.

130 S. River St.
First Floor, Conyngham Hall, Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
(570) 408-5903
wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

www.wilkesbeacon.com

�NEWS

APRIL 29, 2008

3

(BELOW) Pressman, Rhinehart and Troy use earthway seeders to
secure the floating row covers above Fenner Farm’s crops. Students
and faculty will take care of the farm over the summer, weeding, watering and picking the vegetables and herbs they grow. Students,
faculty and staff that are interested in taking part in the miniature
farm are welcome to attend a workshop on SPIN farming on May 19
and 20. A grant to pay students for their work is being discussed.
The Beacon / Gino Troiani

The Beacon / Gino Troiani

(ABOVE) Dr. Marleen Troy looks on as Lee Pressman and Andy Rhinehardt from
the National Center of Appropriate Technology build floating row covers over the
plot. The row covers will act like miniature greenhouses to help keep the soils moist
and the sunlight in. Vegetables and herbs such as squash, arugala, tomatoes, zucchini, chard, basil and corriander will be planted in Fenner Farm and eventually
sold to Wilkes students and the surrounding community.

SPIN
from FRONT PAGE

tee is giving it very serious consideration,”
said Flint.
Even though the grant is still under consideration, students like Natalie Harvey
and Rachel Curtis have been helping faculty members prepare the farm grounds for
free.
“I hope that the garden will create a bridge
that spans across the various departments of
the university. I think it is a great opportunity for everyone to come together and partake in such a great activity,” said Harvey,
sophomore pharmaceutical science major.

“Too many people in our society lack an
understanding of where food comes from,
and the work required to grow and harvest
crops. As we move into a time when food
prices are rising and crop lands are becoming scarce, it is important to educate people
about the importance of sustainable, local
farming,” said Curtis, sophomore biochemistry major.
All of the harvest will be washed, bundled
and packaged in the Fenner Hall kitchen
and sold to students and the community
from a stand nearby, as it is done at the local Farmer’s Market on Public Square. Flint
is even in talks with Sodexho food services
to possibly use the garden’s harvest in the

FLEX
from FRONT PAGE

Christian Tavarez who is a first year member of MSC.
Over 689 Facebook invitations were sent, six colleges
were asked to join, banners were displayed and flyers were
distributed encouraging participation in the Relay-for-Life
fundraiser.
But the event was abruptly cancelled when representatives
of Funk Master Flex called university officials to ask about
promoting the event when Flex would be in Atlanta and the
Wilkes event was not on his calendar at all. It is university policy to require all outside speakers and entertainers to
sign an official contract for services.
“On behalf of the executive board of MSC, we would like
to personally apologize for any disappointments or negative
feelings that resulted from the cancellation of the event,”

cafeteria.
“We need to sit down and see what their
needs are and see if our production could
meet their needs,” she said.
A workshop on SPIN farming will be held
on May 19 and 20 that includes lectures
from people all around the country, including an educator from Sydney, Australia.
Students, faculty, and staff are all encouraged to participate in the event.
“We’re hoping to create and enhance the
community spirit that is already here, but
perhaps provide another focal point for activity and gathering,” Flint said. “We hope
in the future that this will be a model for
urban farming in the community, and we do

said Valerie Martinez, student president of MSC.
“Formal apologies will be sent to those who
helped organize the event, all schools invited,
Wilkes University and the surrounding community.”
Dr. Maria Suarez, Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Community Relations,
emphasized that Flex had nothing to do with the
cancellation, but would not comment further on
the student involved. She also noted that the
“mixer” will be rescheduled for next semester.
All further efforts to speak with MSC representatives were denied pending the outcome of
the investigation.

plan to hold additional workshops for community members.”
“Everybody’s excited. We’ve got a great
core group of people and it will hopefully
attract more,” said Troy.

0

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and more at
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�NEWS

APRIL 29, 2008

4

Stewards of the Earth
How clean is the W-B air we breathe? The Susquehanna River and water quality
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Staff Writer
The environmental awareness stories,
“Stewards of the Earth,” on this page were
the result of a semester-long advanced news
writing project that investigated challenges
to the Wilkes-Barre community. Podcasts of
some of the interviews will also be posted at
www.wilkesbeacon.com.
According to scorecard.org, “Luzerne
County has 60-70% chemical air releases,
making it one of the dirtiest and worst counties in the U.S.” This environmental fact
was one of many offered in environmentally-friendly chalk thought bubbles on the
sidewalks of Wilkes University campus last
week. The thought bubbles were part
of a larger
effort

production of coal mining rose from 11
million tons of anthracite coal in 1860 to
90 million tons in 1914.
Even though coal production largely
ceased in the area in the 1950s, the mercury, carbon dioxide, and other air chemical releases from the mines continue
impact the air quality. Sabrina Hannon,
a sophomore English major, commented, “We [Luzerne County] were so big
on the coal mining and the coal dust puts
stuff into the air which isn’t chemical,
but once you burn it, I guess that can be
chemical.”
The student perspectives offered in
the surveys offered insights into environmental awareness as
well as some
misconcep-

“Luzerne County has
60-70% chemical air releases,
making it one of the dirtiest and
worst counties in the U.S.”
- Scorecard.org

t o
encourage community conversation about
environmental issues.
A n d
conversation did happen.
“I think
[the chalk thought bubbles]
are very informative and they give us very
good tips about how small changes or throwing that extra person in your car can really
help the environment if it becomes a nationwide trend,” said Gabrielle Lamb, the Wilkes
Student Development Coordinator.
In addition to the chalk bubbles, a student
survey of approximately 120 people offered
insight to a variety of perspectives on the air
quality in Wilkes-Barre. T.J. Dennis, a survey
participant in Dr. Debra Chapman’s Biology
105 class, stated that in this small city there
are “many cars, many people and not much
mass transportation.” Other Wilkes students
feel differently.
“[Air] pollutants are usually indicated as
low; the city is not that big and there are no
big factories, as far as I know,” commented
Felixa Wingen, an English major from the
same biology class. Although most of the big
factories have disappeared, Wilkes-Barre air
quality is still affected by the coal mining era
of Luzerne County. According to the website
for the Wilkes-Barre police department, the

tions.
In addition,
student
engagement on the environmental
issues is key to permanent, positive
change.
Dr. Marleen Troy, Department Chair
of Environmental Engineering and Earth
Sciences, said, “Whatever our actions
are today, look at how they are impacting the future generations.”
Blake Mackesy, the Assistant Director of the Learning Center in University
College agreed with Troy and commented, “I think it’s very true…it’s a very
important message that we need to pass
on not only amongst the adults but to our
children.”
“Most people are completely unaware
of what’s going on around them, like the
chemicals in the air that are coming out
of their car,” said Frank Velez, junior biology major.
According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, “if 190,000 car owners started to get regular tune-ups, they
will keep some 90 million pounds of
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.”

BY KACI MUIR
Beacon Correspondent
“What does combined sewage overflow
mean to all life in and around the Susquehanna
River?” This question, which was posed last
week in a chalk thought bubble, and was inspired by Wilkes Univeristy Environmental
and Earth Science Professor, Dr. Sid Halsor.
The answer of course, was left to the Wilkes
community to decide.
Philip Ruthkosky, the Associate Dean of
Student Development, in discussing the reactions of the chalk thought bubbles said, “Anything that was going to increase awareness and
get students engaged and thinking about these
issues is a positive thing. I’m sure when they
read them, there might be some questions, but
I know it is part of the project to help them get
those answers.”
The answers begin with the Federal Clean
Water Act of 1972. The act first proposed better treatment of the Susquehanna River in order
to eliminate run-off and contamination, while
coinciding with the development of wetlands
to reduce flooding and also provide water for
areas undergoing drought.
According to Dr. Kenneth Klemow, Wilkes University Biology Professor, “Wetlands
reduce the chance for erosion, […] purify
groundwater by trapping sediments and […]
filter harmful chemicals from the water.”
Chemicals including run-off from acid mine

drainage and combined sewage overflow
are key factors to the contamination of the
river.
Gus Beil, junior history and philosophy
major said, “The Susquehanna is pretty
disgusting as I have gone on many walks.
The natural tap water is just horrible.”
Beil suggested that in order for students
to become more aware of their local environment, an initiator would need to propose
environmental applications on campus,
connecting to Ruthkosky and his view of
students’ justifications in not being aware.
“It might be that students have so much
going on […] some of them may feel that
they have no more time to give,” said
Ruthkosky.
Currently, the Wilkes clubs and organizations web site lists over 100 clubs in which
students can participate-four that focus on
environmental causes. But, in addition to
being active on campus, students may also
hold part-time jobs, have a family, or have
a double or triple major that consumes most
of their time. At the end of the day, what
students seem to want the most is an easy
alternative to environmental advances.
As Wilkes continues to move forward
in its plans for sustainability, Ruthkosky
noted, “We are taking steps in the right direction. The more activities you give [students] the more awareness they have and
more opt they are to get involved.”

The Beacon Archives / Nick Zmijewski

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�Opinion

Senior’s send off
Here’s to You
The Angry Rant

APRIL 29, 2008

7
7
8

6

No more excuses: Students had up close view of politics

BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

This week, students are packing up their belongings and saying
goodbye to Wilkes for the summer.
Some are getting their caps
and gowns ready to walk across
the stage and step into the “real
world.” But a week ago, the campus was still buzzing and felt like
the semester was anything but
over.
For the past month students at
Wilkes University had a front
row seat to the election process
of the United States of America.
This process is truly unique to
the form of democracy carved out
by America, and for a month the
Wilkes community lived in a political laboratory. Wilkes community members saw the candidates,
learned where they stood on issues, and hopefully made a decision reflective of their true desires
for national leadership.
But could any of this have happened without good leadership
right here at home? We thought
it would be appropriate to begin
this editorial by acknowledging
some Wilkes University officials
for their efforts to bring the world
to our doorstep. Specifically Jack
Chielli and his team in Marketing
Communications, members of the

administration, and the personnel
in facilities, expended a great deal
of energy and time this spring to
bring the candidates and their surrogates to Wilkes.
In a short period of time, former
first daughter Chelsea Clinton,
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., actor

they support. Dave Sborz said he
was voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY; Patrick Austin said
he was voting for Obama; while
Raquel Whebby said that she was
undecided.
Smith probed each person and
asked why he was voting a certain

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens &amp; Gino Troiani

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop in
Wilkes-Barre during the frenzied bid for PA voters.
Sean Astin and Former President
Bill Clinton stumped their way
through our buildings at Wilkes,
bringing with them national attention.
Most recently Harry Smith, anchor of the Early Show on CBS,
hosted his show from the Henry
Student Center. He spent time
asking three Wilkes students some
questions about the candidates

way or in Raquel’s case, if she was
leaning in any certain direction.
Smith said he chose Wilkes when
representatives from his show
were here with Obama earlier in
the month and he had a chance to
see a little bit of campus.
“We needed to be here geographically… but I didn’t want to be in
Scranton. I wanted to be someplace else. So I thought, ‘what a

perfect place,’” he said.
Smith seemed to understand that
the youth vote will be a force in
the 2008 election and the candidates and their advisors should
start listening to the demographic
to ensure a victory. Too long have
young voters been apathetic to
the political process, giving their
elders the power to govern absolutely.
For many years prior, students
and young adults used the excuse
that they did not know enough
about the voting process to pick a
candidate, but that can no longer
be used as a pretext. Most collegeaged people can simply go to the
different candidates web pages
and see where they stand on the
issues. Or for the incredibly lazy
people who do not want to make
more than one stop on the Information Super Highway, they can
go to a non-partisan youth voting
site that gives you a cheat sheet for
all of the candidates and issues.
We urge all young voters to get
out to the polling places in November, whether you are Republican or Democrat, and cast your
ballot, because your vote is your
voice.
We also applaud Wilkes University for the opportunity its leadership gave students to participate in
the unique and special process that
is politics.

When cruelty becomes ‘artistic statement’
BY STEPHANIE GERCHMAN
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor

Dogs are man’s best friend,
right? Well, apparently Guillermo
Vargas disagrees. He is an “artist”
whose “art” is comprised of chaining a stray dog to the wall inside of
a gallery and starving it to death.
According to the Daily Targum,
Vargas’ exhibit was a “tribute to
a Nicaraguan burglar who was
killed in Costa Rica by two guard
dogs.” Others say that the exhibit
was supposed to be a comment on
human starvation. Aside from the
obvious question of why pay tribute to a burglar, this form of “art”

raises serious ethical concerns.
Regardless of the meaning behind
the public act, calling it art is disgusting. Pet owners who starve
their animals are turned in for animal abuse. But somehow for art’s
sake we suspend our laws?
Worse than Vargas is Adel Abdessemed, another “artist” who
killed six animals by beating them
with a hammer and videotaped it.
He cut the video into clips projected them for viewers in San Francisco to witness.
If you think that killing animals
is as far as people will go for the
sake of “art,” try watching someone die as part of an art exhibit

or someone undergo self-induced
abortions. That is exactly what
Aliza Shvarts and Gregor Schneider are trying to put on display.
Shvarts is a senior art major at
Yale who artificially inseminated
herself and induced miscarriages
by taking drugs which she claims
were herbal. According to Yale
Daily News, Shvarts’s purpose is
to “spark conversation and debate
on the relationship between art and
the human body.” My question is,
what could possibly make miscarriages, something so traumatizing to the people who actually go
through them, art?
Then there is Schneider who

wants to put on display, as TimesOnline puts it, “someone whose
dying hours will be spent in an
art gallery with the public admiring the way the light plays on the
flesh of a person gasping for the
last breath.”
All of these examples of “public
art” are disturbing, to say the least.
How can anyone find the death of
animals, people, and fetuses to
be art? It makes me wonder what
people can get away with if they
call what they are doing art. My
question is where do we draw the
line between art and crime?
(Continued on page 8)

Beacon Poll Results
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted
online this past week. The poll
was unscientific, and does not
claim to reflect the overall attitudes of students on campus.
Results are based on 67 responses.

The Beacon asked:
Who do you want to be the
vice-presidential candidate for
the Democratic party?
• Barack Obama - 39%
• Hillary Clinton - 7%
• Bill Richardson - 6%
• Al Gore - 9%
• John Kerry - 1%
• Nancy Pelosi- 9%
• Oprah- 15%
• John Edwards- 1%
• Joe Biden - 4%
• Other - 7%

Next Week’s question:
Who do you want to be the
vice-presidential candidate for
the Republican party?
• Condoleezza Rice
• Mike Huckabee
• Rudy Giuliani
• Chuck Norris
• Mitt Romney
• Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Sean Hannity
• Newt Gingrich
• Ron Paul
• Other

Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published
online at wilkesbeacon.com.

�OPINION

APRIL 29, 2008

Getting out of the comfort zone: a senior’s send-off

BY MARK CONGDON JR.
Beacon Opinion Editor
It’s hard to believe that this is the last
issue of The Beacon for the 2007-2008
school year, and with that my last article
of my college career as well. It’s shocking
how fast time goes by.
I still remember moving into Slocum
Hall my freshman year for the learning
community I was in four years ago. I vividly
recall during the luncheon the university
had for incoming freshman, the President
of Wilkes, Dr. Tim Gilmour, said to the
freshmen, “Enjoy your years here at Wilkes
because they will go by very fast, and these
years could be some of the best years of
your lives.”
I was sitting with my parents and I
remember thinking, “Yeah, O.K. Four years
is a long time away and I couldn’t even
foresee what lay immediately ahead.” I
didn’t want to think about graduation. I was
way too nervous about fitting in, making
friends, being away from home for the first
time and the hard college classes that my
high school teachers warned about. But, as
a graduating senior and looking back on
what the President said, he was right.
My time at Wilkes went by extremely
quickly and my years here have been some
of the best of my life. But college can’t last
forever and this amazing experience must
come to a close to make way for bigger and
better things.
Now, I’m not going to go on an on about
my personal, physical, social and academic
growth during the past four years, but I
would like to offer some insight that has
helped me find success, make lasting
friendships, and get the full spectrum of the
college experience at Wilkes University.
Be yourself &amp; get involved:
I’m the first in my family to graduate high
school and attend college. Needless to say I
was very scared coming to Wilkes because
no one in my immediate family could offer
advice on what to expect and no one could
really console my fears. The only advice my
parents gave me was to be safe, have fun,
and don’t forget who you are and where you
came from. Though my parents couldn’t
provide me insight into the expectations of
the academics of college, their advice about
being myself was always in the back of my
mind and has helped from the beginning.
I knew that in order to make friends and
get the full college experience I needed
to become involved with extracurricular
activities. So my freshman year I ran for
freshman class representative and won. I
also joined other clubs my freshman year
like the Multicultural Student Coalition club
and co-founded the College Republicans
club with two upper classmen. Additionally,

7

during my sophomore year I became a where I came from. It’s important to realize granted. Take advantage of the opportunities
Diversity Ambassador and co-founded that not everyone has the same beliefs or at your fingertips. Moreover, try not to
the Free-Spirit: Gay &amp; Straight Alliance. I ideas as you and even if you disagree with burn any bridges while here. If you mess
also become involved with activities in my someone, you must respect their views.
up, apologize and admit when you’re
major, communication studies, like speech
Wilkes is gradually becoming more wrong. Take responsibility. If someone
and debate team, Zebra Communications, diverse, and I encourage all to try to get a does something that makes you angry or
and The Beacon the past two years.
better understanding of a range of cultures. backstabs you, be the bigger person and do
The experiences I had during my four By respecting other’s cultures and meeting what’s right. Revenge doesn’t help anyone.
years at Wilkes allowed me to meet new new people from diverse backgrounds,
Though your years at Wilkes may seem
people and make lasting relationships. you could gain many friends; I know I did. like they will last forever, everything does,
Participating
in
By
learning eventually, come to an end. Stay positive,
extracurricular
about
and have faith and remember everything happens
activities
also
experiencing for a reason. College can be tough at times
allowed me to
other cultures, with academics and trying to maintain a
develop
my
I also was certain social image or status. But don’t
leadership skills.
able to better give up and lose yourself in the process.
COMFORT ZONE
Through trial and
Get involved and take advantage of what
appreciate and
error, I learned a lot
respect
my Wilkes has to offer. Get out of your zone,
about myself and
b a c k g r o u n d and remember to always be respectful of
others.
and heritage. yourself and others. Remember that your
I encourage all
By interacting days at Wilkes are limited. Don’t take them
underclassman to
with
diverse for granted and appreciate every moment
take advantage of
people,
you you have in your classes, and with your
the
opportunities
are also better friends. Time goes by quickly and it only
that Wilkes is offering. These opportunities prepared for the world outside of Wilkes goes faster as you grow and develop. What
will assist you in not only developing you University.
you do in college will be the foundation for
academically, social, or personally, but they
your future. What you do or don’t do will
Don’t take time or others for granted:
will help you to discover what you want to
The action or inaction you take during cause a ripple effect for the rest of your
do with your life after college. I figured out your undergraduate career at Wilkes is the life. So remember to enjoy life, be positive,
that I want to be a teacher and eventually a foundation of your future and happiness. be yourself and reach your full potential. I
guidance counselor. I firmly believe that if I Don’t take the time you have here for know I did.
didn’t get involved like I did, it would have
taken me longer to figure out what I want to
do with my life.
Try new things and get out of your
comfort zone:
BY GINO TROIANI
In high school I was very shy, quiet, and
Staff Writer/Photographer
introverted. But in college, I’m the exact
opposite. I’m outgoing, talkative, and
extroverted. How was I able to change? I
tried new things and got out of my comfort
zone.
At Wilkes I have had experiences that
would never have happened had I not taken
some risks, or had I been too worried about
what others thought of me. I’ve eaten food
that I never would have dreamed of trying,
)
-~
like sushi or cow heart, something I needed
lb .l~I
to eat when I was competing in Wilkes’s
111.lP..CI
Fear Factor. I even went on spontaneous
Cf11cKf}l
road trips to Philadelphia and the beach.
ThNII
Certain classes also helped me develop like
?77
dance and theater.
Regardless of what type of personality
you have, I encourage all to think outside of
the box and try new things. Try not to care
what others think of you because that only
holds you back. Be yourself, be real and get
Drawing By: Matt Vital
out of your zone.
Be respectful of yourself and others:
They said there is no such thing as a dumb question. Well, they were wrong.
Another important thing I learned and
There’s one of you in every class, and because of this we spend countless hours
realized while at Wilkes is to respect yourself
listening to your mindless nonsense. Here’s a question. How did you get into
and others. I learned that by being true to
college? Keep on keeping on!
myself, I was respecting who I was and

-

ttt

lll

•

Here’s to you...

Stupid question asker!

-~

-~

...

u

�APRIL 29, 2008

OPINION

The Angry Rant: Movies I hate

8

ity to write something other than romantic
comedies. Despite the abomination that is
known as Vanilla Sky, I was willing to give
him a pass when I learned that he was filming an ensemble film with Orlando Bloom,
Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon. I was
sadly disappointed. Not only is Elizabethtown a schmaltzy, by-the-numbers film (A
big-shot returns to his roots and finds love.
How original.), but it has the distinction of
offering one of the most boring on-screen
romances ever committed to celluloid. I
know it’s hard to grasp the thought or Orlando Bloom being anything less than exuberant, but he manages to pull it off with
flying colors in this gem, and ends up
drowning the normally charismatic Kirsten
Dunst in his wake. Long story short: Don’t
visit Elizabethtown. It’s long, it’s boring,
and it might just make you question your
purpose in life.
Punch Drunk Love- Another big director, another boring love story. Paul Thomas
Anderson, best known for Boogie Nights
and Magnolia (both worth the price of
admission), crafted a romantic comedy
of sorts, casting the normally screwbally
Adam Sandler in the lead. The result? A
well-meaning, nicely crafted failure of a
film. Maybe it was Adam Sandler, maybe
it was the pace of the story, but this movie
just doesn’t do anything for me. No thanks,
but I don’t want to watch Adam Sandler on
valium, even if it does mean he is less annoying.
Clerks- I expect to take some heat for this
one. I never understood the fascination with
Kevin Smith. His movies are a series of vulgar jokes and admittedly witty dialogue, but
something about his work seems very pretentious. His first film, Clerks, which was
filmed on a shoestring budget, is widely regarded as one of the great independent films
of its day. Really? I saw this movie and was
spectacularly underwhelmed. It has a certain amount of charm to it, but it just isn’t
that good. I give Kevin Smith all the credit

in the world, but he has yet to have any sort
of success outside of his View Askew characters, and the follow up to this film, Clerks
2, was an even bigger abomination than the
first. The first film was coated in charm, the
second was coated in dollar signs.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Ah
yes, the remake. Hollywood’s crutch. On
rare occasions, the remake can manage to
be successful, but more often than not, they
are nothing more than retreads that were
better the first time around. Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, a remake of the classic
starring Gene Wilder as the titular character, is a failure of monumental proportions.
Despite the fact that CATCF is called a “reimagining” of the source material, there
is no getting past the fact that Tim Burton
(who is now 2 for 2 with crappy remakes,
the other being Planet of the Apes), took a
classic film and ruined it. Gene Wilder defined Willy Wonka. Johnny Depp makes
Wonka look like a pedophile.
Meet the Fockers: The sequel to the
highly successful (and funny) Meet the
Parents does little than to recycle all of the
same jokes that were funny the first time
around. Here’s the formula for both movies: Someone gets introduced to someone
else, hilarity ensues. Sounds easy, right?
Meet the Parents did everything right, the
jokes were absurd, but not too absurd. Meet
the Fockers goes far past absurdity to the
point where you think you’re watching a
Will Ferrell movie.
For my money, this movie marked the
middle point in the downfall of Stiller’s career. He made a name for himself in There’s
Something About Mary, would go on to
write and direct Zoolander before starring
alongside Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums. Then it all went bad. He would
go on to star in Duplex, Along Came Polly,
Starsky and Hutch, Envy, Dodgeball, Meet
the Fockers, Night at the Museum and
The Heartbreak Kid. Out of those movies,
only two (Polly and Museum) are remotely

watchable. He also seems to be afflicted
with Tom Cruise syndrome, meaning you
can describe several of his characters in
one sentence, kind of like you could with
most Tom Cruise movies (What’s that one
where he played the cocky, young guy?) In
Stiller’s case, he seems to play the uptight,
tightly wound guy. Every time. Come on
Ben, you’re better than this, Paul Walker
has shown more range.
Leaving Las Vegas: Don’t get me wrong,
it’s a good movie, but it resulted in Nicolas Cage winning the Oscar for Best Actor, which I maintain spawned Snake Eyes,
Windtalkers, The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider,
and Next.
Star Wars: Episodes 1 - 3: While the first
three Star Wars films (or would it be the
last three?) were awesome, George Lucas
screwed the pooch this time around. Maybe
it was the two decades in between the last
Star Wars movie he directed, but I get the
impression that George got lost somewhere
along the way. The Phantom Menace and
Attack of the Clones were plagued by the
same problems: Bad dialogue, and a main
character who couldn’t act. Revenge of the
Sith was solid, but it was too little too late.
The only redeeming quality of these movies
was that we got to see Yoda in a lightsabre
fight. True greatness.
Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny- Jack
Black is funny. This movie is not.
Pirates of the Caribbean 3- The first Pirates movie was a revelation. It made Johnny Depp into a househould name again, and
we all got to see who Keira Knightly was.
Pirates 2 was good, but unspectacular. Pirates 3 was just a mess. It was too long, and
the story got tangled up in itself, and by this
point, everyone learned what they knew all
along: Orlando Bloom can’t carry a movie.
So what have we learned today? We
learned that movies with a lot of buzz and
big stars can be big flops. But most importantly, we learned that Juno still blows.
Have a great summer.

Art

money for their work. Not only did Vargas
get away with it…he was asked to repeat
his installation again. Shvarts is abusing
her constitutional right to do whatever she
wants to do with her body. She is making
light out of a serious decision that is made
by many women who are involuntarily put
in the same position Shvarts put herself in
repeatedly.
Schneider wants to make death, which is
seen as undignified and wants to “restore its
grace.” While Schneider would only use a
person in his display on a volunteer basis, it
still seems barbaric.
While it would be simple to just dismiss
these people and take away their chances
of displaying the works of violence that

they call art, it would be nearly impossible
due to the sketchy laws that there are for
art. The First Amendment covers art, but
not every extensively. Basically, the rule
is that it must be within the standards of
decency, respect, and morals. My question
is; how are any of these people abiding by
these standards? Killing animals is morally corrupt and illegal. I doubt that anyone
would find multiple artificial inseminations
and pregnancy terminations would be considered morally right by any person’s standards. Is it even possible to watch someone
die in good conscience?
It would benefit artist and audiences alike
to set stricter laws to govern art work. I understand that part of creating great art work

could be the shock value. But the shock
value could be reached without harming
people, animals, or oneself. If anything that
a person wishes to display would be considered illegal without being videotaped or
shown in a gallery, it shouldn’t be able to be
considered art. Rightfully those acts should
be punished, not praised! It is scary to think
of what other sick minds could be cooking
up as a new work of art. Abortion, animal
cruelty and death on display are already
taken, what will some deranged “artist” get
way with next? The government needs to do
something before someone comes up with
something to challenge the already present
laws…like so many others who have already gotten away with it.

Courtesy of Valhallatorrent.org

BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
Oh, Juno, you rascal. Not only did you
make a heap of money and garner a ton of
awards and nominations during
your theatrical run, but you
also managed to be number one on the DVD and
rental charts last week,
which can only mean two
things: Either I bought a
ton of copies and destroyed
them so as to prevent the
masses from falling into
your trap of “witty”
dialogue, or the populace just wanted
to waste $20.
There can be no
other alternative.
There is no way
that people bought
this movie because
they wanted to watch it.
But, then again, people
are stupid, so I guess
anything is possible.
In honor of Juno being
released on DVD (for those
who don’t know my feelings
on that gem, allow me to fill
you in: I hate it. It’s overrated,
overwritten, and it’s the kind
of bandwagon movie that has
a shiny cover, but very little
else. It was very generously nominated during Oscar season--Best
picture? Please.), I
thought it would be fitting to end the year
with a rant on other movies that I hate.
Without further adieu…
Elizabethtown- When Almost Famous
came out, I was convinced that Cameron
Crowe was about to hit his career stride.
It was four years since Jerry Maguire was
released, and Crowe displayed his abil-

from PAGE 6
All of these examples of “public art” are
disturbing, to say the least. How can anyone find the death of animals, people, and
fetuses to be art? It makes me wonder what
people can get away with if they call what
they are doing art. My question is where do
we draw the line between art and crime?
People, like Michael Vick, abuse animals,
go to jail and pay heavy fines. Abdessemed
and Vargas can abuse animals and as long
as they have the label “ART” on it and not
only get away with it, but probably receive

�LIFESTYLES
APRIL 29, 2008

Student of the Week 10
Senior anxiety
11

9

Top 10 ways to land your dream job after graduation
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

sexily you may dance, or how studly you
may be. Just use your Wilkes e-mail address.

You’ve tossed your graduation cap in the
air, and have your diploma firmly grasped
in your hand. You have finally completed
your college education.
Now what?
For many seniors, the path after graduation is a little murky. They have their degree
in hand, but a big, resounding question mark
regarding where it’s going to take them.
Since the majority of college seniors
wouldn’t dream of sticking themselves with
any old job, The Beacon has put together a top 10 list of ways to get
on track for that perfect job.

3. When you’re going to an interview,
look like you are going to an interview.
Even if you’re applying for a job that’s
pretty casual, suits are still required dress
for interviews. That means dress pants and
a jacket for men, and dress pants or a skirt
with pantyhose and close-toed shoes for
women. Avoid heavy makeup, excessive
jewelry, exposed skin, and make sure you
take out any facial piercings, with the exception of earlobes.
Personal hygiene is also very important. Come to an interview freshly
showered, but avoid drowning yourself in perfume or cologne. If you’re
a smoker, don’t smoke in the car before the interview.
“A lot of recruiters told us they
were offended by the smell of
smoke when someone came into the
room,” said Mulvey. “It can make a
negative first impression.”

1. Don’t overload your
resumé with unnecessary fillers.
The resumé introduces you to the company
for which you are interviewing, so you want to
make a good first impression.
Keep it
clear and concise, and make sure it contains
only pertinent information. Your potential
employers probably aren’t going to care if
you were captain of your bowling team in
high school. According to Lisa Mulvey, a
career consultant at Career Services, including high school information is irrelevant.
However, another mistake Mulvey sees
is resumés that skimp on important details. For this reason, students should skip
the Microsoft Resumé Wizard, and instead
craft one by hand.
“We see missing information like dates
they were employed places, or they forget
to include accurate descriptions of responsibilities or accomplishments at internships
or jobs,” said Mulvey.
2. Keep your resumé professional.
Once you get the hard part of the resumé
down, you don’t want to screw it up with
something as simple as your contact information. You may have fun e-mail addresses
that you use with your friends that may reference questionable activities or hobbies of
yours, but don’t use them on your resume.
“These are true e-mail addresses that I’ve
seen people use on their resumes-‘Sexy
Dancer’ and ‘Hot Italian Stud,’” said Mulvey. “Unless you’re applying for a job in
this type of field, you want to use a plain
e-mail address.”
Your employers don’t want to know how

4. Don’t be struck silent at the interview...
According to Jenn Radogna, the recruiting manager for Enterprise Rent-a-Car in
Easton, one of the best ways to stand out
during an interview is to ask knowledgeable
questions about the company, and be able
to answer questions about yourself.
A new trend in interviewing
is to ask behavioral questions,
like “How do you react when
your group doesn’t listen to
you?” Answers to these can
be difficult to come up with
off the top of your head, so
Mulvey suggests practicing
with potential questions before the interview.
5. …But don’t run your
mouth either.
Honesty may be the best
policy, but brutal honesty
probably isn’t going to win you
the job. If your interviewer asks
you a question about how you see
your future with the company, don’t
tell them you see it as a jumping-off
point to the bigger and brighter.
“The biggest mistake I’ve seen is
telling the interviewer that they are
interested in their company just to
gain experience, but their real goal

is to work somewhere else,” said Radogna.
“This will always be a deal breaker, since
the interviewer is most likely looking for a
long-term candidate.”
6. Build a network, and don’t
be afraid to put yourself out
there.
Most of the time, the really great
jobs out there aren’t the ones that
run in the classifieds section of
your local newspaper. People find
out about those unlisted jobs by
word of mouth through their network.
You can build your network through
your part-time job, internship, or volunteer
work. Whatever you’re doing, you should
be building connections and letting people
know that you’re looking for a job.
“Join professional organizations in your
field, go to conferences, really get out there
and talk to people,” said Mulvey. “You
want to keep in touch with people, and really leave your internship on a high note.”
7. Start looking for a job as soon as
possible.
It can be tempting to put off the job search
in favor of some summer fun, but since the
average graduate takes six months to find a
job, it’s not something you want to put on
hold for too long. Especially when your
student loan bills come rolling in.
If you’re not sure what exactly it is
you want to do with your degree,
Mulvey suggests looking to
the internships you completed
to find out what appeals to you
about them. Find a part-time
job and do some community
service to continually expand
your arsenal of skills.
“The longer you take to start
looking, the harder it’s going
to be to explain to employers
why you waited so long,” she
said.
8. Understand that the
path to your dream job may
include a lot of coffee runs.
As qualified as you may be,
it’s very unlikely that the boss
of your favorite Fortune 500
company is going to step aside
to let you take over the reigns.
You’re going to have to work
your way up from something.
“You’re going to have to pay
your dues first, in whatever field

you’re going into,” said Mulvey. “You may
have to start in an entry-level position and
wait until that opportunity presents itself.”
According
to
Radogna, at Enterprise, all promotions are filled
by employees who
already work there.
In order to optimize
your chances for a
promotion,
Radogna suggests displaying a positive attitude,
showing curiosity regarding the company,
and avoiding complaints about coworkers
or management, even in prior jobs.

9. Be proactive in your job search.
Mulvey says that many college graduates
think that having a degree is enough to ensure them a job. They simply post their resumes on Monster.com, and wait for the job
offers to come flooding in.
“You’ve got to be really aggressive,” she
said. “Once you graduate, looking for a
job should be your full-time job. And that
means spending seven hours a day looking for jobs, networking, sending out resumés, following up on leads, or going to job
fairs.”
Mulvey points out that when you graduate, you’re not the only one competing for
that job. You’re going to be up against all
the graduates from the local colleges and
universities, as well as people already in the
workforce, so you’re really going to have to
make yourself stand out.

10. Know that you never have to be
stuck in a dead-end job.
If that job that you were super psyched for
right after college turns out to be a fizzler,
you don’t have to resign yourself to a life of
monotony. Instead, you should look to see
if it’s the place you can’t stand, or the actual
job you’re doing.
Mulvey suggests looking into other opportunities at companies you like, or researching lateral moves to other companies
where you will be doing a similar job.
She also points out that if you’re serious about moving up and getting the best
job, you may have to expand your horizons to outside the Wyoming Valley.
“Don’t stay in a job if you’re unhappy,”
she said. “Life’s too short to be unhappy
with where you work.”
All photos The Beacon/Christa Sgobba

�LIFESTYLES

10

APRIL 29, 2008

Student of the Week: Madeline Alves
BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer

After taking last year off, Maddy Alves
returned to Wilkes University as a sophmore this year with renewed motivation.
Although she is an English major, Alves
has been involved since early in her high
school caeer with Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), a national organization that
connects businesses with community outreach. Currently Alves is the president of
the organization, which has had a significant impact on the community.
On May 11, members of SIFE will be
leaving to attend a national competition in
Chicago. Because of her leadership with
this organization, The Beacon has chosen
Alves as this week’s Student of the Week.
The Beacon: Why did you get involved
with SIFE?
Alves: Some organizations, you don’t get
to see people face to face and work in person with the people you are going to help.
I have found that a lot of charitable organizations are like that. With SIFE, we have
had 2,400 impacts. That means people we
have worked with one-on-one and you get

to look at them and see that we have made
a difference in their lives. We have one girl
that was very standoff-ish when we started
the REACH program and now she has attached herself to us. She talks about going
to college, she says it’s really hard but she is
going to try. To see a young person like that
pull a complete 180 is rewarding.

The Beacon: What are some of the projects?
Alves: Well there’s the Wilkes University Entrepreneurial Experience, we call it
WUEE. It’s a competition where we get to
work with high school students and teach
them how to prepare business presentations.
There’s one day when they come to campus
and they actually present for investors. In
the past we’ve had alumni come in and professors on campus. That sort of thing. Then
we have the personal finance series, we do
REACH, and we did secret shopper with
the Small Business Development Center.
The Beacon: Tell us about the National
Competition that SIFE is attending.
Alves: Nationals is an experience. You
think because it’s a business event it’s very
serious, but no. There are balloon hats,

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"Live Acoustic Music"

Wednesday, April 30th
6 :30-8 :30pm

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men on stilts, and one
representative from each
team has to dance across
a stage with a sign...The
following day the actual
competition starts. Teams
are organized into different leagues and a certain
number of people from
each league advance to
the next round. It’s a
great feeling though to
be up there sharing what
you’re doing, knowing
that you made a difference and that everyone
else in the room knows
how hard it is because
Courtesy Madeline Alves
they’re doing it too.
Pictured are members of the SIFE team (l-r) Madeleine
Alves, Jared Lyman, Andrea Smallacombe, Ashley Deemie,
The Beacon: What do Tracy Garcia, John Botch, Beth Horn, Katie Gallagher,
you plan to do when you Casey Kopko, Anastasia Genelow, LaChanda Davis, Walgraduate?
ter Peseski. Not pictured are Danielle Namiotka, Marissa
Alves: The plan as Treanor, Kristal Hernandez.
of today is to start the
management training program at Barnes job opportunity. I have also been looking at
and Noble where I work...I could become Sara Lawerence to get my Master’s degree
a department manager or a store manager. in Creative Writing, or going to London for
So, potentially that could be a wonderful the hell of it.

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May 2nd thru May 9th
Justgo to: "'U-BFREE"

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�APRIL 29, 2008

LIFESTYLES

11

Real-world stresses worry seniors approaching graduation
BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Staff Writer

For many new college graduates, the papers and exams may be finished, but the
stress is far from over.
“It’s kind of all up in the air right now
what I’m going to be definitely doing,” said
Laura Weidner, a senior majoring in business administration. “I think that’s what
scares me the most.”
Many graduating seniors like Weidner
experience anxiety about the uncertainty
of their life after college. Although Weidner has made plans to go right to graduate
school, she is now uncertain about whether
she would go to if she were offered a decent
job opportunity after finishing her internship.
“I’m not the kind of person who would sit
back and watch it slip away,” Weidner said.
“If I get wrapped up in a job after graduation
and I push grad school off, and it was a goal
of mine to have my master’s degree, that’s
when I would probably be frustrated.”
Weidner wants to become a financial analyst or planner within the next ten years to
build up to her “ultimate dream,” which is
to become president or vice president of a
company. After graduation, she plans to
work for an insurance firm to gain experience and learn how to get clients, keep
clients, and work with other people in this
field.
“Just the work hopefully speaks for itself,”
Weidner said. “The clients that I have, the
insurance that I’ve sold, the more that I’ve

done, hopefully, will give me something to
go on as far as a higher end job.”
Weidner learned from a friend who works
in the field that the job she wants is “extremely stressful,” and hopes that she will
have a different experience. She said that
handling people’s finances is an “all-onyou type deal” and if she doesn’t build up
enough clients by a certain deadline she’ll
be fired. Weidner believes that working in
a fast-paced atmosphere will keep her moving forward, despite the stresses involved.
“A lot of things are destined to change as
far as when I get there to see what it’s all
about,” Weidner said. “Maybe I’ll go and
do something totally different and branch
away from financing. It’s a plan for me
right now so I’m going to stick with it.”
For some students, the anxiety about finding a desirable steady job and making a sufficient amount of money still continues to
be a concern.
“Finding a career is still an issue,” said
John Cohen, who graduated from Wilkes in
2007. “I know 100 percent what I do and do
not want to do for a living. The hard thing is
that all the careers available fall in the gray
area, except for opening up my own business.”
Before graduating, Cohen, who majored
in business and minored in entrepreneurship, was concerned with what type of job
he could get and how he would earn money
and find a suitable career.
“A lot for job opportunities are lose-lose
situations, because you are either making
a ton of money but [are] working 60 hours

“Working in customer service, I had to
a week, or making no money and not going anywhere career-wise,” Cohen said. “I deal with clients in difficult situations alam all about my own business because of most daily,” Girardi said. “It prepared me
my experience, knowledge, education, and and gave me skills on how to deal with difficult situations.”
mindset.”
After Girardi graduated, it took two
After graduating, Cohen went on
months to find her first proabout six interviews and found
fessional job. She
a job within a week. For the
was hired as a
past five years, he has
customer service
worked for indepenphone representadent contractors
tive for a Health
and is currentInsurance
Comly workpany, where she
ing with a
The
Beac
was responsible for
contractor
on/C
hrist
answering
various
in New Jersey
a Sg
obba
questions or issues
where he does interior and
on client’s insurance
exterior painting. Cohen is
coverage. Before she started,
also in the beginning stages
she believed that the work would
of opening up a general conbe challenging, she’d have to work
struction business, but is lacklong hours, and that the business
ing overhead and capital, busienvironment would be professionness materials, and exposure to
al.
customers.
“My perceptions were very close to
What students worry about before
what I experienced,” Girardi said. “Althey graduate and what recent graduthough the work is challenging, as you
ates are concerned with will become
learn more, it becomes easier.”
less of a concern in after they estabGirardi worked her way up through Merlish a steady job. Renea Girardi, a
graduate of 1997, majored in business ad- rill Lynch by showing that she was a team
ministration when she was at Wilkes Uni- player and was willing to take on additional
versity, and has worked her way up the job responsibilities.
“You have to always be prepared to take
chain. She has worked for Merrill Lynch
for eight years and is a project analyst a different direction,” Girardi said. “Purwhere she is responsible for working on en- sue something you have interest in, because
hancements for the monthly statements that then you will enjoy going to work every
day.”
clients receive.

•

What do you do to prepare for your final exams?

“I just review all my notes. I
don’t watch television, and I listen
to music.”
Frantzddyn Pamphile
sophomore, nursing major

“I sleep and study to be honest
with you, nothing special.”
Matthew Duffy
freshman, history mojor

“I’m a yoga instructor, so I do
lots of yoga and try to keep up with
my notes and a healthy lifestyle...
So just taking care of myself all
around and trying not to stress out.
I guess that’s key.”
Amanda Derr
senior, biochemistry major

“I usually just study the night before the test and the morning of. I
cram. I’m a crammer and a procrastinator.”
Adam Penberthy
senior, history major
All Photos The Beacon/Matthew Gogas

�A&amp;E

Silversun Pickups
Crossword/Website
Female Comedians

APRIL 29, 2008

13
14
15

Going out with a bang
Greatest action scenes of all time
BY MIKE WILLIAMS
Beacon Staff Writer

Well folks, it’s that time again. Summer’s almost here, and you know what that
means: Blockbuster season. Unfortunately, The Beacon won’t be able to serve your
movie needs until it returns in the fall. So,
until then, you’re on your own.
However, as one final offering, The Beacon would like to offer a countdown of
some of the best action sequences of all
time, sure to whet your appetite for action
and get you ready for all the big budget
blockbusters we’re going to miss this summer. So, without further ado, this reviewer, as well as The Beacon, is….going out
with a bang.
They Live - Back alley brawl
When out of luck drifter Nada (“Rowdy”
Roddy Piper) finds a pair of sunglasses that
allow him to see that the world is actually
being quietly invaded by bug eyed aliens
disguised as humans, he is left with two
options, “Kick a** and chew bubble gum.”
And he’s all out of bubble gum. Still, violently exterminating spacemen can be a
tiresome and lonely job, so when Piper
tries to force a skeptical friend (Keith David) to try on the shades and join his crusade, the two throw down in what is probably the greatest fist fight ever captured on
film. Dirty, gritty, mean and, luckily for
viewers, over seven minutes long, this one
is absolutely unforgettable.
Heat - The heist
In the film that makes every red blooded male think, at least for a little while,
“Damn, I really want to rob something,”
a group of professional thieves looking for
one big final score, plan a heist on a busy
LA bank. Unfortunately, the LAPD have
different plans. After an intense robbery
scene, the suit-clad, automatic rifle carrying bank robbers move into the streets
only to be met by an army of cops. What
ensues is a crash-bang, run and gun shoot
out that will have audiences on the edge
of their seat
Desperado - Getting the band back together
Vigilante El Mariachi, Antonio Banderas
wages war on the drug cartel responsible
for his girlfriend’s death. However, when

it comes to the final showdown with the entire cartel, our hero realizes that he needs
more fire power than his trademark guitar
case full of guns can hold. One phone call
later, and the band is ready to play, and what
beautiful music they make, as El’s bandmates show up to even up the odds with
their tricked out, rapid firing, rocket launching guitar cases in tow.
Escape From L.A. - Gunfight at the
Happy Palace
Kurt Russell. Convicts. Hang-gliders.
Machine-guns. Disneyland. ‘Nuff said.
The Way Of The Gun - The drop off
When two small-time crooks (Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro) decide to abduct the surrogate mother of a corrupt millionaire, the kidnappers find themselves in
over their heads, as their captive goes into
labor during a high stakes
shoot out over their ransom
in a filthy Mexican brothel.

7 ft. tall pain machine The Russian (Kevin
Nash), which throws his quiet night at home
out the window, and our hero through a
wall, as the Russian doles out one of film’s
greatest smackdowns, using everything but
the kitchen sink (he prefers to use the bathroom toilet.)
The Wild Bunch - The final showdown
Action fans everywhere can thank director Sam Peckinpah, and this film, for ushering in a new era of action and violence with
this 1969 western, in which a gang of aging
outlaws take on a crooked Mexican general
and his men in a bloody shoot out in which
90,000 rounds were fired, more than were
discharged during Mexican Revolution .

as Elvis impersonators?
Watching
Costner’s villain taking on a swat team
single handedly set to the soundtrack of
Elvis’s “My Way” and automatic gunfire. Dressed like an Elvis impersonator.
Awesome!
Commando - Matrix vs. Bennett
Before Arnold Schwarzenegger ran
CA, he entertained us by killing people
on film. In what may be his greatest
scene ever, the Governator defeats his rival by running him through with a length
of pipe, pinning him to a boiler, and as
vapor pours from the pipe jutting from
his slain enemy’s chest, Arnie quips, “let
off some steam, Bennett.” God bless
America.

3000 Miles To Graceland - Murphy’s
last stand
What could be better than Kurt Russell
and Kevin Costner robbing a casino dressed

Spanish club salsa lessons

Kill Bill - Crazy 88
fight
After waking up from a
bullet induced four year
coma The Bride (Uma
Thurman), is looking forward to catching up with
her old co-worker, O-Ren
Ishii. But before these two
can have a go, The Bride
must go through Ishii’s
bodyguards The Crazy
88 (not really 88 of them,
it just sounds cool), in a
flurry of sword swingin’,
black and white bloodshed, all culminating in an
epic samurai cat fight between The Bride and her
rival.
The Punisher - The Russian comes a’knockin’
When The Punisher
(Thomas Jane) takes a
much deserved evening
Beacon/Cara Koster
off from his busy schedule
of killing bad guys, all is On April 25 the Spanish club, along with La Nota House of Dance presented a night of entertaingoing well until he gets an ment in the ballroom with performances, free Salsa lessons, and refreshments. The event was open
unexpected visit from the to all and well-attended.

�APRIL 29, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

You should know…The Silversun Pickups
BY NICK PODOLAK
Beacon Editor in Chief

I overheard the Silversun Pickups’ hit “Lazy Eye” playing in the background on VH1
one morning while eating breakfast, and immediately left my cereal to get soggy as I
couldn’t help but watch the rest of the video. “What a great song!” I thought.
It was quite surprising, then, that not even the most obnoxious of my music aficionado
friends have ever heard of them. And despite the fact that its debut album, Carnavas, was
released in July of 2006, it is still pumping out hits in hopes of being “discovered.”
Now if you’ve heard anything by the Smashing Pumpkins, Carnavas should sound
familiar. The similarities are uncanny: both the Smashing Pumpkins and Silversun Pickups begin with an “S” and a “P,” have a nice blend of male and female vocals, and have
a gloomy, synthesizer-distorted sound. Still, the L.A.-based Pickups are perkier than the
Pumpkins, and as one reviewer for Rolling Stone put it, “[The Pickups are] what the
Pumpkins would have sounded like if they drove their ice cream truck out West.”
For me, the CD really takes off on the second track with “Well Thought out Twinkles,”
an instant hit which could have easily appeared on 1993’s Siamese Dream. “Checkered
Floor” is an unpredictable, fever dream of a song that starts off slow and melodic before
taking off into a radio-friendly rock song and finally mellowing out again. “Little Lovers
So Polite” puts listeners onto a turbulent ride with its buzzing, bi-plane like synths over
pounding guitars. “Folding up the skyline/agreeing on a steep decline/can’t control this
airplane/being caught is just the same,” sings vocalist Brian Aubert as the song ends in a
long stretch of mind-massaging synthesizers. Chewing gum is recommended, just in case
your ears pop.
But “Lazy Eye” is the breadwinner of the album; the band’s 1979, if not better. Unfortunately, Aubert turns what was a great song into an unlistenable hunk of noise as he starts
retching towards the song’s end for no apparent reason. Way to go, Aubert. Perhaps this
is what kept “Lazy Eye” from being a radio staple.

The Pickups’ music has been featured in shows such as The O.C. and in Pontiac car
commercials. And the video for “Little Lovers So Polite,” directed by Joaquin Phoenix,
was just released in the first quarter of 2008.
Though Carnavas is nothing groundbreaking, it is better than anything the Pumpkins
have put out since 1995s Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness, and that’s saying something.
GRADE: BTo listen to some samples of the Silversun Pickups’ music, visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com.

Schedule of Events

STUDE~
FOR THE 2Ist CENTURY

CAll: BILL HENRY at 215-111-4619
OR CHECK THE WEB SrT1E FOR INFORMATION

Tuesday, April 29
- Jazz concert at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center at 8 p.m.
- Karaoke at the Woodlands at 9 p.m.
Wednesday, April 30
- OurAfter performing at Barnes and Noble College Bookstore
- M-80 performing at the Woodlands at 10 p.m.
Thursday, May 1
- The Backyardigans Live! The Tale of the Mighty Knights at the Kirby Center for
the Performing Arts at 4 p.m.
- Go Go Gadjet performing at Mohegan Sun
- I Am The Avalanche, Dr. Manhattan, The Early Birds and Static Radio NJ performing
at Cafe Metro at 7 p.m.
- Comedy Night at Donahue’s at 10 p.m.
Friday, May 2
- Finals Begin
- First Friday at Test Pattern at 6 p.m.
- Lisa Lampanelli at the Kirby Center at 8 p.m.
- Dowtown Harvest performing at the Jazz Cafe
- Trylogy performing at the Woodlands at 9 p.m.
Saturday, May 3
- Tigers Jaw, Ends with Disaster, Livingston and the Minor White performing at
Caf&amp;eacute; Metro at 8 p.m.
- No Regrets and Far From Honored performing at Test Pattern
- Northeastern Pa. Philharmonic at the Kirby Center at 8 p.m.
- Seductive Boogie at the Woodlands at 9 p.m.
- Strawberry Jam performing at the Jazz Cafe
- Trylogy performing at the Woodlands at 10 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
- 27th Annual Max Rosenn Lecture Series: Richard Leakey at the Darte Center at 7:30
p.m.

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Kudracross
BY CHRISTOPHER KUDRAK
Beacon Staff Writer
1
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ACROSS
Like a child
Cooking measurement
Out yonder
Sleep disorder
Expect and desire
Sad
Large edible fruit
Musical closing
Cabin type
A pier
Black gold
Race segment
UK part
No longer successful
Pasture land
Audible comeback
Iron in the rough
Make into law
Throat clearing sound
Entwine
Cart without sides
Red ____ BB gun
Metal food container
Angel instrument
Fishing necessity
Qualified
Devices that receive stimuli
Freud topic
Float like a butterfly boxer
Adhesive material
Daughters of Zeus
Elevate
Pizza cheese
Handbag
Luminous glow
Fix a computer
Ocular woe
Without a date
Extra

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
18
22
25
27
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69

Someecards.com

BY STEPHANIE GERCHMAN
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor

Facebook is possibly the biggest source of procrastination for college students.
The application for Bumper Stickers has probably doubled the amount of time we waste on Facebook…since
there are always ‘server busy’ errors and the user uploaded
sticker number in the thousands!
But, I’m not reviewing Facebook! If you are a Bumper
Sticker enthusiast, like so many others, you should be familiar with the stickers that are black and one other color

DOWN
Deviate from stable flight
October birthstone
“Do___others”
Require
Rinse ones throat
Article in constant use
Overconfident
Ghost
#2, for example
Alphabet start
Noah’s problem
Video companion
Domain
Open grassland
Leg joint
Unpolluted
Peaceful protestor
Don
Flu feeling
Storehouse
Baseball highlights
UN goal
Middle east ethnic group
Astronomer ____ Sagan
Keyboard activity
“_____ of tears”
Inexplicable occurrence
Tree anchor
Shakespeare productions
Ornamental fruits
Epsom varieties
Poet T.S. _____
Neat
Water faucet
“Extraordinary” singers “Better
than _____”
Diffuse gradually
Napoleon’s island of exile
Inebriated speech mistake
Golfer’s prop
Zig follower
Bronze, for example

APRIL 29, 2008

Answer 4/22

Answers 4/29

I would like to thank everybody who enjoyed my crossword puzzles over the past
two years. I truly enjoyed making them and receiving feedback, both positive and
negative. I would like to dedicate the Kudracross to my grandfather whose love of
crosswords inspired me to enjoy them as well. I would also like to thank all those
who helped me to create the crossword by providing input and quality control. Thank
you once again and have a good summer.
- Christopher Kudrak

and has a witty, hilarious, sarcastic or thought provoking
phrase accompanied by a simple old-fashioned picture. For
example: one has a picture of two women climbing a hill
and it says “If you ever disappeared while hiking, I’d remain with the search party until it started raining.”
Surprisingly these entertaining bumper stickers did not
originate on Facebook…nor are they really bumper stickers. They are actually e-cards and they come from Someecards.com, “e-cards for when you care enough to hit send.”
While it’s not often that people, other than our mothers,
send e-cards these are fun to browse through. With thousands to read through, it’s easy to find just what you are
looking for. You can browse by most popular, newest or by

occasion which according to the site range from “important to utterly pointless.”
The site is not intended for viewers under the age of 18
according to the makers, with good reason. Some depict
explicit sayings, but I have yet to come across vulgar pictures. This site is suggested to be used to send e-cards to
“friends, family, co-workers, loved ones, liked ones and
anyone else with fingers.”
Above anything else, this site is bound to make you
laugh. With a seemingly never ending supply of e-cards to
read through and send in obnoxious numbers to others, it
will keep you nearly endlessly entertained. I give this site
an SWF for Sarcasm and Wit at it’s Finest.

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

APRIL 29, 2008

Baby Mama features female comedians in leading role

BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Asst. A &amp; E Editor
“I just don’t like your uterus.”
“Kate, I want you to put your baby inside me.”
“I want to put my baby inside you.”
“Can I just spray a little Pam down in that area before
the baby comes out?”
These are just some of the humorous lines from the newly released comedy Baby Mama, starring female comedians Tine Fey and Amy Poehler. Both Fey and Poehler are
Saturday Night Live alums and have been pioneers in the
female comedian scene.
However, one male columnist for Vanity Fair magazine
believes women do not need to be funny and in many cases are not funny. From his January 2007 article entitled
“Why Women Aren’t Funny,” Christopher Hitchens explains women do not have a need to impress men because
women naturally appeal to men.
Hitchens adds, “Men will laugh at almost anything, often precisely because it is-or they are-extremely stupid.
Women aren’t like that.”
While Hitchens may not feel women are funny in social
settings, he does give credit to the impressive female comedians out there; however, he explains most good female
comedians are “hefty, or dykey or Jewish.” Fey and Poehler prove Mr. Hitchens wrong in the hilarous new comedy Baby Mama.
Sigourney Weaver, also a leading character in Baby

CUMB

Mama told Hollywood Today, “It’s so great to have these
very pretty, very funny women driving the story.”
To set the scene, Fey plays Kate, a successful vice president of an organic health food organization. At 37, Kate,
still single, decides she wants a child but quickly learns her
chances of becoming pregnant are one in a million.

Photo courtesy lareausisters.blogspot.com

Enter an upscale surrogate mother clinic, run by Weaver’s
character. Fey is put in touch with Poehler’s character, Angie, a working class, mannerless woman who along with
her “husband” are in search of some extra cash.
The chemistry between Kate and Angie fills the theater
with laughter throughout the entire movie. With twists and
turns, which in some ways are a little predictable, Baby

Mama is definitely a comedy all ages will enjoy.
Baby Mama is one of the first comedies where two women are standing tall and holding their own. The movie
does also feature Steve Martin as Kate’s boss; however the
Martin’s role is so small the comedic aspects could go unnoticed to Angie crazy comebacks to Kate’s criticisms and
questions.
So then why has it taken female comedians so long to
hold a movie on their own? Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler,
Steve Martin and many other male comedians have been
starring in comedic movies with women playing a very limited role.
Pete Phillips, a 2005 graduate of King’s College feels that
both Fey and Poehler are making strides for female comedians. He believes in a lot of cases, women act funny in
movies versus actual comedic work.
“I think it’s a good thing. Both [Fey and Poehler] have
repore on Saturday Night Live with ‘Weekend Upbeat’ and
they took it to the big screen. They tell a story, instead of
making fun of the dude,” Phillips said.
As of Sunday, Baby Mama grossed $18.3 million dollars
since opening on the 25th of April. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, a comedy starring males was
second in the box office race with $14.5 million. Looks
like the female comedians are finally getting the praise they
deserve.

LAND

• Private bath with shower
• Free Internet access
• Laundry
• Free off-street parking
• Free water, sewer, &amp; trash.
• Secure entry/ Remote access-buzz in
• Fully-equipped granite kitchen
• Cable TV

17 West Ross Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA
www.cumberlandliving.com

570-687-2220

�SPORTS

16

APRIL 29, 2008

Commentary

G
AME OF THE WEEK
MLB: San Francisco Giants v. Philadelphia Phillies

Double Take
Giants head to Philly for Aaron Rowand’s return Steph
examines
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
In 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies did
something they haven’t done since 1993:
Go to the postseason. They did so in an unlikely fashion, as they fielded a record 27
pitchers over the course of the season, as
numerous injuries plagued both their rotation and offense.
While their pitching staff was patchwork
for much of the season, their offense, built
with power and speed, suffered numerous
setbacks as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and
Shane Victorino all landed on the disabled
list.
Despite their absence, the team still stuck
together and succeeded, as great leadership
and a strong clubhouse allowed them to get
through the tougher parts of the season.
One such leader on the team was centerfielder Aaron Rowand, who left via free
agency in the offseason, landing with the
San Francisco Giants. Rowand was a key
part of the team, hitting for a career high in
home runs (27) and RBIs (89) and providing the young players with a winning attitude and postseason experience.
Rowand, who was acquired in a trade
from the Chicago White Sox, became an
instant hero in Philadelphia after he made
a spectacular face-first catch while crashing
into the outfield wall. That play immediately drew the respect of the Philly fans, who
accepted Rowand as one of their own.
This weekend will mark Rowand’s first
visit to Philadelphia since last season as the
Giants head to the City of Brotherly Love
for a three game series starting May 2.
The Giants have struggled early on in the
season, as their starting pitching has been
lackluster, especially Barry Zito, who is
0-5 in his first five starts with an ERA of

5.61. The rest of the starting rotation,
including Matt Cain (0-2, 5.27) and
Kevin Correia (1-3, 4.21) aren’t faring much better, however the youngster Tim Lincecum (4-0, 1.23) is proving to be the real deal in his second
season.
The pitching isn’t their only problem
this season, as their offensive production has been one of the worst in the
National League, having scored just
74 runs in 24 games.
The few bright spots in their lineup
have come from Rowand (.314, 1 HR,
9 RBI), catcher Bengie Molina (.313,
4, 16) and left fielder Fred Lewis
(.312, 1 HR, 13 runs).
The offense is going to need to pick it up
if they want to have a chance at the playoffs
this season, but first they will need to get by
the Philadelphia Phillies, who have one of
the best offenses in the National League.
The Phillies, however, are doing something they weren’t able to do last year:
pitch. In 2007, the Phillies pitching staff
finished the season with a 4.73 ERA, which
was 13 out of 16 in the NL, and it was the
highest of all the playoff teams last season.
This season, the starting rotation has been
solid, but the real success for the pitching
staff has come from their bullpen, which is
currently tops in the NL with a 2.65 ERA in
74.2 innings pitched.
The best performers out of the bullpen
have been newcomer Chad Durbin (17.1
IP, 1.56), setup man J.C. Romero (11.1 IP,
10 K, 0.00 ERA) and closing pitcher Brad
Lidge (6 saves in 6 chances, 0.00 ERA),
who appears to have regained his form after
starting the season on the disabled list.
The starting rotation has been solid as
well, with Cole Hamels (2-3, 2.75) and Brett
Myers (2-1, 4.78) leading a staff that consists
of veterans Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.05), Adam
Eaton (0-0, 5.08) and
youngster Kyle Kendrick (1-2, 5.59).
While Moyer and
Eaton are keeping the
Philles in the games,
Kendrick has yet to
find the rhythm that
made him so effective
in 2007.

the stats that
truly matter...

BY STEPHANIE GERCHMAN
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor

Despite the fact that the trio isn’t blowing
away opposing hitters, the Phillies are 9-6
over their 15 starts, due in part to an offense
that is leading the NL in home runs, even
though Jimmy Rollins is on the disabled list
and slugger Ryan Howard is struggling.
The success of the lineup is attributed to
Chase Utley (.368, 10, 21) and Pat Burrell
(.354, 8, 25), who are elevating the team
with their power and clutch hitting, while
outfielder Jayson Werth (.313, 5, 11) and
catcher Chris Coste (.406, 2, 7) are providing additional support.
While the Giants are in the middle of rebuilding their team, the Phillies are past the
rebuilding stage and are fielding a team that
is built to win games.
If the Giants want to have a chance during
this series, they are going to need to score
early and often against the offense of the
Phillies.
In the end, however, the pitching for the
Phillies, combined with their potent offense
is going to be too much for the Giants to
handle.
The Pick:
Game 1: Correia vs. Kendrick
Philadelphia Phillies: 7
San Francisco Giants: 4
Game 2: Zito vs. Myers
Philadelphia Phillies: 12
San Francisco Giants: 4
Game 3: Cain vs. Hamels
Philadelphia Phillies: 8
San Francisco Giants: 2

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and doctors with
heart stopping good looks. Obviously, I
am writing about baseball this week. It’s
was double header with the Philadelphia
Phillies pitted against the San Francisco
Giants and the Seattle Mariners battling it
out against the New York Yankees, but Tim
Seigfried, in his infitie wisdom, changed it
at the last minute. Whatever you say, Tim,
I’m doing the doubleheader!
The Phillies v. the Giants is a battle of
the names. According to my search…and
the squiggly red line under it in Microsoft
Word, Phillies is not a word! I don’t like
the fact that they chose to make up their
own word to title their team. I also think
that the whole alliteration thing they have
going on is lame. The Giants are not much
better. They have a stolen name. There are
the New York Giants in football. Apparently the Giants, the baseball ones, used to be
located in New York as well. According to
my extensive research…on wikipedia.org,
the football Giants came first. So who do
I pick to win, name thieves or lame name
maker uppers? I guess I have to give it to
the Phillies, they may be boring but at least
they didn’t steal their name.
As for the Seattle Mariners and the New
York Yankees, I’m going to choose the
winner based on location. The Yankees are
based in New York. Obviously. New York
is home to the Naked Cowboy, MTV, and
New York…that crazy chick from the first
and second season of “Flavor of Love.”
Seattle is the home of Seattle Grace Hospital, you know from “Grey’s Anatomy?”
Seattle is also the home of Dr. McDreamy
and Dr. McSteamy! Hands down Seattle
Mariners are going to win. As you know
the looks of actors who don’t actually live
in Seattle and play sexy doctors on TV are
generally the deciding factors in baseball
games.
So, what did we learn this week? New
York needs to find some doctors that will
cause heart palpitations and the Giants
need to find a non-plagiarized name.

�SPORTS

APRIL 29, 2008

17

Softball falters in playoff race

Lady Colonels drop deciding 2-game series with King’s

BY GERRARD HETMAN
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
Coming into Saturday’s regular season finale, Wilkes Coach Frank Matthews knew his team would need a bit of luck to sneak
into the Freedom Conference playoff picture. Unfortunately for the Lady Colonels, all of the luck on the day belonged to the team
in the other dugout at the Ralston Field Complex.
Behind solid hitting in the first innings of both games, the Lady Monarchs of King’s College captured both ends of a doubleheader with Wilkes on Saturday afternoon. King’s took the first game by a score of 6-3, while also picking up a 5-3 win in the nightcap.
The wins helped the Lady Monarchs secure a Freedom Conference playoff berth, while the Lady Colonels were eliminated from
the conference playoff picture with the losses.
“There’s not much to say about it- we needed the first game, and King’s came out swinging much better than we did” Wilkes
head coach Frank Matthews said afterward. “We went cold down the stretch.”
The first game of the afternoon would see the teams tied at 2 runs each after 2 innings, with King’s scoring twice in the opening
inning, while Wilkes responded with two runs of their own in the second. King’s was able to pick up two runs in both the third and
fourth innings to gain the decisive advantage. Kelsey Shreaves picked up the complete-game win, while Lindsay Behrenshausen
took the loss for the Lady Colonels.
In the second game, King’s picked up a quick two-run advantage, with the runs coming on a homerun by Lindsey Hoerner in the
top of the first. Wilkes responded by grabbing three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, including two on a single by
Sarah Miller. However, the Lady Monarchs would score three more runs to pull away and complete the sweep on the afternoon.
Saturday’s doubleheader also served as senior day for the three senior members of the squad- Miller, Plavchak and Alex Ingram.
While the senior trio cannot lead the team any further they will be able to look back with fondness on a four-year stretch that
included three straight trips to the conference playoffs from 2005-07, including a Freedom Conference Championship and NCAA
playoff berth in 2006.
“It’s disappointing to see the year end like this, but it’s been a great ride along the way” Ingram said after the games. “All three
of us seniors have had a blast with everyone on the team, and I’m sure none of us would trade it for anything.”
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
“It’s going to be tough not playing in the league tournament next weekend, but all of our girls played tremendous this season and
Junior Kathy Dalton attempts to run-out a throw
have nothing to be ashamed of” Matthrew added. “We’re certainly going to miss our seniors.”
to first base.

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SPORTS

APRIL 29, 2008

Football faces challenging slate in 2008

Colonels add two new
opponents and night game to schedule
positives in the contest for the Colonels pro-

BY GERARD HETMAN
Asst. Sports Editor
For the second straight year, the Colonels
will begin their season with three straight
non-conference contests before beginning
Middle Atlantic Conference play. In order to secure three non-conference opponents for those games, head coach Frank
Sheptock and his staff turned a potential
roadblock into a brilliant solution for their
scheduling woes.
Last season all three of the Colonels’
non-conference opponents came from the
New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC)
- a league that expanded its football membership this off-season, taking away many
available non-conference dates for member
schools. While Wilkes did manage to keep
its scheduled game in week two with NJAC
member Montclair State, Sheptock was
able to successfully search both near and
far to fill out the remaining two spots on the
2008 lineup.
Wilkes will open its season on the road
at Muhlenburg College on Saturday, September 6 at 7 p.m. The evening start time
will be a first in the history of the Colonels
football program, and will also pair up the
Colonels with a familiar opponent, as the
team has scrimmaged Muhlenburg in preseason camp for each of the past 11 years.
In 2007 the Mules opened the season on an
11-0 run that included an NCAA playoff
win and Centennial Conference championship before falling in the second round of
the national playoffs. While it’s certain to
be a huge challenge, Sheptock sees many

gram.
“Muhlenburg is an outstanding academic
institution that also features an excellent
football program, and those are the teams
we look for in our scheduling process,”
Sheptock said of the move. “The game is
very close for us in terms of travel, and also
gives us a strong presence in the Lehigh
Valley, which is a recruiting hotbed for our
program.”
After traveling to face Montclair State in
week two, the Colonels will enjoy a bye
week before their home opener against the
Captains of Christopher Newport in week
three. While the Virginia-based school has
only been playing football since 2001,
Christopher Newport has qualified for the
NCAA playoffs five times in that span, and
faced a shared issue with the Colonels when
a team featured on both squad’s 2007 schedules- NJAC member Rowan University- became unavailable for 2008. Fortunately for
both schools, the opportunity presented itself to schedule each other and resolved the
problem.
Wilkes will begin MAC play on October
4 by hosting Lebanon Valley at the Ralston
Field Complex. After a stretch of games that
includes homecoming and the annual Mayor’s Cup game against rival King’s College,
the team will close out the regular season
with a trip to defending MAC champion
Widener on November 15. While the MAC
schedule combined with the nonconference
lineup promises to challenge the Colonels
to their limit, many players are looking for-

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Wilkes freshman Alan Frost, shown here during pratice last season. The Colonels
head into this season with two new opponents on the schedule.
ward to the contests.
“All of the players want to keep our program at a high level, and that means we need
to play some of the best schools around,”

said defensive lineman Matt Archey, who
will be a senior next fall. “We’re all looking
forward to it.”

Whiteout expected at Wachovia for Calder Cup
BY MIKE CIGNOLI
Beacon Correspondent

Residents of Northeast Pennsylvania have
been blessed with fantastic weather for the
better part of the past few weeks. But the
forecast is about to change. At the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre,
whiteout conditions are expected.
We’re not talking about a blizzard. No, the
whiteout is much more than a snowstorm.
Imagine 8,000 people all donned in white,
shaking white pom-poms, and chanting
Let’s Go Pens!” at the same time.
That’s a typical Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins playoff game for you.
The Penguins finished third in the American Hockey League in attendance this season, averaging 7,667 fans per home game.
An already difficult arena for a road team
to play in doesn’t get any easier when the
“Whiteout Warriors” emerge from hiberna-

tion come playoff time.
“During the playoffs, there’s so much
more energy,” notes Penguins season-ticket holder and Wilkes
first-year student Alison
Kasper. “It’s just louder
and more intense than
the regular season.
Spring is the best
time of the year
to be a Penguins
fan.”
When you pair
the ice’s natural
white surface with
a capacity crowd
clad from head to toe
in white, the building is transformed
into an Antarctica
of sorts ¬- the perfect habitat for a
Penguin.

It’s home ice advantage on steroids. And
the Penguins take full advantage of it.
The Penguins opened up the
2008 Calder Cup Playoffs with a first-round,
best-of-seven series
against the Hershey
Bears.
WilkesBarre/Scranton
played games 1
and 4 in Chocolatetown, scoring two goals
in each game
and splitting decisions with the
Bears. Games 2, 3,
and 5 were played at
the Wachovia Arena at
Casey Plaza. The Penguins
won all three games, scoring a
combined eighteen goals.

Hershey melted under pressure in Game 5
on Friday night. The Penguins scored seven
times, including four unanswered tallies
in the third period, to close out the series
and eliminate the Bears from playoff contention. Tim Brent scored a goal and added
three assists, while rookie defenseman Alex
Goligoski scored a pair of powerplay goals
and added an assist. Luca Caputi, playing
in just his second professional game, had a
goal and set up fifteen-year veteran Dennis
Bonvie’s goal in the final minute of the third
period.
With their victory on Friday night, the
Penguins advanced to the second round of
the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Penguins will
open up the East Division Finals at home
on Thursday night against the winner of the
series between the Philadelphia Phantoms
and Albany River Rats.
And you can bet that the whiteout will be
in full force.

�SPORTS

APRIL 29, 2008

Shocker Squad completes 3-peat in intramural finals

BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Sports Editor

It is likely that the Shocker Squad championship legacy will come to a close. Seven
of their eight players will graduate in May
and Thursday night, they certainly played
as though it was their last game on the floor
together.
With numerous lead changes between the
closing minutes of the first half until midway through the second, the Shockers managed to pull away en route to a 51-41 win
over The Dudes.
“The second half we turned up the intensity and started helping each other more on
defense,” said captain Phil Sampona. “They
also had trouble with the full court pressure
we applied.”
The Dudes went on a couple of scoring
runs and had chances to close the deficit
during the second half but they could not
slow the Shockers down easy task.

19

Over the past four years, the Shockers
have only two losses. They have lost once in
the championship round of their inaugural
season to Phil Coffee’s team and one of the
Shockers players, Jake Williams played for
the team winning team. Last year, they had
a regular season loss to team Adam Dick.
“We’re definitely proud to have only two
losses in the past four years,” said senior
Anthony Piscitelli. “Our wins never came
from one individual but they came from
playing as a team. People know who we are
and I think it’s safe to say they we are the
best intramural team to walk through Wilkes University.”
There is a lot of open white space around
the Marts Gynasium where the championship banners are displayed. Maybe their jerseys will be retired one day.
The Beacon/Gino Troiani

The lone returner for the Shocker Squad, Matt Renzi (junior), flies over freshman
Alan Frost en route to a one-handed power layup.

Wilkes student-athletes to intern with 2008 Olympics

BY ALISON WOODY
Beacon Managing Editor
Every four years, the summer Olympic
games hold the world’s attention to see who
takes home the gold. And while they may
not bring home the gold for Wilkes, two
student-athletes will serve as interns for
this most important international sporting
event.
Xiaoqiao Zhang, a sophomore standout
MAC tennis player, and Alyssa Koncelik, a
junior field hockey attacker, are both communication studies majors. Zhang will be
located in China, her home country, working for CCTV (the largest news station in
the country) as a reporter for the Olympics.
Koncelik will move to Colorado Springs,
and intern with the broadcasting department
of the official United States Olympic Committee.
Zhang, whose mother will be an Olympic
torch bearer and whose friends will also be
competing, said, “I’m just so excited about

6

this because it is really big for my country
and I am proud that I can be a part of [the
Olympics].”
Last summer, Zhang worked at CCTV’s
sports channel and got to interview members of the Philadelphia Eagles and the New
England Patriots. “This is like a rehire for
me… I’m really happy that my internship
place was happy with my work,” she said.
Koncelik, who first heard about the internship through a professor, went through
a rigorous interview process to work at the
Olympic training center in Colorado.
“For my internship, I will be working in
the broadcasting department. Some of my
job duties will entail compiling footage, editing, assisting in writing, shooting, producing, going out on video shoots, and setting
up and breaking down field shoots,” said
Koncelik.
Not only is she packing up and moving to
an unknown state by herself, but Koncelik
will have to assimilate to a new professional

culture and roommate, which can be more
of a challenge than the actual internship.
Koncelik said, “This summer, I hope to
gain a whole new experience both in enhancing my education on broadcasting
along with experiencing life in a whole new
way... I get to go to a different state and
meet new people along with doing what I
love the most.”
Both students are proud to be representing Wilkes on a national and international
level.
Zhang said, “I was so proud that I could
get this job, and at the same time, so proud
that I can do something for my country.”
“I think this internship is going to be an
amazing experience,” Koncelik added.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Xiaoqiao Zhang poses during her internship with the Patriots.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Alyssa Koncelik hustling for the ball a
field hockey game.

NUMBERS OF THE WEEK

4

Number of wins this season Home runs in the baseball team’s
for the Lady Colonels lacrosse 14-1 victory over Baptist Bible
team- the highest number since
College on Wednesday.
the program began in 2003.

3

Number of hits and RBIs by
senior Sarah Miller in the softball team’s doubleheader verses
King’s College on Saturday.

13

Ranking in the Atlantic South
Regon for the women’s tennis
team, who will advance to the
NCAA playoffs on May 2.

�Sports
APRIL 29, 2008

Colonels popped in final games of series
Sweep by DeSales eliminates team from playoffs

BY NICK PODOLAK
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
The Colonels didn’t exactly envision their season coming down
to having to take two out of three
from DeSales to sneak into the
Freedom Conference playoffs.
However, they took a step in the
right direction with an exciting 75 victory over the Bulldogs at Artillery Park on Friday afternoon.
“We really needed to win at
home to start the series,” said senior Kyle Follweiler following
Friday’s game. “Now all we gotta
do is take one from down there,
and we’re in.” Follweiler finished
the day with a pair of hits and two
RBI
But despite the good start, the
Colonels punched out early from
Butz Field in Center Valley on
Saturday, managing only two hits
in a 3-2 loss to the ‘Dogs before
dropping the nightcap, 4-3. The
loss eliminated the defending conference champs from playoff contention.
“We just didn’t bring our bats.
Their pitchers kept us off balance,” said senior Brad Woznisky.
“We got guys in scoring position;
we just couldn’t bring them in.”

In Friday’s game, Tom Buckler pitched seven strong innings
for the Colonels, fanning 12 and
giving up just four runs in a game
where neither team could hold the
lead until the Blue and Gold got a
big insurance run from Wozinsky
in the eighth inning.
Mike McAndrew started things
off with a walk, stole second, and
then advanced to third on a weak
ground out by Follweiler to the
second baseman. Realizing the
importance of the game, his teammates mobbed him for making a
productive out as if he’d just hit
a home run. Corey Helfrich followed with a deep sac fly to right
field, allowing McAndrew to
score the go-ahead run with the
Colonels now leading 6-5.
Chris Mayerski’s single put runners on the corners as Woznisky
lined a frozen rope off of the third
baseman’s mitt and down the left
field line, putting the Colonels up
7-5.
Anthony “Ant Man” Giufridda picked up the win in relief of
Buckler.
The Colonels end their season at
8-10 in conference play.
“Every game, we went out and
played as hard as we could,”

Woznisky added. “We just came
up a few games short this year.”

20
G1
Player
McAndrew
Follweiler
Helfrich
Mayerski
Woznisky
Dengler
Garofoli
Sisko
Clocker
Miller
Wetzel
Buckler
Giuffrida

AB
2
5
4
5
4
4
5
3
1
0
4
0
0

Player
McAndrew
Follweiler
Helfrich
Mayerski
Woznisky
Dengler
Garofoli
Sisko
Wetzel

AB
3
3
2
1
3
3
3
3
3

R H RBI
3 1 0
0 2 2
1 1 2
1 4 0
0 1 1
1 3 2
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
1 1 0
0 0 0
0 0 0

G2
R
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0

H
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0

RBI
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0

G3

The Beacon/Allison Roth

Tom Buckler delivers against DeSales Friday afternoon at Artillery
Park. The sophomore was effective, throwing seven solid innings
with 12 strikeouts.

Player
McAndrew
Follweiler
Helfrich
Mayerski
Dengler
Garofoli
Miller
Wetzel
Brennan
Padams

AB
3
3
4
2
2
3
3
2
1
2

Men’s tennis wins first ever Freedom Conference title

R H RBI
1 2 0
0 2 1
0 0 0
0 1 1
0 1 1
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 0
0 1 0

Colonels earn an automatic bid into the NCAA division III tournament
COURTESY OF SPORTS
INFORMATION
Second-seeded Wilkes University claimed their first Freedom
Conference men’s tennis championship on Sunday afternoon with
a 5-3 victory over top seeded
FDU-Florham.
Wilkes, which improved to 152 overall, earned the conference’s
automatic berth into the NCAA
Division III Championship which
will take place May 2-4.
FDU took a 2-1 lead after the
doubles matches. At first doubles,
the FDU team of Adam Geiger
and Jason Thalmann defeated the
Wilkes pair of Kyle Ungvarsky

and Chris Cozzillio by an 8-2 score.
Alex Bruin and John Zalesky from
FDU won at second doubles position over Wes McCollum and Jon
Rohrbach 8-2. Wilkes came back
at the third doubles position as the
tandem of Josh Gardner and Brian
Fanelli won over Joe Li and Wes
Harnett by the score of 8-0.
The singles matches were all
extremely competitive. Wilkes
struck first as second singles player Ungvarsky defeated Thalmann
by a 6-2, 6-4 score. With the match
now tied, the Colonels’ Cozzillio
would give the team its first lead
with a close 7-5, 7-6 decision over
Bruin.

The Devils would tie the score
at 3 with a win at sixth singles by
Harnett, when Fanelli was forced
to retire. Wilkes would grab the
lead for good when senior captain Gardner won a close three set
match over Zalesky 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Finally, Rohrbach clinched the
win with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 decision
over Li at fourth singles.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Wilkes freshman Jon Rohrbach takes a shot during match against
FDU-Florham. Rohrbach won his singles match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

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&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
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The

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW
MAY 1, 2007

In This Issue...

Page 6

•••••••••

Page 9

Rosenn lecture focuses on the Sudan crisis
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Asst. News Editor
Film can do many things. It can make you cry, laugh,
scream in terror and think. A good film will make you do
all four, and the audience of the 26th Annual Max Rosenn
Lecture saw such a film Sunday evening.
In an unusual move for the annual lecture, the evening included both the screening of an award-winning film, God
Grew Tired of Us and lectures delivered by two individuals
associated with it, director Christopher Dillon Quinn, and
one of the subjects of the film, John Bul Dau. The film won
two awards at the Sundance Film Festival.
The movie focuses on three “Lost Boys” of Sudan, their
escape from a civil war and their relocation in the United
States. Dau was one of the “lost boys.”
The film, which was screened before the lecture, depicted
the compelling story of the Lost Boys who fled their homes
when the northern Sudanese government tried to kill them.
The group of 27,000 fled to neighboring Ethiopia and arrived emaciated and near death. The group’s stay in Ethiopia
was short; they were then forced to flee again when civil war
broke out there. The group, reduced by starvation, drowning

See ROSENN page

The Beacon/Cara Koster

Christopher Dillon Quinn, lecturer of the 26th annual Max Rosenn Lecture,
stands with one of The Lost Boys of Sudan, John Dau (left). Dau is featured
in the movie that was screened at the lecture, God Grew Tired of Us.

4

Text notification
• • • • • • • • • system planned
BY MARK CONGDON JR.
Beacon Staff Writer

Retention rate of
diverse students dips
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Staff Writer

The Virginia Tech massacre caught the country by surprise, though it
appears that even local universities were already in discussions about
how to best inform campus constituents about emergencies using the
latest technologies.
Before the Virginia Tech tragedy, Wilkes University officials were
already investigating how best to inform students and faculty in the
event of an emergency. Thus, Public Safety officials acknowledge
that they are now in the process of implementing a phone-based, text
messaging notification system for both communication and emergency purposes weeks ahead of the nationwide trend in reaction to the
tragedy.
Wilkes students, faculty and staff should be able to enroll next week,
said Christopher Bailey, Director of Campus Support Services. “A few
News................................1-5 departments have been investigating a text based messaging system,
Opinion.............................6-8 both for emergency and non-emergency communications, for the past
Features.........................9-11 year or so.

Page 13
Inside:

Arts &amp; Entertainment....12-15
Sports...........................16-20

Volume 59 Issue 21

www.wilkesbeacon.com

See TEXT page 4

Twenty-three full- and part-time students of culturally diverse and
international backgrounds chose not to return to Wilkes University at
the end of the fall semester in December 2006.
According to Brian Bogert, Assistant Director for Institutional Research, those 23 students accounted for a combined 12.2% of the university’s multicultural students.
Mark Allen, Dean of Student Affairs, noted that there could be a number of reasons for the retention drop-off among minority students.
“Regardless of ethnicity, the reason why a student would leave would
be a lack of academic success, changes in financial circumstances or
they just don’t care for the environment,” he said.
Homesickness may also play a key role, according to Alberto Prado,
Interim Director of the Multicultural Student Coalition (MSC). Along
with the Diversity Ambassadors, the Indian Culture Association and
the Islamic Interest Society, MSC has sponsored a number of events
this year to

See RETENTION page 2

�NEWS
MAY 1, 2007

RETENTION

from FRONT PAGE

try to help students feel more
at home and accepted among the
Wilkes community.
Even though events are scheduled, and multicultural and ethnic
clubs and organizations are offered on campus, some note that
students don’t appear to utilize
what’s available to them.
Yohanna De Los Santos, a transfer student from the Dominican
Republic, admitted that she noticed the missing students on
campus when she returned for the
spring semester and considered
applying to different schools for
the upcoming 2007-08 year.
“I thought of applying somewhere else like New York or Miami, you know, like a big city
where it’s more diverse with different people,” the sophomore said.
Having never heard of groups like
MSC, she wasn’t aware that there
were places she could go to feel
closer to home while she worked
on adapting to an incredibly dif-

SG Notes
At the April 25, 2007 Student
Government (SG) meeting:
Treasurer’s Report
The remaining SG funds exist in
the following lines:
All College: $2,406.21
General: $4,034.73
Special Projects: $131
Spirit: $3,405.15
Leadership: $4,540
Conferences: $7,469.10
Start-up: $3,200
New Business
Matt Brown accepted his position
as SG President, Sherri Homanko
accepted her position as Off Campus Council President and Kate
Baas accepted her position as Inter Residence Hall Council President. The next SG meeting will
be managed by both the current
president, Jenna Strzelecki and
incoming president, Matt Brown.

ferent culture and school.
Though there may be many explanations as to why the number
of ethnic students attending Wilkes University has fallen off, Allen said that it’s difficult to pinpoint one specific reason.
“In what we’ve looked at between semesters in terms of students leaving, we’ve not been able
to identify any single factor that’s
raised a flag that says we really
need to focus and do a better job
on this particular aspect in order to
improve retention,” he said.
If a student doesn’t inform the
university that they don’t plan on
returning for the upcoming semester, then there is no way of identifying the cause for why he/she has
left. If a student formally withdraws from the school, then there
is an exit process so that they can
provide a reason for leaving.
It is still unclear whether the
percentage of ethnic or diverse
students who left Wilkes mid-year
will affect the decisions of minority students to come to the university next year. In response to this,

Charles Siarkowski and Andy
York presented a song that they
wrote to commemorate the SG’s
year.
Emerging Leaders asked for a donation to clean up Charles Street
Park and hold a grand re-opening. The total project cost is $605
and the request was for $300. The
money will go to food, cooking,
ice and serving utensils for the
re-opening. The money will also
go towards the revitalization with
the purchase of paint, flowers and
mulch. SG allocated the $300 to
Emerging Leaders with a vote of
34 for, 0 against and 5 abstaining.
A tentative SG budget was presented with four clubs taken off of
the budget for next year because
of concerns that they do not help
all the students or that they did not
hand in the proper forms in time.
The clubs excluded from the budget include: Concert and Lecture,
Crew Club, Speech and Debate
and Lacrosse.

Allen said that the university is always interested in building a more
diverse population.
“The Diversity Task Force is
taking the lead role in identifying
a lot of issues on campus so we
can see where we can do a better
job, not just with students from
underrepresented populations but
also from the staff and faculty
standpoint so we can have a more
healthy population with respect
to diversity,” said Allen. The Diversity Task Force was formed at
the end of the first semester and
is comprised of faculty, staff, students, Board of Trustees members
and community members. The
group is engaged in evaluating
Diversity Survey results as well
as interviewing constituent groups
about their perspectives on needs
in the diversity arena at Wilkes.
Prado noted that once finals are
over and the stress of the semester is lifted, the student leaders
of MSC, Diversity Ambassadors
and other organizations will meet
to make plans that will hopefully
draw more students of every culture together for the fall semester.
Jonathan McClave presented a
proposal to buy their own tables
for casino night. They will be
personalized with Wilkes logos
and the total project will cost
$15,067.80 to $15,567.80. It will
take seven casino nights to pay
for the purchase and passed with
a vote of 36 in favor and 1 opposed.
There was a presentation to trade
in SG’s current vans and purchase
two used models. The money will
come out of the buffer fund. The
vans are 2007 Chevy Uplanders
with an extended wheel base. The
vans will seat seven and have dual
climate control. The purchase will
cost $39,998 and passed with 31
in favor, 4 opposed and 2 abstained.

2

Leaving Town
Student Goverment Notes
Summer Renovations
Rosenn Lecture 2007

2
2
3
4

A,.,,.~~

Ir..,·'.·,,

:,;;

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Tiny wooden crosses adorn the lawn across from Kirby Hall with
an “Our Future?” banner hanging in the background. The display
sponsored by S.A.V.E brings attention to endangered species.

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�NEWS

MAY 1, 2007

3

University Towers to undergo renovations for ‘life safety’
BY NICK PODOLAK
Beacon News Editor

Several renovations for life safety will
take place over the summer at University
Towers on South Main, including new fire
suppression systems, smoke detectors, a
clean-down of the elevators and an upgrade
in the voice data system.
“Our engineers are working on the specifications and final documentation of the life
safety issues, and have completed the specifications for the voice data upgrade,” said
John Pesta, Director of Capital Projects.
The building, which was constructed in
1977, does not have any detectors according to Pesta. Just last semester, a student
became incapacitated due to smoke inhalation after she left something cooking on the
stove and it caught fire. Public Safety officers had to step in and pull the student from
the smoke-filled room.
“Early intervention in a fire is the best.
When you’re able to quickly contain and
put out a fire prior to the fire department
arriving on the scene, you’re ahead of the
game,” said Chris Bailey, Director of Campus Support Operations.

The Beacon/Cara Koster

A fire extinguisher stands next to of fire hose in University Towers on South Main Steet. Renovations for the
summer will include a new sprinkler system, smoke
detectors and an elevator clean-up.

Though residents have long
complained that the elevators
in University Towers are painstakingly slow, it is still uncertain whether or not a full upgrade will be completed by the
end of the summer.
“A full upgrade would digitize the elevators, increasing
the speed,” Pesta said. “But
that depends on if it fits in the
budget or not. That’s a pretty
big chunk of work to try and do
all in one summer.”
Due to the renovations, however, political science major
Karyn Perestam was informed
by Residence Life that all oncampus students living in the
Towers must not only vacate
their apartments for the summer, but move out all of their
furniture as well.
“This is a huge burden placed
on students who thought they
were moving into apartments,
which would allow them to
avoid the annoyance of moving in and out of a dorm every

year,” Perestam said.
However, a contract that on-campus students must sign clearly states that students
must vacate the University Residence Hall
within 24 hours after his/her final examination or within 24 hours after the termination
of the residence hall contract.
Director of Residence Life Brenda Stanely
explained, “The terms of this contract have
not changed since the apartment-style living environment was introduced at Wilkes
and so we are unclear as to why students
living at University Towers would think
differently,” she said. “On campus students
that reside in University Towers sign the
same contract as on-campus students that
reside in any of our other residence hall and
mansions.”
Aside from the life safety renovations,
one of the biggest changes students will notice upon return is that they will have access
to the campus networks, giving them access
to the H-drive without having to make a secure link from off-campus to on-campus.
“You could use any campus service as if
you were sitting on the campus,” said Chief
Officer of Informational Technology Services Mike Salem. “We’re making it just
like any other dorm.”

S E X U A L A S S A U L T:
PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING TO YOU
5 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR RISK
When you go to a party, go with a group of friends. Arrive together; check in with each other and leave
together. Don’t be isolated with someone you don’t know or trust.
Trust your instincts. If a situation feels unsafe or uncomfortable, it probably isn’t the best place to be.
Don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to. “I don’t want to” is always a good enough reason
not to do something.
Practive safe drinking. Don’t leave your beverage unattended, pay attention to your drInk while it’s
being prepared and don’t accept drinks from someone you don’t know well.
Make sure your cell phone is with you and charged. Know what parts of campus are well lIt and where
people hang out. Use a campus shuttle at night and carry cab money when you go out.
IN AMERICA. 1 IN 6 WOMEN AND 1 IN 33 MEN HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED
-Sponsored By Health Services
Rape Abuse &amp; Incest National Network &lt;www.rainn.org&gt;

�MAY 1, 2007

NEWS

4

ROSENN
from FRONT PAGE
and war, was left with less than half of the
original boys, bringing their numbers to about
12,000. The boys charted their journey to Kenya where they established the Kakuma Refugee Camp in 1992.
The Lost Boys formed their own village until
the United States agreed to place them in homes
and jobs in this country. The movie then begins
with the story of John Bul Dau who learned he
would be moving to Syracuse, New York.
The film followed him and other Lost Boys
as they travelled across Africa, Europe and the
Atlantic until they reached New York City. The
boys then separated and went to either Pittsburgh or Syracuse. The film touched everyone in the audience with its comical elements,
including scenes about the boys not knowing
how to use things that we take for granted, like
a light switch.
The boys were given assistance for three
months until their visas and Social Security
cards were taken care of and then began looking for a job. The film also shows the culture
shock the boys experienced, especially because
they lacked the interaction they had previously
in the camp and because they were alone for
long periods of time. There was enough pressure on them to drive one of the boys insane.
The community’s reaction to the boys was
also depicted. Store owners asked that they
didn’t enter their store in large numbers.
Neighbors asked them not to sit or dance outside under the tree near their apartment like

The Beacon/Cara Koster

Wilkes University President Joseph E. (Tim) Gilmour introduced Christopher Dillon
Quinn, award-winning director of God Grew Tired of Us, and John Bul Dau, one of
the Lost Boys of Sudan, at the annual Max Rosenn Lecture Series Sunday, April 29th,
at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center. Dau was featured in Quinn’s film, and the film
was showed to the audience prior to both Quinn and Dau speaking. Quinn stressed
the importance of the United States’ involvement in the crisis in Sudan, while Dau
spoke to the audience about the power of perseverance.
they did back in Kenya.
The film ends with the Lost Boys either
working on graduating from college or trying to get their families to come to the US.
Dau was someone who worked and put his
education on hold to bring his family to the

US and the film showed the reunion.
The film did not have a definite ending,
because the Lost Boys of Sudan’s future is
still in question. Many are still in Kenya or
are afraid to go back to Kenya in fear that
they will be shot or burned along with their
village.
When the lights came up on the packed
Darte Center, many in the audience were
wiping their eyes while offering a standing
ovation.
Quinn began his part of the lecture by
making the format very conversational. Neither man stood behind the podium and instead walked around the stage. Quinn spoke

about his inspiration for the film, which
started in seventh grade when he learned
about the holocaust. “I always remember in seventh grade saying ‘well at least
that will never happen again.’ And for
me Africa is not only something that is
in turmoil but is also something that is
being ignored.”
Quinn also told the story about how
hard it was making the film. He had to
call around and ask for donations until he finally called enough “friends of
friends” to get a screening in Los Angeles where Brad Pitt was in the audience,
who decided he wanted to be part of the
project.
The floor was then turned to Dau who
spoke about his experience and his progress. Currently, he has worked to raise
$400,000 to build a clinic in his village
in Africa, which was completed the day
after the lecture, April 30. He also talked about the future of Sudan which, according to him, lies in the hands of the
United States, beause “the U.N. is not
doing its job.”
Dau also talked about what he saw in
America that could be improved. One
thing he mentioned was how students
need to persevere. “You are not getting
good grades or your mom is not buying
jeans or computer games, it’s not a big
problem. All you have to do is persevere.” Dau said that is the key to success.
After the speakers concluded, the audience was invited to the lobby for a
reception where they could purchase
Dau’s memoirs and meet the speakers. The gentlemen were immediately
swarmed by people who were fascinated
by their stories and experience.
This lecture is named for the Honorable Judge Max Rosenn who passed
away last year.

The Beacon corrections
In The Beacon’s April 24 article “Brown wins SG Presidential post with 30% of
student vote,” the winners of Inter Residence Hall Council (IRHC) President and
Off Campus Council (OCC) President were misprinted as Student Government (SG)
Vice President and other positions. For clarification, Kate Baas will be the president
of IRHC and Sherri Homanko will be president of OCC.
Last week, the photo of the SG presidential candidates was printed as being taken
by Andrew Seaman. This photo should have been credited to Kathy Dalton.
The Beacon/Cara Koster

John Bul Dau signed a copy of his book, God Grew Tired of Us, during the meet and
greet after the 26th annual Max Rosenn Lecture. Dau is one of the Lost Boys of
Sudan whose story is told in the film of the same name as his book. Dau moved to
Syracuse, New York with the help of the United States and worked in order to bring
his family to the US as well. The film was showed at the lecture and depicted the
reunion between Dau and his family.

The Beacon strives for accuracy and good sourcing in all of its stories and regrets
the errors in the past issue. Editors are grateful for readers who take the time to point
out inaccuracies.
Andrea Breemer-Frantz, Faculty Advisor
Curran Dobson, Editor-in-Chief

�NEWS

MAY 1, 2007
TEXT
from FRONT PAGE
We plan to deploy an enhanced system
that will provide both text as well as voice
alerts. This system will also allow us to
utilize the phones currently located within
our classrooms in addition to enrolled
cell phones. This would allow us to reach
students and faculty while they are in
class where they may have switched off or
otherwise silenced their cell phones…The
phone and cell phone alert system will
have an initial cost of $3,500 plus the cost
of minutes which are purchased in blocks
of 400 minutes for $500,” said Bailey.
Bailey added that there are two ways students, faculty and staff can sign up. “There
will be two avenues to enroll in this service;
a primary method as well as a back-up. The
primary method will be a web-based form
where community members will provide
their last name, their WIN and their phone
number. Due to possible technical issues
with a large number of individuals trying
to access this web form, we will also allow
individuals to enroll by sending the same
information via email to a specific address;

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most likely safety@wilkes.edu but I will
have to confirm this address,” stated Bailey.
Danielle Capone, freshman nursing major, believes that this is a great idea for
the university. “Considering how
safety is more important now
than ever before, I believe
that this system should
protect our campus community if something
tragic like the shootings at Virginia Tech
ever happen here,”
she said.
Jack Chielli,
Executive Director of Marketing Communications,
said that the
university
has other
safety
features for
back-up. “All
of the current
safety procedures are still
in place. These include 14 professional
public safety officers who are trained in

5

emergency response procedures and are
mobile on bikes. We can visit very building
on our campus within 10 to 15 minutes to
lock them down in emergencies. We also
have 40 to 50 emergency
phones on campus that directly
hook into the
public safety
office which
is in constant
contact with
the police department. Email
and other notifications are also available to us and will be
employed in the case
of an emergency,” said
Chielli.
Chielli added that some
of the disadvantages of the
proposed addition of text and
e-messaging are that, “Some
students and faculty will not
have their cell phones on or will
not opt in to the program. We have
to have back up measures in place to
reach those individuals.”
Brooke Barney, freshman elementary

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education major, feels that the advantages
outweigh the disadvantages. “With any
safety system there are drawbacks, but it
seems like this phone-based system has
more positives than negatives. That’s why
we have other safety procedures in place.
It’s not perfect, but I believe that it’s better than what we currently have. I feel safe
at Wilkes already, but I know that this will
help me feel even safer,” noted Barney.
Chielli encouraged students to take safety precautions when necessary. “I think it
is important to stress that the safety of our
campus is everyone’s responsibility. The
best way to stay safe is to look out for each
other. Also, we should use this opportunity
to stress ways to prevent the more common
threats to students. These can be greatly
reduced by conducting oneself in a responsible manner - only drink responsibly and
never drink and drive; always know who
you are letting into your dorm; never leave
the door to the dorm building propped open;
do not walk on campus alone late at night;
call security whenever you see or hear
something suspicious; and take care of each
other. No security system, no matter how
good or costly, can guarantee there will not
be a crime,” said Chielli.

I

570-829-2900
154 s. Pennsylvania Ave
Sun-Thur 11 am-2am
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�Opinion
MAY 1, 2007

6

Too much focus on VT killer 7
8
Senior reflection

Cronyism poses a challenge at all levels of government
Student govenment policies leave room for corruption
candid as possible, given that this
is a much smaller scale than a national election where one must
vote with only as much information as is available by a
single day.

BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

Do we ever really trust our government?
All politicians lie--that’s the old
adage--but we still
hold elections and
hope for the
best. Wilkes
University’s
Student Government (SG)
is no exception to the rule.
SG members
have promoted
. ..
worthy causes,
... .
.
·. .·
...
.
represented
on
important issues,
(9!!,._,r,,..
.- ,.
and also made mis:-.
takes. Scandal and
redemption are mere
inches apart.
But while the
Recently, it was
Wilkes SG constitution has
reported that newly
been adequately followed, it still
elected SG President, Matthew seems strange that the election
Brown, was involved in contro- was not postponed. In national
versy because he allegedly lied to elections, this is much more difobtain information from a local ficult, but the story broke just as
business. While the exact details elections were opening online and
of the case remain slightly cloudy, it easily could have been changed,
the case occurred just before cam- especially since the candidate
puswide elections for SG Execu- could have potentially been distive Board positions. Brown was qualified after the fact. At least
evaluated by his peers in an SG three students approaced Beacon
hearing, allowed to remain on SG staff members and said that know
and continue his quest for the po- they would have voted differently.
sition. He was elected to the top Since we have the unique ability to
post days later.
prevent such scenes by postponing
The scenario is one for which elections or rerunning elections,
no federal government candidate since we are on a small and prifor office could ever hope: evalu- vate scale, our SG should consider
ation by peers and friends who such options in order to take into
determine your fate and a general account a possible change in the
election in which the majority of sentiment of the student body tothe voting body is unaware of the ward a candidate.
news until after casting their balThe greatest conflict of interlots. Some students expressed est is that our constitution suptheir displeasure with having the ports the entire SG membership
elections open before the news to determine the fate of a fellow
was available. Many even admit- member. Aside from the potential
ted they would have changed their for peer pressure, there are few
votes. It should be the primary checks and balances built into the
goal of our government to be as system to ensure accountability
-•

7

Angry Rant

among representatives.
When Hillary Clinton voted for
the war in Iraq, it left a mark on
her reputation that
she is still trying
to shake from the
minds of future
voters while she
campaigns for
the Democratic presidential nomination. In SG,
no member
need
be
concerned
with
a
damaged
reputation for
helping a
friend. In
fact, such loyalty is usually rewarded socially. As representatives, the default is simply
to use one’s best judgment, which
is complicated by peer pressure
and friendships on a small college
campus.

A
Sight
for
Sore
Eyes
Aleksander Lapinski

Many positions in the university
have a code of conduct. Some faculty advisors for clubs and teams
warn their students not to have
compromising photos of themselves on Facebook or MySpace as
a way to keep respectable appearances. When someone slips up, it
has resulted in losing a position or
leaving a team. Why should our
government be different?
To Brown’s credit, he has offered
a full acknowledgment and apology for his actions. Such public
mea culpas require fortitude and
leadership. It is unlikely that SG
members will be asked to account
for their votes, however.
We must set a standard against
cronyism and peer pressure and
develop standards with actual
consequences. Without them, we
leave ourselves open to unethical
behavior running rampant. It is
not only about being honest and
open to the student body, but also
about the public appearance of the
entire university.

Beacon
Poll Results
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overall
attitudes of students on campus. Results are based on 42
responses.

The Beacon asked:
What are your summer plans?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Work -55%
Travel -16%
Spend time at the
beach -15%
Take summer
classes -8%
Volunteer -2%
Nothing special -2%
Sleep -2%
Visit old friends -0%
See summer
blockbusters -0%
Other -0%

�OPINION

MAY 1, 2007

7

Should NBC and other networks have focused on Cho?

BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Asst. News Editor

What else can I say about the tragedy that
occurred at Virginia Tech? I am sure I could
go on and on about gun control laws and
how good/bad they are but what will that
really accomplish in the long
run?
However, I feel the need to
write about this topic because
something bothered me today
as I walked past the news
organizations in New York City
on Saturday. They were still
talking about what happened.
It is not that I expect to never
hear of this again. It is just a
question of where do audiences
draw the line of what we need
or want to know?
The responsibility for determining what
constitutes news generally should fall
to the trained gatekeepers at the news
organizations, but too often it falls into
the hands of the company’s CEOs. This is
because the companies are still pursuing the
act of scooping other news organizations
and unfortunately it can’t be done
accurately. However the companies still

believe that this model equals big money,
because to change the model successfully
to a more community minded one, all news
organizations must act together and in
harmony.
Currently all news organizations grab
at whatever information is available and

shootings. The package contained writings
and disturbing video in which Cho made his
case for how and why he felt compelled to
visit such violence on the beautiful campus.
At times during the video, Cho raves about
the injustices visited upon him. At others, he
brandishes weapons and looks menacing.

violence.
What should have happened is this:
In news accounts of the shooting, news
organizations should have offered an
account of what happened but not focused
too much on the killer. Instead, more
focus on the victims might help to prevent
copycat events. By showing the
images of Cho holding guns
and reading his manifesto, other
people will see this and think, “I
can be famous, too.”
News organizations need ask
themselves, “Why are we giving
this to the public and what will
this do to the community?”
Once this happens, these
organizations may earn the
respect of the community
again and the news they report
will be even more accurate. And yes, the
unwanted materials like the pictures of the
gunman reading his manifesto will surface
through the internet, but the number of
people viewing the material will decrease
tremendously. News organizations need to
simply ask, “If we put this out to the public,
what is going to happen?”

The responsibility for determining what constitutes news generally
should fall to the trained gatekeepers at the news organizations, but too
often it falls into the hands of the company’s CEOs.

regurgitate it to you, the audience. The ideal
model should operate as one that has the
community’s best interests that guide such
choices. In general, news organizations need
to more carefully screen news items and
check their prominence before presenting it
to their audience.
Take the package of information created
by the shooter, Mr. Cho, that he mailed to
NBC apparently between his first and last

That package should not have been
given to every single news company in
the world. It should have been examined
and given directly to the police involved in
the ongoing investigation. Nothing in that
package was necessary for the public to see.
However, the news organizations contended
that it did have relevance and importance
for audiences wanting to better understand
the madness that had spurred Cho to such

The Angry Rant: Stupid People
T
B TIM SEIGFRIED
BY
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
B

Let’s face it: people are stupid.
In a society that exists in a world of logic
and
a
reason, we are hard pressed to find
much
m
of either one.
In other words, common sense isn’t that
common.
c
Case in point: I was at Wal-Mart at one
in
i the morning a few weeks ago, and as I
was
w walking in the main entrance I passed a
young
y
mother pushing her one-year-old son
in
i the shopping cart.
I’ll let you think on that for a moment.
It was after midnight, and this genius had
h infant awake and at Wal-Mart. Not only
her
that,
t
but after she wheeled him out the front
door,
d
she started to light a cigarette not six
inches
i
from the child’s head!
Question: When they were accepting
enrollments
e
in “Good Parenting” classes,
were
w
you sick that day or were you too
bbusy getting your current boyfriend’s name
ttattooed on your neck?
Not only that, but parents in general seem
cconfounded by how to take care of their

kids, especially the screaming and crying
ones. Nothing is more annoying than when
a screaming child is left to scream while the
parent just stands there like nothing is going
on.
As far as the younger generation is
concerned, how is it that 17- and 18-yearolds are allowed to parade around wearing
virtually nothing? Do the parents who
raised these kids have any ideas what their
daughters or sons are wearing? I was at the
library some time ago and saw two girls
whose shorts began and ended somewhere
around their waist.
If that’s not bad enough, these same girls
have the audacity and gall to get defensive
when comments are made about how they
dress.
Mind you, these are the same people who
put provocative pictures of themselves on
websites like MySpace and Facebook, and
are somehow surprised when the emails
from 35-year-old men start pouring in.
“But I’m just expressing myself and my
womanhood! I am not a whore!”
That may be true, but as the great Dave
Chappelle once said: “You’re not a whore…

but you’re wearing a whore’s uniform, and
that is confusing.”
The lack of common sense isn’t an
affliction that we normal people own; it also
affects celebrities. Case in point: Sheryl
Crow.
Ms. Crow is one of a recent slew of
celebrities who have joined the cause
to combat global warming. Now I’m all
for famous people using their star power
to draw attention to a cause, and global
warming is no exception, but what she is
proposing might be one of the worst ideas
in the history of bad ideas: One square.
That’s the idea. Just one square of toilet
paper per bathroom visit. Really, I didn’t
make that up.
Apparently, she feels that the excess waste
of paper products can be cut down if, as a
society, can ban together and use just one
square per visit.
Really? One square? I don’t know about
anyone else, but after I down a delicious
meal that consists of surf and turf, I’m
willing to bet that I’m going to be needing
more than one square of toilet paper.
Ok, time for the lighting round:

Graphic by Kristyn Ostman

Cell phones: People’s habits concerningg
cell phones have become increasingly poor.
If you’re in a crowded waiting room, thenn
perhaps you should turn your phone onn
vibrate so no one can hear “Baby Got Back””
every time your phone rings.
Bad drivers: When did turn signals becomee
a thing of the past? Nothing is worse thann
when you’re heading down the turnpike andd
some fool cuts in front of you without usingg
any sort of signal.
Self checkout: If you can’t operate a
computer, then you shouldn’t be usingg
the self checkout, what with all the fancyy
gizmos and servos.
Poor grammar: Like, it’s really annoying,,
when, like, people don’t know how to like,,
speak, and everything, right? It’s like, soo
bad when someone can’t complete andd
entire sentence without, like, saying like,,
like, every other word. It like, drives mee
crazy.
One more thing:
People who are needlessly critical aboutt
every little thing…and irony.
Have a great summer.

�MAY 1, 2007

OPINION

8

Be every color that you are: a senior’s farewell
BY KRISTYN OSTMAN
Beacon Opinion Editor

It is a bittersweet fact that for many of us
college is ending.
Some have more schooling to look forward to. Others have jobs or prospects…
Then there are people like me. The proud,
the few…the absolutely terrified.
It’s not that I haven’t any thoughts about
my future; I have plenty and even a few possible jobs. The sad fact is that my only definite plans are to move back home and watch
Spanish telenovelas until I am fluent.
A lot of people tell me that it’s okay. Everyone moves home and has that uneasy
feeling in the pit of their stomachs. But it’s
cool, kiddo. You’ll get a job soon enough
and, ya’ know, continue working for the
next 40+ years.
Okay, I get it that being nervous about
my uncertain fate is nothing new. Everyone goes through that post-college malaise.
Sadly, I have little advice for anyone other
than to offer my understanding and a possible seat beside me during Corazon Salvaje.
The most frustrating thing is that floating
along the river of uncertainty is as much the
learning experience as the past four years.
I suppose that the only shred of advice I
can offer is to be open to change. Whether
it’s changing your plans, your mind, or your
clothes, just try to allow room for yourself

to grow. As much as everyone has grown
through the course of college, it never truly
stops. If my first job turns out to be in an
environment I don’t like or not exactly what
I want to do, I hope I have the courage to

nior, was the issue of marriage. It seems like
everyone I know is either engaged or planning on it soon. Recently, some divorce lawyers reported that the number one cause of
divorce boils down to: “We got married too

Courtesy of http://unet.ollusa.edu

quit and go somewhere else. Lots of people
get stuck in their comfort zones because
random career changes make them feel like
a flighty college student. Don’t worry about
it. Go out and make sure you are who you
want to be.
Something else I thought was still a long
way off, but that came up as I became a se-

young.”
Please think about that before the wedding. Sure, I’m not one to talk, as the idea of
getting married before the age of 27 makes
me uncomfortable, to say the least. But this
is the time people change and it’s still okay.
Give yourself the room to change and then
make sure that the new you still fits with

your other half.
Sure, it sounds nice to say that we should
all be willing to go out there and embrace
our dreams. I know I must sound like a
cheesy poster about grad school or going
abroad, but it’s the best advice that few
people actually follow. We kind of get stuck
in the daily routine of work, school, or in
some cases unemployment. It happens. Try
to not be satisfied with everything, strive for
more, the majority of goals are not unattainable (I say “most” as I have finally come to
terms with the fact that I will never be Mrs.
Richard Dean Anderson.)
My high school history teacher once said
to us, this is the only country that guarantees
you the right to try to be happy. Go forth
and pursue happiness however you can and
whatever that means.
Without getting overly nostalgic, I would
like to say that the past years have been fantastic. Even the really awful parts. At the
same time, I’m ready to be done. Granted,
I have no job and my parents still wait up
for me even though I am approaching age
22. But at least I have a car and that puts
me at slightly cooler than the 14-year olds
I will be buying beer for as a side business.
While it still saddens and frightens me that
nothing seems stable or constant right now,
I’m kind of glad for that. Sometimes things
need to get shaken up so everything can fall
into place.

Ivy League no guarantee of success for college grads

of the Emerson Electric, Inc. He’s pursuing
his MBA from Wilkes and is off to a tremendous start in a career that he seems set
As the semester comes to an end, we all
to
excel in for many years. Coming out of
look forward to catching up with friends
high
school, Mike also considered attendfrom our hometowns and high schools.
ing a number of
While some of those friends
schools
with namay have also wound up at Wiltional
prestige
inkes, many others moved on to
cluding
Rochester,
other colleges and universities,
Just because a school requires high SATs or sends tons of kids overseas to study isn’t a Johns Hopkins,
each with its own unique profile
Lehigh and Laand mission. When we’re catchguarantee that an alumnus will become a success in the working world.
fayette. Yet after
ing up with the old crowd, some
attending Wilkes,
of our friends will begin talking
Mike is taking off
about the schools they attend
in his career and
and the excellent level of educadoing just as well
tion they are receiving there.
In
my
research
for
this
op-ed,
I
decided
success
in
the
working
world.
as
graduates
from
many
of those other inAt the tail end of Christmas break, I caught
to
question
the
people
who
are
often
at
The
responses
received
lined
up
perfectly
stitutions.
up with an old friend of mine who’s now in
So when you get together with friends
her second year at the University of Roches- the forefront of promoting their schools’ with my long-standing belief that a student
imagesadmissions
directors.
I
chose
six
can
excel
at
whatever
school
they
choose-and
family and the topic of your education
ter. One of the first things we discussed was
schools
in
Pennsylvania
that
are
of
similar
be
it
a
nationally-known
scientifi
c
institute
comes
up, don’t forget to give Wilkes a nod
that Rochester had recently been named one
size
to
Wilkes,
and
e-mailed
the
admissions
or
a
locally-based
liberal
arts
school.
As
of
endorsement.
The opportunity is here for
of 25 “new Ivies” by Newsweek- schools
directors
at
each
institution,
asking,
“Do
proof
of
my
theory,
I
offer
the
case
of
my
each
of
us
to
follow
a similar path to Mike’s
that receive strong consideration from apyou
believe
a
school’s
academic
reputation
good
friend
Mike
Liberski.
A
2004
graduate
and
succeed
at
whatever
we intend to do,
plicants who normally look toward the Ivy
and
prestige
leads
to
a
better
education
for
of
Wilkes
with
a
degree
in
mechanical
enjust
as
it
would
be
at
nearly
any other instiLeague schools.
students?”
While
I
only
received
two
regineering,
Mike
is
now
employed
by
an
intution
of
higher
learning.
During our conversation, I began to wonder how people at schools like that viewed sponses, those gentlemen stressed that an ternational company with local roots, InterWilkes and our academic programs. More individual can get a quality educational ex- Metro Industries, Incorporated., a division
BY GERARD HETMAN
Beacon Correspondent

importantly, I wondered if graduates from
a small, regional school like Wilkes would
face a disadvantage if applying for jobs and
other opportunities against applicants from
a more nationally-known institution.

perience at nearly any college or university- small or large, local or national in scale.
Just because a school requires high SATs
or sends tons of kids overseas to study isn’t
a guarantee that an alumnus will become a

�FEATURES

Baja car
Poli-palooza

MAY 1, 2007

10
11

9

Wilkes walks for a cure

24-hour Relay for Life event at Ralston Field brings students together

From 5 p.m. on April 27 until 5 p.m. on April 28, Wilkes University
held its first Relay for Life event at Ralston Field. Team members
walked around the track in shifts to keep at least one participant
from each team on the track at all times.
Students and sponsors purchased luminaries in honor of relatives
who have been affected by cancer. Some of the luminaries were placed
around the track, and others were used to spell out “hope” on the
bleachers around the field. Junior Blaine Madara, above right, read
a poem to his aunt and grandmother, who are both cancer survivors.
Many teams stayed overnight, opting to pitch tents for shelter. Other
team members stayed for a while after or before their allotted walking time, socializing with other teams, partaking in karaoke, listening
to music, and playing soccer and whiffle ball on the adjacent soccer
field.
Photos:The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski

�FEATURES

10

MAY 1, 2007

Baja team places in Florida competition
Society of Automotive Engineers students build all-terrain car
BY MEGAN KRISANDA
Beacon Asst. Features Editor

The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski

Four wheels and a team of dedicated engineering students from the Wilkes’
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) brought success home after a competition in Florida.
At the University of Florida on April 13-16, 75 teams from all over the nation competed in designing and building 4-wheeled all-terrain Baja cars that
were tested in a variety of events.
Wilkes’ SAE placed 3rd in the Mud Bog competition and 30th in the overall
competition. Acceleration, strength, water maneuverability, suspension and
land maneuverability were among the criteria that were tested.
Paul Benulis, team captain and sophomore mechanical engineering major,
saw the competition as both exhilarating and challenging. “It was fun just
watching the car competing because we worked so hard to get it there. Mud
bog was tough. We watched a lot of cars get stuck when were we in line,
but our car did great. When we received the trophy at the awards banquet on
Sunday, I think we surprised a lot of people,” he said.
During the endurance race, the car had a close call after taking a turn too
fast and hitting a tree. Luckily no one was hurt in the crash and the car was
towed and fixed very quickly. “I hit the tree at top speed and I was fine. After
it hit, the car spun around and slid about 20 feet down the track, but it’s fun
and would’ve been great to watch,” said Benulis.
Benulis addsed that the team used a safety harness belt system, helmet,
neck collar and wrist straps in order to prevent any injuries.
Mary Opalka, sophomore mechanical engineering major and Baja team
member, was in charge of the cost and design reports that each team had to Wilkes students who are a part of the SAE organization travelled to Florida in April to comsubmit in order to gain points for the total score. She was surprised at the pete in the Baja car competition. The team placed 3rd in the Mud Bog competition and 30th
in the overall competition.
size of the competition.
“The competition was so much bigger than I had expected; there were over 70 teams that attended, but it wasn’t just them, they also brought spectators. One team had almost 20
members, most of whom were just there to watch. It was astounding,” said Opalka.
Opalka is the only female member of Wilkes Baja team, but
noted that a team from Alabama was entirely female.
There were opporunities to meet other teams in between technical inspections. “We met the most people through the borrowing
and lending of tools. You had to bring all yours with you, but of
course you forget something,” said Opalka.
Designing and crafting the vehicle to meet competition requirements was a long process but enjoyable, said Benulis. As captain, his responsibilities included purchasing parts, tools, safety
gear and anything else needed throughout the year.
“Specifically, I built body panels, floatation, water propulsion
fenders and safety equipment mounts. I kept a close eye on the
rules and design requirements to make sure what we were doing
was right,” said Benulis.
Benulis added that the team learned a lot from the national
competition. Members of the team learned they were able to successfully compete with the best schoolsl.
Mr. Mitch Adams served as technical advisor and “helped out
the students in every way,” said Benulis.
Both Benulis and Opalka are excited for next year’s competition
and are close to finishing the final design of the new vehicle.
“We worked great together under pressure. All my expectations
were exceeded at the competition and I am proud of our team
and am proud to represent the Wilkes Engineering program,” said
Benulis.
The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski

Members of the Baja team continue to work on the car in a room near the machine shop in the basement
of Stark Learning Center. Some members are also working with technical advisor Mitch Adams to design
a car for next year’s competition

�FEATURES

11

Photos:The Beacon/Nicole Frail

MAY 1, 2007

The League of Woman Voters and Zebra Communications sponsored Poli-palooza as a way to
encourage youg people to vote. Communication studies professor Jane Elmes-Crahall served
as keynote speaker at the event. Students who attended were given the opportunity to register
to vote.

AS A COLLEGE GRAD ,
YOU MAY BE
ELIGIBLE FOR

2007
FJ
CRUISER
2007
RAV4
2007
CAMRY
HYBRID
2007
YARIS

ANY NEW TOYOTA OF YOUR CHOICE*

WWW.WINAYARISONLINE.COM†

*NOT ALL CUSTOMERS WILL QUALIFY. CUSTOMERS RECEIVE $400 FROM TOYOTA TOWARDS LEASING OR FINANCING THE PURCHASE OF NEW UNTITLED TOYOTA MODELS THROUGH PARTICIPATING TOYOTA DEALERS AND TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. SEE DEALER OR VISIT
WWW.TOYOTAFINANCIAL.COM/FINANCE FOR DETAILS. COLLEGE GRADUATE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR TERMINATION AT ANY TIME. †NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY
LAW. TO ENTER YOU MUST BE A LEGAL U.S. RESIDENT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND YOU MUST HAVE A VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE. VISIT YOUR PARTICIPATING TOYOTA DEALER OR WINAYARISONLINE.COM FOR COMPLETE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND SWEEPSTAKES RULES.

�A&amp;E
MAY 1, 2007

12

CD Review
Summer Movies
Crossword
This Week in History

13
14
15
15

Q&amp;A
with
Giovanni
of APhilharmonic
Perfect Stranger
Wilkes
chorus
joins Ribisi
forcesand
withcrew
NEPA
symphony. Beethoven’s No. 9 Symphony,
dated 1824, was the composer’s final complete symphony and composed when he
was completely deaf. It has since become
one of the best known pieces of classical
music of all time, and one that many musi-

magnitude there are undoubtedly multiple
challenges as well as benefits.
With respect to working with a professional orchestra Thomas acknowledged
that the greatest challenge is “reaching the
high artistic level that the Philharmonic ex-

seem just as psyched about it as I am is absolutely priceless.”
Of course, Taber-Miller is not without
After experiencing rock show benefits
some apprehension about performing with
for both SPAFapalooza and Get Loud for
the Philharmonic. “Having the opportuLupus, students may find themselves in the
nity to work and perform with Maestro
mood for a different musical enjoyLoh is, well, exciting and somewhat
ment experience.
intimidating all at the same time. It is
Luckily, Friday, May 4 and Saturday
challenging to join so many individuMay 5 will offer an escape back to
als together, especially because we all
classical music as the Wilkes Universihave our various interpretations of the
ty Chorus will be one of several choral
piece, but that’s half the fun. That’s
groups joining forces with the Norththe point of participating in an event
eastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in
like this- watching a bunch of people
a performance of Beethoven’s Symcome together to perform an absophony No. 9.
lutely tremendous piece and perform
Wilkes University Chorus, as well
it well,” she said.
as the College Misericordia Choral
As the members of the Wilkes chorus
Society, and the Bloomsburg Univerready themselves for a once in a lifesity Concert Choir, will have the optime performance opportunity, what
portunity to sing this famous piece
Giovanni
can their audience expectElaine
from such
with the Northeastern Pennsylvania
Ribisi
an interesting orchestralGoldsmith
and choral
Philharmonic and the Choral Society
performance? Taber-Miller promised
of Northeast Pennsylvania, thanks in
“a lot of sound! There’s a ton of us up
large part to the coordination efforts
there, plus the NEPA Philharmonic.”
of Wilkes University’s own Dr. Steven
And
Thomas
concurred,
Thomas.
The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski
“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one
Dr. Thomas, the Director of Choral The Wilkes University Chorus, seen here rehearsing with director Dr. Steven Thomas, will be of the great masterworks of western
Activities and the Coordinator of Mu- performing with the NEPA Philharmonic, along with other area choirs this weekend.
music. Hearing it live is an experience
sic at Wilkes is also the Chorus Master
not to be missed!”
for this performance. As Chorus MasFriday’s performance will be held at
ter, Thomas is responsible for a variety cians hold dear.
pects.” However, the Wilkes singers have the Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, while
of activities including recruiting the parCombine the performance of a well-loved been working on this piece since the be- Saturday’s performance will occur at the
ticipating choirs, organizing the rehearsal piece of music with the opportunity to ginning of the spring semester and Thomas Scranton Cultural Center. Both perforschedule and serving as a liaison between work with the Pennsylvania Philharmonic insisted they are “ready to put on a great mances will begin at 8:00 p.m. and ticket
the singers and the performance’s conduc- and the event takes on an even greater im- performance.”
prices range from $18-$55 dollars. Students
tor Lawrence Loh, the Music Director of portance to the participants, both students
Kaitlin Taber-Miller, a senior musical will receive a 50% discount. Tickets are
the Philharmonic. According to Thomas, and faculty alike. As Thomas noted, “It is theatre major who serves as both manager available from the Philharmonic website at
“Each of the participating choirs prepared a terrific and rare opportunity for college of the chorus and the president of the cho- www.nephaphil.org or from Philharmonic
the work separately, and then I and Maestro singers to be able to perform with a pro- ral club, has her own reasons to be excited box office at 457-8301. Interested parties
Loh worked with the combined choirs to fessional orchestra of this caliber and I’m about the upcoming performance. “I’ve are encouraged to buy tickets early. Both
create a unified conception of the piece.”
very happy to have been able to provide grown up listening to this piece,” said shows are anticipated to sell out. More inThe performance includes the notable that experience for my students.” And, as Taber-Miller, “and having the opportunity formation about the concert is available at
work of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 9th can be expected with a performance of this to perform it with other individuals who http://www.nepaphil.org.
BY SHANNON CURTIN
Beacon Staff Writer

Schedule of Events
Tuesday, May 1
- Jazz Orchestra Concert in the Darte
Center at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 2
- Tibetan Monk will be talking in SLC
at 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 3
- Comic Book Club unveiling in the Old
Bookstore at 11 a.m.

Friday, May 4
- Northeaster PA Philharmonic at the
Kirby Center ay 8 p.m.
- Lewis and Clarke and Strand of
Oaks performing at Café Metropolis at
8 p.m.
- Chorus Concert: Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony in the Kirby Center at
8 p.m.

Center at 1 p.m.
- Urban Cowboy at the Kirby Center at
9 p.m.
- Slightly Askew, Aww James and
Backflip Journeyman performing at
Café Metropolis at 8 p.m.
- Chorus Concert: Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony in the Kirby Center
at 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 5
- Flute Ensemble concert in the Darte

Sunday, May 6
- Live to Laugh event at ArtsYouniverse

at 2 p.m.
- The Independents and the Von
Horribles performing at Backstage
Enterprises at 6 p.m.
- The Slackers, the Phenomenauts
and the Menzingers performing at
Café Metropolis at 7 p.m.
Monday, May 7
- Karaoke with Scott Stevens at Slainte

�MAY 1, 2007

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

CD Review: Bucky Covington
BY STEPHANIE DEBALKO
Beacon A&amp;E Editor
Kellie Pickler, Josh Gracin and Carrie
Underwood have all enjoyed a great deal
of success in the country music industry
after stints on the FOX series American
Idol. With his first full-length, self-titled
album, it seems like Bucky Covington is
trying to get a piece of that action as well.
Covington’s current single, “A Different World,” has already experienced some
radio airplay, as anyone purchasing the
album can plainly see. And yes folks, in
case there was any doubt, “He’s the Bucky
you’ve seen on national television!” Apparently there has been some past confusion, and media execs felt it necessary to
inform potential buyers via the cover.
Uttering the name “Bucky” amongst a
group of friends usually causes at least a
few snickers. And maybe he isn’t the next
Alan Jackson, but there are many people
(including one editor) who actually enjoyed his Idol performances and are rooting for this album to be decent.
The verdict? Overall, without really lis-

tening to the lyrics, the songs are pretty catchy tune, its sentiment is quite strange.
catchy and could easily hold their own on Covington basically waxes poetic about
country radio. And Covington definitely the good old days, where pregnant mothhas a certain tone to his voice that lends ers drank and smoked and kids didn’t wear
well to the style of today’s country mu- seatbelts or bicycle helmets. That may
explain why his
sic. Unfortunately,
parents named him
though, he really
Bucky.
seems to be prone
And the cynics
to clichés.
in this town who
“American Frican’t wait to break
day Night,” a song
free
probably
dedicated to the
won’t appreciate
Friday night foot“Hometown,” in
ball game, is laden
which the chorus
with them. “I’ll
declares, “Lord, I
Walk” is not much
hope Heaven’s a
better, as it delot like my homescribes the plight
town.” Again, this
of a girlfriend who
song also pays
decided to walk
homage to those
home after a fight
The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski
clichés of which
and ended up injured and-surprisingly- unable to walk. Covington (or his songwriters) are so inAnd he really seems to be a fan of the credibly fond.
The most radio-worthy of the bunch
Pledge of Allegiance, which is mentioned
might just be “Ain’t No Thing” or “It’s
in at least two different songs.
While “A Different World” is certainly a Good To Be Us.” Both songs are fast

and punchy and are lacking the feeling of
forced sentiment some of the other songs
have.
Based on title alone, one would probably
expect “The Bible and the Belt” to be, if
not the worst, then at least the strangest
song on the album. In actuality, it’s one of
best offerings Covington makes here, and
is definitely worth a second listen.
Even though plenty of the lyrics on this
album are a bit corny, it’s hard to ignore
Covington’s talent. In fact, it’s his voice
and authenticity on most songs that make
up for the clichés sprinkled across the
board.
One has to hand it to Covington for finding his niche in the music industry. Country is definitely the genre for him, and the
grittiness that often shines through in his
voice hints at some potential for future
success, when he is better able to develop
his personal style. Considering this is really his first attempt at defining himself
musically, Covington could have done a
lot worse.
Grade: B-

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ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Top 10 can’t-miss summer 2007 movies

Lupus Benefit Show

1

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The Beacon/Nick Zmijewski

Sound the Alarm, Enbloc and Last Conviction all performed at the Lupus Benefit
show, Friday, April 27, where proceeds went to the Lupus Foundation.

71

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Photo courtesy of www.iwatchstuff.com

A

T

on

television
show, this
o n e
promises big budgets, big explosions, big robots and tons of
computer generated mayhem.
The Simpsons Movie - Besides a short
30-second teaser trailer, nothing is known
about this long awaited jump from small
screen to the theater for America’s favorite
animated family. The suspense is unbearable.
The Bourne Ultimatum- As Jason Bourne
(Matt Damon), the super-spy who can do
anything except remember his own name,
digs deeper into the Treadstone project, a
government spy training program that may
hold the secret to his identity, he finds himself the target of a deadly assassin (Edgar
Ramirez). If the gun fights, fist fights and
car chases of the first two installments of
the series are any sort of indication for what
number three has in store, this one should
leave all espionage/adventure/action fans’
heads spinning (and maybe bleeding).

0

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U.S.
military begins to bring
civilians
back
to “safe” sectors of the
island, while they mop up any problems
outside the designated living areas. But,
wouldn’t you just know it, the virus still
lives, and quicker than you can yell “Aim
For The Brain!” the nightmare begins all
over again.
Pirates Of The Carribean: At World’s

End - In an alliance formed at the
conclusion of Dead Man’s Chest,
Will (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth (Keira Knightly) and Capt.
Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) go
in search of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), attempting to rescue him from the
diabolical, squid faced Davey
Jones (Bill Nighy).
Oceans 13 - Danny Ocean
(George Clooney) and his gang
return to Las Vegas to pull yet another high-profile score. Working for
their old nemesis, casino tycoon Terry
Benedict (Andy Garcia), the crew plans to
take down a rival casino owner, played by
Al Pacino.
Hostel II - A group of young female college students backpacking through Europe are lured into a hostel by a mysterious young man, where they are promptly
mutilated by sickos and sadists. Hey, that
sounds a lot like the first Hostel!
Live Free or Die Hard- Det. John Maclane (Bruce Willis) returns to take on a
group of internet based terrorists who are
attempting to destroy the computer and
technological mainframe that supports
the U.S. economy. Some people would attempt to discretely deal with a situation of
this magnitude, but Maclane has his own
brand of dealing with those who threaten
our country: shooting people, jumping
away from explosions in slow-motion and
spouting one liners. AWESOME!
Transformers - Giant robots from outer
space bring their war to Earth. Based on
the 1980s

l a st

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ac
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It’s almost summertime!
And we all know what that means: Fun,
sun and huge box office blockbusters.
Unfortunately, The Beacon won’t be
publishing again until September, so we
can’t tell you which films to see, which
to skip, and which ones to wait until they
come out on DVD.
However, in order to help you make informed summer movie selections, here’s
a quick overview of this summer’s
can’t miss flick picks.
The Condemned- It’s The
Most Dangerous Game
meets Survivor as professional
wrestler
“Stone Cold” Steve
Austin, and a cast of
other very large scary
men, play a group of
10 death row convicts
forced to battle to the
death on a remote island in front of a live
audience viewing via the
internet. Ten will fight. Nine
will die. One will walk away a
free man. (Our money is on the former heavyweight champ.)
Spiderman III - Old Spidey is back and
this time he faces his greatest challenge yet.
As Peter Parker’s (Toby Maguire) struggle
to find a peaceful balance between his life
as mild-mannered photojournalist and
web-slinging superhero seems to be coming to an end, his world is turned upside

down when he comes in contact a strange
black substance from another world.
While dealing with the substance’s ability to bring out his dark side, Spiderman
must face three new enemies: New Golin
(James Franco), The Sandman (Thomas
Haden Church) and the long-awaited Venom (Topher Grace).
28 Weeks Later - Six months after the
rage virus decimated England, the horrible
disease and its victims have been all but
eliminated from the face of
the Earth. In an
attempt to repopulate
the island,
the

Photo courtesy of

m

BY MIKE WILLIAMS
Beacon Staff Writer

MAY 1, 2007

A

Answers 5.1

T

E

L

A

T

N

A

�Kudracross
BY CHRISTOPHER KUDRAK
Beacon Correspondent
1
5
8
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
22
24
25
28
31
33
36
38
39
41
43
44
45
47
48
50
52
53
55
59
62
63
66
67
68

MAY 1, 2007

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

ACROSS
High plateau
Mom’s partner
Having a likeness to something
Electric current units
Frosty
Hospital workers
Builder’s fastener
Not he
Crew boats
Ceramic square
Fix up
DNA sequence
Squid secretion
Cooking abbreviation
Internet Annoyances
Insecure
Beer vessel
Happy hour establishments
By mouth
4840 square yards
Completely
Head towards
Robert Frost, for example
Prom transportation, for short
X
Appeals
Spreads
Abet
Confucian principle
Technique
Certificate for graduation
Preakness stakes, for example
C2H6
H.S. exam
Adam’s son
Playground equipment

69
70
71
72
73
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
15
21
23
25
26
27
29
30
32
33
34
35
37
40
42
46
49
50
51
54
56

Caustic substance
Italian car
At the present
Crew necessity
Italian volcano
DOWN
Large ray
Postal service foe
Overflow
Unconscious
Neglected
Advil target
Pigments
Mannerisms
Compel
Wood for baseball bats
Tennis unit
Orbiting research facility, for
short
Bright sign
“My country ___ of thee”
Throw
Fortunetelling card
Emulate Gretzky
Egyptian gateway
Large decorative vase
Sacred song
Large, heavy motorcycle
Tenth letter of the Greek alphabet
Intestinal bacteria
Midas’ undoing
Wilkes to graduates
Seventh letter for the Greek alpha
bet
False statement
Miner’s find
Penny-pinching
Peruvian currency “Nuevo ____”
Attack by airplanes with machinegun fire
Imitates
Behavior pattern

57
58
59
60
61
63
64
65

Arctic, for example
Fourth letter of the
Greek alpha-bet
Actor _____ Carvey
Norway’s largest city
Yucatan Indian
New York time (abbr.)
II
Concealed

Answers 4.23

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This Week In History
BY MICHAEL GIONFRIDDO
Beacon Correspondent
Brought to you by the History Club.
April 30
1945: Holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in
Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after,
Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces,
ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich.
May 1
1898: At Manila Bay in the Philippines, the U.S. Asiatic Squadron destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first
battle of the Spanish-American War. Nearly 400 Spanish
sailors were killed and 10 Spanish warships wrecked or
captured at the cost of only six Americans wounded.
May 2
1933: Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in
Scotland’s Loch Ness date back 1,500 years, the modern
legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sight-

ing makes local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper Inverness Courier related an account of a local couple who
claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and
plunging on the surface.” The story of the “monster” (a
moniker chosen by the Courier editor) became a media
phenomenon, with London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a 20,000 pound
sterling reward for capture of the beast.
May 3
1952: A ski-modified U.S. Air Force C-47 piloted by
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma and
Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict of California becomes the first aircraft to land on the North Pole. A moment later, Fletcher climbed out of the plane and walked to
the exact geographic North Pole, probably the first person
in history to do so.
May 4
1979: Margaret Thatcher, leader of the Conservative Party, is sworn in as Britain’s first female prime minister. The

Oxford-educated chemist and lawyer was sworn in the day
after the Conservatives won a 44-seat majority in general
parliamentary elections.
May 5
1821: Napoleon Bonaparte, the former French ruler who
once ruled an empire that stretched across Europe, dies as
a British prisoner on the remote island of Saint Helena in
the southern Atlantic Ocean.
May 6
1937: The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever
built and the pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames
upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey,
killing 36 passengers and crewmembers.

Note: All information is provided by the History Channel
and can be found at http://www.history.com/tdih.do
Picture courtesy www.lochnessaccommodation.co.uk.

�SPORTS

16

MAY 1, 2007

Cumberland
Apartments

Brand new luxury construction in an historic landmark building

- 48 Efficiency Apartments
$475./mo.*
- 12 Efficiency Suites
$675./mo.*
*double occupancy add $150./mo.

- Brand New Construction
- Kitchen

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- Full Bath

with shower

- Secure Entry
- Elevator
- Laundry
- Wi-Fi Internet
- Free Water, Sewer, Trash

Cumberland Apartments
17 West Ross Street
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702
570-687-2220
www.cumberlandliving.com

�MAY 1, 2007

SPORTS

Team addresses issue of public communication on Facebook
BY ADRIENNE RICHARDS
Beacon Asst. Opinion Editor
In February 2004, cyber communities
were revolutionized by two Harvard sophomores, Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes,
who brought to life the world of Facebook.
On April 19, 2007 Ashli Rentzel, a member of the Wilkes women’s soccer team,
was dismissed for material she posted on
Facebook.
Eighty-five percent of college students
have a Facebook profile, and nationwide the
line between appropriate and inappropriate
material has become blurred as employers, professors, coaches, and other authorities have acknowledged that they not only
scan Facebook posts, but make judgments
about the content they view. Should there
be an ethical standard Wilkes athletes have
to meet?
Head women’s soccer coach John Sumoski adopted the “no alcohol policy” for his
team in spring 2005. But the “dry” policy
was just the beginning for an overall public behavior standard set for women’s soccer players, a team that has maintained the
highest grade point average among athletic

teams at Wilkes. During the fall 2006 season
Sumoski sent an e-mail to his players recommending they delete any “questionable
material” from their profiles. Questionable
material included references to alcohol use
and abuse, sexually explicit references, foul
language and provocative photographs.
The second e-mail was sent in January directed to specific individuals who had not
yet complied with Sumoski’s request. The
third, and final e-mail, was sent in mid-April
explaining that the material gave the team a
bad name and was inappropriate.
“I sent an e-mail in the fall and then I
talked to the captains and said, ‘I would like
you to go on Facebook and MySpace and
talk to the individuals who are in jeopardy
of getting in trouble,’” said Sumoski. “I was
concerned about any inappropriate stuff that
could possibly give our team a bad name.”
On top of a dry season, members of the
women’s soccer team co-creates a team
policy, collectively, at the beginning of each
season. They are required to sign the contract in agreement. Attendance, study hours,
drug use, and foul language are among the
issues addressed in the team team policies.
As well, they have a team vision, “to be a

cohesive, emotionally intelligent, and nationally ranked NCAA Division III women’s soccer program.”
“On our team we believe in accountability, not just in athletics. Each player is held
responsible and told upfront the team policy that we developed as a team,” said team
captain Briana Bertoni. “We developed our
policy as a team, every part, even the consequences. We agree to these standards to
make us a better team.”
It should be understood that Rentzel was
not excused from the team because of Facebook alone. There were compounding variables that led to her dismissal. Rentzel’s exit
took place just three days before the team’s
spring game day causing mixed emotions
among players.
Sophomore Lauren Cirilli commented, “I
was upset and shocked and don’t understand
why it was done. I didn’t comply [with] or
meet some of the deadlines.”
Regardless of the exact reason for Rentzel
leaving the team the issue of information an
athlete has on Facebook continues to be a
struggle between player and coach. Athletes walk a fine line as key figures representing the university. Prospective athletes

17

who check team rosters and then search
players’ names on Facebook and MySpace
are not the only ones searching.
“There are employers out there hiring D1
and D3 athletes and [they] now have the
ability to go on to cyber communities and
google someone’s name and an array of information comes forward. Everyone needs
to be forewarned, not just student athletes,”
said Addy Malatesta, Director of Athletics.
Malatesta added that Wilkes athletes have
an obligation to their teammates who do
not support this particular behavior or do
not want to be represented in such a way.
“Taking that negative representation and
expanding it creates dissension on teams.
When it goes public you have an obligation
to NCAA, future employers, alums, teammates, and the institution,” she said.
Wilkes athletics representatives and members of the Student Life and Media (SLAM)
committee are working together to review
the guidelines for student conduct and address the issue of policy on cyber communities.
“This is part of college life, but it does
have effects in the long run,” Rentzel said.
“I learned my lesson.”

Changes in store for Wilkes football schedule
BY GERARD HETMAN
Beacon Staff Writer
As fans of the Wilkes University football program begin discussing the team’s
outlook for the 2007 season, they may be
quite surprised at the slate of opponents that
are set to challenge the Colonels as they set
out to repeat as Middle Atlantic Conference
champions and make their third straight trip
to the NCAA playoffs.
Due to the off season exit of Juniata College, Moravian College and Susquehanna
University from the MAC, each of the 8
teams left in the league needed to schedule
3 non-conference games to start their season. Wilkes will open their season with 3
non-conference games, all at home, against
teams from the New Jersey Athletic Conference- William Paterson, Montclair State
and Rowan. Following the Rowan game,
the Colonels will enjoy a bye week before
traveling to Lebanon Valley to begin competition against each of the 7 other MAC
football programs.
Entering his 12th season at the helm of
the Colonels, head coach Frank Sheptock
views the new schedule as an excellent opportunity to continue to build Wilkes football on a regional and national scale. “As
our program continues to develop, we look
to challenge our players to rise to those expectations,” Sheptock said of the quality of
opponents on this year’s schedule. “New

The Beacon/Todd Weibel

Al Karaffa runs downs the field last season, but changes in the schedule will change what teams he and the rest of the team will
face in the fall.
Jersey is a prime recruiting ground for us, season-ending spot in week 10. The Colo- regular season finale. “I’m good friends
and the ability to play more teams from that nels will also be tested late in the season as with a lot of those guys- many of us started
area will be of great benefit to us in recruit- they close out their schedule against Dela- to play more last year, and I’ll look forward
ing.”
ware Valley and Widener, who have each to our game against them,” Signora says of
the match up with Widener.
Wilkes fans who have followed the team been highly successful in recent seasons.
While the road to defending the conferduring the past several years will see two
When asked, many Wilkes players are
familiar names a bit earlier in the schedule looking forward to this year’s schedule. “A ence championship and returning to the
this season. The Colonels have been elimi- rivalry is still a rivalry, no matter when it’s NCAA playoffs will be more challenging
nated from the NCAA playoffs each of the played,” offensive lineman Mark Liberski this season, Wilkes players and coaches bepast two seasons by Rowan University, one said of the Mayor’s Cup game. “The inten- lieve they are up to the challenge. And with
six home games on the slate for 2007, the
of the nation’s premiere programs at the Di- sity will defiantly still be there.”
vision III level. This season, Rowan joins
Other players are also looking forward to schedule also offers an outstanding opporthe schedule in week 3 as a non-conference the later weeks of the schedule. Fullback tunity for fans to catch some great action
opponent. In addition, the annual Mayor’s Paul Signora has numerous classmates from at Ralston Field. So make sure to swing by
Cup game between Wilkes and rival King’s high school who are playing for Widener, and catch a game at Ralston- you certainly
College moves to week 7 from its normal and is exited to match up with them in the won’t be disappointed.

�SPORTS

18

MAY 1, 2007

Commentary

GAME OF THE WEEK
New York Mets v. Arizona Diamondbacks

National League hopefuls square off in the West Double Take
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The New York Mets have their work cut
out for them this season.
Coming off a season in which they were
97-65 and the heavy favorites to win the
National League pennant, the Metropolitans have come into the current season with
similar hopes.
Those hopes were dashed, however, as the
NL East rival Atlanta Braves have proven
to be a tougher opponent than originally
thought, and subsequently have risen to the
top of the division.
Things are only going to get more difficult
for the Mets, however, as the young Florida
Marlins and resurgent Philadelphia Phillies
are making runs toward the top.
One of the biggest liabilities for the Mets
this season has been pitching, as their top
gun, Pedro Martinez, will be sidelined for
most of the first part of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
That leaves the brunt of the responsibility
on Tom Glavine, the 41-year old veteran, to
lead the pitching staff throughout the season.
Glavine is backed by veteran Orlando “El
Duque” Hernandez, as well as youngsters
John Maine and Oliver Perez.
Maine has been stellar so far in this young
season, going 3-0 with an ERA of 1.71.
Perez, on the other hand, has been good,
but not great, posting a 2-2 record with and
ERA of 3.86. The biggest problem of Perez
this season has been his inability to locate

fl1AffiOfl0

BACHS,.

the plate, often walking several batters a
game.
On the other side of the ball, the Mets
have much less to worry about, as their offense is one of the most dynamic on all of
baseball.
One of the reasons for that, of course, is
leadoff hitter Jose Reyes, considered by
most to be the most exciting player in the
game.
In 21 games, Reyes has 5 triples and
13 stolen bases, both tops in the National
League.
The middle of the lineup is home to Carlos
Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright,
one of the best 3-4-5 tandems in baseball.
One of the biggest surprises for the Mets
this year is the offensive contribution of 40year old Moises Alou, an off-season pickup
to fill a void in the outfield.
Alou is leading the team in batting average with .397, and is contributing with 2
homeruns and 11 RBIs.
The Mets are certainly going to need their
offense as they head to Arizona for a four
game series.
The Diamondbacks, considered early contenders to win the NL West, have not lived
up to the expectations, as they are currently
third in their division.
A main reason for their success is a strong
pitching staff that includes 2006 Cy Young
winner Brandon Webb and multiple Cy
Young winner and veteran pitcher Randy
Johnson.
Johnson, acquired in a trade from the New
York Yankees, struggled in his first start this
season, giving up six earned runs in five innings of work.
Webb has faired much better, going 1-1
with a 3.60 ERA and 34 strikeouts in five
starts this season.
The pitching of the D’Backs is solid,
with veterans Doug Davis (2-2, 2.79) and
Livan Hernandez (2-1, 3.94) rounding out
the rotation, but their real talent lies in their
young offense.
They are led by the offensive catalyst Eric
Byrnes, whose blend of power and speed
makes him a great addition to an offense.
Along with Byrnes, the infield duo of Orlando Hudson and Stephen Drew combine
to form a great offensive and defensive
combo for the club.

Steph examines
the stats that
truly matter...
BY STEPHANIE DEBALKO
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

Offensively, the Diamondbacks don’t win
games with their power numbers, but more
with speed and timely hitting, both of which
they will need in taking on the power heavy
New York Mets.
Arizona’s strength lies in its pitching staff,
but don’t count out the young offense, who
can do a lot to disrupt opposing pitchers.
The Pick:
Game 1: New York 4, Arizona 2
Game 2: Arizona 9, New York 3
Game 3: Arizona 3, New York 0
Game 4: New York 8, Arizona 7

Probable Starters (as of 4/29)
5/03
Tom Glavine (3-1, 2.80 ERA)
vs
Edgar Gonzalez (1-2, 4.45 ERA)
5/04
John Maine (3-0, 1.71)
vs
Randy Johnson (0-1, 10.80 ERA)
5/05
Orlando Hernandez (2-1, 2.53
ERA)
vs
Brandon Webb (1-1, 3.60 ERA)
5/06
Mike Pelfrey (0-2, 7.90 ERA)
vs
Livan Hernandez (2-1, 3.94 ERA)

I really don’t understand how they name
baseball teams. Ordinarily, I couldn’t care
less about the inner-workings of “baseball
society” or whatever you want to call it.
But when I have to analyze the Game of
the Week using my spectacular problemsolving skills, these inner-workings directly affect my life.
Ok, so I get where they got the Diamondbacks from-it’s Arizona and there
are snakes there I guess. But the New
York Mets? What the heck is that about?
Don’t get me wrong, I love New York, but
I’m thoroughly irritated by their choice of
team name in this instance.
So, for the purposes of this, my last
Double Take, I am going to rename the
Mets the Loch Ness Monsters and the
Diamondbacks will be the Sasquatches.
How could I possibly pit two amazingly
fascinating creatures against one another
and expect one of them to win, you ask?
Well, I admit it won’t be easy, but we’re
going to try.
While the Sasquatches would have the
on-land advantage, with the added benefit
of being able to see over trees and stuff, I
think the Loch Ness Monsters might end
up taking it all in this case. Think about
it-they have the opportunity to escape into
the deep, murky waters and emerge when
they so choose. And come on, the Sasquatches aren’t going to be able to swim
that fast, what with all that fur weighing
them down.
It pains me to have to choose between
these two marvelous mystical (and real)
creatures, but I think the Loch Ness Monsters are going to win. So that means I
think the Mets will win. But if they don’t
at least their competitors (the Sasquatches) are a worthy match.

�SPORTS

MAY 1, 2007
SOFTBALL from PAGE 20

will we get them in? Because in the playoffs
every team goes up a notch so you have to
take advantage of everything that you can
possibly get,” said Matthews.
As the second seed in the playoffs, the
Lady Colonels will maintain home field advantage until the championship round which
could be a repeat of last season as the Lady
Monarchs stand atop of the conference with
an 11-1 record. The Lady Colonels finished
with a solid 9-1 record at home this season
making it tough on opponents to snatch a
win in their backyard. If the Lady Colonels
sweep Drew University in their last contest,

19

they will be at home against FDU in the first
round this Friday. Now is the time for the
players to put on their hard hats, because
it’s time for battle with the seniors leading
the pack.
“As a senior, my ultimate goal is to win
another championship; however, for now I
just take it one game at a time,” said Agresti.
It’s playoff time, softball fans, and the
Lady Colonels are back again for another
date with the Freedom Conference Playoffs.
The playoffs will begin Friday at 11 AM,
and Saturday at 9AM at Ralston Field.

The Beacon/Todd Weibel

A Wilkes baseball player slides safely into second base in a game against Scranton..
The Colonels won the games 8-2 and 15-4 to advance to the Freedom Conference
Championships, which begin on Saturday.

WEEKEND RECAPS

Golf
The Wilkes University golf team sits in sixth-place after the opening 27 holes of the 54hole Freedom Conference Championship being held at Shawnee-on-the-Delaware Golf
Club. The Colonels finished the day with a team score of 507. Scranton holds the lead after
the opening day with a team score of 473. FDU-Florham is just one stroke behind at 474,
while King’s is third with a 492.

Men’s Tennis
The Wilkes University men’s tennis team saw their season come to a close on Saturday as
all of their players were eliminated from the MASCAC Individual Championships being
hosted at the Ralston Complex and Kirby Park.

The Beacon/Todd Weibel

Wilkes senior Laurie Agresti is 30 strikeouts shy of becoming the fifth player in Division III history to reach the 1000 strikeout mark. “She is one of the best D-3 pitchers
in the area and probably one of the best D-3 players in the country and she is on a
level all by herself,” said softball head coach Frank Matthews.

23

The combined number of runs
scored by the Colonels’
baseball team in the twin bill
against Scranton.

Men’s Baseball
Wilkes University needed just one win during Saturday’s Freedom Conference baseball
doubleheader against the University of Scranton to clinch a conference playoff berth. Instead, the Colonels won both ends of the twinbill by scores of 8-2 and 15-4.
The two wins improved Wilkes to 20-10 overall and 10-8 in the conference and secured
the number-four seed for the upcoming playoffs that will be held from May 4-6 in Quakertown. Scranton saw their records fall to 12-22 overall and 5-11 in the conference.

NUMBERS OF THE WEEK

6

Place that the golf team was
in after the first 27 holes of the
championships.

970

Number of strikeouts for senior
softball pitcher, Laurie Agresti as
the team heads into the playoffs.

8

Total wins for the men’s tennis
team this season before they
were eliminated in the playoffs.

�Sports
MAY 1, 2007

Preview of the Week: Freedom Conference playoffs

20

Lady Colonels softball back for another playoff run

BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
When there are no more regular
season games remaining on the
schedule, you know what time it
is. Some teams experience the excitement of advancing to the postseason, but for others, it’s time to
clean out the lockers.
It’s playoff time, ladies and gentleman, and now it’s all about having the heart to separate the wheat
from the chaff. As for the 2ndseeded Lady Colonels softball
team, this Friday marks the beginning of the postseason. Tighten
your seatbelts, because it’s going to be a wild ride as the Lady
Colonels look to become Freedom
Conference champions for a second consecutive season.
In the Lady Colonels playoff run
last year, they swept through Lycoming in the first round beating
the Lady Warriors 3-0. Freshman

Samantha Evanich, also known as
last season’s playoff MVP, led the
way for the Lady Colonels with
solid allowing only four hits from
25 batters. Evanich also posted
7 K’s on the team’s way to face
cross town rival King’s College in
the second round.
As teams advance, the games are
supposed to get tougher. But for
the Lady Colonels last year, that
wasn’t the case. Wilkes smacked
the lady Monarchs 7-1 at Ralston
Field to secure a spot in the championship round. Centerfielder Nadine Taylor led the team piling up
2 RBIs on 3 hits, and also managed
to step on home base twice for the
Lady Colonels. Laurie Agresti led
Wilkes on the mound with a monstrous 11 strikeouts, and frustrated
a determined Lady Monarch team
by giving up only 3 hits throughout the entire seven innings.
After taking a beating from the

Lady Colonels, King’s regained its
composure and won a 6-3 matchup with FDU just to lose it again
in the championship round against
the Lady Colonels.
The reigning champs came out
victorious by a small margin beating the Lady Monarchs 4-3.
Head Coach Frank Matthews
led his troops to the promised land
last season, and afterward received
Freedom Conference Coach of
the Year for his efforts. Matthews
will look to coach the Lady Colonels to another championship,
and would truly cherish holding
up that championship trophy, but
he realizes that winning involves
having an effective strategy.
“We have to maintain our pitching, because we have been getting
excellent pitching, and our defense
has been playing well. The key to
the playoffs is going to be when
we get runners in scoring position,

See BASEBALL page 19

The Beacon/Todd Weibel

Last season’s Freedom Conference Tournament MVP Samantha
Evanich will look to help guide her team to another championhip.

._. · Campus Calendar,
*Women’s softball Freedom Conference Championships, Ralston Field
- 11:00 AM
*Alumni Event, RiverCrest Golf Club - 6:00
Tuesday 5/1
*Men’s baseball vs. PSU PM
*Chorus Concert, Kirby
Berks - 2:00 PM
*2007
Pennsylvania Center for the PerformPartners in the Arts ing Arts - 8:00 PM
Grant Program, HSC
Saturday 5/5
Ballroom - 6:00 PM
*Jazz Orchestra Con- *Finals
*Women’s softball Freecert, DDD - 7:30 PM
dom Conference Championships, Ralston Field
Wednesday 5/2
*Tibetan Monk speaker, - 9:00 AM
*Flute Ensemble ConSLC - 7:00 PM
cert, DDD - 1:00 PM
*Chorus Concert, ScranThursday 5/3
ton Cultural Center *No events scheduled
8:00 PM
Friday 5/4
Sunday 5/6
*Finals
All Week:
*Wilkes University Faculty Exhibition, Sordoni
Art Gallery

*Finals

Find this Picture on Campus and...

WIN CASH

Monday 5/7
*Finals
Tuesday 5/8
*Finals
Wednesday 5/9
*Finals
Thursday 5/10
*Finals
Friday 5/11
*Little Women: The Musical, DDD - 7:00 AM
Saturday 5/12
*2007 Academic Awards
Ceremony, HSC Ballroom - 6:00 PM
*Parlor Games, DDD 8:00 PM

This photo was taken somewhere on Wilkes University’s campus.
When you find it, email us the answer at: wilkesbeacon@gmail.
com. Be sure to put “Campus Picture” as the subject heading, as
well as your name, phone number, and either
campus mailbox or mailing address in the
body text. A random winner will be picked
from the correct responses and will receive a
$10 cash prize courtesy of the Programming
W ILKES UNIVERSITY
PROGRAMMING BOARD
Board.

-

Congratulations to Pat Nardone who correctly identified last week’s
photo which was of a plaque outside of Stark closest to Evan Hall.

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&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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                    <text>The Times Leader
gets a new mural

PAGE 12

Collegefreshman
&amp; binge drinking

PAGE9

OLYMPIC AGE
SCANDAL

PAGES

The
I

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 1

GreenPrint policy limits student paper use on campus Center for
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor
Global Education
This summer, Wilkes University took another step toward environmental awareness
and Diversity
and resource conservation by limiting the
number of pages students are allowed to
opens
print on campus for free.
According to the GreenPrint Policy, effective since May 14, 2008, the policy establishes a per-student printing quota of
550 pieces of paper that “works to reduce
excessive printing practices on campus in
ways that align with broader campus-wide
initiatives aimed at making Wilkes a more
environmentally responsible community.”
Through GreenPrint, Wilkes is aiming to
reduce the university’s carbon footprint.
According to Mike Salem, Chief Information Officer of Information Technology (IT)
Services, a study of campus printing was
conducted during Fall 2007.
“A year and a half ago, there was an instructional technology committee where the
idea for [limiting paper use] came up. They
asked us to do some investigation and we
did… We started monitoring the prints and
collecting statistics,” said Salem.
The study indicated that 85 percent of students print less than 500 pages per semester, while 15 percent of students account for
50% of all usage.

BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

The Farley Library is one of many locations on campus where students can print
pages for ten cents each and check their remaining balance. The first 550 pages are
free. Unused prints will not carry over for students to use next semester.
Students are allocated $55 worth of prints of the balance on a student’s account can be
per semester. At ten cents per page, each seen in the upper right hand corner of the
student is now allowed 500 prints, plus an monitor after logging onto the majority of
additional 50 for any mistakes or technical computers on campus. Ten cents for each
difficulties, such as paper jams, accidental
See GREENPRINT page 4
reprints and issues with toner. A countdown

Merriman assumes new post as Sports Information Director
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
Wilkes athletic director Addy Malatesta
launched the replacement search for a new
sports information director in April after
John Seitzinger resigned for a job with the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The athletic department posted the job
opening and all candidates were “outstand-

ing” according to Malatesta’s standards. In
June 2008, she pulled 34-year-old Craig
Merriman from Texas A&amp;M Corpus Cristi
to serve as the new Sports Information Director (SID) for all varsity sports.
“We were hopeful to attract a sports information director that had a number of years
of experience,” Malatesta said. “Because
John was a season veteran, and well re-

ONTHEWEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion........... 6-8

spected in the conference, we knew he was
going to leave a void. So I think when we
were searching, we weren’t going to try and
look for someone who was just starting off
in the field. And with Craig’s credentials, he
came highly recommended to us. I think we
made a very good choice with him.”
Merriman began his career as an assistant

See SID page 18
Lifestyles ....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports .......... 16-20

The former prime minister of India, Indira
Gandhi once said, “You cannot shake hands
with a clenched fist.” By opening a new
space on campus dedicated to diversity and
study abroad, Wilkes is seeking to shake
hands with the world.
Students and faculty members now have a
one-stop place to learn about diversity and
global education through the new Center
for Global Education and Diversity located
at the Max Roth building on the corner of
South and South Franklin Streets. An inauguration for the Center will take place September 12 beginning with a celebration of
cultural heritage flags in the Henry Student
Center at 1 p.m. and ending with a reception
at the Max Roth building at 5 p.m.
“We are in the process of refining our mission and our goals, but the mission partly
includes bringing all of the services and
programming that we provide for global education and diversity under the same roof,”
said Dr. Maria Suarez, the interim special
assistant to the president for Diversity and
Global Education.
The idea for the center came about from
recommendations made by the Diversity
Task Force which studied the university’s
strengths and weaknesses in addressing
diversity needs. The Board of Trustees
approved the proposal for the center last
spring.

See CENTER page 2

Established 1936 w· &gt; ·
&gt;
PA Newspaper
· .·
·· ·
Association Member . . ·. ··

�PAGE 3

CENTER
from FRONT PAGE

NEWS
SEPTEMBER

which involves an international
student and a domestic student
teaming up to converse for a few
hours a week. She is looking forward to the cultural exchanges between the students. In addition to
the Intensive English Program, an
immigration specialist is staffed at
the center.
“I help students from overseas
with their immigration issues. I
also help faculty members get

9, 2008

assistant director of International
Student and Faculty Services.
Dr. Godlove Fonjweng, director
of Global Education, explained
that the center will aim to make
the university like a home to the
international students and help
them succeed in the academic
environment here. The center is
also here for students who wish to
study overseas.
“One of the key elements is to

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
danielle.hritzak@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

of courses that students need to
create a globalized environment,”
Fonjweng stated.
He is looking forward to faculty
developing courses related to globalization.
Georgia Costalas, assistant director for Global Education explains that the “Center oversees
the programming of activities
throughout the year which provide
opportunities for members of the

“One part of our mission is educating the population about really
all that Wilkes has in terms of the
increasing diversity and valuing
everyone,” said Brandon Ice, Associate Director of Diversity Initiatives.
The center offers training for
student groups, advising and will
help students transition
into the Wilkes environment. The center will also
provide support in case of
incidents that might happen
on campus involving discrimination of any kind. He
explained that diversity is a
broad topic; it includes race,
gender, class, sexual orientation and religion, etc.
One major component of
the center is its Intensive
Greece
English Program (IEP),
•
which is run by Kimberly
••
••
TIN AMERICA
•
•
•
Niezgoda.
International
China
••
students are taught English
Dominican Republic
30 hours a week and there
are five levels of it. This
year, approximately 40 new
international students were
admitted directly into the
Kenya
program when they were
Saudi Arabia
accepted at Wilkes.
An activity that
The Beacon/Alison Woody
Niezgoda would like temporary worker visas for being incorporate globalization into the community to learn about differto see grow is the a professor or a researcher in an- curriculum; one of our main tasks ent issues [with diversity], but also
conversation other country,” explained Marcie is to work with Student Affairs to provide opportunities for groups
p a r t n e r , Riebe, immigration specialist and ensure that we get the right kinds to get together to enjoy ac-

The Beacon/Amy Fusco

BEAC ON
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Design Chief: Alison Woody
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager:
Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
TheChristine
Beacon/Jenna
Stephens
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

2

tivities.”
Programs that are already underway include the Global Partners Program that is looking for
American students to join with international students to learn about
each other’s language and culture
and Global Families Program, in
which a domestic family can host
an international student to better
learn about different cultures.
Jennifer Jones, a sophomore at
Wilkes, is a student volunteer
at the Center’s office. She
said, she “love[s] to help out
the staff members and [she]
feel[s] very comfortable in
the center’s atmosphere.”
The Center for Global Education and Diversity has a variety of multicultural events
planned for the year, including a coffee hour, every
Wednesday from 3-5pm that
is open to anyone on campus.
The Inauguration program
and a listing of other activities and events can be found
in a booklet of events at the
center.
In the near future, there
will be a logo competition
for students to create a logo
for the center; prizes will be
awarded.

I

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

Summer ‘08
Political Analysis

The conventions are over, the vice presidential candidates have been chosen, and
now the election has reached the home
stretch. Fewer than 60 days separate either
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or Arizona Sen.
John McCain from what is arguably the
most powerful position in the world.
Since the 2007/2008 school year ended in
May there have been many developments in
the presidential election worth revisiting to
kick off the fall semester’s ongoing analysis.
Saturday, June 7, 2008: Surrounded by
the marble columns of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, officially
bowed out from the presidential race.
In front of thousands of supporters and
her family, Clinton threw her support behind her Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack
Obama. “I endorse him and throw my full
support behind him and I ask all of you
to join me in working as hard for Barack
Obama as you have for me,” said Clinton. Clinton had been a frontrunner for the
Democratic nomination and handily won
Pennsylvania’s primary last spring.
Thursday, July 24, 2008: Sen. Barack
Obama addressed over 200,000 people in
front of the Victory Column in Berlin, Germany. Obama’s stop in Germany was just
one of several that drew huge crowds on a
seven-nation tour through the Middle East
and Europe.
Obama came under fire from Sen. John
McCain, his Republican opponent, for the
trip, but while in London, Obama defended
his decision to campaign abroad.
“This was important for me not only to
try to highlight or amplify how the international situation affects our economy back
home but also hopefully to give people at
home and also leaders abroad some sense of
where an Obama administration might take
our foreign policy,” Obama said.
Saturday, August 16, 2008: Both presidential candidates appeared with Rick Warren, pastor of the large and influential Saddleback Church, to answer questions about
their stance on various issues. Saddleback

NEWS

Church is considered a “megachurch” with
approximately 23,000 members, and is located in Lake Forest, California.
Many eyes were on both candidates during the question and answer session. Sen.
Barack Obama worked to woo conservative
Christian voters and to fight an underground
movement to paint him as Muslim.
Sen. John McCain needed to solidify himself with evangelical leaders who reluctantly endorsed him because of his “maverick”
ways. Media pundits and political analysts
called McCain’s performance with Warren
superior and more popular with viewer’s
than Obama’s.
Saturday, August 23, 2008: Sen. Barack
Obama announced that he would welcome
Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, to join him on the
Democratic ticket in November. Biden, a
35-year veteran of the Senate, was born in
Scranton, PA and moved to Delaware when
he was 10 years old.
Biden brings some characteristics to the
Democratic ticket that Obama lacked, including foreign policy experience. The
choice was praised by most Democrats but
criticized by many Republicans.
Ben Porritt, spokesman for Sen. John McCain, said, “Biden has denounced Barack
Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and
has strongly argued in his own words what
Americans are quickly realizing that Barack
Obama is not ready to be president.”
Monday, August 25 to Thursday, August 28, 2008: The Democratic National
Convention was held in Denver, Colorado.
During the four-night event the Democratic
Party put on what seemed more like a rock
concert than a political convention.
Noteworthy speakers at the convention
included Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy,
Caroline Kennedy, Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Sen. Joe
Biden and Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama’s speech at Denver’s Invesco
Field, home of the Denver Broncos, was
meant to emulate John F. Kenndy’s acceptance speech almost forty years ago.
In his speech Obama put forth what many
people were waiting for - a blueprint for an
Obama administration.
According to Nielsen, the official television rating system, 38.4 million people
watched Obama accept his party’s nomina-

3

Speakers at the convention included fortion.
Friday, August 29, 2008: After keeping mer New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
a tight lid on who his choice would be for a Gov. Mike Huckabee, Cindy McCain, Laurunning mate, Sen. John McCain rocked the ra Bush, President George W. Bush, Palin
political world by choosing Sarah Palin, a and McCain.
Nielsen said that 38.9 million people
first term Alaskan governor.
Palin brings many things to the Republi- watched McCain accept his party’s nominacan ticket. For one, the gun shooting, NRA, tion, which is slightly more than the numfar right conservative helps solidify Mc- ber that watched Obama accept his nominaCain with the party’s base, which views tion.
Looking Ahead: On September 26, 2008,
him as a “maverick.” Palin may also woo
some former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton the first presidential debate will be held at
supporters who are reluctant to support Sen. the University of Mississippi. The debate
will focus on issues pertaining to foreign
Barack Obama.
During a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, affairs and national security. On October 2,
McCain said that he chose Palin for many 2008 the Vice Presidential debate between
reasons, but he believes “she’s got the grit, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin will be
integrity, and good sense and fierce devo- held at Washington University in St. Louis.
tion to the common good that is exactly Biden is expected to bury Palin in foreign
policy experience; however, after a fiery acwhat we need in Washington today.”
Since McCain’s announcement a lot of at- ceptance speech at the RNC, Democrats are
tention has been brought to McCain’s vet- watching Palin much more closely.
Expect all four candidates to spend time in
ting process, as the two had met and spoken
only briefly twice before the nomination. Pennsylvania. The state, along with Ohio,
In addition, news that Palin was under in- Florida, Minnesota, Iowa, New Mexico,
vestigation for corruption in Alaska and and Montana are all deemed “in play,” by
that her 17-year-old, unmarried daughter analysts and the cumulative electoral votes
was pregnant caused analysts to speculate will be considered essential for a win.
on the impact both pieces of information
might have on the campaign.
McCain campaign spokespeople
said that they knew of both situations before the announcement
was made.
Monday, September 1 to
Thursday, September 4, 2008:
The Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN, after a one-day
postponement due to Hurricane
Gustav. Republicans felt that this
would be the wrong time for a
political event.
During the convention, Republican speakers went after Democratic challenger Sen. Barack
Obama, highlighting specifically
his inexperience. The attacks
against Sen. John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, for
the same issue were redirected
at Obama by saying that Palin at
least has executive experience as
View our menu online at www.corkdining.com
mayor and governor.
463 Madison Street Wilkes-Barre 270.3818

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
GREENPRINT
from FRONT PAGE
page printed after 550 will be charged to
the accounts at the end of the semester. Each
student will start the spring semester with 550
prints as unused pages will not carry over.
Faculty and staff do not face GreenPrint
limitations.
According to the second issue of the IT
newsletter, the GreenPrint policy can save
Wilkes 500,000 pages per year. The environmental impact the policy can have may result
in saving 59 trees, lowering the carbon footprint of the university by 18,500lbs. Each
student can find out how many trees they’ve
used and other environmental facts pertaining
to their own printing throughout the course of
the semester by clicking in the yellow tracker
box on campus computers.
“I suspect that there will be some savings in
paper and toner expenses with the reduction in
print,” added Salem.
“I applaud the University’s effort to reduce
its carbon footprint and deliver on some of
the environmental objectives outlined in the
American College and University Presidents
Climate Commitment that our president has
signed. However, I’m not sure the university
has thoroughly examined the consequences
for both students and faculty,” said Dr. Sid
Halsor, professor of geology. “For instance, I
frequently use lecture slides and I urge my students to access a slide file prior to the lecture
and print them out (handout
mode, 3 slides per page) and
bring the handout to lecture.
My students need to build
notes around the slides and
this format allows that to
happen. At three pages per
lecture and three lectures
per week this translates into
over 125 sheets of paper or
about 23 percent of a student’s allocation. And this
is just lecture notes for one
class and does not include
research paper and homework assignments…”
For courses that require
the printing of Power Point
slides or notes for each
class meeting, such as Halsor’s, Salem recommends
that students print on both
sides of each piece of paper,
which would use only one of the 550 pages
allotted. Printers in all Open Access Labs, the
Nursing lab in University Towers, and numerous rooms in SLC are able to print on both the
back and front of papers. Open Access Labs
include the library, Student Center, Breiseth
second floor and the SLC lobby.
“I think most students will be fine. I think
the idea of a limitation is a little scary for

NEWS

4

needed and submitting assignments electronically when the option is available.
Turning off graphics in Web browsers
and printing nine slides on each page of
Power Point notes can also save paper.
Saving documents that may need to be
printed at a later date may also be useful for students, but Salem cautions that
students should use their home drive (H:
drive) or portable hard-drives instead of
leaving emails or assignments in their
Wilkes inboxes online. Student inboxes
can store up to 70megabytes, but large
attachments and mismanagement of
Sent and Deleted folders can quickly
fill up available space. Previously, a
student could not send emails when
storage reached 60MB and could not
send or receive when the account
reached full capacity. IT has recently changed the storage thresholds on
student email accounts: a send block
will occur at 70MB but students will
- 85% of Wilkes students print less than 500 pages
be able to keep receiving mail even at
per semester
full capacity.
“There is another option for students
- 15% of Wilkes students account for 50% of all
and that’s to use Outlook Express.
printing paper usage on campus
What this does is it takes the mail out
- Wilkes will save 500,000 pages of paper per year
of your mailbox and brings it down to
your computer; therefore, you don’t
with GreenPrint. Fifty-nine trees will be saved and
have the mail stored in your mailbox
the university will lower its carbon footprint by
anymore so you don’t have the quota
problem,” said Salem. “In your com18,500lbs.
puter, you can keep as much mail as
- Each student is allowed 550 free prints. Each
you want forever. The only drawback
additional print costs 10 cents and will be added to
is that if you go to a lab
and you get on to the
student accounts at the end of the semester.
portal and you click on
- Saving documents until printing is necessary,
email, any email you
brought down to your
turning off graphics in Web browsers and printing
computer you can’t see
on both sides of the paper can save students paper.
anymore unless you’re
on your [personal]
computer.”
Outlook Express is
part of the Microsoft
Office Suite. A limited
number of Microsoft
Office Suite 2007 for
PC and 2008 for Mac
is available for $9.99
to Wilkes students with
ID at Barnes &amp; Noble
downtown.
With the GreenPrint
policy in place, Wilkes
joins universities such
The Beacon/Alison Woody as Penn State, Temple,
Having been approached by numerous
“I think the 550 sheets of paper allocation and Carnegie Mellon with student print
students who had concerns regarding the will create a hardship for many students and quotas. Penn State offers 110 pages to
new printing policy, P1 pharmacy student I would urge the university to review the their students at five cents per page while
Charles Siarkowski spoke for his class- policy and look for creative ways to allevi- Carnegie Mellon offers 800 pages, also
at five cents per page.
mates at a Student Government meeting on ate the hardship,” said Halsor.
More information about the GreenAugust 27.
Aside from using both sides of the paper
Print
policy can be found on the MyWil“We have fewer resources to work with… when printing, GreenPrint conservation
kes
portal.
If the student does have something in their hints also include only printing what is truly
students and it automatically causes them
to panic… Statistically, they predict that
it shouldn’t affect a lot of students,” said
Dr. Ebonie Stringer, assistant professor of
sociology. Stringer has made the printing
of Power Point slides optional for students
this semester, but still requires a hardcopy
of any term papers instead of electronically
submissions through email or MyWilkes.
“People have different versions of word
processing programs, so unless it’s a PDF
file, I can’t guarantee that I can open it…
There are 82 people in Soc 101, times five
[pages] maximum for the main paper. I
have to have hardcopies to provide easy
feedback for students,” she added.

email or hard-drive that they need, they are
going to have to print it out eventually,” said
Siarkowski. “It seems like we might need
more than [the additional] 50, but we won’t
know until the end of the semester. Just because we have 550 to use, doesn’t mean we
have to use it… “
Siarkowski added, “Do we have the technology to back this stuff up? I watched Captain Planet as much as any other kid growing
up and going green is a good idea, but what
happens if I have 10 assignments due and I
have to put off sending one until the day it’s
due and the portal is down or the internet
isn’t working? I feel much safer having that
assignment in my hand as a hard copy.”

The Beacon Archives / Nick Zmijewski

�NEWS

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

5

SG Notes September 3, 2008
Treasurer’s Report
All College: $45,000.00
General: $9,330.85
Special Projects: $3,500.00
Spirit: $2,000.00
Leadership: $3,744.59
Conferences: $12,500.00
Start-Up: $1,500.00
Club Reports
The following clubs
presented updates on their
events.
Programming Board
New Business
· Dr. Reynold Verret and Petra Carver
Q&amp;A- SG members were able to speak with
the guests about the printing issue and Wilkes University “Going Green” policies.
· Students for Environmental Sustainability (SES) Club- A student presented the idea
for this club to SG. The decision on whether
it will be a club is in process. The announcement will be made in the next two weeks.
· Step Club- wants to change the name of
it. It will be called Wilkes University Step

Association. Process will be complete in the
next two weeks.
· Rock Wall Training- discussion of SG
members, among other members of the Wilkes community, being trained.
· Fall Elections- Signatures September 8th
through the 19th; Elections September 22nd
through the 24th.
· Homecoming- date is the week of
September 29th. Activities are being planned. The Homecoming
Dance is October 3rd.
Old Business
Going Green
SG Table

Events
Club Day September 4th 11-1pm
* At 8 p.m., a motion was made to adjourn
the SG meeting. The motion was approved.
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday in the Miller Conference room on the second floor of
the HSC.

On Friday, September 5, the building that was previously a home to Rodano’s Pizza
was demolished. It was located on 155 North Main Street. The new Rodano’s will be
on Public Square and owner Frank Rodano will be employing 25 to 30 new people.
Having once been a hot spot for the community, people can still enjoy Rodano’s atmosphere in its new location.

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�The Angry Rant:
Hollister
PAGE 7

Opinion
SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Amethyst Initiative rallies to lower drinking age to 18

BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD
In July 2008, Jon McCardell,
former president of Middlebury University, along with
presidents and chancellors of
other colleges and universities
launched the Amethyst Initiative, a push to raise awareness
of binge drinking among young
people and debate the current
drinking age.
In 1984, Congress passed the
National Minimum Drinking
Age Act. The law penalized
states 10% of their federal highway funds if they set a drinking
age below 21.
After nearly 25 years, the
law is finally being reconsidered. Since July 2008, over 120
prominent collegiate officials
have signed the Amethyst Initiative. Some notable supporters include presidents at Duke,
Dartmouth, John Hopkins, and
Ohio State. Regional signatories include President Rev.
Thomas O’Hara at King’s College, President Joseph Brosnan
at Delaware Valley College,
and President L. Jay Lemons at
Susquehanna University. Those
who have signed the initiative
emphasize that the goal is not
to just lowering the drinking
age to 18. “They feel...if it were
decriminalized so to speak, that
there would be students who
would be less apt to overindulge,” explained Paul Adams,
Vice President of Wilkes University Student Affairs.

Those who have signed on to
the Amethyst Initiative argue
that the current drinking age encourages “a culture of dangerous, clandestine ‘binge-drinking’
often conducted off-campus.”
Thus, if students are compelled to
be secretive, get fake IDs and also
travel off-campus, the health and
legal risks increase dramatically.
The campus leaders who champion the Amethyst Initiative argue
for a “robust” public discussion
about alcohol education and legal
drinking age.
Indeed, underage drinking is the
elephant in the room at most colleges. At the undergraduate level,
the vast majority of most campuses are comprised of students
under 21 years old. Thus, most
schools have no choice but to
take an abstinence-only approach
to alcohol education. Talking
about and to students who break
the law as well as endanger themselves and others is a tough issue
to tackle publicly. But who can
blame them? How are college
officials effectively to teach/promote safe drinking habits to students, the majority of whom are
underage? The truth is the current
age is simply not working.
Too many times we read the
tragic stories of college students
who literally “drink themselves to
death.” According to the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, an average of 1,700
people ages 1824 will
die this year
due to
alcohol related
injuries.

But could these deaths be prevented if institutions could more
effectively educate and promote
safe drinking habits?
Wilkes University President
Tim Gilmour seems to think so.
“...This idea that absolutely not
drinking as the only solution is
just not practical...What it is, is
knowing what your limits are,
and behaving responsibly around
those limits.”
Naturally, supporters have encountered some push back from
various organizations. “To put
things politely, [the Amethyst
Initiative proposal is] horse manure,” said David Muldhum of
Mothers against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.). According to
M.A.D.D. an estimated 25,000
lives have been saved by the 21
Minimum Legal Drinking Age
passed in 1984.
However, The Beacon found
that the downward trend in alcohol related traffic fatalities actually began in the 1960s, just as
states were lowering their drinking ages. In addition, statistics that
claim a downward trend in traffic
fatalities cannot exclusively point
to alcohol and the higher legal
drinking age as the sole cause.
These numbers do not take into
consideration issues such as the
technological advancements in
the medical field, communication
and response time improvements,
and vehicle safety standards as
part of the broader
story.

The power to lower the drinking
age lies within the states, but it is
unlikely that any state would risk
10% of its highway funds to do so.
The only realistic solution would
be if the federal government
repealed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act so
that states would still receive the total amount of highway
funds. Then states would be able
to reasonably consider all issues
and facts and make a decision appropriate for constituents.
At the age of 18, American
men and women are allowed to
vote, sign contracts, and die for
the country, but are still unable
to have a beer. If the government
says that 18 is a legal adult on
most other fronts, then why not
alcohol consumption?
What is known for sure is that
Wilkes has yet to sign the initiative, but President Gilmour and
his cabinet are in the process of
formulating an official stance.
We applaud the goal of current
signatories to encourage robust
discussion-the issues at stake are
cultural, political, and economic
and are certainly complex. They
demand public attention and
those who have signed the Amethyst Initiative have taken a brave
lead in spurring that discussion
forward.

6

Point 1
- Over 120
College and
University
officials have
joined to debate the
current drinking age.
Wilkes is in the process
of making a final
decision.

Point 2
- The National
Minimum
Drinking Age
Act would
penalize states 10%
of highway funds if
drinking age is lower
than 21.

Point 3
- We applaud
the goal
of current
signotories to
encourage robust
discussion.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

�OPINION

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

7

The Angry Rant: Hating Hollister
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer

Courtesy of Valhallatorrent.org

Note: This rant was originally going to be
about the election; about how our country
will make history in November. With the
Democratic National Convention two weeks
ago and the Republican National Convention last week, it seemed I was spoiled with
a glut of important topics to talk about, including, but not limited to: Does Obama’s
skin color matter? (It doesn’t), Does
anyone care that Sarah Palin’s
daughter is pregnant? (Nope),
Is free health care a good idea
(Nah), Will John McCain really follow Bin
Laden to the gates of hell? (Probably not,
but that would be totally cool), and finally,
Did Juno deserve an Academy Award (You
all know the answer to that.)
My editors were thrilled that I was apparently trying to make difference, and in the
midst of such a crucial election, I felt it was
my duty as an educated individual to do all
that I can to influence the students at this
fine university.
Then I realized something: I’m not even
registered to vote! Why should I care that
Obama didn’t pick a female for his VP or
if that old guy wants to give Texas back to
Mexico, or some crap like that.
No way, this week, I’ve got bigger fish to
fry.
Hollister, I hate you.
You, along with your cronies over at Abercrombie and Fitch (technically, they’re
your parent company, but who cares) are
the bane of my existence. Yes, I realize that
it’s trivial to be upset by a company that
manufactures poor quality clothing at the
low, low cost
of a full tank of
gas, but still.
You
fight
your battles,
I’ll fight mine.
W h y
the ire, Hollister? Perhaps it’s the
fact that your
clothes
are
built for 160
pound “men”
who have moppy hair and a
penchant
for
calling
each
other “brosef.”
Seriously, have
you ever tried
to shop there?
An extra-large is
really a large, a
large is a women’s

small, and a small, well, let’s just say that
you have to go two stores down to the Baby
Gap if you want to find someone comparable to that.
Also, your logo is a seagull. Your graphic
representation is a bird that flies around
barges and eats garbage all day. You’ve effectively chosen the pigeon of the sea to be
your mascot. Canada has a better
symbol.
Yes, a maple
leaf trumps your
bird. Just think
about that.
I f
that
weren’t
enough,
maybe my
anger comes from the fact that you don’t
have clearly marked sections in your store.
There are sections marked “dudes” and
“bettys”, which I am to assume is some secret surfer (see also: hippie) code for “male”
and “female”, but how am I to know that?
While your PR department was busy handing out that memo, I suppose I was too busy
not being a complete douche somewhere.
Can I say douche? I can? Awesome.
Anyhow, what happens if you’re a dude
Cartoon by: Gino Troiani

named Betty? Then where do you go? Of
course, if you do have the misfortune of being a dude named Betty, then you probably
have bigger challenges than navigating in a
Hollister, but I digress.
Or, maybe I hate you because I can’t walk
past the entrance of one of your stores without seeing a 15-foot picture of a guy whose
junk is hanging out. Not that I’m looking for
that thing, mind you, but it’s hard to miss,
even for a blind person who has just been
gouged in the eyes repeatedly with a branding iron. But really, is that necessary? Is that
supposed
to lure me into
your
store so I can
buy a

bottle
of
$35
cologne that’s been
so cleverly named
“Jake?” Good name,
Hollister. Was “Toolbag” already taken?
Honestly, I’m afraid that if I take one step
closer to your store, Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC is going to step out, ask me what
I’m doing there, then proceed to question
why I was “just stopping by” with a case
of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and a webcam.
That’s what we call “entrapment,” Hollister.
You should know better.
Perhaps my ire comes from the unnecessarily loud music that blasts throughout the

speakers, making it nearly impossible to
hear the employees,which, isn’t that big
of a deal, because, let’s face facts: If they
are working at a Hollister, they don’t really
have anything intelligent to say, do they? I
mean, anything beyond the realm of “Hey,
is this leather bracelet on sale?” is probably
too much for these geniuses.
If the loud music (usually Maroon 5 or
James Blunt) isn’t grating enough for your
senses, then get ready for the acrid smell
of the aforementioned cologne that is being pumped through the vents like it’s a
deadly toxin in an episode of “24.” I swear
every one of your stores smells worse than
a prostitute convention after the fifth round
of vodka martinis and Vicodins have been
served.
But, really, Hollister, I just hate you because your clothes are awful, and you want
to get everyone to conform to the same stereotype of tribal tattoos, pastel shirts and
pre-ripped jeans.
Essentially, you’re cranking out thousands
of people who look just like Spencer from
The Hills.
Am I jealous? Nope. I’ll stick with my
cargo shorts and Led Zeppelin shirt.
And I’ll be just fine.

�OPINION

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

8

IOC investigation into age fraud necessary
Age minimums in place for a reason

BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Asst. Op-Ed Editor
According to an August 14 article, “The Medal Machine is
Cranking,” in Time magazine, “On
the eve of the Olympics, Huang
Yubin, head coach of China’s
gymnastics squad, said he would
‘jump off the highest building’
if his team won only one gold.”
Huang may have backed away
from the ledge when his team won
China gold in individual and team,
but the outcome of an ongoing investigation ordered by the International Olympic Committee might
push him over the edge.
China’s star player in the Olympic gymnastic games, He Kexin,
won gold medals in both team and
individual events, but suspicions
about her underage status may
spoil China’s victory.
If the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) confirms that
He was only 14 during the Olympic year, the Chinese phenom
could be stripped of her medals.
Primary documents issued by the
General Administration of Sport
of China suggest evidence that
He was indeed underage, which
means that China may get the gold
only for ‘age falsification’.
In 1981, the minimum age requirements
for
international
gymnastics competition were increased from 15 to 16 to protect the mental and
physical health of the
competitors.
At the 2000
Sydney
Olympics, Yang Yun, a
Chinese gymnast,
w o n
(but did not deserve) the bronze
medal in the uneven bars competition, because she was underage.
According to Yang’s passport, she
was born on December 24, 1984
and was turning 16 the year of the
Olympic games, but local registries, athletic records, and news
articles prior to the Olympics said
she was 14. Yang later confessed
in a television interview that she

Photos edited by: Gino Troiani

was only 14 at the time of the
Olympics and that she and her
coaches lied about her
age.
According to an
August 22 TimesOnline article, “international Olympic Committee
Launches Probe...” Mike
Walker, a computer security
expert, triggered the investigation
after he found two Excel spreadsheets on the Chinese government’s official sports website that
stated He Kexin’s birth date was
January 1, 1994, which makes
her only 14. “These documents
existed, on a state-wide website,
and now they don’t exist, and this
change has taken place recently,”
Walker said. “I was interested because these were documents that
no-one could find.” Walker told
The Times that he wasn’t a sports
fan, “but decided to investigate
the issues to determine if the Chinese authorities were lying.”
The China Daily article “Uneven-bars queen the new star
in town” dated May 23, 2008,
showed that He was
14,
but was then mysteriously updated changing only her age.
Another article
written

in 2007 by Xinhua referred to He
as 13 years old. An
official
gymnastics
roster dated January 27,
2006 published by the
Chengdu government for
its City Games, a competition in which He competed, shows that He’s birth date
is January 1, 1994.
Based evidence offered through
these and other sources, it seems
unlikely He Kexin is 16; therefore,
she was not eligible to compete in
the Olympics. By competing in

The Beacon
Poll Question
This weeks question:

the
O l y m pics, she has
cheated other eligible gymnasts out
of
the medals they earned. The ages
of two other Chinese gymnasts,
Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin, are
also questionable, but there is less
evidence that supports media conjecture.
He Kexin won the gold on the
uneven bar finals even though
both He and US gymnast Nastia
Liukin scored a 16.725. Unlike in
the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, dual
medals are no longer given to two
gymnasts who have earned
equal scores and
a tiebreaker
determines who
wins gold and
silver. According to
The New York Times,
“In the tie-breaking
formula, He was given
the gold medal because
she had a lower average
of deductions. The margin
was a whisper-thin 0.033
points.”
Perhaps the
larger issue is why
adults associated with
international gymnastics competition actively appear to break the rules. Raising the
age minimum to 16 was designed
to protect exploitation of young
athletes and is a noble goal. In

gymnastics
in particular,
very young children run great physical
and emotional risks as they face
the pressure of world attention. It
is unlikely that underaged athletes
could or would initiate age deception without adult guidance. If He
is, in fact, guilty of competing while
under age, she should be made
an example and lose her medals.
However, the greater challenge
is to find appropriate punishment
for coach- es, government officials
and parental figures, all of whom
should certainly
know better.
The
International
Olympic Committee needs to
take this investigation seriously if
future Olympic competition is to
remain fair for all.

Should Wilkes
President Gilmour
sign the Amethyst
Initiative?
• Yes
• No
• Depends

Even though Chana’s he Kexin
and the United State’s Nastia
Liuken tied in this years Olympic games, Kexin was awarded
the gold medal.
Above: He Kexin competes in
the the uneven bars final.
To left: The United States Nastia Liukin performs her balance
beam routine.

Speak Up!

It’s Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at:
TheBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, and Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Fenner Farms
fresh produce
at Wilkes
PAGE 11

li ostyllos
SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

College freshmen take a shot at binge drinking

BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor
After spending four years at Wilkes University, Brian McCormick has attended
enough parties to recognize the common
denominator that fuels a noteworthy bash.
According to McCormick, that fuel is
alcohol. And there’s a lot of it guzzled
down.
“There were lots of house parties with lots
and lots of alcohol,” said McCormick, who
graduated in May of 2008 with a degree in
business administration. “There were just a
lot of people coming together for these parties and just drinking like crazy.”
Binge drinking is not new to college
campuses, but the intensity with which students engage in it is growing sharply. According to a 2007 report by The National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
at Columbia University titled “Wasting the
Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at
America’s Colleges and Universities,” the
percentage of students who reported binge
drinking remained at 40 percent from 1993
to 2005.
However, from 1993 to 2001, the proportion of students who reported drinking to
get drunk rose more than 20 percent. The
proportion of those who engaged in binge
drinking frequently rose 16 percent.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as
consuming five or more drinks in a twohour period for males, and four or more
drinks for females. According to McCormick, many students at Wilkes, especially
freshmen, blow past that benchmark each
night.
“The freshmen act pretty crazy,” said
McCormick. “If they knew a lot of people
there, they’d do pretty much anything. I’ve
seen someone jump off a roof onto a car.”
Susan Biskup, a counselor at the Wilkes
Counseling Center, believes that the peer
and social pressures new freshmen face in
the transition to college can contribute to
their decisions to binge drink.
“We can attribute some of it to our culture. The media, liquor stores, bars, and alcoholic beverage companies make drinking
seem fun and attractive,” she said. “Also,
college students are curious, and want to
know what it is like to drink alcohol if they

have not experienced it before.”
Drinking past the point of tipsy was commonplace at the parties McCormick attended. He described drinking habits as varying
from person to person, with some drinking
only socially, while others “got completely
wasted every night.”
“Probably at every party I’ve been at, I’ve
seen someone there passed out from drinking,” he said.
From his experience over the years, McCormick has noticed that freshmen seem to
make up the majority of those overindulging. He attributes this to the change in lifestyle from high school to college, as well as
the desire to fit in with the upperclassmen.
“I’d say by the time we were seniors, we
weren’t completely crazy or out of control,”
he said. “But it’s a new experience for the
freshmen. They’re meeting a lot of new
people, and they want to show off.”
Gerry Rebo, the manager of
Public Safety, agrees that
the pressure of fitting in
with the upperclassmen fuels freshmen binge drinking.
“I think that freshmen have
a ‘live-up-to’ feeling. They
want to live up to what the juniors and seniors are doing in
regards to drinking,” he said.
“They get
swayed by
peer pressure,
but
they have to
learn to take
responsibility for themselves.”
It takes only
one episode
of binge drinking to become
acquainted
with
some of the results.
Common short-term
effects include nausea,
vomiting, shakiness, memory loss, and
hangovers. Long-term effects consist of
physical and psychological dependence on
alcohol, damage to the brain and liver, and
sexual dysfunction.
Biskup also notes that binge drinking can

impair judgment, leaving students more
vulnerable to sexual assault when under the
influence of alcohol.
“An example would be taking a ride home
with someone you don’t know, or going to
a dorm room with someone that you don’t
have a sense of their trustworthiness,” she
said. “Because of this impaired judgment,
a student who has been drinking heavily is
less likely to protect themselves from sexual assault.”
Besides
the physical
consequences, students
can
also
face
legal
sanctions for
their bouts
of underage
drinking.

Over the past few years, the numbers
of alcohol-related offenses at Wilkes have
remained nearly steady. In 2006, the most
recent year statistics were available, Wilkes
reported 94 alcohol-related offenses, included liquor law violations, drunkenness,
and disorderly conduct.
According Rebo, the city of Wilkes-Barre

9

has already issued several alcohol-related
arrests and citations during the first week of
classes. Besides possible criminal repercussions, University sanctions include fines,
terminations, or suspensions, depending on
the severity and number of the offenses.
Last year, McCormick, who was 21, attended a party where some revelers were
cited for underage drinking.
“Every year there would be a few busts,”
he said. “I know people in my class who
have gotten underages, or multiple underages, and some who lost their licenses and
couldn’t drive for a year. They had to go to
court and pay a bunch of fines.”
However, if the drinking age were lowered to 18, as advocated by over 100 college presidents who comprise the Amethyst
Initiative, students would no longer face
legal repercussions for drinking under the
age of 21.
While lowering the drinking age would
cut down on underage alcohol violations
on college campuses, many at Wilkes aren’t
convinced it would curb the binge-drinking
problem.
Biskup believes that preventive programming and continued, constant enforcement
of the law on campus would be a better solution than lowering the drinking age.
“I have a hard time wrapping my head
around such an idea,” Biskup
said. “The brain formation
of many of our students at the
age of 18 is such that they are
capable of high risk or impulsive behavior without the
impairment of judgment that
occurs when drinking.”
According to Rebo, lowering
the drinking age to 18 “would
make drinking on campus out
of hand.” Instead, students need
to redefine the belief that alcohol
must be present in order to
have fun.
“The problem is that students think it’s
their right to drink and to party. They can
still have fun, but alcohol doesn’t need to be
involved,” he said. “They need to know that
drinking under the age of 21 is a violation.
It’s not OK just because you’re a University
student.”
Photo courtesy of Christa Sgobba

�LIFESTYLES

10

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

Dorm decorating without breaking the bank
BY BETHANY YAMRICK
Beacon Correspondent

For most resident college students, the
dorm functions as bedroom, study, hang
out, and center of life. So, aesthetically, it
should not reflect a prison cell.
Decorating your space can make you feel
at home and can create an inviting area for
new friends. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Since college students are basically broke, decorating should not take away
from the budget for books, tuition, and
meals. Here are some simple ways to

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jazz up your space while still being aware
of the cost.
-Color scheme is first and foremost. The
base color can derive from your comforter,
accented with throw pillows. Matching
sheets, towels, rugs, lamps, bins, and accessories are an easy way to keep the necessities for your room functional and
fashionable. Many department stores have
established base themes, making it easy to
buy in one shot, with colors that go well
with items from different stores.
-Cleaning products
such as Febreze and
Lysol are your friends.
With a little cleaning,
your nice-smelling room
will be more inviting.
And choosing darker
rugs can show less dirt.
-Extra seats such as
the old-fashioned bean
bag chairs would be useful. Also trendy this year
are saucer chairs. Freshman Sara Cosgrove said
they are “comfy and

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Scavo said, “I took pieces from my room to
make my dorm feel more like home.”
Personalize your area, but also remember
that you share it with another person, so it is
important your roommate’s
voice is not overshadowed by your designs.
Try picking one color
and both branching
from there. Make
those items that
already match a
common theme
or color,
a n d
build
off that.
Have
fun with it
and make sure
it reflects you.

fold flat, so if you want to get rid of them
you can just shove them somewhere.”
-Organization is key to having an appealing, clutter-free thinking zone. A solution is
plastic storage bins for under the bed. The
biggest variety and best prices were available locally at Target. Other cheap finds include milk crates and wire box shelving.
-Most importantly, think outside the
box. When school shopping, Cosgrove
said she “waited for stuff to go on sale
and shopped around.” Ross Dress for Less
had the cheapest bedding, Office Max the
cheapest lamps and rugs, and the Bon Ton
had sheets and towels on sale. Thrift
stores always have unique
finds.
-Wall art is a
must. Hanging up
posters, pictures,
tapestries, and other items make a large
difference fast. There
are corkboards dry erase
boards, chalkboards, and
French memo boards. To help
personalize her room, Maria

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LIFESTYLES

11

Organic produce makes its way into Wilkes’ cafeteria
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor
The craze of “going green” has officially
swept the nation. We are told to recycle, use
products free of chemicals, and turn off the
lights and water when they’re not in use, all
in the hopes of gaining energy and extending the lifespan of products. Now, Wilkes
University is following suit.
In accordance with the Lands at Hillside
Farms, Wilkes has created an urban entrepreneurial farm. Fenner Farm, once housed
on the corner of South River and Ross
Street, was developed by students to grow
produce and become a learning tool about
agriculture.
“Hillside Farms really enjoys the relationship we have with Wilkes University and
Fenner Farm,” said Christine Doherty, Agriculture Educator for the Lands at Hillside
Farms.
After a breakdown in soil deposits, Fenner
Farm was relocated to the Lands at Hillside
Farms in Back Mountain.
“We are not sure what happened with the
soil at Fenner Farm. We are looking into
it,” said Andrew Pressman, farmer for Hillside Farms.
Covering several thousand feet, Fenner
Farm is home to crops such as arugula, tomatoes, and lettuce. The produce cultivated
at the Farm may not be of interest to many
college-aged students, but it is affecting the
way they eat at the cafeteria.
According to Michael Raub, the Retail Manager of dining services at Wilkes,
“Wilkes offers organic options for healthier
choices of the students, offering as much as
they can.”
The food grown at Hillside Farm is
100 percent organic. Then, the produce
is bought by Sodexo, the operators of the
Wilkes dining services. The food grown
by Wilkes students out at Fenner Farm,
with the assistance of the Lands at Hillside

Farms, is coming back full circle to
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
the students.
“This is a chance for young people
to do lots of things: eat local, eat
healthy, and be more nutritious with
their eating habits,” stated Doherty.
Sodexo’s involvement in the buying and re-shelving of the food grown
at Fenner Farm was the brain child of
Executive Chef Brad Geiser.
“When we found out that Wilkes’
Fenner Farm was in existence, we
jumped on it. This is a way to help
us and help you at the same time,”
said Geiser.
The
Beac
on/C
Geiser outlines the importance of
hrist
a Sg
eating locally-grown food and, in
obba
turn, sustaining culture and local agriculture.
“We are basically helping the local
society,” said Geiser.
Geiser has bought many of the crops pro- “greenduced at Fenner Farm, including herbs, er” campus.
vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, and basil. Along with importAlong with Wilkes’ and Sodexo’s involve- ing organic food from Fenner
ment with Fenner Farm, they are also buy- Farms and local farms in the surrounding
ing locally-grown produce, such as apples, areas, dining services is integrating recy- ents,”
pears, mushrooms, and spinach.
clable and biodegradable utensils, packag- said Raub.
“Sisco, our [the cafeteria’s] operator, buys ing, cups, plates, containers, napkins, just to “Salads, sandwichlots of organic or locally-produced food. name a few.
es, and wraps are on a weekly
If it’s available, we buy it,” stated Chef
“We have moved to a brown paper wrap- rotation in the cooler by the register.”
Geiser.
Not only has Wilkes University opted to
per for most sandwiches instead of a hinged
Sodexo has been trying to incorporate bagasse container, saving approximately bring as many environmentally-friendly oporganic food and eco-friendly options into 10 full-size trash bags per day from Rifkin tions to its student, but even the transportamany aspects of their dining facilities, in- from going to landfills,” stated Raub.
tion of the food is becoming eco-friendly.
cluding Wilkes’ Henry Student Center Din“The trucks that bring the produce run
Rikin is also the home of new displays of
ing Hall. Henry’s Dining Hall uses organic several “green” options for students. New on bio-diesel fuel. Even the tractors that
fruits and vegetables on fruit stations and shelving can be seen holding an array of or- plow the crops are run on bio-diesel,” said
salad bars, as well as in Rikin Cafe. Both ganic snack options, as well as green clean- Geiser.
Henry’s and Rifkin Cafe; serve Fair-Trade ing supplies. These snacks include jams,
Wilkes is working on many more topics to
organic coffee by Green Mountain Coffee energy bars, and beverages.
move towards a “greener” campus, includRoasters.
“Beginning this fall, we will be starting the ing composting food waste, and encourag“Organic food tastes better and looks bet- ‘Fresh Food Market,’ featuring grab-and-go ing recycling at all retail facilities for custer,” said Raub.
foods with one of the following: organic, lo- tomer use.
Organic food is not the only way Wil- cally grown, sustainable, or natural ingredikes’ dining services are working towards a
While most students declare a major by
the end of their sophomore year, Jason
Brady decided to create one. After becoming involved with the Fenner Farm project
in the spring of 2008, Brady, a sophomore,
started the process of creating his own major, Sustainable Farming, which focuses on
Permaculture.
While Brady will be taking earth and environmental science courses, he will also
have to take business classes and doing several internships and participating in farming
workshops. Brady is looking to intern at the
White Earth Reservation, a Native American reservation in Minnesota. The Beacon
sat down with Brady to ask him our three
candid questions as Student of the Week.

The Beacon: Where do you see
yourself in ten years?
Brady: In ten years I’ll be riding
an elephant in Thailand.
The Beacon: Describe yourself in
three words.
Brady: I refuse to describe myself
in three words.
The Beacon: Finish this sentence:
My friends would be surprised to
know…
Brady: …that I can do a back flip!

The Beacon/LeeAnn Searfoss

�Movie Review:
Hamlet 2 &amp;
Tropic Thunder

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

PAGE 14

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

Leadership Wilkes-Barre mural brightens downtown
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

Returning students may have noticed a
new splash of color in the downtown.
Last month a community mural was unveiled on the large face of the Times Leader
building, located at 15 N. Main Street.
Leadership Wilkes-Barre, located at 2
Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, assembled
a ten member group of local business employees to spearhead the ambitious project.
“We originally started thinking small
like on the side of Lowe’s and it kind of
just blossomed,” said MaryLee Klemish,
a member of the group that worked on the
mural. “We’re hoping that it generates talk,
because now we’ve shown a way
that people can

do it with the community.”
The competition for design ended March
15 and the painting began in April. The design features a variety of images that reflect
the history, culture, and physical features of
Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley. The
mural was up by the end of August. Other
than the ten group members originally assigned to the project, volunteers were huge
factors in making the mural happen.
“We did have people come in from all
walks of life and all different organizations
and all different ages. We had a girl scout
troop come in, we had kids from a softball
team come in, we had kids who just happened to be going to the movies come in,”
says Klemish.

The mural in its entirety can be seen where
Coal Street meets Wilkes-Barre Boulevard.
Melissa Rovinski, a customer service representative at Solid Cactus, in the Jewelcor
Center at 100 North Wilkes-Barre Blvd.,
sees the mural everyday on her lunch break.
Rovinski says, “It’s actually really nice to
see something that captures the essence of
Wilkes-Barre everyday.”
Leadership Wilkes-Barre puts together a
new class of local business and community
members each year. The aim for each class
is to, “Create and implement group projects
that address needs in the commu-

12

nity,” according to the Leadership WilkesBarre website. Leadership Wilkes-Barre
also offers a variety of classes that bring
together local college students (Collegiate
Leadership Wilkes-Barre) and high school
students (Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre).
Ashley Filipek, an English major with a
women’s studies minor said, “If I knew a
project like this was going on, I would most
definitely get involved. Because it’s all volunteers, I don’t need a background in art to
be part of something big.”

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Helen Farr Sloan tribute focus of new Sordoni exhibit
Sordoni celebrates 35 years of art education
BY YOHANNA DE LOS SANTOS M.
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor
“Remembering Helen: The Sordoni Art
Gallery at Thirty-five” is the name of the
current exhibit held at the Sordoni Art Gallery in commemoration of its 35 years.
The exhibit pays tribute to Helen Farr
Sloan, a prominent artist of the 20th century
and also member of the Advisory Commission of the Sordoni Art Gallery. “Remem-

bering Helen” will be open to the public
until Sunday, October 5.
The works offered in the exhibit pay tribute to the memory of the famed artist by
displaying works she donated as well as
those of others who were inspired by Sloan
and made gifts to the gallery. “We thought
it was [appropriate] to do the exhibition under her name because she passed away in
2005,” said DeBalko.

Helen Farr was born in New York in 1911.
In 1927, Farr joined the New York Students
Art League where she met John Sloan who
soon became her mentor, friend, and eventually her husband 17 years later. Her work
was varied in medium and style. Sloan experimented in etching and lithography as
well as produced oil painting and served as
a set designer for theater.
“She was a very charming, lovely woman

and incredibly knowledgeable, certainly of
the arts. [Sloan was] very talented in her
own right as well as being married to an
incredibly talented, well-known artist, John
Sloan,” said Virginia Davis, Commissio
member and Chair of the Advisory Board
of the gallery.
See HELEN Page 13

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

ARTS

13

HELEN

inspire some critical thinking and we can do
that because we are an educational institution.”
DeBalko said that the Wilkes art gallery
was established in 1973 by former state
senator and philanthropist Andrew J. Sordoni. His long-time relationship to Wilkes
and role as leader in the community was the
reason he decided to establish the gallery
at the university. DeBalko said, “He was...
a long-time friend of the university and his
son, Andrew Sordoni, is a current advisee of
the [gallery].” This year marks the gallery’s
35th birthday.
The Sordoni Art Gallery is opened to the
public on a daily schedule from 12:00-4:30.
“You can come in anytime, no appointment.
Even if you have five minutes you can just
stop and take a look,” said DeBalko.
Mechanical Engineering major and sophomore Mitchell Robinson said, “I think it’s
good to come in and look at different art
work.”

from PAGE 12

“I don’t know that I really can describe
her as an artist. I saw very few pieces of her
work. But they can be viewed. Our collection has one in the show currently,” said
Davis. “I think her work speaks for herself,
just very very talented. [There were] not too
many female artists in her era, so it’s quite
a credit to her to be so recognized,” added
Davis. In her later years, Sloan became
known as much for her philanthropy and
teaching as her art. She served as a noted
patron for the arts in Delaware.
Sloan was also a part of the Wilkes family, “She had been on our advisory council
when she became ill, and because of the distance she was unable to attend the meetings,
but was an honorary member,” said Davis.
“It was a huge honor to have her name on
the list of advisory members” added Davis.
The whole purpose of each exhibit at the
Sordoni Art Gallery is to reach and educate
Wilkes community members. “We really
try to care for the students,” said Brittany
Kramer DeBalko, Assistant Director of the
Sordoni Art Gallery. “[The art pieces] are to

Helen Farr Sloan Standing Before a
painting by John Sloan, c.1975 image
courtesy of the Helen Farr Sloan Library, Delaware Art Museum

FUTURISTIC
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�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Review: Fall flicks for wayward college students
BY KENNY BROWN
Beacon Correspondent

It’s that time of year when college students around the nation are settling in and actively searching for things to do
with their weekends.
So, with perfect timing comes that splash of filthy college flicks aimed at all bored boarders. No, in this review
you won’t be hearing Heath Ledger cackling as the Joker,
Angelina Jolie has put the gun away, and Harrison Ford can
finally resume his game of shuffleboard.
On the contrary, this fall students who need a break from
thinking are treated to “brain break” theater.
Reigning high and mighty as the victor among movies targeting the college and high school age audiences is
Tropic Thunder, a DreamWorks Pictures comedy, directed
by Ben Stiller. When production on a blockbuster film begins to go to the dogs the director Damien Cockburn (Steve
Coogan) decides to save the movie and his butt by taking
the problematic cast on a weekend outing to build better
group strength. The only problem is that this outing takes
place in Vietnam in the middle of guerrilla country. When
things are clearly not as they should be, Tugg Speedman
(Ben Stiller), decides to break away from his fellow cast
members and continue his preparation for the movie. In
light of this, things turn for the worse and his colleagues
must attempt to rescue him from his own stupidity.
Tropic Thunder seems to be the turning point after a string

of bad movies. This R Rated Action/Comedy keeps the audience on the edge of their seats with laughter thanks to a
very well written script, a great comedic acting troupe consisting of Ben Stiller (Night at the Museum), Robert Downey
Jr (Iron Man), Jack Black (Be Kind Rewind), Steve Coogan
(Hamlet 2) and Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up). It also offers
random factors of obscurity thrown
all throughout the film. Overall, Tropic Thunder
is an hour and
forty five
minute
journey
easily
worth
your
three

bucks
and time. If
anything viewers will
wish there was a sequel coming
soon.
From the writers of Team America, World Police, and
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut comes another
comedy with Steve Coogan called Hamlet 2. When drama teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan) is given yet another
bad review from the school newspaper, his job appears to

14

be hanging on the edge. But in what seems to be a gift
from God, his drama class for the semester is completely
filled, compared to his usual two person roster. However,
it is not filled by thespians but by a group of kids which
Marschz describes as the “kind of people from Dangerous
Minds.”
As class moves on things seem to be coming together for
the drama coach, until he finds out that his class is being
canceled due to cut backs in the budget. Spurred to action,
Marschz writes a sequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
In essence Hamlet 2 is a typical college aimed comedy, with filthy jokes, profane language and drug use. It
is nothing special with its slow build up and a seen-itheard-it-all-before story line. Yet, Hamlet 2 is more than
just a comedy. It is a shout to the arts departments in high
schools and colleges across the country, and a poke in the
ribs through not-so-subtle humor at the public school system tendency to cut the arts before anything else.
In the end Tropic Thunder takes the top spot with Hamlet 2 right behind, attempting to get a few laughs and send
a message. Either movie you decide to see will be worth
it, but it all depends on the type of comedy you like. So
before you go to the movies this Friday weigh the pros and
cons and choose wisely.
And I leave you with this word of advice: Make sure to
avoid at all costs the true catastrophe of the season, Disaster Movie (not even good enough for review space).
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Ba1·11es &amp; Noble ,\7ill~es Booksto1·e
7 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18 701 ~ 570. 2 08 .4 70 o ~ wilkes. bnco llege .com

\\ l1at's l1appe11i11g at )ro111· booksto1·e tl1is \\reel~!
1\1 tts i c Eve i■y l 7e cl 11 es clay N igl1 t a 11d 1110 st Fr id ay's '\t\l"' ith a
25% discount on anyihing you purchase fro1n the cafe during the n1usic act.

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JONCASEYat 6:oop111
Friday Nigl1t Live M11sic \ \ri.tl1
''Sparrowsong'' at 7: 3op111
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• .i\t1tl1or Sig11i11gs: Gene Gomolka author of Coal Crackers Son -'
Thursday at 11:00 an1 &amp; Jack Harris author of Beyo11d.lv.ly Wildest
Drea11is -' Saturday at 1:00pm
• 'Bisct1it that cute little puppy is coming to our \t\,..eekly Saturday
1norning story thne at 11:o oan1

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS
OF THE
WEEK
f

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

KUDRACROSS
BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Staff Writers

NEPA Skatepark Alliance
1st Annual
SK8tacular Festival
Where: Ashley Fireman’s park in
Ashley, PA

No Simple Highway
Photos from Jim Gavenus
Where: LCCC
2nd Floor Campus Center
Nanticoke, PA
When: Sept. 5- Oct. 17

Goldfrapp
Where: Radio City Music Hall
When: Sept. 12, 8 p.m.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street
Where: Music Box Player
196 Hughes St. Swoyersville, PA
When: Sept. 12-14, 18-21, 25-28

Across
1
Sept follower
4
Home of “60 Minutes”
7
McCain opponent
9
Spy agency abbr.
10
Offensive word masker
12
Paranormal ability
13
Impatient
14
“Here and ____”
16
Active substance of Tylenol
19
Santa Claus Tracker
20
Class of Antidepressant
21
Marching insect
23
Georgia invader

27
30
32
33
34
36
37
39
40
41
43
44
46
50
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60

Part of window
Untruthful person
Sink to lower level
Day before a holiday
Common ocular infection
Past tense of eat
Tropical fruit
Face-painting band’s bassist
Jolie companion
Constant demand
Research Animal
Function of shank
Information booth
Uncertainty
Snow house
Foot-operated lever
Official Language of Laos
Racy radio host
NY time zone
Tongue sensation
Inquire
17th Greek letter

Down
1
Large Mass of water
2
Networking Supplier

3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
15
17
18
21
22
24
25
26
27
28
34
35
38
40
42
45
46
47

Thin Candle
Chowder ingredient
Where it all started
“I haven’t ___ you in awhile”
Hillbilly restroom
End of prayer
____ of sweat
Formal dance
Robbery
Rear animal appendage
Golf score
“Float like a butterfly…”
Taker
Eagle activity
Very small amount
Imitated
A big rig
Strong 2004 Hurricane
To put off
Besides
Gadget
To abandon
Preserves dinosaurs bones
Thumps on head
Where pottery is fired
Necessity for tin man

�Men’s &amp; Women’s
Soccer Recaps
PAGE 19

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

'

16

Colonels fall short against No. 8 Muhlenburg
Prushinski finishes game with 7 catches and 2 TDs
Courtesy of the Sports Informatio Director, Craig Merriman
After struggling early offensively, the
Wilkes Colonels scored 14 second half
points to eventually take a 21-20 advantage, but No. 8 Muhlenberg scored backto-back touchdowns to take a 34-21 win.
The Colonels first possession saw Wilkes go three-and-out, going seven yards
– all on the ground. The Mules took an
early 7-0 lead on their opening drive, going five plays, 56 yards, capped off by a
14-yard pass from quarterback Eric Santagato to John DeLuca.
Santagato finished the game with 308
yards passing, completing 18-of-26 passes to go along with two touchdowns.
On Muhlenberg’s second possession,
Kevin Gerhart forced a fumble on a carry
by Codie Bender where Darnell Corbin
recovered at their own 46-yard line. The
Colonels took advantage taking just two

plays to reach the end zone, highlighted
by a 40-yard run by Jamar Beverly. Christopher Horn’s extra point tied the game at
seven with 5:56 to go in the first quarter.
The Mules would answer on their next
possession, going eight plays, 26 yards
capped off with a 32-yard field goal by
Michael Katz to give Muhlenberg a 10-7
advantage. After holding the Colonels to
just four yards on the following possession,
the Mule offense chewed up the clock once
again to take a 17-7 advantage after going
13 plays, 87 yards in just over five minutes.
They would go into the half with a 10-point
advantage.
In the second half, the Colonels were able
to move the ball offensively, opening the
third quarter with a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive to pull within three. Wilkes quarterback Rob Johnson completed five passes
on the drive, including a 19-yard touchdown
strike to Jason Prushinski.

Johnson was 14-of-33 for 127 yards and
two touchdowns. Coming into the season,
Johnson threw just 19 career passes.
Muhlenberg took a 20-17 lead after Katz
made his second field goal of the game,
this time from 27 yards out with 2:49 to go
in the third quarter. The Colonels answered
with a 12-play drive that went down to
Muhlenberg’s 29 yard line, but a fourth
and 15 screen pass to Gennaro Zangardi
fell a yard short as Wilkes turned the ball
over on downs.
The Colonel defense held the Mules to a
three-and-out before the offense proceeded
to drive 39 yards over nine plays in just
over three minutes to take a 21-20 lead.
Johnson found Prushinksi in the back of
the endzone once again on a 19-yard strike
with just over nine minutes to play.
The wide receiver would finish with
seven catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns on the night. “To be leading the No.

8 team in the country with nine minutes
to play really says a lot about our team,”
Sheptock said. “We showed a lot of character to come back from 10 points down
and eventually take the lead.”
The Mules would take the lead for good
on their next possession, driving 58 yards
in nine plays capped off with a 32-yard
touchdown pass from Santagato to Phil
Cresta with 6:48 to go. They would eventually score again with 4:18 to go on a
five-yard run by DeLuca.
“I was pleased with our effort today. We
made some mistakes, but we scratched and
clawed our way back. I think it was a good
learning experience for this young team,”
Sheptock said.
The Colonels will remain on the road
next weekend when they head to Montclair, N.J. to face Montclair State at 1
p.m.

Women’s volleyball opens at King’s tournament
BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon Correspondent
The enthusiastic Lady Colonels volleyball team opened up the 2008 campaign on
August 29-30 at the King’s College Tournament.
Wilkes lost a heartbreaker to Misericordia in five games before upending Marywood three games to one. Sophomore Marissa Harrison led the way for the Colonels
with a combined 22 kills and 27 digs while
“fab frosh”, Kate McGurk, finished with
13 kills and 36 digs in the two games.
Each year college coaches search far and
wide to find the best players; players they
think can push their respective teams over
the edge and position them on the cusp of
big things. That is no different with this
year’s Wilkes volleyball team. Head coach
Alicia Orlowski nearly doubled the size of
the team by adding five top notch freshmen from all over Pennsylvania and New
York to the already young Lady Colonels
squad.
Now, some may wonder what the purpose of bringing in so many freshmen is
with a great core group of returning players, but sports fans know that competition

breeds excellence. So adding
this group of energized freshman to a team that is already up
and coming can only make everyone else better.
“Having a larger team means
more competition in practice,”
stated coach Orlowski. “And
with more competition, the
level of play from everyone increases because no one wants to
lose their spot.”
In order to work as a finely
oiled machine, the team has to
perform together and play as
one, which can be an extremely tough obstacle for a young
squad.
Chemistry between players is
of the utmost importance for all
athletic teams and volleyball is
no exception to the rule.

See VOLLEYBALL
on PAGE 18

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Number 13 Marissa Harrison and Number 24 Julie Page battle on the court at the King’s Tournament August 29-30.

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

SPORTS

W-B/S Pioneers look to Wilkes students, alumni for spark
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A &amp; E Editor
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
opened many opportunities for numerous
Wilkes University students in the 2008 season. From the playing the field to cheering
on the sidelines and in the stands, Wilkes
students were encouraged to get involved.
The Pioneers are an Arena Football
League 2 (afl2) team based in the WilkesBarre/Scranton area. afl2 is considered the
third division of professional football (NFL
being the first, afl1 the second). The regular
season begins in March and runs through
August. Home games take place at the
Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre. At these
games the Pioneers promo, dance, and stunt
teams perform and get the crowd involved
in half-time events on and off the field.
The players are from colleges all across
the country including local schools such as
Wilkes.
2008 Wilkes graduate Jason Acquaye,
also known as “Big J”, began his professional football career this season with the
Pioneers. He got involved through the defensive coordinator of the Pioneers, Jake

for away games. Overall, the sumGrande, who also graduated from
mer season went well for the
Wilkes in 2008.
Pioneers, who finished
According to Acquaye,
with a 15-3 record,
being part of the
putting the team
team consisted
two
games
of Monday
short of the
through
championFriday
ship. The
practices
team lost at
that prehome in the
pared them
semi-finals
for Satur34-30 to the
day games.
Te n n e s s e e
W h i l e
Valley Visome
of
pers on Authe games
gust 9.
took place
Acaquaye
in the Waplans to try
chovia
out for some
Arena, the
afl teams in
team also
2008-09, but
traveled
acknowlto Illinois,
edged, “If
Iowa, Flor- Photo Courtesy of Kristen Davidson
none of that
ida, New
Hampshire Davidson and the other cheerleaders practice over the pans out, I’ll
continue to
and Ohio summer for an upcoming Pioneers games.

17

play for (the Pioneers) again this season.”
The 2008 season was also the first for
a new cheerleading stunt team. Pioneers
owners decided it would be a good idea to
start these performances after watching the
stunt team of the Philadelphia Soul, an af1
team. Although the team started off relatively small, it grew by word of mouth as
the Wilkes cheerleaders got involved.
“We all recruited people that were in our
stunt group that we were used to working
with,” said Kristen Davidson, a junior at
Wilkes.
Before the team was finalized, participants had to perform for the owners in order
to secure a spot at the games. Being part of
the stunt team consisted of two practices a
week and performing at home games. Since
it was the first year and more or less a trial
run, the cheerleaders had the opportunity to
experiment with different stunts that they
normally didn’t do.
According to Davidson, “Since we had
no rules and regulations, the sky was the
limit.”

�SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

SPORTS

18

SID
from FRONT PAGE

Photo Courtesy of Marketing Comm.

S.I.D. in 1998 at Texas A&amp;M Kingsville, his alma mater. In 2003, he became
head S.I.D. at Corpus Cristi.
It was a steamy Texas afternoon in the
middle of May when Merriman heard the
ring on his two year old black Sprint cell
phone. He flipped it open to an unfamiliar
number that read 570… Merriman immediately got excited because on the other
end, Malatesta, men’s soccer coach Phil
Wingert and field hockey coach Sarah
Meyers greeted him.
With the phone hugging his right ear, he
walked out of his office at Corpus Cristi,
hopped into his electric blue Ford Focus
and completed the interview en route to
the San Antonio Airport.
“I had two thought processes in the fact
that ok: I think it would be a no-brainer
for me to get the job; because I had ten
years of experience,” Merriman said
while twiddling a badge rubber band as he
rocked back and forth on the leather chair
in his office located in the Martz Gym.
“But on the other hand, I thought they
wouldn’t want to hire me because I came
from a division 1 school and they didn’t

want a quote, unquote, big timer. Luckily,
they offered me the job.”
Merriman’s first day of work at Wilkes
was July 10.
Merriman is responsible for submitting
game coverage on Wilkes athletic website,
completing media guides for nearly all 16
varsity sports and serves as a liaison for the
local media; and that’s a small fraction of
Merriman’s duties. A typical work week for
Merriman involves approximately 70 hours
of labor.
“I normally try to come in at 8:30am to
check emails, answer those that need to be,”
said Merriman. “Depending on if I’m working on a project, I try to work on that. Ten
out of 10 times, you have eight things going
on at once.”
Merriman’s office is located on the first
floor of the Marts Center. His assistants include Andy Sekula, who will be completing
graduate school in May 2009 and senior intern Kathy Dalton.
And although Merriman is approximately
1,786 miles away from Texas, he’s found a
home at Wilkes.
“I’m very happy to be here,” said Merriman with a smile. “I love the coaches and
love the people I work with.”

New Sports Information Director Craig Merriman joined the Colonel staff
in July.

VOLLEYBALL
from PAGE 16
Sophomore Libero Allie Kelleher said,
“There was a lot to learn since we are so
young, but it was not hard at all to come
together as a team. We all meshed together
greatly and I feel as though this season
could be very successful.”
To make the transition from the high
school to the collegiate level easier,
the upperclasswomen have
been welcoming the
freshman with open
arms and making them
feel as though as they
are part of something
bigger than all of them
individually. Freshman Kate McGurk,
when asked about the
transition, stated that it
“would have been difficult
if not for the great support
from everyone on the team. The
team has gelled greatly and we all expect
a successful season.”
Gelling is just what they did coming out
on day two of the tournament clicking on
all cylinders in the first game; pummeling
Mount St. Mary’s three games to none.
They may have used up all that energy
however as they came up a little short falling three games to one versus the Lady
Monarchs of King’s College. Harrison

again led the way with a combined 23 kills
Photo
Courtesy
Marketing
Comm
and
junior
JulieofPage
chipped
in with 12
kills of her own. The stellar play from Harrison also led to her being named to the all
tournament team.
The Lady Colonels then laced it up and
slid into spandex Wednesday night for
their home-opener against Susquehanna
University. The Lady Colonels fought hard
but came out on the losing end dropping
all three games, dipping their
record to 2-3.
Senior Katherine Harrington and Harrison
each led the team with
six kills and McGurk
was the stopper defensively, registering nine
digs.
“We dug ourselves
into too deep of a hole
and we just couldn’t get
out of it,” said Orlowski.
“At times we looked very good.
We just need to use this as a building block,
learn from our mistakes, and continue to
get better.”
With a very optimistic and buoyant team
at her disposal, Orlowski should have no
problem with her players wanting to improve. They take the court again tonight
when they open up their Freedom Conference slate hosting the Manhattanville College Valiants.

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�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

19

Second half surge guides Wilkes past Ursinus
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
Following an impressive 11-6-2 overall
record in their 2007 season, the expectations for the Wilkes University men's soccer team were high coming into this year.
The fans that showed up for their home
opener against Ursinus on August 29 were
not disappointed, as the Colonels secured
their first win of the season by a score of
3-0.
The first half opened with constant attacks from the Colonels, as they dominated possession of the ball through strong
midfield play and defensive stops. Roughly fifteen minutes into the first half, a foul
call questioned by the Wilkes' fans in attendance let Ursinus' Ted Hooven take a

free kick that sailed just right of the goal.
The Colonel's nearly responded with a goal
of theirs two minutes later, when a wide
cross resulted in a scramble in front of the
goal and a wide shot attempt. Wilkes would
have another chance to score at the twenty
four minute mark when sophomore forward
Ryan Phillips lifted a kick wide right while
tangling with a defender. When the referee
signaled the end of the first half, however,
the Colonels had no goals to show for their
efforts despite having controlled the ball for
the majority of the time.
The start of the second half would see them
break the game wide open. Thirty seconds
after the sound of the opening whistle, junior forward Greg Miller scored the game's

first goal on a cross from junior midfielder
Jonathan Kushner. This would prove to be
very important according to the team's head
coach, Philip Wingert. "We made no specific adjustments after the first half," said
Wingert after the game, "but once the team
got the first goal, the players relaxed a bit
and let the game come to them instead of
forcing the action."
After a spirited counterattack from Ursinus was quelled by Wilkes, Miller punched
his team's second goal through the top left
comer ofUrsinus' net four minutes later at
40:51. An Ursinus foul soon after awarded
the Colonel's Brett Osswald a penalty kick,
an opportunity he took advantage of to
score and help put Wilkes up 3-0. The three

goals, scored within seven minutes of each
other at the start of the second half, helped
the Colonel's hold on to an easy win over
Ursinus for the rest of the way. "Giving
up a goal that quickly into the second half
unsettled the Ursinus defense and [allowed
us] to capitalize two more times before Ursinus was able to reorganize," said Wingert. Wilkes finished the game with a total
of 17 shots, nine of which were on goal
and put great pressure on Ursinus.
The win provided the Colonel's a quick
start out of the gate in the tough Freedom
Conference. "[Winning our home opener]
felt amazing," said Ryan Phillips. "It was
a great way for us to start the 2008 season."

Varsity woIDen's soccer off to 2-2 start
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

August 30- Wilkes 4, Clarkson 0
The Wilkes University women's soccer team won its first game of the season
4-0 over Clarkson in Canton, New York.
Despite starting seven freshmen, the Lady
Colonels struck quickly when freshmen
forward Katy Fissel scored the first Wilkes
goal just three minutes into regulation. Senior forward Jess Gannon added another
goal just a minute later, and the rout was
on. Gannon and junior midfielder Julissa
Reed later added two more goals, helping
the Lady Colonels start the season with a
1-0 record.
August 31- St. Lawrence 3, Wilkes 2
The Lady Colonels suffered a heartbreaking loss to St. Lawrence, allowing three
second-half goals after jumping out to a 2-0
lead. Jess Gannon scored her third goal of
the season just eight minutes into the contest, thanks to an assist from sophomore
midfielder Alison Weidman. Julissa Reed

FOOTBALL
L 34-21@ MUHLENBERG

FIELD
HOCKEY
W 4-3 VS. MORAVIAN
W 1-0@ SUSQUEHANNA

later scored Wilkes' second goal on an assist
from Gannon. Despite their excellent start,
they were unable to hold back St. Lawrence,
who scored two goals on comer kicks from

Elene Rogers. Krista Newton scored the
goal in the 89th minute that would eventually seal the win for St. Lawrence.
Sept. 3- (No. 2) Messiah 9, Wilkes 0

The Beacon / Lauren Biernacki

Nationally-ranked Messiah proved to be a
very tough opponent when Wilkes traveled
to Grantham last weekend. Messiah took
16 shots on goal, as opposed to five by the
Lady Colonels.
September 6- Wilkes 4, Marywood 1
Playing on a field water-logged by Tropical Storm Hanna, the Lady Colonels handed
Marywood its first loss of the season by a
score of 4-1. Sophomore midfielder Taryn
Hallowell scored three goals and recorded
an assist, helping power Wilkes past the
memory of its loss to Messiah three days
earlier.
September 7- Wilkes 1, Smith 0
The Lady Colonels were forced to play
Smith on Misericordia University's turf
field due to the weekend rain, but did not
allow themselves to be distracted. Julissa
Reed scored her fourth goal of the season in
the first half of regulation, and the defense
held on to help improve Wilkes' record to
3-2.

Sophomore Alison Weidman battles with Smith defenders as Wilkes wins 1-0 on Sunday September 7.

MEN’s SOCCER
W 3-0 VS. URSINUS
L 2-0 VS. ARCADIA
L 3-1 @ MESSIAH

WOMEN'S
SOCCER
W 4-0 VS. CLARKSON
L 3-2 ST. LAWRENCE
L 9-0 @ MESSIAH
W 4-1 VS. MARYWOOD

CROSS
COUNTRY
NEPA CLASSIC:
MEN-8TH
WOMEN-DNQ
URSINUS
INVITATIONAL:
MEN- 7TH, 222 POINTS
WOMEN- 5TH, 134

VOLLEYBALL
KINGS TOURNAMENT:
L 3-2 VS. MISERICORDIA
W 3-1 MARYWOOD
W 3-0 MT. ST. MARY'S
L 3-1 KING'S
L 3-0 SUSQUEHANNA

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

20

Field hockey survives sudden death twice to open season 2-0
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
After suffering a preseason loss to Division II Philly U the Lady Colonel field
hockey team roared back going 2-0 in their
first regular season games. Both games
were won by penalty strokes after the
score remained tied post-regulation and
two sudden death periods.
The Lady Colonels opened the season at
home against Moravian College on Saturday August 30. Wilkes was first to strike
when senior Devon McKay scored just
over two minutes into the game. Senior
Alyssa Koncelik was credited with an assist on McKay’s goal.
The Greyhounds came back to score the
next three goals and put Moravian up 3-1.
Vita Ranella, Becky Renaldo, and Kayla
Carson all scored for Moravian.
Junior Jen Keegan brought Wilkes within one when she took a pass from freshman
Lindsey Raleigh late in the second half.
Koncelik would score the game-tying goal
shortly after sending the game into overtime.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport was strong in net for the Lady Colonels and the Wilkes offense dominated the
two overtime periods; however the team
was unable to connect for the game winner
sending the game into penalty strokes.
McKay, junior Brittany Sines and sophomore Alyson Paulauskas all scored for
Wilkes in the penalty strokes as Davenport
rejected the Greyhounds attempts. Wilkes
won the game by a score of 4-3.
“We started the game off strong but were
unable to finish for awhile. Once we got
the second goal we wouldn’t settle until we
won,” team captain senior Diana Wright
explained.
Wilkes traveled to Susquehanna University for its second game of the season on
Wednesday September 3. Davenport remained strong in net for the Colonels stopping all seven of the Crusaders shots.
After two scoreless halves and two sudden death overtimes the game was battled

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Number 24 Alyson Paulauskas battles for the ball against Moravian during their home opener Saturday August 30. The
team won their first two games by penalty strokes after remaining tied through regulation and two sudden death overtimes
out again in penalty strokes. McKay was
once again successful in her attempt; however, Susquehanna would tie the score at
one when Jenelle Anthony scored.
Sines would also score on her second
penalty stroke of the season followed by
successful attempts from freshman Alyssa
Davis and Paulauskas. Davenport blocked
Susquehanna’s attempts.
The 4-1 advantage in penalty strokes was
enough to give Wilkes the 1-0 win for their
first road victory of the season.
Head coach Sara Myers explained the
effort the Lady Colonels put forth in their
first two games was key to their wins. She
added that any time games head into sudden
death it becomes very mental and you have
to play with the “never give up” attitude.

“The way we handled ourselves and playing 100% the whole game really says a lot
about our team,” Myers said.
With their first two games lasting 100
minutes a piece, the long games are bound
to take a toll on the team; however, Wright
feels differently.
“I thought we were conditioned. Obviously we were tired by the end, but we were
able to battle back after playing Moravian.
We all just kept going for the win,” Wright
said.
With a freshman goalkeeper and others
playing the field, the Lady Colonel freshmen have made their presence known.
Myers explained, “The freshman are fitting really well into the program. A lot of
them are impact players for us this year.”

“Each year we [the returning players]
wonder how the freshman will fit in. The
freshman this year have come in, fitting
in well and made an immediate impact,”
Wright added.
Starting off the season with two wins has
set a positive tone for the rest of the season.
“I’m really happy with our first two wins.
I think we have a lot of work to do in the
next couple games, we have some tough opponents coming up but starting off with two
wins is a very positive tone that we want to
start with this year,” Myers said.
The Lady Colonels will be in action this
Tuesday, September 9, at Cabrini College
and again Saturday, September 13, at Marywood.

'91b1Ja1n&gt;Dlaml&lt;lkl&gt;tlBA,~
9
Beyond the Wall poster
sale in the 1st Floor of the
Henry Student Center from
10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m.

Wilkes University Programming Board is hosting Recycled Percussion in
the ballroom of the Henry
Student Center at 8:00
p.m.

Visit the Farmers Market
for fresh produce and food
in Public Square starting
at 10:15a.m.

Visit Movies 14 and catch a
new release such as “Burn
After Reading,” directed by Coen brothers and
“Righteous Kill,” featuring
DeNiro and Pacino

Sign up for intramurals by
visiting the MyWilkes portal.
MyWilkes-&gt; On Campus-&gt;
Wilkes Athletics

�</text>
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            <element elementId="41">
              <name>Description</name>
              <description>An account of the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366514">
                  <text>&lt;p&gt;This is Wilkes University's &lt;em&gt;Beacon&lt;/em&gt; Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the &lt;em&gt;Beacon's&lt;/em&gt; predecessors, &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Bison Stampede&lt;/em&gt;, 1934-1935 and &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Beacon&lt;/em&gt;, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact &lt;a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua"&gt;Bucknell University's Special Collections Department&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
                </elementText>
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              <name>Creator</name>
              <description>An entity primarily responsible for making the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366515">
                  <text>The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department.</text>
                </elementText>
              </elementTextContainer>
            </element>
            <element elementId="40">
              <name>Date</name>
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                  <text>1934-present</text>
                </elementText>
              </elementTextContainer>
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            <element elementId="47">
              <name>Rights</name>
              <description>Information about rights held in and over the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366517">
                  <text>Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. </text>
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              <name>Language</name>
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              <elementTextContainer>
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                </elementText>
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              <name>Source</name>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366521">
                  <text>Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a &lt;a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/"&gt;legacy website&lt;/a&gt;. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward.</text>
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            <elementTextContainer>
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                    <text>LAST COMIC
STANDING

COLONELS
FEEL LOSS

PAGE 13

PAGE 16

RESEARCH
"'~--..CONFERENCE
PAGE 11

The
I

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 1

Hoffman named director of financial aid Club launches

to promote
environmental
sustainability

BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor

On Monday, September 29, Pamela Hoffman will take over as Wilkes University’s
director of financial aid. Hoffman will be
the third person in three years to accept
the position, and previously served as the
university’s Director of the Student Service
Center. (SSC)
Prior to Hoffman, the position of financial
aid director had seen two departures since
2007. In November 2006, Leo J. Danylak
began his work with the university, but departed from the position in August 2007 after unnamed allegations were brought to the
Wilkes administration’s attention. This past
July, Donna Cerza resigned from the same
position.
While serving as SSC Director, Hoffman
worked directly alongside Ron Laszewski,
who served as de facto director of financial
aid since July. Laszewski, a member of a
consulting firm called Financial Aid Services, added a “level of expertise” to financial
aid, said Michael Frantz, vice president of
enrollment services.
“The [decision to take the position] came

of its kind in the United States. HHMI’s
grant program is enhancing science education for students at all levels, from the earliest grades through advanced training.”
Because the biology department at Wilkes
emphasizes the importance of undergraduate research and mentoring, it topped other
stiff competitors for the grant money.
“It’s a testament to where we’ve come
over the last several years and a lot of it has
to do with the research activities of facul-

BY DANIELLE HRITZAK
Beacon Asst. News Editor
With the national push for environmental
sensitivity on college campuses, a few Wilkes students have asked an important question: after we “go green,” how do we stay
that way?
Last week, SG approved a new club organized to enhance awareness and sustainability of environmental initiatives.
The Students for Environmental Sustainability (SES) club, initiated by junior Sarah
DeCesaris, will work to promote student
awareness and environmental activism on
campus.
So what exactly does ‘sustainability’
mean in the context of the environment?
Sustainability is defined as being able to
maintain a certain level or state. In the area
of conservation and education efforts, the
club will focus on programs and initiatives
that will continue indefinitely.These include
recycling, reusing, salvaging, and promoting natural or easily biodegradable materials. The possibilities are endless and the
SES club aims to help educate students on
the issues.
DeCesaris kick-started the program with
the help of its current faculty advisor, Dr.
Marleen Troy, chair and associate professor
of environmental engineering. DeCesaris
was surprised to notice that no club at Wilkes University focused on environmental

See GRANT page 3

See CLUB page 5

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Pamela Hoffman will begin her role as financial aid director on September 29. She
will be working from her home in Lancaster throughout the week.
about through creative discussion with
Mike Frantz,” Hoffman explained. “It just
kind of came up as an idea…”
“[The staff] talked very openly about the
desire to maintain continuity and build the
processes for an effective financial aid of-

fice and she’s already very much proven capable of that,” said Frantz. “This is a way
to make sure that the progress made is continued and improved.”

See HOFFMAN page 4

$1 million HHMI grant fuels change for biology program
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor
In 1989, the Barenaked Ladies band
dreamed about the many ways they’d use
the money, “If I had a million dollars.”
The song became an instant hit; maybe
because it appealed to listeners’ fantasies
about what they’d do with such a windfall.
But Wilkes University’s biology department doesn’t have to listen to the song and
ponder how they’d finish the phrase any
longer.

In the spring of 2008, Wilkes University’s
biology department accepted a $1 million
grant from the prominent Howard Hughes
Medical Institute (HHMI) for its work and
programs. Along with Wilkes, approximately 200 state and private colleges nationwide were invited to apply for the substantive grants. The applications were then
analyzed in two rounds; one for research
schools, the second round for undergraduate institutions.
According to its website, HHMI is “the
largest privately funded education initiative

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beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion........... 6-8

Lifestyles ....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports .......... 16-20

Established 1936 w· &gt; ·
&gt;
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Association Member . · . ·. ··

�MIITTUI

tOlONll
Page 3

NEWS
SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
danielle.hritzak@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

Fenner Farm evolves from many types of investment

BY DANIELLE HRITZAK
Beacon Asst. News Editor
In order to reap what you sow,
there’s an investment. In the case
of the Fenner Farm, located at the
Lands at Hillside Farms in the
Back Mountain, this investment
was financial, intellectual, and
physical.
According to Dr. Ellen Flint, a
founding director of Fenner Farm,
Wilkes initially invested $3,500 to
start the SPIN farm. This sum excluded the cost of the seeds.
Flint noted that most of the
equipment for the farm was either donated or loaned to Wilkes.
What wasn’t covered was paid for
by proceeds from the May 2008
SPIN Farming Workshop.
Student farmers this summer
were paid anywhere from $8.50$10.00 per hour depending on
their level of skill and expertise
of each position, and the salaries
were made possible by a mentoring grant.
Flint added that Wilkes will profit from gaining national and international recognition and break
even in the first year, which in turn
means that a modest profit should
be made by the following year in
order to fund future salaries for
student farmers. Hillside Farms
has also allowed Fenner Farm to
sell its produce in the dairy store
located on the farm. On October
Farms
t Hillside
a
s
d
n
a
L
The

4, Hillside will host a “farm day”
and has offered Wilkes its own
produce stand at the celebration
free of charge.
The intellectual investment in
the farm came in the way of problem-solving and tracking a mystery.
Fenner Farm, was originally
planted last spring and located
on the corner of South River and
Ross Streets. But when the newly
planted seedlings slowed and prematurely stopped growing, workers knew they had a problem.
“There seemed to be a low phosphorous content when we first
tested the soil,” said Flint.
According to Flint, staffers noticed that there was not enough organic compost at first, but brought
in new compost which tested fine
the second time around. While the
new compost allowed planting,
the plants were still not developing properly. Farmers knew they
had to relocate the farm until the
issue with the soil was solved.
Therefore,
Fenner
Farm found its new
home approximately
seven miles from campus on the Lands at
Hillside Farms in the
Back Mountain area.
Hillside Farms is a historic family farm,

BEAC ON
Wilkes-Barre,
18766
130 S.PA
River
St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

known for its dairy production and
award-winning draft horses and
cattle. The farm now serves as a
historic working farm and tourism
destination. Quick action allowed
the plants to be moved to an acre
of the Hillside Farms land behind
the dairy. This time the seedlings
were able to germinate properly
and some produce is already being
harvested.
Samples of the soil from the
original farm site along Ross
Street have been sent off to a lab
in Maine that works primarily on
agricultural issues. Flint, among
others, is awaiting test results to
find the exact cause of the WilkesBarre site soil problem. She believes they may know the results
in the coming weeks.
But no farm succeeds without a
great deal of sweat equity, which
in this case comes from its student
farmers.
“A huge component of our [Hillside’s] mission is agri-education,
so whenever we get a chance to
educate, it is mission-consistent,”
said Chet Mozloon,
exec-

utive director of the Lands at Hill- Exeter and Something Special in
Kingston are also among those
side Farms.
Christine Dougherty, supervis- that have promised to purchase
ing farmer at Hillside, said she en- Fenner Farm produce with addijoys hosting the relocated Fenner tional orders already in place for
Farm on the Back Mountain land. next year.
The future of Fenner Farm looks
She also noted that Hillside offers
plenty of land in perpetuity so that promising. Not only will crops
Wilkes students may benefit from eventually come home to be grown
the mentoring and the training on campus, but Flint explained that
Wilkes will also remain at Hillside
gained from internships.
“The most interesting part [of Farms. According to Flint, the
farming] is watching the crop idea now is to plant cover crops on
sprout and grow as time passes campus to increase soil nutrients,
and then eating the food,” said especially nitrogen. Later this seWilkes sophomore Jason Brady, mester, student workers will turn
who worked on the farm this sum- the cover crops into the soil.
Flint concluded, “The closer one
mer.
The crops that Fenner Farm pro- is to the Earth, the greater respect
duces include: tomatoes, cherry one has for all living things. It’s
tomatoes, potatoes, dill, cilantro, a wealth of wonderful opportunibasil, swiss chard, turnips, squash ties.”
hens
and beans.
a Step
n
n
e
/J
Sodexho food services will use The Beacon
the produce in Wilkes
University’s
cafeteria.
Gricos Catering
in

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Design Chief: Alison Woody
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager:
Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
TheChristine
Beacon/Jenna
Stephens
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Meet our editors...

Carlton Holmes &amp; Andrew Seaman

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
GRANT
from FRONT PAGE

ty and students, which is a very important
characteristic...and of course, the success
of our students after they leave here,” said
Dr. Michael Steele, an author of the grant
proposal and professor and chair of the biology department. “They [HHMI] are really
interested in investing in the basic science
education with the goal of promoting and
developing more scientists and medical
doctors,” Steele added.
The Swarthmore, Franklin &amp; Marshall
and Bryn Mawr colleges in Pennsylvania
also received grants averaging $1 million.
“[The grant] speaks highly of their [biology department’s] track record, their
teamwork and rigor of their research with
the students, and their mentoring track record is really central,” explained Dr. Dale
Bruns, Dean of the College of Science and
Engineering. “The funds help reinvigorate
the interdisciplinary aspect that we try to

NEWS

achieve,” he added.
The grant allows students to experience
graduate work in an undergraduate school.
Bruns emphasized he is very proud to be a
part of it.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the biology department to expand on what they
already do,” said Andrew Julian, senior biology student at Wilkes. “They have a lot
of diverse majors and help out with some
of the students who will eventually go to
[medical] school and professional schools,”
he added.
“The department has new initiatives to
increase the quantitative and mathematical
skills of biology majors,” explained Steele.
Additionally, the HHMI grant has allowed the department to hire five additional
students for summer research, which adds
to the eight positions already in place. Furthermore, there is now funding for research
travel and seminars for students and faculty.
Other plans for the grant money include

new curricular developments. The biology
faculty wants to create new courses, requirements and opportunities for the students.
The Director of Mathematical/Biology
Center in the University of Tennessee,
which is funded by the National Science
Foundation, will be a consultant to the Wilkes biology faculty to help develop its curriculum.
According to Steele, new faculty members
will also be hired within the next few years.
They will conduct research and also teach a
course or two. The grant allows the faculty
to create courses that purposefully link the
various fields of science and math.
One major component of the new curriculum will be the HHMI Superlab concept.
The Superlab is “designed to give sophomore students intensive laboratory experiences at the end of their sophomore year.
It will be a week long, intensive lab investigation, which allows them to hone their
research skills,” said Steele.
Lastly, further development of pre-college

3

and outreach programs will result from the
grant. Currently, Women Empowered By
Science (WEBS), led by biology education
specialist Debra Chapman, is a program for
middle school aged women who have an interest in the sciences.
“There’s a lot of mentoring opportunities
within this program. The kind of interaction
you see between the college students and
these young women is just outstanding,”
Chapman stated.
The grant will allow the program to extend to two semesters and also provide a
two week science summer camp for the
young women.
Steele explained that the program will
“make a significant attempt to involve
young Latino women in the program.”
“The grant is such a widely recognized
achievement outside the sciences that it really sheds positive light on the entire Wilkes
institution,” said Steele.

Wilkes welcomes new face as first official mascot
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

On September 4, Wilkes University introduced the community to the the Colonel,
the first official life sized mascot in the university’s 75 year history.
The idea to introduce an official mascot
arose soon after Wilkes hired 160over90,
a branding firm from Philadelphia, to improve their marketing campaigns.
According to Christine Tondrick, associate director of Marketing Communications
at Wilkes University, 160over90 wanted to
“involve the university’s mascot to deliver
acceptance letters at the students home, or
to attend their graduation.”
However, the university did not have
an official mascot at the time; therefore,
160over90’s ideas were not possible. “We
started to developed a program, and hired a
company to produce a costume,” said Tondrick. “We also asked student leaders on
campus to be involved in that process.”
The press release issued by the university
explained, “The Colonel has been the symbol for Wilkes University since 1947 but
there has never been an official life sized
mascot.”
After eight months of work, Wilkes unveiled its newest face of school spirit at
this year’s Club Day. The new Colonel was
complete with an colonial style, three-corner hat, a bulging upper body and pale blue
face.
After the introduction of the Colonel at the
public event, there appeared to be a mixed
reaction from the crowd.
“To put things nicely, he is just plain
creepy,” said sophomore nursing major Sar-

ah Walker. “If they’re trying to
scare people, they are doing a
good job.”
Junior mathematics major
Katrina Bullock agreed. “His
blue face is scary,” she said.
“Much better than the old
mascot, but I’m still not sure
why they went with the blue
face. I really like the jacket
and the belt. They worked in
the yellow accents well,” said
Steve Thomas, senior mechanical engineering major.
Regardless, in an effort to
promote the new mascot, the
Colonel has been featured on
the Wilkes home page, which
explains in detail about his unveiling and background.
In a couple of unique ploys,
a YOUtube video was also
posted to spoof infamous Big
Foot footage. The Colonel has
also his own Facebook page on
which he has already racked up
over 140 fans.
“The purpose is that it gets
people talking about Wilkes,
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
who maybe never heard of the
On Club Day, the new Colonel, the first official life-sized mascot, was introduced to the Wilkes
university before,” explained
community. Colonel mascot auditions are scheduled for September 16 and 17.
Tondrick.
“The Colonel symbolizes
Hate him or love him, the Colonel is here
our philosophy of personal attention both
the Wilkes spirit of what it means to ‘Be a on campus and in the community.”
to stay. With the help of a mascot, Wilkes
Colonel’ and brings a new level of school
Wilkes will sponsor a competition among may now be able to accomplish its goal of
pride and sense of tradition to the Univer- students to take on the role of Colonel for solidifying an iconic image for Wilkes Unisity,” said Paul Adams, Vice President for the academic year. Officials say they plan to versity, which will play an important role
Student Affairs at Wilkes. “Our mascot will hire three students and offer $3,000 scholar- in both the marketing campaign and around
be more than just a cheerleader at athletic ships and a free trip to mascot boot camp at campus.
events, providing another outlet to promote the University of Delaware in October.

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

HOFFMAN

from FRONT PAGE

Hoffman, who has been a member of the
Wilkes community since summer 2006, had
originally decided to resign from her current
position at the end of September to be closer
to family. While Wilkes allowed her to live in
University Towers, her family and home were
still in Lancaster.
“We presented an opportunity to Pam. She
thought about it for a few days very seriously
and decided that it fit what she was looking for
long-term, given some of the criteria she had
for employment,” said Frantz.
As director of financial aid, Hoffman will
carry out two main responsibilities: she will
act as the compliance officer for the university on the federal, state and institutional levels
and will also be responsible for the “effective
utilization of our systems and processes,” explained Frantz. Hoffman will see that loans
are certified and students will receive their aid
in a timely manner. She will also communicate changes in aid packages and programs to
students and parents and keep the financial aid
area of the Wilkes website current and active.
Hoffman hopes to make the transition from
director of SSC to director of financial aid with
little trouble. She is familiar with all of the
improvements made in the system and online
over the past year, but there are many changes
and updates occurring frequently in what Hoffman calls “a constantly evolving profession.”
“There’s always something to learn. I’ve
never run into a financial aid person who says
they know everything,” she said.
While the responsibilities of financial aid
director have not changed, Hoffman will take
an nontraditional route in maintaining the position - she will do most of her work from her

NEWS
home in Lancaster.
“My staff and students can easily get
hold of me. We haven’t done anything like
this before so it’s certainly a new way of
looking at the job,” she said.
“We haven’t decided exactly how many
days a week at this point, but certainly we
have to evaluate how things are working
both for the SSC, for the students receiving financial aid and for her,” said Frantz.
“Obviously, I wouldn’t enter into this if I
didn’t have a high degree of confidence
that there will not be a loss of service to
anybody because of this.”
Frantz mentioned that with technology like web cams on computers, anyone
anywhere can be face-to-face if need be.
Hoffman will also be equipped with a Wilkes phone number and access to the necessary systems from her home.
“Right now, I think it’s going to be beneficial to the students and we might have
to work harder as a team to fill the need
that might be there, but we’re hopeful that
it’ll work out,” said Annmarie Carey, SSC
service associate.
Service associate Karen Atiyeh agreed
and stated that she finds comfort knowing
associates could go to Hoffman with any
question and she would have a solution or
answer for them. “We’re glad she’s staying [at Wilkes], that’s for sure.”
Frantz also believes that Hoffman was
the correct choice. “I have every confidence in the world that this is very positive
for our students, for the SSC and for the
community at large. It may be viewed as a
bit non-traditional, but the flip side of it is
that we chose the best person by far out of
the pool of applicants to fill this position.”
After a three week trip to Europe at the
end of the month, Hoffman will assume

4

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Student Service Center service associates are pleased with Pamela Hoffman’s appointment to finacial aid director and are looking forward to working with Janine
Becker, SSC director as of September 23.
her new role as financial aid director. Goals
for the upcoming months include an upgrade
to the MyWilkes portal of a Financial Aid tab
and being able to speak with a student who
calls and say, “It’s all taken care of.”
When Hoffman had originally intended to
resign as SSC director before the semester,
an application process promptly began to fill
the position. Janine Becker will begin the
position of SSC director on September 23.
“I am very excited about coming to Wilkes. Ever since I attended Wilkes as a grad

student, I have loved the campus. The
improvements made recently are terrific
and Wilkes plays a big role in the revitalization of the downtown area. I look
forward to being a part of the Wilkes
community and the downtown area every day,” said Becker, who is currently
working on her PhD in higher education
administration at Marywood.

Discovery partners with grad college for instructional media program
BY CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon Correspondent

t

Courtesy Mass Communications

“Discovery” may be just around the corner
for many would-be graduate students at Wilkes University.
The university’s College of Graduate and
Professional Studies has recently partnered
with Discovery Company to offer a unique
low-residence graduate program focused on
technology.
Through the Discovery-Wilkes partnership,
the university has launched an online masters
degree program in instructional media. According to Assistant Dean of the College of
Graduate and Professional Studies, William
Jones, instructional media includes “all kinds
of media available for utilization in education
over a digital network…like the Internet.”
Through the program, future or current educators across the globe will have the option to
earn a degree from Wilkes in the ever-growing
field of digital learning, an area of increasing

YouTube and Facebook gaining in popularinternational popularity.
According to Dean of the College of ity and use, the field of education is forced to
Graduate and Professional Studies, Mi- take itself to the next level, too.
Some education majors
chael Speziale, two-fifths
looking
to take their degrees
of the students currently
to
the
next
level say they are
enrolled in the program
excited
about
the opportunity
are from Canada and 18
Wilkes
and
Discovery
are proU.S. states outside of
viding.
Amber
Gill,
a
junior
Pennsylvania. Notably,
elementary
education
major,
the Discovery Company
said, “When they put the aris not working with any
WI
l{.f S
ticle up on the web over the
other schools. RepresenL.J!i!.l 'l'~R~I l'I'
summer, I read it and my imtatives forged the relationmediate reaction was, ‘That is
ship with Wilkes through
what I want to do!’”
a former co-worker of
Not only will Wilkes stuSpeziale.
dents
be
working
with the parent company
“The online format demands students to
that
owns
such
premier
education stations
communicate digitally and makes the stuas
The
Discovery
Channel,
The Learning
dents more agile to communicate in the
Channel
and
The
Science
Channel,
but they
digital world. The way people create media
also
have
access
to
the
most
experienced
is evolving,” said Jones.
With digital technology and websites like professors in the field.

Kathy Schrock, known to Wilkes educators for her expertise in the teaching
and use of instructional media, said,
“My course, ‘Web-Based Tools for Educators’ will provide instruction, practice,
and practical ideas for enhancing collaboration and provides teachers with
a tool set for designing curriculum and
enhancing student assessment...”
Skeptics say that classroom education cannot be replaced. However, proponents of online instructional delivery
note that it is not really a replacement
as much as an enhancement to keep up
with the future of education.
Kristine Pruett, Director of Graduate
Education, said, “Education majors now
and in the future are and will be engaged
and embedded in the digital world. It
will undoubtedly continue to grow.”
The Beacon Archives / Nick Zmijewski

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
CLUB

NEWS

SG Notes September 10, 2008

from FRONT PAGE
Ithaca College in 2007. Feeling that Wilkes was left out, she began to put together a
club that would center in on just that.
How is this club any different from other
environmental clubs that Wilkes already
has? The Environmental Club, also advised
by Troy, is a recreational club that does outdoor trips such as canoeing and camping
which allow students to become familiar
with nature and its surroundings. The Air &amp;
Waste Management Association is geared
towards career and professional development involving mostly environmental engineering or earth science majors who participate in professional and service activities,
according to advisor Dr. Prahlad Murthy.
The SES club has plans to foster environmental awareness among students, faculty
and eventually the whole community. DeCesaris said that members believe they can
help educate students while simultaneously
sustaining environmental health.
One project in the works might be termed
a sort of “swap meet.” The idea is that students may donate items such as clothing,
shoes, books, notebooks, binders, artwork,
blankets, purses, etc., that they might oth-

5

erwise throw away. Students in search of
such items may then take them instead of
purchasing new items. If a person donates
and sees something else they like, then they
take it. According to DeCesaris, the trade is
not only restricted to those who donate; anyone can come and look for something they
may need or just come browse. The project
reflects the fundamental idea of what it is to
actually recycle. It’s affordable and a way
to get rid of or gain common items. The
SES Club also plans to play an active role
in Wilkes University’s Fenner Farm.
Working with the university and other
clubs is a goal of SES members. According
to Jeff Neimiec, SES club vice president,
members are willing and hoping to work
with other organizations around campus to
provide helpful tips on how to become more
environmentally sustainable.
“We really want to spread awareness,”
said DeCesaris, “because this is something
[students] are going to be seeing everywhere soon. In their [future] jobs and as
[they] expand and grow and leave Wilkes,
sustainability will follow them.”

Treasurer’s Report
All College: $25,000.00
General: $9,330.85
Special Projects: $3,500.00
Spirit: $2,000.00
Leadership: $3,744.59
Conferences: $12,500.00
Start-Up: $1,500.00
Club Reports
The following clubs preesented updates
on their events.
Programming Board
New Business
· Students for Environmental Sustainability (SES) Club- discussion of its recognition as a club on campus. SG members
debated whether SES should join the
Environmental Club, but the distinction
came down to a matter of recreational
versus sustainability approaches. SG
members voted in favor of SES club
status.
· Step Club- although constitutional
changes are still needed, the motion was
passed to approve the Wilkes University

Steppa Association.
· Club Day Allocation- motion passed to
reimburse $2,760 to Student Development
for the Club Day event.
Homecoming- Homecoming events will
take place the week of September 29. Activities are being planned.
Old Business
· Provost Dr. Reynold Verret and Vice
President for Finance Operations Petra
Carver Q &amp; A
· Rock wall training
Events
Fall Elections September 22-24
Council of Clubs September 23 11:30
a.m.
* At 7:30 p.m., a motion was made to
adjourn the SG meeting. The motion was
approved.
SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday in the
Miller Conference room on the second
floor of the HSC.

�In Vitro Fertilization:
Page 8

Opinion
\= =

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
= = =

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com
~~

Pharmaceutical ads can lead to harmful self-diagnoses
---;::::::===='

according to Death by Prescription by Ray
D. Strand. Before the patient even stepped
into the doctor’s office, the sympathetic
advertisement of an animated bouncy ball
A rain cloud hovers over a frowning has already convinced the patient that he or
bouncy ball which represents the 20 mil- she suffers from depression and they need
lion Americans affected with depression,
Zoloft to cure it.
according to makers of Zoloft,
The Food and Drug Administraa prescription drug detion (FDA) charged drug compasigned to combat depresnies with “violations including
sion’s
sympomitting or minimizing drug
toms. Zoloft
risks, exaggerating the efis one of
fectiveness of a drug, promany selecmoting unapproved uses for
tive serotonin
a drug, making false
reuptake inhibclaims that a drug
itor (SSRI) drugs
is superior to anwidely marketed in the
other, promoting
US through the maindrugs wich are
stream media.
still experimenAs the ad continues,
tal, using inconthe ball moves across the
sistent or incorrect
television screen, looking
labeling information,
down at the ground and feeling
and giving misleading or
“the weight of sadness” as the cloud folfalse information to doctors,” accordlows the poor ball wherever it goes. “You ing to a Consumer Reports analysis of the
feel exhausted, hopeless, and anxious. FDA regulatory letters from 1997 to 2002.
Whatever you do, you feel lonely and
An analysis of television ads conducted by
don’t enjoy the things you once loved,” an Frosch DL, Krueger PM, Hornik RC et. al,
announcer explains while a blue bird ap- found that prescription drug advertisements
proaches the ball. Things didn’t “feel like focus on images of happiness, a regain of
they used to” until the ball took Zoloft and control over life, and social approval to
now it’s happier than ever.
hook people in. It is difficult for the docDirect-to-Customer (DTC) advertising tor to evaluate the patient’s symptoms and
of pharmaceutical drugs was once regulat- prescribe accurately when the patient lists
ed due to aggressive advertising, but now off all the symptoms they heard on the comDTC advertising has increased since the mercial.
1990s at a rate of around 30 percent comCanada is one of many countries that propounded annually, according to Heath Care hibit DTC advertising of prescription drugs
in the New Millennium by Ian Morrison.
to prevent inappropriate medicine
On September 2, 2008, the Washington
use that could harm patients.
Post reported that in 2006, U.S. pharAccording to an article by
maceutical companies spent about
CUPE, the Canadian Union of
$5 billion on consumer marketing
Public Employees, “Prescription
campaigns, which is only perdrugs are not like most consummitted in the United States and
er products. They can cause
New Zealand. The pharmaceuserious harm, even death.
tical industry has become one of
Moreover, a seriously ill person
the largest growing industries in the
has much more to lose from false
United States even though costumers
advertising than someone buying
can’t buy these drugs without a
a computer or a haircut.” CUPE is
telefordpct.nhs
doctor’s prescription.
currently fighting to strengthen the
A doctor’s prescription isn’t
DTC advertising limits, because
difficult to get, because all a patient has to drug and media companies are pushing the
do is ask for something like Zoloft and 70 Canadian law by showing US ads on cable
percent of the time a doctor will prescribe television and in magazines that appear
the exact medication the patient asked for, in Canada. The US prescribed 3.4 billion

BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

prescriptions in 2003, while Canada only
prescribed 361 million prescriptions, which
shows that the United States is over-medicated by about 3.1 billion prescriptions, according to a chart from the Pfizer drug company.
DTC advertisements are not educational
ads because they’re aimed at increasing
sales, so they have to be persuasive rather
than educational. In the United States, the
average number of prescriptions per person
was 7.3 in 1992, which increased to 10.4 in
2000, according to Mike Fillon in Ephedra:
Fact or Fiction. Pharmaceutical companies
see that DTC advertising works because
there was an increase in demand, especially
towards the more expensive medications,
which are the ones most heavily advertised.
The drugs that are advertised directly to
customers are usually new drugs, which
haven’t been tested as thoroughly as already
existing drugs, so little is known about the
rare or long-term side effects. The Federal
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
says that “only 15 percent of new drugs are
significantly better than existing medications.” According to a case study conducted by Graham DJ, Campen D, Hui R et al,
Vioxx, a heavily-advertised arthritis drug,
“caused around 115,000 heart attacks and
thousands of deaths in the U.S.” Based on
market research, about four in ten prescriptions for Vioxx were encouraged by advertising. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study
in 1998 that showed that 106,000 people die
each year in American hospitals from medication side effects.
The evidence suggests DTC advertising of prescription drugs has potential to
mislead American consumers and also encourage self-diagnoses that can be harmful.
Because the information in advertisements
is purposefully designed to persuade rather
than inform, consumers may be persuaded
they have all or many of the the symptoms
described, when if fact, that may not be the
case. If doctors do not carefully question
patients’ claims and require close, personal
observation of symptoms, the result could
be increased American dependence on
drugs that are either inappropriate or potentially harmful to the patient. According to
CUPE, “Advertising of medicine turns normal life into a medical problem” and these
ads “aim to convince people that they have

6

Point 1
- Pharmacutical companies spend large amounts
of money on DTC advertising even though a
doctor’s perscription is
needed to buy perscription drugs.

Point 2

- Doctors will perscribe
what their patients ask
for 70 percent of the
time, because the patients are convinced by
DTC ads that they need
a certain drug.

Point 3
- Since DTC ads are
misleading, consumers
put their heath at risk
when they listen to these
ads, which is why DTC
ads should be banned in
the United States.

Graphics by: Lauren Salem

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Escalator Madness

“An escalator can never break. It can only
become stairs. You would never see an ‘Escalator Temporarily Out of Order’ sign, just
‘Escalator: Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the
convenience.’”
-Mitch Hedberg
Ah, escalators. The lazy man’s staircase.
The mover of those who wish to not use
their legs. The answer to the question that
I’m pretty sure was asked by someone:
“Hey man, how can I get there with less effort?”
The escalator was invented in 1859 by
Nathan Ames, a Massachusetts man who I
assume was lazy. I bet he was so lazy that
he, in a quest to become even lazier, put
massive effort into finding out ways that he
could fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming
the laziest man alive. That, boys and girls,
is what we call “irony.”
The escalator, despite the fact that it makes
our lives easier, is actually one of the most
maddening devices ever created. Maybe it’s
just me (it most likely is), but I hate the escalator because of what it does to those who
step upon it. As far as I’m concerned, it is
an instrument of Satan, a purveyor of evil,
and most importantly, something which angers me.
And thus, this week’s angry rant.
Let me tell you why I hate the escalator:
First, it makes people lazy. How many times

have you found yourself on an escalator,
and you’re in a hurry, and the moment your
foot hits the first step, you freeze and let it
take you the rest of the way? Even though
the escalator will take longer than taking the
stairs, you don’t mind, because, why should
you? You’re on the magical escalator that
will take you to the enchanted land of the
second floor!
The escalator is not a ride. Do you see a
man in a red vest collecting tickets or checking for hand stamps? Is there a pretty lady
in a skirt checking to see if you want your
Bloody Mary topped off or a fresh bag of
peanuts? NO! Of course not. Why? Because
this isn’t Six Flags Over Wilkes-Barre, genius. It’s a staircase that moves.
When you get on an escalator, you need to
move with it, the same as those walkways
in the airports. They are there to help you
get from point A to point B in less time, and
the only way that is accomplished is if you
move with it. It defeats the purpose if you
just stand there.
I can’t count the amount of times that I’ve
been behind an elderly person who slowly
shuffles on and off the escalator, despite the
fact that they have a cane or some other debilitating weakness. Listen, I know you’re
old, and I don’t mean to be ageist, but let’s
face facts, it might be time to hang it up,
folks. You’re not as young as you used to
be, and you’re running a risk of breaking
your hip (again). Think about it: if you’re
disabled to the point where it becomes difficult to use the stairs, then you may want
to rethink the escalator, you know, seeing

as how it’s a staircase with sharp teeth that
moves
A staircase is stationary, and if that presents a problem, then perhaps you shouldn’t
be hopping onto the escalator, which requires a certain amount of coordination to
step on and off.
But really, folks, if you can’t use the
steps, then stay off the escalator. It’s like
being unable to juggle, but trying to do it
for the first time, except you’re juggling
chainsaws, while you’re standing on a sheet
of ice, while hungry tigers with crossbows
encircle you.
Stick to the elevator, please. It’s safe, and
there isn’t a complicated dismount.
Third, there is a trend of people wanting
to carry on conversations while standing in
the same exact spot that the escalator dumps
out onto. Ever been in that situation? You’re
moving down the escalator, with a handful
of people behind you, and instead of an easy
exit, you have to dodge the three chatty
Kathys that decided to talk about last night’s
episode of “Sex and the City.” Excuse me,
but can you please take your game of bridge
elsewhere? The bottom of the escalator isn’t
a social hall; it’s designed so that people can
exit in a safe and efficient manner, and we
can’t do that if people stop at the bottom to
finalize their dinner plans.
Take your conversation to a bar. At least
there you can babble endlessly while you’re
putting down couple of highballs.
And finally, a broken down escalator is just
as useful as a working escalator. If you see
that an escalator isn’t working, then guess

what - You treat it like it’s a set of stairs. Oh,
what’s that? You’ve forgotten what stairs
are? Shocking. A while back, I was walking behind a group of college students who
were heading for the escalator, and when
they arrived at it and saw that it wasn’t
on, they preceded to look at each other for
a few minutes until one of them had the
bright idea to actually WALK up the steps.
Give that guy a medal. But these are college
students we are talking about. Young, educated (unless they went to King’s*) college
students who couldn’t figure out if the thing
would burst into flames if they dared to set
foot on it.
(*O.K. Kings, sorry for the dig, but seriously, your teams called “The Monarchs.”
Do I need to go any further? What is that,
a butterfly? Or is it like the government?
Either way, don’t mess with the Colonels.
Even though we do have the word “colon”
right in there. That’s right, a poop joke. )
So, in an effort to curtail the use of escalators (or to at least get people to actually use
their legs while on them), I’ve compiled a
list of slogans to help curb their use.
“Yes, this escalator makes your butt look
fat.”
“Remember all those escalator stabbings
last month? They never caught that guy, did
they?”
“Escalators: The Modern Day Bathhouse”
“Al Qaeda Approved.”
And finally: “Escalators: Slightly worse
than Deliverance.”
Good night everybody!

that most of the instructors have not been
expressing these virtues.
There is no ‘step-by-step’ interaction; it’s
more of an “Okay. So here’s your information, syllabus, and workload… now, let’s
begin a powerpoint presentation.” Regardless, that we are now college students, but at
least have a more organized plan of action.
And you make it all seem like a piece of
cake wearing these white coats with honor
and whatnot. All I see is lab coats.
I, for one, am completely lost in the fundamentals of this semester itself.
We are told, “Oh, there is such a shortage in nurses today.” Well, forgive me for
saying this, but I blame it on the disorganization of the program and the rush. Two
days ago, when I went to the bookstore to
pick up my books I was about to leave when
the lady at the counter said, “Wait! That box
says ‘1 of 2’.” I was in total shock. To open
my books and look at the workload that is
ahead is sickening. I counted 14 items; fourteen items all in relation to nursing courses.

Oh, and to find out that book no. 15 was on
back order. Pure vomit.
The syllabi state roughly thirteen chapters
of God-knows-what to read--just within the
first-to-second week--plus the student nursing handbook. And to top it all off, we get
assignments to make drug cards and so and
so. This continues for a good length of time,
possibly till the point of a hopeful graduation. Forgive me for being so straightforward, but to copy massive amounts of information onto an index card (regardless of its
size) is already time-consuming.
You all wonder why we are “overwhelmed” and “shocked”. Well, to be perfectly honest, what emotion would you like
us to exert? Happiness that we could save
lives? Or happiness for us to do the messyclean-up? Because, I would love to know. I
cannot be the only one who is irritated with
the current situation. I have talked to a good
majority of nursing majors all of different
class statuses. Ideally, they have responded
to how poor instruction the nursing depart-

ment displays.
I, for one, can say that maybe this journal entry is vital to us. Because, surely I am
evaluating myself wondering if nursing is
the route I should take. I do not think I can
hear the quotations and phrases: “I know
this is all overwhelming. It’s a great profession. You’ll make it. Just keep trying. etc.”
For me to deprecate and view the nursing
program in this utter disgust is something I
hope you will take into consideration; and
if not, that’s fine. You can consider this a
“common criticism”--since that’s how a
good majority of the nursing faculty and
staff live their lives while instructing the future nurses. So, that’s my “feelings and concerns” on my wonderful future ahead…if I
get there.
I wish the best of luck to my friends and
the future nurses who make it to their final
year.

YourVoices Nursing program not what student anticipated
Dear Editor:

My opinion? Does it even matter at this
point? Well, since you insist, here’s my
voice:
Honestly, starting from day one in the
nursing program it has been oh-so “overwhelming”-and that is day one of taking
anatomy and physiology at Wilkes University-from not being formally told what a
lab practical was, poor direction in the lab
setting, and heartless professors. And I have
made it thus far, but now, I feel as if we are
all bombarded with so much weight on our
shoulders.
When we were given the email for the
sophomore nursing orientation in Breisth, I
for one could only hear the negative:” No:
flip flops, earrings, perfumes, makeup, fail,
fail, fail.” I see no positive reinforcement at
all; and this is sad to see that since nurses
are supposingly compassionarte and caring,

Matthew E. Vital
Sophomore nursing major

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

OPINION

8

IVF success: sperm competition may be key

What is being done to boost
success rates?

ino

Tr
o

ian

i

America.
According
to
Drs. Janier delBarco, and Trillo &amp; Michael H. Ferkinthis, the
meadow vole or field
mouse is significant
because if it detects
other males in the area
where it is having intercourse, it will produce much
more sperm than if other
males were not present.
A similar pattern is
found amongst earthworms. The male end
of an earthworm will
produce three times
as much sperm when
having
intercourse
with a non-virgin than
with a virgin.
By: G

There have been numerous studies on both human and animal
sexual behavior to help understand the fertilization process, and
how to stimulate the production of
large amounts of healthier sperm.
One of the most common areas of
study is sperm competition.
According to author G.A. Parker, if more than one male’s sperm
occupies the same female, sperm
competition will occur. Based on
certain circumstances and situations, males in various species
have been known to tailor their
ejaculations so that they can compete with other males.
Think of it as a lottery. The
more tickets you buy, the greater
your chance of winning.
First off, take into consideration the meadow vole (Microtus
pennsylvanicus), which is a small
rodent that can be found in North

Cartoon By: Gino Troiani

www.sandomenico.org

The Beacon
Poll Question
This weeks question:

phic

This week I wanted to get down
and dirty with one of my favorite
topics - sex.
Human in vitro fertilization or
(IVF) was developed in the United
Kingdom by Patrick Steptoe and
Robert Edwards in the 1970s.
Together, they were able to successfully fertilize human egg cells
with sperm outside of a woman’s
uterus to create an embryo, resulting in the birth of Louise Brown
on July 25, 1978. Their research
suddenly gave hope to many infertile couples, and today there have
been over three million IVF births
worldwide.
There are numerous variables
that factor into the IVF success
rates, such as age, physical state of
the uterus, and health of the sperm;
according to the Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago, the average
pregnancy success rate for a woman under 35 is in the fifty percent
range. If the procedure is a failure
after the first attempt, it is not uncommon for couples to re-try.
The problem is that the average
cost for IVF is $12,000 per cycle,
according to a recent story on MS-

NBC, making it financially impossible for many couples to afford a
second procedure, particularly if
standard health insurance policies
will not cover it.

Gra

BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

Why?
The
worm
knows that he is
competing with other
males, so it will do
anything in its power to
ensure a successful pregnancy. Although unknown,
scientists believe that earthworms can distinguish between virgins and non-virgins
through a specific scent.

So do humans tailor their
ejaculations when faced with
competition?
Possibly.
Experiments pertaining to human sexuality are often hard to
conduct because there are practical and ethical issues. However,
based on the information above,
scientists suggest that men who
ejaculate while watching pornographic material tend to produce
healthier sperm than those who do
not. Also, it is inferred that men
who are shown images of a women with two men tend to produce
healthier sperm that those who are
not.
Although much research still
needs to be conducted, the information collected in similar experiments may one day revolutionize
the procedures and effectiveness
of IVF, and prove higher success
rates for infertile couples around
the world.
This research is both crucial and
necessary in improving the ability
of childbirth. I applaud the efforts
of the scientists who have devoted
so much time and effort towards a
noble cause.

Should the United
States ban direct to
customer advertising
of prescription
drugs?
• Yes
• No
• Depends

www.telfordpct.nhs

Last weeks question...
Should Wilkes
President Gilmour
sign the Amethyst
Initiative?

Results:
•
•
•

Yes - 63%
No - 37%
Depends - 0%

Courtesy Marketing Comm.

�Easy ways to save
at the pump
PAGE 10

li ostyllos
SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

9

Future educators engage on issue of suicide
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

The photo on the overhead was graphic
and stunned the audience to silence. The
picture, taken by I. Russell Sorgi, a photographer for The Buffalo Courier Express,
depicted a young woman jumping off the
ledge of a building.
“All we get is a snapshot--a snapshot of
people, who they are, and how they feel,”
said Dr. J.J. Rasimas M.D., Ph.D., and leading authority on the phenomenology of suicide.
Rasimas’ lecture “Suicide: Public Health
Challenges and Opportunities,” was held
in the Henry Student Center Ballroom on
September 11. The lecture was part of the
Issues in Education Series, first initiated by
Drs. Robert and Judith Gardner. They created the series of lectures to inform students,
specifically education majors, on public,
health, and social issues they are likely to
face in the classroom.
“Every once in a while we invite guest
speakers who have insights about education, and we make those lectures available
to everyone on campus, with a primary focus on education students,” stated Dr. Ju-

dith Gardner.
Rasimas spoke about how he reached his
current practice, the Office of the Clinical
Director at the National Institute of Health.
Rasimas’ medical focus has transitioned
through his move from the Mayo Clinic to
the National Institute of Mental Health.
“It was during medical school that I transitioned over from thinking about oncology to being interested in mental health. I
thought going into medicine meant making
people’s lives better. I met a lot of people
who were really sick but still had great lives
and vice versa, people who weren’t really
sick but had miserable lives. Psychiatry
offered a chance to investigate that,” said
Rasimas.
The lecture offered statistics of suicide, as
well as risk facts, detection, and resources
for both those afflicted by suicide and those
who are confronted with it.
Rasimas took the time to point out the
risks of suicide and the common signs seen
in and around college campuses, especially
with the recent tragic events at Virginia
Tech and other institutions. According to
the research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, risk factors for suicide, especially in college-aged individuals,

The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki

Dr. J.J. Rasimas addresses the Wilkes community about the risks, signs, and
symptons of suicide. The lecture was held in the Student Center Ballroom.
include attempts, intent, impulsive choices,
drug and alcohol users, and past suicide exposure.
“College is an in-between existence. It is
a time when young people float between dependency and autonomy and individualism
and community,” said Rasimas during his
lecture.
The lecture concluded with Rasimas offering a few words for future educators,

current educators, and students alike.
“Stay. Listen to them. That’s all we can
do,”stated Rasimas.
The Issues in Education Series will continue with a new lecture on October 7 in
conjunction with the Anti-Defamation
League and the Jewish Community Center. The lecture will be accompanied by a
workshop on anti-bullying and several corresponding multicultural issues.

Suicide expert offers insights in Issues in Education Series
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

According to Margarita Tratakovsky, the
National Institute of Health reports that “75
percent of all individuals with an anxiety
disorder will show symptoms before the
age of 22.”
Last Thursday, renowned suicide and mental health expert, Dr. J.J. Rasimas, offered a
lecture, “Suicide: Public Health Challenges
and Opportunities,” as part of the Issues in
Education series. Rasimas is a graduate of
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory
School in Kingston, PA, as well as the University of Scranton and Penn State University. Rasimas agreed to sit down and speak
with The Beacon to offer some insights into
his dedication to educating on the issue of
suicide.
The Beacon: Because of your obvious professional background, you make a

perfect fit for this lecture series. What is problems that are already addressable.
your purpose with today’s
The Beacon: Since
talk?
your main outreach this
Rasimas: The more we
afternoon is collegehave stories that really
aged students, are there
freighten us about what
any specific things
happens on college camyoung people can do to
puses--places like Viraddress such a devasginia Tech--where mental
tating topic when they
health issues go unnoticed,
are either approached
the need to do outreach to
or have these feelings
individuals in similar situthemselves?
ations becomes critical.
Rasimas: I know
This is an opportunity
that just talking about
to come and talk about
the problem for half an
Photo courtesy of
some of the problems ashour or so is not going
http://wyomingseminary.edu
Photo courtesy of
sociated with research and
to change all the colwww.wyomingseminary.edu lege policies that make
also point out some of the
Dr. J.J. Rasimas
things we are not doing as
it difficult to get people
well as we could about making help
into treatment and care. We don’t
available to those who are in distress. It’s help for reasons of stigma or rules of friendan opportunity to enhance awareness to the ship. But still, silence is the most danger-

ous of any response that we could possibly
have. The silence or lack of a relationship
could be the missing link. The thing that
keeps people in the world is relationships.
It’s what we’re here for. We are not here to
be islands in and of ourselves.
The Beacon: Are there any thoughts or
advice you would like to leave your college
audience?
Rasimas: I would want you all to question
why there is an illness that kills more people
your age than every other major medical illness out there. This has not been on the radar or the front pages and our resources are
not going towards it. If I were you, I would
want to know why. As you move on after
college, you should have people look at
your age group and say, “How much do you
really care about us being alive?” Because
if you make it through this time period, you
are the leaders for the next generation.

�LIFESTYLES

10

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Gas prices have you bent out of shape?

Six easy steps to help you save money
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor
Despite a recent slight decline in gas prices, an August CNN/Opinion Research poll
determined that “Seventy-five percent of respondents said that the price at the pump is
a ‘financial hardship.’” All most consumers
can do is watch helplessly while oil compa-

nies suck up loose change like a high-powered Shop-vac.
According to Matt Ruch a freshman commuter at Wilkes, “Gas prices are pretty
bad.” Between commuting from Dallas, and
family obligations, Ruch explained that he
spends roughly “a $100 a week.”
Sophomore James Histed, shared similar
feelings. “Because of gas prices, I can’t
even make the trip home
anymore on the weekends
to visit my family. In fact,
I can’t make any trips,” he
said. “It is ridiculous.”
If you are angry, or simply
wondering where the money will come from to fill
the tank this week, here are
a few tips for how to save
and keep your gas gauge on
full.

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

1. Find the cheapest station in town.
Gas stations that pump the
fuel for you, or that double

as a service station often charge more.
2.Remember the key to finding cheaper gas: Location location location...
Stations located by major highways often charge more for fuel because drivers
are likely to pay more for convenience.
3.Time your fill-ups.
Wednesdays are often the best time to
buy gas because stations tend to hike prices for the weekend.
4.Don’t get burned.
Before a hot day, it is important to buy in
the morning when the ground is still cool.
The reason is that the gas will be denser.
Pumps charge by the volume of gas, not
density, so when the air is cool, there are
fewer fumes, and drivers can put more gas
into the tank.
5. Good aerodynamics help with mileage.
If possible, empty your roof rack and fill
your tires to an appropriate level. Also,

s

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

driving with the windows down around
town, and using the air conditioner while
on the highway will reduce wind resistance,
saving you money.

6. Drive smart.
The faster and more aggressively you
drive, the more gas you will guzzle. Arriving five minutes early might end up costing
you countless dollars in the long run.

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LIFESTYLES

11

Research conference brings scientific, cultural growth

ing the local bus stop. By practicing their
Spanish, they were able to converse with local vendors at marketplaces and restaurants,
which gave them a more authentic experiJuniors Jay Shah and Neil Kocher learned
ence in Mexico.
a little more about the professional science
“Speaking Spanish can open doors you
community when they presented their rewouldn’t have otherwise,” said Terzaghi.
search at an international convention.
“By speaking Spanish we were able to take
Then, when they took the local bus back
a local bus and travel the way Mexicans
to their hostel in the heart of Merida, Mexitravel. If we didn’t, we would have to take
co, they learned a little more about authenone of those tourist buses, and they go flytic Mexican culture as well.
ing by all the local villages.”
Shah and Kocher, both biology majors
One of the different things about Mexico,
with pre-med concentrations, presented
the students found, was the way that locals
their research on rice genomics at the annueat. Unlike Americans, who Kocher said,
al meeting of the American Society of Plant
“live to eat,” Mexicans seem to eat for enBiologists in Merida from June 25 to July 3.
ergy.
This international convention drew science
“They’re very busy,” said Kocher. “The
professionals, graduate students, and underfood down there, rice and beans and differgraduates from places all over the world,
ent kinds of tortillas, it’s
including England, Spain, Argentina, and
all carbohydrates packed
Australia.
for energy. And it was
“It’s great to be able to go and
very useful when we were
present our research at an intrekking around.”
ternational conference with the
After the conference
world’s top scientists presentconcluded, the students
ing,” said Kocher. “Going there
and Terzaghi decided
and listening to their work, you
to stay another day to
pick up a lot. All these different
visit the Mayan ruins of
personalities, different styles,
Chichen Itza. They also
and different ways of thinking
witnessed Mayan ballet,
definitely broaden your scope of
a traditional indigenous
a scientific education.”
dance, and bought souveTheir research project began
Photo courtesy of Neil Kocher nir handmade hammocks,
in the spring of 2007, when
Dr. William Terzaghi took a re- While presenting their research at the American Society of Plant Biologists conference in Merida, Mexico over the for which the Yucatan area
search sabbatical at Yale Univer- summer, Neil Kocher, left, and Jay Shah took time to tour the sites in Mexico, such as the ruins of Chichen Itza. is known.
hostel. For only $10 a night, the hostel was
Despite the spartan accommodations and
sity. Over the summer, he and several Yale and humans.
At the conference, Kocher and Shah pre- a cheap alternative to the $130-a-night price lack of air conditioning at the hostel, Shah
students and professors began studying the
and Kocher believe they received the more
DNA sequence of rice plants and the role of sented their findings during the day dedicat- tag of the hotel.
“It was a fantastic experience,” said Shah. authentic Mexican experience with their
antisense transcripts in light-regulated path- ed to undergraduate research presentations.
ways. In the fall, Terzaghi brought the proj- They also left up their poster so other scien- “When you stay in a hostel, you see all trip to the conference.
“Let’s face it, you don’t come down to
ect back to Wilkes, where Shah, Kocher, tists could ask questions during the remain- these different people. There were people
from France, English families, and students Mexico to get your air conditioning and
ing days.
and senior Naseem Mian joined the team.
“There were a lot of graduate and post- doing research from all over.”
satellite television,” said Kocher. “You go
When the project began, the rice genome
In order to get to the hotel, they needed to there to see the culture. That’s half the exhad only been sequenced for a year, so the doctorates presenting their posters, and as
goal of the research was try to find out what an undergraduate to get into an international walk a mile through Merida before reach- perience.”
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

Photo courtesy of Christa Sgobba

parts of the genome were actually being
used.
“It turned out that there were a lot of surprises,” said Terzaghi. “All kinds of what
we thought were the rules were being broken.”
Previous theory held that only one
strand of the two-stranded DNA was
used. Instead, the researchers found
that copies are made of both the top
strand and the bottom strand,
which, according to Terzaghi, is true for close
to 10 percent of the
genes, both
for rice
plants

conference to present with them, it’s pretty
significant,” Shah said.
While Shah and Kocher both agree they
learned a lot from the conference, they also
acknowledge that their experience in downtown Merida taught them about cultural differences.
Unlike the majority
of the presenters who
stayed in a swanky
hotel located near the
conference, Kocher,
Shah, and Terzaghi chose to
stay in a
youth

Over the summer, biology majors Neil
Kocher and Jay Shah traveled to Merida,
Mexico to present their research on rice
genomics at the American Society of Plant
Biologists annual conference. Kocher
and Shah, with their professor, Dr.
William Terzaghi, studied the DNA
sequence of rice plants and the role
of antisense transcripts in lightregulated pathways.
Prior to their presentation in Merida, Shah and
Kocher previously presented at the Pennsylvania Academy of Science
and the Wilkes Undergraduate Research SymKocher

posium. Because of their active role in the
science research community, The Beacon
has chosen Shah and Kocher as its Students
of the Week.
\The Beacon: Where do you see

yourself in 10 years?
Shah: Practicing a
medical rotation
someplace, I’m
not sure where.
Kocher:
Hopefully the
same.
Shah

Emergency medicine is my primary
interest tentatively.
The Beacon: Describe yourself in
three words.
Shah: Diligent, quirky, and dete
mined.
Kocher: Adaptable, salubrious, and
energetic.
The Beacon: Finish the sentence:
“My friends would be surprised to
know that I…”
Shah: …can ride a horse.
Kocher: …will actually succeed in life
and get into medical school..

�U
ArtsYO
moves

niverse
CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

Recycled percussion rocks campus
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

The stage of the student Henry Center was
transformed into a heap of trash cans, buckets and ladders.
The four-man rock band, Recycled Percussion, took over the ballroom in the Henry Student Center on Wednesday,
September 10 in

a rousing show hosted by the Wilkes
University Programming Board.
As the stage lit up in blues and reds and
the first song began blasting through the
speakers, students were stunned at the musical sounds emanating from these “junk”
items.
Recycled Percussion is a “Junk Rock”
band inspired by New York City “bucket
drummers”.
“We wanted to take their sound and electrify it,” said Todd Griffin, the band’s DJ.
The band consists of Justin Spencer (lead
drum), Ryan Vezina (lead drum), Todd Griffin (DJ) and Jim Magoon (electric guitar).
The group was formed 14 years ago as
an idea for their high school talent show.
Ever since then, the New Hampshire based
band’s popularity has grown and the mem-

bers started their nationwide tour six years
ago. Last week’s concert was their second
appearance at Wilkes University since fall
of 2006.
The concert began thirty minutes late at
8:30. When the lights went down, Wilkes
students filled the floor in front of the stage.
The sounds of electric guitars, plastic drums,
and aluminum symbols could be heard from
the streets below. While some of the songs
were originals from the band, others consisted of their instruments and popular rock
hits mixed by Griffin.
“It was different because not a lot of
bands are solely instrumental like that,” said
Matthew Miller,
a
sophomore
mechanical engineering major.
Midway
through
the perf o r-

mance one
of the two lead
drummers,
Justin Spencer, did his
notorious beat
box, starting
it off with a
scandalous
moaning introduction.
Students cheered as Justin beat
boxed his way into the hearts of many of
the young ladies up front. Toward the end
of the concert the band got involved with
the crowd and had conversations with the
students from the stage.
“I’ve never been to a concert where they
were really personal with the audience like
that,” said sophomore engineering manage-

12

ment major Thomas
Markley.
To add to the unexpected nature of the
show, lead drummers Spencer and
Vezina, brought
out ladders to
climb up and
drum down.
The crowd
watched in
amazement

lin.
Band members made
themselves available for autographs and
pictures and took their time interacting with
their fans, which they find to be an import
part about being musicians.
According to Griffin, “My favorite part
about performing is knowing that I can
hopefully make at least one person in the
crowd forget about everything else that is
going on in their life and enjoy that moment.”
After the show the crew quickly cleaned
off the stage, packed their instruments onto
the bus and headed for their next destination
- Illinois.

Left:
Ryan Vezina beating on the “junk”
drums at Wednesday night’s performance.

Center:
Vezina and Justin Spencer utilize ladders to create gravity defying drum
solos.
a
s
Spencer’s drumstick broke and Griffin
tossed him another without missing a beat.
The concert finale was a montage of the
band’s instrumentals and songs from famous artists from Green Day to Led Zeppe-

Right:
Spencer rocking out at the ballroom on
the 2nd floor of Henry Student Center
The Beacon/ All Photos Jenna Stephens

�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

Last Comic Standing tour stops at F.M. Kirby Center
Q &amp; A with two of the four season six finalists

BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A &amp; E Editor
Whether they are class clowns or wry social critics...one thing is for sure: when one
comic is left standing, the rest of us are rolling on the floor laughing.
The Beacon recently caught up with Jeff
Dye and Marcus from the “Last Comic
Live Tour”. They were two of the four
finalists of the popular television
challenge who traveled in what can
only be assumed to be a hilarious
tour bus from the Pabst Theatre
in Milwaukee to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on
Thursday, September 18.
Serious matters such as
ass-less chaps, sombreros, and one-named
bandits
were
among
the
important
issues
in our
interview
with
these
t w o
f u n n y
guys.
The Beacon: So,
Jeff, what
sparked your
interest in comedy?
Jeff Dye: Well, I
was always like the class
clown guy. It’s always kind
of been what I’m actually
good at. Then I realized it
could be a job so that’s
why I like it.
The
Beacon:
Marcus, on the tour
I noticed you are the
only one-named bandit,
why is this?

Marcus: Ha ha. Well, when
you reach that sort of level of
fame, ya know, Elvis, Pink,
you say one name and everyone knows. I figure I’d just
beat people to the punch, just one
name. Easy to remember, why not?

The Beacon: Jeff, when did you start performing?
Dye: I’m always kind of performing. I
mean, I’ve done acting and theatre. I would
run for class office and stuff like that in
school just to be in front of everybody and
be able to make them laugh and goof off.
But as far as stand-up as a job, three years
ago.
The Beacon: Any other comics you go
see or you’re really into?

Marcus: It was fun. It was a big learning
experience. You don’t realize how big it is
until people see you on the street and say,
‘Oh! Oh, I remember when you did that one
part in that one show.’ It’s really awesome.
Now, with the tour we get to see the faces of
the people who watched the show; it’s sort
of a remarkable thing.
Dye: I loved it; I had a lot of good times.
I got to meet one of my heroes and become
friends with him, Shawn Collins.
The Beacon: Jeff, do you have a bunch of
groupies now that you were on the show?

Dye: Yea, I’m a huge fan of Brian Regan.
The Beacon: Oh, I just watched his special! Hilarious!
Dye: Yeah, and Harland Williams and
Daniel Tosh. Those are like my top three.
My all-time favorites.
The Beacon: What’s the coolest place you’ve ever performed?
Dye: Doing the
Montreal ‘Just for
Laughs Festival’ is
probably my favorite thing that I’ve
done just because,
like, so many
comics are in one
spot. It’s like an
honor to be a
part of it.
Marcus:
Other than the
show in front of
millions of people?
Cus’ that was pretty rad.
I’ve been able to do a lot of
cool stuff since that’s been
really neat. I just got to go
home and record a brand
new comedy special. We
did it in a 1,000 seat theatre
and slid it out. Ya’ know,
one of my buddies, Wolf
from American Gladiator,
came out and hosted it. It
was cool to do something
like that.
The Beacon: Wow, that’s
the big time. Speaking of
big time how was your time
on Last Comic Standing?

Dye: Yeah, hundreds of groupies, haha.
No, not groupies, just fans.
The Beacon: Marcus, how important is
laughter to you? Would you say it keeps
you young at heart?
Marcus: Oh I don’t know…how many
times does my heart laugh? I enjoy
doing my job. We have a great
time. Ya know, all of us sitting
around, b.s.’ing and laughing
with each other. It’s a fun
time. What’s cool is that
I’m surrounded by really
cool, creative people that
keep me on my toes.
The Beacon: O.K., the
most important question
of them all: what
are you currently
wearing?
Dye: Umm, assless chaps and
a sombrero. All
funny people wear
assless chaps and
sombreros…all the
time.
Marcus: …Well we
all wear ass-less chaps.
That’s all we wore in the
house. Yeah, put that.
Last Comic Standing was
all about ass-less chaps.
You can tell everyone
in Wilkes-Barre that’s
what we’re bringing,
just ass-less chaps.

•••
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• ••
Who:

The winner and finalists of
NBC’s Last Comic Standing
will appear at the F.M. Kirby
Center during their world tour.
The performers will be: Jeff
Dye, Louis Ramey, Jim Tavaré,
Marcus, and the show’s winner
Iliza Schlesinger.

When:
DATE:
Thursday,
2008

September

18,

TIME:
7:30 p.m.

Where:

The F.M. Kirby Center on
Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.
ADDRESS:
71 Public Square
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
BOX OFFICE:
(570) 826-1100

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

14

JJ Abrams adds true fringe to FOX fall season
BY KENNY BROWN
Beacon Correspondent

Rings movies (Denethor, the Steward of Gondor) takes on
the persona of mad scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop, with just
the right edge that avoids campiness and what appears the
utmost of ease. Incredibly believable in the part, Noble
pulls viewers in immediately with his eerie quirks as well
as his ability to deftly capture ‘the moment’ in a scene.
His portrayal of the doctor not only convincingly depicts
a crazy side, but also the brain underneath that used to
prevail. Though he has not had many major jobs outside
of Lord of the Rings, he is stunning in this Abrams project
and could easily turn every critics’ (and viewers’) head.
Not only does Noble make an outstanding loony scientist, but Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek) also returns to
the small screen. After Creek ended in 2003, Jackson had
not done many well recognized pieces of work. With his
return, he shows that he can take on a serious, adult role
and do it justice.
So far, Fringe is a well acted, well directed, and beautifully written show. There is science fiction, action, comedy, subtle romance, and the occasional matter destroying
toxin to keep viewers satisfied. Although it is not really
the best show for families, it is a great way to spend an
hour on Tuesday nights in the dorm after you’ve finished
your work. Turn your TV to FOX at 9, you will not be
disappointed with life on the Fringe.

I predict a long run on FOX that will create cult fanatics,
and quite possibly make it this season’s great gamble.
Abrams is known for his ability to write smash hits. But
this is no formula series. It is not only his ability to write

In a perfect world, television shows have deep, underlying storylines that only someone like JJ Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield) can write. Luckily, viewers were given yet another
taste of that television utopia this week.
When Abrams’s new sci-fi series, Fringe, premiered, not
many knew what to expect, but millions were hopeful. With
instant television hits under his belt like Lost and Alias,
many viewers were hoping for the best, but dreading the
small chance of what looked like could be a complete rip
off of another FOX hit, The X Files.
Not unlike The X-Files, Fringe centers on female FBI
agent, Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv). In light of a lot of
strange phenomena, Dunham must befriend a scientist, Dr.
Walter Bishop (John Noble) who may be able to help her.
The twist, however is that Bishop is not a regular man
of science, but in fact was institutionalized for the past 14
years, due to mental issues. This could pose a problem for
the relentless federal agent, so she also enlists the help of
Bishop’s son, Peter (Joshua Jackson).
Lately, the FOX network has been pumping out some
short-run disasters. But with Fringe in its fall lineup, network execs can expect to have Abrams around for quite
some time.

Photo courtesy of Fringetelevision.com

intricate storylines with webs of intertwined relationships
that makes Fringe such a catch; it is the acting that also
feeds the flames.
John Noble, well known for his role in the Lord of the

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�SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

Arts YOUniverse moves downtown

f

in 2005.
Godwin says of the Irem Temple Mosque, “It’s sort of like
having a carrot dangling in front of your nose; it gives more
Arts YOUniverse, located across the street from Breiseth incentive.” To celebrate the move, Arts YOUniverse hosted
Hall at 156 South Franklin, is packing up and heading for an Almost Fall Folk Festival last Saturday, September 6.
“The Almost-Fall Folk Festival is a celebration of the
an alternate universe--one that resides a few blocks north at
move
and life in general,” said Godwin. The celebration
First United Methodist Church on North Franklin Street.
included five regional artArts YOUniverse
ists that range from a fourhas been considered
piece folk band to a onea next-door neighwoman storyteller.
bor to Wilkes since
Godwin’s
exuberant
2005 when it moved
outlook
on
the
move
is reinto the Mary Stegfl
ected
by
Julie
Benjamin,
maier mansion, prethe coordinator of Ruth’s
viously owned and
Place, a homeless shelter
operated by the Red
for women, which is curCross next door to
rently housed in the First
Weckesser Hall.
United Methodist Church
The latest move
but will be moving to the
will take place from
Salvation Army gymnanow into October,
sium.
according to KathBenjamin stated, “We
leen Godwin, the
hope
that they have a
Executive Director
successful
move and we
of Arts YOUniverse.
are
grateful
to Salvation
Arts YOUniverse
Army
for
letting
us move
is a community arts
Ruth’s
place
there.”
co-op that features
Godwin has many ideas
everything
from
for
activities at the new
dance and yoga leslocation,
including a
sons, to gallery space
“pay-per-pew”
program.
for local artists,
This
would
allow
local
and from a unique,
businesses
to
“buy”
a
pew
eclectic gift shop to
for
a
small
monthly
fee.
a reading library. It
Eventually
employees
is the brainchild of
of that certain business
Godwin who built
would have a place to
the space in an effort
go and eat on their lunch
to invigorate the lobreak.
cal arts community.
ArtsYOUniverse would
The
move
is
provide
daily entertainlargely based on
ment
from
local performthe need for more
ers
that
wanted
to share
room and access to
The
Beacon/
Jenna
Stephens
their
work.
the church’s theater
and full-size kitchen. First United Methodist Church new location for Arts YOUniverse Political science student,
Adam Szumski, is enthuRising costs and de- 47 North Franklin Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
siastic about the programs
clining membership
offered
at
the
new
location.
caused the Methodist Church to close its doors this summer
“It would be great to have a place to go off campus that
and put the historic 122-year old building up for sale.
I
could
share my music and not feel any pressure to be
Godwin’s ultimate goal is to move directly across North
great,”
said
Szumski. “Just to play and be listened to would
Franklin Street to the Irem Temple Mosque, which has a
be
nice.”
full Broadway sized stage. Also, an historic structure, the
Irem Temple Mosque was built in 1907 and was acquired
by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Redevelopment Corporation
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

NBC’s Last Comic Standing
Where: Kirby Center
When: Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.

Third Friday Art Walk
Where: Downtown Wilkes-Barre
When: Sept. 19, 5-8 p.m.

Le Grande Cirque
Where: Wachovia Arena
When: Sept. 19-20, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21, 2:00 p.m.

Hi Lites Motor Club
Car Cruise
Where: Wegmans Food market
When: Sept. 20, 4-7 p.m.

Young Livers
with Rob, Lately and The Tiny
Heart Band
Where: Cafe Metro
When: Sept. 22, 7:00 p.m.

Attention all crossword lovers: Due to our crossword guru’s overly busy schedule, there will not be Kudracross this week. It will return next week as usual.

�Cross Country
pg. 18

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Missed opportunities haunt Colonels in loss to Montclair
Courtesy of Sports Information Director,
Craig Merriman
Despite running 40 more plays on offense, the Colonels shot themselves in
the foot in a 13-6 loss to Montclair State
in Montclair, New Jersey. Wilkes beat
the Red Hawks in nearly every statistical
category except the most important one:
points scored.
Wilkes controlled the tempo on offense,
holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes
and running 75 plays, but was unable to
punch the ball in for a touchdown. Freshman kicker Chris Horn provided the only
scoring for the Colonels, connecting on a
career-long 41-yard field goal in the second quarter followed by a 37-yarder in the
third.
The Colonels had plenty of chances,
fumbling a fake field goal attempt inside
the Red Hawk 20-yard line as well as
dropping a pass in the end zone. Facing a
third-and-four from the 10-yard line, Wilkes quarterback Rob Johnson found a wide
open receiver, but a dropped pass forced
the Colonels to fourth down.
Wilkes lined up for a 27 yard field goal
attempt, but holder Jason Prushinski picked
up the snap and ran towards the right sideline, passing the first down marker, but
turned the ball over on a fumble.

Wilkes started the drive at its own 27yard line and marched 63 yards, using nearly eight minutes of clock but came away
empty handed. “Today was really frustrating,” head coach Frank Sheptock said.
“We aren’t good enough yet to get over our
mistakes and unfortunately they caused us a
couple of chances to score.”
On the Colonels’ next possession a low
snap on a punt attempt forced punter Mario Della Fortuna to try to run for a first
down, but he was stopped short as Wilkes
turned the ball over on downs early in the
second quarter. The Red Hawks took little
time in taking advantage of the miscue, taking just three plays to go 33 yards for their
first touchdown of the day. Montclair running back Jeff Bliss ran through the middle
nearly untouched for 24 yards to give the
Red Hawks the lead.
The Colonels responded on their next
possession, taking over at their own 34yard line with 7:16 to go in the half. Facing
a third-and-11 play at the Montclair 45, an
unsportsmanlike penalty on the Red Hawks
gave Wilkes a first down on the 30-yard
line. Freshman quarterback Ryan Cushman
scampered 14 yards on a third down play,
but fell three yards short of a first down before Horn kicked his first field goal of the
day - a 41 yard line drive that just cleared
the crossbar.

“I was very pleased all around with our
kicking game,” Sheptock said. “Minus a
few bad snaps here and there, I thought we
did very well on our special teams.”
Wilkes had a chance to take the lead going into the locker room at the half, but was
not able to punch the ball in at the goal line
as time expired. Their final drive of the
half started at the Montclair 35-yard line
with 3:15 to go in the second quarter. A 15yard completion from Cushman to Jordan
D’Emilio gave the Colonels a first down on
the Red Hawk 15 yard line before Cushman
completed an 11-yard pass to senior Gennaro Zangardi at the 1-yard line with 18 seconds to play.
On first-and-goal, Cushman ran a quarterback sneak that fell short, but the Colonels were unable to lineup on time to spike
the ball before time ran out in the first half.
“We were just unorganized. We have a lot
of new people doing a lot of different things
and it showed today,” Sheptock said.
Horn made it a one-point game with 10:08
to play in the third quarter on his 37-yard
field goal.
It took the Red Hawks just two plays to
make it 13-6 when quarterback Tom Fischer
found Jeff Papcun for a 73-yard completion,
putting Montclair on the Wilkes one-yard
line. Bliss ran the ball up the middle for
the score before kicker Marco Capozzoli’s

point after attempt was wide right.
The Colonels threatened late in the third
quarter, driving to Montclair’s 32-yard line
before an interception at the goal line gave
the Red Hawks the ball with 13:20 to play.
Wilkes’ final drive lasted nearly nine minutes and consisted of 18 plays, but it stalled
on the Red Hawk 20-yard line as the offense was unable to convert a fourth-andthree play.
“We are trying to get our kids to buy into
the little things and believe in the system
but its hard when you are 0-2,” Sheptock
said. “The schedule I put before them, I did
it for a purpose. I wanted to get ready for
the MAC and I think games like this help
us.”
Offensively, 10 different players ran the
ball for the Colonels with Jamar Beverly
leading the way with 53 yards on 17 carries. Cushman finished the day with 43
yards on eight carries.
As a team Wilkes had 282 yards of total
offense that included 165 yards rushing and
117 yards passing. Johnson was 6-of-15
for 91 yards, while Cushman had 26 yards
passing, completing two of seven attempts.
The Colonels will enjoy a week off before
they host Christopher Newport in the home
opener on Sept. 27 on Ralston Field.

The Beacon/ Jenna Stephens

Intramural Schedule
Fall 2008
Flag Football - deadline extended
Softball - deadline extended
Billiards - September 19 deadline
Indoor Soccer - October 10 deadline
Walleyball - October 10 deadline
Tournaments:
Dodgeball - October 3 deadline

The women’s tennis team opened the season at Ralston Field on Saturday September 13. In the
Freedom Conference match, the Colonels defeated Alvernia College 9-0.

To sign up go to the MyWilkes portal.
My Wilkes-&gt; On Campus-&gt; Wilkes Athletics

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

17

Athlete of the Week: Lindsey Davenport

BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor

Lindsey Davenport, freshman goalkeeper of the Lady Colonel field hockey team,
has played the sport since she was in the
5th grade. But regardless of her long-time
love affair with the field, she didn’t know
what to expect from college competition.
Turns out, that in her first collegiate field
hockey challenges, the young keeper has
shown mature leadership.
The Lady Colonels won their first four
games of the season and Davenport was an
impact player in each. The freshman from
Dallas, PA posted 22 saves in the first four
games as the Lady Colonels remain undefeated for the 2008 season.
Davenport was named Freedom Conference Goalkeeper of the Week after her
performances the first week of the season.
The goalkeeper played a major role in the
first two games of the season as the Lady
Colonels won the games in penalty strokes.
Davenport allowed only one stroke past
her in the two games.
The Lady Colonels beat both Moravian
College on August 30 and Susquehanna
University on September 3 in penalty
strokes. She held Susquehanna scoreless
throughout regulation and two sudden

death overtimes.
“Looking at her, you would never know
program and when I was watching her play
“I was very proud of the way she handled in high school I knew if she chose Wilkes she was a freshman in the cage. She really
herself. She made some amazing saves and she would make an immediate impact for stepped it up,” Myers said
even during the game, not talking about us,” Myers explained.
For Davenport, she still wants to concenovertime she really led our defense well and
Myers also said Davenport has given the trate on improving her own game despite
kept the intensity level up,” Davenport’s players on the field more confidence. She her recent success.
head coach Sara Myers said.
“I just want to do well for my team,” she
recalled a scenario when defensive back
For Davenport, when facing opposition, Amanda Tilley carried the ball from one end said. “The better I do, the more I challenge
she tries to clear her mind and focus on the to another and scored in the Cabrini game. my teammates and make them better playstroke. She noted the practice she received That’s something Myers does not believe ers.”
has helped her ability to stop strokes.
would have happened if the field players did
“I have tough competition when practic- not have confidence in their goalkeeper.
The Beacon/ Gino Troiani
ing against our own strokers so it gives me
confidence when facing other teams,” Davenport explained.
Davenport held Cabrini College to one
goal on Tuesday, September 9 and posted
another shutout in the Marywood University game on Saturday, September 13.
Davenport was the starting goalkeeper for
the Dallas High School varsity field hockey
teams in 9, 10, and 12 grade. After battling
back from an injury her junior year, Davenport led her team to the district champiPhoto Courtesy
of Kristen
Davidson
onship and semi-state
finalist and
was subsequently named First Team All-state her
senior year.
Myers believes one of Davenport’s
strengths is the high school progam she
came from in Dallas.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport practices at Ralston Field. She has been
“She comes from a very solid high school the starting goalie for all four of the games and has recorded 22 saves on the season.

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�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Cross country program makes strides
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
During the spring semester of 2008, Nick
Wadas scrambled around campus, posting
flyers everywhere in an attempt to revive
the men and women’s cross country program that had been extinct for 16 years.
Despite the stress of jumpstarting a dead
program, Wadas was successful. Five runners showed up for the initial practice on
August 18 and the numbers have improved
ever since. To date, he has a full-fledged
roster consisting of 10 male and seven female runners.
But many would assume that the inaugural season for the Colonels will be a disaster. The already established programs with
experienced runners and top recruits may
graciously sprint ahead, leaving the Colonels to feel the breeze beneath their tanktops and small shorts as they finish toward
the bottom of the stat sheet.
“I think what they’re showing right now,
a month later, will be a totally different
team,” said the 26 year old head coach.
“We may not win no championship, but
they’re definitely going to have huge im-

provements.”
Both the men and women teams finished
among the top-ten this weekend at Cedar
Crest College in Allentown.
The men’s team finished ninth out of 13
with sophomore Phat Nguyen leading the
way for the Colonels. He placed 36th out
of 118 runners with a time of 33:02.8. Senior Michael Griesemer finished second for
the Colonels and 51st overall at the 35:44.7
mark. Sophomore Edward Penetar from
Cabrini College led all runners, finishing in
26.54.9. The male race consists of an eightmile course.
In the female competition, freshman Michelle Wakeley placed eighth overall for the
Colonels with her time of 21.36.5. Seventeen minuites later, freshman Amelia Farnham sprinted across the finish line which
made her the eleventh placer overall. The
Lady Colonels finished 7th out of tweleve.
The female race was a five mile run.
“The whole team progressed from last
week to this point and if we are able to continue to do that, then we should be able to
be competitive,” said Wadas, the former assistant coach at the cross country program

18
The Beacon/ Gino Troiani

at Misericordia. He left the Cougars in 2007 because he felt it
was time to lead his own pack of
runners.
Wadas plans to make the practices harder in the upcoming
weeks for the sake of speeding
up the growing process being
that his team is relatively inexperienced.
They’ve been running sprints
at about “75 percent” around the
city and Wadas will increase the
level of intensity.
“We all are progressing; our
times are getting faster and we
are getting in shape,” said Darin
Dolan, who’s currently completing his master’s degree in Marketing. “The thing is that we are
a first-year team, so we all are
just starting to know each other.
Once we know each other, we
will be a better team because we
The Colonels cross country team practices outside
will start pushing each other.”
the Martz Gym in preparation for the Cedar Crest
College Invitational. The women finished 7th and
the men finishd 5th in Saturday’s competition.

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�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Lady Colonels soccer falls to visiting Moravian, 2-0

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
half was denied by Moravian goalkeeper the middle of the box. The Lady Colonels
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
Mikki Ruvolis, who made a brilliant div- were unable to capitalize, however, as the
Despite relying on seven freshmen start- ing stop on freshman midfielder Lindsaw resulting shot wound up wide left. Katelyn
ers, the Wilkes University women’s soccer Rowland’s low shot with ten minutes left to Killea of Moravian responded with a shot
team was able to silence many critics after play. The two teams would play out the rest on goal six minutes later, but found her shot
scooped up by Shetler.
starting the season with a respectable 3-3 of the half aggressively but fail to score.
record. The Lady Colonels were unable to
defeat visiting Moravian College on September 13, however, losing a tough game
by the score of 2-0.
The opening of the first half saw both
teams trade relentless attacks on goal.
Moravian failed to take advantage of a great
scoring opportunity at the thirty one minute mark, when a scramble in front of the
goal drew freshmen goalkeeper Sarah Shetler out of the net. Fortunately for the Lady
Colonels, the ball was successfully cleared
by sophomore midfielder Alison Weidman
and junior midfielder Ashley Deemie.
Wilkes would respond on the other end
of the field moments later, as Weidman
and sophomore midfielder Taryn Hallowell
worked together to send a shot wide right.
Freshman forward Katy Fissel would add
The Beacon / Jenna Stephens
a shot of her own soon after, just missing
a goal as the ball rolled into the side net- Freshmen Katy Fissel tangles with two Moravian midfielders during Saturday’s match,
ting. Moravian’s Tracy Fitzpatrick stirred a 2-0 loss to Moravian at Ralston Field.
Moravian would score the first goal of the
The second half saw a renewed intensity
the crowd at the twenty minute mark as her
shot on goal landed on the netting behind from both sides in an effort to break the contest not a minute later though, as Terri
the top crossbar, leading many to mistak- stalemate. At the thirty six minute mark, Roberts scored a dramatic header while siWeidman led a breakaway down the right multaneously falling into the net with sevenly assume she had scored.
Wilkes’ best chance to score in the first side of the field before launching a cross to eral other players. Moravian gave Wilkes

another scare immediately afterwards, as
Tracy Fitzpatrick sent a soft grounder wide
right of the goal after finding herself one on
one with Shetler.
The Lady Colonels refused to be discouraged after falling behind, showing great determination in several scoring chances. A
strike from Fissel deflected off of a defender in front of the goal, and a long feed from
sophomore defender Casandra Valentin to
Weidman resulted in a save from Moravian’s keeper. Wilkes would regret failing to
score on those two occasions, as Fitzpatrick
would later head Moravian’s second goal
into the net off of a corner kick from Roberts. Wilkes had a couple more opportunities to score on shots from Hallowell and
freshman defender Megan Clementson, but
could not find the back of the net.
When asked after the game to describe the
situation that allowed Moravian to score its
first goal, Wilkes coach John Sumoski responded by deeming it a “good play with
a great finish. We have a young defense
that will make an occasional mistake, but
they’re working very hard and improving
with every game,” he stated.
Said Hallowell after the game, “It was
unfortunate that we let up goals on two
set pieces, because I felt that both teams
were evenly matched during the game; we
can move ahead, though, knowing that we
played very well.”

Men’s soccer team wins two straight on the road
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The following is a recap of last week’s
games played by the men’s varsity soccer
team.

September 10, W 2-0 @ Muhlenberg
Junior forward Bret Osswald and sophomore forward Ryan Phillips both scored

goals in Wilkes’ win over Muhlenberg last
Wednesday. Muhlenberg took 19 total shots,
but was held scoreless by senior goalkeeper
TJ Baloga and his nine saves. The Colonels
took only seven shots, but were fortunate in
having two of them find the back of the net.
The win helped Wilkes improve its record
to 2-2 on the season.
September 13, W 2-0 @ Widener

Osswald scored fifteen minutes into regulation against Widener on a cross from junior defender Troy Gibson, staking Wilkes
to an early 1-0 lead. Junior forward Greg
Miller would pad Wilkes’ lead soon after
the start of the second half, scoring on an
assist from freshmen midfielder Ed Zulkoski. Baloga recorded his second straight
shutout and third of the season, making four
saves against Widener. Both teams took ten

shots during the game. The win was Wilkes’ second straight on the road and helped
elevate their record to 3-2. Their next game
is at home against Dickinson on Wednesday, September 17, at 4 P.M. The Colonels
then find themselves hitting the road again,
with a Saturday trip to Elizabethtown on the
schedule.

Football

Men's Soccer

Cross Country

Volleyball

L 13-6 @ Montclair State

W 2-0@ Muhlenberg
W 2-0 @Widener

Men- 7th
Women-9th

W 3-0 Manhattanville

Field Hockey
W 2-1 @ Cabrini
W 4-0 @ Marywood

Women's Soccer
L 3-0 @ Scranton
L 2-0 Moravian

Women's Tennis
W 9-0 Alvernia
Doubles: 3-0
Singles: 6-0

19

Scranton Tournament:
L 3-1 Muhlenberg
L 3-0 Oneonta State
L 3-0 Ramapo
L 3-1 Muhlenberg

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Field hockey remains undefeated 4 games into season

20

Lady Colonels win games against Cabrini and Marywood
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
The Lady Colonels field hockey team
added another two games to the win column after defeating both Cabrini College, 2-1, and Marywood University, 4-0,
on the road.
Junior Amanda Tilley was first to score
for the Colonels. She connected on a shot
eight minutes into the game. Freshman
Chelsea Minx scored the eventual game
winner shortly after Tilley’s first half
goal and the Lady Colonels never looked
back.
With approximately six minutes left in
first half, Cabrini came within one when
Lauren Alessi scored; however the Cavaliers never connected again.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport remained strong in the cage for the
Colonels by posting nine saves in the
game.
Head Coach Sara Myers was impressed
with the Colonels effort Tuesday evening
as several key players missed the game
due to illness or evening classes. Some
players who may not have had the opportunity to play prior to the Cabrini game
were given a chance to do so and performed well Myers said.
“We had a lot of different players playing different and new positions to adjust to those who weren’t able to make
the game and the exciting thing for me
was that you couldn’t tell that people
were playing in the wrong spot and you
couldn’t tell we were missing key players for us because a lot of people stepped
up and played a great game,” Myers said.
“It showed we have a lot of depth on the
team and that we have a lot of heart and I
think that’s really important.”
The Colonels next traveled up 81 North
to visit Marywood University on Saturday September 13. Wilkes dominated the
first half of play scoring three goals to the
Pacers zero. Senior forward Alyssa Koncelik scored the first goal and sophomore

16
Audition to be the new Colonel mascot from 11:00a.m. to
5:00p.m. at the UCOM. Auditions will also be held on
Wednesday at the same time.

Alyson Paulauskas scored the following
two.
Koncelik scored the final goal of the game
shortly into the second half.
Davenport remained strong in net for the
Colonels, stopping all four of Marywood’s
shots. During the closing ten minutes of the
game, freshman goalkeeper Julienne Hanley replaced Davenport.
All the Lady Colonels field players received playing time during the game against
the Pacers, which is something rare for the
large team of 23 field players.
“An exciting thing about today was all
the field players went in. We have a huge
team so it’s really hard to get everyone into
a game but the best part was when everyone
was in we still had control of the ball,” Myers said.
The team also overcame an obstacle partially caused by the heavy rain Friday September 12.

“I think coming into today’s game we had
high expectations as to what we could do
today and there were some obstacles, like
the field, that I think held us back in the first
couple minutes of the game but once we got
the hang of it and played through I thought
we stepped up to the ball and made a lot
of great things happen on the field,” Myers
explained.
Despite the success of the field hockey
team thus far, it is important for them to
continue to improve and not become comfortable with their current play.
“Our motto is to never be satisfied and
I think that’s something that we are really
working on through the month of September, to never be satisfied with a win and
never be satisfied with two wins. It’s never
enough so we are hoping that that carries
over into all of our upcoming games,” Myers said.
Team captain Brittany Sines believes go-

ing undefeated in the first four games of the
season is great for the team, especially since
the team has never won four straight games;
however Sines referred to the team motto
for the future.
“It’s a great thing [going undefeated]. It
makes us never want to settle. We want to
go 5-0 and then 6-0,” Sines said.
Being a captain, Sines tries to set an example for the team in an effort to challenge
everyone not to become comfortable in their
current playing ability.
“I try as hard as I can in practice and
games. I try to set an example for other
teammates,” Sines commented.
The Lady Colonels are busy in action this
week visiting Arcadia on Monday September 15 and then hosting Gwynedd Mercy
Thursday September 18 at 4:00p.m. and
Keystone College on Saturday September
20 at 1:00p.m.
The Beacon/ Alissa Lindner

Number 16 Kim Baldino and number 13 Lindsey Raleigh stand in defense as Marywood smacks the ball from the sideline at
Saturday’s game against the Pacers.

17
Enjoy coffee hour for the Center for Global Education and
Diversity at the Savitz Multicultural Lounge in the Student Center at 3:00p.m. every
Wednesday.

18

19

Go to Party on the Square from
5:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. on Wilkes
Barre‛s Public Square.
Free
food, live music and lots of pirizes!

Join in on the 3rd Friday Art
Walk touring galleries and exhibits throughout downtown
Wilkes-Barre. Visit artsyouniverse.com for more info.

20
Attend Le Grand Cirque in the
Wachovia Arena. Tickets range
from $35 to $55 and the show
starts at 7:30p.m.

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                  <text>&lt;p&gt;This is Wilkes University's &lt;em&gt;Beacon&lt;/em&gt; Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the &lt;em&gt;Beacon's&lt;/em&gt; predecessors, &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Bison Stampede&lt;/em&gt;, 1934-1935 and &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Beacon&lt;/em&gt;, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact &lt;a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua"&gt;Bucknell University's Special Collections Department&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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              <name>Rights</name>
              <description>Information about rights held in and over the resource</description>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366517">
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MASCOT
AUDITIONS

PAGE6

PARTY ON
THE SQUARE

PAGE9

PAGE 12

The
I

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 3

Incident during sprinkler installation causes flood damage Bed bug outbreak
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor
at Wilkes dorm

On Friday, September 19, several residents in University Towers woke to find
their apartments waterlogged and their possessions damaged by a leaking pipe on the
eighth floor.
“We have workmen working from the
people who are installing the fire sprinkler
system in the building as part of the fire
protection upgrade. They were working in
room 870 and they were installing the part
of the piping in the closet where the heat
pump is,” said Paul Kaspriskie, project
manager for Wilkes University.
According to Kaspriski, the person working in apartment 870 dropped a pipe on a
series of tubing that connects the water line
to the heat pump. The water, which was
under pressure, burst from one of the pipes
until they were able to shut it off.
Amber Kaminski, a senior nursing student, lives two floors below 870, the room
where the incident occurred.
“I just woke up around 8:30 a.m. and it
sounded like it was raining in our living
room. So I got up and checked it out and
there was... water coming from the ceiling
- everywhere,” she said.
She added that, “It sounded like somebody

BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

A facilities employee cleans access water from a Towers’ apartment floor after a pipe
burst and flooded rooms on six floors.
was taking a shower, but I went and checked
“My roommate and I actually heard the
it out and it was coming from the room with water coming down in their room and tried
the air conditioner and the heater.”
knocking on their door but they were at
Lisa Bova, a sophomore psychology and class. One of the RAs let us in, and we went
pre-med major, and her roommate came to
the aid of their neighbors.
See SPRINKLERS page 2

Health &amp; Wellness Services to move to Passan Hall
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor
&amp; CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon Correspondent
As the weather begins to cool down, the
number of students waylaid by colds and
viruses will undoubtedly increase. To prepare, it’s important for students to know
where they can go for cold medications-and
as of winter break, that place will be new.
Health &amp; Wellness Services will move

to in Passan Hall on Franklin Street across
from the Martz Gym. The services, previously located in Evans Hall, operate under
the Student Affairs umbrella. Passan Hall
already houses Residence Life and the Student Affairs offices, so adding Health &amp;
Wellness Services will make it a more cohesive area.
Residence Life will move to the third floor
during fall break. After this, construction
and upgrades for Health &amp; Wellness Ser-

ONTHEWEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion........... 6-8

vices will be completed for the first floor in
time for the offices to move to Passan Hall
during winter break this year.
The main reason for Health &amp; Wellness
Services to move into the first floor of Passan is that the gurney will not fit into the
elevator. Other benefits of the move include
ambulance access and having a parking lot,

See HEALTH page 5
Lifestyles ....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports .......... 16-20

Recently some Wilkes University residents have learned to take the old cliche,
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” as gospel.
Brenda Stanley, director of residence life
at Wilkes University, confirmed an outbreak
of Cimex lectularius, or bed bugs, in one of
the University’s residence halls.
“The Office of Residence Life can confirm
a report of bedbugs in one of our residence
halls,” said Stanley.
Out of respect for the residents in the hall,
Stanley did not want to name the location.
“All the students in the residence hall
were notified of the situation in a timely
manner. Students were reassigned to temporary housing while pest control professionals (Terminix) treated the building,”
said Stanley.
However this is not an isolated incident.
Reports of bed bugs have been coming in
from colleges across the country.
According to BedBugCentral.com, “Bed
bugs have made a recent resurgence all
across the United States as well as worldwide and are now being found in high-end
hotels, apartment complexes, hospitals and
even college residence halls.”
Jeff White, a research entomologist for
BedBugCentral.com, said that one of the
problems is that people believe that bed
bugs are a myth.
“When in truth and reality they are insects
that do infect structures. They usually live
in association with sleeping areas, although
that’s not definitive…which could be beds

See BUGS page 4

Established 1936 w· &gt; ·
&gt;
PA Newspaper
· .·
.· ·
Association Member . . ·. ·

�BED BUGS
ONTINUED
PAGE4

SPRINKLERS
from FRONT PAGE

in and put trashcans and bowls
[under the leaks] to try and catch
the water,” she said.
Bova added, “It was literally
raining in their room. The only
room that did not get damaged in
their apartment was the bedroom.
The living room, bathroom, kitchen, and all the closets suffered water damage.”
Bova’s roommate, Casey Marks,
had already gone to class and was
alerted to the situation when the
Office of Residence Life called
her.
“I panicked and then checked my
text messages from my roommates
saying that there was a minor leak
in the ceiling in my bedroom and
it wasn’t too bad but that there
were some rooms that it literally
had been raining in,” said Marks,
a sophomore pharmacy major.
Marks added, “I saw the apartment next to ours and part of the
ceiling was peeling back and water
was still coming in pretty steadily
into their bathroom and closet. I
didn’t see any of the other rooms

NEWS
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

though. The damage in my room
was very minor with the wall and
part of the carpet getting a little
wet.”
Kaspriskie said that the damage
spanned the length of six floors
and caused varying degrees of
damage.
He said the damage, “went
down to the third floor...it was
all the 70s... [Apartment] 370, I
think, didn’t receive anything or
minimal. Then in the 90s, which
are adjacent to that, starting with
[apartment] 790... and going down
to the third floor. The one wall just
got wet, a little bit. That was actually common to the 70 wall.”
According to Kaspriskie there
was “very, very minimal damage
to the walls and ceilings. There
will be some work that needs to be
done, but not a heck of a lot.”
Kaminski said that as of 3 p.m.
on Friday she did not hear anything about leaving her apartment. She did say that the Office
of Residence Life was going to be
bringing in a cleaning crew over
the weekend.
Kaminski added that she was
very happy with how everything

was handled, including the replacement of her possessions.
“Yeah, they are really good with
that. They are going around to
each room asking if anything got
ruined,” said Kaminski.
Bova added that the only problem she had was with communication from Wilkes officials.
“If that was my apartment and
water was leaking in like that, I
would have wanted to be contacted as soon as the pipe got
struck on the 8th floor,” she said.
“That’s people’s personal belongings and some things can’t be replaced. If my roommate and I or
the RA didn’t hear the water leaking in my neighbors apartment, a
lot more of their stuff would have
gotten ruined.”
Kaspriskie said, “...obviously we
compiled a list of what they have
come up with now as far as damages go. And they [the contractor]
will reimburse them full for any
damages received as a result of
the leak.”
According to Kaspriskie, this is
not the first time this same incident occurred.
“Exactly the same thing hap-

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

pened in the summertime. Of course it
wasn’t as bad because
the place was not occupied,” he said.
“Going forward, to
prevent this from happening again, what I’ve
asked the contractor to
do now is construct a
wooden cover that they
would place over those
pipes that go to the heat
pump... and they will
just place that cover
over those pipes before
they work in that closet,” added Kaspriskie.
The contractor installing the pipes was
G.C. Fire Protection
and according to Kaspriskie, the contractor’s
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
insurance will pay for Buckets catch water leaking from the ceilall damages.
ing of apartment 670.
Brenda Stanley, ditire building. Facilities was able
rector of the office of residence to respond quickly with a cleaning
life, added “We did not have to service to remove the excess wadisplace any residents. The ex- ter. We will assess further damges
tent of the water leakage was (if any) on Monday to allow the
small enough to be contained to cleaning service to complete their
a few apartments and not the en- work.”

Breaking alcohol-related laws leads to sanctions by police, university
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor
During the 2007-08 school year,
66 Wilkes University students
were disciplined for off campus
behavior by Student Affairs. According to Dr. Paul Adams, vice
president of Student Affairs, approximately 90 percent of those
cases were alcohol-related.
While on-campus students generally respond to Residence Life
and off-campus to Student Affairs
if they have been found to have

participated in an illegal activity,
all university students must first
face local law enforcement. Once
the police or courts are finished,
if the university has learned of
the incident or if the student has
been identified as a member of the
Wilkes community, the student is
then further reprimanded by the
university.
“The university can take disciplinary action based on the handbook, which says that basically
you can’t break the liquor laws of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylva-

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

nia and that you are a representative of the institution,” said Barbara King, dean of Student Affairs.
“While we try and standardize
our processes to be fair, you have
to realize that every incident is its
own situation and is judged on its
own merits. While we try to remain consistent, we also reserve
the right to judicate situations
based on individual circumstances
and recognizing that there’s a full
range of things to go wrong, from
somebody who may be found underage drinking to someone who

is supplying minors or someone
who has a DUI or has caused damaged or hurt someone. There’s a
whole spectrum of severity,” said
Adams.
Sanctions issued by the university may include monetary fines,
probation and the requirement
of off campus assessments of the
student’s alcohol use. Offenders
are also required to participate in
an Alcohol Education program
and their parents may also be contacted.
“The university says that it ex-

pects that students will, at the
end of their education, express
actions that reflect ethical reasoning and civic responsibility. So I
think that’s why we’re concerned
when young people have violated
the laws of the Commonwealth or
have behaved publicly in a way
that doesn’t reflect well on the university or on them or their fellow
students,” said Adams.
The handbook states that the
sanctions given to students who

See ALCOHOL page 4

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Design Chief: Alison Woody
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager:
Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
TheChristine
Beacon/Jenna
Stephens
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Alison Woody
Design Chief

�NEWS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

3

Presidential candidates on the economic crisis
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

Political Analysis
Troopergate, race, Iraq, and the cost of
a gallon of gasoline all took a backseat
among voters’ chief concerns, as Wall Street
and the Nasdaq looked like Disney’s latest
rollercoaster thrill-a-second attraction last
week, and citizens became acutely aware of
just how fragile their retirement nest eggs
might actually be.
As of Sunday, September 21, the Bush
administration had proposed a buy-out plan
that would allow the federal government to
purchase $700 billion in foreclosed housing, believed to be one of the main causes
for Wall Street’s current troubles.
The New York Times reported that the plan
was receiving bipartisan support from Capitol Hill and the Secretary of Treasury, Henry
Paulson said that the plan had to work. TheTimes also acknowledged that this government bailout would bring the national debt
to $11.3 trillion.
The current economic crisis
has placed
the
presidential
candidates’
economic
plans under an even
more powerful spotlight. The
economy
also recalls
a campaign
mantra from
B i l l

Clinton’s first election. “It’s the economy,
stupid.” The phrase was originally penned
by James Carville, a famed Democratic
strategist and Clinton advisor. During the
2008 presidential election that slogan has
morphed into the popular “It’s still the
economy, stupid,” meaning that the main
issue to talk about in this election is the
economy.
Poll after poll shows that Americans care
about the economy more than any other
campaign issue, and according to GALLUP, Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, is seeing a
slight surge in numbers because of the current economic climate. However, in another
GALLUP poll Obama leads Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, by only 1% when people were
asked who could do a better job handling
the current economic problem.
Thus, the economy is the center of all politics and life. The economy is best viewed a
wave with highs and lows, and like everything the two major political parties have
different ways to handle it.
Republicans, most but not all, tend to
move towards a hands-off approach
when it comes to the economy. They
believe that the economy should
be allowed to go through its cycle
with as little interference as possible. The Republican party tends
not to like legislation that gives the
government control over economic
matters like a minimum wage.
Democrats, most but not all, tend
to go in the other direction - a handson policy. This approached is based
on the belief that the market
can be manipulated
through legislation and dif-

Sen. John McCain, R-AZ

ferent programs. The difference between
the hands-on and hands-off approach is also
one of the fundamental differences between
the two parties.
Currently the United States economy is in
what many would call a bear market, which
means that things have not been going well.
The proposed government bailout would
bring the government further and further
into the inner workings of Wall Street. Although this may not be the approach the
Bush administration would like, officials
consider this to be their only option.
According to statements from Obama
and his representatives he supports the proposed actions of the Bush administration
even though he has not truly come out with
a concrete plan. However, Obama has said
that he believes the country needs strong
leadership and cooperation during these
tough economic times.
During a recent speech in Wisconsin, McCain said the government should “get back
to its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation.”
McCain has come out against
many parts of the Bush administration’s plans but said that he
would listen to any suggestions
proposed by the administration
and members of Congress.
McCain seems to be playing to his Republican base
during this crisis. By sticking
to the idea that the economy
will work itself out will ring
in the ears of many conservative voters.
McCain is
considered a
maver-

ick by many in the Republican base, which
is why he has been taking a much more conservative stance than he normally would.
Obama’s cooperation with the bipartisan
movement is also helping him in the polls.
His cooperation with the Bush administration and Congress seems to be playing in
the minds of voters as a willingness to cross
party lines for the best of the country.
For now the economy seems to be helping Obama, but with an economic climate
that can change from day-to-day. And with
the first presidential debate less than a week
away, Obama and McCain will have an opportunity to debate about various issues;
however, the economy is expected to take a
back seat. This week’s debate is on foreign
affairs and national security. Originally the
debate was scheduled to be about the economy and public policy, but Obama requested a change of topic.McCain will have an
opportunity to debate about various issues;
however the economy is expected to take a back seat.
The debate is on
foreign affairs
and national
s e c u r i t y.
Originally
the debate was
schedu l e d
to be
about
t h e
economy and
public
policy, but
Obama requested
a
change of
topic.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL

�NEWS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
BUGS
from FRONT PAGE
or couches, depending on where people are
sleeping,” said White.
He added that bed bugs must be transferred
from one carrier to another.
“Meaning, you can’t get them walking down
the street or taking your dog for a walk or anything like that,” he says. “You either have to
go visit someone who has a bed bug infestation or somebody that had had them on them
and they walk off while they are there.”
White describes bed bug adults as “small,
about a quarter inch long, reddish brown insects.”
“They feed on blood…and they
come out from where they are
hiding - they hide in cracks
and crevices and different
places - they come out while
you are sleeping, at night, and feed
on blood,” says White.
For those who may have been bitten
by bed bugs, White offers some words of
comfort by explaining that there is not relation between bed bugs and disease.
White says that one of the most effective
treatments against bed bugs is education.
Stanley says that the students and parents
impacted by the bed bug outbreak at the resi-

dence hall was sent literature on bed bugs
and the October edition of their parent
newsletter will also include information on
the subject.
How does a student know if they have
bed bugs?
“If someone has a series of bites on their
body, typically on the chest/torso or leg/foot
region, they should visit our Health and
Wellness Office, located on the first floor
of Evans Hall. The bites would have not
pattern (random) and may appear to look
like
mosquito bites. A professional can
determine if in fact, they are bedbug bites,” says Stanley.
White added that these
bites tend to appear in
rows or clusters.
White says that “it’s
just being aware and
knowing what to do and
what not to do and when you
think you may have a problem reporting it to your university housing as
fast as possible.”
Stanley says that if an infestation is confirmed or suspected, the office of residence
life has a set process to follow.
“Terminix has a standing contract with the
University and so they are called to do an
assessment to determine if in fact the sus-

Images Courtesy of Cornell University

Cimex lectularius, or bed bugs, burrow in mattresses and come out at night to
feed on human blood.
pected report is true. If they find bedbugs, to ensure their chemical treatments were
we immediately begin a process of treatment effective,” she says.
Stanley also added that it is important
as recommended by Terminix to remedy the
situation in a timely and efficient manner. to note that, “Bed bugs should not be asThe typical response is a high intense steam sociated with a hygiene or cleanliness
treatment, coupled with a chemical spray and issue.”
None of the residents who were impowder in the affected areas. Following the
first treatment, Terminix schedules five addi- pacted by the bed bug outbreak were
tional weekly check-ups to the affected areas available for comment.

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4

from PAGE 2

have broken the law or violated the guidelines for student conduct are issued in addition to law enforcement penalties “in an
effort to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of all members of the community, as
well as the violator of the regulations,” but
many Wilkes students don’t believe that the
university should be able to issue further
sanctions, especially if the alcohol violation
has occurred off campus or in a different city
altogether.
“I think that you should only be subjected
to police penalties, especially if the problem
didn’t occur on Wilkes soil. For example, if
I was caught driving drunk across town…
The penalties are high enough for dealing
with that. I’d already be facing at least a year
without my license, probably more... plus
fines and jail time. Wilkes students should
only be subjected to Wilkes rules and regulations while at Wilkes,” said sophomore Matt
Duffy, secondary education and history major.
“There are occasions though when people
get identified as Wilkes students and when
that happens, it’s a negative perception on
all of the students, so we step in in those circumstances,” said Adams. “Most schools
hold students responsible for their behavior
off campus.”
“I do see where the school is coming from
with [a student] representing Wilkes, but I
just can’t completely agree with them. If you

are on campus I can see how you are as a
representative of Wilkes, so if underage
drinking or an incident happens because
someone is drunk on campus then the
school should step in along with the police. If the situation occurs far from Wilkes campus then I think that the police
has the authority to do what they wish
and the school doesn’t need to step in,”
said Josh Hamilton, senior psychology
major.
Robyn Snyder, senior accounting major, disagreed. “I think that Wilkes does
have a responsibility to punish the students as well as the police. When students get into trouble and the news covers the incident and says it’s a Wilkes
student then it makes the school look
bad. And the school has the responsibility to show people that they have steps
to take to punish the students and also
offer them help if they need it.”
Adams said, “There are consequences for your behavior, but those consequences are designed hopefully to make
people reflective so their future isn’t impacted.”
Many colleges and universities across
the nation have begun to speak in favor
of the Amethyst Initiative, which suggests that the drinking age should be
changed to 18 so binge drinking would
occur less frequently on college campuses. Wilkes’ position on this initiative
has
yet been
finalized.
Thenot
Beacon
Archives
/ Nick Zmijewski

�NEWS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
HEALTH
from FRONT PAGE

since the expansion of the greenway took
away the original parking lot next to Evans.
“[Passan Hall is] closer to the [Henry Student Center], the hub of student activities,
so it is also more convenient,” explained
Diane O’Brien, director of Health &amp; Wellness Services.
Mark Allen, dean of Student Affairs,
agreed that the move will be more convenient for everyone. It will be significantly
more accessible for the Martz Gym and any
athletes who may become injured. Brenda
Stanley, director of Residence Life, stated,
“We are in direct respect to the Athletic Department.”
“The design of the offices [on the third
floor] will allow for better communication
in general. There is a commons area; it’s
easier to tell where you need to be going
when you walk in, and it’s easier for us to
see who is coming in and direct traffic,” explained Stanley.
As far as problems for anyone being inconvenienced, Allen said, “Much of it [the
move] was done with students in mind. I
asked students about their feelings and one
of the reasons [for the move] was to assure confidentiality with the utilization of

counseling and the location is still very accessible. Also, parking is much better for
emergency situations.”
Along with moving Health &amp; Wellness
Services, slight organizational restructuring
will occur. There is no longer a coordinator
of Campus Counseling; however, Wilkes
will offer two full-time campus counselors,
Melissa Gaudio and Susan Biskup. Additionally, there will be a consultant psychologist who will be on call and attend monthly
meetings with the campus counselors.
“We don’t know what to expect [in relation to the move], but we are excited,” stated O’Brien. “Passan Hall has better accessibility [than Evans Hall] and it’s a little bit
bigger. The first floor fits our needs better
than the third floor,” she added.
“We are very excited about moving and
having a chance to organize everything,”
said Gail Holby, coordinator of Health &amp;
Wellness. But she added, “I think the students from Evans Hall are going to miss
us.”
Resident Assistants have already been informed of the move. It will be announced
on the Wilkes Today page and pamphlets
will be spread around campus once the
move is complete to increase awareness of
all students.

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SG Notes September 17, 2008
Treasurer’s Report
All College: $22,240.00
General: $9,333.85
Special Projects: $3,500.00
Spirit: $2,000.00
Leadership: $3,744.59
Conferences: $12,500.00
Start-Up: $1,200.00

-Homecoming- rough budget was shown
for activities and such. Planning is still
underway and a finalized budget will be
shown this week.
-Rock wall training October 9
Old Business
Students for Environmental Sustainability
(SES) Club
Step Club now WUSA
Club Day allocation $2,760

Club Reports
The following clubs presented
updates on their events.
Programming Board
New Business
-Acceptance of position- sophomore student accepted position on SG.
-Undergraduate Leadership Conferencemotion passed to send one student government representative to the conference,
costing $75.00.
-Multicultural Student Coalition- Liaison,
an elected executive member, will represent the coalition at SG meetings.
-Miniature War Gaming Club- requested to
become a recognized club on campus. Discussion and name recommended to change
it to Strategic Gaming Club.

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Events
Party on the Square
Council of Clubs September 23
11-1pm
Fall Elections September 22-24
Council of Clubs September 23 11:30am
Homecoming September 29-October 4
* At 7:30 p.m., a motion was made to
adjourn the SG meeting. The motion was
approved.
SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday in the
Miller Conference room on the second
floor of the HSC.

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page 8

Opinion
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Gino.Troiani@wilkes.edu
Lauren.Salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Risk taking essential to human advancement

6

Why the ‘doomsday machine’ is worth the chance

BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

If life were a comic book, the
machine would be portrayed either as the monstrous invention
of mad men--hulking, impenetrable, set to destroy the earth. Or,
as the long-sought key to understanding humankind’s origins--a
great turning point in humanity, a
beacon of light peeking through
the shadows.
But the final chapter that
determines the Large Hadron
Collider’s (LHC) place in history has yet to be written, so
its character is still a question
mark. And what we don’t know
or can’t predict often scares us.
The LHC is located inside a 17mile long circular tunnel beneath
Geneva, Switzerland; it is considered to be one of the world’s
largest machines. Many people
have also speculated that the
LHC has the possibility to claim
the title of the world’s deadliest
machine.
According to the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN), the creator and operator
of the LHC, the machine is the
world’s most powerful particle
accelerator. The LHC completes
one task; “high-energy protons in
two counter-rotating beams will
be smashed together in a search
for signatures of super symmetry, dark matter and the origins
of mass.”
For those of us who are not
physicists, this all boils down
to smashing bundles of protons
against each other at really high
speeds in order to see what happens.
But some scientists and nonscientists alike have a case of the
jitters about smashing protons.
What will happen? Could such
experiments cause damage? Will
hurling protons at each other at
such a rate cause some sort of

rip in the time-space continuum?
Will their collision create a black
hole on earth?These and other
speculations have alarmed many;
however, though we know some

tions like the American Physical
Society (APS) concur with CERN
that there are minimal risks associated with the experiments conducted by the LHC.

© CERN/A. Saba

An inside view of the “Large Hadron Collider.”
will view the LHC’s operation as
an unnecessary human safety risk,
the fear of the unknown should
not keep humankind from exploring and asking questions.
The main critics of the LHC
argue that CERN cannot accurately predict what will happen
when particles begin colliding.
Some say that effects can produce
doomsday results, which is where
LHC’s nickname, “the doomsday
machine,” comes from.
CERN representatives have already addressed all of these safety
concerns
through
w i d e spread media statements and
publications. Even
outside
organiza-

A report from the APS notes, “…
there is nothing to fear from particles created at the LHC. In fact,
collisions just like those the LHC
will make have been produced by
cosmic rays bombarding the earth
throughout its existence. It would
take about 100,000 LHC experiments to match the number of cosmic ray events that have already
occurred. We can rest assured that
our planet will not be affected by
the four experiments about to be
conducted in Geneva.”
Some critics have also spread a

rumor that the LHC may create a
black hole or antimatter capable of
destroying the earth.
Steven Hawking, one of
the world’s most famous
and influential physicists,
told the BBC that this claim
is erroneous. “The world will not
come to an end when the LHC
turns on. The LHC is absolutely
safe. If the collisions in the LHC
produced a micro black hole and this is unlikely - it would just
evaporate away again, producing a
correctoristic pattern of particles,”
said Hawking.
Hawking added that the chance
of the LHC producing a black hole
is less than 1%.
In addition, some religious
groups argue that using the LHC is
akin to “playing God.” In fact, the
entire project’s objective has been
criticized as purposefully working
to disprove the existence of a god.
The same might have been said
for many other important scientific advancements for humankind.
Space travel, Darwin’s theory of
evolution, and various medical
breakthroughs have all been resisted by religious officials who
feared that the faithful may be led
to question an all-powerful god if
other explanations for human life
and sustainability could be offered
the public. However, such an argument not only limits human
advancement but undercuts the
foundation of faith. Those who
will choose to believe in a god will
do so, regardless of other explanations.

Point 1
- The LHC,
a powerful
particle
accelorator,
has the possiblity to be
destructive, but there is
great potential to futher
scientific reseasrch.

Point 2

- The American
Physical Society
says there is a
minimal chance
the LHC could destory
the Earth because it
would take 100,000 LHC
experiments to match the
number of cosmic ray
events that have already
occurred.

Point 3
- By not
turning the
LHC on,
humanity
would miss out on the
great innovations this
expierment has to offer.

© CERN/A. Saba

�SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Let’s Get Parked!
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer

Courtesy of Valhallatorrent.org

Webster’s dictionary defines the word
irony as “the use of words to express something other than, and especially the opposite of, the literal meaning” and “a usually
humorous or sardonic literary style or form
characterized by irony c: an ironic expression or utterance.”
It is also worth noting that Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic” contains no such examples of irony, which, in and of itself, could
be considered irony. But, we’ll just forget
that because she’s Canadian. And if there’s
one thing that I don’t need, it’s a cleverly
crafted song by a Canuck.
But I digress. The topic of this week’s rant
is not Alanis Morissette and her seemingly
forever greasy hair. It’s about something far
more sinister, far more rage inducing:
The ironically named Wilkes-Barre Parking Enforcement. Ironic because, while
they are enforcing the parking regulations
of downtown Wilkes-Barre, they themselves frequently violate those very same
rules while making things very unsafe for
commuters.
On any given day, one can see these public servants slowly driving around downtown Wilkes-Barre on an endless quest to
seek and destroy the wallets (and eventually
the psyche) of any poor soul who didn’t adequately fund their meter.
In reality, I have no problem with local
law enforcement penalizing those who violate the sacred trust of the parking meter.
Let’s face facts. It’s arguably more important than the Bill of Rights. Free speech is

important and all, but I need someplace to right lane will be blocked in several spots
park on Wednesday morning. Without that, due to moving vans, construction vehicles,
or other cars that are dropping people off.
my friends, we would have chaos.
So it’s only natural for Parking EnforceAnyhow, the parking debacle that is Wilkes-Barre is the result of what happens when ment to double park in the left lane in order
limited parking spaces meets increased de- to give out tickets to those who are in violamand brought on by college students. The tion of the parking meter. Listen, you idiots,
lack of adequate on-campus parking for it’s a one-way street, not a slalom. You’re
Wilkes students (We can’t figure out a better blocking the street, and making things unsystem for divvying out the parking passes? safe.
It’s not bad enough that you intentionally
How does a resident get a better shot at getting a permit than a commuter? Let’s think drive up and down the streets where college
about that for a moment.), has only exac- students are parked and take advantage of
erbated the situation, leaving fewer spots the fact that they have classes, but you sit on
their meters until the time runs out.
available for more people.
How do I know this? Because I see you
But my problem isn’t with the suits at our
fine university, it is with the Wilkes-Barre do it all the time. Meanwhile, there are cars
double-parked on Public Square evParking Enforcement, who are actually doery day, but nothing ever happens
ing more harm than good in their jihadto them, does it?
like quest to hand out a $25.00 ticket.
Imagine you’re a poor college
The problem isn’t that they give out
student who has to decide whether
an absurd number of tickets; it’s how
to pay a parking ticket or to buy
they do it. They drive around in
gas. The rub is that the ticket
their jeeps and wait for meters
will increase in 72 hours if
to run out. Trust me, they do
it’s not paid. How awesome
this. I’ve seen it, as have
is that? Word to the wise:
countless others. They will
don’t get a ticket on a Monliterally wait for five minday if you don’t
utes for a meter to run out
get paid until
so they can get their fix.
Friday.
If that’s not enough, they
But I guess
also deem it necessary to
that’s all we can
double park on Franklin Street
expect from the
while they write up the tickets!
“parking
police,”
Franklin is a cluster-screw of
right? I mean, you’re all just
a street; it’s a one-way, two-lane
guys who couldn’t make it
street that has meter parking on the
as cops, aren’t you? The
left side, and on the busiest hours
draw of giving people
of the day, it’s a safe bet that the
ci.burbank.html

Safety of Irradiated Foods Questioned
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

In the 1920s, a French scientist discovered
that the shelf life of food could be extended
if it were irradiated. Irradiation essentially
means to purposefully expose materials to
low doses of radiation.
After many years, this technology was
adopted by the United States during World
War II when government officials needed to
consider alternative ways to preserve food
for troops.
According to Wenonah Hauter executive
director of “Food &amp; Water Watch,” irradiation occurs when “astronomically powerful blasts of X-rays, electron beams, and
gamma rays are used to kill bacteria, to extend shelf life of food by delaying ripening
and spoiling, and to eradicate fruit flies and
other invasive pests.” Or in other words, it
is a way to control the amount of radiation
the food absorbs. The process is viewed as

a easy way to prevent bacterial outbreaks
such E. Coli and also terminate parasites.
After sponsoring a series of tests on various
types of food, in 1963, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) finally approved the
irradiation of wheats and flours. Post 1986,
numerous foods have also been approved
such as herbs and spices, pork, poultry, red
meat, and fruits and vegetables.
Naturally, the thought of blasting food
with potentially harmful X-rays, electron
beams, and gamma rays has raised a few
eyebrows. So far, the FDA has reported that
food irradiation is completely safe, and has
been adopted by over 37 countries worldwide, some of which have been using the
technique for decades. However, the FDA
has been wrong before.
Hauter explains that eating irradiated
foods will not cause you to “sprout a sixth
finger,” but it does create change to the
food’s composition.

According to the “Public Citizen,” a national non-profit public interest group, startling results have been recorded as far back
as 1968, which show that when irradiated
foods are fed to animals, side effects may
include: internal bleeding, fetal deaths, embryonic deaths, mutations, vitamin E deficiencies, and so on.
Here is an excerpt from the Public Citizen’s findings highlighted in a 1968 article
by A.T. Spiher titled, “Food irradiation: An
FDA report,” “A careful analysis by FDA
of all [Army] data present (including 31
looseleaf notebooks of animal feeding test
results) showed significant adverse effects
produced in animals fed irradiated food...
What were these adverse effects?... A decrease of 20.7 percent in surviving weaned
rats... A 32.3 percent decrease in surviving
progeny of dogs... Dogs weighing 11.3 percent less than animals on the control diets...
Carcinomas of the pituitary gland, a par-

tickets must have been too great to avoid.
Does it give you goosebumps knowing that
you just took some poor kid’s gas money for
the week? I bet the actual police don’t even
respect you guys. You’re like the Jermaine
Jackson of public servants in Wilkes-Barre.
Even though Michael is the crazy one, everyone scatters when you show up.
O.K., parking police, I’m going to help
you repair your image. Seeing as how my
tax dollars directly fund your little campaign, I think I’m more than entitled to tell
you how to do your job.
First: don’t double park when you’re giving out tickets. The roads are congested
enough without having to dodge your cars.
Instead, park your car at the end of the
block and walk down the street. Of course,
that means you need to be a little more active and you actually have to interact with
the people you’re ticketing, but that’s part
of the game, I guess.
Second: Stop targeting college students.
There are lots of streets in Wilkes-Barre
that I’m sure are teeming with cars that
have expired meters. Go and throw a few
tickets on there every now and again. I can’t
blame you for it, really, because all college
students are the same to you. Kids with no
respect for authority, green hair and nose
rings. But then again, you did go to college in the early 20s, so I can’t fault you too
much for that.
And finally…get a real job.
Thank you and good morning.

ticularly disturbing finding since this is an
extremely rare type of malignant tumor.”
In addition, the “Center for Food Safety” also wrote a letter to the FDA in 2003,
strongly encouraging officials to “reconsider the safety of all of its past approvals of
food irradiation.”
What to do?
Let’s be honest. Chances are that you
have probably already eaten irradiated food
in some form during the course of your life,
whether you knew it or not. If you are worried about health risks, it is easy to avoid
purchasing them, because the FDA now requires food to be properly labeled if it was
irradiated. The fact is that a large majority would agree that the FDA is both understaffed, and under-funded. But the FDA
needs to address the health findings above,
and reconsider the irradiation of all foods.
This type of technology cannot be used until long-term test results confirm that food
irradiation is 100% safe. No Questions.

�OPINION

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

Researchers reconsider Gardasil vaccine
BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Ast. Op-Ed Editor
Each year in the United States
3,700 women die from cervical
cancer and 9,710 more women develop cervical cancer, according
to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
But in the past two years, medical professionals have advocated
widely for a vaccine that they
have claimed could lower those
startling numbers: the Gardasil
vaccine.
“I chose to get my daughter
vaccinated because I want her to
be one less woman affected by
cervical cancer,” a mother says in
a Gardasil commercial as she sits
down beside her daughter on the
couch smiling.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and
reported Gardasil to be “the first

Cartoon by: Gino Troiani

........

YOUR
Dear Editor:
(Yes) I believe that President
Gilmour should sign the Amethyst
Initiative for Wilkes University. I
don’t say this so I can freely go
and binge around campus, I grew
out of that last year after realizing
that it really isn’t worth the risk.
Frankly, drinking parties aren’t
that fun. You have to watch for
any authority or enforcement figure during and after the party. The
music is always too loud, playing
the same boring junk that you can
hear on today’s popular modern

vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts due
to human papillomavirus (HPV)
types 6, 11, 16, and 18.” HPV
infects about 6.2 million Americans a year, which makes it the
most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.
The FDA reports that the Gardasil
vaccine “is effective against HPV
types 16 and 18, which cause approximately 70 percent of cervical
cancers and against HPV types 6
and 11, which cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts.”
The Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices advises
that girls between the ages of 11
and 12 get vaccinated before they
become sexually active; so many
state legislators are introducing
legislation that many require,
fund, or educate the public about
the HPV vaccine. According to
The National Conference of State
Legislatures,
17
states have enacted
this
legislation.
Michigan and Ohio
were the first states
to introduce legislation that requires
the HPV vaccine
for girls entering
sixth grade, but it
was not enacted in
either state.
Texas was the
first state to enact
a mandate requiring the HPV vaccine for school
entry (with some
♦ LLllm

exceptions) by executive order. that have occurred following vacLegislators in Texas passed H.B. cination do not necessarily mean
1098 to override the executive or- they are causally related.”
der and the governor withheld his
According to the FDA, Merck
veto, according to The National &amp; Co., Inc, conducted four studies
Conference of State Legislatures. on 21,000
women between
In 2007, Virginia legislators also t h e
ages of 16 and
passed a school vaccine require- 26
by giving them
ment, which is currently in the
either the vaccine
process of being removed.
or
placebo to see
m
.co how Gardasil affected
Charlotte J. Haug, M.D.
s
b
we different age groups. RePh. D., stated in the
e
fre sults show that Gardasil “was
New England Journal
of Medicine that
nearly 100 percent effective in
“we lack sufficient preventing precancerous cervical
evidence of an
effective lesion, precancerous vaginal and
vaccine against cervical cancer” vulvar lesions, and genital warts
and that “the overall effect of the caused by infection with the HPV
vaccines on cervical cancer re- types against which the vaccine is
mains unknown… How can poli- directed,” but “the study period
cymakers make rational choices was not long enough for cervical
about the introduction of medi- cancer to develop.”
cal interventions that might do
It is unclear whether or not Gargood in the future, but for which dasil prevents cervical cancer,
evidence is insufficient, especially but the FDA believes it is highly
since we will not know for many likely.
years whether the intervention
Enough research has not been
will work or-in the worst case-do conducted to show what long-term
harm?”
side effects Gardasil may cause or
On August 20, 2008, ABC re- whether or not the serous side efported on “World News with fects reported on ABC were even
Charles Gibson” that the HPV caused by the Gardasil vaccine.
vaccine potentially caused a seMany state legislatures are still
ries of serious side effects includ- processing legislation that would
ing 78 outbreaks of genital warts, require girls to be vaccinated for
18 deaths, and 6 cases of Guil- school entrance. Some of which
lain-Barre Syndrome (which can include the District of Columbia,
cause paralysis). Out of roughly Georgia, Illinois, and Kentucky.
8 million girls who have been vacMost states would allow parcinated, 9,000 of them reported ents to op-out their daughters
that they had serious side effects from being vaccinated, but a vacshortly after their shots. Dr Rich- cine should not be mandatory for
ard Haupt, the executive director school entrance if examinations
of Merck Research Laboratories, have not proven it to be completestated, “these reports of conditions ly safe and effective at all.”

: Amethyst Initiative
radio stations. That and the rooms
or buildings that the party happen
to be in... Well, let’s just say that
I feel sorry for the housekeeping
staff, unless those in the football
house actually clean the building.
I’m not afraid to admit that I
have been to parties in the past. I’m
also not afraid to say that I haven’t
been to one for quite some time.
Instead, I spend my weekends not
only working on homework, but
I have a few hobbies that do require time. I’ve also managed to
find a good group of people that I

can tell real understandable jokes
to and have a good time without
getting in trouble. Yes some of
them are 21, but to them drinking
is pointless, or for a reserved occasion.
I, for one, would like to see what
happens if the drinking age is
lowered to 18. I will also take the
opportunity to take advantage of
this law, but I won’t spend all my
money or waste my time and life
away like so many other people.
Instead of so many who drink X
number of beers, and Y number

of jungle juice drinks, and play Z
games of beer pong. No, I would
rather sit at my computer and talk
to my friends online, or hang out
with my local friends with a glass
of red wine.
Unfortunately I can see the
college scene turn into the high
school scene. With the drinking
age lowered, the threshold could
bring the binge drinking down to
a lower age.
Mark Simmons
Sophomore
Electrical Engineering

8
Beacon Poll Results:
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overall
attitudes of students on
campus.

The Beacon asked:
Should the United States
ban direct to customer advertising of prescription drugs?
• Yes - 97%
• No - 2%
• Depends - 1%

Next Week’s question:
Should scientists continue to
experiment with the “LHC”
device?
• Yes
• No
• Depends
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

It’s Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Global Scholars
Mentoring
PAGE 11

li ostyllos
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

9

Students audition to become the big blue face of Wilkes
BY BETHANY YAMRICK
Beacon Correspondent
The face of Wilkes has changed.
Now it’s big and blue.
With the celebration of Wilkes University’s 75th birthday, it seemed an appropriate year to roll out a whole new element
to school spirit: a redesign of the school’s
mascot. The new mascot is the first lifesized official mascot played by students in costume. Tryouts for this
position were held September 16
and 17.
Students came to tryouts
prepared, with props, resumes, and creative routines that varied from
athletic to serious to
funny. The routines
were
performed
during the open
30-second freestyle at tryouts.
“We did that
intentionally
to see how
creative and
how much
thought they
gave to what they wanted to
show us,” said judge and coordinator Christine Tondrick.
The students who tried out
are already widely involved at
Wilkes, and wanted to give
back while having fun,
Tondrick explained.
“They were all very
good in very different ways, so our decision will be difficult. Everybody
brings something
new to the table,”
said
Marketing
Communication
graduate assistant
Shannon Curtin at
the judging.
The new Colonel mascot costume was unveiled
at recent Club Day activities.
“This was an unveiling, but

not a formal introduction. The unveiling was
just an introduction to his look,” said Tondrick. “There has been 100 percent positive support for a reintroduction of a mascot
into the campus community and we have
received nothing but positive feedback.”
The students who will become the mascot
will be chosen based on performances at
tryouts, and from their callbacks. The callbacks, which were held on September 18
and 19, involved testing interaction
with people while in the new
Colonel costume.
There will be up to
three students chosen to attend mascot boot camp,
where they will
learn how to
bring their
own personalities to
t h e

mascot while creating a brand that is seamless no matter who is in
the costume. Requirements included good
academic standing,
and proof they
have held leadership
roles
in the past.
There will
be $3,000
s c h o l arships
awarded to
the three
who take
on the position as mascot,
which
will be an entire
year position.
The job of mascot
will be full time from

October 1
to September 30 of
2009. The
goal is to elevate school
spirit. The
mascot will
be a symbol of the
University
and what it
stands for,
as well as
recognized
in the community. The
mascot will
work with
coaches to
enhance the
cheerleadThe Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
ing routine.
“ W e ’ r e Judges watch and deliberate at the first Wilkes’ Colonel mascot tryouts.
very excited, Three students will be chosen to play the Colonel.
especially
prospective students. Since Wilkes didn’t
since they can come to practice with us and really have a mascot character at that time,
can work with our routines. We have never campus officials realized it was necessary
had that before,” said cheerleader Tanya to start thinking about one.
Feiertag.
“With expanding the ad campaign they
The mascot will be present at least one saw an opportunity to establish an official
home event for every sports team, and some mascot for the first time. We saw how a
other events such as play-offs. There will mascot could change the face of the cambe three students playing the mascot be- pus,” said Tondrick.
cause he will be requested at many events
There was much thought and hard work
for hours at a time. This leads to opportu- put into the redesign, from his props to atnity for a handler, which is someone who tire to color of his face. Comments were
accompanies the mascot to act as the voice, made on the face color being scary and “like
and relieves the mascot when the student a Smurf,” according to communications
gets tired.
major Sara Cosgrove. This was a decision
“The three students will work collectively by the design committee, to be sensitive to
as a team and when they are trained, they racial diversity. Several mascot programs
will better know how they can work togeth- from around the country were looked at to
er,” said Tondrick.
consider the redesign of the colonel.
The process of redesign for the mascot
The next step is familiarity, creating a
actually began two years ago. It originated brand and making sure he is likable, which
as part of the new ad campaign launched will be accomplished by the level of enerin 2006, to highlight the personal attention gy the mascot has and his introduction at
students receive at Wilkes University.
events. Furthermore Tondrick hopes that
The partner behind the remodel is a mar- “he will introduce new ideas and traditions
keting team in Philadelphia, called 160ov- to be involved in.”
erb90. When marketing representatives
As one of the students trying out said, “I
offered ideas, one focused on a new mas- think it will bring back the spirit of going to
cot hand delivering acceptance letters to the games.”

�LIFESTYLES

10

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

Serving to learn/learning to serve
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

Presumably, serving others shouldn’t be
something students have to learn. It should
be as natural as breathing.
But many schools are formalizing service
learning as a part of their curricula and even
high school and college graduation requirements.
According to the Corporation for National
and Community Service, service learning is
defined as “a method under which students
learn and develop through active participation…that meet actual community needs.”
While not yet a requirement at Wilkes
University, many academic programs integrate service learning as part of the curriculum.
“Service learning is occurring all across
campus. We just don’t know where it’s occurring,’” said Megan Boone, Wilkes’s director of Community Service.
While many courses are not directly referring to their out-of-classroom experiences
as ‘service learning’, there is one professor
in particular who is.
Dr. Jennifer Thomas, assistant professor

of psychology, has implemented service
learning into her curriculum. Thomas’ Adolescent Psychology class has been asked to
participate in a community service program
in accordance with the Lands at Hillside
Farms.
Each student from the course who participates will be matched with students from
a local high school. The groups will then
have particular projects to work together
and complete before the end of the semester.
“I wanted to help students see that what
we are learning in class is related to real life.
Also, I want my students to have a greater
understanding of the community that they
live in. I want them to feel more socially
responsible and give a greater sense of civic
duty,” stated Thomas.
Over the course of the semester, the PSY
222 course will be working directly with
Lake-Lehman High School to improve the
Lands at Hillside Farms. The class will
meet with their high school students a total
of five times to get to know one another and
work out their proposed problem.
“Hillside Farms has a lot of longstanding
projects. These projects need a large group

of people, as well as make an impact on the
organization. We want students to make
the connections with what they are learning in class,” said Boone.
Eleven students from the Adolescent
Psychology course will participate in Service Learning. Last Wednesday the group
met to do a team-building exercise in the
UCOM.
“We had a lot of fun. This is definitely
worth while. We get out of the classroom
and get a more hands-on approach,” said
junior Rich Pellegrini.
While Adolescent Psychology is one
area where service learning is being implemented this semester, it is not the only one.
According to Danielle Kern, an Americorps Vista coordinator in the Community
Service office, many courses use service
learning.
“We want to start institutionalizing service learning across Wilkes. Just getting
into the classrooms and seeing how passionate the community here at Wilkes is
about it is great. It really is a good opportunity for all of our students,” said Kern.
Thomas, Boone, and Kern, are prepared
to implement service learning into more of

her courses in the upcoming semesters.
“I want to implement it more in many of
my classes. Students could be placed in day
care centers, nursing homes or women’s
shelters to become more aware and make
more curriculum connections,” said Thomas.

Heuristic Pro
(ontu. v )

The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki

Dr. Jennifer Thomas instructs her adolescent psychology class. Members of the
class will participate in service learning.

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LIFESTYLES

11

New mentor program to aid underrepresented students

BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
and first-generation college students, two
Ice said the Center for Global
Beacon Lifestyles Editor
groups which have traditionally struggled. Education is looking for current
The college transition can be difficult for By instituting a program like this, Dr. God- students to help get the program
anyone but the lack of a knowledgeable love Fonjweng, Director of Global Edu- off the ground.
support system can make the change even cation and Diversity, believes that it will
Along with building studentcontribute to increasing diversity, and the faculty relationships, the proharder.
So in order to help students adjust, Wil- acceptance of diversity, on the Wilkes cam- gram also intends to pair incomkes University is developing a program that pus.
ing students with established
Another goal of the program is to expose students to create a peer-to-peer
brings that assistance right to campus.
The Center for Global Education and Di- the students to faculty members. According mentorship.
versity is putting together a Global Scholars to Ice, the benefit of this is to familiarize
“One of the reasons why we are
program, a mentoring program that targets students with professors’ research, and also targeting marginalized students
high-achieving incoming students from un- make them feel more comfortable to ask is that they often times don’t
derrepresented groups. According to Bran- questions if they do not
have other people to look for in
understand something.
don Ice, the associate director for Global
their classes,” Ice said. “So what
He hopes to have the program running we want to do is, connect those
Education and Diversity, this includes students from a minority background or those sometime this semester, or in January, at the students so they can see familiar
latest.
who are first-generation college students.
faces or feel more comfortable
“ We ’ r e
with sometrying
to
one who
develop a It’s awfully lonely in a classroom, and being asked to speak on behalf has lived
mentoring
through
of your whole group is an issue underrepresented students face.
program
this expeBrandon Ice, associate director of Global Affairs and Diversity
where we
rience beexpose them
fore.”
to
things
AccordFonjweng had first-hand experience of ing to Fonjweng, the program is
they may not have been exposed to before,”
he said. “We develop relationships that the benefits of close faculty-student interac- looking for mentors who will be
Photo courtesy of Brandon Ice
may not be part of everyone’s experiences. tion. As an undergraduate, Fonjweng took available to talk with the students
Students sign a wall in the Student Center by writing
part in a “take your professor to lunch” about their classroom experiences
Really, it’s a form of life coaching.”
messages in their native language. Activities such as
Arriving at a predominantly white cam- program. At lunch with his chemistry pro- and any other issues they are havthis work to promote diversity on campus, a major
pus can be difficult for minority students, fessor, Fonjweng said there was a give- ing adjusting to the campus. If
goal of the Global Scholars mentoring program.
so the program is developing ways to help and-take discussion where each learned a they share a major, the mentor
the transition. Talking with someone who little more about the unique experiences can also help with tutoring. He or
lems that some of our students have who
shares similar experiences and a common and backgrounds of the other.
she also can pass on experiences regarding are first generation,” Ice said. “It can be
After the lunch, Fonjweng and his pro- what to expect for a certain class, or what a listening ear, consoling, empathizing,
background can be a way to ease new stufessor developed a close working relation- activities would be beneficial to them.
dents into college life.
just someone who can relate to and share
“It’s awfully lonely in a classroom, and ship. His professor even started a collection
However, even if they don’t share a major, experiences.”
being asked to speak on behalf of your among the faculty to purchase Fonjweng an the mentors can work on building personal
The program aims to focus especially
whole group is an issue that underrepre- airplane ticket so he could attend his sister’s relationship with their partners.
on the sciences, and the trips that are
sented students face,” Ice said. “There’s an wedding in Cameroon.
Ice believes that mentoring transcends the in the developmental stage reflect that.
“Sometimes students look at professors classroom and focuses more on sharing life Possible trips include excursions to the
overall assumption that people know everything coming into the room or share the like they are of something out of this world, experiences.
pharmaceutical company Merck &amp; Co.,
but when you create an environment where
same background, and that’s not the case.”
“It might not to be ‘I can answer two plus Inc., Boston, Philadelphia, and New
The program’s goal is to increase reten- students can interact with their professors, two’ or to know what quantum physics are York City.
tion rates and graduation rates for minority they feel more comfortable,” he said.
about, but it can be dealing with life prob-

BY BETHANY YAMRICK
Beacon Correspondent

As co-captain of the equestrian club, Jessica Ashford is involved in one of the more
under-acknowledged clubs on Wilkes’
campus. “We are little and not many people
on campus and involved with the school
know about us, but I believe we are helping
Wilkes and putting the school’s name out
there,” Ashford said.
However, the club is deftly leaping high
fences by co-hosting a show with ESU in
Briarwood, New Jersey, on September 27.
There will be 80 riders present at various
riding levels from regional schools. Because of her leadership to the club, The
Beacon has chosen Ashford as its Student
of the Week.

The Beacon: Where do you see yourself
in 10 years?
Ashford: In ten years I see myself worki
ng as a pharmacist at a children’s hospital,
and still competitively riding horses.
The Beacon: Describe yourself in three
words.
Ashford: Fun, determined, and spontane
ous.
The Beacon: Finish this sentence. “My
friends would be surprised to know that
I…”
Ashford: I love everything Harry Potter.
Photo courtesy of Beacon archives

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Dead
PAGE 13

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

Party on the Square draws 1,400 to downtown
BY YOHANNA DE LOS SANTOS M.
&amp; CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon Asst. A/E Editor &amp;
Correspondent

The city of Wilkes-Barre, Diversity Partnership, Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business
and Industry and participating schools, welcomed back the students of the area with
the 5th annual Party on the Square held
last Thursday. An estimated 1,400 students
from all local colleges enjoyed food, music,
and games all in the name of deepening
college-community relations.
The State Police Bureau of Liquor
Control Enforcement was also out
in force for the event and made
14 arrests for underage alcohol possession and consumption. In addition,
two local bars were
cited for serving
to minors.
The purpose of
Party
on the
Square is to
integrate the
student population into the community and motivate
them to enjoy WilkesBarre as their home away
from home.
Administrative coordinator for
Wilkes-Barre, Bridget Giunta, said,
“It’s a welcome event for students in
the area to downtown Wilkes-Barre.”
Also, Party on the Square has become
an annual celebration of the revitalization
of downtown since businesses can directly
connect with students and have a better
sense for how to reach a target market.
“We always try to reach out to new businesses of the area to give them the opportunity [to connect with] the college community,” said Giunta.
Rachel Pugh, general manager of The
Weekender, expressed similar excitement
about the event. “We have been sponsors of
Party on the Square for five years now, and
this is the fifth anniversary so we are proud
of being part of the event again this year.”

The Weekender played an important role when it came to
advertising the party. The
weekly publication designed a college oriented issue, wrote
stories on college radio
stations
along
with

an
i n s i d e
story about
the
event.
Their main job
as promoters of the
event was to invite
the students to see what
Wilkes-Barre is doing for
the college students.
“We encouraged the entire
community to come, and that’s

where we step in,” said Pugh.
At 5 p.m. students from Wilkes
University, King’s College, Misericordia University, Penn
State Wilkes-Barre, and Luzerne County Community
College headed downtown to enjoy a variety of activities.
Some of the
highlights
and surprises
in-

cluded: Sartorio
and
Sons
Barber
Shop providing
“party-goers” with
free haircuts and 89.1
WSFX, LCCC’s radio
station, offered giveaways
ranging from CD flipping to
free T-shirts to getting and giving
free hugs.
“We had about 1,400 students at last
night’s event, which was an increase. Each

12

year we see an increase from the year prior
so that is right on target,” said Giunta. She
added that the goal for the 5th Party on the
Square was met in terms of attendance, and
“We also increased the participation from
the business community as well,” said Giunta.
Both live and recorded music entertained
the crowds. Junior English major Sarah
Hartman said, “I really enjoy the music.
So far it’s been things that I listen to on my
own.”
Though most of the students just went to
have a good time with their friends. Junior
computer science major Frank Kopyta said,
“I am an RA on campus and want to get
students involved more in activities, so I
brought a small group of my residents
with me.”
On the other hand, pharmaceutical science major and freshman Peter Bush said, “I’m
here for the student discount tickets for buses
to New York.”
The scavenger
hunt was a new
activity introduced to the party.
“Basically, there are
going to be different
things at different booths
in which the students have to
go to the booths and obtain that
item. There is a point system, so
depending of the points that you have
as a team or as individuals there are different prizes,” said Pugh in addition, the
mechanical bull was pretty popular among
students.
As the evening came to a close, people and
mascots danced to local a 80s cover band,
M-80, and watch a King’s student win the
Domino’s sponsored pizza-eating contest.
Top: Party on the Square attendant rides
mechanical bull on Thursday evening.

Bottom: Nate Myotte of GO GO Gadjet plays their last set at Party on the
Square

The Beacon/Jenna Stepens

�SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

British medium helps crowd connect with dead
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A/E Editor

williamsmedium.com
f : lisa

Both the living and the dead gathered in
the Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
on Monday, September 15, to see and speak
with Lisa Williams, a famous medium and
clairvoyant.
The lights dimmed and overwhelming
applause echoed throughout
the theater shortly after
8 p.m. as Williams
entered the stage.
The room was
filled with
skeptics
and devoted
fans

Graham’s case, down to the nickname she
gave her father.
While some incidents were very emotional, others were quite comical. In one case,
a man’s deceased mother was scolding him
for always being late.
People in the audience raised their hand if
they believed all of the clues fit the description of someone they knew. She called on
people to narrow it down as she received
more information and vibes from
the spirits. Sometimes
dozens of individuals felt as though
a spirit could
be
connected
with

son, which Williams explained was normal.
Sometimes more than one spirit could join
in order to convey similar things to their
loved ones in the audience.
Many people had high hopes for coming
in contact with their loved ones. Lynn Mullery of Plymouth wore her father-in-law’s
wedding band, hoping that bringing something of his would help to connect with
him.
After the show members of Lisa’s Fan
Club lined up in the lobby to chat and get
autographs and pictures.
“I think it is a great thing to make someone feel at ease with their loved ones,” said
audience member Lisa Harkins of Drums.
Fans were ecstatic when Williams
emerged from backstage. Although questions were left unanswered for some, many
others were content after Williams helped
them gain closure with their loved ones.
Williams is a British medium famous
for her work with communicating with the
dead. She first realized she had this gift
when she was a young girl and thought it
was normal that she could see dead people.

When she realized that not everyone had the
ability to do what she could do, she hid her
ability from her peers for fear of becoming
an outcast. As she grew older she came to
the conclusion that what she had was truly
a gift.
“Slowly I learned to embrace it,” Williams
said, when she was explaining her ability to
the audience.
She now uses her gift to help people work
with their deceased loved ones and resolve
conflict and provide closure. Williams travels to different venues to reach out to her
fans. Her Lifetime show, “Lisa Williams:
Life Among the Dead,” explores her daily
routine of helping individuals comunicated
with the dead.

Lisa Williams, host of: “Lisa Williams:
Life Among the Dead”, presented at
Kirby Center on September 15.

Great Food .
Great Friends.
Great Fun.

sy o
u r te

re

o
to c

t

o
Ph

alike,
all curious as
to
what
the evening
would bring.
Throughout the
show, Williams was
able to reach out to a number of individuals in the audience,
helping them to communicate with dead
friends and family members. As a spirit
would come to her, she most often began
with a name. Once she learned more about
the spirit, she would add both physical and
personality characteristics.
Tears streamed down faces as people
watched Williams uncover memories and
bring closure to some families. Lisa was
able to communicate with Exeter resident, Mari Beth Graham’s deceased father.
“What she was saying was so dead on, it
was unbelievable,” said Graham. Williams
was able to pinpoint very specific details in

them,
while
o t h e r
times it was
immediately directed specifically
at one particular person.
Eventually Williams narrowed it
down to one audience member and began to
ask questions of both the spirit and person,
making connections to establish more specific details from both individuals. Some
were able to come in contact with just one
deceased family member, while others connected with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and children.
Messages ranged from a simple “hello”,
to apologies and specific instructions. In
some cases, all of the characteristics and
messages from one scenario matched the
exact characteristics for more than one per-

Conveniently located in
N. Wilkes-Barre
Take N Main to Elm, Turn
Right at the Saloon

�SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Play review: Evita at the Wilkes-Barre Little Theater
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

A two-and-a-half hour musical about the history of the
government of a South American country doesn’t sound too
riveting.
But if you add in illicit sex and governmental corruption,
both under the glamorous backdrop of 1940s show business, then the picture just may become a little more compelling.
All of those facets come together in the musical Evita, a play written by Tim Rice and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 1970s.
It tells the story of Eva Peron, an illegitimate
child turned film starlet who became the notorious First Lady of Argentina in the World War
II years.
The musical kicked off the 86-year-anniversary of the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre. On
the September 20 show, 165 people filled the
theatre to watch the legendary story of Argentina come to Wilkes-Barre.
Evita began on a haunting note, with Argentine peasants mournfully circling the coffin of Eva Peron (played
by Nicole Rasmus). As the people of Argentina lament the
death of their First Lady, the narrator, Che (Dave Baloga),
sings cynically to the audience that her death is “our funeral
too.”

Everything after that is a flashback. We meet Eva as a
precocious fifteen-year-old from the wrong side of town,
who latches herself onto tango singer Augustin Magaldi
(Doug Hertel). With him, she escapes to Buenos Aires to
pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
One of the most comical parts of the musical was the
number “Goodnight and Thank You,” which chronicled
Eva’s self-promoting stream of lovers after she arrived
in the city. Man after man emerged from a literal
revolving door on stage, leaving a long line of
rejected lovers listening to Eva half-heartedly
explain to each, “Oh, but it’s sad when a love
affair dies.”
The strength of this rendition of Evita was
its number of extras on cast. With nearly 50
women, men, and children to play the people
of Argentina, the play was able to replicate the
energy and passion of Eva’s supporters, the
working class. This was especially noticeable
in “A New Argentina,” in which Eva wins the
people to her side to back her latest beau, military
man Juan Peron (Joe Sheridan), and their quest to take over
the country. The enthusiasm and sheer number of the extras
made the mob-like speech scenes believable, and gave the
audience a sense of how one woman could take a country
by playing a crowd.
Another noteworthy song included the classic “Don’t Cry

14

for Me Argentina.” With this strong song, Rasmus did an
excellent job of keeping her voice powerful without oversinging or screaming the words. She is believable as a
woman imploring her people to overlook her youthful indiscretions and to take her seriously in her plight to help
them.
The second act of the play takes the audience through the
pinnacle of the Peron years. The audience watches Eva jet
off to Europe, to show the riches of Argentina to the countries devastated by World War II. Then, she
brings that philanthropy home with “And the
Money Kept Rolling In (And Out),” in which
Eva sets up a foundation to aid the poor and
possibly to pad the Perons’ own Swiss bank account.
The play ends when Eva’s plan to run for Vice
President is thwarted by her sickness which
will later kill her. It culminates with a montage from the earlier songs that traces the path
of Eva’s life, from wily seductress to First Lady
to virtual saint of the people.
Just as the play began, it also ends on an eerie note. With
the lights dimmed and Eva’s coffin only visible, Che’s
voiceover hauntingly informs the audience that while
money was raised to build a spectacular tomb, it couldn’t
be used. After her death, Eva’s body went missing for 17
years.

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~:..

~
~
~
~
~
~
Son of Rambow
Where: Kirby Center
~
When: Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m.
~
~
~
~ NEPA Philarmonic-Transatlantic
Passages-Masterworks I
~
Where: Kirby Center
~
When: Sept. 27, 7:00 p.m.
~
~
~
~ Fall Classic &amp; Carnival BMX
~ Double Points Race and Open
House
~
Where: Hazleton City View BMX
~
track
~ When: Sept. 28, 12:00 p.m.- 6 p.m.
~
~
~
Keller Williams
~
Where: Sherman Theatre
~
When: Sept. 28, 8:00 p.m.
~
Cost: $21.00
~

111e11t1e11Ts

or TIii

W■■IC

••••••••

••••••••

••••••••

,.-;;~~~~~~~~~~

Across
1
Hugger’s need
5
Begin
10
Brillo ______
13
Page electronically
14
Completely opposite
15
Coldplay song, “____ La Vida”
16
Kent partner
17
SI unit for ohm
18
Imitated
19
Professor’s duty
21
Infinite
23
Egyptian king, for short
24
Visualize
25
Without presence of another
28
Burial Ground
33
Bronze medal place
34
Possessive pronoun

~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~

15

Kudracross

BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Correspondents

~

62

35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
44
45
46
47
51
55
56
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
Down
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Most common word
Low tides
Biblical verb
Tapered prop
Grief
European currency
Alicia Keys song
Course summary
Individual
Boston clock reading
Asian ethnic group
Those who personally sacrifice
Legally bonded
Jacob’s sibling
Barbecuer’s need
Dormant
Speech impediment
To rotate
Hot and iced ____
Dance type
Printed material mistakes
Pull abruptly
Competent
Study activity
Food list
Ghosts
Dalmation
Large book
Cheers choice
Be furious

9
10
11
12
15
20
22
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
34
37
38
40
41
43
44
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
57

Convey
Water transporter
Birds in Latin
Moms and _____
Car parker
New Year word
Bambi, for example
Cooks by slow boiling
Expression of dismay
Defamation
Complete disorder
Slender swimmers
Basic beliefs
Horned animal
Sanna county
New York state _____ way
Take away from
Campus social organization
Without difficulty
Close by
Reduction in pace
Pirate walk ways
Liquify by warmth
Largest continent
Carepnter’s tool
Active
Stereo opposite
Mental conception
Liveliness
Student work station
Billboard category

�Rinkside
Report

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

PAGE 18

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Volleyball women set to take on King’s this week
Lady Colonels now 1-1 in conference play
BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon Staff Writer
In their last three appearances on the
court, the Wilkes University women’s volleyball team has begun to prove its hard
work is paying off by coming out on top in
two conference matches against Manhattanville and Lycoming.
“Wilkes volleyball showed up to play,”
said junior Julie Page. “We are not only
going to have to maintain the skills that
we have but improve overall as a team to
make it to the top.”
The Lady Colonels certainly showed
up to shut down the Valiants of Manhattanville 3-0 in their Freedom Conference
opener. Wilkes held the Valiants to a .010
hitting percentage while dominating in
nearly every facet of the game. Marissa

Harrison and Katherine Harrington were
the stars of the game, combining for 19
of Wilkes’s 33 kills. Harrison also led the
charge with a team-high four service aces.
After not playing as well as they expected
in the non-league Scranton Invitational, the
Lady Colonels stormed into the home of the
Little League World Series and pounded the
host Lady Warriors of Lycoming College,
3-1. Harrington led the way, picking up her
first volleyball version of a double-double,
scoring 12 kills and 16 digs. Page also had
a quality night of her own with 11 kills and
only four errors. Sophomore Libero Allison Kelleher pitched in with a team high
24 digs. Harrison and freshman Katelyn
McGurk each broke the 20 dig barrier for
the first time this year with 23 and 21 digs
respectively.

The Lady Colonels then traveled to Center Valley, Pennsylvania where they took
on conference favorite DeSales in a tough
league matchup. The Bulldogs proved why
they were the preseason favorites, overwhelming the Colonels in straight sets.
DeSales played nearly perfect committing
only eight errors the whole night with a
.324 hitting percentage. “We need to work
on consistency all around,” explained Page.
“defense specifically; reading the other
team and getting to our positions to play
the ball.” The loss dropped the Colonels to
1-1 in Freedom Conference play.
Tonight, the Lady Colonels face off with
crosstown rival King’s in a crucial mid-season matchup. The last time the two teams
met, King’s had home court advantage and
escaped with a closer-than-what-meets-

BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
When head coach Frank Sheptock designed this year’s schedule for the Colonels, he wasn’t interested in booking mediocre programs for his team to demolish
for the sake of a pretty record.
Sheptock wanted the big dogs.
That’s why for the non-conference portion of the Colonels schedule, he scheduled
regionally-ranked teams, No. 8 Muhlenberg College and No. 24 Montclair State
University.
The Colonels barely lost both games on
the road and have one more chance at a
win over a non-conference opponent before MAC play begins on October 4.
This time, the Colonels are at home versus Christopher Newport University (0-1),
a Virginia program that reached the national tournament last year.
“I have a philosophy where I like to
schedule high ranked teams because it’s
about the challenge,” Sheptock said. “We
are a young football team (but non-conference games) demonstrate what we are
capable of.”
Last week, the Colonels had a bye week
and the emphasis during practice has been
remaining poised during critical situations
and executing in the red zone; which is

logical being that the Colonels led 21-20
entering the fourth quarter against Muhlenberg but lost 34-21. And against Montlcair
State, the team had offensive possession
for over 38 minutes but lost 13-6. Their
points came off two field goals by freshman kicker Chris Horn.
“We’re doing everything right until the
last play or last minute or second of the
half,” said senior wide receiver Jason
Prushinski. “But again, we are experiencing this early so that we can correct our
mistakes.
Prushinski leads the team in reception
yards (56.5 per game) and touchdowns
(2).
The Colonels might be able to find their
niche offensively against Christopher
Newport since the Captains have allowed
406 total yards, 337 of those were rushing.
Lead running back Jamar Beverly, who
averages 59.5 rushing yards per game,
should play a major role against the Captains.
The Colonels have used two quarterbacks this season. Junior quarterback Rob
Johnson. He averages 109 passing yards
per game. Freshman Ryan Cushman averages 26 yards per pass and according to his
teammates, he is not afraid to scramble out
of the pocket to pick up the first down.

The Colonels defense
will have to shut down junior running back Tunde
Ogun. He rushed for 89
yards against Salisbury as
the team posted 170 rushing yards total while using
four different ball carriers. The Captains junior
quarterback, Matt Long,
finished 6-15, with two interceptions for 127 passing
yards total. The Colonels
allow 218.5 passing yards
per game.
“We are playing these
teams that are nationally
ranked, top-ten even, and
we should be winning the
game,” Prushinski said.
“Progress is definitely
showing in practice and in
the games, even though the
record doesn’t show it.”
Kickoff is scheduled for
1pm.
(At Right) Number 36
Joshua Williams catches
the ball during practice
on Wednesday September
17 at Ralston Field.

the-eye 3 to 1 match victory. The loss has
no effect on the team and as Kelleher said,
“We have a big advantage going into the
King’s game because we’ve played them
before and we know what to expect. We’ve
also improved as a team since we last
played them. Not to mention we’re hungry
for a win and it’s Kings. That is enough to
get us pumped up to dominate.”
The question is which Wilkes team will
show up for the much anticipated city
match--the one that thoroughly embarrassed Lycoming and Manhattanville? Or
the one that came out flat against DeSales?
If it’s as good as anticipated, we could be
in for one for the ages in the Marts Center.
The only way to know is to show up for the
opening serve tonight at 7 p.m.

Colonels will host the Captains in home-opener

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

�SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

SPORTS

17

Women’s tennis still on top after four matches
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon OpEd Editor
The Wilkes women’s tennis team entered the season under much pressure to
perform at a high level. Mainly because
they are the defending conference champions.
Last week, the women had their work cut
out for them but made a statement when
they competed in three important matches,
Lebanon Valley on Wednesday, Eastern on
Saturday and Lycoming on Sunday.
Led by Michelle Knight, Xiaoqiao
Zhang, and Alison McDonald, all three
dominated in their singles matches against
a solid Lebanon Valley, helping the team
win with a 5 - 4 victory over the Dutchmen, setting the pace for the rest of the
week.
The Lady Colonels went 6-0 in singles
and 3-0 in doubles on both Saturday and
Sunday, rolling over their opponents with
ease.
So far, the girls are on fire, posting a record of 4-0 in team play, and have racked
up an impressive thirty two victories and
only four losses this season.
“I think that if we continue to work hard,

FIELD HOCKEY
from PAGE 20
Despite a close game on Thursday evening, Myers feels the historic Keystone
game was a much better performance and
displayed the progress the team has made
since the beginning of the year.
With only five goals scored against and
26 goals scored for, the forwards, defense
and goalkeepers have obviously dominated their opponents in the respective zones;
however the midfield is not to be forgotten
as they are key to fast transitions from the
defensive zone to offensive zone.
“I think our mids are our most consistent players and although mids might not
always get a lot of goals they set up our
team so well and its a hard position to play
because your all offense and your all defense and your running so much the entire
game but they’ve been consistent for 70
minutes every game we’ve had and I think
that really sets us apart,” Myers said.
Minix, who is third on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist, believes
much of the forwards success comes from
communication on the field and repetition
in practice.
“We [the forwards] all work really well
together and we all want each other to
score and we all want to score. We do
repetitive drills until it works,” Minix explained.

and play like we have been, we should
have no problem making it to nationals
again,” said Junior Xiaoqiao Zhang.
Indeed, with seasoned coach Chris
Leicht at the helm back for his sixth
season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they
kept the momentum rolling and defended their title.
Leicht said, ““I am glad we won this
close match. We will use this as a spring
board as we enter our tough conference
matches.”
The Lady Colonels’ next two games
are against FDU and Manhattanville on
Thursday September 25 and Tuesday
September 30. Both of which should
be easy wins for the women.
The only team that may pose a problem to Wilkes in the next couple of
weeks is the undefeated, Misericordia
Lady Cougars. But if the girls keep
up the level of play that they have exhibited in their first four games, they
should have no problem generating yet
another victory.
(At Right) Junior Xiaoqiao Zhang
prepares for the ball during Wednesday’s match against Lebanon Valley.

Senoir captain and defender Kerry Battersby believes the team has had an obviously awesome start to the season and one
of the keys to the defense’s success has been
working out problems from previous years.
Battersby said, “All three of our goalies
are really good and we worked out a lot of
kinks from last year. We [the defenders]
work really well together.
With two games this week including a
conference game against DeSales and eight
Freedom Conference games in their final
twelve games of the season, the pressure is
on for the team to not become comfortable
in their current play.
“September is all about getting people in
the right positions and fixing our mistakes
and working on the little things to be ready
for October. I think every game we have
gotten better at the little things so hopefully that will carry into October and help
us against our conference schedule,” Myers
said.
Battersby added, “Our motto is never be
satisfied, so I think the three of us [captains]
are all on the same page that we never want
to give up. We just try to be silent examples, always push ourselves on the field and
we push each other.”
The Lady Colonels will be back on the
road this week, traveling up 81 north to visit the University of Scranton on Thursday
September 25 and then opening their conference play against DeSales University on
Saturday September 27.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

18

RINKSIDE REPORT
WBS Penguins coverage and analysis
BY MICHAEL CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer

Four months ago, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had their backs to the wall.
Trailing the Portland Pirates 3 games to 2
in the Eastern Conference finals, the Penguins needed a win at home in Game 6 to
keep their Calder Cup dreams alive.
After a scoreless opening frame, Portland
dominated the second period, scoring three
goals during a span of 5:33 to take a 3-0
lead. The last goal came with just thirtythree seconds to play in the period.
“When Portland went up 3-0 it was tough,
because we kept fighting and fighting and
nothing was coming up,” said Rob Tonnesen, a 2008 Wilkes graduate and Penguins fan who attended the game.
Throughout the season, the Penguins had
not relied on their offense to win games.
Despite winning the American Hockey
League’s East Division, Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton (223) scored the third fewest goals
out of any team that qualified for the AHL
playoffs.

At the time of Portland’s third goal, the
Penguins had scored only once in the last
113:07 they played. Mike McKenna, who
replaced the injured Jean-Sebastian Aubin
as Portland’s goalie in Game 3, had turned
away everything the Penguins threw at him.
Tonnesen added, “Seeing the time just melt
away in the second period, I felt like there
was nothing we could do in order to get one
past McKenna.”
Then, with only twelve ticks left on the
clock, Connor James took a drop pass from
Alex Goligoski and snapped a shot past
McKenna to put the home team on the
scoreboard.
The comeback was on.
Chris Minard scored twice in the third period, setting the stage for one of the most
dramatic overtimes in the team’s nine-year
history. It was a do-or-die situation in its
purest form; if the Penguins didn’t score the
next goal, they would be eliminated.
They needed a hero.
They found one.
Only twenty seconds into the extra session, James rushed in on the Portland de-

fense and roofed a shot over McKenna’s
glove, capping the Penguins’ comeback and
forcing a winner-take-all game seven.
Aubin returned to the Portland net in the
final game, but it didn’t matter. The Penguins rode the momentum of their win the
night before to a 3-2 win. Former Pirate Tim
Brent scored the game-winner, breaking a
2-2 tie with just thirty seconds to play in the
third period, sending the Penguins into the
Calder Cup Finals for the third time in team
history.
Despite their heroic comeback against
Portland, the Penguins could not tame their
next opponent, the Chicago Wolves. Chicago won the first three games of the series, putting the Penguins in a hole that they
could not crawl out of. Despite winning
games four and five at home, Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton ultimately fell in six games.
While last season’s team may not have
lived happily ever after, the next chapter
in Penguins history begins on September
23, when the team opens training camp.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will play four preseason games in preparation for the regular

s

season home opener on Wednesday, October 8 against Hershey.
It’s going to be difficult for this season’s
team to top the performance of the team
that came within two wins of capturing the
Calder Cup.
But if last season’s squad taught fans
anything, it has to be that nothing is impossible.

WBS Penguins Preseason Schedule
Friday, September 26
Penguins @ Binghamton, 7:05 PM
Saturday, September 27
Penguins vs. Binghamton, 7:05 PM
Friday, October 3
Penguins vs. Hershey, 7:05 PM
Saturday, October 4
Penguins @ Hershey, 7:00 PM
For additional coverage during the
week, check www.wilkesbeacon.com.

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�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

19

Men’s soccer loses 6-0 to Dickinson

Return to Ralston Field spoiled after impressive road trip
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

After winning two straight road games
over Widener and regionally-ranked
Muhlenberg by scores of 2-0, the Wilkes
University men’s soccer team had high
hopes as it returned home to face Dickinson
at Ralston Field on Wednesday, September
17. Those hopes were dashed, however, as
the Colonels were routed by a score of 6-0.
Both teams fought hard throughout the
beginning portion of the game, with neither
side able to score. Dickinson’s John Freed
eventually broke the scoreless affair, putting
the ball in the net off of a cross from Taylor
Ferry with just under two minutes to play.
“We played at least evenly with another
regionally ranked team in the opening 43
minutes, forcing them to clear two balls off
of their end-line,” said head coach Philip
Wingert after the game.
“We were able to do this with two starters
sidelined with injury for the match. After
analyzing the goals allowed, we can learn
from those opportunities and continue to
solidify our team defense,” he continued.
Both teams took just four shots in the first
half.
The second half saw the Dickinson Red
Devils break open the game. Not a minute after senior goalkeeper TJ Baloga made
a save for Wilkes in the opening moments

of the half, Dickinson’s Ben GemberlingJohnson was able to find the back of the
net for their second goal. They were also
able to score again two minutes later, this
time on a shot from Zach Pritchard off of an

linquish.
The Colonels threatened Dickinson multiple times but were never able to break
through; sophomore forward Ryan Phillips
had the best opportunity to score when he

The Beacon / Gino Troiani

Despite playing Dickinson tough in the first half, the Colonels found themselves on
the wrong end of a 6-0 decision at Ralston Field on Wednesday, September 17.
assist from Thomas Parkinson. The three
goals, all coming within five minutes of actual game time, allowed Dickinson to take
a comfortable lead that it would never re-

shot on an empty net from within the penalty box in the first half. The shot attempt
was blocked by a Dickinson defender, however. Matt Edgar, Dale Rodman, and Mike

Montross would later add goals of their own
to help the Red Devil’s win the game by the
score of 6-0.
“In the first half we were the better team
but allowed a goal late in the half. In the
opening two minutes of the second half, we
allowed Dickinson a very ‘soft’ goal, putting them up 2-0. As a result they had a
two goal lead in a game and a high energy
level at that time,” said Wingert. “We, on
the other hand, had played very well but
[lost our energy after falling behind]. We
were unable to establish an intensity level to
match Dickinson in the second half,” concluded the coach.
The Colonels’ loss was unfortunate considering the impressive road wins they had
strung together before their game against
Dickinson. Said Wingert, “[When we
played Muhlenberg] we played off of each
other’s intensity and energy, capitalizing on
our scoring opportunities. In the Widener
match we created the most scoring opportunities of all of our matches to that point.
In both matches the team defense bent,
but never allowed an opponent to break
through.”
“I think in order to improve we simply
need to learn how to play better for an entire
game instead of just one half,” said junior
defender Keith Gardiner.

Lady Colonel’s soccer ties Lebanon Valley 1-1
The Lady Colonels played Lebanon Valley College to a 1-1 tie in a double overtime game on Tuesday, September 16, at
Annville.
After falling behind 1-0 just four minutes

into the game on a goal from Lebanon Valley’s Lauren King, the Wilkes University
women’s soccer team clamped down on defense. Freshmen forward Katy Fissel scored
for Wilkes in the game’s 62nd minute to tie
the game.
The Lady Colonels out-shot Lebanon Valley 13-8 and had four more shots on goal

Football

Men's Soccer

Women's Tennis

Volleyball

L 6-0 Dickinson
L 1-0 @ Elizabethtown

w 5-1 LVC

W 3-1 @ Lycoming
L 3-1 @ DeSales

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

DNP

Field Hockey
W 2-0 Gwynedd Mercy
W 8-1 Keystone

Women's Soccer
T1-1 LVC
L 1-0@ NYU

than their opponent. Lebanon Valley had
just two shots on goal the entire game.
“We played hard for each other after the
first 20 minutes or so. The effort put us in
a position to win and I was pleased with
our ball movement at times. We will work
on the discipline in our style but we made
progress today,” said head coach John Su-

Doubles: 2-1
Singles: 3-0

Men's Tennis
Muhlenberg Tournament
Singles: 2-4
Doubles: 2-1

moski.
The Lady Colonels (3-4-1) next play Manhattanville this Sunday at Ralston Field in
an important Freedom Conference match.
The game begins a stretch of four straight at
home that the women can use to help build
on their record.

Cross Country
Cougar Classic:
Women-7th
Men-9th

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

Field Hockey continues domination of opponents

20

Team remains undefeated after 7
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor

goal of the game and junior Brittney Sines
would score the final goal of the game just
past the 60 minute mark.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport
continued to perform strong as stopping the
two shots she faced from the Knights.
The Lady Colonels returned home Thursday after four straight away games as
Gwynedd Mercy visited from Gwynedd
Township, PA. Senior Devon McKay
scored first for the Colonels, connecting on

stopped the three shots she faced from the
Griffins.
Saturday’s game against Keystone College proved to be historic for the Lady Colonels as the team easily defeated the Giants
8-1 in front of 120 people at Ralston Field.
Eleven different players recorded points for
Wilkes and freshman goalkeeper Caitlyn
Jordan recieved her first collegiate start in
goal for the Colonels.
Minix was first to score for Wilkes as she

for the Colonels. Sines was credited with
an assist on Keegan’s goal.
When you’re hot, you’re hot and that’s
Keystone’s only goal of the game was
exactly the word to describe the Lady
scored 31 minutes in; however the goal
Colonels field hockey team.
was scored on a mistake by Wilkes. FreshThe forwards have worked together for
man Alyssa Davis attempted to block Keya combined 26 goals on the season while
stone’s shot but the ball deflected backthe defense and goalkeepers have allowed
wards into the cage. Nicole Macedonio
just five goals in the cage. The midfield
was credited with the goal for the Giants.
has consistently transitioned the ball from
The Lady Colonels would dominate
one end of the field to the other throughout
the second half again scoring four goals.
the season. Oh yeah and,
Koncelik would open the
the team is also undefeatsecond half scoring as she
ed seven games into the
scored her second goal of
season, making the 2008
the game and team high
season the best start in
seventh goal of the season
team history.
on a pass from Gina Elmy.
The Lady Colonels
McKay would score the
were in action this week
next two goals for Wilwith three games in seven
kes. Elmy was credited
days. On Monday Sepwith her second assist of
tember 15 the team travthe game on McKay’s
eled to Arcadia Univerfirst goal and senior Disity in Glenside, PA, and
ana Wright assisted on the
then hosted Gwynedd
other. Freshman Lindsey
Mercy on Thursday SepRaleigh would round out
tember 18 and Keystone
the scoring for Wilkes
College on Saturday
finishing on a pass from
September 20.
sophomore Angela PassaThe team easily demonte with seven minutes
feated Arcadia 5-0 as five
left in the game.
different players scored
The seventh straight win
for the Colonels. Senior
for the Colonels marks the
forward Alyssa Koncelik
best start in school history
was the only goal scorer
for the field hockey team.
of the first half when she
Head coach Sara Myers
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
connected on an unasis
pleased with the perforNumber 23 Amanda Peters battles a Keystone defender for the ball during Saturday’s game at Ralston Field. Wilkes
sisted shot 22 minutes
mance
of the whole team
went on to win the game 8-1. The team will be away this week and returns home Thursday October 2 when they host
into game.
thus
far.
Despite a tiring
FDU-Florham at 4:00p.m.
Junior Jennifer Keegan
schedule this week, she
was the first to score in the second half, an unassisted shot 16 minutes into the game. finished on a pass from Peters just under believes the team is conditioned enough
posting a goal 12 minutes in the half Koncelik scored her fifth goal of the season nine minutes into the game. Koncelik was where fatigue never became an issue for
and Wilkes never looked back. Kon- on a pass from freshman Amanda Peters next to connect for Wilkes as she pushed in Wilkes.
celik forced a penalty shot shortly after and secured the win for the Lady Colonels a pass from Minix. Koncelik’s goal would
Keegan’s goal in which junior defender in the second half.
prove to be the game winning goal.
See FIELD HOCKEY
Amanda Tilley connected on. Freshman
The team posted their fourth shutout of
Keegan and sophomore Alyson Paulauson PAGE 17
Chelsea Minix scored the Colonels fourth the season and third straight as Davenport kas would round out the first half scoring

Take the drive and visit the Bloomsburg Fair
now until Saturday. The
gates open at 7:00a.m.
and close at 9:00p.m.

Visit Cold Stone Creamery
in Moosic and buy an ice
cream from 6:00p.m. to
9:00p.m. 25% of all profits will be donated to the
Salvation Army.

Enjoy the production of
“Picnic” at 8:00p.m. in the
Dorothy Dixon Darte Center put on by Wilkes‛ Department of Theater and
Performing Arts.

Attend the Global Partners Mixer from 7:00p.m.
to 9:00p.m. in the Miller
Room. The event is free
and sponsored by Diversity
Affairs.

It‛s that time of year
again! Go to the Gravestone Theatrical Haunted
House in Plains, PA from
7:00p.m. to 11:00p.m.
Admission is $10.

�</text>
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              <name>Description</name>
              <description>An account of the resource</description>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366514">
                  <text>&lt;p&gt;This is Wilkes University's &lt;em&gt;Beacon&lt;/em&gt; Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the &lt;em&gt;Beacon's&lt;/em&gt; predecessors, &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Bison Stampede&lt;/em&gt;, 1934-1935 and &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Beacon&lt;/em&gt;, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact &lt;a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua"&gt;Bucknell University's Special Collections Department&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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              <name>Creator</name>
              <description>An entity primarily responsible for making the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366515">
                  <text>The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department.</text>
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              </elementTextContainer>
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              <name>Date</name>
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              <name>Rights</name>
              <description>Information about rights held in and over the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366517">
                  <text>Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. </text>
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              <name>Format</name>
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              <name>Language</name>
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                  <text>Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a &lt;a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/"&gt;legacy website&lt;/a&gt;. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward.</text>
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FAIR

pOLISH ROOM
PAGE 9

RUGBY
PAGE 16

PAGE 12

The
I

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Democratic vice presidential candidate stops by WB
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor

On Thursday, September 24, approximately 500 people gathered in Nesbitt Park,
Wilkes-Barre, to welcome Democratic vice
presidential nominee Joe Biden.
In attendance were numerous elected city
officials, war veterans and parents with
young children in strollers or peering over
the top of the crowd on their fathers’ shoulders. Children and adults alike held signs
supporting Barack Obama and Biden and
expressing their hope for change throughout the nation.
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Laborers’ International Union of North America
(LiUNA) also represented their groups and
came with signs and shirts to show their
support for the Democratic ticket.
“It’s very important that we get the vote
out here in November. Senator McCain’s
plan does not affect Wilkes-Barre in a positive way, it affects it in a negative way. We
need people in Washington who are going
to fight for cities like Wilkes-Barre...” said
Leighton, who addressed the crowd and
officially began the rally. “We saw what
happened in the city of Wilkes-Barre with

Wilkes University’s Sidhu School of Business recently established an exchange relationship with Punjabi University in Patiala,
Punjab, India, that requires Indian students
enrolled in the program to eventually attend and graduate from Wilkes University’s

Issue 4

Texting dangers lead
to nationwide bans
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor

come to Wilkes.
Assistant professor of business Dr. Jennifer Edmonds explained, “Last year we
went to have face-to-face contact with the
faculty to be sure that [the students] would
be taught similarly to how we would conduct a classroom... It’s like a long-distance

On Monday, September 15, the Westchester County Board of Legislature voted
unanimously to ban reading and sending
text messages while driving the streets of
Westchester, New York. The law will be in
effect in March 2009 and any driver caught
texting will be fined $150.
From New York to California, many municipalities and even states across the nation are taking steps to ban the use of handheld devices while driving cars, trucks and
trains. The act of making a phone call, or
trying to type a text message while paying
attention to the road or tracks, is creating
many dangerous and even fatal situations
across the nation.
According to Jennifer Steinhauer and
Laura M. Holson, authors of “As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks,” in response to the
investigation into a deadly crash between a
commuter-train and a freight-train in Los
Angeles earlier in the month, “The California Public Utilities Commission announced
an emergency measure… temporarily banning the use of all mobile devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.”
It is alleged that the engineer of the commuter-train was sending and receiving text
messages moments before the commutertrain collided with the freight-train, resulting in 25 deaths and over 100 injuries.
Passengers and drivers are not the only
ones at risk when they are texting. According to Local6.com, 14-year-old Christopher
Cepeda died Monday, September 22, after
stepping into the path of a 1998 Buick in
Davenport, Fla. Cepeda had his head down

See PUNJABI page 4

See TEXTING page 5

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) addresses a crowd of approximately 500 Obama supporters and volunteers at Nesbitt Park in Wilkes-Barre last Thursday.
a Republican leading this country, nothing
got done. Nothing came out of Washington
to help small cities like Wilkes-Barre and
Scranton... We need leadership that will

not forget about Main Streets and cities like
Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. We need lead-

See BIDEN page 2

Business faculty strengthen ties to Punjabi University
BY CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon Asst. News Editor

Volume 61

Master’s of Business Administration program.
In an effort to encourage cross-cultural
awareness among the students and faculty
alike, business department faculty members are heading across the world to gain
insight into Indian customs and learning
styles as well as to offer helpful insights
to the Indian students who will eventually

ONTHEWEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion........... 6-8

Lifestyles ....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports .......... 16-20

Established 1936 w· &gt; ·
&gt;
PA Newspaper
· .·
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�NEWS

kerry
dy
kenne
page 3

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

BIDEN

from FRONT PAGE

ership that will help us grow and
continue to grow.”
With chants of “You fired up?”
“Ready to go!” Mark Murphy, a
field organizer with the Campaign
for Change, reminded the crowd
that Pa. is the most important state
in this election and told them that
“the keys to victory are in your
hands right here today.”
Community member and grassroots Obama volunteer JoAnne
McDade introduced Biden after
speaking to the crowd about the
hardships she has witnessed her
neighborhood endure
over the past eight
years. She spoke about
looking forward to tax
cuts, universal health
care and help with her
children’s college tuition if Obama and
Biden are elected.
“I look forward to
unity... My work with
this campaign has been
a gift to me. It’s opened
my eyes to all members
of my community. No
one’s an age, no one’s a
gender, no one’s a race
and no one’s a skin color. We’re all Americans
with hopes, dreams and
a hunger for change,”
said McDade.
Biden, who was
raised in Scranton,
thanked Wilkes-Barre
for welcoming him and
began to speak of the many changes he and Obama have promised
to bring to the nation.
While construction vehicles and
city workers continued work on

the riverfront project on the opposite side of the Susquehanna
River, Biden spoke of ending
the war, earning back the respect
of foreign countries, and
Obama’s ideas for the Wall
St. bailout.
“If Wall St. investors are
going to get help, then Main
Street has to get help,” Biden
said Obama had planned
to say to the president on
Thursday afternoon. According to Biden, McCain’s
plans for bailing out Wall St.
last Wednesday did not address or include any positive
changes for middle class

families.
Biden also told the crowd that
they need to elect Obama because
America needs a president who
understands smaller cities and

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

how to define the middle class.
On energy, Biden told the crowd
that he and Obama will create 5
million “green” jobs at home and

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn.frear@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

nurses because the demand for
them is so high due to the number
of veterans with brain injuries and
post-traumatic stress disorder re-

30 years and has worked closely
with him in the past, but “we need
more than a good soldier. We need
a wise leader to take us through
these times.”
“A lot of politicians talk about
reaching across the
aisle, but yesterday [Wednesday]
Barack Obama...
picked up the
phone and called
John McCain. He
said... John we’ve
got to work together on this. Let’s
get this thing fixed
now and we could
argue later about
what caused this
crisis.’ He actually, unlike all the
rest of the people
talking, has demonstrated and has
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
changed the tone.
turning home from He will prepare the change the
the war.
tone in Washington. Ladies and
Obama
and gentlemen, this is what we mean
Biden also want by leadership,” said Biden.
to help students
Aaron McCurty, a sociology mawho
volunteer jor at Luzerne County Community
frequently pay for College in Nanticoke, attended the
college tuition.
rally on Thursday and is satisfied
“Imagine a coun- with Obama’s choice of Biden as
try where everyone his running mate. “Obama will
who qualifies to go bring common sense change that
to college, can af- transcends the average politics
ford to go to col- of Washington and the White
lege,” said Biden. House… If there’s any absence of
“The hallmark of experience Obama has, Joe Biden
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens the Northeast has makes up for that, especially with
been that we have foreign policies.”
eventually “breathe clean air and always volunteered. Ladies and
“I would not have joined this
drink clean water” again. Besides gentlemen, imagine a nation where ticket unless I believed that Barack
new green factory and construc- public service is really rewarded.” Obama would be the bridge betion jobs, Biden also said that
Biden mentioned he has been tween what we imagined and what
he wants to see more psychiatric friends with John McCain for over we can do,” said Biden.

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Design Chief: Alison Woody
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager:
Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
TheChristine
Beacon/Jenna
Stephens
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Meet our business managers...

Michle Flannery &amp; Christine Zavaskas

�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

NEWS

Kennedy visits area and weighs in on presidential race
No other family is more closely linked to
politics in the United States than the Kennedys.
On Saturday, September 27, Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Robert
F. Kennedy was in Lackawanna County to
articulate her support for Senator Barack
Obama at a canvass kickoff event at the
Scranton Obama headquarters. Kennedy
took some time to talk to The Beacon about
the election and her candidate of choice.
The Beacon: What brings you to northeastern Pennsylvania today?
Kerry Kennedy:Well, I was here to campaign for Barack Obama and Joe Biden for
the next president of the United States. You
know, Pennsylvania is key to this election
and Lackawanna County, in particular, is
key to Pennsylvania. The Obama campaign
has put enormous effort into Pennsylvania.
It’s the biggest grassroots effort in Pennsylvania’s history. We’ve opened up 78 offices
across the state and held over 4,500 events
organized by MyBarackObama.com since
June 1. As a result, Democrat voter registrations lead Republican registrations by over
1.1 million. That’s twice as much as we had
in 2004.”
The Beacon: How much time have you
and your family spent on the road for Senator Obama?
Kennedy:Well, I am thrilled about this
because I was in Lackawanna County in
Scranton and Dunmore today. In the last
few weeks, my brother Max Kennedy has
been here, my mother Ethel Kennedy has
been here, my sister Kathleen Kennedy
Townsend has been here, my brother Bobby
Kennedy has been here. So this is sort of our
home away from home. Of course Lackawanna County has always been important
to my family. President Kennedy spoke
here at the Sons of St. Patrick in 1960. My
father, Robert Kennedy, spoke at the Sons
of St. Patrick in 1964. It is sort of our home
away from home.
The Beacon: Do you know if the Obama
campaign is worried about losing the Irish
Catholic vote at all?
Kennedy: Well, I think that the campaign
is making an enormous effort in Scranton
and their response has been very strong. I
think it is very strong because people see
that Obama and Biden will deliver real
change by ending the politics and policies
that are rigged against everyday people.
They will end the Bush policy of showering
the big corporations with tax giveaways and

instead they will cut taxes for 95 percent of
working families and penalize companies
that ship American jobs overseas.
The Beacon: For your purposes and your
fight [as a human rights advocate], what do
you believe Senator Obama brings to the
fight for human rights over Senator McCain?
Kennedy: The two biggest disasters facing
the United States at the moment are wholly
made and constructed by George Bush and
people like John McCain, who have supported him 90 percent of the time. And
those are the war in Iraq and the economic
disaster. We would not be facing problems
with either of those if Barack Obama were
president. Why? Because Obama was always against the war in Iraq, McCain/Bush
were for it. We have now lost over 4,000
American lives, countless Iraqi lives. We
have diverted attention from the real terrorism threat, which is the al-Qaeda, which has
been able to rebuild in Afghanistan. And it
has cost billions of dollars.
Meanwhile on the home front, on the economic front, why do we have this disaster?
It is quite simple. We have this disaster because of the failure of the federal government to do its job of regulating the banking
industry. Why? Because the Republicans,
George Bush, and John McCain’s entire
life has been against government regulation, and because the SEC [Security and
Exchange Commission] failed to regulate
the banking industry. They were allowed
to go off and package these insecure loans
and mortgages and that is why we have this
disaster today that threatens peoples ability
to pay for their houses, the capacity to secure new loans for new cars and to secure
new loans for small businesses. And we and
our grandchildren are going to be paying
for this. I think people understand what the
stakes are in this election and they want to
have a change.
The Beacon: You are pleased with Senator Joe Biden as Senator Obama’s running
mate then?
Kennedy: Yes, exactly, and I think it’s
interesting you asked about the Catholic
issue. We have, for the first time, two vice
presidential candidates, both of whom were
baptized Catholics. Both say their faith is
important to their outlook and their public
service. In Barack Obama we have a presidential candidate who in his stump speech
calls on us to look to our ‘better angels.’
So there is a lot of faith in this campaign.
On the other end, Sarah Palin, I think raises eyebrows and questions when she asks
that people pray that the war in Iraq and
the Alaska oil pipeline are ‘missions from

God’.
The Beacon: If you had a chance to talk
to the people who supported Senator Hillary Clinton and now support Senator McCain because of the outcome of the primaries, what would you say?
Kennedy: What I would say to them is
just what Hillary Clinton said to everybody
at the convention, which is, ‘You weren’t
supporting me because of me. You were
supporting me because of the issues that I
stand for: economic justice in this country,
ensuring that we have a strong economy
and that people can keep their houses and
that their small businesses can expand and
that there is health care for everyone. And
if those are the issues that you care about,
then you need to vote for Barack Obama.
Don’t take this personally, there is too much
at stake. We are talking about our future and
our children’s future and our grandchildren’s
future.’ I think that is what I would say, and
I think it is just so apparent that John
McCain is so completely out
of touch with the reality of
working Americans. This
is a man who owns eight
houses, owns eleven cars,
his wife owns her own
private jet. This guy has
no clue what it means
to be a working American and to be struggling
with these issues. Literally, when they asked
his wife, ‘How many
houses do you have,’ she
couldn’t answer the
question. When they

Courtesy of www.lmc.edu

BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

3

asked him, ‘How many cars do you have,’
he couldn’t answer the question. This is not
your typical American family and it’s clear
that they don’t know what it means to be
struggling in this country.”

The Beacon: So you think that Senators
Obama and Biden are in tune to the American public then?
Kennedy: Senator Obama has one house
and one car. Sen. Biden grew up partly in
Pennsylvania and then in Delaware and has
working class roots, and that is who he is
and that is who he is all about. But more
importantly than where they came from
is what they stand for and what they are
working on today and their vision for what
America will be under their administration.

The Beacon: Is there anything else that
you would like to add?
Kennedy: I think we’re blessed to be living in a country born of revolution where
institutions are capable of
change because of citizen activism...We fail
to participate in its
political process
at our peril and
everyone needs
to register and
vote.

�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor
Election Update
On Friday, September 26, Sen. Barack
Obama, D-IL, and Sen. John McCain, R-AZ,
met for the first time to debate their much talked about policies. The event was held at Ole
Miss, the University of Mississippi, and was
moderated by Jim Lehrer, the host of PBS’s
NewsHour. Throughout the night the candidates sparred over several topics including the
economy and their foreign policies.
Overall, there was no clear winner of the debate. Each candidate played it safe by promoting their policies and platforms; however, there
were some winners in individual categories.
In theatrics Obama won with a few points.
He looked at the camera, not Jim Lehrer or the
audience. Obama attempted to speak to McCain, even though McCain did not acknowledge Obama throughout the debate. McCain

PUNJABI
from FRONT PAGE
relationship. Sometimes you just have to go
see them.”
And they did. Several Wilkes professors
even teach classes for the duration of the stay
to become more in touch with the students and
to prepare them for what it would be like in an
American classroom.
The Punjabi students will be heading to Wilkes and taking two intensive business classes
over spring break. Edmonds said, “Since
they’re coming, you need to meet them [beforehand]...and that helps with any nerves
about teaching an all-foreign class.”
The Sidhu school faculty and administration
helped to design the program based on the
value of mentoring at all levels. For example,
each Wilkes professor is paired with a Punjabi
professor. They correspond through e-mail
and discuss class criteria - such as syllabi,
student progress, etc. - and are even starting
to get to know each other on a more personal
level. “Now when we e-mail it’s less [just
professional]. You now start to say things like
‘Oh, how is your son doing?’ So it becomes
more comfortable now that you’ve met them,”
said Edmonds.
Nicole Redmond, who is the recruitment
retention coordinator for the business school,
was sent for the purpose of implementing
some of our business school’s administration. She said, “I went to be more involved
with accommodations such as the application
process, their transition, housing - basically to

NEWS

also seemed to have picked the wrong tie
for television. The lines caused a moire effect, meaning that his tie had a blur on it
when the camera was on him.
Theatrics may seem like an odd and
unimportant category to start with, but it
is actually an incredibly powerful factor. In the first of four
presidential debates in 1960
those people who had television sets pronounced John
F. Kennedy the winner, for
those who listened to the debate on radio Richard Nixon
was their choice for victor.
Why? On television Kennedy
just looked better. Kennedy was tan
from campaigning in California while Nixon was pale from an injury that he has suffered. Nixon was also wearing an ill-fitting
shirt, which caused him to sweat, and on
top of that, Nixon refused to wear makeup.
make sure everything went smoothly and
that they are comfortable.”
Dr. Troy Adair helped to set up technology
and train the technical personnel. He most
recently set up Skype - a telephone-like
call program that uses a personal computer,
a mic, and a web cam to have visual conversations with the Punjabi counterparts.
Eventually, the goal is to have the Wilkes
professors classrooms set up so that they
can be teaching in a classroom here and be
seen in a classroom at Punjabi.
Dr. Anthony Liuzzo, professor of business, who is also working closely with the
department on the project, is excited about
the impact this will have on Wilkes University as it is viewed by the world. “This
broadens our educational reach. Wilkes
University’s reputation is helped significantly by this extension to an international
basis.”
According to Liuzzo, it won’t be too
long before the students are not just taking
a couple of quick classes, but will be fulltime earning their credits with Wilkes professors and students on the Wilkes-Barre
campus. “Thirty-four Indian students...are
taking three semesters [at Punjabi] and then
coming to Wilkes and will take two semesters here and then they...will graduate with
everyone else.”
For Wilkes faculty, visiting India has also
helped to assure that everything will go according to plan. “I’m usually a worrier, but
I’m resting easy that this will go smoothly
in their hands,” Liuzzo said.

4

So, theatrics and presentation makes a huge
difference in the outcome.
For overall content I would have to say it
was a draw. Neither candidate came out and
blew away the other with information and
facts. It would be surprising if either candidate saw any boosts in the polls from
the actual debate.
Argumentation is another area
that would be almost impossible to call. Obama was more
forceful at directing his comments to McCain and when
Obama saw that McCain and
him were just going back and
forth he would notion to Lehrer
to move ahead. However, McCain was
the person who brought up the most emotional appeals. Even though these appeals
lack substance they always seem effective.
McCain does have one area to work on, during one part of the debate when he was vis-

ibly annoyed he began to stutter. The
Obama campaign could possibly try and
use this in the upcoming debate to get
McCain to ‘trip up.’
Overall there really could not be a
winner declared in this debate. This is
unfortunate because unlike past debates
these are not as regulated, meaning the
candidate’s lists of demands are not as
long.
However, it should be mentioned that
Jim Lehrer was an excellent moderator.
He attempted to get the candidates to
talk to one another and would try to put
all of their answers into perspective with
relevant follow-ups.
On Tuesday, October 2, the vice presidential candidates for both tickets will
debate at Washington University in St.
Louis, Missouri. There are also two additional presidential debates scheduled
for next month.

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�NEWS

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
TEXTING

from FRONT PAGE

and was text messaging when the group
he was with stopped at the corner to cross
the street. Not realizing his friends had
stopped, Cepeda kept walking and was
struck by the oncoming car.
“The act of texting automatically removes
10 I.Q. points,” Paul Saffo, a technology
trend forecaster in Silicon Valley, told the
New York Times. “The truth of the matter
is there are hobbies that are incompatible.
You don’t want to do mushroom-hunting
and bird-watching at the same time, and it
is the same with texting and other activities.
We have all seen people walk into parking
meters or walk into traffic and seem startled
by oncoming cars.”
Artin Chaklader, senior psychology major
at Wilkes University, is working on a capstone project dealing with claims similar to
Saffo’s. “My research right now is showing those same results. If you think about it,
while texting you are using your vision and
hand motor coordination which is seriously
limiting your attention on things around
you.”
“I have other studies that are telling me
texting while driving is significantly worse
than drunk driving. The only argument

against is multi-tasking, but in reality text
messaging in itself is a multiple task so it is
even harder to do other tasks around you,”
added Chaklader.
According to the Governors Highway
Safety Association (GHSA), states are
slowly beginning to create laws that limit
the use of handheld mobile devices for making phone calls and text messaging. California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York,
Washington, the District of Columbia and
the Virgin Islands have enacted laws that
prohibit drivers from using cell phones to
make calls. Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota,
New Jersey and Washington have banned
text messaging for all drivers operating motor vehicles.
GHSA states that Pennsylvania has collected crash data pertaining to the idea of
banning the use of mobile devices while
driving, but the state has yet to pass an official bill. Instead, Pa jurisdictions and municipalities can create their own ordinances.
As of September 2007, Carbondale drivers caught talking on the phone have been
handed $75 fines by local police.
“In June, 75 billion text messages were
sent in the United States, compared with 7.2
billion in June 2005, according to CTIA the Wireless Association, the leading industry trade group,” said Steinhauer.

5

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

A Wilkes student texts while crossing South Street outside of the Student Center.
As text messaging popularity continues
to grow across generations and around the
world, the dangers connected to it are expected to also increase. Wilkes-Barre does
not currently have a ban against text messaging while driving, but the state is working to create one that will affect all Pa communities.
“Certainly the issue of text messaging
has come to center stage in recent weeks,
with lots of national interest and concern…
Right now, the PA State Legislature is considering a bill that would ban 16 and 17
year olds form using handheld cell phones,
Blackberries, or using text messaging,” said
Dr. Robert Bohlander, professor of psychology at Wilkes University. “The ongoing list
of automobile and other accidents related

to text messaging, cell phone use, or other
distracting activities reminds us that our
technological advances can easily outstrip
human information processing capabilities.
Where we cannot discipline ourselves in the
potentially dangerous use of available technology, the government feels compelled to
step in and put restrictions on our behavior,
for our own safety.”
According to the Pennsylvania General
Assembly’s website, House Bill 1827 was
submitted stating “…no driver shall operate any moving vehicle on a highway of this
Commonwealth, which shall include Federal, State and municipal highways, while
using a handheld mobile telephone.” The
bill was referred to Transportation on September 11, 2007, where it remains today.

Bar11es &amp; Noble Will&lt;es Bool&lt;Store
7South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 1.8701.....,. 570.208.4-700 ~wilke.s.bncollege.com

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�The Federal Reserve
deception and greed:

Page 8

Opinion

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Obesity now a taxable offense in Alabama
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

The state of Alabama has announced a new plan, which requires all employees to be annually screened for obesity, high
blood pressure, high cholesterol,
and high glucose levels.
Employees found in violation of
any of specified size and levels will
be forced to pay an additional $25
a month ($300 per year) for health
insurance beginning in 2011. Currently, single workers pay nothing;
family plans run $180 a month.
According to the Los Angels
Times, the new requirements will
affect “…more than 37,000 people
employed by the state.”
Recently, The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
reported that Alabama is the second heaviest state in the nation
with a 30% obesity rate, just behind Mississippi.
After paying around 1.2 billion
in medical charges last year, the
state is trying to kill two birds with
one stone. Obesity, and medical
fees.
Webster’s Dictionary definition

‘obese’ as: “Grossly fat or overweight,” but who is to decide what
‘grossly fat’ actually is?
Employees will be given a Body
Mass Index (BMI) tests to determine if they are obese. The BMI
examines height in relation to
weight on both males and females
to calculate the amount of body fat
on an individual.
In addition, Alabama state officials are offering employees discounts to specific health facilities
such as the YMCA and Weight
Watchers, as encouragement to
adopt a wellness program. If they
do not provide evidence that they
are making an effort to loose
weight, they will be taxed.
The Beacon contends that if a
state taxes employees who are
obese, shouldn’t it also tax employees who appear excessively
underweight?
Vegetarian Diet Info states that
individuals who are underweight
have a higher risk of anemia, bone
loss, nutrient deficiency, heart irregularities, amenorrhea (loss of
periods in women) and osteoporosis in later life.

It would be unfair to charge one
group and not the other. But why
stop there? What about taxing
those folks who have previously
battled cancer? Better yet, how
about those who are simply genetically predisposed to cancer
based on family history? Obviously, those folks pose a possible
drain on health funds.
Another factor to consider are
the effects that prescription
drugs and medications may
cause.
Charlene Laino, former
editor of the New York
Times Syndicate Health
News Service, stated that
experts estimate that at
least 50 common medications possess the potential to cause weight gain.
Some of which include,
Paxil, Zoloft, Nexium,
and Diabinese.
And what is to become of
money that Alabama has the
potential to generate?
If 30% of 37,000 employees are charged a fee of $25
a month, the state will collect
roughly $333,000 each year in

Percent of Obese (BMI ~ 30) In U.S . .Adults

2006,

m
........ ,,;,I""

6

Point 1
More than
37,000 employees
in
Alabama
will pay an additional $25
a month ($300 a year) for
heath insurance in 2011.
-

Point 2

generated revenue.
That money can easily be applied to the rising costs of health
insurance.
So far Alabama is the only state
to impose such a fee on state employees, but each state does have
the power to enact the tax.
While we encourage healthy
and active lifestyles, when it
comes to charging people who
are obese more for health insurance--which the state has agreed
to provide--we feel that it is both
excessive and discriminatory. If
the states are going to reconsider
their health insurance regulations
and guidelines, then they should
take into consideration all aspects
of physical and mental health, not
just the obvious ones that seem to
be costing them additional money.
To pick and choose with respect
to health risks unfairly singles
people out.

- If a state
taxes emplyees
who are obese,
should it also tax employees
who appear excessively
underweight?

Point 3
- The state should
take all aspects
of physicaland
mental
health
into
consideration
when
changing
their
health
insurance regulations and
not just the obvious ones
that seem to be costing them
additional money.

�OPINION

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

7

The Angry Rant: The Bloomsburg Fair
(...and why it’s awful)
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff writer

Well, it’s September again. In this area,
that means one thing: the Bloomsburg Fair.
Of course, it also means football season,
baseball playoff fever, the start of the new
seasons for television shows, and perhaps,
above all others, the birthday of Keanu
Reeves.
To me, the above are all far more important than the Bloomsburg Fair. Especially
Keanu Reeves’ birthday. For the uninformed out there, do yourself a favor and
rent Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
You’d swear you were watching the secondcoming of Marlon Brando. (Maybe only if
you’re high. Which is recommended.)
The Bloomsburg Fair, which has been a
tradition in the area for over 150 years, is
essentially Mardi Gras for fat people. You
don’t get beads for showing your goods;
you get funnel cakes and meat on a stick.
The fair isn’t anything to scoff at, however, as it boats some of the white-trashiest
attractions this side of Tennessee. (Was that
a dig at Tennessee? You bet.)
The attractions include, but are not
limited

to: a demolition derby, livestock displays,
and gigantic pumpkins that are probably
nothing more than the lead singer of Blues
Traveler covered in orange felt.
But the biggest attraction (besides the
world’s smallest horse) has got to be the
fair’s grandstand concert series, which
boasts such high-profile acts like Bucky
Covington (who I assume is a rabbit or
something), Kellie Pickler and Lady Antebellum (who sound like a comedy duo from
the 40s), and Three Days Grace (No joke
here. Except for their music - Hi-yo.)
When I was in high school, I had friends
that would miss two or three days so they
could go to the fair, and some schools would
even have days off so the students had the
option to go to the fair, which is ridiculous.
A day off so you can go to the fair? Really?
Why don’t we start dishing out days off so
everybody can walk in a cloud of stink all
day? Because that is essentially what you’re
doing.
In other words, I don’t care for the Bloomsburg Fair. Quite frankly, I never have. I’m
from the area, so very early in my life I was
taught to both respect and fear the fair.

I get the respect part; I mean, the
fair is old and it’s practically an
institution in the area, but fear?
I never understood that part…
oh wait, that’s right. Carnies.
Honestly, though, the fair
is overrated. It’s a fine
time and everything, but
it certainly isn’t worthy
of multiple visits for
the following reasons:
1. It has a demolition derby.
Which is a spelling bee for stupid people.
2. The biggest musical
act this year is a band by the name of Sugarland, who had to cancel their gig because
the lead singer got sick. Or they realized it
was a state fair, and they are a professional
musical act. One of the two.
And finally…
3. You can’t walk 10 feet without stepping
in feces. Most of it human.

The Beac

on/Alyssa

Be

nner
In
addition, this past
week, the great Paul Newman left us at the
age of 83. He was truly one of the greats,
and he will be missed. Do yourself a favor
and celebrate his life by watching Cool
Hand Luke with a salad topped in some delicious Newman’s Own Salad Dressing.
Ciao.

Courtesy of mediaroom.visitpa.com

YOURMIES RE: to ‘Escalator Madness’

I am writing in response to the
editorial “The Angry Rant: Escalator Madness,” written by Tim
Seigfried.
I was very disturbed and quite offended actually about this “Rant.”
The whole idea of this article just
seems a bit ridiculous to me. People take the escalator because they
don’t/can’t take the stairs. I rather
enjoy riding up the escalator and
tend to stay to one side for those
like you who are too impatient to
ride along with the rest of us and
feel the need to walk up.
Furthermore, your “ageist” comments about elderly people taking the escalator was shocking,
to say the least. I, as well as I’m
sure many of us, have grandparents who are a little slow moving,
or even use a cane to walk. My
grandmother enjoys her trips to
the mall and sometimes takes the

C a r -

escalator because the elevators
are very far out her way. The fact
that their “shuffling” off of the escalator is apparently too much for
you to deal with shows how much
patience you have which is about
zero, I would say. Why don’t you
just knock them over and break
their hip (again) so you won’t
have to wait the extra minute to get
where you are going?
Here’s a thought: Tim, use the
stairs!
Diana Wright
senior biology major

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�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

OPINION

Deception and greed: the Federal Reserve
Part 1 of a 2-part series

BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

This is the first in a two part
series on the Federal Reserve.
Keep in mind that if no one ever
spoke up or questioned the affairs
of the government, we would still
be under British rule.
In 1816 Thomas Jefferson said,
“If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue
of their currency, first by inflation
and then by deflation, the banks
and corporations that will grow up
around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
In order to understand Jefferson’s
warning, it is important to first
understand the past of the United
States banking systems.

A brief history of the United
States banking system.
U.S. History.org states that Alexander Hamilton and George Washington created the first central
bank in 1791 with a goal to unify
the nation’s currency to pay off the
debt from the Revolutionary War.
The result was known as “The
First Bank of the United States.”
However, just twenty years after
its construction, Congress, which
feared the power of the central
bank, voted to abandon the bank
and its charter.
The second national bank was
formed just a few years later in
1816, after Congress and President James Madison realized that
it would be far too difficult to fund
another war without the help of a
strong central bank. This second
effort was very similar to the first
national bank, but much larger.
However, many citizens, politicians and businessmen criticized
the bank calling it ‘unconstitutional.’ According to Andrew Glass in
an article published in Politico, by
the time he reached office, President Andrew Jackson strongly
opposed the concept of a national
bank arguing it was an, “elitist institution tied to Eastern commercial interests.” He successfully dismantled the bank by not renewing
its charter after it expired in 1836.

What is the Federal Reserve
(Fed)?
According to the Federal Reserve’s website, the Fed is an “independent entity...composed basically of a central, governmental
agency--the Board of Governors-in Washington, D.C., and twelve
regional Federal Reserve Banks,
located in major cities throughout
the nation.”
However, it is about as federal as
Fed-Ex, meaning that the government has no control or regulation
over its affairs. If we look closely,
it is clear this directly violates article 1 Section 8, clause 5 of the
U.S. Constitution, which reads,
“Congress shall have the power
to... coin money, regulate the
value thereof, and of foreign coin,
and fix the standard of weights
and measures...”
The Federal Reserve’s main
obligations include, conducting
monetary policy, setting reserve
requirements (the amount of money that banks must hold in reserve
against deposits made), setting
margin requirements which limit
the amount of money an investor
can borrow to purchase securities,
and setting the borrowing rate, or
interest rate at which money is lent.
The Federal Reserve is considered
to be the bank for all banks.
The Federal Reserve’s web site
outlines that its seven members
of the Board of Governors are appointed to 14-year terms by the
U.S. President and confirmed by
the Senate. There is also a Chairman and Vice Chairman who are
appointed by the President for a
term of four years, with the possibility of re-appointment.
How and why the Fed was
formed.
After the financial panic of
1907, which involved runs on
many banks across the nation, J.P.
Morgan received direct governmental funding which he used to
act as a central bank to help bail
out failing institutions. He literally
had the power to pick and choose
which banks remained and which
were allowed to collapse. As a
result, in 1908, Congress created
the National Monetary Commis-

sion in an effort to stabilize and
strengthen the banking industry,
headed by Senator Nelson W. Aldrich from Rhode Island.
In November 1910, Senator
Aldrich invited an elite group of
bankers and financial scholars to
attend a meeting on Jekyll Island
just off the coast of Georgia. In
the book entitled “The Creature
from Jekyll Island,” author G.
Edward Griffin explains that the
committee included:
“1. Nelson W. Aldrich, Republican “Whip” in the Senate, Chairman of the National Monetary
Commission, business associate
of J.P. Morgan, father-in-law to
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.;
2. Abraham Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the United States
Treasury;
3. Frank A. Vanderlip, President
of the National City Bank of New
York, the most powerful of the
banks at that time, representing
William Rockefeller and the international investment banking house
of Kuhn, Loeb &amp; Company;
4. Henry P. Davison, senior partner of the J.P. Morgan Company;
5. Charles D. Norton, president
of J.P. Morgan’s First National
Bank of New York;
6. Benjamin Strong, head of J.P.
Morgan’s Bankers Trust Company;
7. Paul M. Warburg, a partner
in Kuhn, Loeb &amp; Company, a
representative of the Rothschild
banking dynasty in England and
France, and brother to Max Warburg who was head of the Warburg
banking consortium in Germany
and the Netherlands.”
(Griffin, Chapter 1)
The goal of those in attendance
at the meeting was to construct
a piece of legislation that would
create a third national banking
system. Keep in mind that both
J.P. Morgan and Co. and Paul M.
Warburg and associates had close
ties with the Rothschild’s Bank of
England.
Morgan, Rockefeller, and Warburg favored a central banking system, because they wanted cheap
credit, and an inflated money supply to expand their empires.

The final version of what they
created was a piece of legislation
named “The Aldrich Plan.” According to Bernard Shull, author
of The Fourth Branch, the plan
outlined a regionally partitioned
central banking organization
owned by member banks. Complete with fifteen districts where
branches would be established.
They would be run by regional
associations through boards of
directors elected by the member
banks in each district. Its authorities included providing emergency
loans to member banks, the power
to create money to provide as elastic currency, and the power to act
as the “fiscal agency of the United
States.” In essence, the Federal
Reserve could create money and
loan it to the government with
interest. Using tax revenue, the
government would then pay off
the debt and its interest.
In response, many Democrats
and progressive Republicans saw
the organization as a private monopoly, and an unfair way to manipulate the market.
In an effort to pass legislation
that allowed the use of “elastic currency,” President Wilson strongly
encouraged Virginia Senator Carter Glass and Professor H. Parker
Willis to analyze and redraft the
Aldrich Plan. It was completed by
the beginning of May 1913. After
a few minor changes, the legislation was pushed through the two
houses during the winter holidays
when many representatives were
home with their families.
The Federal Reserve Bank of
New York’s web page states that
the act, “Provided for the establishment of Federal Reserve Banks, to
furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, to establish a more
effective supervision of banking
in the United States, and for other purposes.” On December 23,
1913, President Woodrow Wilson
signed what is known as the Federal Reserve Act.
Next Week: The role of the Federal Reserve in the current economic crisis.

8
Beacon Poll Results:
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overall
attitudes of students on
campus.

The Beacon asked:
Should scientists continue to
experiment with the
LHC device?
• Yes - 30%
• No - 60%
• Depends - 10%

Next Week’s question:
Should Alabama have the right
to tax state workers
for being obese?
• Yes
• No
• Depends
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

It’s Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Self defense
workshop
PAGE 11

li ostyllos
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

9

Library’s Polish Room bids all: Witamy w Polsce
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

Tucked into a corner of the Farley Library
is a place so removed from the harsh fluorescent lighting and stiff-backed chairs of
the rest of the building that it feels like a
different world.
While that little room may not take you
out of this world, a glance inside it will
transport you halfway around it.
Located on the second floor of the library
is a room that evokes the history and culture
of Poland. Called the Polish Room, it contains a reading and reference space filled
with Polish books, paintings, sculptures,
maps, and traditional clothing. Formed in
1950 by the Wilkes College Polish Room
Committee, the room offers students a way
to experience a different culture or to learn
more about their own heritage.
Brian Sacolic, reference librarian at the
Farley Library, believes that the Polish
Room offers students an educational tool
that transcends the classroom experience.
“I think with the current emphasis on globalization, it gives details and information
that you just may not get in a classroom,”
he said. “You can see costumes, original
paintings. A room like that just gives you a
real feel for Polish culture.”
While Sacolic added that the library also
houses other collection rooms, such the
Norman Mailer Room, the Eleanor Farley
Room, and Wilkes University Archives, he
admits that the Polish Room is “one of the
more interesting ones.” In particular, he

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

noted that one piece of art from the room,
“The Mask of Jesus,” which was created by
Polish artist W.T. Benda, has attracted interest from scholars from around the world.
Entering the Polish Room invokes the feel
of traditional Poland. A large, rectangular
rug of brightly woven red and gold covers
the gray slate floor. The room contains custom-made, wooden furniture in the style of
Zakopane, a city in the Tatra Mountains of
Poland. Oil paintings of famous Poles accent the walls, which are also brightened by
richly-colored tapestries.
“All of the furniture has been hand-carved
in pine,” said Jule Wnorowski, the treasurer
of the Polish Room Committee. “The room
itself brings an authentic air of old Poland
here.”
The concept for such a room began in the
late 1940s, when Dr. Eugene S. Farley, the
president of then Wilkes College, invited
all of the ethnic groups in the valley to establish nationality rooms in the library. The
Polish-Americans in the area were the only
group to take advantage of the offer.
Over the years, the committee has emphasized community involvement to spread
Polish culture. It sponsored Polish lectures,
held folk art displays, and participated in
choral concerts. It established a scholarship
foundation, and continues to award one
scholarship each year to a Wilkes student
of Polish descent.
One of the main goals of the Polish Room
is to preserve Polish culture and promote
a greater understanding of it to a younger
generation.
“One of
the things
we
really
tried to do
is to have
people take
pride
in
their background. And
they have to
learn enough
about it first
of all-who
the
great
musicians
were,
the
great scientists,” said

Wnorowski. “It’s something
about culture and tradition, and
you lose that over time.
Growing up Polish for Wnorowski was more than just an
ethnicity, it was a way of life.
From a very young age, she
was exposed to Polish tradition
by her mother, Jule Znaniecki,
a charter member of the Wilkes
College Polish Room Committee. She counts her exposure to
Polish music as a defining point
of growing up Polish.
“Music was part of my life
from a very, very early age. The
Poles love music, and we had a
piano. Ready or not, we all had
to learn how to play, whether we
were good at it or not,” she said.
“But later on, it was wonderful,
because I so much learned to enjoy all sorts of music, particularly classical, and appreciate the
Polish artists and musicians.
Committee president Bernadine Tarasek echoes the belief
that growing up Polish was a
way of life. Raised mainly by
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
her grandparents, who emigrated The Polish Room contains Polish artwork, including
from Poland in the 1880s, Tarasek paintings, tapestries, carvings, and handmade dolls.
grew up practicing every part of
her culture.
us meaning in life. And family traditions
“I went through the hard times, Polish and our own personal history do that for
school, Polish church, everything was Pol- us.”
ish for me,” she said. “I still lean towards
According to Sacolic, Wilkes students
it. You kept your Polish descent then; you may not be able to reap the full benefits of
just didn’t rebel against it. And we were the Polish Room because they may not be
proud.”
aware of it. Occasionally, curious students
Tarasek recalls sitting on her grandparents’ have stumbled across the room, and interporch as a young girl, and hearing them tell ested in what they saw, have asked him to
her stories about her family in Polish.
unlock it for them so they can have a thor“Now that I remember, they were inter- ough look around.
esting, and I wish I could do it again,” she
“I don’t think too many students are aware
said. “But the days are gone. I really didn’t of it right now,” he said. “But hopefully, the
appreciate it too much then, but now I do.” word will get out.”
In order to keep the Polish traditions
In order to familiarize more students with
alive in the younger generation, Commit- the room, the Committee will be on hand
tee member Helen Grebski believes they at the Open House, which will be held on
should expose themselves to the culture of October 4. Members of the Polish Room
their heritage.
Committee will be available in the Polish
“It’s a discovery thing, it’s wanting to find Room from 11:00 to 3:00 to answer any
more,” she said. “In today’s society, we’re questions or give further information.
looking for family, we’re looking for roots,
and we’re looking for something that gives

�LIFESTYLES

10

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Campus meditation options aim to relieve student stress
BY RACHEL CANNULI
Beacon Correspondent

As students try to become comfortable in
their classes, get to know their peers, and to
cope with the pressures of bill paying, apartment or dorm living, time management, and
academics, some sort of release from stress
is necessary.
Wilkes University’s answer to the challenge of stress is meditation.
Not many students or faculty members
know that the campus offers two forms of
meditation. Last spring, the labyrinth circle
located behind Evans and Conyngham Halls
was finished to encourage Wilkes community members to walk and simultaneously
unwind.
The other alternative is a weekly meditation class led by two faculty members,
Philosophy professor Dr. Linda Paul and
English professor Mischelle Anthony.
The meditation sessions take place every
Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the first floor of
Kirby.
But what exactly is meditation and why
do people do it? According to WebMD.com,
“Meditation is the practice of focusing your

attention to help you feel calm and give you
a clear awareness about your life.”
Meditation can also alleviate an ample
range of mental and physical problems.
Paul explained that meditation can aid an
individual by “reducing the stress response
in the body, lowering blood pressure, and
many more, including changing the structure of the brain if one practices long
enough.”
Both Paul and Anthony are long-time
practitioners of meditation. While there are
numerous methods of meditation, Anthony
and Paul teach mindful meditation.
“Mindfulness is a non-religious meditation that focuses on the breath and makes
you aware of what is in front of you,” said
Anthony. She continued to explain that this
type of meditation is very relaxing and releases stress.
The meditation session is held on the first
floor of Kirby Hall. Each session draws
about 16 people who sit in two rows that are
10 seats long. They sit back to back so participants don’ t feel as though other people
are watching them.
For 25 minutes, in silence, students and
faculty sit focused on their breath.

“In and out,” Anthony
repeated every so often
so that participants would
not lose their focus.
The goal of staying focused on your breath is to
make you feel as though
you have control over
your life and to feel at
peace with yourself. Once
the time is up, you should
feel refreshed and level
headed.
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
Freshman Carolyn Ryan
Walking
through
the
labyrinth
can be a mediation aid.
attended the session and
enjoys the relaxing feeling
sity held a fall equinox labyrinth walk that
meditation brings with it. “Meditation is
celebrated the fall equinox and focused on
something new [for me] that expands the
peace in the world. The walk also brought
mind and relieves stress,” she said.
attention to labyrinth for meditation.
Ryan also finds the people who attend
Patty Gilmour, who arranged the walk
the sessions to be very welcoming. She enexplained, “The winding towards the cencouraged anyone interested in meditation
ter and out again [of the labyrinth] is an aid
to try it out.
to meditation and losing oneself in walking
The labyrinth, which is the circle of
the winding path with no agenda is quietstones in the green way on the north side of
ing and brings a sense of peace.”
Breiseth Hall, serves as a center for mediThe labyrinth is available at all times for
tation.
students or faculty.
On September 22, 2008, Wilkes Univer-

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�LIFESTYLES

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

11

Martial arts veteran shows students basics of self-defense
BY BETHANY YAMRICK
Beacon Correspondent
While most aspects of living on your own
for the first time are exhilarating, anxiety
for personal security and safety does occasionally creep in for some college students.
In order to partially alleviate that fear, Dr.
Ed Schicatano, associate professor of psychology, offered a
self defense seminar to teach basic
skills to students
so they could
learn how to defend themselves
in high-risk situations.
“In dangerous situations
you have to injure the person.
Some people don’t
know they can,” Schicatano said. “What they
need to realize is anyone
can hurt anyone if they
hit the right target.”
The September 25 class
was a 90-minute workshop
held as part of the “Into
the Streets” program focused mainly on prevention and what is known
as target focus training.
Schicatano offers the
classes once a semester and is sponsored
by the psychology
club and women’s
studies program.
Schicatano’s class
teaches only the basics of self defense,

but the concepts taught are enough for
anyone to be able to apply. Mainly women
showed up for class, which is normal for
self defense basic level classes. However,
according to Schicatano, workshops such
as these may be useful to everyone and can
teach solid principles to apply in case of a
violent assault.
The focus of the workshop
was less about teaching
techniques but more philosophy. The idea
is to strike the
attacker in a
vulnerable
area. It is
easier
to re-

member the
concept and
make it instinctual to
strike these
areas than it
is to recall
specific
moves

All photos The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki

Several Wilkes students competed to
become the school’s very first mascot-the
Colonel. Only three were chosen.
Junior English and communications major David Lewis, junior biochemistry major
Jason Woloski, and junior education major
Emilee Strubeck are all the new Colonel.
Each worked through tiring auditions to
be chosen as the new face of Wilkes University. Because of their active school
spirit, The Beacon sat down with
each student to ask
them some questions as our Students of the Week.
BY LEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

Lewis

The

Beacon:

when under high-pressure situations.
At the beginning of the seminar,
Schicatano handed out safety tips and
a list of prevention skills. The program first teaches confidence and
knowledge, but then moves onto
memorable effective
philosophies.
He
noted
that with simple techniques such as aiming for the eyes, any
person of any gender, age, or body type,
can accomplish this.
Schicatano has been doing martial arts
for eight years and is now a second-degree black belt. He has been teaching it
for three years on the Wilkes campus, as
well as the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus
and the local YMCA.
“I would do it more often if I knew more
people would come,” said Schicatano.
Student Garrett Scharder, who has taken
martial arts and self-defense classes for 13
years, says the basis of any self-defense
class is to nullify the situation before it
elevates.
“The greatest form of self defense is not having to defend
yourself,” said Scharder.
“With all I have learned, I
haven’t had to use it ever.”
Before fighting, there is
what is referred to as the
ABC’s of self-defense:
awareness, boundaries,
a n d
combat.
If students
ever see
an opportunity to run
away,
they should take it.
“It
is
about harnessing
the adrenaline and fear within
the individual,” said Scharder.
The main
concept of self defense
is to train your brain how to function in
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Strubeck:I hope to have traveled and
seen a lot of the world, and also have a job
in an elementary school. And because I’ll
be a teacher, I hope to marry rich.
Lewis: I see myself submerged in deep
layers of the rain forest, living wild and
wearing nothing but leaves.
Woloski: Following medical school and
residency, I hope to establish my own practice as a family physician, settle down,
and start a family.

Strubeck

The Beacon: Describe yourself in
three words.
Strubeck: enthusi-

what is know as your low brain
moments, when scared or under
pressure. Self-defense classes
put you in a situation to practice it,
memorize how
you function in
this

state, and apply
what you were taught.
“People react, they become serious only
after a tragedy happens,” Schicatano said.
“I wish they would be serious about these
things before they occur.”
The class also builds confidence with easy
but effective, commonsense skills.
“You shouldn’t have to be scared to walk
somewhere,” said Scharder.

astic, compassionate, fun
Lewis: purple, itinerant, love-doctor
Woloski: ambitious, entertaining, and
caring
The Beacon: Finish this sentence: My
friends would be surprised to know I...
Strubeck: finished a paper on Tuesday
when it wasn’t due until Thursday.
Lewis: I once saved an elderly woman
from
certain
death.
Woloski: did
a toe-touch and
cartwheel
in
my Colonel audition.
Woloski

�cusses
s
i
d
y
d
Kenne
Kerry Catholic Now
Being
PAGE 14

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

12

Bloomsburg Fair celebrates 154 years of frivolity
BY ALYSSA BENNER &amp;
CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon A&amp;E Editor &amp; Correspondent
“Just plain fun” for four dollars? It’s no
wonder the Bloomsburg Fair is celebrating
its 154th year.
From a distance the Bloomsburg Fair
could be a snapshot
of the original

••••••••• ••

“agricultural” fair it began
as in 1855. The illuminated
Ferris wheel, candy-striped
food stands, and thousands of
excited fair-goers conjure images of days gone by.
David Millard, director of
arts and crafts and the historic
area at the Bloomsburg Fair,
has been exceptionally busy
this year. He has also served
on a board composed of 13
members since 1995. Growing up two doors from the fair
entrance, Millard began attending at 10-years old.
“We still maintain
our mission. It [the
Bloomsburg Fair]
is a display venue. Livestock,
arts and crafts,
flower displays, all those
types of things,” Millard
said.
Bill Laubach, of Mifflinville, PA, has been
coming to the fair for
60 years. Though the
modern fair offers a
lot, he’s still a little
wistful for a few of
the old attractions.
“There used
to be car
races
on
the midway
when I was
y o u n g e r. ”
Laubach said,
“I loved that.”
The midway
car races may
have faded out
of the Bloomsburg
Fair, but the current
entertainment leaves
no one out. Familiar
fair staples such as petting
zoos featuring over-sized elk
and a live musician singing in
an overlapping, intertwining Willie NelsonJohnny Cash voice attracted many. A 12act “freak show” and SHAM-WOW demonstration also drewlarge crowds.

••
••
••
••
••

SAUSAGE

••••••

At the 230-acre fair the various exhibits
include but are not limited to a demolition
derby, figure 8 racing, free style motocross,
horse racing, tractor and truck pulls, live-

stock and a horse and pony
pull.
According to Millard,
“Exhibits of needlecraft,
paintings,
photography,
hobby displays, anything
you collect you can submit those items for display.
In arts and crafts we have
around 3,000 items that are
displayed by about 1,000
different individuals.”
Yet, without a doubt,
food is the biggest people
pleaser at the Bloomsburg
Fair. Diane Snyder from
Fernville has worked at
Hewlett’s sausage stand for
52 years. Her father
worked for the original owner when it
was just one modest stand. When
the owner decided
to expand and incorporate another
stand Snyder’s father had his doubts.
Fifty-two
years
later Hewlett’s offers five stands
across the length
of the fair. Snyder
said, “…The people
and the atmosphere
[make it my favorite]. People even
come here from New Jersey and every year they claim my sausages are
why they keep coming back.”
Mary Grega of Berwick, PA says
of her favorite food, “Have you ever
tried Berrigan’s hoagies? I will give
up, and did give up today, bonus pay
for a Berrigan’s hoagie.” Grega has
been a regular at the Bloomsburg Fair
for 36 years.
Entrance to the fair was ten cents in
1855 when Franklin Pierce was the
fourteenth President of the United
States. Now, in its 154th year, the
Bloomsburg Fair has succeeded in maintaining its original mission.
All Photos
The Beacon/Alyssa Benner

�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

VPA offers William Inge’s Pulitzer winner “Picnic”
BY YOHANNA DE LOS SANTOS M.
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

The play “Picnic” by William Inge came
to life on the stage of the Dorothy Dickson
Darte Center for the Visual and Performing
Arts last week with four performances from
September 25-28 and was directed by assistant professor of visual and performing arts
Naomi Baker. “Picnic” was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953 is set in a
small Kansas town as community members
converge for the annual Labor Day picnic.
The script is an example of early American realism, and was a little controversial
for its time because women were less given
to leave assured wealth to be with someone
who couldn’t offer them as much, a social
question posed in the plot when a stranger
arrives in town just in time to turn the heads
of local women at the community outing.
“I think every character in the show finds
out something about themselves that they
never realized before, and that is always
fun to discover,” said junior theater major
Jessica Lech, who played the character of
Millie.
Junior theater major Lou Gerstle added,
“It’s different because it’s realism. [With]
most other things you are allowed to detach
[and] things are accepted for what they are.

But with [‘Picnic’] you are trying to be as
representative to true life as possible.”
Baker found what she was looking to offer both Wilkes students and audiences in
“Picnic.” “I was looking for a show that
had more women than men. I wasn’t looking for a feminist play; it’s certainly not a
feminist play. It was written by a man, and
it definitely does not break any of the social
norms as far as a women’s plays in society
from the 1950s. The second thing is that I
was looking for a play in the realistic style
so that our students would have the opportunity to work in that style,” she said. The
fact that the play is a Pulitzer Prize winner
was not among the criteria for the selection
of the play; however, it affirmed the play’s
quality and social significance.
Because the play is based in realism, the
actors had to learn how to communicate differently in order to catch the attention of the
audience, and put extra effort into showing
their emotions. “We really... try every year
do different styles...so our students learn
how to act and create different styles of
theater. I like the play a whole lot, which
is also important when you chose a play,”
said Baker.
“I discovered that I have the ability to act
in musicals and in straight shows, so it was
a big confidence booster,” said Lech.

The cast included David J. Pascoe (Hal);
Ashley Firestine (Mrs. Potts); Jessica Lech
(Millie); John Layton (Bomber); Katrina
Zbegner (Madge); MaryCate Morrison
(Flo Owens); Greta Kleckner (Rosemary
Sidney); Lou Gerstle (Alan Seymour);
Tara Contrera (Irma Kronkite); Cassandra
Colwell (Christine Schoenwalder); and
Casey Thomas (Howard Bevans).
But at Wilkes, learning lines and staging
isn’t the only responsibility cast members
have to produce a show. “They help also
to build the set, or make the costumes, to
manage props; they all do all of it,” said
Baker.
The set was designed by Theresa Fallon and offered a very realistic tone to the
play. “The scenery was very well done
and it enhanced that show,” said Hadden
Height, NJ resident and audience member
Steve Dagrosa.
Royalties are also to be paid, “We pay a
certain amount of money per night for the
privilege of performing the play, unless we
write it ourselves” said Baker.
Students received scripts in the sum-

r -

13

mer and auditioned for roles as soon as
school began this fall. “[Students] had three
months to read the play, but about a day,
maybe a little longer than a day, to read
through the parts of the play that we were
going to do for the auditions. The auditions
took about three hours... and then I posted
my cast list...and we started rehearsals the
next day,” said Baker. The students had to
adjust to an intensive rehearsal schedule of
at least three hours a day, five or six days a
week for about a total of four weeks.
The second night of the show was better attended than the first, and the audience
seemed to enjoy the show. “It was good and
it was also funny,” said Michael DeStefano
a 19-year old resident of Sullivan County,
NY, who was there to see his girlfriend perform.
Some of Baker’s previous directorial efforts include: “As you Like It”; “Sweet
Charity”; “Bad Boy” (the musical) and next
semester she will direct “Pride and Prejudice” at the end of the year. The plays are
chosen by Baker, Fallon, and Joe Dawson.

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Sets and costumes for “Picnic” were purposefully designed to offer a sense of realism
and reflect a small Knasas town in the 1950’s.

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�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Meet the Author: Kerry Kennedy
Being Catholic Now

Kennedy was in Wilkes-Barre this weekend to campaign
for Senator Barack Obama, and took a few minutes to disBY ANDREW SEAMAN
cuss her book with The Beacon.
Beacon Managing Editor
“What I found through writing the book and talking to
people from a wide range of political perspectives and wide
In an ever-changing world where does faith fit in?
range of perspectives…is that everybody has an argument
Perhaps you are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or with the church--everyone,” said Kenendy.
Catholic and have begun to question
Kennedy says that she is proud of her
what it means to be faithful.
Catholic faith. “I’ve been blessed to see
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late
Catholic activists on the cutting edge
Senator Robert Kenedy, grew up in a
of social change in countries across
devout Irish Catholic household, and
the world…So my sense of justice, my
her upbringing amidst both church
sense of public service, of commitment
and a high-profile political family
to economic, social and racial justice,
later spurred her to consider the issue
are all part of my Catholic faith.
of faith and its role in modern society.
“On the other hand, all too often I
PH.')\11:-...lr-. t A'\IERI&lt;. A"!'S ·1 ALK
ABol I' (;11.1\~•..t,E l'l l'UE C'IIl R( II
Thus, for her new book, Being Cathowould pick up the newspaper and read
\'iD Tllf Qt }.ST JOR 1\-IEA~I"!",,;(,
lic Now: Prominent Americans Talk
about the bishops’ failure in the pedoabout Change in the Church and the
phile scandals to hold themselves acQuest for Meaning, the author spoke
countable for their failure to protect inwith 37 Americans to offer various
nocent children…I was for eight years
views on Catholicism today. Some of
in a northern Virginia parish where
her interviews include Speaker of the
they did not allow girls to be altar
House Nancy Pelosi, blogger Andrew
servers, and this was very disturbing to
Sullivan, journalist Cokie Roberts,
me. I found in talking to many of my
Cardinal Theodore Edgar and actor
friends and colleagues that they have
Photo Courtesy Random House
Martin Sheen.

Being

Catholic
Now

14

issues with the church’s conduct or some of the things that
seem to be at odds with their own personal moral compass,”
she said.
Kennedy said that author Peggy Noonan said it best, “God
does not want us to be intellectual slaves.” Kennedy added
that Jesus Christ even disagreed with the Jewish elders as to
what it means to believe in God.
Kennedy noted that one important thing she found during
her interviews for her book is how much she laughed.
Kennedy related several of the funniest stories that struck
her during the research process for the book. “Nancy Pelosi...said that her mother always wanted her to be a nun,
and I said, ‘Did you want to be a nun?’ She said, ‘No I
wanted to be a priest, because priests have all the power.’
And [actress] Susan Sarandon tells a very funny story of
being seven-years-old...her aunt gave her glow-in-the-dark
rosary beads, which she did not know were glow-in-thedark. So when she went to bed that night, she turned off the
lights, got under her covers and pulled them out to say the
rosary. They start to glow, and she thought, ‘Oh my God,
I’m going to see visions.’”
Kennedy is also the author of Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World and
established the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for
Human Rights in l988.

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

15

Kudracross

BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Correspondents

The Sw!ms
Where: The Bog
When: Oct. 2, 10 p.m.

Oktoberfest
Where: Lionshead Brewery
When: Oct. 3, 5-11 p.m.
Oct. 4, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Satisfaction
Rolling Stones Tribute
Where: Kirby Center
When: Oct. 4, 8 p.m.
cost: $24
Chicago
Where: Kirby Center
When: Oct. 3, 8 p.m.

Answers from last week’s puzzle
1

A

13

2

R

3

M

B

E

E

L

A

N

16

36

E

e

T
0

1

s

11

A R
L

A

A

B

W 0

35

E

55

S

L

62

T

A

D

V

A

E

D

H

E

H

39

12

M

N

E

D

L

E

R

A

N

E

A

S

y

p

0

A

N

K

Across
1
Enormous
5
Discontinue
9
Diamonds and rubies
13
Run of the mill
15
The Wise Men
16
Uttered by mouth
17
Firma start
18
Farm unit
19
Ship of Columbus
20
Advocate of a candidate
22
Liveliness
23
Common contraction
24
Corporate VIP
26
Before Funeral
29
Ocular covering
32
Former U.S. airline, for short
35
Impressively grand
36
to have telephoned someone
37
Show on TV
38
Synonymous
43
Acquire
44
Yours and mine
45
Small amount
46
Horse food
47
Saddens
50
American flag maker
51
And so forth, for short
52
Carry

54
57
62
63
64
66
67
68
69
70
71

Adventure story
Tenderness
Breathing organ
Metric prefix
Cattle breed
Europe/Asia border
Happily ___ after
Greeting
Evaluate
Attractive
Depend on

Down
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
21
25
26
27
28
30
31
32
33
34
39
40
41
42
48
49
51
53
54
55
56
58
59
60
61
65

Pizza ____
Applies
Expert
Bluetooth headset
Mr. ____ pants
Keen sense of what to say
Shrek species
Loud
Big-nosed Muppet
PA great lake
Stands guard
Strip of wood
Phelps activity
English for uno
Blade Side
Measure mass
Sleep disorder
Childs name for a cat
Eliminate mistakes
Local area network, for short
Socially forbidden
Droops as a fading flower
Surface measurements
Overwhelming defeat
Dessert treats
Time units, abbr.
747, for example
Hypothesis
Animal pouch
Patriotic bird
Mormon state
Bad-mouth
Luminous radiation
Annoying insect
V
Show off muscles
Look or stare at
____ and void
Bean variety

�CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

Wilkes students participate on local rugby team
BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon Staff Writer
Long before the football that we know
today, the game with the colossal, fast
athletes jacked out of their mind that bend
and bang their bodies in ways that should
not be legal, there was rugby. Or as what
Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s team President
Tim Pearage calls it, “The game they play
in heaven.”
The men that played the sport were just
that, men. Running full speed directly at
one another just like in football except for
one little difference: they didn’t wear pads.
They ran around helter-skelter roughhousing each other for 80 minutes with no
mercy, and then would make friends with
them over a few drinks afterwards.
Without knowing the game, the average
spectator might liken it to a more organized version of kill the man with the ball
than an actual structured sport.
The object is much like that of football;
you must cross the other team’s goal line
to score points. You can also perform a
drop-kick (think Doug Flutie for the Patriots) which is when a player drops the
ball on the ground and kicks it through
the goalposts on the first bounce, for three
points.
And that’s about where the similarities
end.
First off, there are no breaks or injury
time-outs; actually there are no timeouts
period. If you get hurt, you have one min-

ute to decide whether or not you want play
through the pain, or go out and have someone come in for you. It’s forty minutes of
constant sprinting up, down, and diagonally across the field, much like soccer just
carrying a ball.
Each team has 15 players which consists
of 8 forwards (they do all the dirty work
and try to gain possession of the ball), six
backs and one halfback, who is the middle
man. His job is to get the ball from the forwards to the backs and let them earn their
lunch money.
Getting the ball downfield is a little bit
unusual compared to what casual football
fans are used to. One way is to continually
kick the ball downfield and try falling on it
to get better position. A little unorthodox
but that’s what the game is. The more conventional way is to repeatedly toss the ball
either laterally or backwards to a teammate
all the way down the field and keep running around to try and avoid being tackled
until you score.
It sort of looks like the infamous California-Stanford play. The one where the band
stormed the field causing a ruckus that allowed California to score the game-winning touchdown? That’s much of what this
is, without the tuba player. It’s a constant
barrage of laterals and tosses with players
scrambling all over the field trying to score.
It’s chaos, but it’s beautiful chaos.
In a nutshell, that’s Rugby. There are also
different formations for after you score.

16

Photo Courtesy of Matthew Crouse

The rugby team battles on the field during a previous game. Wilkes University
students play for the local Scranton Wilkes-Barre Breakers.

The Wilkes-Barre area has planted its seed
in the sport with a team of their own, the
Scranton Wilkes-Barre Breakers. The team
has been dominating the field and upheld a
strong tradition for 35 years, participating
in the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union,
where they play teams from Harrisburg,
Philadelphia, and Bethlehem to name a few.
They have also traveled to places such as
New Orleans, Florida, Savannah, Georgia,
and Toronto.
Some Wilkes students are active members of the team. One of these is Pharmacy P4 student Matthew Crouse. Crouse
has been playing for the Breakers for
four years.
“I was looking for something to stay
competitive and active while in school,”
Crouse said. “A friend of mine was playing and got me to go to practice and I immediately knew it was something I was
going to like.”
Being a Pharmacy P4 student, Crouse
doesn’t have a whole bunch of time to
mess around, so only having practice
twice a week really helps out.
“It’s a little difficult because I’m on my
clerkship rotations so I drive up once a
week and then drive back down to my roPhoto Courtesy of Matthew Crouse
tation site that night,” Crouse said.
The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Breakers line up for a team shot. The team practices in
You would think it might take a toll,
Kirby Park behind the pavillion.

but Crouse believes it’s worth it because
he “loves playing the game.”
But flying around the field looking to take
somebody’s head off is not all the game is
about. As Crouse says, the best part is “going to the after party at their sponsor’s Riverside Cafe. We get together and hang out
with our teammates and have a drink with
the team we were trying to crush earlier.”
That’s probably not something you would
hear after a football game.
This weekend, the team was off to a 1-1
start, and continuing to improve. For the
rest of the season, Pearage had this to offer, “Our team will finish either first or second this year in our division. The last time
we finished first was in ‘95 and ‘96.”
Confidence is key, as well as numbers.
The team is always looking for students
who want to get involved in the game and
learn how to play some rugby. No experience whatsoever is needed so if you’re
interested, the time to come watch is definitely this Saturday, October 4. The team
is celebrating its 35th Anniversary and
players from the past are all coming in to
play a “friendly” match.
New players are always welcome, and
just think of it this way: Rugby is a sport
in which players can physically hit somebody; it’s perfectly legal.

�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

SPORTS

17

FOOTBALL
from PAGE 20

-ing Newport’s three yard line, Harry Reese punched in Wilkes’ second touchdown
on a rush which gave the Colonels a comfortable 17-3 lead.
The Captains responded with an effective
two minute drill. Running back Tunde Ogun
capped off a 95-yard drive with a rushing
touchdown making the score 17-10.
Both teams opened the second half with
three-and-out drives. On Newport’s second
drive, Wilkes was called for roughing the
passer after forcing the Captains to punt.
The penalty gave Newport a fresh set of
downs. Moments later, Ogun fumbled in
the endzone but saw the ball recovered by
Newport’s Mario Barnes for a touchdown.
Quarterback MattLong ran around the right
side of the Newport offensive line after a
fake field goal and dove over the pylon for a
successful two-point conversion. The score
capped off an impressive drive that consumed eight minutes of clock.
Wilkes’ next possession was perhaps the
most pivotal of the game. Johnson completed a 40-yard touchdown pass that was
called back on an offensive interference
penalty. The Colonels were penalized 15
yards, and both their drive and great scoring

FIELD HOCKEY
from PAGE 20

Wright’s goal would prove to be all Wilkes would need to defeat DeSales; however
Koncelik scored her ninth goal of season
with under a minute left in the game. Davenport stopped all three shots she faced to
record the team’s sixth shutout of the season. Davenport has started for the Lady
Colonels in all six shutouts.
The Lady Colonels have shut out six of
their nine opponents. Team defense has
been clicking on all cylinders this year with
Saturday being no exception.
“The defense played really well together
[Saturday]. Kerry Battersby had an amazing game, she stopped a lot of dangerous
offensive breakaways in the center of the
field. DeSales had a few scoring opportunities that were all denied by Linsday Davenport, she has been playing really well in the
cage. I am really happy with the way our
defense has been playing,” Myers said.
Despite a perfect record thus far, Myers
explained number in the win column is not
the most important aspect of the season.
“I am very happy with our team’s record;
however, it is not our focus. We need to
take every day and work to prepare for our
next opponent. Every game is crucial, every practice is important. We need to focus
on what we need to change to get better for
the next game. We still have a lot of work
to do,” Myers explained.
Koncelik’s offensive presence has been

The Beacon / Gino Troiani

Jamar Beverly breaks a tackle for the Colonels in the third quarter. Wilkes opens
MAC play next weekend in their homecoming match against Lebanon Valley.
chance were over. The drive ended in a punt
as the game entered the fourth quarter.
After a series of failed drives from both
sides, the Colonels had possession with
about seven minutes remaining. The offense began to roll off a couple solid runs
by Reese. Wilkes would drive 67 yards over
one of the key factors to the Lady Colonels
success this season. Four of her goals have
proven to be the game winning and Koncelik’s nine goals ties her combined total from
her first three years of play with the team.
“In every game this year Alyssa [Koncelik] has been a key component to our scoring opportunities. She has very good ball
control and is smart in the circle. She has
worked hard to improve her elimination
skills and it really shows in her play,” Myers said.
Koncelik attributes her success to the skill
of her teammates.
“Even though I am credited with the goal,
it is often the result of a pass from one of
my teammates. We all work well together
and just want to score, no matter who it is,”
Koncelik explained.
The Lady Colonels historic record will be
challenged again this week hosting Freedom Conference opponent FDU-Florham
Thursday October 2 at 4:00p.m. For Homecoming Weekend on Saturday October 4,
the team could face their toughest challenge
yet, hosting the 8-1 Elizabethtown College
Blue Jays, who are ranked 15th in the region. Their only loss was to King’s College.
“To beat teams like FDU and Elizabethtown we need everyone to give 100% for
70 minutes. We need to focus on support
around the ball and quick shots in the circle,” Myers said. “This is something we are
going to stress in practice everyday.”

five and a half minutes, resulting in a dramatic field goal from Chris Horn that gave
the Colonels a 20-18 edge with under two
minutes remaining.
When asked what was going through his
head while leading the Colonels on their last
drive of the game, quarterback Rob Johnson

responded that he “tried to handle the ball
intelligently. The important thing in that
situation is to not panic.”
Newport showed no signs of panic as they
responded with what would turn out to be
the game wining field goal. Ogun and Long
directed a drive that would stretch 42 yards
and last a little over a minute, and Jay Graham connected on his 31 yard attempt with
ten seconds remaining.
The Colonels were unable to score with
such little time remaining, and ended up
losing 21-20. Newport and Wilkes both had
over 350 total yards of offense, with Newport rushing for 240 and Wilkes passing for
263.
When asked how their tough non-conference schedule has prepared them for MAC
conference play beginning next weekend,
the coach responded that they were “very
well prepared.” He continued, saying that
“We’re very close to being very good […]
Our team has shown great character, but
we need to learn how to close out some
games.”
The Colonels’ next game is this Saturday, October 4, 2008 for their homecoming
match against Lebanon Valley College.

Great Food .
Great Friends.
Great Fun.

bare

restaurant

Conveniently located in
N. Wilkes-Barre
Take N Main to Elm, Turn
Right at the Saloon

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

18

RINKSIDE REPORT BLOG

Pens have a competitor in Sheahan

Defenseman looking to stick with Penguins

BY MICHAEL CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer
When Penguins’ defenseman Brock
Sheahan finished his college career at the
University of Notre Dame, he signed a tryout contract with the Albany River Rats.
“I went to Albany just to get experience.
It was an opportunity to maybe get some ice
time and maybe play,” he said.
Although he didn’t see any game action,
he still got the experience.
Sheahan joined the River Rats in the
middle of their first-round playoff series
against the Philadelphia Phantoms. In game
five, Sheahan’s second with the team, he
witnessed the longest game in American
Hockey League history.
“That was a crazy game to watch,” Sheahan said. “It was actually starting to get a
little boring there in the fourth or fifth overtime, just hoping someone would score.”
Ryan Potulny of the Phantoms was that
someone, scoring at the 2:58 mark of quintuple overtime, giving his team a 3-2 vic-

tory. Philadelphia would go on to eliminate the River Rats in seven games, ending
Sheahan’s tenure in Albany.
Sheahan signed an AHL contract with the
Penguins in August and finds himself in a
very much open battle for a roster spot on
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s blueline. Injuries
to defensemen Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar in Pittsburgh have opened up
roster spots in Wilkes-Barre. Players who
might have been sent to the AHL if the Gonchar and Whitney weren’t injured, like Alex
Goligoski, are still in Pittsburgh.
“Reid Cashman, Brock Sheahan, and Elgin Reid all have a greater opportunity because two guys have gone down in our organization,” said head coach Dan Bylsma,
who also added that Sheahan has shown him
a lot in training camp. “[Sheahan] reads the
rush well … he’s also shown a competitive
level that I really like seeing. College kids,
junior kids coming to the next level there’s
always a question mark. What’s going to be
their puck toughness? What’s going to be

their battle level? He battled tonight hard.
The Beacon/Michael Cignoli
He was in the mix in puck battles… he was
standing up for his goalie, pushing guys out
of there.”
Sheahan said that part of his game is to
“do everything possible on the ice to help
the team win hockey games.” So far, he’s
shown that he can play in all situations.
Sheahan appeared in both games against
the Binghamton Senators this past weekend, spending time on the penalty kill and
power play. On Saturday night, he made a
perfect pass to set up Dustin Jeffrey’s gamewinning goal.
Sheahan knows that the transition from
college hockey to the pros is not an easy
one, but he wants to stick in the American
Hockey League. To do so, he is willing to
listen to the advice offered to him by Bylsma and assistant coach Todd Reirden.
“I just have to show that I can learn quickly, adapt from the college game to this level,
take in everything the coaching staff says,” Sheahan practices during training camp
on Tuesday, September 23.
Sheahan explained.

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�SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Women’s Soccer Recap

SPORTS

19

BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
The Lady Colonels opened Freedom
conference play with a huge 2-0 shutout
over MAC defending champions, the
Manhanttanville Lady Valiants on September
The win moves the Lady Colonels record
to 4-5-1 and the Lady Valiants dropped to
3-7.
“I think (Saturday’s) game was a huge
confidence booster because of the fact it
was our first conference game; especially
for the freshman, the win gives them hope
for the rest of the season,” said junior Ashley Deemie.
Of the 15 players who took the field for
the Lady Colonels, six were freshman and
all got valuable playing time.
Besides the young players and the solid
defense that held the Lady Valiants to just

three unsuccessful goal attempts, Sophomore Taryn Hallowell is
the true headline of the game.
Hallowell scored, in less than two minutes, back-to-back goals
late in the first half. With 34:51 remaining, she scored off an assist
from freshman teammate Allyssa Kelley. After spliting the defense
at the 36:07 mark, sophomore Alison Weidman hooked up with
Hallowell for another goal to give the Lady Colonels a 2-0 lead
entering the half.
“Manhattanville is a good team and I thought in the first half,
we were able to get behind them for scoring opporttunities,” said
seventh year head coach John Sumoski. “ I think we out-matched
them speed wise and tired out there defensive backs in the first half.
And our defenders played well.”
Saturday’s win erases a brutal four-game stretch for the Lady
Colonels where the team lost three and ended regulation in a tie
with Lebanon Valley on Tuesday September 16.
Sumoski stated that the time spent in practice this week will be
devoted to fixing things the Colonels have done wrong previously
so they can return to the .500 mark.
The Lady Colonels return to Ralston Field tomorrow to face
Susquehanna at 4:30 pm.

The Beacon/ Gino Troiani

Lady Colonels win MAC opener

Members of the Women’s Soccer team congratulate Number
2 Taryn Hallowell after she scored two goals under two minutes apart.

Men’s Soccer Recap

BY ALISSA LINDNER
BeaconSports Editor
The following is a recap of Wilkes men’s
soccer from the past week. The team was
in action twice this week taking on Baptist
Bible on Thursday, September 25 and then
hosting Manhattanville on Sunday, September 28.
The Colonels dominated Baptist Bible
as five different players scored and senior
TJ Baloga made three saves as the team
defeated the Defenders 5-0.
Junior Bret Osswald opened the scoring for Wilkes just over nine minutes into
the game. Junior Arthur Jankowski was
credited with an assist on Osswald’s goal.
Sophomore Rusty Helwig scored Wilkes’
second goal and sophomore Ryan Phillips
scored the next just under 60 minutes into

Football

L 20-21
Christopher Newport

Field Hockey
W 1-0 @ Scranton
W 2-0 @ DeSales

The Beacon/ Lauren Biernacki

the game. Freshman Sean Lucey posted an
assist on Phillips goal before scoring the
fourth goal for the Colonels. Freshman
Ed Zulkoski assisted on Lucey’s goal and
freshman Matt LaRocca rounded out the
scoring for Wilkes, scoring with just under
six minutes left in the game.
The Colonels then took on Manhattanville
in the rain on Sunday afternoon. The first
goal of the day was scored by junior Sean
Vona on a penalty kick. Helwig scored his
second goal of the week and junior Greg
Miller finished off the scoring for Wilkes.
The Colonels will be in action this
week visiting Susquehanna University on
Wednesday October 1 and then hosting Delaware Valley for Homecoming on Saturday Number 17 Patrick McDonald chases after the ball during Sunday’s game against
Manhattanville. The Colonels won the game 3-0.
October 4 at 11:00a.m.

Men's Soccer
W 5-0 @
Bapist Bible
W 3-0
Manhattanville

Women's Soccer
W 2-0
Manhattanville

Women's Tennis
W 9-0 FDU Florham
6-0 Singles
3-0 Doubles

Volleyball
W 3-2 King’s
Elizabethtown Tourney

Overall 1-3

Men's Tennis
DNP

DNP

�SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

20

Football loses heartbreaker to Christopher Newport
21-20 home loss drops non-conference record to 0-3 on the season

The Beacon / Gino Troiani

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
and-out as well. Wilkes’ second possession completion, a move which helped to ener- On their first play, Johnson hit Prushinski
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
started well until later in the drive, when gize their offense. The Captains would rush with a screen pass for a 64-yard touchdown
The Wilkes University football team lost Johnson hit wide receiver Jason Prushinski for 19 additional yards and opt for a field down the left sideline that brought the Wila heartbreaker to Christopher Newport at for six yards before Newport’s defensive goal after the Wilkes defense stopped them kes crowd to life. After stopping Newport’s
Ralston Field on Saturday, September 27, back Ryan Wever forced a fumble on a hard on third and goal.
next drive, the Colonels tacked on three
falling 21-20 in its home openmore points on a Chris
er.
Horn field goal from 42
The loss dropped Wilkes’ reyards out.
cord to 0-3 in non-conference
Newport began a lengthy
play. The mark is a poor indidrive that would run over
cator of their performance, acfive minutes off the clock
cording to Coach Frank Shepat the start of the second
CAK.T~CN1UC~
tock.
quarter. Using several dif“We scheduled high-caliber
ferent runners out of the
teams to face this year, and in
backfield, the Captains
two of the three matches we
rushed for 43 yards bewere leading in the fourth quarfore a 12 yard sack by Harter. Our level of play has been
rison caused the drive to stall.
high,” Sheptock said, “but not Wilkes fans couldn’t believe the scoreboard at the end of Saturday’s game, which the Colonels lost on a last
Newport attempted a 38 yard
high enough to overcome some minute field goal to visiting Christopher Newport.
field goal but missed wide left,
foolish penalties.”
keeping the score 10-3.
The Colonels elected to receive after win- tackle. Wever recovered the ball a moment
The Colonels would respond on their
Wilkes wasted no time in responding after
ning the coin toss, setting up their first drive later, effectively ending the Colonels drive. Newport took the lead by the score of 3-0. next drive, with Johnson passing for 72
that ended in a three-and-out. Newport
On third and 13 on their own 33 yard Darrius Harrison returned Newport’s kick- yards to multiple receivers. After reachfollowed suit, handing Wilkes the ball af- line, Newport quarterback Matt Long found off 24 yards to Wilkes’ 36 yard line, giving
See FOOTBALL
ter their opening drive resulted in a three- Tony Spradlin downfield for a 49-yard the Colonels decent opening field position.

WILKES u•1r£6BIT'I

,-, ,-, . ,-,
I_I I_I · I_I

Field hockey’s historic streak continues

on PAGE 17

Women storm Scranton and DeSales to improve to 9-0
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
The Lady Colonels field hockey team improved its perfect record over the past week
as the women defeated the University of
Scranton in overtime on Thursday, September 25, and then posted their first conference win of the season Saturday, September 27, while visiting DeSales University.
The Lady Colonels have extended the best
streak in the history of the program to nine
games.
Senior forward Alyssa Koncelik has
maintained a strong offensive presence. In
six straight games, she has totaled eight
goals including the game-winning goal in

30

Donate blood at the Red
Cross Blood Drive from
10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. in
the ballroom of the Student Union Building.

overtime against Scranton.
The Lady Colonels’ first game of the
week proved to be another battle until the
end. At the end of regulation, the game was
tied at zero. Although their first two games
of the season went into overtime, the Lady
Colonels had failed to score in the sudden
death periods and instead played 100 minutes before winning both games by penalty
strokes.
This time it took the Lady Colonels one
minute and 16 seconds into sudden death to
secure the win.
Koncelik scored after receiving a cross
pass from junior midfield Brittney Sines.
That goal would be Koncelik’s eighth goal
of the season.

1
Go watch guest speaker
Martin Eberhard at the
Dorothy Dixon Darte Center at 7:30p.m. Eberhard
is the co-founder and CEO
of Tesla Motors and is this
year‛s Kirby Lecturer.

Wilkes almost doubled the number of
penalty corners from Scranton 14-8 including the one in overtime in which Koncelik’s
goal and dominated the Royals in shots 125.
Freshman goalkeeper remained strong
in net for the Lady Colonels, posting four
saves. Kristina Goetz posted seven saves
for the Royals.
Despite the win in Scranton, head coach
Sara Myers believes the team could have
performed better had they played more as
a unit.
“In our game against Scranton we needed
to play more together, individually we did
some nice things but in order to beat a strong
team we need to connect more and support

2
Tune into the Vice Presidential
Debate
from
Washington
University.
Check your local listings
for times and channels.

each other better,” Myers explained.
Freedom Conference play for the Lady
Colonels opened on Saturday, September
27, as the team traveled to DeSales University in Center Valley, PA.
The game would remain scoreless through
the first period. Davenport posted two saves
for Wilkes in the first period while the Lady
Colonel offense took four shots.
Senior midfield Diana Wright ended the
drought of goals in regulation when she
scored a goal just over seven minutes into
the second half. Sines and junior defender
Amanda Tilley were credited with assists
on the goal.

See FIELD HOCKEY
on PAGE 17

3
Enjoy the musical “Chicago” at the Kirby Center on
Public Square. The show
starts at 8:00p.m. and
tickets range from $26.50
to $54.00.

4
Attend the Homecoming
Games! Men‛s soccer starts
at 11:00 a.m. and field
hockey follows at 12:00
p.m. Football kicks off at
1:00 p.m. and Women‛s
Soccer starts at 2:30
p.m.

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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                    <text>Field Hockey
Suffers First Loss
PAGE 16

OCTOBER 7, 2008

The Mines Opens
in WB

Homecoming
Pages 1-11

75th Anniversary: PAGE 10-11

PAGE 12

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 5

Eberhard challenges audience to embrace innovation Economic woes
BY CATHRYN FREAR
hit close to home
Beacon Asst. News Editor
Unless you’ve been living in seclusion
without electricity or human interaction,
you know that as a planet, energy is a problem.
While some people just sit back, relax, or
fill their H3’s with 30 gallons of gasoline,
others, like Martin Eberhard, are dedicating their lives to doing something about it.
Eberhard is an entrepreneur who has
started three businesses and has plenty of
advice for those who wish to do the same.
Those he has advised were in attendance for
his speech for this semester’s Allan P. Kirby Lecture at the Dorothy Dickson Darte
Center on October 1. His lecture, entitled
“Building a Culture of Innovation: From
E-books to Electric Cars to...?” was about
his entrepreneurial experience. He offered
his story as an inspiration to others to make
their life stories just as interesting.
One of the bits of advice he gave the
crowd was, “A key element to being a successful entrepreneur is a certain amount of
naivete, because if you
actually know how
hard the problem
is when you set
out, you don’t
OMECOMING
SPECIAL

2008

Photos: Jenna Stephens,
Gino Troiani, Lauren,
Biernacki, Heather Chulik,
Bethany Yamrick

Messinger came to Wilkes from Sinclair
Community College in Dayton, Ohio where
he served as director of Facilities Management. According to Messinger, people generally see community colleges and private
universities as “different creatures,” but
Sinclair is one of the largest community

BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor
These days, stuffing extra cash under the
mattress or burying it in the backyard don’t
sound like terribly eccentric ideas.
According to a recent article in the New
York Times, “Mortgage lending excesses
in the early years of this decade ultimately
took a toll on the financial sector.”
Whether it is credit crisis, market instability, risky loans, or bankruptcy, the economy’s uncertain times are not relegated exclusively to Wall Street, but have begun to
impact employees and students at Wilkes.
In the past several weeks, a number of major finance companies, such as Bear Sterns,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, American
International Group, Lehman Brothers, and
Wachovia Bank have faced buy out or collapse. Some have declared bankruptcy and
are being taken over by the government.
Last Friday, federal government officials
renegotiated the details of a major bail out
of the financial service industry to the tune
of $850 billion.
Dr. Robert Seeley, associate professor of
economics, described the fallout from economic instability as “a ripple effect” from
institution to institution. In essence, people
are slowing down their spending, leading
to decrease in profits for businesses, which
causes unemployment increases among
many other issues.
“We have a clear, significant financial liquidity problem,” he added.
In addition, financial institutions have
been lending money out to people who cannot pay it back.

See MESSINGER page 3

See ECONOMIC page 3

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Eberhard presented this semester’s Kirby Lecture on his entrepreneurial endeavors,
the latest of which - a new model of electric car - has recently gone into production.
do it.”
they do, he argued, because it gives them
Eberhard is also a fervent believer in start- more drive to go through with it and do it
ing something that you find interesting and well.
worthwhile, not something that you do just
to make money. People should like what
See EBERHARD page 4

Messinger appointed facilities exec
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor
On Monday, September 29, Tom Messinger began his first week as Wilkes University’s new executive director of facilities. The role replaces the previous director
of campus support services position, previously held by Chris Bailey until his departure from the university in February.

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Lifestyles.......9-11
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OCTOBER 7, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
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wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

Rifkin, Einstein adapt menus to fit economic pressures
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

Menu changes this semester at
Rifkin Cafe and Einstein Brothers Bagel have some customers expressing surprise
and concern, including the
question, “Where are my
chips and pickle?”
Both Rifkin Cafe and Einstein Brothers Bagel have
made significant changes
not only to their menus, but
to prices for the 2008-09
academic year.
Michael Raub, retail manager of Wilkes University
dining services, confirmed
that both establishments
have made major alterations to their respective
menus. In addition, Rifkin
experienced an increase in
pricing.
According to Raub, at
Einstein Brothers, customers have been forced to say
goodbye to “less popular items,”
such as, “roast beef sandwiches,
cheese steaks, and spicy chicken
sandwiches.” In return, officials
have added a variety of assorted
wraps and breakfast items.
Raub explained that the changes
that have taken place at Einstein
are completely out of the hands of
the University. The reason is that
Einstein Bros. is a franchise corporation, so all changes introduced
to the menu come completely from
the corporate level.
Rifkin’s new menu “...was redesigned to allow for more change
throughout the week,” said Raub.

“All of the items from last year are
still on the menu, but are designed
in a way so that they come and go
on about a two and a half week rotation.”

For example, the cost of Frito
Lays products has increased by
approximately 20 percent. Flour
prices have also increased, nearly
tripling in the past five years.

Since both establishments are
trying to run profitable businesses,
while “keeping prices fair for students,” there has been some added
pressure on the university’s shoulders to please customers. Despite the pressure, Raub says that
Rifkin is responding
well to competitors
around campus.
However, some stu-

the same price,” said Mat Haas, a
sophomore biology major.
Sharing a similar view as Haas,
biology major George Sworren
said, “The amount of food you
get has definitely gone down and
prices are ridiculous.”
Another complaint amongst customers is that Rifkin eliminated its
complimentary bag of chips and
pickle from sandwich orders at the
start of the semester.
Raub said that due
to
t1 market pricing,
customers
would
C
have seen as much
h
as
a a “double digit
increase,”
on vari11
ous
items. “Instead
0
of
increasing our
0
prices... we decided
to give students the
choice,” he said.
The university’s
infl
on the
11 uence
marketing strategies
n
of
both Rifkin and
0
Einstein
have left
I
He added that Rifkin has also
some
customers with
s
introduced around 20 additional
questions
about the
q
specials, which are featured in a
future
of the smaller
f
daily rotation, along with a new
cafe
options on camC
line of local, natural and organic
pus.
The economy
p
foods.
plays
a major part
p
Aside from the items on the
in
i1 how business is
menus, students, faculty and
conducted,
and food
C
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki service officials can
staff may have also noticed a
change in the prices in Rifkin. Einstein Brothers (left) and Rifkin (right) have changed their menus due to the eco- be just as unsure as
Raub confirmed that the Univer- nomic difficulties such as the cost of flour tripling. The increases have boosted the customers.
sity does hold complete control cost of Frito Lay products 20 percent.
In regards to future
over the direct pricing of items.
As for Einstein, Raub stated dents have voiced concerns about costs, Raub said, “I’m not an econAccording to Raub, “The sole that there have been no changes both pricing and portioning in re- omist, but we’ll play it by ear.”
reasoning for the pricing is based in prices because it is a “slow fa- sponse to the changes.
directly upon the market and cility” and they want to draw in
“I could go to the fast food
wholesale prices.”
larger crowds.
chains and get twice as much for

Editorial Staff 2008-09
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Design Chief: Alison Woody
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Meet the staff...

Gino Troiani &amp;
Lauren Salem

�OCTOBER 7, 2008
MESSINGER
from FRONT PAGE

colleges in the country with an enrollment
of over 24,000 students. Before moving to
Ohio seven years ago, Messinger worked in
facilities at Bloomsburg University for 16
years.
“[My wife and I] were very interested in
returning to Pennsylvania and we saw this
opportunity on a website. We took a look at
it, took a look at the institution... We were
already familiar with Wilkes since we’ve
lived in the area...” said Messinger, who is
a central Pennsylvania native, having lived
near Williamsport most of his life.
Messinger, who has an engineering degree from Penn State, worked in private industries for 15 years prior to the 22 years of
experience he’s accumlated in higher education. Many of the positions he’s held in
the past 38 years have been leadership positions. He is also a licensed engineer in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
According to Petra Carver, vice president for finance and support operations, the
search for executive director was run by a
hiring committee who recommended Messinger and another candidate from their pool
of applicants. “[Messinger] has many years
of higher education facilities experience.
He has a lot of experience with residence
halls, campus master planning, repair and
maintenance, utilities, which are all under
facilities. He also has very good people

ECONOMIC
from FRONT PAGE

All within the Wilkes community have
been talking and asking questions about the
economy for several weeks now. Since the
stock market has seen such volatility--fluctuating from a loss of 449 points one day
to a gain of 410 the following--university
officials will be closely monitoring investments and the university’s endowment in
the stock market.
Wilkes University’s endowment naturally
rides the waves of the stock market, which
sometimes leads to concerns about the security of existing funds. An endowment is
made up of gifts and donations that are set
aside for university needs such as scholarships and building initiatives. Traditionally, universities do not touch endowment
money, but occasionally draw down from
the interest the endowed funds draw from
market investments.
“The [Wilkes] endowment value is approximately $40 million. It is allocated
based on a board allocation strategy in fixed
income, equities and alternative investments,” said vice president for finance and
support operations, Petra Carver.
Ann Noon, controller, explained, “An Endowment Committee monitors it on an on-

NEWS

3

skills, which is really important in this area
because he will have to work with students,
faculty and staff.”
Though Messinger’s responsibilities will
be somewhat similar to what Bailey’s had
been, many tasks have been handed out to
other departments since Bailey left. Numerous directors are now working under
Messinger, some temporarily, to fill many
necessary roles on campus.
“Bailey was, among other things, responsible for food services, and that has been
moved to Justin Kraynack... Insurance and
risk management is now with Mike Malkemes, and landscaping and custodial services are under Paul Kaspriskie right now,”
said Carver.
Messinger will oversee the departments
of facilities, public safety, maintenance,
grounds and utilities and will address any
environmental concerns associated with the
university.
“Even though I’ve only known him for a
short while, I think he has all of the necessary skills to take the university and facilities to the next step in making Wilkes a
top university in the region. Being a director at any institution of higher learning has
its challenges, and I think he will succeed,”
said Kenneth Hanadel, grounds and utility
supervisor.
“From a student perspective, [facilities is]
certainly a service organization and we’re
here to support the needs to students and
faculty so they could pursue their educational interests in the most friendly environ-

Tom Messinger began his role as executive director of facilities on Monday, September 29. His responsbilities will include overseeing public safety, facilities and more.
ments possible,” said Messinger.
“[Messinger] will take a look at the overall
“[He] has a lot of experience working organization and determine exactly which
with students...” added Carver. “As you structure we will move forward with. If
get to know him, he has a great personality. there are changes, or not, I want to give him
He’s very nice, very calm. I think he’ll fit in the opportunity to evaluate and give me his
well. If there are any issues or problems, I best thoughts and then we will decide what
encourage students to approach him and get the ultimate structure of facilities operato know him.”
tions will look like,” said Carver. “I would
As the semester continues, Messinger will be surprised if it’s something substantial...”
be speaking with facilities workers and ex“It’ll take a little bit of time. It’s not going
amining the current structure of the depart- to be this week...” added Messinger. “From
ment in an effort to see if any restructuring what I’ve seen so far, the staff seems to be
or reorganization of the department is nec- fairly dedicated to the institution and trying
essary.
to make things happen.”

going basis and makes sure it is in line with
the university’s needs, so it’s an actively
managed portfolio.”
Wilkes has also been concerned with
American International Group (AIG),
which is Wilkes’s insurance carrier for international travel, study abroad and benefit
among other entities.
“We contacted our insurance broker and
have been assured that currently our AIG
business has not been negatively affected
by any of this, so we will continue to do
business with them,” explained Carver.
If any negative repercussions come about,
Wilkes will shift to another insurance carrier, she acknowledged.
In addition, the university is currently
engaged in a capital campaign that will be
driven by philanthropic donations made by
Board of Trustees members, alumni and
other outside constituents. The capital campaign is chiefly focused on raising funds for
a new science and health education building. If the economy continues in its instability, donors may be hesitant to commit.
“We are trying to raise certain amounts
for certain initiatives, such as buildings
and facilities. If we have difficulties raising those funds, then we will postpone the
projects,” stated Carver. “A large piece of
our endowment is used to support scholar-

ships. If we cannot increase that particular
part, then there’s no increase there as well,”
she added.
Furthermore, “loan granting agencies are
having great difficulty, so it’s not as easy
to find student loans as it used to be,” said
Carver.
As an avid follower of the news, David
Sborz, senior political science and criminology major said, “I know the economy is
in really poor condition right now. Congress
is taking steps to save the economy and the
government is bailing out certain institutions...In relevance to students, as a resident of Pennsylvania, the state grants from
PHEAA are at risk due to economic issues
where financial aid is affected.”
“We don’t really know how it will affect
students in terms of their own federal funding,” explained Maggie Lund, vice president of human resources. “Everyone wants
exact answers, but there aren’t any at this
point,” she added.
Lund believes people’s behavior is changing in general; they are taking cautious steps
to assure their financial security.
“As we become aware of some of these
issues [with the economy], we will try to
protect the university and put some steps
in place to help any impact that might be
caused by this,” Carver said.

The Beacon/Kerri Frail

“As you get older, and when you have
ability to engage in personal investments,
you want to be cognizant of risk. Stocks are
risky because their value fluctuates. Don’t
just invest in one or two companies or industries but diversify your investments,”
Seeley explained.
Lastly, people who are close to retirement
are struggling with their funds. Many have
seen retirement portfolios, largely invested
in the markets, plummet.
“Retirement is on a personal basis. Each
employee has an opportunity to invest their
retirement contributions in a way they see
fit, from very conservative to riskier type of
investments,” Carver explained.
Wilkes will contribute to employees’
retirement funds, but employees choose
where they want to invest.
“Our economy is very healthy long-term,
but we have some very serious short-term
problems here,” said Seeley.
He explained that the U.S. in general,
has a fantastic productive capacity with
educated businesses, efficient factories and
machines, high technology, and is rich in
natural resources.
“Current times are very uncertain and
I think it’s the worst crisis we’ve seen in
quite some time. Nobody knows as of yet
how it will end,” said Carver.

�OCTOBER 7, 2008

NEWS

Vice Presidential debate at Washington U.
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

Sarah Palin, R-AK, met Sen. Joseph R. Biden
Jr., D-DE, for the first time in St. Louis, MO
on October 2 at Washington University. Biden
and Palin were there for the first and only vice
presidential debate of the 2008 presidential
election.
At the conclusion of the debate it was obvious that both candidates were well rehearsed
and worked on their greatest weaknesses.
For Palin, her team was able to turn her into
a rather skillful debater. She was able to avoid
questions that she didn’t want to answer, and in
some cases, was able to redirect the question to
a completely different topic.
Palin had a clear plan and Biden seemed to
fall into it. From the beginning Palin seemed

EBERHARD
from FRONT PAGE

He started his entrepreneurial endeavors
making network terminals for his first start-up
company, Network Computing Devices, Inc.
before quickly moving to an idea for optimizing electronic books, known as Rocket Ebooks,

4

to be running the show. Some of her first
words as they greeted one another on stage
were, “Hey, can I call you Joe?” Biden responded, “You can call me Joe.”
Many analysts are suggesting that the
“Joe” question was planned to catch Biden
off guard and enabled her to invoke prepared lines, such as, “Say it ain’t so, Joe.
There you go again pointing backwards
again.”
Many of the questions presented by debate moderator Gwen Ifill, of PBS, were
redirected to Palin to talk about topics she
wanted to discuss. Palin truly made the
most of her time on camera.
This was clear from the beginning of her
closing statement. Palin said, “I like being
able to answer these tough questions with-

out the filter, even of the mainstream media
kind of telling viewers what they’ve just
heard. I’d rather be able to just speak to the
American people like we just did.”
Biden also played a good game during this
debate. He was careful not to attack Palin
and directed most of his attacks at Sen. John
McCain, R-AZ, Palin’s running mate.
Biden’s attacks were most likely focused
on McCain for two reasons. One would be
the fact that the traditional role of a vice
presidential candidate is to attack the opposing “top dog.” The second reason would be
that Biden could not appear too critical of
Palin because of her sex. The issue of gender
continues to be a tightrope walk during this
race.
Both candidates came to the debate with

specific points and impressions to make
and both seemed to succeed. They also
drew about a third larger audience than
their ticket superiors.
The upshot: there was no clear winner of this debate. The fact that there
no major gaffes, but also no slam dunks
simply ensured that the real public test
remains between the presidential candidates.
The next debate will once again be
between Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, and his
Republican rival McCain. This will take
place this Tuesday, October 7 at Belmont
University in Nashville, Tennessee. The
debate will be a town hall format.

with his second start-up NuvoMedia.
Eberhard said, “The right time to come in
as an entrepreneur is right when [the new
idea] is barely feasible.”
After he became concerned about the
country’s dependence on, what he called,
“people who don’t like us very much” for
our main source of fuel oil, Eberhard began looking into the alternative fuels
business. More specifically, he wanted to lower the emissions that cars
were releasing at the time.
After he decided what his next
project would be, Eberhard went to
work. The first thing that he did was
get a sponsor. The sponsor’s name
was Elon Musk and he became the
co-founder of his and Eberhard’s
newest start-up Tesla Motors in
2003.
Musk had the means and the confidence in Eberhard to get the project
up and running. Thus, the team started looking into fuel cells--known as
hybrids--and ethanol before concluding that actually, the best alternative
fuel for vehicles was electricity.
Based on emission releases and
resources available, ethanol and fuel
cells do not live up to the standards
that electric cars do. They release
zero emissions and--unlike ethanol--

do not take up miles of farm land as a means
of getting what the fuel they need to run.
Eberhard then concluded that the most important and defining factor that would make
a difference in the way that an electric car
would run, would be the battery. After much
research on the efficiency of different battery
types, he decided that lithium batteries would
be the best way to go. It takes the equivalent
of many thousands of AA lithium batteries to
keep a car running, but it’s completely worth
it because they get over 400 miles to every
charge.
Now that he had a full-on idea, Eberhard
needed a design for the look of the car. He
hired four different designers and hosted a
party at which he provided his guests with
green and red sticky notes for what they
liked and what they didn’t like.
He hung the pictures of the models in four
different rooms in his house and as the guests
walked around, they posted sticky notes to
the wall, indicating like or dislike. Once he
had a winner, Tesla began building prototypes.
However, Eberhard ran into a slight problem. Lithium batteries were starting to catch
fire in things like laptops because they were
being over-worked due to their efficiency.
Luckily for Eberhard this did not cause too
much of a setback. He and his team just took
a bit of time to work out the kinks of cooling

down the power supply. All was still
well and the project was a go. In the
summer of 2008, the cars started being
built. Now that he has one of his own,
he acknowledged, “You start thinking
about how you’re using every energy
source.”
“Just think more about what you’re
using and ways to save energy,” stated
Eberhard.
MBA student Annie McAndrew said
that she was impressed by the fact that
Eberhard’s address last week “...didn’t
jump into everything. He broke down
the big picture.”
Fellow MBA student Tom Smith said
he appreciated Eberhard’s experience.
“He’s gone through the reality. It’s
not like he’s the model of what a perfect
experience is. He’s had trials and tribulations,” said Smith.
Eberhard has since left Tesla, but as a
part of his contract with the company,
has the rights to his ideas for one year.
For this reason, Eberhard will not say
where he’s going next until after November 26 of this year.

The Beacon Archives / Nick Zmijewski

�NEWS

OCTOBER 7, 2008

SG Notes- October 1, 2008

Wilkes celebrates hispanic heritage

cate campus about different cultures
- Christmas Parade- participation of
Student Government members in WilkesBarre parade on November 22
- Rock Wall Training October 9th- Student Concerns

BY DAVE LEWIS
Beacon Correspondent

Treasurer’s Report
- All College: $8,240.00
- General: $12,425.00
- Special Projects: $2,192.25.00
- Spirit: $1,000.00
- Leadership: $3,741.54
- Conferences:
$12,500.00
- Start-Up: $900.00

Old Business
- Multi-Cultural Student
Coalition (MSC)
- Strategy Gaming Club
- Homecoming Allocation
- Alumni Donation

Club Reports
The following clubs
presented updates on
their events.
- Programming Board
- MSC

Events
- Homecoming September
29-October 4

New Business
- Acceptance of Position- freshman,
sophomore, junior, and senior positions
accepted
- BACCHUS Fund Request- National
Alcohol Awareness Week; October 21,
11-1pm; fund request for t-shirts
- REACH- request for club recognition;
looking to reach out to students and edu-

The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki

The Hispanic Heritage Month fiesta was held on Thursday, October 2, in the Savitz
Lounge. There was music, dancing, traditional Latin American food and a pinata
enjoyed by all who attended. Hispanic Heritage Month is a month dedicated to celebrating the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua.

* At 7:30 p.m., a motion was made
to adjourn the SG meeting. The motion
was approved.
SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday at 6
o’clock in the Miller Conference room
on the second floor of the HSC.

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�Deception and Greed:
The Federal Reserve, Part II
Page 8

Opinion
OCTOBER 7, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Delivering on the challenges of a global education
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

Point 1
The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Wilkes University is home to
over 150 international students,
who represent more than fifteen
countries some of which include,
China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam,
Korea, Singapore, India, Thailand,
and Rwanda.
Most of these students come
to the United States, and Wilkes
University, to further their education while broadening their cultural boundaries. After all, it is no
easy task to just up and leave your
family, language and country for
something completely new.
The Beacon was interested in
taking an in depth look at how
Wilkes faculty, staff and programs
help to acclimate international
students.
Our first question was: how do
international students hear or find
out about Wilkes? According to
Michael Frantz, Vice President
for Enrollment Services, there are
three major ways in which students acquire information about
the university. First, many students do individual research either
by themselves, or through special
agencies. Second, many students
hear about Wilkes through word
of mouth from previous students
who attended the university.
Frantz also explained that Wilkes has around six recruiters who
visit schools in other nations to
alert both students and institutions
about the university.
The admissions process is similar to one of a domestic student.
Frantz stated that, “an international student has to provide proof
of proficiency in the English language.” The most common exam
for determining English proficiency is known as the Test of
English as a Foreign Language,
or (TOEFL), from which Wilkes
requires a minimum score. SAT
and ACT tests are not required of
international students; however,

they can be provided as supplemental information to prove aptitude, as well as further information for scholarship aid.
Before acceptance, students
must also provide information
confirming that they have the financial backing for at least one
academic year.
After arrival, one can imagine
the possible stresses and frustrations that an international student
may face when entering a new
foreign country. So, what role
does Wilkes play in helping to acclimate these students and making
them feel at home.
Several officials associated with
the Center for Global Education
and Diversity including: Marcie
Riebe, assistant director/immigration specialist for international
student and faculty services; Dr.
Maria Suarez, special assistant to
the president for multicultural and
community affairs; and Dr. Georgia Costalas, associate director for
global education all concurred that
communication begins as soon as
international students apply via email and telephone.
After acceptance, students are
required to participate in an orientation, much like the ones set
up for domestic students. Riebe
explained that at the orientation,
staff is there to aid with any questions about housing, health care,
immigration documents, financial
aid, where to purchase clothing
and food, cultural differences, and
many more important issues.
Riebe also explained that, “there
is a new group on campus called
REACH.” Their goal is to act as
a special e-mentor program for
international students, so they feel
more comfortable about the transition.
Sen Lin, a freshman from China
said that one of the hardest obstacles to overcome is the language
barrier.
“Sometimes the professors
speak too fast,” said Lin.

6

The Max Roth Center is the new home of the Center for
Global Education and Diversity.
However, he also explained that,
“The professors and advisors always want to help [whenever they
run into a problem].”
Lin and a few other international students all agreed that they
wished more American students
would get involved with the special programs Wilkes offers to
break ethnic barriers.
Some of these programs include
the, Global Partners Program
and the Global Families Program
which are open to both domestic and international students and
families.
Suarez described them as a types
of “partnership programs.” “When
you have an international student
interacting with a domestic student, both are really mentored,”
she said.
The programs set up special
events, trips, and gatherings in
which students and families are
able to interact.
Students may also volunteer as
conversation partners for the students who are currently enrolled
in the intensive English program.
Suarez emphasized the importance that international students
play in the educational process.
“The value of having international students here on campus is

really immeasurable. The Beacon
commends all of the members
of the newly formed Center for
Global Education and Diversity
for their dedication and hard work.
Because of their efforts, they have
been able to help diversify the
Wilkes campus, and directly enrich the learning process for both
domestic and international students.
In the coming year, addressing
the needs of international students
will become an even greater challenge as the number of students
likely grows and diversifies even
further. To that end, we recommend involving as many domestic students as possible in helping them adjust to Wilkes. This
means pairing American students
with non-native English speaking international students through
the new Reach program as well
as in other opportunities such as
coffee hours, etc. The one wish
we heard among the international
students we spoke with was for
more American students to reach
out and serve as conversation partners. The more invested domestic
students become in the process,
the more integrated and truly diverse this campus becomes.

- The Beacon
encourages both
students
and
the community to involve
themselves with international students.

Point 2
-What

international students can offer
to the educational process
is unmatched.

Point 3
Wilkes University’s newly
formed Center
for Global Education and
diversity is providing many
premium services for international students, but it is
up to the entire campus.
-

�OCTOBER 7, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Stars Without Makeup
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff writer

amankumar-getfacts.blogspot.com

Last week I had the displeasure to watch
E! (You know, the network that airs the
train wreck known as “The Chelsea Handler Show”), and I came upon something
called “Stars Without Makeup,” which is,
you guessed it, a show about celebrities that
don’t have any makeup on. The idea seems
harmless at first, because maybe they are
just showing that celebrities look like the
rest of us, but instead it was a disgusting
display of narcissism and jealousy.
First, there was a panel of “comedians”
whose job was to make jokes and snide remarks about each celebrity (Yes, the same
jokes that you would read in this column-except my jokes are funny.) which ranged
from playful to vitriolic.
Second, there was a narrator/host (a
woman) making the same mean-spirited
comments about the celebrities makeup “Cameron Diaz is out shopping…hopefully

But seriously, is there a need for a show
for some makeup! Not looking too good,
like this? I like to make fun of celebrities
Cammie!”
What’s next, “Celebrity Bowel Move- as much as the next guy, like when Sheryl
ments?” Would you follow stars around all Crow said she only uses one piece of toilet
day and take a look in the toipaper, but isn’t it slightly cruel to lambaste
let after they drop one (or
famous people when they
two)? “Oh no, it looks like
aren’t in full makeup?
George Clooney needs to
Isn’t this from the mouth
eat more fiber!” Honestof the same media that
ly, that’s where all this is
wants celebrities to start
headed.
being better role models
These facts tell me one of
by acting more like comtwo things:
moners?
1. The E! channel has hit
That said…
rock bottom. (Shocking,
To the “comedians”:
I know. This is the same
Why don’t we follow you
channel that aired “Taraaround all day and get
J-Lo with and without
dise”, which no doubt was
pictures of you without
makeup.
designed with Tara Reid’s
makeup, because you
waning sobriety in mind).
all clearly had to do some face paint to sit in
2. Something is very wrong with our front of the camera to do this God-forsaken
country.
show. That’s what we call irony, idiots.
It’s probably the first one. Maybe.
Also, I formally apologize for all those

celebrities who didn’t have the courtesy to
appear perfect in your eyes. I’m sure they
are all deeply regretful that they didn’t put
on eye shadow before they ran out to get a
gallon of milk. The world would be a much
better place without such “comedy’ and
pithy little comments. You’re just jealous
that they are making something out of their
lives, and you’re nothing more than a hack
who couldn’t make it as an actor.
To the narrator: I realize that you’re
getting a paycheck to do some crappy
voiceover work on a crappy show that
is aired on a crappy network, but really, I
think you need to take stock of your life. If
you have a daughter one day, don’t be surprised if she has an eating disorder because
of the impossible standards that you helped
to perpetuate.
At the end of the day, you’re all just mad
because you have low self-esteem, and this
cable show is the only outlet for your grief.
Jerks.

Palin evasiveness raises question: Is she ready?
BY LAUREN SALEM
Op-Ed Ast. Editor

us.
Couric: McCain has been in Congress
for 26 years, was chairman of the powerful
Commerce Committee, and has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
Palin: He’s also known as the maverick,
though, taking shots from his own party,
and certainly taking shots from the other
party. Trying to get people to understand
what he’s been talking about - the need to
reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other
concrete examples? Because I know you’ve
said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no
action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly
taking a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things
that John McCain has done, that has shown
his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America
needs today.
Couric: I’m just going to ask
you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in
his 26 years of pushing for more
regulation.
Palin: I’ll try to find you some
and I’ll bring them to you.
If Palin doesn’t know the accomplishments of her running mate,
she doesn’t deserve to be on the
ticket, nor does she deserve any
position in office. During these
two interviews, Palin’s inability
to articulate basic position statements espoused by her running

mate and her party suggest limited insight
into national political leadership.
Palin fared slightly better in last week’s
debate; however, it was clear that her need
to rely on talking points that purposefully
focused on areas of supposed strength--i.e.
energy--indicate an inability to freely expound on a variety of issues. She flat out
avoided questions on specific issues. Palin
was well-coached, but the fact that she
requires such extensive coaching should
make voters nervous. In addition, her cute
“folksy” appeal may play well with “Joe
Six-pack,” but doesn’t feel genuine. Everything about the down-home references
felt contrived, as though handlers knew
what buttons to push. The fact that Palin
avoids interviews, can’t answer questions,
and needs to be coached should make voters consider how unprepared she is to be
president or vice president.
Cartoon by: Gino Troiani

If John McCain wins the presidential election, America can only hope that he doesn’t
die before the end of his term. It’s important to note that in American history a vice
president has stepped into the presidency
due to the death or resignation of a president on nine occasions.
With a few notable and disastrous exceptions, McCain’s Vice Presidential running
mate, Sarah Palin, has been hiding from the
press, which ought to give Americans pause
as to why.
Palin has only had two major interviews-both of which were considered train wrecks
for the ticket--since she was chosen as McCain’s running mate on August 29. Palin
largely avoided one-on-one interviews as
well as questions from reporters for several
weeks after her first interview with ABC’s
Charles Gibson. According to US News
and World Report, during Palin’s interview
with Charles Gibson, “The governor of
Alaska sounded less like the Palin-ator (an
implacable political force sent to save the
Republican Party) than a robot struggling
to handle inputs for which it was not programmed.”
When Gibson asked Palin if she agreed
with the Bush Doctrine, Palin first asked
Gibson to clarify the question before responding vaguely.
Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
Palin: In what respect, Charlie?

Gibson: The Bush -- well, what do you
-- what do you interpret it to be?
Palin: His world view.
Gibson: No, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.
Palin: I believe that what President Bush
has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell
bent on destroying our nation.
Gibson: The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a
preemptive strike against any other country
that we think is going to attack us. Do you
agree with that?
Palin agreed to that statement, which
seemed to shock Gibson and led him into
further interrogation.
When Palin was interviewed by Katie
Couric, she still couldn’t answer questions
even if they were about her own running
mate. The following transcript from CBS
News shows Palin making statements about
John McCain and Barack Obama that she
can’t support with any factual evidence.
Couric: You’ve said, quote, ‘John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does
business.’ Other than supporting stricter
regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
two years ago, can you give us any more
example of his leading the charge for more
oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you
just cited, with his warnings two years ago
about Fannie and Freddie - that, that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of
other senators and representatives did for

�OPINION

OCTOBER 7, 2008

Deception and greed: the Federal Reserve
The finale of a 2-part series

BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

This is the second in a two-part
series on the Federal Reserve.
Louis T. McFadden, former
Chairman of the House Banking
Committee in the 1930s said in
the Congressional Record, House
pages 1295 and 1296 on June 10,
1932:
“We have in this country one of
the most corrupt institutions the
world has ever known. I refer to
the Federal Reserve Board and the
Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve Board, a Government
Board, has cheated the Government of the United States and the
people of the United States out of
enough money to pay the national
debt.”
Again, article 1, Section 8,
Clause 5 of the United States
Constitution states that Congress
shall have power “To coin Money,
regulate the Value thereof, and of
foreign Coin, and fix the Standard
of Weights and Measures;”
However in 2008, a full 76 years
after McFadden’s proclamation,
that is not the case. Today, Congress has no such powers. It has
given its implied power to “coin
money” and “regulate the value”
over to a private institution. The
Federal Reserve is an independent
banking system that has been given a monopoly on the creation of
money. And today, we see where
that has gotten us.

How the Federal Reserve influences the money supply.
The Fed is a main component
to the U.S. economy. It has great
influence and power over the market. With that power comes the
ability to create booms and recessions within our economy, and financially benefit a select few.
The Fed has the power to set the
“discount rate” which is the interest rate charged to member banks
on money borrowed. When the
Fed buys more government bonds,
and sets a low discount rate, banks
are more likely to borrow greater
amounts of money, and in return,
will be able to offer lower interest rates to customers. This also
increases the amount of money in
circulation. If a high discount rate

is set, banks are less likely to borrow.
Another way the Fed can manipulate the nation’s money supply is by raising or lowering the
“reserve requirement,” which
according to the Federal Reserve
is “the amount of funds that a depository institution must hold in
reserve against specified deposit
liabilities.” With the power to manipulate the reserve requirement,
comes the power to either inflate,
or tighten the money supply. This
creates a direct correlation between the amount of currency,
and it’s value.
The only ones who benefit from
an initial inflated money supply
are the ones who receive the currency before the value of the dollar drops.
In a recent New York Times article on economic crisis-spurred
bank mergers, coauthors Eric
Dash, and Andrew Ross Sorkin
point out, “The deal further concentrates Americans’ bank deposits in the hands of three banks:
Bank of America, JPMorgan
Chase and Citigroup will control
more than 30 percent of the industry’s deposits...Together, they
will have unrivaled power to set
prices for their loans and services.
The institutions would probably
come under greater scrutiny from
federal regulators, given their size
and reach.”
The Fed Problem.
The problem with the idea of a
singular central bank is that the
government, (the Fed’s largest
borrower) along with other banks
borrows money at a set interest
rate. In other words, the Fed has
the power to create money out of
thin air, and then loan it out with
automatic interest attached to it.
So, how is the United States
government ever supposed to pay
back the amount of money that is
borrowed from the Federal Reserve, when the Fed is the one
who distributes the money to begin with? This results in a chain
of debt, which is being generated
faster than the United States can
ever afford to pay it.
The American people are singlehandedly being robbed of their
earned wealth because of this independent institution. Because the

INFLATION: 88% Decline in Purchasing
Power of the Dollar

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The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted
online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overal
attitudes of students on
campus.

Should Alabama have
the right to tax state
workers for being obese?

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Fed has the power to print money
as it pleases, the “real” value of
the American dollar has dropped
to approximately $0.4.
According to Dr. Robert Seeley,
associate professor of economics
at Wilkes University, the average
inflation rate is anywhere between
three and five percent. He also
added that, “We have seen inflation, because at times the Federal
Reserve has let the money supply
grow too rapidly.”
Seeley made it clear that he
strongly opposed the gold standard, which was abolished on June
5, 1933; however, he also clarified
that, “When something becomes
more scarce…the value goes up.”
This is clear evidence that by
tightening and backing the money
supply by a commodity such as
gold, silver, or an even balance
of goods and services would both
limit governmental spending, and
increase the value of the American
dollar.
Letting the money supply grow
faster than the amount of goods
and services translates into shortterm gains, and long-term damage, as we have finally begun to
see with more clarity in the past
few weeks.
InflationData.com states that,
“4% annual inflation results in
a 48% loss of purchasing power
in 10 years.” This means that if
Americans are not receiving an
annual pay increase that directly

coorelates with the inflation rate,
they are being robbed of their
money.
Shortly after he was elected,
President John F. Kennedy recognized that the Fed held too much
power, and acted. According to
the National Archives, on June 4
1963, President Kennedy signed
“Executive Order 11110,” which
further amended “Executive order
10289” of September 19, 1951.
This returned the power to issue
currency without going through
the Federal Reserve, back to the
hands of the U.S. government.
Kennedy’s plan was to produce an
interest free currency, much like
Abraham Lincoln’s greenbacks,
and back it by silver. However, before this order could fully impact
America as a whole, President
Kennedy was assassinated just
five months later on November
22, 1963.
We should all be deeply concerned for the welfare of both the
federal government and the American people on fiscal matters. If
the United States continues on
the path that it has followed since
1913, the only outcome is complete monetary failure.
As Alan Greenspan said before
he took the reigns at the Fedearl
Reserve, “In the absence of the
gold standard, there is no way to
protect savings from confiscation
through inflation. There is no safe
store of value.”

Is the Wilkes Center for
Global Education and
Diversity performing
at a proficent level?
• Yes
• No
• Depends
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

It’s Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Homecoming
Anniversary
PAGE 10-11

li ostyllos
OCTOBER 7, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

9

Annual blood drive helps hundreds, keeps memory alive

Every two seconds someone in America
needs blood, according to the American
Red Cross.
With such a high demand and a very low
supply, the need for collection of blood is
crucial.
Last Tuesday students, staff, and faculty
turned out to the Hennry Student Center
Ballroom to offer that crucial gift of life.
The blood donated will help save hundreds
of life.
The first blood drive of the year was held
in memory of Martha “Martie” Boone, the
mother of Megan Boone, head of community service at Wilkes. Martie passed away
several months earlier due to complications
from leukemia, a blood-related cancer.
“Blood drives are one of the ways hospitals and cancer treatment centers supply
blood. My mother’s cancer was a bloodrelated disease,” said Boone.
Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects
blood cells. According to Healthwise, a
medical reference to research sites, it can
be traced to bone marrow, the soft tissue inside most bones. Three types of blood are
affected during leukemia: white blood cells,
red blood cells, and platelets.
“The supply and demand is very tricky.
There is so much more demand than there
is supply,” explained Boone.
While Wilkes sponsors several blood
drives over the course of the school year,

this particular blood drive was a memorable
affair.
These blood drives offer the opportunity
for students, staff, and faculty to donate all
types of blood. Maryann Smith, senior account manager and field representative for
the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the Red
Cross, said that Wilkes’s annual blood
drives always aim to reach out to the community need for blood products.
“Wilkes’s blood drive was very smooth.
The secret to a successful blood drive is to
set a goal and have a team to help you accomplish that goal,” said Smith.
Boone was the leader of that specific team
for this fall’s first effort. Boone organized,
in conjunction with the Red Cross, the year’s
first of four blood drives and recognized the
importance of attaching the appeal to a real
face and name.
“Using a person in the community, especially someone who has used or knows
someone who has used blood products,
helps donations greatly,” stated Smith.
Martie Boone did not know she would be
in need of blood products until one day last
fall when she began to feel very tired. According to Boone, Martie thought she had
the flu, so she went to the hospital and was
immediately transported to Hershey Medical Center to begin treatments. Martie’s
turn around was short due to her advancement of the cancer.
“My mother had a type of leukemia called
AML. It is a very aggressive form of leukemia. It usually occurs in people over a

certain age, because the cells
stop regenerating,” explained
Boone.
The makeup
of a blood
drive and the
importance of
the donors are
circumstances
that
neither
Boone
nor
Smith
have
overlooked.
The
Wilkes
community
The Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
joined together Over 70 students signed up to donate blood at Wilkes University’s
to have a total first blood drive of the year. Each pint of blood can save three lives.
of 74 sign-ups
Students and faculty are not the only ones
for this fall’s drive. Of those 74, 54 students, staff, and faculty were able to suc- giving of themselves to help others. Socessfully donate blood. Each pint of blood dexho, the main food supplier for Wilkes
University, donated the food and beverages
given saves three lives.
“We have a great turnout. We had a lot of for the canteen at the blood drive.
“Sodexho is really great. They supply
first time donors, especially freshmen who
want to join or have had blood drives in pretty much everything from the cookies to
the water bottles,” stated Boone.
high school,” said Boone.
Through the generous donations of both
One of the freshmen in attendance was
Melanie Good, a freshman pharmacy major. time and body from the community, Wilkes
Good said she signed up to donate blood for was able to save many others.
“This is my way of keeping my mother’s
several reasons.
“My sister got me into doing it. She memory alive. I am trying to do something
donates. Also, I like to help people. It’s proactive, and just seeing how many stuactually interesting, because I do not like dents come through the door I know that
our students really do care,” said Boone.
needles of shots,” stated Good.
exam and essay at the end of her term. Although there are American students in the
University, Wills has much direct interaction with many other cultures as well.
Because of her choice to broaden her
educational experiences by thinking globally, The Beacon has chosen Wills as its
Student of the Week.

BY BETHANY YAMRICK
Beacon Correspondent

Why study the Globe Theater’s architecture in a book, when you can go see it
yourself?
Senior pyschology major Stefanie Wills
has that and other options as she earns Wilkes credits in London through an organization known as IFSA-Butler.
Wills is attending the City University of
London, and residing in north London, in
residential Islington.
Like the other study abroad programs
at Wilkes, the university offers courses in
English, and Wills is studying with 100
other American students. Wills has classes
once a week for two hours at a time, with
Mondays and Wednesdays off. Not only
is her schedule set up differently, but she
is also graded on a pass/fail basis with one

BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

The Beacon: Finish this sentence: My
friends would be surprised to know that
I…
Wills: skydive and am a baseball fan.

The Beacon: Where do you see yourself in
10 years?
Wills: I see myself having a family and a
masters degree in psychology, hopefully
having a job in the field.
The Beacon: Describe yourself in three
words.
Wills: Outgoing, caring, and genuine.

Photo courtesy of
Stefanie Wills

�•••
••
Students gather
together for a schoolspirit parade in 1949
and again in 2008
through the Public
Square.

• •••••

••••••• •
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
••••••••••••

Students dance the
night away in 1987, and
again during this year’s
Homecoming at Genetti’s in Wilkes-Barre.

Covering cars with
blue and gold decorations remains a Homecoming tradition just
as in 1959.

•
•••••••••

Band members gather
at the pep rally in 1964,
while alumni come together for refreshments
in 2008.

President Breiseth
crowns Queen Lori
Truman and King Mick
Dungan in 1992 . Tanya
Feiertag and Anthony
Carvale won in
2008.

The annual Homecoming bonfire at Ralston
Field, pictured in 1971
transitioned into the
pep rally of today.

�ite
rah’s Infin
o
N
d
n
a
k
of)
Nic
wed (sort
ie
v
re
ts
e
g
Playlist
CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

PAGE 14
OCTOBER 7, 2008

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

New dance club heats up downtown Wilkes-Barre
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor
Although cool evening temperatures signal the change of season in the northeast,
nights in Wilkes-Barre are about to get hotter.
The Mines, located at 105 N. Main Street,
is a new dance club directly across from
the King’s College campus. The building,
owned by Thom Greco, was previously the
football offices and weight training facility
for King’s. The students called this training
facility “The Mines”, painting murals that
resemble an underground mine shaft leading to the basement of the building. After
the college built an addition onto its gym,
King’s moved out of the facility.
Now, a year later and following renovations, the new nightclub, restaurant and museum are finally complete.
On Saturday September 13, the doors
opened for its first 21 and over night, with
a happy hour extending from 10 p.m. to
midnight. The following Friday, the club
admitted 18 year-olds for the first time and
wrapped thin paper around the wrists of 21
year-olds so they could grab a drink at the
bar; the following Thursday was the club’s
first college night.
According to Thom Greco, owner of
The Mines, “The reason why we do these
[college] nights is because we believe that
peer pressure generally forces kids to drink
when they are under age because they hang
out with the upperclassmen who are able to
drink.”
The club’s goal is to prevent underage
drinking while allowing everyone to dance

together and have a good time.
In order to keep alcohol away from the
dance floor, Greco said, “We give an atmosphere where there is proper supervision.
Whether you are 18 or you are 21, you are
all able to mix mingle dance and have a
good time.”
The club is made up of two separate sections, the dance floor located at the lower
level and the bar area at the top. There is a
small VIP section by the DJ that seems to be
a hit among college women. “The VIP section and popular music makes for a lively
atmosphere,” said sophomore pharmacy
major Jen Stahl.
The nightclub is open from 10 p.m. to 2
a.m. On Thursday nights the cost is $8 for
under 21 and or $5 with a college ID. For
club-goers who are over 21, the entrance
fee is $3. Friday nights under 21 is $8 and
over 21 is $3, and Saturday nights it is $5.
Greco notes that the club will offer special
events like concerts and Halloween costume
parties. “In December we have a national
recording artist coming that we cannot announce yet,” he said.
The restaurant portion will be open seven
nights a week from 5 pm to 1 am beginning
this Thursday. According to Greco, this
too, is a welcoming establishment for college students. “If a family wants to come
in, they can eat affordably, or if college
students want to come in at midnight and
decide they want something to eat, we are
there and it’s very affordable.”
The Mines has quickly been deemed
a success among the Wilkes and King’s
students. Yahad Cobb, a freshman business major at Wilkes University said,
“I will be there every week. My room-

12

The Beacon/
TheAmanda
Beacon/Gunther
Amanda Gunther

Patrons line up to dance the night away at the new historically themed
night club, The Mines.
mates and I now will look forward to Thursdays.”
The Mines is one of three new night club
establishments opening this fall. Club Luna
will be opening in late October at the Midtown Village on South Main Street. Luna is

a Miami-themed lounge with a New YorkStyle VIP dance club. The Hardware Bar
will be adding a dance club section called
Eclipse, which will be opening by the end
of November.
The Beacon/ Jenna Stephens

Scaring people takes time, skill, and a little insurance
BY YOHANNA DE LOS SANTOS M.
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

Haunted “exhibitions” are as much a part
of the season as the changing leaves in
NEPA.
And those who want a small thrill or a big
scare are already flocking to the attractions,
new and old. Raymond AnnHigh, project
coordinator of Gravestone Manor Haunted
House said, “Our opening - we had 550

people, which is good for September. As
you get towards Halloween it gets a lot bigger. Last year overall we had around 5,000
people [in attendance].”
Some people might think that putting together a haunted house is about as difficult
as squirting a little fake blood on a corpse or
choosing just the right corner from which to
pop out and scream, the truth is that haunted
house design requires time, effort, commitment, and insurance policies.
Gravestone Manor, like many other

haunted attractions, changes its theme from
year to year.
“Every year we completely change the
premise of the story. [It] is always an interactive mystery story that involves the audience in surviving the streets of the haunted
house,” said AnnHigh.
This year Gravestone Manor’s theme is an
asylum for carnival workers who have been
declared criminally insane.
Karen Simon, coordinator of the Haunted
Trail said, “It’s going to be a trail going

through a corn field and throughout the
corn, there will be a few surprises here and
there...We are hoping to have it at least 15
minutes long.”
According to AnnHigh, the cost of opening a haunted attraction is high, especially if
it’s open every year.

See SCARE page 13

�ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

OCTOBER 7, 2008

13

SCARE
from PAGE 12

“This year we invested about $10,000 in
upgrading all of our special effects,” said
AnnHigh.
Senior political science major, James
Winterbottom looks forward to new surprises. “I expect it has really creepy people
and music.”
Because of expectations like this, each
haunted house can only work with a wellrehearsed staff that is in charge of giving
that special touch to the creepy side of the
house everybody is expecting.
“They like scaring people,” said Simon.
The staffs at these facilities are also
trained to help out anyone if they get too
scared, which is why many of the haunted
houses are insured.
“We’ve never had any injuries or problems like that. We have had people wet their
pants because we did scare them, but other
than that, no, we are insured,” said Simon.
For the Haunted Trail, Simon said, “Remember that this is an outdoor event, so we
recommend that you wear proper shoes and
attire.”
Simon also added that the cost is $5 per
person.

For Gravestone Manor, the cost is
$10 per person and all proceeds go to
local causes like the Red Cross, the
CYC and the Boy and
Girls Scouts.
The
not so
chivalrous
greeter outside
of Gravestone
Manor entices
patrons into
the festivious
haunted carnival.

The Beacon/Alyssa Benner

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ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: A review (sort of)

those as well as the bad ones. It becomes habit.
I was on IMDB (Internet Movie Database.com) the other
day and found myself looking at the upcoming movie list,
and sadly I experienced no true thrill of anticipation. I could
pass up the majority of this season and sleep well at night.
It’s plain and simple. If Hollywood were up for review, it
would get no stars.
All that said, I want to say, go see Nick and Norah. Nick
and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a wonderful movie. It is a
film adaptation of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s award
winning book by the same name. Michael Cera (Juno) is
Nick, an indie bassist for his band, who is still getting over
being dumped by his girlfriend a month prior. One night in
NYC, Nick is out playing a gig with his band, the Jerkoffs,
when he crosses paths with Norah, Kat Dennings (Charlie
Bartlett), a quirky, rich indie girl.
At a rough point in both of their love lives, they set off
on a journey to find a favorite band, who is playing a secret
show. As they both wrestle with past relationships, drunk
friends, and a handful of other random, hilarious moments,
they build an important connection. Nick and Norah is a
great movie with an even more wonderful moral. And even
though it sounds like you have seen it before, trust me you
have not. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5. It’s one of the rare
solid efforts out there right now.

a debate on religion. Or the best one, when I found myself
making fists because some “mature” high schooler found
the silent sentimental moments in the film the best time to
start the faker cough. I have lost all hope in my generation.
What is it that has changed? Has this generation fried
their common sense away with tanning beds and cell
phones? Even more likely. Or is it that the movie industry

BY KENNY BROWN
Beacon Corresspondent

I sit here thinking about the movie I just watched, Nick
and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and I realize I cannot find it in
myself to write the review.
It’s not because I didn’t like it or because I read the book
first. No, it has nothing to do with the movie at all. Honestly the movie was wonderful. It was well acted, beautifully
written, and has that storyline that just grips the viewer.
Anyway, that’s what I caught, in between the giggles,
comments, and annoying conversations going on around
me in the theater.
And because of that, I stray from topic a little this week.
Do not worry this will not become another angry rant. I will
give you the goods on Nick and Norah. But first I want to
review something else: movie goer etiquette.
As I settled into my seat I looked around and realized
I was a minority in this audience. I was a guy, and I was
in college, and I was not talking. And through the whole
movie it stayed this way. Maybe its my OCD. Maybe it’s
the movie buff in me. But when did the movie theater become your living room? And When did it become okay to
conversate and text at the movies?
More than once I found myself shushing the girls in front
of me. I also noticed myself telling the people behind me to
shut up because they thought this was a great time to have

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

has been making such terrible movies recently that the theater has now turned into a live action text session?
Now I am in no way defending those annoying texters and
talkers, but I have a good feeling it’s the industry. It seems
anymore every movie, with a few very rare exceptions, is
some cheap remake, stupid spoof, or poorly made cheese
fest. Lately, movies have gotten so bad that we cannot even
tell a good one when it comes along, so we talk through

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ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

OKTOBERWEST 200~

15

Kudracross

BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Correspondents
2

3

4

5

11

10

12

13

HI

17

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88

43

The Beacon/ Alyssa Benner

The Lionshead Brewery dates back to 1905 and was able to stay in business through
out the Prohibition era. With an annual Oktoberfest, the Lionshead Brewery allows its refined products to be sampled and enjoyed by attendees.

02

66
Across
1
6
10
14
15
16
17
19
20
21
23
25
26
31
32
33
34
38
39
42
43
45
46
47
49

Tripoli land
Brazil neighbor
Thick carpet
Assortment
Divisible by two
Shore bird
Art of logical discussions
Scene of Napoleon’s first exile
Rob
Camelot knight
Affirmative vote
Small lounge rooms
Extending service as in community work
Fido’s foot
Leg joint
Hereditary initials
_____ Yeltsin
Fruit part
Cut off
Disrespectful
Away from shore
In debt
Boat bottom
On same side prefix
Mammoth

51
55
56
58
62
63
66
67
68
69
70
71

Material girl
First Aid _____
Additional, usually subsidiary meaning
Upper regions of space
Supernatural force
Never lost
Fine spray
Railroad parts
Like some noses
Sheltered, nautically
Transmitted
Type of roofing material

Down
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
18
22
24
26
27
28
29
30
35
36
37
40
41
44
48
50
51
52
53
54
57
59
60
61
64
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Boy
1998 Goo Goo Dolls song
Ill-behaved child
Ivy league school
Pirate affirmatives
Dog or Cat
Blackhearted
Summarize
Undo a button
Factories where girders, rails, etc. are made
Greeting
Tree planting holiday
Annoying insects
Remove obstructions
Alaska king ____
Adolescent woe
Gumbo vegetable
Army group
High Olympic scores
Change furnishings
Chaos
Is sorry about
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Wall Street order
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Isn’t a word
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To be of use
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�Men’s and Women’s
Soccer
pg. 18

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

OCTOBER 7, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Field hockey’s undefeated streak ends at 10
Lady Colonels fall to E-town for first loss of season
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
All good things must come to an end and
on Saturday, October 4, the Lady Colonels
field hockey team saw their historic winning streak halt at 10 games.
The women won their first game of the
week on Thursday, October 2, hosting
FDU-Florham before falling to No. 13
Elizabethtown College at Homecoming
on Saturday.
On Thursday, the Lady Colonels were
without two key players, their leading
scorer, senior forward Alyssa Koncelik
and freshman defender Alyssa Davis. Both
missed the game due to injury; however,
the team adjusted and was able to gain its
second Freedom Conference win of the
season with a 2-0 win over the Devils.
Davis would return for Saturday’s game
while Koncelik remained sidelined.
Senior midfielder and captain Diana
Wright started the scoring rally for the
Lady Colonels by knocking in her second
goal of the season, that was the result of a
penalty corner just under 30 minutes into
the game. Gina Elmy was credited with an
assist on the goal.
Junior Brittney Sines also scored for
the Colonels, connecting on another penalty corner just over 69 minutes into the
game. Freshman Chelsea Minix assisted
on Sines’ third goal of the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport continued to perform well for the
Lady Colonels. Davenport stopped all
three shots she faced from the Devils. The
shutout against FDU was Davenport’s
third straight and the seventh shutout of
the season for the team.
The win against the Devils was bittersweet as FDU-Florham ended the Lady
Colonels’ season last year. FDU won the
game 2-0 and knocked Wilkes out of post
season play.
Head coach Sara Myers believed the
team played as a whole Thursday, which
was key to defeating the Devils.
“In our game against FDU we played as
a unit, which is when we are at our best.
The first half we played very strong. I was
also very happy to see us score on two corners. It has been a long time since we have

beat FDU and it was a great feeling for the
team,” Myers said.
The win against FDU gave the team their
tenth straight win of the season; however
the historic undefeated streak would end
there.

eventual game winner. Megan Angstadt
added a security goal for the Blue Jays approximately six minutes into the game.
The start to the game proved to be all
Elizabethtown would need for the win as
they failed to score after.

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Number 17 Jen Keegan battles for the ball during Saturday’s Homecoming
game against Elizabethtown College. The Blue Jays handed Wilkes its first
loss of the season by a score of 3-1.
No. 13 Elizabethtown College visited
the Lady Colonels for their Homecoming
match-up on Saturday. The Blue Jays came
into Saturday’s game with two losses on
the season, the first against King’s College
and the second against No. 7 Lebanon Valley College.
Elizabethtown began the game with three
straight goals. Their first goal came just
over three minutes into the game as Liz
DeMatteis connected on a pass from Alison
Duval. Thirty-one seconds later, DeMatteis
scored her second goal of the game and the

“The first six minutes of the game, we
broke down defensively and they capitalized on all of our mistakes. When you play
a strong team, every mistake you make
they will use to their advantage; that is
exactly what Elizabethtown did,” Myers
explained.
Wright added, “As captain, I try to stay
positive on the field. It can be discouraging but that early in the game, there was
plenty of time to come back.”
The Lady Colonels would score once in
the game as freshman midfielder Amanda

Peters scored with just over 18 minutes
left in the game. Freshman Gina Elmy
was credited with an assist.
Despite several consecutive penalty corners late in the second half Wilkes was unable to finish and the game ended in favor
of the Blue Jays.
After Elizabethtown scored three early goals, the Lady Colonels could have
played defeated for the entire game; however Myers took a time out after the second goal and tried to calm the team as they
found themselves in unfamiliar territory.
“I always tell the team that no matter
what happens we need to use our communication to get us back on the right track.
Once we get down on ourselves, our play
starts on mimic our defeated attitude. We
need to keep a positive outlook and trust
each other. We know from experience that
we can come back from any situation,”
Myers said.
Beyond the start of the game the Lady
Colonels were not out played. Wilkes had
11 shots compared to the Blue Jays 12.
Davenport stopped six shots while Elizabethtown’s Liz Hannegan stopped five
shots from the Colonels.
“After the first six minutes we definitely
held our own against them. We had numerous scoring opportunities that we did
not capitalize on, especially in our corner
play; we had 11 corners to their seven,”
Myers explained.
With a tough opponent next week in No.
11 Monclair State, it will be key for the
Lady Colonels to work hard and not get
discouraged from their first loss.
“We need to work hard in practice and
fix where we made mistakes Saturday.
We challenged Elizabethtown later in the
game, and we need to work on taking advantage of a good team’s mistakes. That
will be key in next week’s game against
Montclair,” Wright said.
The Lady Colonels will be in action
again on Saturday, October 11, at 1:00p.m.
when they host the Red Hawks at Ralston
Field.

�OCTOBER 7, 2008

SPORTS

Lady Colonels tennis perfect after six matches

BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
The Lady Colonels tennis team started its
season off in a powerful fashion, remaining
undefeated after six games. The team defeated Manhattanville in Purchase, N.Y. on
Tuesday September 30, by a score of 7-2 for
its sixth decisive win.
The two losses in the Manhattanville
match came off of walk-overs as the Lady
Colonels were unable to bring enough players due to academic conflicts.
In singles play, five women won for
Wilkes. Sophomore Victoria Bybel, junior Xiaoqiao Zhang, sophomore Michelle
Knight, freshman Rebekah Shanaman and
freshman Stephanie Harkins all defeated

FOOTBALL
from PAGE 20

The Colonels desperately needed to get
the ball back because the scoreboard read:
21-14. On third down and two yards to go,
Colonels Sean O’Neill and Drew Letcavage pinned Parker to the grass at Lebanon
Valley’s 42 yard line, giving the Colonels
exactly what they needed, a punt.
The 5’11 freshman punter, Colt Zorilla,
booted the pigskin 25 yards to the Wilkes
32-yard line to Colonel sophomore Aireil
Adams. He tried to catch the ball as two
Dutchmen came flying at him for the tackle
and what happens? A fumble, picked up by
Lebanon Valley.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
from PAGE 18
The Crusaders had their own scoring opportunity several minutes later, as sophomore forward Alison Chavers found herself
in a breakaway with Berkey. She was run
down from behind by sophomore defender
Casandra Valentin, however, and the ball
was cleared.
The score remained tied until the 74th
minute, when the Lady Colonels led an offensive down the middle of Susquehanna’s
field. After dribbling past Susquehanna’s
last defender, Hallowell was able to flick
a goal past Meredith Tompeck and into the
back of the net, giving Wilkes a 1-0 lead.
Senior forward Jessica Gannon had an assist on the play.
“I saw their sweeper coming across and
realized I needed to get to the ball quickly,”
said Hallowell. “When I saw the keeper
come at me I just tried my best to get the
ball past her.”
Three minutes later, however, the Crusader’s found themselves with a goal of their
own as sophomore forward Julie Briskey
kicked a ball over the head of Berkey from
right outside Wilkes’ box. The goal came
in a surreal manner, as no player aside from

their opponents in two sets.
In doubles play, Bybel and Zhang defeated their opponents and Knight and Shanaman also won their doubles set.
The win against Manhattanville gave the
Lady Colonels their fourth Freedom Conference win of the season.
Head coach Chris Leicht believes one of
the strengths of the team this season is the
fact that all their players from last season
returned for play this year.
“We are very experienced. We won the
conference championship the last two years
and went to the NCAA National tournament
the last two years and I have everybody
back from last year, so that is obviously a
big factor,” Leicht explained.
“I was just trying to make a play but they
made the hit,” said Adams, a 5’9 wide receiver from New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Adams normally slips through defenders
for extra yardage on punt returns. But this
time, his heroic efforts were shut down.
Afterwards, Lebanon Valley’s Charlie
Parker rushed for a 12-yard touchdown
with 01:47 remaining, giving the Dutchmen
a 28-14 advantage.
Even after Parkers touchdown with little
time remaining, the Colonels kept fighting.
Junior quarterback Rob Johnson drove his
team down the field for a touchdown in only
four plays, hitting wide receiver Anthony
Dorunda on a 29-yard fly route for six.
Down by a touchdown, the Colonels tried
Briskey reacted to the ball dropping down
in front of Wilkes’ goal. Surrounded by
several Wilkes’ defenders and Susquehanna
forwards, Briskey simply took a few steps
forward before kicking the ball as everyone
else watched. Indeed, even the crowd made
no reaction to what it had just seen, as if
none could believe the play.
With the score tied 1-1 with ten minutes
remaining, the Lady Colonels refused to
give up. With everyone up in Susquehanna
territory, Valentin directed a header into the
back of the Crusader’s net off of a strong
corner kick from Fissel.
“Casandra is possibly one of our best
players in the air,” head coach John Sumoski said. “We normally try to have her in the
box on a corner unless we are in the lead.
Katy (Fissel) couldn’t have put up a better
ball for her on the corner.”
Her teammates mobbed her in celebration, and the Lady Colonels fended off
Susquehanna’s last few attempts to score
before coming away with the 2-1 win. Wilkes outshot Susquehanna 19-5 for the game.
“We played really good soccer today all the
way around,” Sumoski said. “I am proud of
the way we played.”

The team has also added two freshmen,
Shanaman and Harkins, and the upperclassmen have played an important role in helping them adjust to college play.
“The way they [the upperclassmen] go
about everything, how hard they work, how
serious they take tennis. I think the freshmen see that and it helps them too,” Leicht
said.
Senior Alison McDonald believes one of
the strengths of the team is their depth.
“Our biggest strength is our depth. We
are very solid throughout our entire lineup. Our top four singles players have each
played at the number one spot for a year,
which just shows how deep we are,” McDonald explained.
an onside kick with 00:36 remaining but
the Dutchmen fell on the ball and milked
the clock for their first conference win this
season.
“It was a great win for our football team;
I said to (my team) we’re 1-0 in the MAC.
How does it feel to be in first place?,” said
Lebanon Valley’s head coach Jim Monos.
Knowing that the Colonels were out-ofsync offensively, the 16th-year head coach
stated, “I felt like we could’ve put that game
away a little sooner, about five times sooner.
But you know what, I’ve learned a win, is
a win, is a win. And we’ll take that win, at
their homecoming, at their place, you kidding me?”
The Colonels struggled on the ground,

17

The Lady Colonels hosted Misericordia
College on Monday October 6 and will
travel to King’s College on Wednesday October 8 at 3:00 p.m. Both matches are Freedom Conference play and will challenge the
team’s undefeated streak.
“We are undefeated, but that doesn’t mean
we let our guard down. Now that we have
established ourselves as the team to beat in
the conference, we all want more and work
toward achieving bigger goals,” McDonald
said. “We know how good the competition
is once we get to playoffs and nationals in
the spring season, so we have to prepare
ourselves.”

finishing with 51 rushing yards as a team.
Sophomore starter Jamar Beverly led the
team 38 yards but also led the fumbling
spree with two of his own.
Johnson continued to perform well for the
second week in the row, totaling 218 passing yards on 18-29 passing attempts and
three touchdowns.
Linebacker Drew Letcavage led the Colonels with 16 tackles but the defense as a
whole allowed 504 total offensive yards.
The Colonels will travel to Madison, New
Jersey this Saturday to face Farleigh Dickison University (2-2). Kickoff is scheduled
for 1pm.

The Beacon / Jenna Stephens

Ashley Deemie (10) and the Lady Colonels played well but ultimately lost to
visiting Delaware Valley, 3-2, at homecoming on Saturday, October 4.

�OCTOBER 7, 2008

SPORTS

Women’s soccer edges Susquehanna at home on 10/1

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
The Wilkes University Lady Colonels (45-1) entered their second of four straight
home games at Ralston Field on October 1
against the Susquehanna Crusaders (1-5-2),
managing a 2-1 win for their second in as
many games.
The Lady Colonels started the first half
strong, dominating possession of the ball
as they launched several attacks on Susquehanna’s goal. Wilkes had its first scoring
opportunity at the 40-minute mark, as a
looping kick from freshmen defender Megan Clementson fell on the top of the crossbar and bounced over the back of the net.
Two minutes later, sophomore forward
Taryn Hallowell directed an attack down

Susquehanna’s goal line before crossing the
ball; the resulting shot again went over the
goal, however.
Susquehanna tried to counterattack after
the resulting goal kick, but was stopped by
Wilkes midfielders. What followed was a
two minute period in which the Lady Colonels led constant attacks against Susquehanna. Hallowell took both of Wilkes’s two
shots on goal during the offensive, but was
unable to score. The ball was cleared, and
ten minutes passed as both sides struggled
to organize any attempt of attack.
At the 23 minute mark, junior midfielder
Julissa Reed streaked down the right side
of the field before launching a kick that
bounced off of the top crossbar of Susquehanna’s goal; the resulting rebound was

headed by freshmen forward Katy Fissel
but went wide right, drawing an excited
groan from the Wilkes supporters.
Susquehanna responded from the two near
goals with its first threat of the game. Using short and accurate passes, the Crusaders were able to effectively move downfield
before junior forward Abby Montgomery
launched a close range shot that deflected
off of the hands of Wilkes’ senior goalkeeper Jessica Berkey. The deflection spiraled
out of bounds just inches beyond Wilkes’s
left post, keeping the score tied at zero.
The remaining time in the first half wore
away without incident until the final twenty seconds, when Susquehanna launched
an all-out offensive from within the Wilkes box. A shot from fifteen feet out was

18

blocked by Berkey, with the ball rolling
out of bounds and setting up a corner kick.
With the clock ticking down from seven
seconds, the Crusaders crossed the ball and
got off a final shot attempt, which was again
blocked by Berkey. The deflection off her
hands spun slowly in front of the Wilkes’s
goal, but did not go in before time expired.
Both teams entered the break tied 0-0.
Two minutes into the start of the second
half, senior defender Lauren Cirilli sent a
strong cross to sophomore midfielder Alison Weidman, whose header sailed just over
the net.

See WOMEN’S SOCCER
on PAGE 17

Men’s soccer gives homecoming fans reason to cheer

Defeats Delaware Valley 3-0 to improve conference record

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
Behind a strong display of support from
homecoming fans, the Wilkes University
men’s soccer team defeated Delaware Valley College 3-0 on Saturday, October 4, to
remain unbeaten in Freedom Conference
play. The win helped elevate the Colonels’
record to 6-5 overall, with a 2-0 mark in the
conference.
Both sides came out aggressively and
physically in the first half, racking up a combined 15 total fouls. The Colonels would
take a 1-0 lead ten minutes into the game
after sophomore midfielder Doug Moore
threaded a pass through the Delaware Valley defense to junior forward Greg Miller,
who punched in a goal past keeper Tristan
Preece.
“I got the ball and heard [Greg] call for it,
and he was able to finish with a great shot,”
said sophomore midfielder Doug Moore of
the play.

fense,” he said. “The guys have all been
The Colonels would take eight shots to the them coming on the road.
Aggie’s one in the first half, but the score
Sophomore midfielder Sean Stitt com- working to come together as a team in trouremained 1-0 going into the half.
mented on how the Colonels have been pre- ble situations to help one another out when
needed.”
Wilkes struck again seven minutes after paring for their tough upcoming stretch.
the beginning of the second half, as junior
“We’ve been practicing very hard on ball
defender Arthur Jankowski netted an unas- possession and control, as well as our desisted goal on a shot that deflected off the
hands of Delaware Valley’s keeper. Ten
minutes later, around the 60 minute mark,
sophomore forward Ryan Phillips drove
home an insurance goal off an assist from
junior forward Bret Osswald, making the
score 3-0. Senior keeper TJ Baloga served
for the first 55 minutes in goal before being relieved by sophomore Kaleb Smith,
who saved a penalty shot with four minutes
remaining to help Wilkes earn the shutout
victory.
The Colonels’ next match is at Ralston
Field at 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 8,
against Rowan University. Following the
The Beacon / Leann Searfoss
game, Wilkes will play four straight Free- The Colonels were able to come out on top 3-0 against Delaware Valley in a very physidom Conference matches, with three of cal contest. Their next match is home on Wednesday October 8 against Rowan.

Football

Men's Soccer

L 28-21 LVC

L 3-0@ Susquehanna
W 3-0 Delaware Valley

Women's Tennis
Volleyball
W 7-2 @ Manhattanville
. .
.
s· 1 5 1
W 3-1 @M1ser1cord1a
Dingbles: ou es: 2-1

Field Hockey

Women's Soccer

Men's Tennis

Cross Country

W 2-0 FDU-Florham
L 3-1 Elizabethtown

W 2-1 Susquehanna
L 3-2 Delaware Valley

Bucknell Tournament:
Singles: 0-8
Doubles: DNP

DNP

�SPORTS

OCTOBER 7, 2008

19

Barnes &amp; Noble "\Vilkes-King's Bookstore
7 South lVlnin Street, ,vilkes-Bnrre, PA 18701 ~ 570.208.4700 ~ '\•\ Tilkes.bncollege.con1

What's happening at your bookstore this week!
Live "Free" Music Every Wednesday Night and n1ost Friday's vvith a 25%
discount on anything) ou purchase fron1 the cate during the music act!

This Wednesday Night Live Music we have
Eamonn Garaghty at 6:30pm
Friday Night Live Music with
··Three Imaginary Boys~~ at 7:30pm
• A1-1thor Signh-igs: Da,e Saxton author of c7nto The Coot:, Thursday at 11:00
am, Juanita Patience Moss author signing Friday at 11:ooa1n, &amp; Michelle
Russell author of "Sabrina: Autobiography qla Cat" Saturday at 1:00pm
• Mystery Book Cl1-1b Gro1-1p: Thursday at 6:30pm "Ever)'\rVhere That Mary
Went" by Lisa Scottoline. Get 25% get off the book of the month.
•

"Little Eh-isteh-i's" this Saturda 1nornin

thne at 11:ooan.1.

Please drink responsibly. Bart and Urby's will not serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 21.
119 South Main Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702

570-970-9570

www.bartandurbys.com

www.mys ace.com/bartandurbys

�SPORTS

OCTOBER 7, 2008

20

Colonels fumble chance to win conference opener
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief

Number 8 Jamar Beverly juggles a swing pass from Number 9 Rob
Johnson during Saturday’s game againts Lebanon Valley.
The Colonels lost the game 28-21.

The

Bea

con/

Gno

Troi
a

ni

See FOOTBALL
on PAGE 17

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

Charlie Parker must have received the
memo from Lebanon Valley that it was
Wilke’s homecoming weekend because he
definitely brought his dancing shoes.
The 5’10, 191 lb. running back busted
through seams and did more juke moves
than a kid playing Madden 2009, all the
way to a staggering 278 rushing yards as
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the Colonels
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for the opening game of Freedom Conference play.
Parker finished with two touchdowns and
had five times as many yards as Colonels
rushers combined. He also finished second
on LVC’s all-time rushing list with 2,364
yards, while helping his team snap a long
losing streak to the Colonels, that dates all
the way back to 1992. But most importantly, he did what the Colonels were unable
to do, that’s hold onto the football.
Of the Colonels six fumbles, five were
coughed up and fell into the hands of the
Dutchmen; fans would’ve thought a Wilkes alum pulled a prank and strolled down
from the tents to slip beer into the Colonels water jug.
“It’s tough to win football games that
way,” said 13 year head coach Frank

Sheptock. “We had a little
bit of momentum there in
the fourth quarter and we
fumbled a punt. I thought
(the punts) were all
critical to us. From a
coaching standpoint,
I’ve got to find a
way to eliminate
the mistakes.”
Despite all the
turnovers, the
Colonels still
had an opportunity to tie
the
game
late in the
fourth.
It was
04:53
r e maini n g
when the
offensive
drive
started for the Dutchmen.

roiani
/Gno T

acon
he Be

T

(At Right) Number 40 Rob Pietrucha catches the ball for the Colonels’ first touchdown of the game during
Saturday’s game against the Dutchmen.

�</text>
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WHYWE LIKE
OBAMA

ZACK&amp;
MIRI

SPORTS

PAGE 6

PAGE 12

PAGE 16

RECAP

Volume 61

Focus of capital campaign shifts to SHE building Youth voter
awareness has
many influences

BV \ \ DREW SEA 1AN

Beacon Managing Eduor
Al 1he eptember meeting of the Wilkes
Unl\crs1ry Board ofTrustees it was decided
10 1um lhe focus of the capital campaign
solely 10 the proposed Science, Health and
Lngmeermg (SHE) building.
Jay Sidhu, Chair of the Board ofTrustees,
f&gt;lld lhe decision came afler heanng from
unous people within the Wilkes communary
"Aller hearing Imm members of the
boanl"s campaign advisory committee, as
11ell as science and pharmacy faculty, adm1nastra1ors, and the university·s architect,
1hc board dctcnnined the SHE building was
cnhcal to Wilkes's future and hould be
1he primary focus of !he campaign.," said
Sidhu
According to the September Board Report. "Make Mahoney. chair of the Capital
Campaign Advisory Committee, told the
board his committee examined the original
cap11al campaign planning materials and the
m1,s1011, " ,on and values of the univers,l), and concluded the success of the SHE

BY A MY FUSCO

Beacon Asst. News Editor

the "'ar in Iraq, bo\\Cver, she did speak of
her three sons currently serving in the armed
forces "ho represent the Army, NaV}, and
Marine Corps. " Let"s bnng them home in
honor and v1ctory," she added.
Mc ain emphasized that she "-11S both enthusiasli and proud of her husband 's selection of Governor Sarah Palin, R-AK, as his
running mate
" he is a reformer, a maverick .. and a
straight talker.- he said.

As the ovember election quic~l:r approaches. for many, the quesuon is not for
"'hom to vote, but whal. To paraphrase former President Bill Clinton. ··lt"s the is ues.
stupid.'.
The U.S. Census Bureau ·s 2008 Statistical Ahl.tract reveals voting-age populations
and voter participa1ion in recent presidential
elections. Of the 11 .9 million 18-20:rcar--0ld
people, 28.4% voted in the 2000 elecuon
In the 2004 election, 41.0% of 11.6 million
people in the same age range ,ored n,c
stati tics indicate a clear increase in voting
among )'Oung people. In 1he 21-24) ears old
age bracket, 42.5% of 16.4 million people
voled in the 2004 election. Accordmg lo
1he U.S. Census Bureau 1a1is1ics, as age
increases, voter ac11vity also increases Historically, at least in the past rwo presidential
elections. 1he youth vo1e has been the least
influential demographic m the out onles
Dr. Kyle Kreider, assistant professor of
political science, has no1iced an increase in
studenr concerns about the coumry·s current issues during this clecrion. I le believes
the increased awarenes could be caused by
U1e troubled econom) , which ha a major
impact on sn,dent loan .financial aid. and
families ' ability to afford higher duca11on.
"I hear more students ialk about this election and more tudents ,..ant to tal~ aboul
ii in class,·· explained Kreider. '1"her~ is a
heightened sense ofa\,arencss and a he1gh1ened interest in the voting pr~s:·

See CINDY page 4

See VOTERS page J

The Beacon/ Bethany Yamridl
A chem· try tu dent works ia "bat most faculty and sta ff argue i an outda ted ience
lab. To meet the academic goal of trategir plan, Vi ion 20 10, all Wilke cam paign
proceeds ,..ill now go toward the con tructioo of the HE bu ilding.
building was critical "
Mike Wood, Vice President for AdvanceThe Board Report also tates that the HE ment at Wilkes. said, -css million dollars) is
building is expected to cany a price tag of
$58 million

See SHE page 3

Cindy McCain stop at Wilkes rallies Republicans
GI\OTROIA." I
8e{J('Qn Op-Ed Eduor

W,lke;, Uni,ersily opened its doors to
Cindy McCain, "ife of presidential hopelul Sen John McCain, R-AZ, ar the Arnaud
C \1ans pons and Conference Center lasl

"eek
State Rcprescntati,es Karen Boback, Mano Sca,ello, and tate Senator Lisa Baker
offered endorsement peeclie 10 an eager
cro11d of approximately 350 awaiting McCam·, amval
The buildin2 erupted in applause while

chanting "Fll'Sl Lad ," as McCain made her
way to the podium
McCam assured voters 1ha1 Pennsylvania
1s ~ .. more than a S\\ ing tale," and a key
component in clmch,ng the election. Her
emphasis on the importance of Penn ylvania on ovember 4 resonated wuh what
many pundits hav argued is McCain's
strategy to concentrate on the state in the fi.
nal da)'s. In fac1. McCain and bi wife have
several vi its scheduled around rhe stale in
the next ,..eek. including one in Potts\llle
this "eek
Cindy McCain did not comment much on

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beacon archives.wilkes.edu

INDEX

Lifeslyla.. ___9-11

..... ..... ... 1-S
Opinion...........6-8

A&amp;E . .... 12-1S
Sports.......... 16-.:?0

Established 1936
P Newspaper
Association Member

w

Issue ]

~s hosts inti.
•
·amm1ng
etition
FRAIL
Editor

v, October 25, Wilkes UniI and participated in the AsComputing Machinery Inter~giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twenty,m ten schools competed for
11 eastern Pennsylvania. The
earn placed fourth and Wilkes
:h.
J the ACM website, "The con~ativity, teamwork, and innoding new software programs,
tudents to test their ability to
:r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
~ntest, also referred to as Bat.ins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
:d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years pro,ompetition gained popularity
a·d over seas.
,onsored the competition for
cording to Doug Heintzman,
,trategy for IBM's Software
onsorship Executive ofICPC,
r 22,000 students from 2,000
183 to 87 countries worldwide
:h year.
take our social responsibility
ly and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
and it's going to take some
, CONTEST page 3
36
1mber

�O CTOBER

7, 2008

Colonels fu
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
Charlie Parker must have receiv
memo from Lebanon Valley that
Wilke's homecoming weekend bee,
definitely brought his dancing shoe:
The 5' 10, 191 lb. running back
through seams and did more juke
than a kid playing Madden 2009,
way to a staggering 278 rushing y1
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the Cc
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for thf
ing game of Freedom Conference p
l'arker finished with two touchdoV1
had five times as many yards as Cc
rushers combined. He also finished
on LVC's all-time rushing list witl1
yards, while helping his team snap
losing streak to the Colonels, that d
the way back to 1992. But most imp
ly, he did what the Colonels were
to do, that's hold onto the football.
Of the Colonels six fumbles, fiv
coughed up and fell into the hands
Dutchmen; fans would've thought
kes alum pulled a prank and strolle&lt;
from the tents to slip beer into the
nels water jug.
"It's tough to win football gam
way," said 13 year head coach

NEWS

c o:-. TACT I FORMATIO;\:
nicole.fraillawilkes .edu
am).fu
a, wilkes.edu
cathl) n.frea «,wilkes.edu

------- OCTOBER 28, 2008

wilkesbeacon.news gma il.com

Pennsylvania man claims to hold cure for cancer
BYGI 'O T ROI t I
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

and a self-made freq uency generato r. He injected 1h piece of meat
with tiny metal particles, and then
placed it in an energy fie ld of rad io freq uencies. After just a few
minutes, the metal began to rise in
temperature. Ka nzius felt he had
had a s1rong theo ret ica l foundation based on this. but

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), cancer is the
nanon 's second leading cause of
death behind heart d i ease. In
2007, cancer claimed the lives of
approximately 559.6 I 5 Americans. Those numbers are expected
to rise by the end of2008.
Millions worldw ide have felt
the pam and sufferi ng of various
types of cancer. Thus, for years
cancer researchers have actively
sought a c ure, but to no avail.
Ironically, a former businessma n with no scientific background
or even a college degree claims to
be on the verge of solving one of
the-"orld's greatest medical mystenes.
Six years ago, John Kanzi us, a
former radio and televisio11 engineer and one time talion owner target
from Erie Pennsylvania, was diag- the cancer
nosed " ith a rare form of terminal cells.
leukemia.
With
After 36 ro unds of chemo- hel p of cantherapy throughout 2003 - 2004, cer researcher
Kanzius became determined to Stephen Curley
find his own cure. In an interview of M.D. Anderwith CBS, Kanzius explai ned that son Cancer Cenhis motivation came from seeing ter in Houston, the
the child ren with Iittle or no hope unlikely
research
in the cancer ward . ~, aw the team has been able
smiles of yo uth and saw the ir spir- to successfully target
its were broken. And you could the cancer cells wi th
see that they were son o f aski11g. metall ic gold and carbon
·Why can"t they do some thi ng for nanopanicles.
me?'The meta II ic nanoparlnspirat 1on truck Kanzius at 3 ticles are specifically dea.m. when he a"'oke with the idea signed to seek out and bind
that cancer cells could be targeted to the cancer cells with the
-.ith a metall 1c inJectlon, a nd heat- help of proteins, and are
ed with the help of rad io "aves. injected directly into the
His first trials in volved a hot dog. patient's blood stream. Once the

BEACON
130 s, River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wdkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766

PHONE: (!-70) 408-5903
E MAIL: 1'-ilkesbeacoa'!,grnail.com

nanopanicles have attached, a blast
from a radio frequency generator
heats th metal and de-

body. The process is called Radio
Frequency Therapy or RF Therapy.
Currentl y, an imal trials are
ing conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and in
Curley's laboratory in Houston, and are reponedly producing ~promising results.ff
Researchers believe that
RF therapy hould be able
to target and elim inate
-o all types of cancer
without any negalive effects to the
~ body.
';
According to
Curley. if all
goes ,-..ell, hu9, man
trials
are expected
~ to start in
·c;, r ough~ I
two
yea.rs.

t

%

i

Until then. the team continue
to further their research, and is
\\ orking hard 10 hare their findings "ith the general public
Recently, Senator Arlen Specter
addressed concerns about blood
cancer clusters in Carbon. Luzerne and Schu} lkill counties It
is reported thal at least 33 cases
of polycythemta vera blood cancer have been confirmed. As a result, Spector has pul in a bid for
$260,000 to study the cause at
Drexel U niversity.
Alex eeley of Way man .Pcnnsyl van ia, w ho was diagnosed and
beat leukemia in 2003 "ith the
help of chemotherapy commented, ·'I' m glad to hear that they are
developi ng new al ternatives besides chemo, I hope that ii works.
because I don ' t wish what l had to
go through on anybody.Bryan Najaka. junior b1olog)'
major al Wilkes Un1\-ersity added.
~1 think that evel')body know at
least one person "ho has had cancer. It is abou t lime tha1 someone
is trying someth ing
Time i slowly runn ing ou1 for
John Kanzi us because he still ,uffers from leukemia. and 1s currently undergoing chemotherap}
treatmenls. Hi dream 1s to see his
invention succeed in completel)
eliminating all I) pes of cancer.

ne"':·

"I saw the smiles of youth and saw their spirits were
broken. And you could see that they were so rt of
asking, 'Why can't they do something fo r me?"
- John Kanzius

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-In-Chief: Canton Holmes
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Design Chief: Alison Woody
AJE. Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertlalng Manager: Chlistlne Zavaskas
Spo,ts Editor: AIJSSa Lindner
News Editor: Nicole Frail
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr Andree Breemer Frantz

Cattnyn Frear, Arny Fusco, &amp; Nicole Frail

.
&lt;
(At Right) Number 40 Rob Piet
Saturday's game against the Du

2

�OCTOBER

28, 2008

SHE
from FRO T PAGE
and estima1es done b) Petra Can,cr on
l)'p1cal co t when it comes to lab space,
cla.;room space, office space. he applied
these formulas to these pre Iimina,y estima1es on ho\\ II would be blocled out..."
Wood added, " When \•e began 10 look al
\\hal 1hc projections were based on, "ha1
"e needed 10 get done in a new building, a
goo&lt;l shift m campaign focus was aimed al
the fact 1hat \IC were aiming al a new number. Therefore, it made the campaign advisory committee take another look al what
our campaign focus should be."
"We believe that in the current environment "e are going to have to focus the
campaign on the HE building because of
1t&gt; cost and 1ts absolute centrality to the
achievement of our academic goals in the
strategic plan, Vision 2010," said Dr. Tim
Gilmour. Wilkes University President 'The
Board agrees wilh that, so we want to do this
building m a way that really advances and
supports our Science. Health and Engineermg programs. The feeling was, whatever"'e
,me able to rai e on the capital campaign
hould be cle&gt;oted to the ience, Health
and Engineering building," he added.
RC) nold Verret, Wilkes University Provost, said. " I thinlc what the Board also felt
was 1ha1 our infrastructure in the~iences

VOTERS
from FRO T PAGE
he added.
Kreider noted that a majority of young
,oter. can articulate why they are a member
of their selected political pany For example, if political science studen were asked
why they are a Democrat. many would cite
the need for government inten,ention in the
economy. Kreider expressed some surprise
at 1he number of his students who filled out
the voter regi tration form he provided.
"In general, many stud nt are affiliated
with a party, bu1 I thin.k they are affiliated
"ith the party because it's the party their
parents are affiliated with," said Kreider.
Katie Munchel, sophomore busine s admims111111on, was previously one of those
1udcnts "'ho folio" ed her parents· poliucal lead
"When I was a kid, I always thought more
conservat1vely, bul as r·ve grown up l don·t
necessarily think that way anymore;· said
Munchel She noted that the area in which
she grew up and members of her family
are heavily Republican. which he believes
influenced her personal views. ~111 college,
iou are exposed to more people and differenl ways of thinking. When you ·re in high
school, you only see your parents view,"

NEWS
was very important for our going fornard

3

"hen
lhe)
come on board
to
campus.
they arc kind
of put off by
wha1
they
see .. I haven ·t
really heard
that from anybody, but that
1s based on
\\hat the admission office
tells us,- said
Klemow.
According to
Gilmour, the
school hopes
to stan buildmg by 2011.
Jn reference
to the three
year wait for
the start of
con !ruction,
Dr. Kenn th
Klemow, professor of biology at Wilkes,
said, •·1 thinlc
The Beacon I Bethany Yamnck
the sooner the Tbt new HE building, scbedul td to open in 20 11, will have mort allbettcr, but we vanud, updated tools fo r itnct, health aa d engineering students.

and remaining vivid as an institution.~
As for securing the funding for the new
building the report claims the university can
finance SI 0 million whtle securing another
S16 million from current funding commitments, leaving approximately 32 million
lo be financed .
According to Wood, the funding would be
a combination of corporation and individual
gifts.
" We would look at busin es that wanted
to partner with us to build portions of the
building that could potentially be named in
honor of that giller," he said.
During these tough economic times Gilmour said that they are not sure if the funding
goal "ould be obtainable.
"We are going to do our level best to
raise as much as we po ibly can. One of
the other important elements of the Board·s
discussion was a very clear indication from
the administration and from the board le dership that the Board "
really going to
have to step up to malce this happen,- said
Gilmour.
Dr. Kenneth Klemow, profes or of biology at Wilkes, underscoped 1he need for the
SHE building at the September Board meetmg by attributing the decline in enrollment
in the sciences to "outdated facilities.~
"There are actually several factors [attributed to the decline in enrollment]. but from
what we hear apparen1ly some students,

don ·1 want to rush things too much that
when \\e get into a building we find that it i

a building that was planned and consrructed
in haste."

she added.
Munchel is a registered Republican, but
has developed somie liberal vie,,s, which
malce voting this year a challenging exercise. While for the 2008 election, she will
be voting for John McCain, she thinks "the
two candidates aren ' I the best." She cited
more confidence in McCain 's plans for the
war in Iraq and the economy as her reasons
for upporting the Republican ticket.
Pat ardone, senior theater major, is a registered Democrat who has gone gainst the
views of his Republican family. He grew up
listening to his parents ' beliefs and eventually determined he did not really agree with
them. In the first election he could vote,
Nardone figured out the differences in the
parties and decided to vote Democratic because overall, he liked the party's platform.
He fell that the Republicans came off as
elillsL
"Much of the presideniial campaign is
really po"'erful, motivational speech, so it
sounds like they are ugar-coating everything. The public spealcing i really nice, but
it 's hard to decipher what tl1ey are saying
because of how po"'erfully they arc saying
it," Nardone e~plained. ardone noted that
he does no1 listen to every single derail of
the campaigns, but tries 10 catch glimpses
of it to make ure they arc still on topic.
- 1 don·t think people should fvote if they

are uninformed]," said ardone.
"American politics could change if college students and young American voted
at higher rates. The politicians would be
spealcing more to the young population.
not just focused on the 60 and older range,•·
aid Kreider.
Prior to voling in this election,
his recommendation to students is
to read a daily new paper, watch
many cable news outlets, review
a few of the hundreds of ,,.ebsites.
read the candidates' ~ebsites,
visit YouTube for speeches, and
listen to podcas . He explained,
" Information is out there and tudents should inform themselves
because it i ,mponant to know
what 11 is they are voting for."
"I am not completely informed,
but I am not completely uninformed eith r,~ Munchel commented. Even if people arc unawa.re of th stances on issues.
Munchel believe they should
vote because it is their right and
respon ibility. She noted that if
people complain about what is
currently happening in the nation,
and do not \Oicc their opinion
through voting, then they do not
have the right to complain.

" I don 't think irs good for democrac~
or for the person to vote if they are completely ignorant of what the differences are
Voting for the person for their age. gender.
or race ... make me nervous," commented
Kreider.

Coovenienf\J
located n
. Wikes Borre

·--The ldHI ...... lo,

bare

........_......-.

restaurant :~~

Volume 61

Issue 7

~s hosts inti.
•
amm1ng
etition
FRAIL

editor

r, October 25, Wilkes Uniand participated in the As:::omputing Machinery Inter:giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twentym ten schools competed for
1 eastern Pennsylvania. The
:am placed fourth and Wilkes
h.
, the ACM website, "The con:ativity, teamwork, and innoling new software programs,
udents to test their ability to
r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
mtest, also referred to as Batins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Tsras
d to challenge students in the
.ter science. As the years proompetition gained popularity
1d over seas.
onsored the competition for
cording to Doug Heintzman,
trategy for IBM's Software
:msorship Executive oflCPC,
, 22,000 students from 2,000
83 to 87 countries worldwide
:h year.
take our social responsibility
y and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
.and it's going to take some

CONTEST page 3
36

mber

�OBER

7, 2008

onel fu
RLTON HOLMES
Editor-in-Chief
ie Parker must have receiv
from Lebanon Valley that
homecoming weekend bee!
ly brought his dancing shoe:
'10, 191 lb. running back
seams and did more juke
cid playing Madden 2009,
a staggering 278 rushing y:
;hmen (3-1) shocked the Cl
1-21 at Ralston Field for the
1e of Freedom Conference p
finished with two touchdoVI
times as many yards as Cl
combined. He also finished
's all-time rushing list wit!:
rhile helping his team snap
ifeak to the Colonels, that d:
back to 1992. But most imp
d what the Colonels were
fit's hold onto the football.
' Colonels six fumbles, fiv
up and fell into the hands
en; fans would've thought
, pulled a prank and strolle&lt;
; tents to slip beer into the
er jug.
~ugh to win football gam
aid 13 year head coach

OCTOBER

28, 2008

4

NEWS

Philadelphia service gratifies student volunteers
BY KRI TE'I KARPl:--SKI

Beacon Carrespondenl
On Saturday, October 18, six W1!Les Umveruy students traveled to Philadelphia to help
repair playgrounds and a school as part of
Ph1ladelph1a Cares Day. The student volunteer
group, named Urban Plunge, annually devote
a weekend to serve identified need in Ph1ladelph1a.
W1IL
tudents joined thousands of volunteers from around the state to clean the Philadelphia neighborhoods.
Danielle Kem. AmeriCorps• VI TA coordinator at Wilkes and trip leader said, ''The
students cleaned up the Dem Playground m
·ortheast Philadelphia with about eight other
groups. The playground was really nice. It had
new playground equipment, a lined basketball
court with four hoops, and a huge field ...,;th a
baseball diamond. They picLed up trash. painted, s....ept, and raked.Organizers aimed to encourage greater appreciation for the t=ork that helped make
th Urban Plunge and Philadelphia Cares Day
successful.
~we \\Cre cleaning the playground by the
baseball field . I had to clean up a pile of glass
that was in it. My fiiend came over lo put it on
the shovel. Once the glass went into the trash,
I felt good. II felt like a weight was lifted off
of my houlders.'· said Adrienn Dorcent, a
fr hman nursing major and volunteer for the
"'eekend.
Kem reflected on her expectations for the

CINDY
from FRO T PAGE

0CTOE

trip and lated he "just \\ant
tudents to take in the culture of
Philadelphia. I want th m to e
some of our public insmutions
up close and personal. granted
the students aren ·1 there, but
being at Wilkes, "'e ·re very fortunate with our technology and
the resources "e have here on
campus. I want them to have
fun and I realty \\ant them to be
able 10 reflect on the experience
and know that the \\Ork that they
have done i good work and that
somebody will appreciate i1."
" I would definitely consider
going on the trip again next
yeart said Jasmine King, sophomore nursing major. " It was a
great time and I met a lot of new
people. It gave me a good feeling about myself and the "'ork
we did "as very fulfilling.··
This is not the first year Wilkes has been involved with Philadelphia Cares Day and it will
not be the last.
Photo Courtesy Danielle Kem
In addition lo the Philadelphia Mtm~rs of Wilkes 'niHrsity's community seneict group Urban Plunge participated in PhilCares Day, Wilkes students have adtlpbia arts Day on Octo~r 18. Ltft to Right: Ja mint IGng. Jennifer Jonu, Adrienne
Alternative pring Break (ASB) Doruot, Danielle Kem, Tbtrua Monaco, Cindy tcCoy, Sanb Ehrhard and an Xu.
during which they can get their
hands dirty and help others.Th trips la1ed \\here ,~ork will be done at a community [that] Wilkes is out there [helping 001•
ers].~
for spring break '09 include the Domini- center and animal shelters.
can Republic, where tudents ...,;11 worl at
" It i good advertisement for (Wilkes] sayan orphanage and another to New Orleans ing that \\e ·re involved,~ said Kem, "and
Shirley Zolner of Forty Fort noted - [Mrs.
McCain] is a person \\ho can represent the

She
also
addressed
concerns regarding Sen.
Barack Obama, D-1 L, and
his lack of experience. She
explained that America
need an individual who is
ready to hit the ground
running, and doesn't need
a learner's perm ii."
he also added that the
nited States need 10 ··...
qui1 sending money overseas- for energy resources.
Obama. who partially supports offi hore dnlling, has
stated that he would be
willing to compromise on
his po ition if it were pan
ofa more overarching strategy to lower energy costs.
McCain added that her
husband strongly upports
alternative energy sources Ci ndy Mc ain, wire of Republican prt ide1111I nomuch as clean coal, wmd, inet tnalor John McCain addrt std umpaign i •
solar and hydro-electricity. sues at Wilke last wttktnd.

country \\ith a lot of class."
With Obama leading McCain in the Keystone state
and the election
just
days away,
analysts
have argued
McCain will

have lo \\Ork hard to take the state.
However, Obama is puuing up a fight
Last aturday kickedoffObama's"' Road
to Chang Bus Tour·· with Sen. Robert
Casey, D-PA. Casey pent the \\eekend
canvassing towns in ortheastem Pennsylvania for Obama.

Li

d ...

:ht) Number 40 Rob Pie
1y's game against the D11

• 1

• Thl

"

�NEWS

5

SG Notes- October 22, 2008
ment members -.111 participate

Tru unr' Report

-All College • SS.040.00
•General• $3.241.31
- S~cial ProJWS • 2,095.56
• Spml • 1.000.00
• leadership - $3,749.59
Confere11ces
12,175 00
- tar1-11p • 900.00
Oub Reports
-MSC
• Programming Board

r

1y, do

r

,

1

'igbt Prizes of the night induded gift baskets, oach puru , a laptop and iPod products. Casino Night is• semester tradition hosted by tu dent GovernmenL

ew Bo ine :
• USA Todm&gt;- The Coll giate Read rship Program
,,ants to ghe Will.c the opportumty to purchase USA Today and other
n w papers at a reduced rate.
• Commuter Counc,I &amp; Renausance
Club Flllld Requ&lt;!St· Motion passed for up
to -100 to host '"Hallo"ecl.end" October
30 and 31 from 8:00 pm 10 10;00 p.m.
• IJ 1lke:i-Barre area Christmas parade
Satlll'day, No,·eml&gt;t!r 2:J. Student Go~em-

Old Busine, :

- Center for Global Dn·ers,f),
-Appolnlmenl ofParltamentar,an (Joh11
Botch)
- Nomma/1011 for Recordmg Secretary
(Kaue Munchel)
• .Acceptance qf Positions
- BACCIIUS Fund Request
- REACH CJ,,b Recognillon
• .\ursmg Student Orgamza/1011 Fund Request
- .\/ember qf the Molllh
(Kalle Munchel)
Eleots:
Texas llold'em October 23
7:30 p.m
asioo ight aturd }. Oct
r 25
7:00p.m

mtetiJlg ue open to all ludtnis.
Tbty an held enry Wtdnt day at 6
o'dock in t he Miller onfertnce room
on tilt ucond ftoo r of tbe II

Barnes &amp; Noble Wilkes-King's Bookstore
treet , \Vilkes-Bor1 , P4\ .1870.1

~ 570.208.470 ~ wilk .bncoll

g .com

What's happening at your bookstore this week!
Live "Free" Music Every Wednesday Night and IIlOst Friday's with a
25% a· count on anything you purchase from the cafe during the music act!

• Open Mic Night for Poetry &amp; Acoustic Music
Tuesday from 7:00pm - 8:30pm
• This Wednesdaywe haveAllenRosenbuam
live at 6 :3opm
• Halloween Night Live Music with
"Jinko Latour" at 7:30pm

/. This Saturday author signing with Cecilia Galnnte author o
"Patron Saint of a Butterfly,, and "Hershey Herself,
from 1:00- :oo m

Volume 61

Issue 7

~s hosts inti.
•
amm1ng

etition
FRAIL
Editor

October 25, Wilkes Uniand participated in the As:omputing Machinery Inter:giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twentym ten schools competed for
1 eastern Pennsylvania. The
!am placed fourth and ~ lkes
h.
&gt; the ACM website, "The con:ativity, teamwork, and innoiing new software programs,
:udents to test their ability to
r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
mtest, also referred to as Batins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
,d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years proompetition gained popularity
ad over seas.
,onsored the competition for
cording to Doug Heintzman,
trategy for IBM's Software
onsorship Executive ofICPC,
, 22,000 students from 2,000
. 83 to 87 countries worldwide
;h year.
take our social responsibility
ly and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
.and it's going to take some

f,

CONTEST page 3
36
mber

�~BER

7, 2008

onel ti
iU,TON HOLMES
editor-in-Chief
: Parker must have recei
·om Lebanon Valley that
1omecoming weekend bee
r brought his dancing shm
10, 191 lb. running back
seams and did more juke
d playing Madden 2009,
staggering 278 rushing y
1men (3-1) shocked the C
21 at Ralston Field for th
of Freedom Conference J
inished with two touchdm
imes as many yards as C
&gt;mbined. He also finished
all-time rushing list wit]
tile helping his team snap
:ak to the Colonels, that cl
~ck to 1992. But most imI
what the Colonels were
's hold onto the football.
~olonels six fumbles, th
1p and fell into the hand,
; fans would've thought
mlled a prank and strolle
.ents to slip beer into thl
jug.
gh to win football gam
13 year head coach

Number 40 Rob Pie
game against the D

crronics: AcbillV look
OIi ... , ...

0 . .

0CTOB

'£c!!}JQ!l

.~ '_au_ea_ _ _

The

r

CO, T CT l~FORMATIOI&gt;,:

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Beacon endorses Presidential/Congressional candidates
tax policy.
mall busin ses are
helped by the c uts be propo
while large corporation will have
The New York Times recently to ante ui&gt;--something sorely lackreported that between I990 and ing in the past eight years and also
2002. United
in McCain's plan. Ohama
offers the most compreprem
hensive and complete
were referenced about
pl an for addressing the needs of the
Canad ian
upreme
middle and lo\\er
classes and fixing
ourt. Ho"ever, since
the economic cri2002, the number of
sis. while McCain's
decisions citing the
plan till seem vague.
American court have
dimim hed by hal[ AusIn pite of McCain's
tralia and several
chumminess
with "Joe lhe
01her countries
ha,e
followed
Plumber," most
Ull
average Joes
Thi can easily
will not benefit
be attributed to
from his plan in
waning international
the long run.
Obanl8 ·s stance on Iraqi also m
respccl for America. llie public
face of the United Stales abroad. keeping with "here we need to go
thanks lo the George W Bush a a country. Obama promises to
admini !ration i pock-marked withdraw most of our troops from
"ith Iies. an unJust war. lack of Iraq wilhin 16 monlhs of taking
respect for o thers, unbridled lust the oath of office. Th, is in the
for power and unending greed.
best interest of the United Stat
On
ovember 4, Americans Iraq and the world. It IS lime for
have a choice lo make, and with- Iraqi to assume control of their
oul a doub1 it is one of the most country and even members of the
important in recent hi tory. Mak- Iraqi go cmmcnt have told the
ing a choice bet\\een Sen. John "'orld that they are ready. McMcCain, R-AZ, and Sen. Barack
ain 's plan "ould keep Americans
Obama. D-1 L, is like a trip down entrenched in a directionless war
a bumpy dirt road. One candi- begun five years, 4,187 Amencan
date "ill ask us to grin and bear lives. and o~er S500 billion ago.
the bumpy ride, promsing thal ii Withdrawmg American forces and
w,11 smooth e,enlually, while the supporting Iraq 's new go, rnment
other cand ,date will try and give politically we will also strengthen
u the tools 10 pave that road.
inlernalronal relation hips
The Beacon stalT believes that
Another "BY to improve our
n. Barack Obama is the can- relationships abroad is to recondidate "ho will give us the tools sider the way we deal with imto pave lha1 road; therefore, we migration. Walls, like those being
endorse his candidacy for Pres i- built around our borders, are not
dent.
the most effective means to conOne of Obama' mot impor- trol "ho enters th United States.
tant ideas i his economic plan
Obama has offered a proactive
His plan forcrea1ing "green jobs" plan lo help keep cili.zcns from enis forward-thinking and keeps the tering the United States illegally
middle class m mind. as does his by creating economic opportuni-

BY TH£ BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

the world to give us their " tired,
tie in Mexico.
As for creating jobs at home, poor and huddled masses yearnObama has argued he will empha- ing to breathe free:· But by maksize renw.eable, sustainable energy ing English the official language
sources and also tax those com- we would have 10 engrave a postpanies who move jobs overseas. script, " but only if you speak EngcCain has also championed an Ii h."
These reasons are also why we
energy plan; howev r his slogan
"'drill baby, dnll'" 1s nothing more cannot endorse Hazleton Mayor
than a bandage on one of Amer- Lou Barletta. We believe that he
ica's deepest wounds. By drilling has created a witch-hunt like atmore America would not only put mosphere in Northeastern Pennthe environmeni at ri k, but also sylvania with his crusade against
push off the prionly of energy in- illegal immigrants. His cause bas
transcended his original purpose
dependence to other areas.
The beliefs articulated above and has created incredible stres
also guide our choice for the 11th and anxiety for legal immigrants
Congre ional race. Rtp. Paul who arc targeted because of their
Kaojorksi, D-P . has erved th ·
race.
Kanjorski is our choice in this
district me 1984, and ortheast
Pennsylvania has experienced election; however, th is is manly
due to his senionly in Conmuch gro"'th and de,el pment
gre . We would feel belthanks 10 hi leadership.
Thus, we believe that he
ter about th is endorsewould bring the mos!
or heard more from
to the I Ith district " ilh
him throughout this
another 1erm. While
we endorse Kanjorelecrion season.
ski. the stalT does so
Nevet1heless, we
with the caveat \\C are
have ba ed our choices on who we think
disappointed
w.ith
some of hrs
\\ill guide the
stances and
United States
his campaign.
through these
For
exrough patchample.
we
,
es and once
oppo e KanRep. Paul Kaojorski, D-P
again
reclaim
jorski 's lance on immigration
According to his "ebsile. Kanjorski says that he ''has long been a
upporter of making Engli h the
official language of the United
tales government because the
use of Engli h as a common Ianguage remain vital to our nalion·s
pr perity.~ This is simply nol
1he case According to the 2000
United tales Cen us almo t 20%
of the nation spoke another Janguage. Kanjorski expects the nalion to prosper while cutting out
a substanlial part of the conversalion .
On the Statue of Liberty we ask

B TIM El
Beacon Sta.ff

gino.troiani'ii;"'ilkes.edu
lauren.salem'alwilkes edu

our place as a diplomatic and economic beacon.
Our decisions ,~ere not made in
haste and included all members
of the staff. The endorsement arc
the result of 1wo months of conversatrons. presentations and discu ions.
f..dilor's ote: The v1ewsanJopmions expressed m th,s ed11or1a/ ts
solely that u/1 he Beacon j staff. J'he,r
op,moTL m 1•• ""Y rr:jlect th " views 01
Wilks Umw,,...,1y Wilk« U11,.·er&lt;1ty
doe. 110/ enguge m ac11w11e.s which
promo1, or ad,v,na, u pu1111 al cand,date. polmrul party, propo..,llon, or
PA( a., a result oj the Federo/ £/ec"""' ( 'umpwgn Ac·t uf /97 / .

fflrlThfhlS

~

We feel t ai both
Barack Obama and
Paul Kan,jorsld
are be«er suHed
for posHions in
office than dleir

OIJama•s sta ce o
both the nr a d
h s economic pla
are key factors in
our reasonina for
endorsement.

Althou1b we do

not fully aaree
1nc Kan,jorsld
on a issues, we
feel Chat because
of his expenence
a d senioriCy,
he possesses Che
altmey co pruide a
beccer semce for
the people than
Barletta,

6

The elect,,
cause 11 rhyn
boners, let ·s

Th, rsone
of our young
it from bemf
mud linging
den1ial candi
Biden )
I anythrn1
pre idenual 1
\'Cl) eyes.
So I intend
First, let' ,
mane!&gt; The
nal of the elc
e
tsamc fo
entire country
mix things u1
do they• o'
the process is
lo\\a is a g~
any reason Iha
"hen it come
Clllld odates? 0
of John Way111
el'\ie that hon
grea1 stme of I
a say m who 1
parti becau
races are usual
Thi }Cr not
pnmary takes
hands if they I
w,hich gives th,
m the primary 1
been decided. 13
man on the s
more incentive
where they cou
impact, therefo
giving them m
to vote rn o,-e,
people arc inv,
proc
dunng I
ar more peopl
volved in the pn
nrn. Makes sen
Second, let's
problem. Everyc
11 ' up lo us tom
thal w can beco
pendent
Let's get o
there and gel
ome

�OCTOBER

28, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Election Time
BYTIM EIGFRIED
Beacon ta.ff Writer
The election ts a JOk And not just becau ti rh}mes with "erection ~ ftut enough
bone~. let's get serious.
Tht 1soneofthe mo I important elections
of our young ltfet1mes, but that doesn 't stop
rt from being and absolute cluster-screw of
mud ltnging, pandering and hot ,ice-presidential candidates (I'm looking at ou. Joe
Biden )
If anything, the state of the American
prestdenttal race is degrading before our
\er} e)CS.

So I intend to fix it, Angry Rant style.
First, let's change the
tern of the primanes There is no reason that the semi-finals of the election houldn 't be held in the
e\8CI same format of the election itself. The
enurc country votes on one day. TI1ey don '1
mtx things up for the playoffs in football ,
do they• o1 E\'Cl)thing lays the same,
the process is repealed, and it worts.
I0\11 1 a great stale, I gues , but is there
an) reason that they are first out of the gate
\\hen ii comes to picking the pre idential
cand1da1es? Other than being the birthplace
of John Wayne. what has Iowa done to deser&gt;e that honor' More often than not, the
great stale of Pennsylvania hardly ever has
a say 1n who w,ins the nominations for the
parties because it happen well after the
races are usually decided.
Thi )Cr notwith landing, the staggered
pnmary takes the power out of citizens '
hands tf they li,·e in states that vote later,
which gives them zero motivation to vote
mthe primary if the race has already
been decided. By having all the primaries on the same day, it gives
more incentive to vote tn Apnl
where they could have a real
1mpac1, therefore potentially
giving them more incentive
10 ,ote tn ovember. If more
people are involved in the
process during part one. odds
are more peopl will be in•ol,ed in the process during part
!\lo. Makes sense. right'
Second, let' solve the energy
problem. Everyone wants it, and
ti's up lo us to make our 0"11 so
that we can become more independenl.
Let's get OUI
there and get
ome

nuclear po"er plants butlt The stupid h1pp1 didn ·1want ti in the 70s, o now "e arc
stuck Of course, I don ·1 know \\hy anyone
bothered to It ten to their protests. as hippt a , by the tr , cry natur uneducated.
because institutions of higher education are
an extension of The an, and as you know.
The Man is the natural enem ofth hippie.
Much like cat and dogs. Or a fat gu) and
a steak.
Of course, I can ·1 blame them for betng
scared of nuclear power after the gomgs-on
al Chernobyl, which was caused by human
error, by the way. Of course, what do you
ex-pect from a country whose biggest export
i odka?
uclear po»er plants would create jobs
while making us more and more energy independent, so that other forms of fuel ( uch
as coal) can be limited due 10 the environment or clean air or me stupid crap that
I hear people talking about. Yes, it's dangerous, but gue »hat, so i traveling by
car, but people still do that on a daily basis.
uclear power »ill create JObs, create nergy, and more importantly, it could resull
in a calamitous accident that would result
in the birth of a superhero. And that would
be a»esome.
Speaking of energy. let"s talk about oil.
Some experts say that we don 't have any
oil. Other e perts say that "e have enough
oil to power thi country for another 1.000
years. You know »hat
I say? Dig.

We ·,e arrived al the potnt »here \\e can
dnll w tthout harming the environment, so
let's go for it If there is oil there, aw, om .
If not, nho cares. let 's dig somenhere else.
on, let's move onto some hghter fare ...
Can we put a stop to eel brity endorsements? It· great that they »ant to use their
tar po"er to make a difference. but how
many people are going to vote a certllin way
because their favorite celebrity is voting
that same way?
~wait, you mean the star of Go ip Girl
supports Barack? Holy crapl I have to g I
m on this!*'

And really, it's great that Chuck 'orris
took time out ofhi bu y chedule of breaking necks and roundhousing aerrorists, but
I don·1 care 1f )OU like Mike Huckabee.
You don 't see Bill Clinton walking around
rumping for Alec Bald\\ in to win another
Emm , do you? Of course not!
Celebriti , l.eep your mouths hut. Act,
dance. ing, date Lindsay Lohan, whatever.
Stay out of politics. It's great when a wellinformed person like Man Damon wants to
get invol&gt;·ed, but for every Matt Damon.
there are a thousand Avril Lavignes.
Can the candidates also stop mudshngmg• Isn 't the goal to make yourself look
good. and not to make your opponent look
bad? I'm not a fan of the mudslinging, either. People act as if though it' a necessary
evi~ but I fear that one day it's going to go
too far. " When he was 8 years old, Bara k
Obama pushed a girl into
the mud.

And sh ruined her brand nen dres . and
she got in trouble and nasn ·1 allo\\ed to
have dessert that night. A ,ote for John Mccain is a vote for des erts:·
And finally, let 's take a look at the candidates.
Barack Obama: Yes. the man can trmg
together a sentenc and he can pull a cro,\d.
»hich is a nice change from having a president for eight years who looked as comfortable as Paris llilton \\hen she isn't making
a se tape, but ttll . The man has been m
public office for something like four) ears
Come on, there have been cast members on
the '"Real World/Road Rules~ challenges
with longer tenure.
John McCain: I (e's a maverick, a war
hero and a mart man . And he -.ould mal.e
a great president .. 8 years ago Let 's face it,
McCain has been reeled in by the Republican publicity machine. effect l\ CI reducmg
his maveri k-ocity and ballsiness
And another thing, McCain is 72 ) ears
old. I I.now ii seems like I like to tal.e pot
shots at the cld rly, but that might be a touch
100 old to be in charge of the free norld
Also. the next person in line. arah Palin, is
woefully inexperienced, even if he 1s eaS)
on the eyes.
(And let 's face facts; good-looking girls
w,ho arc ucce ful didn't get 10 "here they
arc because of their brain . Just look at Kim
Bassingcr. She can stop lnlffic, but come
on; she bought a to\\11 in Georgia for S20
million shortly before he went bankrupt.
I didn 't make that up. For more examples.
look at any of the girls on wThe
Hill ''.)
You
kno"
what. I have
a
better
idea to fix
the election. adden football.
At the end
of the day,
America I
till
awesom and ii ti ll
rests firmly atop the standings
of~Grealest Country E,er .. Cven tf
this whole election thing do sn ·1 get figured out, I think we' ll be okay.
It could be "orsc. Dane Cook could be
president. .. of un funny jokes!
Happy Voting

Volume 61

Issue 7

~s hosts inti.
•
amm1ng
etition
FRAIL
Editor

,, October 25, Wilkes Uniand participated in the As:::omputing Machinery Inter:giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twentym ten schools competed for
1 eastern Pennsylvania. The
:am placed fourth and Wilkes
h.
, the ACM website, "The con:ativity, teamwork, and innoling new software programs,
udents to test their ability to
r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
mtest, also referred to as Batins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years proompetition gained popularity
1d over seas.
i0nsored the competition for
cording to Doug Heintzman,
trategy for IBM's Software
:msorship Executive ofICPC,
' 22,000 students from 2,000
83 to 87 countries worldwide
:h year.
take our social responsibility
.y and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
and it's going to take some

CONTEST page 3
36

mber

�OCTOBER

7, 2008

Colonels fu
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief

Charlie Parker must have recei,
memo from Lebanon Valley that
Wilke 's homecoming weekend bee:
definitely brought his dancing shoe
The 5'10, 191 lb. running back
through seams and did more juke
than a kid playing Madden 2009,
way to a staggering 278 rushing y
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the C
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for th&lt;
ing game of Freedom Conference I
Parker finished with two touchdm
had five times as many yards as C
rushers combined. He also finished
on LVC's all-time rushing list wit]
yards, while helping his team snap
losing streak to the Colonels, that d
the way back to 1992. But most imJ
ly, he did what the Colonels were
to do, that's hold onto the football.
Of the Colonels six fumbles, fh
coughed up and fell into the hand:
Dutchmen; fans would've though1
kes alum pulled a prank and strolle
from the tents to slip beer into thi
els water jug.
"It's tough to win football garr
ay," said 13 year head coach

OCTOBER

28, 2008

OPINION

8

Cryonics: a chilly look into the future
BY GINO TROIA 'I
Beacon Op-Ed £di/or
In 1940, Dr. Basil Luyet published his work called ~Life and
Death al Low Temperatures" on
cryobmlogy and bis experimentation on freezing living cell
Many of lhe organ ism that Luyet
did research on \\ere damaged beyond repair, but in some cases he
was able to successfully restore
normal functioning afte r re-warming the organi ms.
I lis research paved tile way for
\\hat "as to come in 1964 when
the term "cl)onic "was coined by
American phy ics professor, Rol&gt;en Ett inger. Mis book. The Prospect of lmmorlal,ty, promoted the
idea that one day a ch illed person
"ould be able to be resurrected
from a deep freeze induced coma.
Mis idea generated buzz amongst
both the med ical commun ity and
the general publ ic, but many c ientists distanced themselves from
his work th roughout the years in
fear of lo mg credibility. As a d irect result, very little research in
the area of cryonics was funded
after that rime.
II was not until 1984.when a
man by the name o f Michael Darwin "orked alongside UCLA cardiothoracic researcher Jerry Leaf
, 1J1at any major breakthroughs
occurred. Together they were
ab le to chill dogs to a couple degrees above freezing, replace their
blood "1th a substitute. a nd monitor them fo r up to three ho urs with
no measurable signs oflife. Many

of th dogs \\ere success ful! retrieved, and donated to the public
as pets. Tirns, Darwin and Leaf's
fundamental techniques helped
pave the way and are still used in
modem Cl)Onics.
Because of Darwin and Leaf's
research, lhe study of cryonics
experienced significant growth in
the 1980s and 1990s.
By 1993, there were fou r wellestablished groups offering cryonic services: Alcore, in outhem
Cal ifornia; Robert Eninger' Cryon ics lnstitule, in Michigan; The
American Cryonics Society, and
Trans Time Cooperation. both in

An Alcor freezing cbam ber i
used to u pend and chill the
body to sub ztro tern pcra tures
to prevent dekay.

North Cahfom,a_
Today, there arc a handfu l of cryoni s fac il iues located \\Orid wide. Although
they contin ue to grow, ma instream suppon bas yet to
catch on.

II that The Beacon coducied
nline this past ,\eek The
II was unscientific. a nd doe
01 claim to reftect the o, era I
itudes of students on

The Beacon asked:

How cryook works
The whole purpose of cryonics is to prevent decay of
the body by chilling it to ub
zero temperatures. This is only
po ibl if all chemical processes are halted. which requires a
1empcrature below liquid ni trogen.
(Around 63K or - 346F) Because
cryonics is currently irreversible,
the United States only permus
the procedure to be performed on
patients who are pronounced ''legally dead_"
Once dead, an emergency response team springs into action.
First the body is stabi lized, and
then packed in ice. The body also
receives an injection of heparin
(an anticoagulant) to prevent the
blood from clotting. Once arrival
at the cryonics facility, the freezing proces begin . A cryonic
1eam works to remove all of the
water from the patient's cells,
a nd replaces it w 1th cryoprotectant. which is basically a human
anti-freeze. The reason being is
that "'hen water is lo\\ered to the
tem perature or liquid nilrogen. it
will expand and destroy the body.
The cryoprotectant helps the " vertifi cation" (deep cooling without
freezing) process. "'hich enables
suspended animauon. Once the

Beacon Poll Results
1bc following are resul ts of a

s the Wilkes Center fo r•
lobal Education and Di-

Hall of Fame ba eball player
Ted Williams wa placed in cryonic u pension after hi death

• Yes - 53°/4
• No - 30°/4
• Depends - 16%

in 2002.
four hour procedure i completed,
the body is lhen placed on a block
or dry i e until it reaches - 202F.
completing the venification process. The final step incl udes placing the body head down into a
large metal tank filled w ith liqu id
mtrogen. The body i tored upside down because 1f there were
ever a leak in the tank, the head
would stay ubmerged, protecting
the brain. A typical tank can hold
up to four bodies, or six heads.

Is cryoo ics only for th e rich?
Pretty much. First, most faci lities require that you become a
member first , and pay ann ual d ues
(around 400). If you ' re looking to have your whole body put
into uspended animation, Alcor
c harges a minimu m of$ 150,000,
and an additional an nual cost of
$518 10 mainta in lhe body. Alcor
will also perform a neuropreservation procedure, (wh ic h means
just the bead) for a minimum of
$80,000.
Currently scientists worldwide
arc \\ Orlrng to fi nd a way to reverse the effects of deep cooling,
but have had no major successes
Doesn't it eem a little s illy
to ch ill a person tha1 i already
pronounced dead? I understand
that such research may one day
be valuable 10 mankind, but I've
come 10 accept that death is a part
o f life. You ' re born, you leave
your mark, and }'OU die. In the end
it was a good run. Carpe Diem!

Next Week's question:
Which candidate
re }'OU voung for
m the 2008 Presiential E lection·&gt;

• 13arack Obama
• John McCain
• Other
ViS11 www .w1ll.esbea o n.
com to cast }Our vote
Re ults "ill be publ i hed

Speak Up!

C

The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at

tl

WilkesBeacon.OpEd
ra)GmaiLcom

p
Cl
~

aI

wilh your \ame.
Afajor. Yea,; and
Opinion!

!IQ

Beacon re,,er\'eS the righ1

wt

m

H,
J

17,e

to ed,t ubmitted piece;, for
space and content.

C

Lio
COl

the
ton
piq
"I
to I
tat,
ten~
pn»
neg,
this
i al
larg

.
t Right) Number 40 Rob Pi£
turday's game against the D1

ii

It's Your Right!

�.

CO, ACT I FORMATIO:\ :
chri ta. gobba ·a "ilkes.edu
leeann.searfo sta'wilkes.edu

Alcohol Awaren e

Week

PAGE II
wilke beacon.lifesty l

gmail.com

9

Political Halloween costumes mask wearers' intentions
B\ CIIRI TA SGOBBA
Beacon lifestyles Ed11or

is a lot of ' he aid, she said' going on in
both parties, and of course this news ah,ay
makes for good television."
Party City. which offers hundred ofHalloY.een co tumes of all different l)'pe dedicated a special section 10 political cos1umes
this season. The di play contained masks of
current pol i1icians and full costumes of hislorical figures like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln.
The tore has sold masks of mos1 of the
current players in the election, though officials acknowledged they y,ere unable to
receive masks of Democratic vice-pre idential candidate Joe Biden.
Masks range from Sl4.99to 19.99. Mead
counts masks of candidates in the current
Presidential race as some of the top ellers
for the store.
·•Right now, we' re out of tock of Obama,
Palin, McCain, the Clintons, and George
Bush," Mead said. "Tiie sale have been
different 1his year, a lot higher. Other years
-y,e old out too, but not until later in the
month."
Additionally, m previous years, the store
would be able to reorder the masks, but this
year. Mead noted that the Wilkes-Barre store
is unable to do so

As the election draws closer. Americans
ore sticking 1gns in their lawn , lapping
bumper tickers on their ears, and pinning
buttons on their clothes to show their support for their candidate.
For the avid supporter, signs and slogans
may not always suffice. Looking for a more
peoonal canvas for expres ion, many fans
ore pulling on mask of their favorite candidate to take on their persona for Halloween
But are these masks solely used for upport. or can they be used to poke fun as
11ell?
Halloy,een costumes have always been
influenced by the pop culture of the day.
Popular children 's co tu mes reflect the top
Disney movies or toys of the year, while
trendy adult costumes often bank on celebrities in the new . And bccau thi is an
election )car. political candidates are taking
on the promin nee of celebritie . especially
,n regard to the inspiration of Halloween
costumes.
Melissa Mead. an assistant manager at
Party City ,n Wil l es-Barre, believes that
the almost constant media coverage of the
candidates contributes to the popularity of
pohtically-in pired costumes.
"I think that thi being an election year has
a lot of influence,~ he said. "The [sale arc]
much better than in prior yean., and since
Hal lo11cen i only a few da s before Elecuon Day, the oming couldn't be better:·
Junior bK&gt;Chemi try major Jason Woloski.
11ho is also president of the Campus Democrats, agrees that the coverage of the elec1100 contributes to the popularity of uch
costumes. He believes that the closenes of
the primary clccuons between Hilla,y Clinton and Barack Obama earlier in the year
pKfued the interest of the people.
"In years where the primaries seem
10 be decided after the first few
~an1.
tales. the interest of the publi
tends to die down until fa ll approaches," he said. ~1 think the
negat1v1ty associated with
lh1 pr idential campaign
is also contributing 10 the
larger coverage. Tllere

counts the masks of Obama as the quickest
seller. he also sees a lot of couples gravitate 10 the political sect10n to
try 10 find couple or
groups costume idea
"Oser the
years, a lot
of couples
would do
1he Hillary
and Bill,~
be
id.
"And now
thi year,
the.re's a
lot of couples going
as McCain
and Sarah Palin."
For tudents who want to dres as their favorite poli1ician, a little creativity is needed
to look the full part, since only the mask is
sold fo.r the co tuJne.
In order to take on the pe.rsona of the politician, Mead suggests buying the mask and
fini hing it off with a imple politician sui1
that reflects how that person dresses.
" You can go to a departm nt tore and
pick up a dre
uit like Sarah Palin, or
a button-down shm with khakis and a
tie fo.r Obama," she suggested.
Woloski took that advice a few
years ago "'hen he dressed up as
Bill Clinton He bought a Clinton
mask and wore a imple suit to go
y,~th it
"It was a lot of fun," he said. " A
lot of people -y,ere asking where
Mon1CBwas:·
With lhe tongue-in-cheek nature
of political mas
many include
maniacal g.rins or caricature-I ike
features-th question ari
whether people a.re choosing titese costumes solely to support a candidate, or
ifa little mockery
may be at the

accou nting
major Kenn) Law-

Volume 61

Issue 7

~s hosts inti.
•
amm1ng

etition
FRAIL
Editor

r, October 25, Wilkes UniThe Beacon/Bethany Yamnck
son.. who
noticed the populanty of political masks in
stores and online this year. sees thi kind of
co tume more mocking than upporting
" I think they ' re meant to be funny." he
said. ~, think it would be supportive 1f it
wasn·t some ridiculous costume with the
face obscured."
In her observation of customers in Part)
City, Mead believes that people purchase
the masks for a combination of humor and
support.
" I sec a lot of peopl come m, notice the
masks, and ju I buy one. You·11 see customers laughing in th aisl as they try them
on," he said ··But at the same time, I don ' 1
think if they "'ere really against a candidate.
they' d want to y,ear his mask ."
Woloski bclic,es that polit,cal mas~s can
be used for humor. but also points out that
he -y,ould not dre up for a politician that
he didn · 1 upport.
··t think e pecially in pre idcntial election
yean., dressing up as on of the candidates
is a fun and easy co tume,r he said. ··1 can
foresee many •hockey mQnlS' dressing as
Palin thi year, walking around saying the}
can see Russia from their house.r
For students who just need to have that
last-minute politician mask for Hallo\, een,
online sellers like Politicalmasks.com and
Co tumecrazc.com offer expedited hipping so shoppers can receive their orders b}
Halloween.

and participated in the AsComputing Machinery Inter:giate Program.ming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twenty,m ten schools competed for
11 eastern Pennsylvania. The
earn placed fourth and Wilkes
h.
&gt;the ACM website, "The con!ativity, teamwork, and innoding new software programs,
tudents to test their ability to
:r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
;:mtest, also referred to as Bat1ins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
:d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years pro:ompetition gained popularity
ad over seas.
,onsored the competition for
:cording to Doug Heintzman,
:trategy for IBM's Software
,onsorship Executive of ICPC,
y 22,000 students from 2,000
t 83 to 87 countries worldwide
ch year.
take our social responsibility
ly and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
and it's going to take some

~

CONTEST page 3

~mber

�BER

7, 2008

onels fi
lLTON HOLMES

~ditor-in-Chief
Parker must have recei,
om Lebanon Valley that
lomecoming weekend bec1
brought his dancing shoe
10, 191 lb. running back
,earns and did more juke
id playing Madden 2009,
staggering 278 rushing y
en (3-1) shocked the 0
21 at Ralston Field for th
i of Freedom Conference I
finished with two touchdo,.
times as many yards as 0
ombined. He also finished
s all-time rushing list wit)
!lile helping his team snap
·eak to the Colonels, that d
,ack to 1992. But most iml
l what the Colonels were
tt's hold onto the football.
Colonels six fumbles, fh
p and fell into the hand.
n; fans would've though1
pulled a prank and strolle
tents to slip beer into th
·r jug.
gh to win football ga
id 13 year head coacll

10

LIFESTYLES

OCTOBER

28, 2008

Student balances questions of life while on unicycle
BY LEEANN EARFO
Beacon Asst. lifestyles Editor

There are a few existential quest ions that
have confounded humanity since the dawn
of ume. Asking ourselves "'\\chy are we
here- and "what"s the meaning of life," can
slop even the brightest of us in our tracks.
For Kenneth Stucker. a sophomore literature and philosophy major, those questions
are just a typical Friday night. And he tnes
lo answers them all while riding his unicycle and wearing his trademark bowler.
tucl.er has quickly assimilated to the Wilkes culture and added a new visual element
to it nding up and down the Market tree!
bridge and Ri~er Street on his unic}cle. He
may seem just like a kid who likes to ride
a one-wheeler, but there is so much more
behtnd the student in the OO\\ ler cap.
Sarah Walker, a sophomore nursing major, went lo high school with Stucker and
describes him a a breath of fresh air.
·'He's really down to earth, and fun to be
around." said Wall.er. " I le ·s the kind of guy
that brightens your day."
Stucker, originally from Western Wayne

High School, set out on his college Journey literature was mo t intluen11al in his fonnative years, he also took cues from fiction
at Valley Forge Christian College.
After some personal philosophical trug- books as well. " I am an avid reader. There
gles. Stucker chose to leave Valley Forge are lots of books that have influenced me,
Christian College to take up academic resi- even back when I was much younger," said
dence al Wilkes University.
tucker.
~, wanted to look al the even bigger exStucker changed majors once he came
istential questions like ' what's the signifi- to Wilkes University. He is currently a literature major, but will be
cance?' or ' why are . - - - - r-,,,.-----=□ adding philosophy next
" e here?'" explained
Stucker.
semester. Being new 10
the serious study of literStucker acknowledges he pent a
ature. Stucker believes he
large portion of his
has a lot to learn. Accordchildhood trying to
ing to Stucker, everything
find answers 10 cons1cn1S from his love of
founding questions.
philosophy.
"l was always that
"I acrually did this kind
little annoying kid
of baclcwards. I declared
who asked ' why?·
literature as my major,
Stucker said."
while my passion for litHe allowed literaernture comes from my
ture from a very earpassion for philosophy.~
ly age to influence
Stucker said.
his thoughts and
He spends free time
emotions
towards
looking into what human
nalure really is. He belife. While Stucker
lieves his love of philo -

ophy and drive to figure out life 's burni ng
questions has to be propelled on more than
" "I want to write a book omeday· ." according to tucker.
'"Aside from trying lo stay sane, I am rcally interested in the e&gt;cistential questions,"
said Stucker. Stuckcr·s po I-undergraduate
plans include obtaining hi Doctorate m
Philosophy and being able 10 teach .
"Teaching others is a worthwhile goal. rrs
a good degree to apply and to become proactive," be said.
So, he spends his time taking on question,
that have stumped individuals like Arilstotie and Plato; but what about the uniC)clc0
" It was a bet of a friend of mine that I
couldn 't learn to ride ii in two \\CCks. Lei's
just say, he lost," said tucker. And no" it" s
become is primary mode of transportation
to and from campus.
Stucker believes his unicycle brightens
peoples' days just by seeing him ride down
River Street.
Whether he answers life's questions or
not, Stucker hopes to lea,e a small mark on
others.
~, just ,,ant lo have a part in the conversation," said Stucker.

OcTOBE

Alco
BYC THR,
Beacon Asst ,
BETHA'IY,
Beacon Corre

sma,hed 1
on the Wilk
Hall o ITcrs a h
ful consequen
campuses.
Imparting k
the dangers o
of the main
Wecl., a na1i1
annually ever
many other sc
kes has been
fight for a\\af
··1ne main
students, stafi
of alcohol co1
education. anl
a"'are of the
Gail Holby. t
Wellnes ...
al\\ay an 1
educate the ~
gers [of ex
more respons
One of the
presentation ,
Leaming Cc
aimed toed
and conscqu
presemerw
en forcemenl
Ile said I
l mversil) ol
ally cited an
rested 72 for

21 arrests f01
minor, fh
permanent re

.

ght) Number 40 Rob Pi
ay's game against the D

�28,2008

Je
)UI

hfe ·s bum mg

led on more lhan
necta)'·," a cord1Y sane, I am rcnlial questions, ,1-undergradua1e
· Doctorate in
o teach
1-.hile goal frs
ro become pro-

18 on queshons
Is like Ari1s10lhe un,C}c /e?
of mine 1ha1 I
1 week Lcrs
And now. ,rs
Iran pona11on
: le brightens
m ride do\.\n
guc hon or
rtall mark on
1e conversa-

OCTOBER

28, 2008

LIFESTYLES

11

Alcohol Awareness Week sheds light on issues of abuse
8\ C.\TIIR\' FREAR
Beacon. lssl Vews Ed11or
BETH\ W YA \1RICK ..

B,a,on Corrtspondem
A mashed car stre,..n like a forgotten toy
on lhe Wille,, campus across from Kirby
Hall offers a haunting reminder of the harmful con,equences of alohol abuse on college
campuse,,
hnpartmg kno\\ ledge and awarenes for
lhc dangers of underage alcohol use is one
of 1hc mam goals of Alcohol Aw11reness
Wed. a narionalty recognized event held
annually c,ery tlurd week of October. Like
many olher schools aero s the nation, Wilk ha been involved in thi w,eek-long
fighl for awareness for many years.
"The mam [focuses are J to educate lhe
tudenlS, staff. and facull)' o n the dangers
ofalcohol consumption, provide for alcohol
l-ducanon. and make the Wilkes community
a11arc of the resources available .. ." said
Gail Holby, the coordinat r of Health and
l\cllne s. "A5 with all uni versities there is
alway an i sue wnh alcohol. We strive to
cducal the WIikes community to the danger, [ofexcessi,e alcohol abuse) and to be
more responsible for their actions.One of the events on October 22 was a
pre,cntnhon, held m room IO I of the Stark
Leaming Center. on drugs and alcohol that
aimed to educate the audience on the risks
and consequences of their abuse. The first
pr nterwasM1keRutkow ki, anarcala
enforcement officer.
lie said that at Wilkes, King's and the
l 'mcrs11) of Scranton police have annually cited nn average of 300 students, arrested 72 for underage drinking, and made
21 arrests for specifically giving alcohol to
minor, fhese offenses go on the students'
permanent record and can ne,er be wi ped

clean. Most of the arrests are freshmen and
sophomores.
1be first drunken driving offen e includes
a S420 fine and a 90-day license suspension.
The penalty for a second offense would
e ntail lo ing one·s driver's license for 15
months. Furthennore, becau e of the state's
:r.ero-tolerance policy, there is no question as
to whether the student will have his or her
license revoked. This is a pccial crime in
which ifa student i arrested and convicted,
the borough mu t inform tude nt's school.
It i likely that in addition to the penalties
tudents suffer from the legal standpoint, he
or she will also have to deal with punishments at their school.
For students who use a fake ID, the fine
is raised to an extra $800 and the tu dents'
ID will be kept on file. Rutkowski pas ed
around a binder with some examples of
laughably-obvious fake IDs. When carryThe Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
ing a fake ID. the offense is also put into the
rudents top in Brei eth Hall to take• look at memorial honoring tho w.ho lost
pennanent record and students arc tined an
their lives in 1lcobol-rel1ted cnnts.
extraSJOO.
However, for the second offen • students about the history of cocaine, and showed duction of the drug.
will be fined an $800 on top of everything. some rather disturbing images caused by
" I've never seen so many liv affecred b)
Additionally, students will be finger-print- the hallucinations of methamphetamine us- a drug.~ he said. "M advice 10 a mother
ed, photographed, and may be asked 10 at- ers. During these hallucinations, users can who ask • ' My daughter tarted doing hertend an ARD prog~uch as Alcoholics feel hke they have bugs crawl ing all over oin, what should I do to help her?· 1s forAnonymous. Also, they can no longer get a themselves, and some actually scratched get about her because she ·s already too far
gone.~
job which requires you to get a state license more than just kin off.
or anything involving state cenification,
On Friday, the Interfaith Council held a
How,ever, the main drug focused on w,llS
such as a teaching licen e.
heroin. It is the second most abused drug candlelight v igil. There -was a reading or
The next presentation was given by DEA in the United States
nly second to mari- Genes is, the first book of the Bible. Also,
task force officer Joseph Coffay. Accord- juana.
there was a reading of a D. H. La,Hence
ing to Colfay, drugs are on the rise in the
" lt kind of -went away for a while ... but poem called Healing. Its theme was that
Wilkes-Barre area. Any drug offense is au- now it is on the rise again ... with people as though people become emotionally hurt and
tomatically a misdemeanor and is put on the young as grade school," said Coffay. Last
carred, it cau es them to commit wrongdopermanent record. He said that they are be- week, in fi ct, a major heroin drug ring was ings. Thi does not mean they are hopeless.
ing brought in mainly from the New York thwarted at the Sherman Hills Housing
"The interfaith Council is committed 10
City area, as well as from ew Jersey and Complex. Two gangs reponedl competed promoting education about various faith
Philadelphia.
tradition represented at Wilkes· campu : ·
for the local heroin market.
He offered images of massive amounts of
Additionally, Coffay talked about the said Teresa Monaco.
marijuana that have been brought in, talked many li~es that can be affected b the intro-

Volume 61

Issue 7

s hosts inti.
•
amm1ng
~tition
~RAIL
1ditor

, October 25, Wilkes Uniand participated in the As:omputing Machinery Intergiate Programming Contest
,ponsored by IBM. Twentyn ten schools competed for
eastern Pennsylvania. The
am placed fourth and Wilkes
l.

the ACM website, "The conativity, teamwork, and innoing new software programs,
1dents to test their ability to
· pressure. Quite simply, it
argest, and most prestigious
:ontest in the world."
ntest, also referred to as Batns, was inspired by a small
:ompetition in 1970 at Texas
l to challenge students in the
ter science. As the years pro&gt;mpetition gained popularity
dover seas.
)nsored the competition for
:ording to Doug Heintzman,
rategy for IBM's Software
1nsorship Executive ofICPC,
22,000 students from 2,000
83 to 87 countries worldwide
h year.
ake our social responsibility
vand the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
md it's going to take some

CONTEST page 3
16

nber

�l

7, 2008

els ti
IJHOLMES
-in-Chief

OCTOBER

Despit,

~r must have recei

~banon Valley that
)ming weekend bee
:ht his dancing sh0t
1 lb. running back
and did more juke
·ing Madden 2009,
:ring 2 78 rushing )
3-1) shocked the C
talston Field for th
1edom Conference ·
dwith two touchdo1
ts many yards as C
:d. He also finished
ne rushing list wit
ing his team sna1
the Colonels, that &lt;
1992. But most imJ
the Colonels were
d onto the football.
:ls six fumbles, fii
fell into the hand
would've though
a prank and stroll€
D slip beer into th
win football ga
year head coad

2

CO, T. CT JNFORMATIO:'\:
alyssa.bennertu'w1lkes edu
yoh.delossantosmaria a, 'lkes.cdu
arnanda.gunthe p; ilkes.edu

-wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com
- - - - - - - - 12

Our After has busy month ahead

BYAMA'IDAG
Beacon As L A&amp;E l
Although the exh~
smoothly a planoocj
Recent Work," by Ro
plet .
Th, exhibit was th◄
m fonncr Sordoni
mer left his position I
Institute ofTechnolot
The opening recc~
h1bit was Friday. Oct
gan izers at ordon i ,
900 invitations. the
high as they had exp
75 people attended. :
gation, gallery staff I
been some problems
ply pul, " Nobody rec
disappeared.- said th&lt;
the gallery. Brittney ~
onetheles , sonH
Wil~cs-Barre comm
up to the event, despi
appearance of the mvi
The proces of bring
Sordoni began about

PbotoCourtesy/ Our Afler

Show with Panic at the Disco, Plain White T's, and The Cab up next
BY ALY A BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor
Th Scranton-based band, Our After,
packs a mean punch, but not your typical
straight-forward gut shot. The band uses
a little footwork and finesse to leave opponents K.O: d.
The fhe-man band of John Phillips, lead
vocals; Eli Hludzik., drums; Steve Husled,
lead and rhythm guitar and vocals; Mike

Dudley, lead and rhythm guitar will open
for Plam WJ11te T's, Panic at the Disco',
and The Cab this fnday, October 30, at the
Scranton Cultural Center. In addition, Our
Aftcr's new C D, Tabula Rasa, "ill release
November 11 at T ink in Scranton. So it's
no \\Onder that the guys are \\anning up
like a challenger to a title fight and the anticipation for that first bell is palpable.
Their new CD is a slight change o f pace
for the band. and the C D release party i

way for members to get the public-both
fans and soon-to-be fans-excited
·'It's [thealbum]gota lot more of an Incubus vibe; maybe even more rhythmi&lt;: things
like 311.. . It's a httle bit of a darker sound
but vibe is sttll uplifting and kind of hopeful ,~ says Phillips.
l11e release of "Tabula Rasa" at Tinks i
coinciding with lhe release of Drama Club·s
self-titled E P. Drama Club is based in Wilkes-Barre.

"The_ ·,e done all ages sho\\ S with us 111
the past, says Phillip, ~we·reju I looking to
help each other out,~ says Phillip .
Our After is currently preparing for lhe
show at the Scranton Cultural Center 'ovember 11 . Phillips said, ·'This is the biggest venue we' ve pla &gt;ed yet." The band " ill
offer an interview and on-air perfonnance
at WCU I studios FM 90. 7 in the Dorothy
Darte Dickson Center on November 5. Wilkes students are welcome to attend.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: A review

NYC premiere offers hilarity for all
BY ALY A BEN ER
Beacon A&amp;£ Editor

previous parenthelical question) and Jason
Mewes· , er, not so little scene in the movie.
Zaclc and M1ri MaJ.e a Porno i , in true
On Thursday, October 23, Ke in Smith 's
Kevin Smith fashion, very one dimens ional ,
ne"'e t film Zack and Miri Make a Pomo
but clever. In facl, Smith discu sed the steps
debuted in ew York City al Regal Cinema
he went through to overturn the NC-17 ratUnion Square. A Q&amp;A with Smith followed
ing the film had originally been given in
the screening and during the hour and a half
order 10 acheivc his ~ .. . ingle-handed misconversation with audience members, he
sion to keep the poop scene." The raunch
touched on, among other things, why he
faclor is very much alive throughout; howchose the movie ·s music ,how he became a
ever, Zack and Miri crcat a diversion when
sla\e to marijuana for five month , the food
their relationship proves itself to be tangible
he ate while hooting in Pittsburgh (mariand realistic.
juana coincidence?), why he got so fat (see
Srruth has made a name for himself with

nber 40 Rob Pi
e against the D

his hilariou characters, down-to-earth humor. and relentless "ball jokes.~ Most of
Srnith·s previous movies have been set in
or around his home town of Red Bank, New
Jersey. However 'ZacJc and Miri changes
pace and is set in Pittsburg, PA . Smith said,
" I wanted it to be set somewhere where
porno probably never takes place. It's cold
as balls and nothing ever really happens
there."
True to the title, the story is about best
fhends Zack and Miri, who opt one day to
make a porno movie. The pair find themselves in a Pittsburgh winter, their power cut

off, and no reliable income in s ight Zack,
played by Seth Rogen, uses his chann to
convince best friend Miri . pla)ed by Eli7.abeth Bank , and co-"orker Delany (Craig
Robinson), to pull together a motley c re"
for their homemade porno. Very convincing
iconic porn s1ars Katie Morgan and Traci
Lords play Stacy and Bubbles respecri,ely.
Throughout the movie ,rs apparent Zac~
and Miri, best friends since ix1h grade. arc
head over heels for each other. Out ifs

See PORNO page I./

Brianna l'iois en look
dooi exhibit utitlcd

~

�OcroBER 28, 2008

13

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Despite lost invitations, Sordoni show successful
BY AMANO G ;TII ER
Beacon A st. A&amp;E Editor
Althoug!T 1he exhibit did not evolve as
smoothly as planned. ~ A ew Paradigm:
Recent Work."' by Ron Ehr Iich is now complete.
Thisexl11b1t "as the first to be put together
sine fonner Sordoni Director Ronald Bermer left his position for a Job at Wentworth
Institute of Technology m August.
The opening reception for Ehrlich's exhibit was Friday, October 17. Although organizers al ordoni Gallery senl out over
900 invitations. the tum ou1 was not as
high as they had expected. Approximately
75 people attended. So after some investigation. gallery staff learned 1hat there had
been ;ome problems with the invites. Simply put, "Nobody received them. They just
disappeared.- said the as istant director of
the gallery. Brittney Kramer.
onetheles , some Wilkes faculty and
Wil~es-Barre communiiy members showed
up to the even1, despite the mysterious disappearance of the invites.
The proces of bringing the exhibit to the
Sordoni began about two years ago when

Bernier saw Ehrlich ·s work in e" York at
1he Steven Haller gallery. Bern ier "'as mesmerized by
the art, 1·
talent
and
later wTote
the catalog
essay forthe
exhibit.
~, knew
that
our
students at
Wilkes absolUlely had
to have this
experience.
It is like
nothing else
they
had
probably
seen
before," Bernier said.
The uni~ersiiy collected pieces
from various collections aero the country
for this particular e'C.hibiL The majority of
them came from the Steven Haller gallery
in New York. which Wilkes has worked

Ehrlich's pi es take 1heelcmen1of th reed,mensional pieces and appl; them 10 a n,o
dimensional work. Some of his piece;, ma)
resemble Jackson Pollock, "But , f ;ou loo~
closely, there are layers and layers of paint
from pamt being raped off, things bemg
imprinted .. . 11's not Just drips of paml on a
canvas;· said Kramer.
Wax, shellac. glazes. and some Imies c,en
feathers are included in Ehrlich ·s pieces.
Although these elements are not commonly
found in many paintings, ..the technique
never overcome the image; · staled Bernier.
Although there \\Cre some rocl.y points
in the procc , the exh 1bit fell into place to
produce a colorful, c alive displa . B rnicr
aid, .. [Brittney] did an amazing job juggling and negotiating all the things 1hat happened and changes thal inev11ably occurred
right before the exhibition arrived:·
Looking at the exhibil one would ne,er
know 1hat it was put together short taffed.
•·1 couldn't have done any better my elf,"
said Bernier.

very closely with m the past.

According to Kramer, "ll's easy 10 go exhibition with them because they are real!
helpful."
The rest of the pieces
came from the
artist's
studio
in Providence,
Rhode Island,
along with some
pieces
from
private collec-

tion .
Pro idence native Ron Ehrlich
is a \\Cll-kn0\\ n
artist
known
to work with
panel,
blowtorch, as well as
brush to create
unique,
eye-&lt;:atching
pieces. Born in 1954, Ehrlich has srudied
art all over the \\Orld throughout bi career.
He pent over five years in Japan a11he Joji
Yamasita monastery where he srudied the
art of Bizen poltery making.

The Beacon/Lauren B1emaclu

Changes

.,. After

Hair5alon

with us m
looking 10

'70•9 70*0800

,g for lhe
nter othe big·band will
forrnance
, Dorothy
er 5. Wil-

Student Discount
20% off all sevices*

t

•With Valid Student ID
,ht Zack.
charm to
by Eliza1y (lra1g
,ley ere"
,n,incmg
tnd Traci
iecti,ely
ent 7ad
:radc. arc
llut ifs

ge /.I

Call for an Appointment

OR

Walk-Ins Welcome
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki

Briano• Nissen looks for deeper meaning in Ron Ehrlich' paintings at the ne,- Sordoni exhibit e.ntitled ~A , ew Paradigm : Recent Works."

6+6 North Main Street
Wilkes-l)arrc, FA I 8 702

Volume 61

ISSUE

~s hosts int
•
amm1ng

etiti9n
FRAIL
F:ditor

r, October 25, Wilkes l
and participated in the .
::::omputing Machinery In'
:giate Programming Corn
sponsored by IBM. Twel'.
m ten schools competed
1 eastern Pennsylvania.
!am placed fourth and Wil
h.
&gt;the ACM website, "The c
:ativity, teamwork, and in
ling new software progra1
udents to test their ability
r pressure. Quite simply
largest, and most prestigi1
contest in the world."
mtest, also referred to as E
ins, was inspired by a sn
competition in 1970 at Te:
d to challenge students in
1ter science. As the years p
ompetition gained populai
1d over seas.
,onsored the competition
cording to Doug Heintzm
trategy for IBM's Softw
:msorship Executive ofICI
' 22,000 students from 2,(
83 to 87 countries worldw
:h year.
take our social responsibi
y and the harsh reality is t
facing some pretty spec
and it's going to take so

CONTEST page
36
mber

�ER

1

7, 2008

nels ti
rONHOLMES
tor-in-Chief
arker must have recei
l Lebanon Valley tha1
1ecoming weekend beo
ought his dancing sho1
191 lb. running back
tns and did more juke
,laying Madden 2009,
ggering 278 rushing )
m (3-1) shocked the C
3t Ralston Field for th
Freedom Conference
:bed with two touchdo1
:s as many yards as C
,ined. He also finished
-time rushing list wi1
helping his team sna1
to the Colonels, that I
to 1992. But most im
at the Colonels wen
told onto the football
onels six fumbles, fr
ind fell into the han
s would've thougll
ed a prank and stroll1
s to slip beer into til

O CTOBER

28, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Ocros

PORNO
from PAGE 12
four times a day, sometimes right into a gym sock The NYC Premiere of Zack and Miri Make a Pomo Y.-as
part of CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival
The
festi al ran from October 21 to October 25.
When asked about any new material mith might be
working on. mith said, ~There's thi movie I want to do
in March or April called Red late \\hich i I 80 degree
tum from this movie. It's this little political horror movi •
not to be confused with the political horror W. movie pla}ing across the road.- Wonder if there will be a toilet
scene?

until they begin the project through various over-the-top
name changes and IS, that they are forced to have sex
nd of course, despite all promises to the contrary, SCA
changes everything.
The movie had the audience rolling. Brian witay, junior
communication studies major. said, ..The movie was hilarious! couldn·t belie~e some of the scenes could be played
in the theatre ·•
mith an wer-ed all the question asked by the packed
audience in a very personal way, offering anecdot and at one point acknowledging,
·'Thissound homblynamedroppybut
it" actually going somewhere.~
But, as mrth himself would
likely prefer, the Q&amp;A turned
to the toilet and then sat there
for an hour.
Many things
that were discussed cannot
be included in this article because Y.ell, on paper there is
no bleep button. When asked
where he came up with the
concept for this movie Smith
said, ~1·ve kind of been researching this movie ince I
was twelve. Sometimes three,

·os.

Photo Courtesy/ Nedgallagher com

Kevin

mi tb deb uts bis new

61 m 'Zack and .\Im Make a
Porno in 1'ew York Cit)· on
Thursday ~tober 23 to a
packed audience awaiting a
post Q&amp;A with the director.

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Ready for the beginning of the SPRING semester!
ACT NOW, BEFORE THE Y'RE GONE!

Totally Restored by Changeable Skies LLC.
CONTACT. Ht1nry
william.~

www.chan

com

215-788-4819

Across
lntemct i
I
Tibetan I
Highwa)
8
On the rt
13
Compute
15

4

16
17
18

19
20
21
23
25
26
27
29
32
35
36
37
40
41
42
43
44

45
46

Stnke~

Rhyµm, ·

Cn is acl
Canine p
Dependei
Song Y.-01
Charge!! I
Campa1g1
lnvitatio~
Ou1ered
Bar scat
Bamako i
Coke or F
Wilkes,fc
Mak m1
Petri dish
Push arou
otice
kirmish
Ancient
FJo,.er ga

�OCTOBER

28, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Kudracross
BY HRI KUDRAKA D DEVI

15

Kl 'G

Beacon Correspondents

Volume 61

Issue 7

hosts inti .
•
amm1ng
etition
!S

FRAIL
Editor

r, October 25, Wilkes Uni-

Down
I
Young cattle
2
" Win
cost!'"
3
huffleTe'isurel
4
New Hampshire late Ho,, ers
5
Ph lower than 7
6
Bread affi iction
7
Hostile 10
8
Portable computer
9
Encore
10
Toddler wrong-doing
II
Poetic name for Ireland

Across
I
Internet streaming device
4
Tibetan monk
8
Migh"ay divi ions
13
Ori the roof
15
Computer image
16
__Jhobic, fear of open places
17
Sml&lt;cwith whip
18
~micbeat
19
Cn 1s action
20
Cani nc pest
21
Dependency
23
Song words
25
Charged panicle
26
Campaign promotions
27
Invitation response
29
Outer edge

32
35

36

37
40
41

42
43

44
45
46

12

14

22
24

27
28
29
30
31

32

N

L

Bar scat

Bamako i its capital
Coke or Pepsi
Wilkes, for example
Makes mistakes
Petri dish contents
Push around
otice
kirmi h
An ient
Flo-.er garland

47
50

54

56

57

58
59
60
61

62

63
64

Calm wmd
To a place and back
umber of Qs in this puzzle
Denomination ofl lam
Biblical verb
Surgeon from '"Scrubs..
Flo..,er pan

Range

Presumptuous
ldoliZ-C
Gull kin
CIA agent

A

V

T E

33
34
35

36

38
39
44
45
46
47

48

49

50
51

52

53

55
56

Animal ~uch

Egyptian Rulers
lfonda model
Dawdle
Detection system
Decry
Irritate
Admired person

Lots

Contraction
Become Exhau led
Shrek
Metric prefix
School chi ldren
Speedy
Capable
Feebleminded
Parentles
Pertaining to the moon
Bad dog
Moves quickly
Final destination
Regreted
To suspect
"Ain't
a shame~
ot common
ervou ly irratable
Hot bath

and participated in the AsComputing Machinery Inter:giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twentym ten schools competed for
n. eastern Pennsylvania. The
~am placed fourth and Wilkes
h.
&gt;the ACM website, "The con!ativity, teamwork, and innojing new software programs,
tudents to test their ability to
,r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
)ntest, also referred to as Batins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
:d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years proompetition gained popularity
ad over seas.
,onsored the competition for
,cording to Doug Heintzman,
:trategy for IBM's Software
onsorship Executive ofICPC,
f 22,000 students from 2,000
l 83 to 87 countries worldwide
ch year.
take our social responsibility
ly and the harsh reality is that
facing some pretty specific
and it's going to take some

: CONTEST page 3
36

imber

�O CTOBER

7, 2008

Co onel fi
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief

Charlie Parker must have recei
memo from Lebanon Valley that
Wilke's homecoming weekend bee
definitely brought his dancing sho1
The 5'10, 191 lb. running back
through seams and did more juke
than a kid playing Madden 2009,
way to a staggering 278 rushing )
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the C
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for th
ing game of Freedom Conference
I-'arker finished with two touchdo1
had five times as many yards as C
rushers combined. He also finished
on LVC's all-time rushing list wit
yards, while helping his team sna1
losing streak to the Colonels, that 1
the way back to 1992. But most im
ly, he did what the Colonels wen
to do, that's hold onto the football
Of the Colonels six fumbles, fi,
coughed up and fell into the hand
Dutchmen; fans would've though
kes alum pulled a prank and stroll«
from the tents to slip beer into t~
nels water jug.
"It's tough to win football ga
way," said 13 year head coac

SPORTS

~~----~

OCTOBER

28 2008_ __

ONTACT 11'FORMATl01':
ali a lindnerci\\&lt;ilkes.cdu
daniel.J..au~a ilkes edu

wilkesbeacon.sports gmail.com

Two week sports recaps
8

LI

A LI ONER

Beacon Sports &amp;11/or
FOOTBALL
The Colonels foolball team recorded its
first t\\o win of the season. but lost thi
weekend 10 Albright Borh win were
again t MAC conference opponents.
The lust win of the season happened on
nlurday. October l I. at FDU-florham in
Madison. J . Alex Pearson, Corey Gilroy
and Jonathon Kocher all recorded touchdow11s for the Colonels. Kicker Chri I lorn
added a 31-yard field goal and three extra
points as the Colonels defeated FD 2414. Harry Reese posted a career high 95
rushing yard on 16 carries.
The Colonels added their second "in of
the season when Lycoming vi ired Raslton
field on aturday. October 18. Quarterback Rob Johnson threw three touchdoWll
pa

Player of the Week for completing 14 of his
27 passes for 175 :rard . Johnson is the first
Colonel this season selected for the "eekly
award.
Kevin Gerhart snatched three of Wilkes '
four interception as the Colonels defeated
the Warriors 27-13. Gerhart was named to
the MAC Honor Roll for his lhree interceptions and 11 tackles against the Warriors.
Hom conlinued lo perform well, posting
a 35-yard field goal and a 25-yard field goal
as well lhrec extra points.
The loss to Albright came after a 40-yard
field goal by the Lions' John Whelan. The
final score was 17-10.
FIELD HOCKEY
The Lady Colonels field hockey team
bounced back after losing their first game
to Elizabethtown College at Wilkes' Home-

Wide ruiever J ordan D'Emilio squceks into the end.zone for a touchdown on
T he fourtb quarter touchdown secured the win over Lycoming.

in the nation.. v1 ited Ralston Field on
Saturday, October 11. Colonel midfielder
Brittney Sines opened the scoring, connecting on a pass from midfielder Diana Wright
just under three minutes into the game. Th
Red Ha"ks "ould respond with a goal of
their own approximately nine minules later; however, midfielder Gina Elmy cored
two minutes after to take the lead again.
The Lady olonels never looked back.
A lyssa Koncelik rounded out the scoring
with a goal shortly inlo the second half as
the Lady Colonels defeated Montclair 3-1.
The team also traveled 10 Manhattanville
College in Purchase, NY, on Tuesday, October 14. The Valiants opened the scoring in
the freedom Conference game with a goal
seven minutes into the second half. Koncelik tied the game at one with a goal eight
minut later. With jusl under 12 minutes
left in the game, Devon McKay scored the
game winning goal off
a centering pa
from
Koncelik. The 2-1 win
over the Valiants secured another Freedom
Conference win for the
Lady Colonels.
Easlem College vi ited the Lady Colonels
for lheir next game on
alurday,October 18. In
another freedom Conference match-up, the
learn scored 1\1,o goals
off penalty comers and
goalkeeper
Lindsey
Davenport slopped four
shots in the 2-1 Wilkes
"in. The team's record
stands strong at 141and 5-0 in the f reedom Conference.
Wright opened lhe
coring drive for Will.es. Elmy w
cred-

iled wi th an assi t KonceliJ.. ,,ould score
the eventual game ,, mning goal JU I mto
the second hall'. Wright and Elmy rccel\ed
as ists on Koncel ik 's goal. Eastern "ould
score therr lone goal w1rh just o~er 22 minut left in the game; however the l ady
Colonels secured the win.
Koncelik "as named rrcedom Conference Offen he Player of the Week for
the second time this season and the Lady
Colonels are now nalionally ranked al 19 in
Divi ion Ill by lhe ational field Hocke)
Coa hes Association.
WOME .. SOCCER
The Lady Colonel occer team pla}ed
four games in the past 1\1,0 weeks, three of
which were freedom Conference games.
The Wilkes team "on one game and \\as
shut out in three consecutive contests
The women took on Kean Colleg at
Ralston field on Tuesday, October 7 Kean
scored 1\1,0 goals and stopped both of the
shots on goal the Lad Colonels had in a
2-0 victory over Wilke .
On arurday, October 11 , the Lady Colonels traveled to Eastern College m St. David , PA. In the firsl of three straighl freedom Conference games, lhe Lady Colonel
were again shut out. Eastern scored three
goals and stopped four shoo. on goal from
the Wilkes atta kers for the 3-0 win.
DcSales scored the lone goal of the game
65 minutes in and made four .a,es on Wilke ' 14 holS for the 1-0 freedom Conference win on Tuesda}, October 14
ln the Lady Colonels next freedom onference match-up, the team traveled to
Reading, PA, to face Alvern1a ollege on
Saturday, Oclober 18. After gomg down 10 less than a minute into the game. Tal)n
Hallo" II scored three goal for the Lady
Colonels en rout lo a 3-1 win over the rusaders. The win o~er Alv mia ended a four
game losing streak for lhe Lad)' Colonels

See RECAP
on PAGE 19

Current Standings (as of October 26. 2008)
Football
Overall: 2-5
MAC: 2-2

Field Hockey
Overall: 14-1
Freedom: 5-0

Men's Soccer
Overall: 8-6-2
Freedom: 4-1-1

Women's Soccer
Overall: 7-9-1
Freedom: 3-3

Volleyball
Overall: 8-16
Freedom: 4-2

.

(At Right) Number 40 Rob Pi
Saturday's game against the ll

16

�OCTOBER

28, 2008

17

SPORTS

Colonels ~hut out in second half; fall to Albright
Chris Horn hits eighth-straight field goal

Co11rlesy oJCra,g Merriman,
Sports biforma1ion D1rec1or
Josan Holmes rushed for 212 yards on
32 cames and scored a touchdown to lead
the Lions to a 17-10 win over Wilkes University.
The Colonels fell behind early, but eventually tool a I0-8 advantage when quanerback Rob John on found Jordan D'Emilio
,n the end wne for a I0-yard scoring
trike. It \\OUld be the only offensive score
for the Colonels as the Lion defense shut
out Willes in the second half.
Albright threatened on its first possesion, dnving down to the Wilkes even
}3rd hne before quarterback Tanner Kelly
completed a pass to Holmes at the one
yard line vvhere Drew Letcavage forced a
rumble that was eventually recovered in
the end zone by John Wojceichow ki for

a touchback .
The Wilkes offense started slow, going
three-and-out before Mario Della Fortuna
booted a punt 67 yard pinning Albright on
its 17-yard line after a nine yard rerurn
Holmes carried the Lion offense on their
second possession, gaining 55 yards on five
canies before Kelly found Nate Rom ig for
a 12-yard scoring trike to give Albright an
early 6-0 lead. The Lions traveled 83 yards
on 10 plays that took just over four minutes
as Chris Kovensky ran the ball in for a 1,,0point conversion to make it 8--0 in favor or
Albright.
Sean Madden took the ensuing kickoff 18 yards 10 the Colonel 42-yard line,
"'here Wilkes eventually marched down
to Albright"s 10. Chris Hom converted his
eighth-straight field goal without a miss by
making a 26-yarder. The Colonels drove 48

yards on nine plays that took just over four
minutes highlighted by a pair of passes from
Johnson to Gennaro Zangard1 and Alan
Frost for 11 and 12 yard re pectively.
The score -.ould remain that way until
Johnson and D'Emilio hooked up in the second quaner to give Wilkes its only lead of
the game. The Colonel staned on their own
three yard line after a Kelly 51-yard punt,
bufJohnson was 5-of-{i passing on the drive
for 53 yard for his 11th touchdown pas of
the season. Zach Tivald. picking up hi first
tan of the season for Wilkes, ran for 32 of
his team-high 71 yard on the drive.
Wilkes would hold a 10-8 advantage at
the half. but I lolmes found the end zone
on a nine-yard scamper, giving the Lions a
14-10 before Darius Harrison blocked John
Whelan ·s extra point attempt.
In the fourth quaner, Kelly pinned lhc

Colonels on their own one-yard hne for the
second-straight time after a 33-)'ard punt.
but Wilkes managed just seven } ards on its
po
ion before a 17-yard punt ga,e Albright the ball on the Colonel 25 Four pla) s
later, Whelan's 40-yard field goal attempt
was good. giving the Lions a 17-10 lead.
The Colonels threatened on their n "
drive, reac hing the Lion 29-yard line before
Roben Harper intercepted a Johnson pas at
the seven-yard hoe ,, 1tl1 I0 :35 to go in the
game. Wilke ' offense had just five plays
the rest of the game and managed just nine
yards.
The loss snap the Colonels' r,.,o-game
winning streak and now stand at 2-5 o,erall and 2-2 in MAC play They will return
home next Saturday to host King's "'hen the
two teams battle for the Ma}or·s Cup.

The swirlmg winds at Betzler Fields on
the night of October 21 may have made
pecrators miserable. but the weather had
no visible impact on the Wilkes Universi1) \\Omen' soccer team in its' 6-1 victory
over King ·s College.
The Lady Colonels (7-9-1, 3-3) led an
unrelenti ng assault throughout the game
that sa"' four different women score, with
sophomore forward TIIJ)'n Hallowell recording her second hat trick of the season.
Wilkes ' offense came out very strong
from the opening minutes of the game,
launching several uns ucces ful attack on
goal. The Lad Colonels punched in rheir
firsr score of the game in the 13th minute,
as freshman forward Katy Fissel fo und the
back of the ner off or an assist from sophomore midfielder Ahson Weidman .
•·1 had a one-on-one with the keeper before that and ended up not scoring," said
Fissel. ~we called a play our next possession and Ali \\8S able to get me the ball;
II fell greal making up for the miss before
it." he continued.
The Monarchs (2-13-1, 0-5) regrouped
and led two mall counterattack , but let
up another goal in the 21st minute from
freshman forward Kaitlin Vargo off of a
comer kick.
Leading 2-0, !he Lady Colonels contm•
ued 10 pre ure Kings. Junior midfielder
Julissa Reed streaked do\\11 the right ide
or the field moments after Vargo ·s goal
and launched a u-ong shot that was caught

by King's goalkeeper, Rachael Donatiello.
Wilkes would finally break through for
their third goal nght before th end of the
half. ho"'ever, as Hallowell scored off an
assist from sophomore defender Casandra
Valentin. The Lady Colonels entered the
half up 3-0, with a 13-1 edge in shots.
Freshmen goalkeeper arah heller immediately saved a shot from King's Becky
Cbateauneuf to keep the Monarchs off the
board afire replacing senior Jessica Berkey. Shortly afterwards, Hallowell scored
her second goal of the contest in the 51st
minute and. gi ing Wilkes a 4-0 lead. he
would score again in the 54th minut on an
unassisted goal, giving her her second consecutive hat tri k.
"Taryn looked very fust today. She was
very explosive and dangerous," said head
coach John Sumoski.
Hallowell's hat trick leaves her with 12
goals on the season , three hon oftymg the
school record of 15 t by Christina Waldele
in 2003, along "'ith Meaghan Haddad in
1994 and Holly hiber in 2000.
-1 didn ' t know [about the record) until the
next day at practice; l haven ·1 thought about
it but it would obviously be a great accompl i hment," said Hall owe I.
Chateauneuf ended the prospect of a shutout in the 84th minute, when her streaking
goal put the Monarchs on the board.
She will have a chance to break the record
thi week, as the Lady Colonels fini h out
their season with matches against conference roes Misericordia and FD -Florham .

Issue 7

~s hosts inti.
•
·amm1ng
etition
FRAIL
Editor

Lady Colonels soccer enjoys 6-1 rout of King's
BYDA KAUTZ
Beacon Asst ports &amp;iilor

Volume 61

y, October 25, Wilkes Uni-

FUTURISTIC
INNOVATIVE
GRAPHICS
)'OUR•}
coU#GH

iifJf,u

SCRIIN PR1
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pROM(Jf10NM
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A.CJUJSS

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BID.Y BEIEDIIB
JIJ
AND am.BA

S70 .823 .9272

/WWW . ◄ T-SBIBTS .C D

YOUR HOME FOR WINTER WEEKE D!

I and participated in the As-

Computing Machinery Inter~giate Programming Contest
sponsored by IBM. Twenty,m ten schools competed for
n eastern Pennsylvania. The
earn placed fourth and Wilkes
th.
:i the ACM website, "The coneativity, teamwork, and innoding new software programs,
tudents to test their ability to
:r pressure. Quite simply, it
largest, and most prestigious
contest in the world."
ontest, also referred to as Bat1ins, was inspired by a small
competition in 1970 at Texas
~d to challenge students in the
1ter science. As the years pro:ompetition gained popularity
,ad over seas.
,onsored the competition for
:cording to Doug Heintzman,
arategy for IBM's Software
1onsorship Executive of ICPC,
y 22,000 students from 2,000
1 83 to 87 countries worldwide
ch year.
take our social responsibility
:ly and the harsh reality is that
: facing some pretty specific
and it's going to take some
i

CONTEST page 3

imber

�OCTOBER

7, 2008

Colonels ti
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief

OCTOBER
--~
-

Charlie Parker must have recei
memo from Lebanon Valley tha1
Wilke's homecoming weekend bee
definitely brought his dancing sho1
The 5'10, 191 lb. running bad
through seams and did more jukt
than a kid playing Madden 2009
way to a staggering 278 rushing)
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the &lt;l
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for tt
ing game of Freedom Conference
rarker finished with two touchdo
had five times as many yards as C
rushers combined. He also finishec
on LVC's all-time rushing list wi1
yards, while helping his team sna1
losing streak to the Colonels, that
the way back to 1992. But most im
ly, he did what the Colonels wen
to do, that's hold onto the football
Of the Colonels six fumbles, fi
coughed up and fell into the hand
Dutchmen; fans would've though
\kes alum pulled a prank and stroll
om the tents to slip beer into t1
els water jug.
"It's tough to win football ga1
way," said 13 year head coac

28, 2008- ~ - - - - ~ - -

--- -

SPORTS

- - - - - - - - - - -- -~-

---

---

18

-------·

RINKSIDE REPORT

Letestu looks to expand role in second AHL season
BY !\ti HAEL C IC, ·ou

Beacon 'tqff Writer
After seeing a mo-goal first-period lead
di mtegrate against the archrival Hershey
Bears, the Wilk -Bcarr cranton Peng uin found themselves with a golden opportunity to get bacl. on top.
Referee Francois St Laurent whistled
two Bears players for penalties early in the
second penod, leaving the Penguins with a
92 cond five-on-three ad~antage.
At such a crucial point tn the game, the
Pcngum ent out a poY.er play unit centered by second-year center Mark Letestu.
Surpns,ng. considering Lelestu spent the
majority of h1 rookie season on WilkesBarr
ranton ·s bottom IY,O lines, where
it was hlS job to prevent the opponents
from scoring goal .
Just four games imo the season, Letestu
was already being called upon to put some
pucks in the net.
" It was one of my goals all the "ay
through rookie camp and main camp and
coming beret said Lete tu . ..To step into

more of an offensive role.··
It 's not like playing on the power pla was
something completely new to Letestu.
As a freshman at Western Michigan University during the 2006-2007 season, the
center saw a significant amount of ice time
with the man advantage.
"That was a big role for me. I played the
point on the power play, played down low;·
Lctestu explained . ·'J was used quite a bit
there ."
Letestu scored 24 goals in only 37 games
for the Broncos during his rookie season,
with seven of them coming with the man
advantage.
However, h1
offensive capabilities
weren ' t limited to the power play.
o Division I player had more shorthanded goals than Letcstu's five and no freshman had more points than Letestu's 46. All
of these statistics helped Lelestu earn the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association's
rookie of the year award.
The Penguins took notice of Letcstu 's
achievements and signed him to an amateur

try-out contract al the end of his fre hman
season. The native of Elk Point, Alhena.
1.as held coreless in four regular season
games and two playoff contest for WilkesBarre cranton in his debut year.
Th following season, Letestu started
off with th Penguins ECHL affiliate, the
V.'hecling ailers . He scored a goal and
added l\\o assists in six games for Wheeling before being called up to Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton in ovember.
Lete tu finished with six goals and 12 asSI ts in 52 games for the Penguins, with five
of those goal coming during a five game
stretch in Janwuy.
ow, in his second American Hockey
League (AHL) season, Letestu finds himself back on the Penguins third line. behind
veterans Jeff Taffe and David Gove.
" We have great players that I've got to
play behind, but I think there' s room for me
to improve and take some ice rime," Letestu
explained.
One opportunity for Letestu to earn some
additional time i created by the departure

of two of last cason ·s top face-olT\\inners,
athan Smith and Tim Brent.
" Being the only right-handed center on
the team, it's important for that nght faceoff spot," Letestu aid.
While head coach Dan Bylsma has kept
his top two lines in tact for the majority ot
the season, the bottom two Imes have been
huffled around quite a btt Let stu say that
playmg with new line mates on a nightly bais doesn ·1 require mu h of an adjustment.
'•We' ve got a pretty good sy tcm that everybody's going to buy into. Everybod) 's
pulling on direction; · Lete tu said. " I get
in there with Luca (Caputi) or Boogie (Aaron Boogaard), it's no different then being
with Hennie (Adam Henrich)or Wally (Tim
Wallace). We all like to play along the "all
and grind down teams. Jr not as hard as
on Y.Ould think."

VIII 'lllll11ti.arm.com for
Penguina 14)dalet throughout
the week.

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Lives

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665 Carey Ave
ilkes-Barrer Pa
Call (570) 823-41 1 9

.
t Right) Number 40 Rob P
turday's game against the I;

�18

OCTOBER

28, 2008

19

SPORTS

Athlete Spotlight: Rob Johnson
BY GINO TROIA I

Beacon Op-Ed £d11or
M t Robbie Johnson, Wilkes University"s 6'4, 205-pound quarterback from
Bridge,.ater. J. Afier h,o years, the crafty
passer finally earned his chance to lead the
Colonels. and ente..ed the 2008 season as
the team's starting quarterbacl..
Johnson, a Junior htSlory major, has
pla ed \\ell thi, ea n. throwing for 1,08
yard; and 11 touchdown in seven games.
Despite a rocl.y 2-5 tart. (2-2 in conference play), a hopeful Johnson continu to
claw a"ay. Mi efforts earned him MAC
Offensive Pla}erofthe Week aller his performancc against Lycoming in "eek six
v.hen he completed 14-of-27 pa
and
threw for 175 yard and three touchdown .
He also rushed six times for 19 yard .
Johnson sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with a 27-yard pass to Jordan D' Emilio.
Johnson is th first Wilkes player to be
honored by the conference this season.
Despite a lo ing record, both Johnson
and the rest of the team continue to tay
oplimtSttc, and are focused on laking each
game as it comes. When asked about the
1eam·s morale, Johnson as ured that,

"E\-en though \\e got of to a tough tart .
"e have stuck together as a team.··
Based on how his teammates describe his
character, 11 is evident that Johnson pla) s a
big role in unifying a team that is experiencing a rough tim . enior wide reciever
Jason Pru hinski tressed that Johnson has
adapted nicely, and has shown a lot of " .. .
maturity, while overcoming a lot of adversny, taking on the role and tepping up as a
leader on the team."
Looking to th future, Johnson confirmed
that he plan to continu to play for th res1
of his career at Wilkes. When asked aboul
next year's team goals, he replied. " Win the
MAC of course, but we still have a chance
this year." As for individual goal , he said.
" tats area 't my thing; I just wanl to win
games."
Afier a tough 10-17 loss against Albright
last Saturday, and a three interception performance, a modest Johnson responded,
"I'll take the loss on my shoulders for my
play at quarterback."
Currently, the Colonels are sixth in the
MAC and are scheduled to play King's (14) in a rivalry game at home for the Mayor's Quartcrb ck Rob Johnson looks to makr I pa on aturday October 18 during tbr
MAC Confcrucc match-up again I Lycoming.
Cup this aturday, ovembcr 1, at I p.m.

Field hockey wins again
A Lr D ER

B\'ALI

Beacon Sports &amp;it/or
The Lad)' olonel field hockey team won
11 • fifth Freedom Conference game of the

season after posting a 2-1 "in on the road
again t Mo ericordia University on Tuesday
Oc1ober 21.
Sophomore Alyson Paulau kas scored
Wllles' lone goal in regulation five minutes onto the match-up. Mo ericordia tied
the game when Jen Lozier scored with just
over 11 minutes I ft in the game.
After lv.o sudden dealh overtimes, Wilkes "as awarded an opportunit end lhe
~ame with a nenall'. comer. Junior defender

Amanda Tilley scored lhe game-wonning
goal for the Lady Colonels as senior Alyssa Koncelik was awarded an as ist on the
play.
Fourth-year hcach coach ara Myers belicvcs one of the bigg t strength of her
team is the seniors. '"They sho\\ in their
never give up attitude that you can accomplish anything if you work for it They are a
huge reason for our success this :rear and I
couldn't he prouder of them," Myers said.
TI1e Lady Colonels will wrap up their season this "eek. fa ing three Freedom Confcrcncc oppon nl , King' Delaware Valley
and Alvemia.

RECAP
from PAGE 16
MF.

•s SOCCER

Men·s soccer also took oa tbrce Freedom
C onfm:occ oppoo.:nts and added a contffl
against R0\\1ln, goiag 2-1-1 O\'Cf the break
RoWBO VISttod the Colosi$ Ill Ralston
F1eld on Wednesday, October 8. The Colonel posted 11 shots and goalkeeper TJ Baloga made twO saws in die 0-0 tte
Three days later, the Colonels traveled to
Eastern Untvcntty m St Davids. PA. for a
Freedom C'onfmnco llllldt-up. Scan Stitt
and Rusty Helwig scored goals tor the Colonels and Balop made six saves m a 2-1
wm o-. £aslcm_

Football
L 17- IO @ Albright

Field Hockey
\V s-1 Montclair Stak

W

@Manhattamillc
W 2-1 Eastern
W OT 2-1 @ Miserirordia
i-1

Men's Soccer
T

0-{l

Rowan

W :l-1 @Ea ·tt-rn
W 2-1 DeSale.~
L S-2@ Ahernia

the l-2 loss.

_

Women's Tennis
WfH&gt;@King's
W '&gt;-3@ Albright
W 9-0 @ DeSales

Women's Soccer

Men's Tennis

L !.!-0 Kean
L 3-0@ Ea~rern
L 1-0 DeSales
\V 3-1
Ahernia

W !HJ Misericordia
\V 8-1 PS -Harrisburg

:es hosts inti.
•
ramming
1etition
EFRAIL
s Editor

1

The Colonels returned home 10 ho,t DeSales University OIi Wcdncsda~, Octolicr
IS. Doug Moore and James llumenan I.
bolh scored for Wilkes and s.:an \ona "as
cn:dited wtth an assist oa Moore\ goal
Baloga continued to perform well for th
Colonels making Ihm: saves in the :!-1 c,&gt;11fc:rencc win.
The team then travdod to Alvemia Umverstty in Reading. PA. for Its third s1raigh1
Freedom Conference game After holJ,
a 2-1 lead 51 miollleS m the pmc. Y.ilkes
loll when dte Cl'UAdcrs 1ICORld two straight
goals. Moore and Malt Saucy scored goal
for Wilkes and Balop made n.o !18\CS in

W J□(,11( nos OOLO&gt;N ]14ll(,8
W 24-14 @ FDU-Florham
W 27-IS Lycoming

Issue 7

Volleyball
\V S-0 {OJ Delaware \'alley

L ,,-o Easu•rn
W s-o @ Albright
L 3-0 (ti; 1uhlenberp:
L 3-0 Scranton
L .'i-1 @. F l&gt;U-Florham
\\' s-o@ Rutgers, ·cwark

I

lay, October 25,-Wilkes Uni~d and participated in the Asr Computing Machinery Interllegiate Programming Contest
:) sponsored by IBM. Twentyi:om ten schools competed for
in eastern Pennsylvania. The
team placed fourth and Wilkes
nth.
to the ACM website, "The con:reativity, teamwork, and innoilding new software programs,
students to test their ability to
!er pressure. Quite simply, it
, largest, and most prestigious
g contest in the world."
contest, also referred to as Bat:ains, was inspired by a small
y competition in 1970 at Texas
ted to challenge students in the
mter science. As the years procompetition gained popularity
ead over seas.
:ponsored the competition for
ccording to Doug Heintzman,
Strategy for IBM's Software
ponsorship Executive ofICPC,
ly 22,000 students from 2,000
n 83 to 87 countries worldwid(
tch year.
: take our social responsibilit)
,ly and the harsh reality is thai
, facing some pretty specifi(
and it's going to take some
?

CONTEST page

136

~mber

�OCTOBER

7, 2008

Co onels fi
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief

Charlie Parker must have recei
memo from Lebanon Valley tha1
Wilke's homecoming weekend bee
definitely brought his dancing sho1
The 5'10, 191 lb. running bad
through seams and did more juk~
than a kid playing Madden 2009
way to a staggering 278 rushing J
the Dutchmen (3-1) shocked the(!
(0-4) 28-21 at Ralston Field for th
ing game of Freedom Conference
Parker finished with two touchdo'
had five times as many yards as C
rushers combined. He also finishec
on LVC's all-time rushing list wi1
yards, while helping his team snaJ
losing streak to the Colonels, that
the way back to 1992. But most im
ly, he did what the Colonels wen
to do, that's hold onto the football
Of the Colonels six fumbles, fi
coughed up and fell into the hand
Dutchmen; fans would've though
kes alum pulled a prank and stroll/
from the tents to slip beer into ti
nels water jug.
"It's tough to win football ga1
way," said 13 year head coac

OCTOBER

28, 2008

20

Colonels, Monarchs settle for a draw on the soccer field
BY DANIEL KA TZ
Beacon A st. Spor1 Editor
Will.es University and King's
College put on a show for their
fans on October 23. honoring the
rivalry "ith a hard fought 110
minute, double-ovenime 0-0 draw
at Betzler Fields.
" It's al\\ays a big game [when
)OU play King· ], srud sophomore
for,~ard Ru,,i)
lwig. ''It's a big
nvalry; "e definitely uy harder
than usual \\hen we play them."
"We practiced much harder the
\\eek leading up to the game; all
of us \\ere trying 10 do our best,"
added sophomore midfielder
Doug Moore.
King's (12-1-4. 2-1-3) opened
the game with numerous attacks
that initially put the Colonels ( 8-62, 4-1-l)on their heels. They were
able to respond in the game's 13th
minute. \\hen Doug Moore scored
a goal that was negated by an
offside call. ophomorc forward
Ryan Phillip ga,e them another

Attend the Lady Colonel field hockey game
a~inst King's College at
4 :00p.m. and Think Pink
by nelping to support
breast cancer.

(At Right) Number 40 Rob P
Saturday's game against the Il

SPORTS

chance at the 25 minute rnarlc. of the first. with both sides playing
when he led a fast break down fast and aggressively. Timko led a
the left ideline before a Kmg·s great scoring chance for the Mondefender kicked the ball out of arch in the game ' 58th minute,
bounds. The resulting comer kick as he dribbled down Wilkes' goal
was cleared.
line before launching a cross past
ot to be outdone, King's senior the Colonel's senior goal keeper
forward Mark Timko led a similar TJ . Baloga; there was no shot,
!Teak down Wilkes' sideline be- however The Co lonel 's offense
fore booting a long cross; the ball answered several minute later as
was kicked out of bounds, ho"ev- freshmen fol\\'ard Ed Zulko ki,
er, and the Colonels succes fully sophomore midfielder James Hucleared King's resulting comer at- menansky. and Phillips worked
tempt
10 split up the Monarch 's defense
The 0-0 score h dmg mto half- before pas ing 10 sophomore midtime gave no indication of the of- fielder Matt ankcy. who nearly
fensive pres ure each side placed scored as his shot deflected off
on the other in the first half: both of King' s keeper. Moments later
defenses bent repeatedly but never Phillips was pulled down from
broke agains11he strain of con tam behind just outside the box, leadattaek.s. Wilkes held a 4-1 hot ing lo a free kick from junior midadvantage going into the second fielder Sean Vona. His kick sailed
hall; and both teams took two cor- Just over tl1e goal, however.
ner kicks. Wilkes' defense showed
In the game's 68th minute Philgreat discipline in drawing tv.o lips and Moore worked together to
offside calls against a fast and ag- loose a low hot on goal that was
gressive Monarch's offense.
scooped up by King's keeper. They
Th second half""as reminiscent would hook up again four minutes

Listen to the "Buildin~
a Successful Career
lecture in room 231 of
the UCOM at 9:00a.m.

Enjoy "Halloweekend#
a l,aunted house at
287 S. River Street
from 8:00-10:00p.m.

later as Moore ent a cross to a
di ing Phillips, who just mi sed
the ball as it sailed hannle ly
out of bounds. Dan Hom would
respond for the Monarchs in the
74th minute with a trong mke
past a diving Baloga; the shot
went wide right though, keeping
the game scorel . Baloga would
make a save in mid air in the 76th
minute off a hot from Timko. and
another at the 80th minute on the
ground by the right post
The Colonels had one last
chance to score m regulation, as
Moore beat King's last defender
and found himself one on one
with the keeper. With the cheering
sections of both teams going wild,
Moore tried to squeak a low kick
past the keeper, only to sec it deflected wid right.
'"Time was running down and
we were running out of chances;
I tried 10 finish but just got unlucky," said Moore of the play.
With the threat ended. both
teams prepared for overtime.

Halloween!!!

King· attack inten,ificd in extra
time as Wilkes struggled 10 find
some kind of offensi\e con ISlency. Baloga punched away a hot
in the 92nd minute that wound
up trapped in the netting over the
top crossbar, exciting the King's
cheering section that assumed a
goal had been ·scored. He would
make yet another save in the
second ovemme, as Kmg·s Al ~
Henery launched a ftee kicl. ove1
Wilkes' defenders and IO\\ards the
left post folio"' ing a foul call. e1th r side could score before time
ex.pired, end mg the cont I in a 00 draw.
King's "ound up with an 11-7
shot advantage in the match, and
look nine comer kicks to Wilkes·
three. Baloga had seven sa, for
the Colonel .
kT.J. played really well for u .
shutting them out like that:• said
Seh,ig. He and the rest of our defense all played exceptional!) "ell
together and really saved us

Attend the Governor's
Cup when Wilkes takes
on rival King's College in
football at 1:00 p.m. at
Ralston Field.

.

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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                    <text>ELECTION 2008: PAGES 10-11

NOVEMBER

4, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 7

Gov. Rendell makes homestretch pitch for Obama Wilkes hosts inti.
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor
programming •.
Last week marked the final political
troop surge in battleground states around
competition
the country as celebrities and politicians
worked to get out the vote for their candidates of choice.
On Friday, Pennsylvania Governor Ed
Rendell (D) visited Wilkes University
campaigning for Presidential hopeful Sen.
Barack Obama (D-IL) on the "Road to
Change" tour.
Rendell, who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the primaries, chose to endorse Obama after he won the Democratic
nomination.
The short, statewide bus tour kicked off
in Erie on October 28, and ended on November I in Norristown, with the goal of
securing a Keystone state win for Obama.
Rendell explained, "I don't just want to
win; I want to crush them."
On stage in the Henry Student Center 1st
floor lounge, Rendell was accompanied by
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne), U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas

BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor

obtaining a minor in geology.
Marcellus Shale is abundant in Northeast PA and is a prime area for natural gas,
which is the cleanest burning fuel that produces fewer greenhouse gases than others,
explained Raisor. In other areas of the nation, such as Texas and Arkansas, this type
of shale has already been drilled, making
them further along in the process. Land
owners are generally happy to lease land
for drilling because of the excellent money

On Saturday, October 25, Wilkes University hosted and participated in the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest
(ACM-ICPC) sponsored by IBM. Twentyone teams from ten schools competed for
the top spot in eastern Pennsylvania. The
Wilkes Gold team placed fourth and Wilkes
Blue took ninth.
According to the ACM website, "The contest fosters creativity, teamwork, and innovation in building new software programs,
and enables students to test their ability to
perform under pressure. Quite simply, it
is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious
programming contest in the world."
The ACM contest, also referred to as Battle of the Brains, was inspired by a small
honor society competition in 1970 at Texas
A&amp;M designed to challenge students in the
field of computer science. As the years progressed, the competition gained popularity
and soon spread over seas.
IBM has sponsored the competition for
11 years. According to Doug Heintzman,
director of Strategy for IBM's Software
Group and Sponsorship Executive ofICPC,
approximately 22,000 students from 2,000
universities in 83 to 87 countries worldwide
participate each year.
"... [W]e take our social responsibility
pretty seriously and the harsh reality is that
this world is facing some pretty specific
challenges ... and it's going to take some

See SHALE page 2

See CONTEST page 3

The Beacon/Gino Troiani
On Friday, October 31, Gov. Ed Rendell spoke on behalf of Barrack Obama.
Leighton (D), and Wilkes University President, Dr. Tim Gilmour. "It's great to be back
at Wilkes!" Rendell exclaimed to the small
but enthusiastic crowd.
Rendell's speech mostly focused on clearing up any inaccuracies and rumors that
presidential rival Sen. John McCain's (R-

AZ) campaign has fueled about Obama's
stance on critical issues such as Medicare,
Social Security and taxes. "Obama is not
going to raise your taxes unless you make

See RENDELLpage 2

Wilkes project analyzes Marcellus Shale in NEPA
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor
If there has been a consistent message
across political lines through this election
season, it is that the country desperately
needs to locate and harness alternative energy sources. But in the national energy
discussion questions of environmental impact, natural resource availability and sustainability all quickly bubble to the surface
like black gold.
So, local researchers are now beginning
to ask why search for fuel resources else-

where, when there are natural gas fuels in
several of Northeast Pennsylvania's backyards? Local lands are being leased and
may become sites for drilling natural gas
from Marcellus Shale. A Wilkes research
team is taking a lead in investigating just
what sort of possibilities natural gas may
hold for the area.
Dr. Sid Halsor, professor of environmenta! engineering and earth science, has designed a research project for two senior environmental engineering majors, John Luff
and Willaim Garro. Both students are also

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes. edu

Established 1936
PA Newspaper
Association Member

�NEWS

------

NOVEMBER

4, 2008

(JUSC) in Wilkes-Barre, PA, the
potential royalties from natural gas
from FRONT PAGE
drilling are substantive. A JUSC
report, "The Economic Impact of
guaranteed.
Marcellus Shale in Northeastern
According to geology.com,
Pennsylvania," documented how
"In early 2008, Terry Englander,
if a landowner allowed drilling on
a geoscience professor at
100 acres in production unit and
Pennsylvania State Universireceived a 15 perty, and Gary Lash, a geology
cent royalty, this
professor at the State Univerlandowner would
sity of New York at Fredoreceive $3,000 of
royalty per day,
nia, surprised everyone with
estimates that the Marcellus
which leads to
might contain more than 500
$1,095,000 a year.
trillion cubic feet of natural
This estimate is
gas ... That volume of natural
based on natural
gas would be enough to supgas prices and daiply the entire United States
ly production rate.
for about two years and have
JUSC will host a
a wellhead value of about one
Marcellus Shale
trillion dollars."
symposium
on
The Pennsylvania DeNovember 19 to
partment of Environmental
further educate the
Protection recently issued a
public about it.
report showing where newAlthough
the
ly drilled wells are located
natural gas wells
in the region. In Bradford
will not lower
County, there are two; in Lygas prices in the
coming County, eight wells
region, the poswere drilled; in Susquehanna
sibility of drilling
County, there are six wells,
could bring ecoand in Wayne County, there
nomic and job opare two. There are still more
Photo Courtesy of Sid Halsor portunities to the
permits issued for wells to be Wilkes students gather information and data about area. Halsor noted,
drilled.
"There will be job
Marcellous Shale along roadsides in the area.
At Wilkes, Luff and Garro
opportunities
in
have been conducting field studies son is located within 1,000 yards management, energy supply, infor the past few weeks at various of the drilling site and the water frastructure in drilling structures,
sites. They visit roadside areas is contaminated, the company is well site geologists, services and
w~ evidence of shale to collect responsible. Due to state poli- more [if the natural gas project is
information. They also examine cies, the companies will take all successful]".
whether a site is a viable drilling precautions and test the water freIn addition, natural gas drilling
location, what sorts of drilling quently.
also could buoy environmental
could be done, and water usage in
Luff and Garro will create a and conservation jobs locally. A
the process. Luff and Garro attend- poster to put on display, but have few possible environmental coned a conference at Lake Lehman yet to determine what exactly they cerns include the effects of deep
drilling, hydro-fracturing, water
High School where a Penn State will do with the results they find.
University professor spoke about
Based on a research conducted consumption, and heavy equiptesting shale and drilling tactics. by Joint Urban Studies Center ment impact on area roads. The

SHALE

Their most recent field study was
on Friday, October 31, at the Delaware Water Gap site.
"It [the natural gas] is a positive
thing. The natural gas companies
generally take care of you when
they're drilling on your land and
everything," said Luff. If a per-

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn.frear@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

wells will need to be drilled 5,0008,000 feet below ground level, averaging a mile deep.
Halsor explained one concern
with deep drilling is that rock material will be brought up mixed
with drilling material, which consists of chemicals, sand and water.
These materials will be piled into
pond-like areas to be contained,
but the remains left behind could
cause an environmental issue. He
also described the effects of hydro-fracturing, which is a process
involving vertical and horizontal
drilling to remove gas from the
porous Marcellus Shale, leading
to a possibility of affecting the
overlying reservoirs by leaking
drill components into it.
Lastly, natural gas drilling requires several millions of gallons
of water to work, which means
water consumption could have
an environmental impact. A few
companies were looking at Har-

Obama plan is three times better

or working families."
Rendell also turned the flame
ack on McCain saying that the
epublican Senator "sold out'' to
e right wing of this party. In
ddition, Rendell offered several
arcastic comments that quesioned Republican vice presiden·a1 nominee Sarah Palm's inte1igence.
A few months ago, Rendell statd that he would have been will·ng to serve a so-called "dream
·cket'' comprised of Obama and
linton. When asked his thoughts
n Obama's pick for vice presi-t, Rendell acknowledged that

Editorial Staff 2008-09
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Design Chief: Alison Woody
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
News Editor: Nicole Frail

Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens

Advisor: Or. Andrea Breemer Frantz

2

vey's Lake and the possibility
of using the water from it. With
connection to water, there will be
heavy equipment on the roads for
water transportation and disposal
of materials, which creates further
impact on the environment.
Halsor brings a unique perspective on the issue of the drilling of
natural gas in Northeast PA. At
one time, he worked for an oil
and gas industry in Colorado and
he is now an environmental engineering and earth science professor. He sees both sides of the
story, recognizing the importance
of economic and energy needs as
well as sensitivity to possible negative environmental impact.
"Energy, below the economy
and war, is a major issue and concern in the U.S. It is a high priority for politicians and communities alike," said Halsor. He also
believes it is important to use a
diversified source of energy.
but be also added, "I think he
made a great choice with Joe
[Biden],'' and that he is one of
the "most respected members in
Congress." Rendell also cleared
up speculation about leaving his
position as governor to serve
on the presidential cabinet as a
member of the Obama administration. "I can't leave ... I pledged
to the people of Pennsylvania
that I would be their governor for
four years."
Many credit Rendell with Democratic presidential nominee Sen.
John Kerry's (D-MA) success
in Pennsylvania during the 2004
Presidential election, and feel
that be will have the same effect
on Pennsylvanian voters this time
around. "If it's a one pointer, I'll
take some of the credit," Rendell

Meet our lifestyle editors ...

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

NEWS

CONTEST
from FRONT PAGE

lity
Tith
be
for
&gt;sal
:her
►ec-

~

of
At
oil
and
en&gt;rothe
nee
, as
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very bright, creative, innovative people
and technologies in order to tackle some
of these big problems and we think that by
sponsoring this competition and shining a
very bright light on these exceptional young
people, hopefully we will be helping to
bring some of that creativity and innovative
potential to help develop these technologies and help solve these problems," said
Heintzman.
Wilkes has been a host site for the competition since 2000. Though enrollment in
computer science has declined in the past
few years, Wilkes's role as host aims to
increase the excitement and interest in the
field in any way possible.
Dr. Matt Zukoski, associate professor of
computer science, and senior Jason Wagner
helped organize the event at Wilkes.
"This year, there weren't even any minor issues that came up. It was a welcome
change from last year when the contest was
held on the day that the underground explosion took place under Main Street, and they
were going to have to shut off our power.
We ended up being delayed by about an
hour and a half..." said Wagner, systems
administration for the Wilkes site since the

.

2006 competition.
Math and computer science students borrowed computers from surrounding classrooms to make a second lab in SLC 403 for
the competition. SLC 409 was also used
by many of the 21 competing teams. Each
team consisted of three members and was
allowed one computer.
Wilkes Gold consisted of seniors Kyle
Hatcher and Simon Elmir and sophomore
Brandon Yachna. Freshmen Ed Zulkoski
and Dakota Cole and sophomore Corey Del
Vecchio made up the Wilkes Blue team.
Recently, Wilkes has stopped teaching
Java, the traditional computer language
used in the competition. The younger team,
Wilkes Blue, scrambled over the weekend
to learn Java, having been trained in Python, said Zukoski.
According to ACM, "Teammates collaborate to rank the difficulty of the problems,
deduce the requirements, design test beds,
and build software systems that solve the
problems under the intense scrutiny of expert judges. For a well-versed computer science student, some of the problems require
precision only... Still others are simply too
hard to solve - except, of course, for the
world's brightest problem-solvers."
The teams had five hours to work on 10
problems. The team who submitted the

3

most problems correctly in the shortest
amount of time was
Lehigh University's
C team with four
problems completed.
"I thought the
questions were well
chosen. As expected, many problems
seemed easy at first
glance, but as you
read more they became more and more
complex. The first
problem we worked
Photo Courtesy of Matt Zukoski
on the three of us Wilkes Gold team works on the one of ten problems at the ACMw~rked on it until ICPC contest hosted at Wilkes on Saturday, October 25.
we had a pretty good idea of where to go.
Then, one ofus would start reading through
another problem to get a little feel for it so
we didn't take it on blind," said Yachna.
Wilkes Gold placed 32nd overall in the
Mid Atlantic Region and Wilkes Blue
placed 79th. Lehigh C, who won the part
of the competition hosted at Wilkes, placed
12th in the region.
The top 100 teams in the country will be
invited to the ACM world championships
in Sweden. According to Heintzman, aside

from the cultural experience and "bragging
rights" of making it to the finals, winners in
Sweden will receive cash scholarships, laptop computers, IBM hardware and what is
equal to a "golden ticket" to place
their
resumes. Many past winners, including
2006's team from Saratov State University
in Russia, are currently working for IBM.
"This is a passport for so many students
to fulfill their life's ambitions, so that's
probably, by far, the biggest payoff," said
Heintzman.

e a

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CONTACT: Bilr Henry
william.henryOO@comcast.net
215-768-4619

ot

�CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino. troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

Syrian Border
Page 8

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Stelll Cells: Prolllising treatlllent for future
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

stitute of Health (NIH), currently,
adult stem cells are the only type
of stem cells that are used to treat
Stem cell research has been various disorders, and have been
a heated ethical issue {or years used for over 40 years in the medacross political, scientific, and ad- ical field, mostly in leukemia revocacy groups. President George search.
W. Bush has staunchly resisted
In addition, NIH studies and
embryonic stem cell research in other significant advancements
his tenure, while high profile ad- among individual research teams
vocates such as actor Michael J. at universities in the United States,
Fox and Health and Human Ser- the United Kingdom and Asia have
vices Director Tommy Thompson proven that stem cells possess the
have lobbied hard for a loosening ability to benefit patients who sufof federal purse strings for re- fer from numerous cancers, autosearch.
immune diseases, cardiovascular
Despite passionate arguments problems, many blood conditions,
both for and against the use of metabolic disorders, spinal cord
stem cells, recent scientific ad- injuries, and various wounds to
vances have opened up possible name a few. Most agree that with
cures or treatments for diseases further research of stem cells,
such as Alzheimer's and Parkin- adult and embryonic, cures for
son's. Thus, it has again become a certain types of cancer, ALS, and
closely watched political issue in Alzheimer's are possible.
the 2008 election.
As adult stem cells age, they beWhat are Stem Cells?
gin to lose their ability to develStem cells are cells
op into specialized
found in most, if not
cells.
all, multi-cellular orThe ethical debate
ganisms. They are
In 2001, President
c~acterized by the
George W. Bush anability to renew themnounced that federal
selves through mitotic
funds for embryonic
cell and differentiating
stem cell research
into a diverse range of
would only be awarded, and research may
specialized cell types.
George W. Bush
The two major types of
only take place if the
human stem cells are embryonic, cells were initiated prior to 9:00
and adult stem cells.
p.m. EDT, on August 9, 2001. For
In a developing embryo, stem a time, this move virtually brought
cells can differentiate into all of a stand still to embryonic stem cell
the specialized embryonic tissues. research in the United States.
In adults, stem cells act as a repair
Human embryonic stem cell
system for the body, replenishing research is controversial because
specialized cells, but also main- starting a stem cell line with curtain the normal turnover of regen- rent technology requires the deerative organs, such as blood, skin struction of a human embryo and/
or intestinal tissues.
or therapeutic cloning. Pro-life
The key difference between em- supporters argue that a human embryonic and adult stem cells lies bryo is a human life and is therewithin their ability to develop into fore entitled to protection.
distinctive types of cells.
In a 2001 Time magazine article,
How are they helpful?
"The Great Debate Over Stem Cell
According to the National In- Research" author Jessica Reaves

sums up the tension, "Embryonic
stem cells are controversial. They
come from the inner cell mass of a
blastocyst, the term for a fertilized
egg four days after conception."
Thus, pro-life advocates argue
that unborn
children
are at risk
in such
research.

percent of total health care spending, (about 1.5 trillion/year) is
used for disease management.
This is why stem cell research
has proven to be a key issue in the
2008 election.
Where do we need to go
on stem cells?
Research in this area will
continue across the world,
whether Americans are
allowed to participate
or not. The 2007 No' bel Prize for Medicine
was awarded to Mario
Capecchi, Martin Evans, and Oliver Smithies
for their gene research using embryonic stem cells
Supportfrom mice. Teams in England have also spearheaded
ers of emimportant
breakthroughs.
bryonic stem
However, given Amerresearch
An embryonic stem cell.
ica's medical institutes,
argue that
we could choose to lead in
such research
should be pursued because the this area and possibly see great adresultant treatments could have vances thanks to good federal and
significant medical potential. It is private funding.
also noted that embryos created for
Both Sen. Barack Obama (Din vitro fertilization, which might IL ), and Sen. John McCain (Rotherwise be discarded, could be AZ) have promised that they will
donated with consent and used for indeed provide governmental
funding for both types of stem
the research.
According to Standford Univer- cell research regardless of the date
sity's Christopher Thomas Scott in which the stem cells were acexecutive director of the Stem quired.
Cells in Society Program in his
The Beacon staff fully supports
book, Stem Cell Now, "Results further research of both embryfrom some adult stem cell research onic and adult stem cells. We do
laboratories in late 1999 and early so with the belief that the poten2000 hinted that adult stem cells tial for advancement in the mediwere every bit as powerful as their cal field greatly outweighs any
embryonic counter parts." Politi- ethical debate about when life
cal and religious groups used this begins. While we may not agree
claim to make a case against em- about when it begins, we do know
bryonic stem cell use. However, when it ends for loved ones with
" ... no other laboratories were able Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
to repeat the experiments." This other such diseases. That reality,
preserves the idea that embryonic and the potential for changing it,
stem cells have far more potential is enough to spur our push to the
new administration to fund stem
than adult stem cells.
Recently, CNN medical corre- cell research.
spondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta stated
that each year approximately 75

The Beacon
supports funher
research of both
embrvonic, and
adult stem cells.

Various stem
cells can be
harvested without
harming human
embrvos.

Both
presidential
candidates
iDthe2008
election suppon
tunher stem cell
research.

4

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

OPINION

5

The Angry Rant: The not so Angry Rant
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer
As I write this, the Philadelphia Phillies are still on the field celebrating their
World Series victory, Bill Conti 's "Gonna
Fly Now" is blasting over my speakers, and
my hands are shaking, because, for the first
time in 26 years, it appears that my life has
purpose. That last part might be an exaggeration. But I don't think it is .
I've been a Phillies fan for as long as I can
remember. In fact, I had my first Phillies experience when I was less than 48 hours old,
when my mother had a Phillies game on the
television at the hospital.
I've been there through the Schmidt years,
the lean years (there were many), and I remember that I had my heart broken for the
first time on October 23, 1993.
I was there when the tide turned in 2006,
as Ryan Howard slugged his way to an
MVP award and nearly carried the Phillies
to a playoff berth.
I was there in 2007, when the Phillies made
an improbable run over the last weeks of the
season to overcome the New York Mets to
take the division, only to be swept in the Division Series by the Colorado Rockies.
I was there for their first victory in 2008,
when a Phillies rally turned a 6-1 deficit
into an 8-7 victory. And now one hundred
and two wins later, they are Champions of
Baseball.
But first, I need to get something off my
chest.
When this article was conceived during
the hangover of the first part of Game 5, it
was filled with more vitriol than an article
about how much I hate Dane Cook.
But something happened after one last
perfect slider by Brad Lidge: All of that
went away.
Maybe it was the temporary insanity that
takes over a person after their lifelong team
wins a championship; Maybe it was the
culmination of emotions after eight months
of nail-biting baseball, or maybe it was
the fact that, amid all of the bad calls, late
start times and poor management by MLB
brass .. .I just didn't care about that. My
team just won, and that's all that matters.
But, this wouldn't be an angry rant without some anger. So here it goes, in no particular order. ..
Joe Buck has about as much emotion as
a dead fish in a bucket of frozen water. Just
ask every New York Giants fan about the
call he made when David Tyree made one
of the greatest catches ever in the SuperBowl.
Tim McCarver sounds like he is drunk,
high, mentally retarded , or a combination
of all three. To quote Family Guy, here is

Mccarver in a nutshell: "In my
view, as good as the Yankees have
been in the first half of this game,
that's how bad they've been now."
The umpires were so bad in this
series, even Tim Donaghy said:
"Seriously?"
Those painfully annoying commercials that remind us, with bran
cereal-to-your-colon-like regularity, that "There's Only One October." Thankfully, no one told Dane
Cook that there was a World Series
this year, making the commercials
slightly less annoying. Which is
kind of like saying that Paul Walker
is a slightly worse actor than Keanu
Reeves.
And finally, Bud Selig looks like
a used car salesmen with a drinking problem. His verbal acumen
makes George W. Bush sound like Maya
Angelou.
Let's look at some of Bud's best moments that were no doubt conceived to ruin
baseball, much like George Lucas and his
attempt to ruin both Star Wars and Indiana
Jones:
He turned the relaxing All Star Game into
a contest that determines home-field advantage. That's fine, except for
the players are chosen by
the fans . So, in reality, it is entirely
possible
that
Coco Crisp
would start
in centerf i e 1d
just because
h i s
name
sounds
delicious.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the
Houston Astros, who
were in the midst of the
National League Wild Card
race, were forced to evacuate
their stadium prior to a homestand with the Chicago Cubs. Instead
of having the game in nearby Arlington (which, you know, made sense), Selig
chose to have the game played in a "neutral" site Milwaukee. Which happens to be
the Kramer to Chicago's Seinfeld, essentially taking away any home-field advantage for the Astros. The result: Cubs' starter
Carlos Zambrano throws a no-hitter in front
of a crowd of mostly Cubs' fans. The Astros
would lose 6 of their next 7 games and miss

the playoffs.
He allowed Game Five of the World Series to begin, despite the fact the weather
radar was giving strong indications that it
would rain. Prior to the game, Selig was reported to have told several people that there
was a good chance that they would not get
through all nine innings. That's the equivalent of telling a girl that the
condom you have is probably
going to break, but you're
going to use it anyway.

He signed a billiondollar deal with FOX,
giving them exclusive
rights to the World
Series, with the
caveat that FOX
can start them at l
8:30 PM, even
though
m o s t
games will be
lucky to be over
by midnight.
That's
too
late for a
baseball
start,
a n d
it deprives
the younger fans of
~
witnessing
0
.· CJ
. 0~ ·
what might very
~
.· 0~'lf
well be the defin0
ing moment in their
V'-~~
young fan-life. (How~
ever, a young Tim Seigfried
would've defiantly stayed up
to watch the affair that was Game
Four.)
In other words, Bud Selig is a turd who
deserves to be fired.
But all that is forgotten now. The poor officiating, the deplorable conditions for part
one of game five and Bud Selig's verbal diarrhea; I could really care less. What began
as a manifesto on what is wrong with baseball has turned into an emotional release
that I can only imagine can be topped by

.

#

having a child, except that the child must
one day go on to invent a more efficient
way for me to watch the television while
I'm in the bathroom.
And now, for some more uplifting fare,
the top ten moments from the post season:
10. Jamie Moyer, 44-years-young, pitching a gem in his first World Series in a 22year-career.
9. Carlos Ruiz's 55-foot-walk-off in
Game Four of the World Series.
8. Chase "Eflin" Utley's speech after
the parade. Greatest. Speech. Ever.
7. Brett Myers' 10-pitch at-bat
against C.C. Sabathia in Game
Two of the NLDS. My·~
ers, a career .116 hitter,
~ worked a walk against
C.C. , setting the stage
for Shane Victorino's
grand slam two hitters
later.
6. MattStairs4twoout,
two-run blast that capped
a four-run rally against the
Dodgers in Game Four of
the NLCS . Stairs, who
\ has 254 career homers,
will never hit a bigger
one.
5. Chase Utley's
Jeteresque fake
out that
cut down the goahead run at
home plate with
two outs in
the 7th inning
in Game Five.
4.
Pat
Burrell 's
only hit of the
W o r 1d
Series, and possibly last
as a Phillie, was a
leadoff
double in the 7th inn ing
that would prove to
be the
difference maker when
P edro
Feliz drove in pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett
two batters later.
3. Every single start by Cole Hamels,
who went from "Ace" to "Messiah" over
the course of three weeks. How good was
Hamels? Well, he was the best pitcher, by
far, in a postseason that included Josh Beckett, C.C. Sabathia, Jon Lester, Carlos Zambrano, Scott Kazmir, James Shields, and
Derek Lowe.
2. Brad Lidge's slider that pinch-hitter
Eric Hinske couldn't hit even if he knew it
was commg.
1. Getting to say, for the next year, "The
World Champion Philadelphia Phillies."
Yes, my beloved Fightin' Phils are the
Champions of Baseball.
And my hands are still shaking.

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

OPINION

U.S. violated international law in Syria
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

Late last month, United States
Special Operations Forces targeting an Iraqi militant and his cell
carried out a raid across Syrian
borders.
The timing of the raid has left
many questions, because in recent
months, the U.S. has commended
Syrian officials on their efforts to
tighten the boarder between Syria
and Iraq. According to the New
York Times, "Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former top commander
in Iraq, said that the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq had dwindled to less than 20 a month from
a peak of more than 120 a month
a year ago."
The U.S. forces were specifically ordered to hunt down Abu
4(:ihadiya. Ghadiya was in his late
20s and described by a United
States official as Al Qaeda in
Mesopotamia's "most prominent"
smuggler of foreign operatives
between Syrian borders into Iraq.
The attack on Ghadiya was executed six miles from the Iraqi border, in the village of Sukkariyah
just before 5 p.m. by about twodozen American commandos in
specially equipped Black Hawk

Cartoon by: Jenna Stephens

helicopters. Ghadiya and several
militants fought the U.S. troops
in a short gun battle. Ghadiya was
then captured, and died shortly after.
Syria's foreign minister, Walid
al-Moallem, also claimed that
U.S. soldiers fatally
shot four members of
one family, a guard and
his wife and a man who
was fishing nearby. The
U.S. continues to deny
allegations of civilian
deaths.
Since the attacks of
September 11, 2001,
the U.S. has executed
attacks on suspected
terrorists in countries
like Yemen and Somalia. In addition, it has
also authorized attacks on Syrian soil to support its military operations in Iraq, but those attacks
have mostly been cross-border
missile strikes.
The U.S. has defended its actions
by making the case that cross-border missions inside Pakistan and
now in Syria have helped to protect the lives of American troops.
President Bush commented in a
speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September. "As

sovereign states, we have an obligation to govern responsibly, and
solve problems before they spill
across borders," Mr. Bush said.
"We have an obligation to prevent
our territory from being used as a
sanctuary for terrorism and pro-

administration: if the situation
were reversed, and Syria crossed
U.S. borders to demonstrate military force, how would the U.S.
respond? " Miller explained that
although it may not seem just,
the truth is that, "international
relations are based on power," and that the U.S. would
simply "obliterate"
Syria.
According to an
Oct.
27
CNN report, Moallem
also
accused
the United
States of
terrorism
after
the
raid.
"Killearthtlmes.or~
mg civil.
. .
liferaians m mtemational
t ion
and huinan trafficking and orga- law means terrorist aggression,"
nized crime."
Further acts of aggression will
According to Dr. Andrew Mill- not be tolerated, Mouallem said.
er, Wilkes University assistant "If they do it again, we will deprofessor of political science, by fend our territories."
crossing Syrian borders, the U.S.
The CNN story also quoted Jiis guilty of violating "internation- had Makdissi, a spokesman for
al law," which protects a nation's the Syrian Embassy in London,
sovereignty.
who said, "They should come
And so I ask of Mr. Bush and his to Syrian authorities and share
their information
instead of applying the law of the
jungle,"
great
With
power
comes
great responsibility. If a nation abuses its
power just as the
United
States
has continued to
do, it is no better
than the terrorist
organizations it
is fighting to defeat. The attack
on Syrian soil
sends the wrong
message to enemies and allies
alike.

6
Beacon Poll Results
The following are results of a
oil that The Beacon coducted
nline this past week. The
oil was unscientific, and does
ot claim to reflect the overal
ttitudes of students on
ampus.

The Beacon asked:
·ch candidate are you
oting for in the 2008 Pres·dential Election?

• Barack Obama 72 %
• John McCain 24%
• Other- 4%

Next Week's que~·tion:
What are your views on stem
cell research?

• For it
• Against it
• Undecided
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published.
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

It's Your Right!
'1'he Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,

Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Tanzania Trip

PAGEli
7

ostyllos
NOVEMBER

4, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.Iifestyles@gmail.com

Record ~olders explore world by 1notorbike
BY LAUREN SALEM
Beacon Asst. Op-ed Editor
World travelers and Guinness Book of
World Record holders, Simon and Lisa
Thomas, recently rode though Pennsylvania, the 38th state they visited in their attempt to visit every state on their BMW
motorbikes. The married couple from the
United Kingdom sold almost all of their
possessions including their house and personal businesses to embark on a journey to
ride the world. In their stop in Pennsylvania, they stayed with friends in Dallas, PA
and offered insights into their journey.
"All you're really doing is swapping one
set of daily problems, whether it's e-mail or
traffic, for a different set of issues," Simon
said during his visit. "Our issues are a little
more firsthand, logistical. We still have the
same problems every single day: we have
to eat, drink, and navigate our way through
life. We're just doing it in a slightly different fashion."
The Thomases left the United Kingdom in May 2003, and have traveled
105,000 miles through 58 countries.
They plan to cover over 60 more during the next four to five years. Their
goal is to ride through all seven continents from the most northern tip to
the most southern tip of each continent.
They carry only what they can pack on their
bikes, mostly bike supplies and a tent.
"Rather than flying from home into the
country, having a holiday, and flying back

out only getting a slight taste of the country,
we ride though each country together and
we end up wearing and eating the country
as we go through it," Lisa said. "It's not
so much number counting the countries or
the miles; we remember countries by the
people."
For five weeks, the Thomases lived with a
nomadic tribe in the northern Sahara Desert,
where they met a nomad they occasionally
keep in touch with through e-mail. They
also lived in a Massi village for three weeks
when they visited Tanzania.
"We met people who have nothing and
they want to share half of what they haven't
got, and you
meet people every
single day that
are
generous,
hospitable, yet
industrious, in-

basis with people's generosity and trust,
because when we left the UK, we believed
that the world was full of scary people who
were out to mug me, kill me, hurt me, or
take advantage ofme."
The Thomases were also taken in by a local family in the Amazon, who nearly saved
their lives by providing them with food and
their home about four days after Simon suffered a near-fatal accident. On the second
day of travel though the Amazon, a rotten,
wooden-planked bridge broke and threw Simon to the ground.
He was unconscious for about twenty
minutes and incapacitated for five hours. It
took them three weeks to drive though the
Amazon to find a hospital. Simon was diagnosed with a broken neck, his vision was
impaired, and he was paralyzed on the
left side
for three weeks. Never-

and the couple continued their journey.
Another tough environment to ride though
was Bolivia. Simon wrote in a diary entry
posted on www.2ridetheworld.com about
how difficult it was to ride in though the
Bolivian Altiplno, where climbers start using oxygen at 14 thousand feet.
"We were freezing and even with our
electric kit kicking out all the heat it could
we were battling with numb hands and
limbs. The altitude was taking its toll. We
were both struggling a little for breath and
were uneasily aware that our concentration
was being affected. We'd reached as hig~s
15,000 feet plus riding the Passe de Jama.
Right now we were at 16,000 feet and were
still climbing. The bikes were feeling laboured in the thinner air and all the time I
was worring [sic] about Lisa. The track was
still rising sharply. We rounded the last tight
curve as the small compound came into
view. A ramshackle collection of old stone
buildings painted with now peeling military
green. We were at '16,534.8 feet'."
"We don' t have the finances to do this,
but you might as well be broke on the road
than broke back home in England, where
being broke really does matter," Lisa
said. "We said we'd stop when we
run out of money, so we ran out of
money. We said we'd stop when we
had a very bad accident; Simon had a
very bad accident. We can't stop yet;
we're not ready. We feel like we only just
begun."

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

LIFESTYLES

8

Teaching is no longer just for the professors
Graduate student reaches out to English-speaking community
BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer
For those who wish they could have conversed with this summer's Olympic hosts in
their native Mandarin language, help may
be just around the comer.
Nan Xu, a graduate student at Wilkes, has
been informally instructing students how
to speak Mandarin Chinese in the Savitz
Multicultural Lounge in the Henry Student
Center. On Wednesday, October 29, Xu
held her second lesson teaching American
and international students how to say common phrases in her native language of Mandarin.
As a teacher in China, instructing students
is a familiar experience for her. Xu spent
her teaching career helping international
students learn both English and Mandarin.
She views volunteering her time to teach
students as an opportunity to contribute to
the university and a chance to see Wilkes
become more international.
"I give my time to help students here understand the Chinese culture. It is fun and
interesting to see them participating and interacting with each other," said Xu .

The lessons consist ofXu teaching students
friends with Chinese students from learnusing a lesson plan with common words
ing Mandarin.
and phrases in Mandarin and their English
"Every time I run into my Chinese friends,
meanings. She guides them by teaching the
I practice it. Some of them are very open
students
minded
how
to
a n d
p r o p w i 1l
erly propracnounce
t i C e
the words
with
and pracyou,"
tice recits a i d
ing them
Rodriback
to
guez.
her.
Rod riMario
g u e z
Rodrihas also
guez,
a
formed
student
a
f r o m
friendHonduras,
s h i p
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki
sees the
withXu
Nan Xu teaches students to speak Mandarin each week in the
lessons as
Savitz Multicultural Lounge. Xu believes teaching Wilkes stuan oppordents common phrases in the langauge helps them become more
tunity to
culturally aware.
have fun
and learn at the same time. As a new student
through the lessons and respects her for takat Wilkes, Rodriguez has made many new
ing the time to teach students Mandarin.

"Nan is a great person because of the
work she is doing. She wants people to
learn her language and she is doing it in
her free time."
Xu is currently pursuing a Masters in
Education at Wilkes. When she is not doing class work, she actively participates by
volunteering in community service activities and all the Center for Global Education
and Diversity programs. Georgia Costalas,
Associate Director of Global Education,
holds Xu in high regard for the work she
has done at Wilkes.
"The activity that Nan Xu led was her
own initiative and naturally grows out of
having internationals who are eager to
share themselves during their time at Wilkes. It helps people who are monolingual
experience the difficulty that non-native
English speakers face every day in class
and in social situations," said Costalas.
The Mandarin lessons are held on
Wednesdays in the Savitz Multicultural
Lounge in the Henry Student Center at
5:00 P.M. Anyone is interested in learning
the language is welcome to attend the lessons which are free of charge.

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�NOVEMBER

4,- 2008-

Tanzania trip sparks life-long African 01ission
But for Ciesla, the trip became more than
a two-week cultural immersion. It left her
so enchanted with the African culture and
Traveling to the city of Arusha, Tanzania, moved by the hardships facing its people
to prepare for a safari the next day, Alyssa that it inspired her to go back this summer.
Ciesla and her group experienced an eye- For one month, Ciesla will volunteer at the
opening welcome to the culture that offered Agape Child Center, a non-profit institution
a hint of breath-taking spectacles to come.
in South Africa that helps children orphaned
As the group drove down the dirt road, a by AIDS.
"I know that I want to work in Africa. I
pride of lions darted right in front of their
vehicle, forcing the driver to slam on his want to live the majority of my life there,"
said Ciesla. "They live such a simple lifebrakes.
Later that night, cracking tree branches style, and here, we don't even know the
awakened the group to the sight of enor- things we take for granted, like just waking
mous elephants brushing against their up and expecting breakfast. Going to Tanwindows. Pulling the windows open, the zania just sealed the deal."
travelers reached out to touch the massive
In particular, Ciesla was fascinated by
backsides of the elephants.
the warmth of the people she encountered.
Welcome to Africa.
When the group stopped at little towns,
Ciesla, a junior sociology major, spent Ciesla and others would take the opportutwo weeks in the East African country of nity to wander around and explore. Hordes
Tanzania as part of a cultural expansion of children would follow behind them, jabtrip offered by anthropology professor Dr. bering exuberantly to each other as they
James Merryman last summer. During the touched the pale skin and light hair of their
trip, Ciesla, along with other Wilkes stu- foreign guests.
The locals in these towns spoke Swadents and local residents, went on safaris,
hiked up waterfalls, and explored the local hili, but those who spoke even a little bit
towns.
of English offered their help to the travelers
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - .

BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

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Photo courtesy of Alyssa Ciesla
Alyssa Ciesla, far left, spent two weeks in Tanzania as part of a cultural immersion
trip. This summer, she will travel to South Africa to volunteer at the Agape Child
Center to help over 40 children orphaned by AIDS.
when they seemed lost or confused. Ciesla
recalled a time when her group members
were searching for disposable cameras, and
a local led them through the twists and turns
of the city to a place that sold them.
"Even the families, when we went into the
small towns, if we needed something, they'd
invite you right over," she said. "They have
nothing, but they're still so willing to give
to us, people who they know have everything compared to them."
Merryman, who worked for 12 years in
Kenya and speaks fluent Swahili, counts
the people of Tanzania as "warm, hospitable, generous, and welcoming." When the
group traveled to Zanzibar (a part of Tanzania which is predominantly Muslim), Merryman said they felt safe in a non-threatening environment.
"That's one of the things that you have
to understand, that being a Muslim doesn't
necessarily mean that you are anti-American or out to harm us in any way," he said.
"They're very welcoming and polite, and
mild-mannered with sweet dispositions."
According to Merryman, many other
misperceptions exist about traveling to Africa.
"First of all, people are afraid. There are
areas of conflict, whether it is Sudan or Somalia, or the problems in Zimbabwe," he
said. "But people tend to generalize an entire continent, and people tend to fear what
they don't understand."
Merryman counts the prevalence of disease as another misperception. Cielsa says
that she has heard people express misgiv-

ings about her decision to work with AIDS
orphans.
Three days after Ciesla returned from her
Tanzania trip, she began researching volunteer opportunities that would take her back
to Africa. She settled on the Be More organization, a non-profit group that runs the
Agape Child Center in South Africa. For
one month, Ciesla will serve as a positive
role model by living, talking, and playing
with 40 children orphaned by AIDS. However, she has heard some people question
the safety of her decision.
"People call me crazy all the time," she
said. "They think if I'm around AIDS, I'm
going to get AIDS."
For Ciesla's parents, the fear of AIDS isn't
what worries them the most. Along with the
danger of the region, they worry that their
daughter may find her home halfway across
the world.
"That's what my parents are mostly scared
of, that I'm going to go there and just love
it, and stay there forever," she said.
After graduation, Ciesla intends to join the
Peace Corps, and then complete a master's
degree in either African Studies or International Studies. But her main goal is to eventually open an outreach center in Africa that
will give free clinic care, clothing, and food
to those living in poverty.
"My whole goal is to spread the word,"
she said. "This is what I want to do for the
rest of my life. I want to affect huge change
in the world, positive change. And this summer will be my first step."

�---------------------.• ::

---f --icole Cclffie...-o
"The wa,; because we've got to get out of
---there. JVe need to worry about here first
before we continue anywhere else. "
-l)arius tiarrison
--"Taxes/social security. I was watching the
-

freshman, pre-pharmacy

sophomore, accounting

debates and I saw Obama had a better plan
with what he wanted to do with the money."

l\evin liettrich

junior. elem. education

=
=

----

"Healt/1 care. Because everyone deserves
a good health care plan; everyone is
ajfected by it~ "

Political can

--.=rantzddYn VamPhile :
-"Grams and the econ&lt;Jmy. McCain i trying to
junior, nursing

Wilkes Univ
throu

-

=

take away our Pell grants. and thi school already
costs enough as .-s. .. not everyone can afford a
private school."'
_

--1---m Sz m.......
junior, political science
"There are a lot of issues that influence my
dedsion ... probably job security because
I'm going to hove a big debt wllen I get out
ofcollege. u

=
:
=
:
-

=

~1111111111111111111111111 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIX:::::

"Change will not come if we wait for some
other person or some other time. We are the
ones we've been waiting for. We are the change
that we seek." -Barack Obama

'

Two years ago 20 people filed applications that all
world. But this week only one person will be chosen
The application process for president is arguably the
and voters completely immerse themselves in the ·
By the end of the campaign, anyone casting a ballot
it useful in the decision-making process, some of it
unturned, and for the latter part of2008 the Wilkes
public process of electing an American President.
The state of Pennsylvania is considered critical to
the Republican Party's belief that there is a chance it
"swing state" would be an error since Pennsylvania
The counties that the Republicans focus on are in the
The ..T" counties tend to be rural areas with a predo ·
to the residents of these counties is their best chance at
On the other side of the political coin, the Democra
the state. The population centers tend to be more Ii
However, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area is a
edge of the Republican "T." This scenario makes the
and Wilkes University's location in the area makes
presidential candidates every four years.
Local students at Wilkes, King's, Misericordia, LCC
campuses have over 19,000 undergraduate students
voices that can be hefu"d in this election--some of
interesting impacts the NEPA vote can have nationally
an element of the voter rolls that has little if any i
numbers to learn whether the college campus visits by

All photos were taken by The Beacon

�..... II

----

*
*
*
*
-

smake
pitstop

on
pursue the most powerful position in the
sident of the United States of America.
the world. Journalists, political analysts,
ns, and everyday lives of the candidates.
to an abundance of information, some of
tes are vetted completely. No stone is left
unity had a front row seat to the heady
nnsylvania's mark as crucial is based on
e's 21 electoral vot~s. Applying the term
on by the Republicans since 1988.
estate and along the border of New York.
• population. For Republicans, appealing
state's electoral votes.
on the heavily populated areas to deliver
d to be more diverse.
e population center but also sits on the
tween the Democrats and Republicans,
ne of the primary stomping grounds for
of Scranton, Marywood and Penn State
pective campuses. That's over 19 000
·ry first time. Perhaps one of the most
de by the thousands of college students
the l 970s. Watch those voter turnout
ical heavyweights will bear fruit.
an, The Beacon Managing Editor

out the past 9 months.

1111111111

,.

~

Arnaud C. Marts Center (Wilkes University)
274 S. Franklin St.
FOR ALL RESIDENT STUDENTS
The Golden Palace
228 George Ave.
Holy Savior Church
56 Hillard St.
Riverview Ridge Assisted Living Facility
300 Courtright St.
B'nai Brith High Rise Building
61 E. Northampton St.
Martin L. Murray Elementary
1 South Sherman St.
Marymount Parish Center
152 South Hancock St.

-_ .........,,.. W-B Area School District Field House
Meade St. &amp; Moyallen St.
---- ...._.._.. South
St.. Anthony Maronite Church
--Dana St. &amp; Park Ave.
Hollenback Municpal Golf Course

--

1050 N. Washington St.
South View Manor Community Room
60 Monroe St.
David Kistler Elementary
301 Old River Road
.

-

11111/~

=

----

--------------

,..,./11111111111111111111111111111 1111111111 II II 1111111 111111 II -f:°

"You know, I've been called a maverick; someone who
marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it's meant
as a compliment, and sometimes it's not. What it really
means is I understand who I work for. I don't work for a
party. I don 't work for a special interest I don't work for
myself. I work for you." -John McCain

�No,
\\t~'
(.0 o~S\
PAGE 14

A&amp;K
NOVEMBER

4 2008

o~

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa. benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

Sta

12

Election night results event scheduled in SLC
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

With Democratic and Republican headquarters located downtown and local
campaign stops in the past six months by
Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, John and Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin, Ed Rendell and Paul Kanjorski,
Wilkes University students have had plenty of opportunities and persuasive voices
in their ears to become passionate about
their chosen candidates.
On Tuesday, November 4, DividedWeFail.org, Wilkes University, and the Political Science Department will host a 2008
Election Returns Event in Stark 101, starting at 7:00 p.m. The group will use the
large screen television to broadcast differ-

ent stations that will air the voting results.
Adam Szumski, junior political science
major, involved with publicity and logistics for the event said, "Who we vote in is
important to the next four years. A lot of
us will be graduating, and this event is a
way to celebrate that."
The event will allow students, faculty
and staff to come together over pizza to
view the results of this turbulent election
year. DividedWeFail.org, a non-partisan
affiliate of AARP, approached Wilkes University with the idea for the event.
Some of this election's issues include allegations of voter fraud and the ACORN
group's role, early voting in a variety of
states and how those results are reported,
and lost voter registrations and inaccurate
voter roll purging. These bi-partisan is-

sues might make watching the returns even
more dramatic for some than previous
years. Szumski said, "As long as nobody's
cheating and everybody's equal from Joe
the Plumber to Warren Buffet, everything
should tum out fine."
"Regardless of political stance, the 2008

Movie Review: Saw V
BY KENNY BROWN

Beacon Staff Writer
As I sat down in the theater, I prepared
for what I expected to be a disaster of a
movie-the fifth in the Saw series. The
last two had been horrendous copycats of
the first two. I felt like I had wasted my
six dollars, even before the opening credits
rolled.
But I did have that silver of hope that I
may be wrong, and that the writers and directors wouW surprise me with something
incredible. ~ith hope in my pocket and my
running shoes ready just in case, I sat back
and immersed myself in the continuing
saga that is Saw.
The fifth installment in the Saw series
picks up where the fourth left off. After
Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) brutal death, a new
character is introduced as the next apprentice to the deceased serial killer, Mark
Hoffman (Costas Mandylor, Picket Fences). While his introduction emerges, on the
other side of the city, Agent Strahm (Scott
Patterson, Gilmore Girls) is being put to
the test.
During his own tests and trials Strahm
comes to realize that Hoffman is in fact
helping Jigsaw, and is his new apprentice.
Simultaneously, in yet another part of town,
five people are being put through Jigsaw's
game. As the movie plays on, it becomes
another game of cat and mouse, ending in

a bloody, masochistic trap.
Even though Saw V did not turn out to be
an exact replica of the others, it was just another gore fest. Yes, there were well done
shots, and some creepy moments that would
turn even the manliest of men's stomach,
but in the end it was not memorable. It had
the same set up and ridiculous tests, ending
in the usual barrage of blood and guts flying
every which way. The storyline was weak,
and the script was even weaker. And come
on; is it really a necessity for every horror
movie to have run of the mill acting? I say
surprise us one day, and get some actors
who can do more than scream, whimper,
and lose an arm.
Now if you're looking for a couple hours
of gore, blood, and simple acting then Saw
Vis for you. But I would not recommend it
if you want to spend your money wisely, enjoy decent acting, or even be scared. Saw V
is not a horror movie my friends, it is what I
like to call a "Gorror" movie, one in which
many people die, and you are scared in the
end because you realized you spent money
to see it.
Take my advice, do not waste your money
on Saw V Wait until it is on HBO. You will
only leave the theater sick and depressed.
Spend your money on things like Zack and
Miri Make A Porno, Pride and Glory, or
even The Nightmare Before Christmas in
3-D, they will be worth the price of admiss10n.

Photo Courtesy/Alyssa Benner

Election Returns Event is a chance for everyone to come together and really focus
on this monumental thing that's taking
place," said Jeff Niemie, junior electrical
engineering major and Political Science
Club member.

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�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

Osterhout Library undergoes facelift
Staff members hope to attract local college students with new offerings
12

ience

BYYOHANNADE LOS SANTOS M.
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor
The Osterhout Free Library, located on
South Franklin Street just one block north
of campus, has been renovating its historic
building since summer. Built in 1849 originally as a church, th~ library had a great
deal of deferred maintenance and needed
updating, so after a public campaign for
financing, the physical reconstruction officially took off.
Currently, the back of the building is
being fully restored while the north side
that faces the Westmorland Club and the
library's front that faces South Franklin
Street are both undergoing a complete repointing process. "The other side of the
building toward the Presbyterian Church
is newer. That was built...in 1984 and another part was [built] 1908, so that part was
fine. But the other additions to the [1849
structure] really needed to be redone,"
said Sarah D. Hansen, Executive Director
of the Osterhout Library. She added that in
addition to the face and repointing work,

the roof and bricks on the bell tower had to
be replaced.
"We had a lot of bricks that were falling
down and crumbling. The building was
built in 1849, so this was something that
had not been done ever... [after] 150 years,
the building really needed a face lift," said
Hansen. However, before the restoration
began, the building's structure had to be repaired so that it did not represent a threat to
patrons or staff.
Through the years, the library's windows-some of them stained and leaded glass-had been damaged by weather and age;
thus, many of them had to be removed over
the summer. "It's like taking an old painting and restoring it, they are not changing
the painting; they are just bringing it back
to life what it used to look like," explained
Hansen.
The restoration of the Osterhout has
served as a motivation for the staff and for
new ideas in which college students are a
possible target market. "We have book
discussion groups, The Franklin Street

Sleuths- they read a book monthly. [And]
this summer we showed a video with popcorn ... " said Eileen Stefanko, Coordinator
of Events of the Osterhout Free Library.
"We are trying to set up some gaming
Programs which I think college students
might be interested in," said Stefanko. She
explained that the gaming tournaments the
staff has in mind would be free of charge.
Also, Stefanko said that the Osterhout
staff is planning a college night, Wilkes v.
King's. The college night will offer pizza
and soft drinks so that students can come in
and get involved with the library.
Wilkes students only need to present their
Wilkes University card to become members, but despite the library's close proximity to campus, encouraging students to walk
the extra block is not always successful.
Junior business administration major, Isha
Patel acknowledged, "I could have a library
card from the Osterhout, but I'd rather go to
the library that is nearest my house of which
I am a member." Members can go to any
of the free libraries in the Luzerne County

system with their card check out their books
and return them in the Luzerne library nearest them.
The Osterhout Free Library, however,
represents an important learning and entertainment center in the area. People of all
ages, especially senior citizens take advantage of the diversified book collection, and
many also take advantage of its technological facilities. Over the summer, the library
held computer classes in which people were
taught basic computer skills. Stefanko said
that mainly senior citizens took the classes.
But perhaps the promise of technology
will be the draw for Wilkes students. "The
Osterhout can really support your recreational time. We can supply you with reading materials that are not academic. We
can supply you with DVDs. I'm sure a lot
of students have DVDs in their dorm rooms
and on their laptops. We have dof nloadable audio books that can go right to your
iPod," said Hansen.

Chan____ es
Hair
; 70*970*0800

Student Discount
20% off all sevices*
•With Valid Student ID

Call for an Appointment

OK
Walk-)ns Welcome
6+6 North Main Street

Osterhout Library has had the same face since 1849. Renovations to update the
building are underway.

W,lkes-5arre, rA 1 s702

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

CD Review: Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis
BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer
After several Destiny's Child-like line up changes, a barrage of bar fights, and more alcohol than any two people
should ever drink in a lifetime, one thing has remained constant: the Gallagher brothers are still making music. Oasis '
latest album, Dig Out Your Soul, was released earlier this
month on October 6, 2008 after little publicity.
Oasis is most known for their popularity amongst the "indie" crowd on college campuses with their success in the
mid to late 90 's with songs like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova." However, the group 's popularity has
diminished after a series of low key singles and bro_therly
squabbling.
Adored by British fans and forgotten by most Americans,
Oasis has produced seven studio albums and many more
compilations. Dig Out Your Soul is a departure from the
excessive use of the acoustic guitar prevalent on their previous three albums. This album can be more accurately described as a late 60's rock and roll project. It is heavy with
the electric guitar, drum solos, and the implementation of
an organ-all the key ingredients for a Doors type of psychedelic rock production.
The album starts off with a "spit in your face" attitudeadjusting anthem. With a gritty melody and heavy drums,
"Bag It Up" sets the tone for an obvious rock and roll album.
The upside is that it gives the impression that the album is

worth listening to and not just going to meet the self-fulfilling prophecy that every Oasis album (since "What's the
Story Morning Glory?") will start off with some steam,
but eventually end in disappointment.
"The Turning" follows the same path as the first track,
but with a mellower sound. Catchy and distinct, these first
two tracks clearly distinguish Oasis' mature sound from
the past few albums they have produced, which were blunders at best.
"The Shock of the Lightning" is the band 's first single
off the album. This song explodes from beginning to end
and is a definite radio favorite. While it has very little substance to it with garbled, nonsense lyrics, the song still
provokes head nods.
Also worthy of mention is that Liam Gallagher, the
band's lead singer, contributes by writing a few songs on
this album. The fifth song on the album, "Outta Time," is
definitely his greatest contribution to the album.
There are few highlights on the album other than three
or four songs that contain a message and do not drone on
into calculated guitar solos with no purpose. However, the
band's lead guitarist and primary song writer, Noel, actually sounds like he is singing with enthusiasm, a response
to previous criticism of his work.
Although there are many differences between this album
and the group's previous failures, Dig Out Your Soul lives
up to the reputation of failing to say anything of any real
value with little substance and conviction. This album is

worth one or two good listens, but will inevitably end up on
the shelf with all the other Oasis albums to collect dust.
Grade: C

Photo Courtesy/Alyssa Benner

Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul is a must-hear for British fans
but here in the U.S. is not gaining much momentum.

Acros:

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�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

~~~~~~~~~~-

~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
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Art Under the Sun
Where: ·Mohegan Sun at
Pocono _Downs
When: Nov. 7, 5:00- 9:00 p.m.

••••••••
Led Zeppelin Experience:
Hammer of The God~·
Where: F.M. Kirby Center
When: Nov. 8, 8:00 p.m.

.

Across

I
5
10
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
23
24
25
28
29
30
31
34
35
36
38
39
40
41
43

44
46

Complain
Atomic breakdown
Informal greeting
Popular contraction
Raise high
1760 yards
Formal letter opener
Cut offish
Less than twice
Living entity
Knockout punch
Organized
Squabble
"Yes we can" for example
Repents
Incognito
"Oink oink" meat
Protuberance
People in drug rehab
John F. Kennedy's brother
Kindergarten lesson
Bear lair
Common childhood illness
Abrasive
Brings blood to the heart
Tin man's best friend
Country music radio station
Hurricane hot spot

~
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Kudracross

BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Correspondents
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Competent
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Home of Cedar Point
Prophet
Executioner tool
Opposite of some
Time abbr.
Shower Companion

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1
2
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36
37
39
40
41
42
44
45
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12
15
20
22
24
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26
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Stereotypical dog name
Operator of computer
Become entangled
Unwelcome guest
Boldly resistant
Have actual being
Nearly still
Top-fermenting beer
39 on the periodic table
Slightly bum
Sore in stomach
Close Alliance
Nuns' male counterparts
Approaches
Diamonds slang
Husband of Angelina
Ballistic missile
Last place
Kitchen appliance
6-side polvgon abbr.

31

Drug-ring tattler

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32
33
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Home of Big Dipper
Past participle of "be"
Sugar flakes mascot

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Disgraces or stains
Vintage comic book print
What Albinos lack
To give advice
November 4th participant
Popular Freudian term
Essential for digestive system
Crackling of airways in lung
Odd bird out
Sudden sprint
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Pirate greeting
Number of cats' lives
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Football

pg. 19
CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

NOVEMBER

4, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

MonuD1ental season results in nuD1ber-one seed
Lady Colonels defeat Del Val and Kings, suffer loss to Alvernia
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
The Lady Colonels field hockey team
finished the season strong, playing three
games in four days. The team took on three
Freedom Conference opponents, includin rival Kin 's Colle e in a nerve-rackin

battle until the end. After a tough week, the
Lady Colonels will enter the Freedom Conference playoffs as the number one seed.
Kings
The Lady Colonels hosted King's Colle e on Sunda November 2 for a Think

Number 22 Diana Wright dribbles the ball down the sideline in Sunday's game
against King's College. The team wore pink headbands and money was raised
to support breast cancer during the contest.

Pink game supporting breast cancer. Both
teams sold t-shirts and fans could donate
money for either a goal scored or offensive
shot taken.
Wilkes came out strong, striking first just
under four minutes into the game. Freshman forward Amanda Peters scored the
Lady Colonels' first goal off an assist from
sophomore forward Alyson Paulauskas.
Peters also gave Wilkes their second goal,
off an assist from junior midfielder Brittney
Sines.
The Lady Monarchs scored the next three
goals of the game, including a goal late in
the second half that left the Colonels railing by one. Junior forward Erica Sundberg
would tie the game at three with her first
goal of the season at just the right time.
Sundberg's goal forced overtime between
the two Wilkes-Barre rivals.
After starting the game .strong and then
going down by one goal, the Lady Colonels
could have given up; however if this season
has proved anything, giving up is not their
style.
Myers said the team has consistently
played hard until the last second and today
was no different.
In a nail-biting 15 minute sudden death
overtime, the Lady Colonels and Monarchs
battled back and forth, racing from one end
of the field to the other. And with less than a
minute left, Peters would strike again ending the game with a goal off a pass from
senior forward Devon McKay.
Wilkes has not beaten King's since 2005,
in which the two teams played twice, each
winning once. Head coach Sara Myers said
today the team bounced back from Saturday's game and played for five "amazing
and well-respected" seniors.
According to Myers, one of the major
strengths of this year's team is their hardworking attitude. She believes what the

team may lack in skill against some opponents, they make up for in effort and heart.
Wilkes finishes the season with an overall record of 16-2 and 6-1 in Freedom Conference play. The team will play again on
Wednesday November 5 at an undetermined time. The teams' opponent will be
decided tomorrow when King's College
takes on FDU - Florham.
Alvernia
The Lady Colonels traveled to Reading, PA for a Freedom Conference game
against Alvemia University on Saturday
November 1.
The Crusaders came out strong in the
first half, scoring three goals to Wilkes'
zero. The three first period goals scored by
Sarah George, Katy Eby, and Janelle Lynch
would prove to be all Alvemia needed to
secure the win.
McKay was first to strike in the second
half, scoring an unassisted goal just under
four minutes in. Alvemia's George would
strike again a little under ten minutes later
before freshman Gina Elmy scored her
second goal of the season off an assist from
senior forward Alyssa Koncelik.
Alvemia would hold on for the 4-2 Freedom Conference win and hand Wilkes their
second loss of the season.
The Lady Colonels have performed well
all season long; however Myers believes
one of the weaknesses in Saturday's game
was the team's mindset. Myers believes
the team was looking ahead to the game
against King's College instead of "playing
in the now." She also commented the game
was not their best effort of the season.

See FIELD HOCKEY
on ?AGE 18

�NOVEMBER

4, 2008

17

SPORTS

Men's soccer loses 4-3 despite coIDfortable lead at half
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

Fans of Wilkes ' men's soccer team left
Ralston Field stunned on Thursday October
30, after the Colonels lost to visiting Misericordia 4-3 in double-overtime despite
leading 3-0 in the sec01td half.
"The team was extremely upset that we
let the game get away from us," said head
coach Philip Wingert. "We discovered more
about ourselves individually and as a team
because of that result, however."
The Colonels took an immediate 1-0
lead after sophomore midfielder Doug
Moore scored on a header in the game's

fifth minute. Misericordia responded ten
minutes later with a wave of attacks from
inside Wilkes' box but senior goalkeeper
T.J. Baloga was able to make a couple of
key saves that prevented them from tying
the game. In the 34th minute, sophomore
forward Ryan Phillips sent a low shot just
wide after working with junior defender
Arthur Jankowski, sophomore midfielder
Sean Stitt, and Osswald to produce an opportunity in Misericordia's box. Cougar
midfielder Alec Parker nearly tied the game
at one apiece in the 38th minute after sending a hard, slicing shot that curved just past
the top left post.

Doug Moore (6) and the Colonels fight for a free kick during Thursday's
game.

The second half saw Wilkes increase its
lead soon after the whistle, as Osswald netted a goal on passes from junior forward
Greg Miller and Phillips to make it 2-0. In
the 50th minute, the Colonels increased their
lead to 3-0 after Miller scored off an assist
from freshman midfielder Ed Zulkoski.
The Cougars refused to quit, scoring their
first goal after Max Campbell made a penalty kick after an illegal slide tackle was
called inside the box, cutting the Colonels
lead to two.
The Cougars made it a one-goal game
when Tyler Mensch scored on a long
grounder from just outside the box in the
75th minute. Two minutes later Osswald received his second yellow card of the game,
resulting in a red card and immediate ejection. Osswald was not the only player to be
carded for his actions, as eight yellows were
awarded in a game that saw 43 total fouls
between the two teams.
Holding a one-man advantage, Misericordia renewed its attacks on goal and applied
withering pressure on the Colonels defense.
Baloga and the defense were able to contain
the Cougars until the 87th minute, when
Mensch scored his second goal of the game,
locking the game at three in the process
which sparked massive celebrations on both
the Misericordia sideline and in the teams'
cheering section.
The Colonels had a shot to win in regulation, when Moore sent a header wide of

Misericordia's goal following a free kick
from Miller. With the score tied at three the
teams went into overtime.
'
The first overtime passed without incident, although it became apparent that the
Colonels would struggle to keep up offensively with the Cougars while down a man.
Wilkes came out strong in the second overtime, producing offense from Miller and
Phillips. They could not prevent Mensch
from scoring his third and final goal of the
game, however; a hard shot from pointblank range in the 104th minute.
The heart-breaking loss dropped the Colonels to 8-7-2 overall, with a 4-2-1 mark iH
conference play.
"Everyone was really down after the loss,"
said sophomore forward Rusty Helwig.
"Everyone was looking for a scapegoat,
whether it was the officials, each other, etc,"
added sophomore midfielder Sean S~.
Misericordia improved to 14-2-1 overall
and nearly perfect in conference play, with
a 6-0-1 record.
"It was a very impressive second halfperformance by Misericordia," said Wingert.
"Many teams would 'fold up the tent' when
down by three goals with less then 40:00
minutes to play. We experienced a playoff
atmosphere and learned that no lead is too
large. I trust that the match vs. Misericordia
will help us as we advance and prepare for
the start of the Freedom Conference playoffs on Thursday afternoon," he concluded.,

Athlete Spotlight: Taryn Hallowell
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

Meet Taryn Hallowell, a sophomore forward on Wilkes University's women's soccer team from Belvidere, New Jersey. In
just her second year on the team, Hallowell
helped take a very young and inexperienced
Lady Colonel's team to a 9-9-1 overall record (5-3 in Freedom Conference play).
Hallowell is majoring in entrepreneurship
and elementary education, with a minor in
reading. She has performed exceptionally
well this season despite the heavy course
load, scoring 13 goals and acquiring three
assists on the season. The 13 regular season
goals fell just short of the school record of
15, which is held by three different women and was last accomplished in 2003 by
Christina Waldele.
"Taryn's ability to find the back of the net
is a great motivating factor for our team,"
said sophomore midfielder Alison Weidman. "She is a dangerous threat to any
defense and the number of goals she has
scored this season speaks to her hard work
and dedication."
Coming into the season, Hallowell's goal

was to play more minutes per game than last
year and to meet the fitness standard, both
of which she accomplished. She has no designs for her junior year other than to again
meet the fitness standard and work with her
teammates to improve on their performance
this season.
Her performance late in the year helped
propel the Lady Colonels to a Freedom
Conference playoff berth, as she netted
seven goals and an assist in the team's last
four games.
"I think that there have been plenty of
games that we could have and should have
won, but we do not have as much experience as some of the other teams in our conference [and sometimes it showed]," said
Hallowell about the Lady Colonel's 2008
season. "I think that we will get better in
the years to come because we will have the
upper hand with experience [when the team
gets oIder]."
Hallowell, Weidman, and the rest of the
Lady Colonels entered the first round of
Freedom Conference playoffs against DeSales University Monday, after publication
deadline.

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

�•1

NOVEMBER

4, 2008

SPORTS

18

RINKSIDE REPORT

Jeffrey adjusting to to pro gaine well
BY MICHAEL CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer
Last Spring, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Dustin Jeffrey found himself
in a situation he had never experienced
before.
The twenty-year old Jeffrey signed an
amateur try-out contract with the Penguins
after he concluded a successful junior career where he recorded 252 points (I 00
goals, 152 assists) in 246 career Ontario
Hockey League (OHL) games with Mis• sissauga and Sault Ste. Marie.
Jeffrey, taken in the sixth round by Pittsburgh during the 2007 National Hockey
League entry draft, went from being one
of the oldest players on his junior team to
being the second-youngest player on the
Penguins playoff roster. The youngest, by
roughly five months, was fellow amateur
try-out Luca Caputi.
Even though Jeffrey played in the OHL
All-Star game and led Sault Ste. Marie in
scoring during his final two seasons there,
his AHL ice time was not nearly what it
was in the OHL.

Jeffrey wasn't discouraged.
"It's not a time when they're going to
start giving young guys the opportunity to
earn ice time," he said. "Playoffs is more,
I took my five-on-five time, r took any responsibility that they gave me and I ran
with it."
Jeffrey appeared in 15 games for WilkesBarre/Scranton during the 2008 Calder
Cup Playoffs, finishing with a pair of goals
and one assist.
Jeffrey 's summer was a short one, as the
Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs in June and training camp started in
August. But the dawn of a new season has
given the native of Courtright, Ontario
a chance to secure a greater role in the
American Hockey League.
"At the start of this year. .. they try you
out in different spots, you have more of
an opportunity to earn more ice time. I've
been getting a lot of penalty kill time and a
lot of big face-offs. I'm trying to earn the
team's trust, earn the coach's trust."
Head coach Dan Bylsma is taking notice.

"Face-offs, penalty kill, defensively, he's
been reliable," Bylsma said. "He's done a
lot of the little things that we're asking our
players to do right, and those are sometimes difficult for our first-year players to
get."
As a rookie, Jeffrey is still looking to establish a niche at the professional level.
While he was a prolific scorer in the
OHL, the center is looking to add other dimensions to his game in the hopes of one
day reaching the National Hockey League
(NHL) .
"You look at some of the guys that are
playing in the NHL, a couple of the fourth
line guys, they take face-offs," Jeffrey
said, citing NHL veteran Yannic Perreault
as an example.
"He's been around for 10, 15 years, and
his thing is that he takes face-offs. If I can
add that attribute to my game and become
really solid at it, it can only do me well in
the long run."
Bylsma said that Jeffrey, who had a goal
and two helpers going into last weekend's
games, has found some success early in

the season.
"He's got a long way to go as a professional," Bylsma said "But he's certainly
started with a good foundation right now."

Number 21 Dustin Jeffery is fitting in
well with the changes to pro hockey.

Cross country finishes first year strong
BYANTHONYDORUNDA
Beacon Staff Writer
Coming into this season, the Wilkes
Cross Country team had not lost a meet in
13 years.
The reality was that the team also hadn't
run f meet in 13 years.
Head Coach Nick Wadas could only
hope that there were enough runners interested in pursuing the sport in its first year
back at Wilkes.
"We only had three girls in the beginning
of the season and just a handful of guys,"
stated Wadas. "Two more girls came out
later as well as a few guys. With them
coming out late, they did not have the summer training to prepare them. We're facing programs that are developed and have
been around for awhile, and with that said,
our teams have done very well with what
they are up against."
Despite the small numbers, Sophomore

Phat Nugyen enjoys the camaraderie of the
team.
"Our team has become fairly close. We
go out to eat after most races and sometimes the night before to prepare. It's always a good time. Runners in general get
along fairly easily."
The team's first test happened at the
NEPA Classic hosted by King's College.
On the men's side, the team finished
eighth overall. They were led by Nguyen,
who crossed the finish line in 43rd place
followed by Tom Larrabee in 4 7th and
Mike Griesemer in 53rd.
Freshman Michelle Wakeley, in her first
ever collegiate race, finished fifth out of
64 runners with a time of 15:15 for the
women. Ameila Farnham followed Wakeley with an eighth place finish. Despite the
strong efforts, the women did not matter
on the teams' score card because only four
runners competed.

Then the Colonels traveled to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Ursinus College Cross Country Invitational.
Wakeley and Farnham led the way to a
fifth place finish as they both medaled for
the women's team finishing eighth and
twelfth respectively.
For the men, Nguyen again led the way,
followed by Larrabee and Griesemer as
they locked up the seventh spot in the tournament.
Following the race at Ursinus, the team
competed in the Cedar Crest College invitational.
Wakeley and Farnham continued their
impressive freshmen seasons as they led
the Lady Colonels to a seventh place finish. Wakeley medaled in the contest, finishing in eighth place. Farnham completed
the course just outside of medal contention,
coming in 11th place.
The men also had an impressive show-

ing, finishing ninth out of 13 teams.
"The members of the squad have dropped
time at every race so far and are working
hard," says Wakely. "We have really learned
quickly who we can run with and how much
we can accomplish."
It's safe to say that the resurgent year for
the cross country team has been an overwhelming success. The future of the program looks bright because nearly every
runner will be returning next year with each
person gaining invaluable experience at the
collegiate level.
"We 're going to be much better next
year," said Nguyen. "We will have an offseason and summer to train. We've been actively helping our coach recruit, and could
be looking very competitive with the addition of some of next year's incoming freshmen."
Wakeley added;"There's nowhere to go
but up."

From FIELD HOCKEY
on PAGE 16

The Lady Colonels were first to strike
with just under three minutes into the game.
Freshman forward Lindsey Raleigh scored
off an assist from Sines. The Aggies tied
the score at one when Michelle Cemobyl
scored an unassisted goal 23 minutes into
the first half
Koncelik drew a penalty stroke early in
the second half in which senior forward
McKay scored to give the Lady Colonels a
2-1 lead.

Delaware Valley pressured the Wilkes defense following the stroke, rallying for six
shots in the second half; however freshman
goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport continued to
perform well, snatching two saves to hold
off the Aggies.
In a quick change of possession, sophomore Paulauskas dribbled down the sideline before connecting with McKay for her
second goal of the game. Nearly three minutes later, Koncelik scored a security goal

for Wilkes beating the Aggies' Jackie Deschenes on the lower right.
Delaware Valley continue to pressure
the Lady Colonel defense and eventually
scored once more when Danielle Heyne
knocked one in off an unassisted goal with
just over five minutes left in the game.
The Lady Colonels would hold on for a
4-2 conference win.

Delaware Valley
After two postponed games due to
weather and just over a week off, the Lady
Colonels field hockey team took on Delaware Valley on Thursday October 30. The
game was played on the turf at Wyoming
Seminary High School due to poor conilitions at Ralston Field.

�NOVEMBER

SPORTS

4, 2008

19

Colonels capture fifth consecutive Mayor's Cup
BY GINOO TERdOEid~t I
B
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On Saturday afternoon, the tension between two bitter football rivals was so thick
that spectators couldn't have cut it with a
knife. A full house watched as King's (1-6)
and Wilkes (2-5) battled-on the gridiron for
ownership of the Mayor's Cup.
The Colonels got off to a slow start but
would not be denied their fifth consecutive
win over the Monarchs, 21-3, improving
the teams' record to 3-5.
The Monarchs dominated the Colonels in
the first quarter, racking up 85 yards to only
3 for Wilkes.
"I think they really slowed the game down
on the opening drive and they really had the
momentum," said junior quarterback Rob
Johnson. "But once we got into a rhythm,
we got going."
Wilkes responded with 02:46 left in the
second quarter, when Johnson hooked up
with his bread and butter man, Gennaro
Zangardi, for a 13-yard pass in the comer of
the end zone for a 7-3 lead. From there, it
was all downhill for the Monarchs.
Johnson, bouncing back from a tough
17-10 loss and a three interception performance last week against Albright, put on
an impressive show, completing 14 of 20
passes for 160 yards and 3 TDs.
"I thought Rob Johnson stepped up and
made some plays today. He did a great job
of improvising and making things happen,"
commented Wilkes head coach Frank Sheptock.
With less than a minute left in the second
quarter, Johnson hit Zangardi with a 20yard bullet for a 14-3 cushion.The touchdown was a key momentum swinger before
the half, giving Wilkes the upper hand.
King's came out strong in the third quarter, forcing and recovering a fumble on the
Monarchs 20-yard line with 6:05 on the
clock, but their offense simply could not

get it done, going three and out after the
recovery.
On the next drive, the Monarchs defense
flushed Johnson out of the pocket. He hit
receiver Jordan D'Emilio on a slant pattern
where he stretched out for a diving score
into the end zone for a 21-3 lead.
It was all clock management from there.
Wilkes steadily pounded the Monarchs,
running the ball up the middle to milk the
clock and solidify a win.
"I think we've been fortunate and op-

portunistic. I think (King's players) played
.
very hard and we Just took advantage of the
breaks," said Sheptock.
Wilkes's fierce all around defensive play
was a key component in the victory. Senior
linebacker Drew Letcavage played a major
role in the Colonel's victory, racking up 16
tackles (seven solo) and earning Most Valuable Player award for Wilkes.
At the end of the game, Wilkes-Barre
Mayor Tom Leighton was joined at center
field by both teams, and presented M.V.P.

awards to members of the Colonels and
Monarchs, and then the Mayor's Cup to
Wilkes.
The Colonels are now fifth in the MAC,
and will play their final game of the season
this Saturday against Delaware Valley at 1
p.m. at Ralston field in Edwardsville.

Jordan D'Emilio (81) dives into the endzone in the fourth quarter to give the Colonels a 21-3 lead against King's in the
Mayor's Cup. The Colonels have defeated the Monarchs in the last five Mayor's Cup games.

I-

W)l l(,Jk()fllS (O(())JL(())N)tn[AS
Men's Soccer

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Football

Field Hockey

W 21-3 King's

W 4-2 Delaw.are Valley
L 4-2 @ Alvernia
W 4-3 King's

ly
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L 4-3 Misericordia
W 4-2 @ FDU - Florham

Women's Soccer
W 2-1 Misericordia
W 2-1 @ FDU - Florham

Volleyball
W 3-2 Alvernia

�1,NoVEMBER

4, 2008

SPORTS

20

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                    <text>STEP TEAM
SHOWS
TALENT
.
PAGE 13

The
NOVEMBER

11, 2008

WILKES GETS
A TASTE
PAGE9
VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFF HOPES

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Volume 61

Issue 8

Wilkes reacts to historic election night Flint promotid
to Director
BYAMYFUSCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor

"If there is anyone out there who still
doubts that America is a place where all
things are possible, who still wonders if the
dream ofour Founders is alive in our time,
who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," so began
Senator Barack Obama's historic speech in
Chicago's Grant Park immediately following his win after an arduous 22-month bid
for the American presidency.
Obama will become the 44th president
of the United States after having won 365
electoral votes Tuesday night, including 21
from Pennsylvania, while Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain fell
short with 173.
As tens of thousands Obama supporters listened to his acceptance speech in
Chicago, Wilkes University community
members listened on their television sets in
the state that many hail as the final battleground through the hard-fought campaign.
And like much of the rest of the country, the
reactions in Wilkes-Barre were varied and
emotional.

CATHRYN FREAR
Beacon Asst. News Editor
Formerly the coordinator of undergraduate education, Dr. Ellen Flint has recently
been promoted to the position of director of
undergraduate education.
Though the two titles sound rather similar,
the roles are quite different. The distinction is, as Flint put it, "A directorship has
the opportunity to provide vision, guide and
of course [work] closely with faculty. As
coordinator, one acts as a liaison." Think
in terms of someone who helps the director
coordinate a movie moving into the director's chair.
Provost, Dr. Reynold Verret, said that the
promotion
was " ... basically a redefinition
The Beacon/ Bethany Yamrick
of
her
already
existing position as coordinaOn November 4, students gathered to watch election coverage in SLC 101. Informator
of
undergraduate
education."
tion about the presidential candidates was offered and faculty gave presentations.
Flint joined Wilkes in 1990 as an assistant
Dr. Tim Gilmour, Wilkes University knowledged that this election is likely to professor of music and was eventually tenpresident, believed that the election was a have a significant influence in history and ured and promoted to the associate profes"transformative moment and probably one
sor rank. As a faculty member interested in
See ELECTIONpage 3 overall student development, Flint taught a
that everyone will look back on." He acfirst year foundations course. According to
Flint, she loved it and wanted to continue
in the role. She eventually became direc2000. In the past, students were able to reg- tor of the first year foundations program,
for the first time.
"Everyone had everyone's phone num- ister online by themselves at their specified along with Dr. Doug Lynch, former associbers to call in the middle of the night in time or to go to the SSC desk with hard ate professor of education. In addition, in
case [congestion or failure on the system] copy registration forms where the service the past two years Flint has spearheaded the
happened. Sue [Hritzak, Wilkes University clerks would assist them.
Undergraduate Research Symposium in the
Registrar] was going to get the first phone
"They don't have to come down here to spring. The event celebrates original stucall from IT," said Janine Becker, director stand in line. They don't have to adhere dent research as well as creative endeavors,
of SSC. "On Monday, we all came in and to our regular office hours. There were a in particular those projects that have been
[asked ifwe had a problem] and there were couple of minor issues going on, but we've funded by mentoring grants.
no problems, so that was good."
learned what the problem was and are on
Verret, who was responsible for Flint's
Registering online should not be an unfamiliar process for Wilkes students, who
See REGISTRATION page 4
See FLINT page 2
have had the option available to them since

Spring registration is learning experience for SSC, students
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor
As Student Service Center (SSC) employees departed for the weekend on Friday, October 24, they left campus with not only fingers crossed and some trepidation, ~ut also
the personal phone numbers of fellow SSC
and Information Technology workers. The
following Monday, October 27, marked the
beginning of spring semester registration, a
process that would be done completely online for all Wilkes undergraduate students

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

:INDEX
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�NEWS
NOVEMBER

11, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn.frear@wilkes.edu

wilkes beacon.news@gmail.com

Spanish club donates to local clinics
BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer

In an effort to help break the language barrier for members of the
Hispanic community, the Wilkes
University Spanish club is donating specialized medical translation boards to local free clinics
throughout the Wilkes-Barre area.
The medical translation boards
consist of universally identifiable
pictures and Spanish words along
with their English meanings. The
goal of the boards is to help make
it easier for doctors and nurses to
communicate with Spanish speaking patients.
The first series of translation
boards will be presented to the
Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in
Wilkes-Barre by several members
of the Spanish club on Friday, November 14. The free medical clinic
was chosen because the club feels

that this is one of many health care
facilities in the community with a
large number of Spanish-speaking
patients.
The Spanish club will also donate to the Wilkes-Barre Free
Clinic on South Franklin St., the
free clinic on Jackson Ave. in Wilkes-Barre, and the Care and Concern Free Health Clinic on Williams St. in Pittston. These clinics
were also chosen because of the
large number of Hispanic patients
that they treat.
As a whole, the club felt that donating the boards would be a great
community service. Lili Dibai, the
Spanish club president and Wilkes
University junior, feels positively
about the project. "The Spanish
club thought it would be a great
idea to donate medical translation
boards to local clinics because a
lot of times they have Hispanic
patients coming in who speak lit-

Photo courtesy of Paola Bianco

Members of Spanish club in NYC. This semester they are donating
boards to translate medical issues within the Hispanic community.

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766

PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

tie or no English. So, we thought
it would be good to help out the
local communities," said Dibai.
The idea for donating the medical
translation boards first took shape
last year as a community service
project during which members
discovered a newspaper ad for a
private business that makes these
specialized translation boards.
Along with this community service project, the Spanish club has
also contributed to the community
by donating bilingual and Spanish
Bibles to the Holy Rosary Church,
on Park Ave., which offers masses in Spanish. The students also
volunteered at Clothes Closet, an
institution for low income individuals. The students helped by
interpreting for Latino families
and translating into English.
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki
Associate Professor of Foreign Flint, former coordinator of undergraduate education, has been
Languages and faculty advisor to given more responsibilities as directer of undergraduate education.
the Spanish club, Dr. Paola Bianed curriculum does that instead of
co, sees a need for more involve- FLINT
being separate," said Flint. Also,
ment in the community because of
when the provost requires it, she
the growing number of Hispanic from FRONT PAGE
promotion, said, "I increased her will be engaged in student grade
families in the area. She also encourages her students to become responsibilities ... She retained re- appeals and have input on transfer
more involved where ever they sponsibility as FYF director, but credit agreements.
also brought the core faculty toFlint believes that her history at
can.
the university will help to inform
"Students who are studying gether."
As director of undergraduate ed- her new role as director of underSpanish are able to learn and use
the language in the real environ- ucation, one of Flint's most impor- graduate education. "My knowlment and at the same time they are tant roles will be to improve upon edge of the history of the univerhelping the Hispanic community the general education curriculum. sity allows me to look to the future
in a very much needed area. They Flint said, "As I move through and see how our program can grow
learn to be tolerant, appreciative [improving the curriculum], I will and enhance while still preserving
and respectful of other cultures," also work with faculty to imple- what the university is about," she
said Bianco. "While they improve ment [the new requirements] ... explained. She also believes that
their Spanish bilingual skills they Following the assessments, I will being a musician has taught her to
develop cultural sensitivity, multi- work with chairs to ensure gen eds keep the larger picture in mind,
cultural competence, and cultural support and are complementing a develop self-discipline, and perhaps most importantly, develop
knowledge which will make them student's degree program.
"I'mlookingtoworkwith
Wilkes
the tenacity to " ... work and work
fit in the multicultural society we
University
to
be
sure
that
the
gen
until
the job is done."
are living in today."

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Design Chief: Alison Woody
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
News Editor: Nicole Frail

Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Yohanna De Los Santos Maria,
Amanda Gunther &amp; Alyssa Benner

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

NEWS

3

ELECTION
from FRONT PAGE
that countries across the globe
were watching the votes pour in and
anticipating the outcomes.
"[Obama's election] reflects the
long journey of improving the past,"
said Gilmour.
In addition, Gilmour appreciated
the fact that Obama and McCain
both respected each o"'ther in their acceptance and concession speeches.
McCain's concession speech spoke
of "deep admiration" for Obama's
ability to inspire the hope of millions
of Americans and acknowledged the
historic significance of electing the
first African American president.
He referred to dbama as a "good
man" and pledged his support to
The Beacon/ Bethany Yamrick
help Obama lead the country to ad- Students watch the election coverage and results on a large screen in SLC 101, with discussion throughout the evening about the polls,
dress its many challanges. Obama, President-Elect Obama and their reactions to the election in general.
looking forward to see if he will be able to
similarly, recogized McCain who "has en- His policies relevant to college and higher day following Obama's election.
dured sacrifices for America that most ofus education show support, demand and the
"Obama has characteristics of a leader change things for the better," said Caitlin
cannot begin to imagine. We are better off need of accountability that is constructive," and a uniter, which will benefit domesti- Kelley, Pl pharmacy major.
"As Obama had said in his campaign, he
for the service rendered by this brave and Gilmour said. Obama wants to increase fed- cally," said Frantz. "He made promises,
selfless leader."
eral aid for college students, which reduces but also brought people back to reality by plans on making college cheaper and makAmong the many issues on the minds of the burden of loans.
explaining the challenges the country is ing loans more accessible. Hopefully, if he
those at Wilkes and other colleges and uni"There is a need for well-educated people facing. The legislation has not been written follows through with his plans, attending
versities across the nation is the question in the current information age, with ad- yet, but the chances are positive," he added. college will be less expensive and the colof how an Obama presidency will impact vancements in technology everyday and Along with President Gilmour, Frantz ex- lege population will increase. I believe that
higher education and rising costs in that available information at people's finger- plained that one ofObama's top priorities is good education in this country is what we
arena. "Obama is very supportive of high- tips," Gilmour added.
education. Plans to increase Pell Grants and need to progress," Kelley added.
"I am excited for new change in the White
er education, which is part of his overall
Despite a lack of sleep on election night, fund students for community service are a
House
and to see what changes will be
platform that includes education being the Michael Frantz, vice president for emoll- few examples.
made
first,"
stated Jessica McMahon, junior
part of the answer to America's challenges. ment services, was still energized the next
"Obama is the greatest orator of my genEnglish
education
and history major. She is
eration," said Frantz. While he was watchDr. Baldino discusses the election coverage with students and members of the Wilkes
also
looking
at
what
changes Obama will
ing the election speech, he was moved by
community in the audience. The event was sponsored by DividedWeFail.org.
make
that
will
affect
her
future, such as in
Obama's words and the reaction of people
education
reforms
to
the
current No Child
in the crowd. Frantz believes it is an hisLeft
Behind
Act.
"I
most
anticipate
the new
toric election which captured international
change
for
the
next
four
years
and
to the
attention.
re-evaluation
of
the
government
we
are in
When the promises Obama made are
under
George
Bush,"
she
added.
implemented, there will be positive change
Mark Simmons, sophomore electrical enand reflects the "Yes We Can" theme of
Obama's presidential campaign, comment- gineer, who voted for presidential candidate
John McCain, thought differently about the
ed Frantz.
This election also marked one of the -most Democratic state of Pennsylvania.
"In his plan or package, he wants to give
significant for young voters with a substantially higher tum out than in years past. more money, but that money has to come
Neverthelss, some believe that the prom- from somewhere. Historically, Democrats
ised change will take time to come about. raise taxes significantly higher than Repub"I don't think [Obama's election] will have licans. If they decide to not raise taxes, they
effects immediately [for Wilkes students], will have to pull money from somewhere
because after the fact...we kind of just go on else and that could have some really nasty
with our lives," said Casim Gomez, fresh- repercussions," said Simmons. "I didn't
man English major. Despite this, Gomez really follow Obama that much, but from
believes there is hope in that, "Students can what I heard him saying, he was going to
do community service as part of a scholar- . give more money and more opportunities
ship program through Obama 's plans" if [for people] to go to college. In this countiy
they are successful, and he was enthusiastic you don't necessarily need a college education to succeed," he added.
with Obama's win.
"Change is fearful and hard, but people
"I was surprised Obama won the election
shouldn't
fear it and come together as a
over John McCain. I am a little anxious
country,"
Frantz
said.
about the some changes he is planning to
make to our government. However, I am

*

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

REGISTRATION
from FRONT PAGE
our way to correcting most of them at this
point," said Hritzak.
Another change in the course of registration
this semester is that students are no longer
registering in rotations. The process still takes
place in order of class, but no matter what letter students' last names start with, all members
of the class can register the second the clock
strikes midnight.
"This way, students can kind of do it at their
own pace. Sue's suggestion to put it at midnight was good because we know a lot of students are still up at midnight so they can do
it on their hours, not our [office] hours ... So
even though it looks like the As could've gone
first and then the Zs, there were actually more
hours available for registration so they could
do it 24/7," said Becker.
"There was some trepidation before it even
started from students about that issue, but it
seems to have worked out fine," added Hritzak.
"I personally had no problem registering. It
was the idea that they started the [fall] semester
with the rotation then switched it over to all at
once that infuriated me and the students I represent ... " said Benjamin Beidel, sophomore

·

NEWS
pre-pharmacy major. "If they want to try it
all at once, just do it for the freshmen. They
hadn't had the rotation and weren't already
used to it. Experiment with them ... "
Another difference students saw this semester was that SSC clerks could no longer
h-:lp them when they were not granted access to a class. If a course required department approval or a prerequisite, students
were sent to the chairs of their departments
to receive override codes. The goal for this
change was to empower faculty and department chairs to make such decisions.
"I think because Wilkes is so focused on
making sure that we're providing mentoring to each of our students individually
about their program and their courses, we
really want to reinforce that by allowing those types of decisions by faculty,"
said Becker. "We really want that student
to have to talk to their department to decide ... We really want them to work with
their advisor and their department to create
the best scheduling course load that works
for their program. That's not something we
[the SSC] want to do on the administrative
side."
Department chairpersons have received
instructions on how to approve courses for
students. Hritzak emphasized that students

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·

4

should schedule meetings with the chair, not
the departments' office assistants. While office staff can physically put the
code in for the students, the students need to seek permission
from the chairs first.
According to Hritzak and
Becker, the majority of the twoweek registration period passed
smoothly. As of November 6, 70
percent of students had completed their registration. Without rotations, registration was cut down
from the usual three weeks to two.
"I was really nervous about regis- ,
tering online, but I registered early .............._ _ _ _ __ _ ,....._ _ __
and had no problems," said Kristen Pechulis, sophomore English major.
Registration did not pass without a few sophomore pre-pharmacy major. "Many
glitches, however. Specifically, pharmacy people got on and just did their whole
students had difficulty registering for class- schedule ... But by four o'clock that day,
es.
no one was able to get in."
"This has been the fourth semester I have
Becker said they know the names of
not been able to register online due to be- students who were able to register for
coming or being in my professional years of classes during the block of time that had
pharmacy school. It's always one problem been set aside to fix complications for
after another. The program either doesn't pharmacy majors. Once registration is
recognize our prerequisites, some code is en- complete, Becker and Hritzak will extered in the computer wrong, or our profes- amine the courses to see if any seniors
sional credits aren't recognized so we can't were not able to register for classes they
register at the appropriate time," said Sherri needed to graduate. If seniors are not
Homanko, P2 pharmacy major. Homanko is waitlisted, then sophomores who regissupposed to register as a senior, but was not tered early will not be removed from the
granted access to the registration page of the courses.
MyWilkes portal until the days specified for
"Again, it was a learning process and
juniors.
we realized what we did and we'll know
Homanko added, "This really interferes for next time," said Hritzak.
with a lot of our scheduling, especially when
Another technical complication that
it comes to the students who are trying to get has been a problem for the past few seminors outside of the major."
mesters has dealt with transferred cred"This is the whole issue we were trying to its from other institutions.
fix ... " acknowledged Hritzak. "We have dif"This is an error in the system and
ferent levels of pharmacy students register- we have our IT staff checking into why
ing for different levels of classes and in or- that's not recognized. That is an issue
der to accommodate for that mix from the Pl that is being taken care of, but in the
[and] P2 years, these were the time controls meantime that can easily be overridden
we were trying to adjust to make it work for at the department level. We hope to have
them. That's why they were having all those that fixed for next semester. That will
issues for all those years prior to this."
take care of a good number of them,"
"It should be better going forward. With said Hritzak.
what we learned the system can do for us
As registration comes to an end, Hritand what we learned the hard way this time, zak and Becker will examine the results
we think going forward it should solve some and the information they have gathered
of those problems that the pharmacy stu- over the past two weeks to see where
dents have had for a couple of years now. any problems lie and what aspects need
We should be able to have smooth sailing for to be altered for next semester.
them now ... " said Becker.
"You can always communicate more.
While Student Services was attempting to We probably could've communicated
fix the problems facing pharmacy majors, a more both with students and faculty with
window of opportunity opened for students some of the even more 'frequently asked
randomly checking to see if they could reg- questions' or recommendations. We reister early.
wrote the instructions, but we probably
"We weren't allowed to register until Sun- could have done that with even more
day night, but I registered [for one class] precise instructions, and that's why it's
on October 28 ... I heard from a friend [that important to get that feedback now,"
they had gotten in early]," said Steve Gruver, said Becker.

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

NEWS

5

SG Notes: November 5, 2008
BY DAVE LEWIS
Beacon Correspondent
Treasurer's Report
- All College: $3,396.69
- General: $2,684.74
- Special Projects: $1,595.56
- Spirit: $2,000.00
- Leadership: $3,744.59
- Conferences: $7,030.00
- Start-Up: $900.00
Club Reports
The following clubs
presented updates on
their events.
- Programming Board
-MSC

The Beacon/Jenna Stephens

On Saturday, November 9th, Wilkes-Barre celebrated Veterans' Day with a parade
across the Market Street Bridge and around Public Square in recognition of the
··
ed our coun
resent.

New Business
- Wilkes-Barre City Christmas
Parade, Saturday Nov 22- SG budget for
parade will be created.
- Policy Discussion--General Board
voiced concerns and had a discussion with
the Executive Board on how to make Student Government better and more efficient
between members.
- Member o the Month-SG member

David Sborz for his hard work with senior
class socials.
- Student Concerns

Old Business
- Appointment of Freshman Class Representative
- USA Today
- McGlynn Halloween Party
- Zebra Communications
Donation Request
- Casino Night Allocation
Events
- IRHC Halloween Party
Oct 29, 7:30 p.m.
- CC &amp; Renaissance Club
Haunted House Oct 30 &amp; 31, 8
p.m. to 10 p.m.
•
* At 7:30 p.m., a motion was made to
adjourn the SG meeting. The motion was
approved.

SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday in the
Miller Conference room on the second

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�John Wilkes
Pagel

DR{!!iq.!!_-

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

6

Natural gas offers potential ''gold 01ine''
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

Last week The Beacon ran an article entitled "Wilkes project analyzes Marcellus Shale in NEPA,"
by Amy Fusco examining the potential economic gains from the
giant Marcellus shale belt found
running throughout Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is now classified
as one of the largest natural-gas
producing states. Governor Ed
Rendell (D) has described the
drilling for Marcellus shale in
the northeast as a potential "gold
rush."

What are the benefits?
"The value of this science could
increment the net worth of U.S.
energy resources by a trillion dollars, plus or minus billions," says
Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences, at Penn State University.
Currently, the United States produces roughly 30 trillion cubic
feet of gas each year. According
to Engelder, if done correctly, the
U.S. should be able to increase
those numbers and increase gas
production by twenty trillion cubic feet a year.
Natural gas drilling could possess a huge economic boom for

roads from heavy trucks, traffic
and equipment. Gas wells possess
the ability to disrupt or pollute the
water tables which hold drinking
water, and school districts could
be strained by families of gas
company employees moving into
town. Due to state policies, drilling companies are required to test
the water on a regular basis.
Drilling for Marcellus requires
an abundance of fresh water.
Through investigation DEP has
discovered violations that threaten
the state's water resources and
its environment. Some of which
include, inadequate erosion and

Image Created by: Gino Troiani

Researchers have discovered
an abundance of Marcellus shale
that runs directly through Pennsylvania and surrounding states,
making it a prime area for natural
gas. It is one of the cleanest burning fuels and produces very little
greenhouse gases.
What is Marcellus Shale?
Marcellus Shale, is a Middle
Devonian-age black, low density,
carbonaceous (organic rich) shale.
It is amongst the deepest shale's
found below the earth's surface.

the states citizens
and its industries. Over the last
eight years, Pennsylvania has experienced a steady growth in oil
and natural gas exploration. According to the State Department of
Environmental Protection, (DEP)
the number of drilling permits issued in 2007 hit 7,241. In addition,
A Pennsylvania State University
study estimates that nearly 24,000
jobs will be created over the next
three years.
What are the risks?
There has been much voiced
concern for damages to local

sediment controls, improper waste
and fluid disposal, dangerous water impoundments, and improper
and unregistered withdrawals of
water from streams. DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty stated
that DEP is currently addressing
those issues.
Where is it being done?
D EP has reported that at least 18
counties primarily located in the
northern and southwest tiers of the
state are being drilled for Marcellus shale. Some of which include,

Bradford, Lycoming, Susquehanna, and Wayne County.
Land owners are currently being
approached by drilling companies
with offers that have exceeded
$2000 per acre to lease their land.
If accepted, there is usually a signing bonus of guaranteed revenue.
That amount is determined by the
possibility of striking gas, and the
number of other buyers competing to make the purchase. If gas
is found, the land owner will receive additional profit through
royalties. A royalty is a share of a
well 's income. Currently, the customary royalty rate is around 12.5
percent. If a well produces around
one million cubic feet of natural
gas per day, the royalties may add
up to be hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
In contrast, the Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern PA; the Wayne
County Oil and Gas Group; the
Elk Gas Group; and the Thompson Area Oil and Gas Group have
joined forces to form the Susquehanna Wayne Oil and Gas Group,
(SWOGG) to help negotiate gas
leases.
Our verdict
Further drilling for natural gas
in and around the Pennsylvania
area is necessary because it offers the possibility for strong economic growth and a much needed
increase in the workforce. But
drilling should only take place in
accordance with DEP standards
and with careful monitoring of
the health and safety of the humans who live near or on the land
in question. Safe drinking water
cannot be sacrificed for cheaper
energy sources; thus, it is imperative that the DEP work hand in
hand with those who would conduct the drilling.a safe and environmentally friendly manor.

r.==========:::;,.

The Beacon
supports hlrther
drilling for
Marcellus shale
onlV if ii is done in
an environme•IIV
friendlV fashion.

PennsVIVania
and its residents
possess Ille abililV
to earn generous
sums of monev from
drilling.

Regular testing of
water sources is a
must if used in or
around Ille drilli•
process.

.

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Beyonce's desire to be a boy
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer

Ah, Beyonce. Is there anything she can't
do? She's gone from soulful, sultry musical
talent to mediocre, so-so actress (she made
Austin Powers 3 only slightly watchable) to
media mogul (vis-a-vis Jay-Z) in less than
a decade. So it should come as no surprise
that this child of destiny (get it?!) is finally
taking the next logi@al step in becoming a
full fledged parody of the music industry:
she created an alter ego.
That alter ego is known as Sasha Fierce,
which conveniently coincides with her
newest album "Who Is ... Sasha Fierce?" It
seems that Fierce was created so that Beyonce could explore her more sexual side.
Right, because no
w o u 1d
have ever believed
Beyonce
Knowles, who is a
perennial
member
in lists such as "The
100 Sexiest Females
Ever To Exist Of All
If I were
Time" could be sexy,
right?
All joking aside,
I've got a couple
things to say:
Sasha Fierce? Really?
That's
the best name you could
p ick?
Quite frankly, that sounds
like a bad
comic book character. (Which, undoubtedly
would be played by Ms. Oscar herself, Jessica Alba). That's actually awesome news
for fanboys everywhere, who get to see one
of their favorite characters brought to life by
an actress who has about as much depth as
the paper that the comic book is printed on.
That, in turn, is great news for me, because
I get to make fun of it to no end. When a
singer (I now refuse to call her an artist or a
musician), creates an alter ego, that means
that their original ego has become so inf'lated that one name isn't enough. See also:
Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Sean John, P Poppa
Doddy Did, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson
and Garth Brooks. That can't be good news
for Beyonce. That's like wanting to open up
a theme park in Europe, but the only example you have is Euro-Disney.
Not only is the alter ego annoying, but has
anyone else noticed that Beyonce has very
easily transitioned to being a one-name
singer? She went from being regular Beyonce Knowles to just Beyonce, and no one
seemed to notice. As it is, she has joined
the ranks of such luminaries as Rihanna,
Fergie, Charo, Brandy, Monica ... uh ... Selena ... .Judy?
My point is, Beyonce is dangerously close
to becoming the musical version of How-

ard Hughes. (I don't know if that last line
makes any sense. Wait .. .it does.)
But let's not dilly-dally any further and
get to the heart of the matter, and that is
Beyonce's new song, "If I Were A Boy,"
which, without any bias from myself, is the
worst song ever made. But I'll let you decide:
IfI were a boy
Even just for a day
I'd roll outta bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted then go
Hey Beyonce, have you ever been to a
college campus? Guess what, girls don't
glitz themselves up for an 8AM class. Girls
can wear whatever they want!
If I went to class wearing nothing but a
pair of boy shorts and a mesh shirt, I would
be promptly asked to leave, and then deservedly,
I would be punched in the

a boy

I could turn off my phone

balls.
If a woman wore the same outfit, no one
would think twice about it. In fact, she
would be likely receive compliments and
be encouraged to wear that · more often.
Women can wear whatever they want, because they look effortlessly attractive. Guys
do not have that luxury. We are disgusting creatures, and our bodies are built like
ATVs-for utility purposes only. The female form is beautiful.
Also, Beyonce, have you once looked in
the mirror? For God's sakes, you're Beyonce! You could walk outside in a snowsuit and still be better looking than most
women (Not any girls at Wilkes University,
mind you, *wink*.) Here's a secret: men
do not care about how women dress. Really, it's true. You could wear a garbage bag
filled with week-old diapers to a club, and
we could really care less. The only people
who care about what women wear are other
women. (Also, Perez Hilton. But he's kind
of a girl anyway, right?) The truth is, the
real reason that you feel that you can't wear
whatever you like is because other women
are going to criticize you. Guys don't care.
Really, we don't.
(Also, is there a more ironically named
piece of clothing than the boy short? Dudes
don't wear that, and if any self respecting
man, regardless of sexual orientation, did
admit to wearing that, he would be prompt-

ly doused in kerosene and lit on fire.)
Drink beer with the guys
I understand that you're worth a small
fortune, and since you've been rolling with
Jay-Z, you probably don't have any use for
this piece of advice, but nothing is stopping
you from tossing back a cold one with any
of your male friends. In fact, they'd probably like you more for drinking a beer, as
opposed to the drinks you're used to drinking, which, I can only imagine have been
made from water that came from melted
icebergs that haven't been in liquid form in
2000years.
And chase after girls
Once again, feel free to do that. No one
(including this writer) is stopping you.
I'd
kick it with who I wanted

I could turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think that I was sleepin 'alone
I'd put myselffirst
And make the rules as I go
So you're telling me that no girl has ever
said to her significant other: "If you don't
know what's wrong, then I'm not going to
tell you." Let's face it, women are just as
(if not more) deceptive than men. They're
duplicitious double-speakers who confound
men with their medusa like abilities (also
referred to as breasts).
Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Waitin' for me to come home (to come
home)
Of course there is nothing wrong
with
that statement, because
no woman in the his-

I'm sorry, is there

Tell everyone it's broken

So they'd think I was sleepin' alone *

some rule that girls can't have their own
friends? I'm confused.
And I'd never get confronted for it
Really? Because guys never get into
fights.
Cause they'd stick up for me.
That's actually true, because I've never
been accosted by a group of girls after I
allegedly left one of their friends at a gas
station in New Jersey because I wanted to
break up with her. Sure, that never happened.
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
Well, naturally, since you're actually a
girl.
I swear I'd be a better man.
I'd listen to her
Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
Cause he's taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
So here we have an inference that men
don't listen to women. Also, according to
you, no man has ever been hurt by a woman.
That's just blatant misandry (look it up). Let
me drop some truth right now: There are a
lot of vindictive women out there who have
broken many a young man's heart. Trust me.
Don't think for a moment that men are any
different than women in that department.
If I were a boy

tory of women has ever cheated on her husband. Right, Madonna?
It's a little too late for you to come back
Say its just a mistake
Think I'd forgive you like that
Ifyou thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong
Blah, blah, blah men have it so easy ...
But you 're just a boy
You don't understand
Yeah you don 't understand
How it feels to love a girl someday
You wish you were a better man
You don't listen to her
You don't care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
Cause you 've taken her for granted
And everything you have got destroyed
But you 're just a boy
Honestly, I tuned out about 11 lines ago.
This song is pure drivel, and quite frankly,
I'm angered by it. How convenient for the
purposes of this article.
But really, can someone please tell Beyonce that it's not exactly a walk in the
park for men? Sure, we make more money
than women, but we also die earlier. And
something else? Our bathrooms don' t come
equipped with sofas and potpourri. We have
stalls and urinals, and more often than not,
we are lucky to have soap and running water. So please, do all of us a favor and stop
complaining about how hard you have it.

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

OPINION

8

A look into the past: John Wilkes
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

John Wilkes, 1727-1797. "Early
defender of political liberty, free
speech, and the rights of the people to elect their leaders."
Though a statue of the man
stands prominently on campus between the Eugene Farley Library
and Chase Hall, and he serves as
the namesake for the university,
few students could actually articulate why.
First, some background: Wilkes,
born on October 17, 1727, in London, England, was the second son
of Israel Wilkes, a successful malt
distiller. As a young man, John
Wilkes furthered his education at
the University of Leiden located
in the Netherlands, where he studied civil liberty.
On May 23, 1747, Wilkes married Mary Meade, heiress to the
manor of Aylesbury, and daughter of a Buckinghamshire squire.
This connection was a helpful in
furthering John Wilkes's political
career.
As a young man, Wilkes became

genial society of the Medrnenham
Monks, also known as the "Hell
Fire Club," who met occasionally
in the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey
at Medrnenham, Buckinghamshire. The exclusive club has been
described as a cross between the
dead poets society, and a risque
Playboy club rolled into one.
Dr. Harold Cox, Wilkes University's archivist explained that
Wilkes was elected to parliament
from the town of Middlesex in
1757 through what was known
as a " ... rotten burrow." Meaning
that he spent generous amounts of
money to buy his votes.
According to most bioographers, Wilkes was a very outspoken and witty man, never hesitant
to speak his mind while strongly
advocating freedom of speech, religion, and freedom of the press.
"He was a ruthless politician,"
explained Cox, and often found
himself in heated debates amongst
the various members of parliament. In 1762, Wilkes founded a
radical weekly periodical called
the North Briton. In his publication, he regularly launched pro-

This replica statue of John Wilkes stands outside of the Farley
Library at Wilkes University.

vocative attacks on the Scottish
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute,
who came to power as the head
of the government in 1776. Wilkes strongly disagreed with Stuart
on various issues, and he demonstrated this through the press. The
paper carried an anti-Scott tone,
and was sarcastically yet cleverly
named the North Britton, referring to Scotland. Wilkes also used
his publication to harshly criticize
and mock King George III and
his ministers. Because the King,
along with high government officials, did not approve of its tone or
content, Wilkes was continuously
threatened and sometimes jailed.
On April 23, 1763, Wilkes released what is known as his most
infamous issue no. 45. In it, an
article harshly criticized a speech
made by the King, and shortly
after, Wilkes was arrested and
imprisoned under a general warrant where he was thrown into the
Tower of London. A week later,
Lord Chief Justice Pratt ordered
his release on the grounds that his
arrest was a breach of parliamentary privilege. When asked how
far liberty of the press went in
England, Wilkes replied, "I cannot
tell, but I am trying to find out."
This angered the government,
so it secured Wilkes's expulsion
from Parliament on the grounds of
seditious libel and obscenity.
When Wilkes's trial was scheduled, he fled to Paris in 1764, and
in his absence was convicted of
seditious libel. He returned after
four years, but was not convicted of his charges right away. Instead, he ran for office, and was
repeatedly elected to Parliament,
but was subsequently denied his
seat by the King's party. Wilkes
stated that this was in direct violation of the people's right to elect
their officials. He was then jailed
for 22 months for his original libel conviction. After he was released, Wilkes was elected Sheriff
of London in 1771 and then Lord
Mayor in 1774.
When his term was· up, he was
once again elected to parliament
representing Middlesex, where
he was finally allowed to take his
seat.
According to Cox, Wilkes was
regarded as somewhat of a hero in
the eyes of the American colonists

Beacon Poll Resµlts
because he strongly opposed the
Revolutionary War. "Wilkes used
this as a very useful tool in attacking the King and Parliament"
similar to how people use the Iraqi
war today to ciriticize President
George w. Bush, explained Cox.
Despite continuous scrutiny, and
authoritative crackdowns, Wilkes
always made it his first priority to
stand up for what was right and
protect his beliefs, no matter the
risk.
Wilkes is best known for his
successes in defending freedom of
the press and religion, removing
the power of general warrants, and
fighting to protect the individual
rights of the people.
As Wilkes grew older, he began to lose popularity among the
people because he was perceived
as less radical. When the Gordon
riots broke out in England, Wilkes
was directly in charge of the soldiers protecting the bank of England from the rioters. When mobhers charged the building, Wilkes
ordered his soldiers to open fire.
From there, the once, "Man of the
people," was now perceived in a
different light.
Wilkes died on December 26,
1797 at the age of 70.
On June 4, 1947, Bucknell University Junior College was renamed Wilkes College, and finally
in 1990, Wilkes University.
The University's namesake spent
much of his adult life defending
freedoms that today's Americans
widely take for granted or even
dismiss. Even in a good year,
roughly 40% of eligible voters
in America choose not to exercise the right or responsibility to
vote. In the most recent State of
the First Amendment nationwide
survey conducted by the First
Amendment Center, a shocking
39% of respondents believe that
the American press has too much
freedom and 55% agree or strongly agree that the U.S. Constitution
was meant to establish a Christian
nation. The John Wilkes statue
on this campus needs to serve
as a constant reminder to all that
higher education is about embracing sometimes agaisnt-the-grain
ideals, challenging authority, and
fighting for individual freedoms.

The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon coducted
online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overal
attitudes of students on
campus.

The Beacon asked:
What are your views on
stem cell research?

• For it- 88%
• Against it - 13%
• Undecided - 0%

Next Week's question:
Do you support
drilling for natu
ral gas in NEPA?

•Yes

•No
• Undecided
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published

Speak Up!

It's Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�li ostrllos

Holiday cards
PAGE 10

NOVEMBER

11, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

g

Taste of Wilkes serves up specialties for United Way
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

When the holiday season begins, organizations around the country rally their troops
to begin the season of collecting. Whether
it is the Salvation Army, the United Way,
or any number of other organizations, community outreach organizations tap into their
local resources to communicate the need for
help. When community organizations talk,
Wilkes University listens.
Last week, the 16th annual Taste of Wilkes
potluck lunch in the Henry Student Center
Ballroom offered the warm and tantalizing aromas of homemade creations from
all around the world all in an effort to meet
community needs. All proceeds from ticket
sales are donated to the United Way Fund.
This year's Taste of Wilkes was organized
by Margy Sromovski, office assistant for
Student Development; Danielle Kem, assistant to the Community Service office; and
Megan Boone, coordinator of Community
Service.
"This is our kickoff. Our season typically
goes up until right before Christmas, and
this year our season will be over on December 17," said Andrea Cowles, a United
Way representative who attended Taste of
Wilkes.
Organizers opened up the opportunity to
become a chef for a day to all Wilkes students, staff, and faculty. Each chef prepared
his or her best dish and served it for approximately two hours.
"Margy asked me to get involved, so I

• • • • • • • _.•.,.,..... •·~• -•=ew._•,,.:h•·-·•

made what I knew I was good at making ...
haluski, an old Polish tradition. I was up until 1:30 making it, but it's been a hit! It's just
another way that Wilkes turns around and
helps our community," said JefBauman, se-

total surpassed this year.
Taste of Wilkes has not always been the
large event it has become. Originally, the
event management was in the hands of one
department to the next. But Student Devel-

•
•
~
•
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki•

•
•
•

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The Taste of Wilkes offered homemade cuisine from all over the world cooked by students, faculty, and staff. Last year's event raised about $600 for the United Way.

nior biology and chemistry major.
Wilkes collected donations at the door of
$5 for faculty and staff, $3 for students, and
there was free admission for chefs. While
neither the United Way nor Wilkes has a
particular goal for the proceeds, Wilkes
collected approximately $600 at last year's
Taste of Wilkes, and many hoped to see that

tJ- ..,.,.,_. ___.,,._

• -•

.,_.....,. , •

• - -- •

._.

•

• """" •

opment took over Taste of Wilkes several
years ago.
"It's always been a good fundraiser. It's a
good chance for everyone to come together," said Carol Bosack-Kosek, director of
Career Services.
Food dishes are not the only way Wilkes
tries to jump-start community efforts to
.._.• .
.,• .._..
• ~ • • • ._., =t~._,.,_•
♦

♦-- •=-

♦

♦

donate to the United Way. Along with the
donations of the prepared foods, guests are
encouraged to participate in a silent auction
that accompanies the dishes.
This year's auction offered gifts from an
array of businesses and organizations. Patrons auctioned off restaurant gift baskets,
handmade pieces, jewelry, and gift certificates from several different locations.
"[The event] has a community-based feeling. The intent is to raise money for the
United Way, but a second opportunity is to
bring students and staff togethe~n a communal setting," said Dean of Student, Mark
Allen.
Several United Way representatives attended this year's Taste of Wilkes to oversee the proceedings and sample their favorite dishes.
"We think it will be a very hard year this
year, especially with the economic down
turn. Any event like this can help benefit,
because people are really in need now. As
a staff we appreciate that people have taken
the time to put this event together," said
Cathy Faatz, United Way representative.
Taste of Wilkes is just one of many potluck inspired events that occur on the Wilkes campus to help raise funds for organizations. According to Boone, Alternative
Spring Break also holds a spaghetti dinner
each year to raise funds for their trips to
help others.
"It's kind of like a potluck, and we share
and talk, just like a big family dinner," said
Boone.
.,..,~,.,w, ♦~·

·•

•

. _ ..

•=•

:"Connecting the Dots'' pai'ts students, at·umni
•
• BY LEEANN SEAUOSS
•• Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

• The question, "What am I going to do
• when I graduate?'' is one that weighs
•• heavily on many college students' minds.
• But Wilkes is providing an option to help
• students get right on their chosen career

•• track.

• An alumni networking opportunity
• called "Connecting the Dots'' will be held
: on Thursday, November 13 from 6:00
• to 8:00 p.m. in the ,ijemy Student Center
• • •

•· •

-

· - piJi14-.

..........

Ballroom.
The event is coordinated by Carol Bosack-Kosek, direetor of Career Services,
Lisa Mulvey, coordinator for Career Ser•
vices, and the Wilkes University Alup;µri
Association.
"This is going to be a chance for students
to connect with alumni in various fields and
talk to them about how they transitioned
from being a student to getting into that position." said Mulvey.
"Connecting the Dots11 places students in

per table. Students will have the opportuni-

ty to ask the professionals questions about
their currentjobs and how they got them.
••Students can talk to alumni who may

have even had a different majoi; while in
school," statedl3osack-I{osek:
Whether students are undeclared freshmen or graduating seniors, "Cann.ecth;l.g, tp.e
Dots" is an opportunityJor stuoents to take
their questions and interests to othe~ \iVho
have been through similarsituations.
Students will have the chance to chat with
roundtal&gt;le diseu~sions with one alumnus , professjpna1$ #om the b-usjn.ess wol"J~ the

·•

·--~--- ·-- -~-~ -

-- • •-

.

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l

Secret Service, pharmaceutical sciences,
bankin~ tlle }&lt;&gt;val prnon, social services,•
a local television station and many others .•
Each student will be given handouts of•
contactJnforn;iation of the alumni professionals.
"Lots of students have found mentors
that· way. they have found future intern••
ship opportunities also,'' said Mulvey.
Along with connecting with profes.$ionals in chosen nelds; students have the
chance to eat, talk, and win prizes.

r
I

. ........... . .~--....
~

~~

...... .,...

�10

LIFESTYLES

NOVEMBER

11, 2008

G·reeting cards invoke holiday and ''Go Green:' spirit
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Beacon Staff Writer

This holiday season, Wilkes University is
doing its part to make the holidays a little
greener, while spreading a lot of holiday
cheer.
Beginning November 3, students
could vote on four
holiday greeting
cards, with the
winner to be
chosen as the
card that will
be sent out to
Wilkes
faculty, staff, alumni
and other friends of
the University as a
gift from WilkesUniversity president Tim
Gilmour and his wife Patty.
"This is an ongoing trend at Wilkes when
we came here seven years ago," said Patty
Gilmour, who helped organize the vote.
"It's just a way of saying hello."

Not only do the cards help to spread cheer
around the holidays, but they are also part
of an increasingly popular trend to make the
University more environmentally sound.
The cards are printed on recycled paper,
helping Wilkes spread its campaign of going green.
"They
are made
out
of
recycled
material to
stress the
Univ ersity going
green in all
aspects,"
said Kathy
Dalton, senior class
treasurer
who also helped Patty Gilmour with the
cards.
The cards, which are outside of the student government office on the first floor
of the Henry Student Center, feature four
unique designs that help capture the holiday

features the recycle logo in the form of a
spirit.
The first two are more traditional in na- Christmas tree with the words "Reduce, Reuse, Rejoice" written
ture. The first
on the inside.
features a pic"There is a lot of pature of holly
per wasted during the
with the words
holidays, and most of it
"Seasons
isn't recycled or postGreetings" on
consumer paper," said
the outside. The
Gilmour. "If someone
other
shows
wants to throw these
the ubiquitous
cards away, at least
Christmas dove
they will have been renext to the word
cycled already."
"Peace."
Students will be able
The other two
to vote on the cards
cards feature a
until Friday, Novemblend of both
ber 14. The cards are
the
holiday
posted outside of the
spirit and the
student government
green
moveoffice in the Henry
ment, with one
Student
Center.
card adorned
with a Christ(Left) Wilkes students
mas tree made
have the opportufrom the word
nity to vote on one of
"Recycle."
a
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The other card
All photos The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki cards.

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$2

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lnte.-state Blood 8t. Plasma Inc_
665 Carey Ave Wilkes-Barre, Pa
Call (570) 823-411 9

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�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

LIFESTYLES

Seminar wakes up students to sleep disorder~
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor ..
KRISTEN KARPINKSI
Beacon Correspondent

With final exams just a few weeks away,
Wilkes students will have to put in a little
more effort to catch some Zs if they have
any hopes of grabbing As and Bs this semester.
Sleep issues, including not enough sleep
or disrupted sleep, are particularly problematic for college-aged students. On
October 31, Health Sciences sponsored a lecture by Dr. John Della Rosa,
a neurologist and sleep specialist who
practices in Forty-Fort, to offer college
students insight into the causes and
effects of sleep disorders.
Della Rosa's lecture focused on the
neurobiology of sleep, and how certain
areas of the brain are affected differently while awake or during sleep. Disorders that he emphasized included insomnia, narcolepsy, and delayed sleep
phase syndrome, which he says is one
of the most common sleep disorders
affecting college students.
"People want to stay up very late, and this
gives them an inability to fall asleep at an
appropriate time," he said. "Then the next
morning, they will sleep in very late. An example would be going to sleep at 3:00 a.m.
and waking up at noon."
A Central Michigan University study
that was published in ScienceDaily in May
looked at the sleep patterns of college students and found that many include issues
that can be detrimental to everyday activity.
It found that one-third of the students took
more than 30 minutes to fall asleep each
night, and 43 percent woke up more than
once during the night.
The study also found that students have a

tendency to manipulate their bedtimes and
wake-up times depending on the day of the
week. Many students stay up late on weekends, only to spend the next day in bed until
the afternoon. However, changing sleep cycles during the week can disrupt the circadian rhythm, a 24-hour day-night cycle that
influences quantity and quality of sleep.
"Problems associated with this would be
sleeping in and missing class work, other
types of work like part-time jobs, and
social

dents are not sleeping as long as they
should," she said. "And also, the quality
of sleep is not the best. And definitely, the
academic performance decreases when the
student doesn't have the right amount and
quality of sleep."
Mark Simmons, a sophomore electrical
engineering major, averages just less than
seven hours of sleep each night. While he
knows the importance of getting in a full
night's rest, sometimes the distractions of
everyday life keep him awake. These include television shows, computer work,
homework, and talking with friends.
"There's a myriad of things that keep me
up," he said. "Sometimes insomnia,
because there are times I just
can't get to sleep."
Juggling all
the aspects
of college
life, including academic work, extracurricular
activities,
part-time
jobs,
and
social functions, can be
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
distracting for
students. Worryfunctions," said Della Rosa. "It can also ing about their packed schedules can incause ... fatigue if the student is forced to terfere with sleep, as can the technological
wake up, and then they can fall asleep in temptations that exist 24 hours a day in their
class."
dorm rooms.
From his experience as a sleep specialist,
Sleep issues are not limited to students
who exhibit sleep disorders. According to Della Rosa counts technological amusethe University of Michigan, college stu- ments as something to avoid late at night. If
dents on average sleep only six to 6.9 hours students want to get to sleep earlier, he adeach night. But biology professor Dr. Linda vises them to avoid the computer, Internet,
Gutierrez says the recommended amount of and video games right before bed.
sleep is between 7.5 and 8 hours.
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A&amp;R

PAGE 14

~--

NOVEMBER

11 2008

CAR

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

from]

12

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�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

CAROUSEL
from PAGE 12

12

The story of Carousel is easy to follow,
and quite entertaining. But what Carousel
offers above many musicals, especially
this day age, is great dancing. What truly
awed in this production was the very beautifully choreographed dancing for such
pieces as "June Is Bustur out All Over,"
and "'Blow High, Blow Low". The main
characters and chorus alike, were all perfectly in step with each other, carrying the

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT
rhythm needed to take a good performance
to great.
Now not only was the choreography
wonderful but the singing was just as
grand. The voices of such characters as
Julie, Billy, Nettie, and Julie's friend Carrie Pipperidge (Casey Regan Lynch) rang
beautifully through the theater and was
incredibly consistent. But in my book, the
most noteworthy voice of them all was
Greta Kleckner who played Nettie Fowler.
During such pieces as "June Is Bustin' Out
All Over" and "A Real Nice Clambake"

Kleckner showed the audience her true
vocal ability. Two thumbs way up.
Of course every play has its weak points.
Every performance has its moments that
can be worked on to truly give it the feel of
perfection. And no review would be complete without these facts. The only issues
I found with this particular performance
was the inability of the actors to cheat out,
meaning turn towards the audience. Yes
some moments may call actors to look at
someone upstage, but that does not mean
I, the audience member, wants to see your

13
back.
In the end I was quite satisfied with the
overall performance. The acting was excellent, the set was beautiful, the singing and
dancing were great, and I was genuinely
satisfied. So let this be my announcement
of my return to theater.
Go see Carousel at the Dorothy Dickson
Darte Center this Friday and Saturday, the
14 and 15, at 8:00pm, or Sunday, the 16, at
2:00pm. You will leave satisfied and with
a catchy tune in your ear.

Entertaininent two-fer slated for Noveinber 15
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor
On Saturday, November 15, Wilkes students will have an opportunity to showcase
their talents and bust a move on the dance

floor.
Multicultural Student Coalition (MSC),
Programming Board, and the Wilkes University Step Association (WUSA) partnered
to showcase just what kind of moves (and
sounds) Wilkes students have through two
events in one evening. Both are free for the
Wilkes student body.
The night kicks off with a talent show
planned by MSC and Wilkes Programming
Board. This portion of the evening will take
place in the Henry Student Center Grand
Ballroom from 7 to 9.
"It gives students the opportunity to show
off their talents and it will be a fun night
on campus," said Tracey Garcia, president
of MSC.
The show will consist of a wide array of
talents from various students and groups

across campus.
"It's a good laugh," said a smiling Garcia.
Following the talent show, the party will
move to the Martz Gym where students
from numerous college campuses will get
to break it down with their friends on the
dance floor.
The cross-college mixer was planned for
last academic year, but abruptly cancelled
after it was discovered that a nationally
synidcated DJ had never been scheduled for
the event, despite an organizer's claims.
The after party, Pumps vs. Sneaks, will
take place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and will
be free for students with Wilkes IDs and $2
for students from other colleges.
The theme for this dance is unique and
unlike the usual dances at Wilkes. "Ladies wear your heels, guys wear your best
sneaks," said Frantzddyn Pamphile, president of Wilkes University Step Association.
"A lot of work went into getting every-

thing together, from getting the flyers ready
to promoting it at other schools and on the
radio," said Pamphile.
The money raised at the mixer will go
fund new uniforms for the step team.
The party is sponsored by WUSA and
funded by MSC. MSC is a campus group
designed to help increase intercultural understanding across campus and the community. WUSA is fairly new to the Wilkes community. The dance group formed in spring
of 2008 and combines rhythmic beats with
dance moves in complex patterns.
"I was trying to form a team for a long
time, but I didn't have enough people behind me," said Pamphile.
As of last spring, Pamphile had enough
supporters to go before Student Government (SG) to pitch her successful idea for a
new club on campus.
Word spread quickly, and soon there were
enough students involved to begin practices.
The team currently consists of about 14

dedicated members.
"People are pretty dedicated with coming
up with new steps and coming to practice,"
stated Pamphile.
Glynda Goldman, a sophomore nursing
major has been a member of the step t ~
since it first began. "Being part of WUSA
is a good way to maintain good friendships.
Everyone on the team is friends with each
other," said Goldman, "Even though there
is only one sound, it is completed by many
different individuals; we work as a team."

Below: Members of the Wilkes University Steppers Association (WUSA)
practice their step moves in for the Talent Show they will be performing in on
November 15.

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Volu01es goal: pro01ote literacy awareness
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

Most would agree that the reading students do in college
is among the heaviest they will do in their lives. The textbook assignments, journal articles, works of great literature, and even newspapers required by so many classes,
can sometimes amount to hundreds of pages each week.
This doesn't leave a lot of room for leisure reading.
But the Wilkes chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society, has initiated Volumes, a
book club with a goal to promote literacy awareness
within the community and provide incentive to students
to stimulate their brains by reading for fun.
Volumes meets Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:30 in SLC
260. Volumes coordinator, Lauren Mannion, junior English major, has been in contact with the 15 or so participating members through e-mail encouraging material
suggestions. Members will vote on choices for discussion. Because Volumes got started mid-semester members are reading and discussing short stories, beginning
with Chuck Palahniuk's "Guts" until spring semester.
For now, the group is fairly small. Mannion said, "It
hasn't been advertised enough to the point where people
know about it, I think." The current number one goal of
Volumes is to encourage membership among those outside
the English department. "We are putting a link on the MyWilkes site," Mannion said.

Mannion approached Dr. Thomas Hamill, faculty advisor
of Volumes during spring 2008 with the concept of beginning a new club that would allow people to read and discuss
works they may not find in the classroom.
Hamill said, "My suggestion [to Lauren] was that Vol-

umes could be something that Sigma Tau Delta presents to
the community so that people could be members ofVolumes
as a group, but not be members of Sigma Tau Delta." "Our
ideal goal is to read three or maximum four books next semester," Mannion said, "So we'll probably cover one book
in two meetings." Some of the suggestions include: Our
Town by Tennessee Williams; The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; Just Listen by
Sarah Dessen; and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, all
of which came from a list of30 possible choices.
Mannion said, "There is really no set in stone what you
have to read. Even if we do decide to cover something,
you could object and say, 'Hey, I really would like to do
this instead."' Volumes members are also thinking of ways
to draw in a larger group through a theme party idea. The
possible theme is the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.
The book has been a hit for young adults and members of
the group are hoping it will bring a large-scale discussion
that includes diverse voices from across campus.
Volumes is the first book club of its kind on Wilkes
campus. Hamill said, "As far as I know, I've been here
six years and I don't know of any book clubs."
Hamill said, "It's very ambitious ... in that it allows stuPhoto Courtesy/Jami Butzcynski
dents a chance to meet regularly to talk about a wide range
Lauren Mannion, coordinator of Volumes, initially
of text and.. .it really is an effort to reach out and promote
came up with the idea for Volumes last fall but the
literary interest in the community."
book club held it's first meeting on October 21 of this
semester.

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

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�N ovEt

Del:
PAGE 19

',,,,,

··~~~~

Footi

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

NOVEMBER

11, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Voueyball defeats King's 3-1 in thrilling playoff match
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
The Wilkes Lady Colonels volleyball
team defeated visiting King's College 31 (25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21) in the first
round of the Freedom Conference Championship on Monday, November 3, in the
Marts Gymnasium.
The bleachers were filled half-capacity,
but the turnout was actually highly indicative of a playoff atmosphere; considering
the fact that Bill Clinton and Democratic
Congressman Paul Kanjorski were leading
a pre-election rally only three blocks away
that drew hundreds of spectators.
Out of the gate, the Lady Colonels struck
quickly, taking advantage of several King's
mistakes en route to a 5-0 lead in the first
set. The Monarchs would eventually come
back to tie the game at 14, before taking a

15-14 lead on a kill from freshman Tanya
Rabenold. The teams would play to a 23-23
tie before King's Danielle Belfani erred on
a service, giving Wilkes a chance to win on
their next possession. Freshman rightside/
outside hitter Kaitlyn McGurk ended things
quickly on her serve, acing the Monarchs to
give the Lady Colonels a 1-0 game lead.
The Monarchs responded in the second
game, jumping out to a 5-1 lead before surrending to a Wilkes scoring streak that tied
the game at ten. The Monarchs took the
lead on the next point that they would never
relinquish. However, they controlled the
game offensively with eight kills, committing only two errors in the process in order
to tie the match 1-1.
The third game demonstrated many intense rallies, as the teams played to nine ties
and five different lead changes. Wilkes led
6-5 early before King's tied the game at 16.

The rivals would tie at 18, 20, and 22 before
Wilkes was able to take the lead for good on
junior outside hitter Julie Page's kill.
\
"We watched film on them all week and
we had a good idea of where we wanted to
hit the ball," said head coach Alicia Orlowski. "They made some adjustments, but we
stuck to our game plan and it worked."
The crowd began to rally behind the Lady
Colonels after they went up two games to
one, leading several cheers and waving
foam fingers that had been passed out during a break in the action. The Lady Colonels
failed to disappoint, picking up the matchwinning game behind the strength of 19
kills, nine of which were scored by sophomore outside hitter Marissa Harrison.
Harrison scored 21 of Wilkes' 55 kills in
the match, while also picking up ten digs
and nine service aces along the way. Page
and senior middle hitter Katherine Har-

rington also reached double-figure kills for
the Lady Colonels, netting 13 and ten, respectively.
"I was really happy with our defensive effort today. We have been working on that all
week and it really showed and I am proud
of them," said Orlowski.
"[Playing King's] just brings out the best
in the team because of the fact that they are
our rivals and everyone wants to beat them,"
said Harrison. "It really gets the adrenaline
pumping through your veins."
The win propelled the Lady Colonels to
the second round of the playoffs where they
were defeated 3-0 by a very strong Eastern
University (32-1) in the Freedom Conference Championship.
"We played well this season against some
very tough competition," said Harrison. "I
credit the competition we played to our success against King's in our playoff game."

,---------------------~~--~---~~~~--

Soccer Playoff Recaps
BYANTHONYDORUNDA
Beacon Correspondent
Women's Soccer v. DeSales and East-

Looking to avenge a 3-0 regular season
loss, the Lady Colonels took the field on
Wednesday, November 5 to face top-seeded
Eastern University in the semi-finals of the
Freedom Conference soccer tournament.
In the teams' first meeting, Eastern
brought their "A" game, running one step
ahead of the Lady Colonels throughout the
match.
With the season hanging in balance for
both teams, Eastern turned it up a notch and
brought their "A+" game this time.
The game featured two drastically different performances as Eastern controlled
the game from the get-go and dominated
throughout the entire 80 minutes. Wilkes
goalies Jessica Berkey and Sarah Shetler
were attacked from all sides as the Colonels

were out shot 17-0 for the game, as well as
8-2 in comer kicks.
"It was frustrating for me and the players," said head Coach John Sumoski. "We
defended too much. In a game like that you
need to get possession of the ball and do
productive things to build your confidence.
We did not do this, and we struggled to execute our game plan. I could have done a
better job preparing my team for a game of
that magnitude considering what we were
going up against and the fact that we had a
young team on the field."
For the past couple of years, the team has
been teetering right at .500, not getting all
the breaks needed to be a major player in
the league, but the pieces are in place for
the team to explode and become a dominant force in the conference. And although
the season might not have ended exactly as

See SOCCER
on PAGE 1&amp;

BY LINDS
Beacon Co,
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�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

SPORTS

17

Delaware Valley co01es alive in second half
Football lose"s sixth game of the season
BY LINDSAY BEHRENSHAUSEN
Beacon Correspondent
As the sun broke through the clouds over
Ralston Field on Saturday afternoon, the
play of the Delaware Valley Aggies seemed
to get hotter.
Wilkes (3-6) jumped out to an early lead
but soon found Delaware Valley (6-3) battling back to eventually capture the win,
handing Wilkes their sixth loss of the season in their final home game.
The Colonels began their first scoring
drive when junior quarterback Rob Johnson connected with freshman running back
Zach Tivald for a 33-yard pass. With 10:06
left in the first quarter, freshman fullback
Hany Reese rushed for four yards into the
end zone to put Wilkes on the scoreboard
first with a 7-0 lead.
Delaware Valley's first drive of the quarter proved to be fruitless as a result of
Wilkes' solid defense. Defensive linemen
sophomore Chris Swinarski and senior Matt
Archey combined for a sack and junior defensive back Corey Gilroy broke up an Aggie pass to force Delaware Valley to punt
with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
Wilkes continued to build a lead in the
second quarter. Halfway through the quarter, a late and disputable pass interference
penalty against Delaware Valley aided the
Colonels in their drive downfield, advancing them 15 yards. Shortly afterwards Johnson found sophomore Jordan D'Emilio for
a completed 34-yard pass as another Aggie penalty moved Wilkes even closer into
scoring position.
The third penalty of the drive would not
go in the home team's favor, however, as
the Colonels were marched back 10 yards
as a result of an illegal block. The Colonels
quickly regrouped as Johnson completed the
79-yard touchdown drive by completing a
pass to standout junior Gennaro Zangardi to
put the Colonels up 13-0 with 5:52 remaining in the half. A series of two additional
penalties against Wilkes would lead to the
first missed point of the season by freshman
kicker, Chris Horn.
Delaware Valley, who had been moving the ball throughout the half but had
no points to show for it, would eventually
score after putting together a drive in the
last seconds of the second quarter. With less
than a minute remaining in the first half, the
Aggies completed a 52-yard scoring drive
to put their first points on the board. Wilkes
would end the first half with a 13-7 lead in a
penalty-filled first half.
The second half would see a swing in momentum between the two teams. The play
of the Aggies started to heat up at the end of

the third quarter as they took a 14-13 lead
on a 66-yard, 12-play scoring drive with
2:08 left in the third quarter. The Colonels
ended the quarter with a soaring 53-yard
punt from senior Mario Della Fortuna
that traveled to Delaware Valley's own 7yardline.
The shift in momentum became costly
early in the fourth quarter as a Johnson
interception was returned 53 yards by the
Aggies to Wilkes' own 19-yard line. Delaware Valley would turn the interception
into a bigger lead as the Aggies found the
end zone to go ahead 21-13 with 10:26
left in the fourth quarter.
Delaware Valley added a cushion to
their lead after Johnson overthrew a Wilkes receiver for his second pick of the day
with 9:00 left in the game. The Aggies
marched downfield for a 79-yard drive
that resulted in a touchdown, giving them
28 to go ahead 28-13.
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
With 3:35 left in the fourth quarter, the
Quarterback Rob Johnson prepares to hand off the ball to a running back during
Colonels found themselves with little
Saturday's game against Delaware Valley.
time for a miraculous comeback. The
Colonel's kept hope alive when Johnson
connected with junior running back Sean
Madden for a 20-yard touchdown pass
to make the score 28-20, keeping Wilkes
alive with 1:40 remaining in the game.
However, the Aggies would complete
their momentum swing by recovering an
on-side kick from Wilkes and then draining the clock. That would give Wilkes one
last scoring opportunity with seven seconds left to play, but a fumble would end
the chance as time expired. The Colonels
finished the game with a season-high 373
offensive yards and a career-best from
Johnson as he completed 27 of 47 passes
for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the efforts of the Colonels,
Delaware Valley proved they were able to
shake off their sluggish first half on the
road and went on to capture their first win
at Ralston Field since 1991. The loss ended Wilkes' hopes of entering postseason
play. Senior punter Mario DellaFortuna
commented on what the loss means to the
team.
"It's always disappointing to not make
playoffs but right now we are concentratLOCATED lR
ing on ending the season with a win. We
Wll.KEs-BAHRE
want to end on a positive note, hopefully
ACROSS FIDM
HDLY IIEIEEMEB
carrying momentum into the offseason
and setting up for the future," DellaForJII.AB DOMmlfS
tuna said.
AND CIIRM IEVD!G!!
The Colonels will close out the 2008
season this Saturday as they take on Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania.

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�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

18

SPORTS

NovEM

SOCCER
from PAGE 16
planned, the ladies are excited about the
future of the program.
Sophomore Brittany Ely, who scored the
game-winning goal in the first round of the
playoffs versus Desales, was optimistic
about where the team is headed.
'The loss left a bitter taste in our mouths.
We were a lot better than the score showed
and that is hard to end a season on. Getting
to the semis makes you want it that much
more the following year, so I think getting
that hunger and want instilled in the younger players will fuel us to have greater success next year," said Ely.
After all, the Lady Colonels lose only four
seniors and return a wealth of talent from
this year's team that finished the season I 010-1, most of whom saw an ample amount
of playing time throughout the course of the
season.
Sumoski, too, is excited about what the future holds for the team. ''Next year we look
forward to more experience. Most importantly, teams grow through adversity, and
we have had our share of that this season.
If we learned from it, and move forward trying to make improvements, we should be a
better team next year."

Men's Soccer v. Manhattanville and
Misericordia
On the men's side of the field, this past
week saw the Colonels cruise to victory
over number three seed Manhattanville en
route to a showdown with Misericordia, a
battle of the conferences top two teams.
Wilkes opened the game versus Manhatanville strong with junior Greg Miller
converting a penalty kick just 1:46 into the
game.
At the 18 minute mark, sophomore Doug
Moore iced the victory with a screamer that
scorched the back of the net, adding to a 20 lead that the Colonels would never relinquish.
The Colonel defense stymied the Valiant
attack, not allowing a single shot the entire
game, making T.J Baloga's seventh shutout
of the season an easy one.
The Colonels didn't waste any time celebrating and put the game into the back of
their minds almost immediately. However,
the Colonels had their work cut out for them
with top seed Misericordia awaiting them
on Saturday afternoon.
After all, it was only a week before that
the Cougars stunned the Colonels, scoring

four unanswered goals on their way to a 43, double overtime shocker that secured the
Cougars the number one seed for the Freedom Conference tournament.
And on Saturday you could have sworn it
was a replay.
It was junior Sean Vona who struck first,
ripping a penalty kick into the back of the
net just 35 seconds into the second half,
giving the Colonels a 1-0 advantage.
Each team exchanged shots on goal for
the rest of the match but neither was able to
come through with any points.
With the victory all but sealed up, Misericordia decided to rain on Wilkes' parade.
With Wilkes up 1-0 with all of fifteen
seconds left in the game, Misericordia
launched a throw from the comer into a sea
of white and blue. The ball was deflected
off ofMisericordia 's Tim Bullis and into the
net, tying the game at one apiece.
The game went through a couple of ten
minute overtimes but neither team could
muster a goal, leading to the most gutwrenching period in soccer: the shoot-out.
During the heart stopping period, the
teams matched each other goal for goal and
save for save until Misericordia's Josh Yoo
converted on the team's sixth shot after Wil-

kes' could not convert its opportunity.
"We had opportunities to finish the game
and it just didn't go our way," said sophomore Sean Stitt. "It's hard to say what we
did wrong; we worked hard and got an unfortunate result."
With the loss, the Colonels end the season with a record of 10-8-2 with the last of
the bunch being the toughest to let go.
"Losing this opportunity will not be
forgotten for a while, but hopefully we
stay optimistic and look at the things we
did right," said Stitt. "And since we only
have two seniors, we know that next year
is going to be another great year for us. We
played our game today and didn't get the
outcome we wanted."
As hard as it is to swallow right now, the
heart-breaking defeat might be just what
the doctor ordered for this very young
team. Judging by the way the team played
this year, and with nearly everyone returning next year, we may be seeing only the
beginning of something very special.

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�18
NOVEMBER
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11, 2008

SPORTS

19

Wrestlers shine in opening tournament at King's
Courtesy of Craig Merriman, Sports Information Director
The Wilkes wrestling team opened the
2008-09 season in fine fashion with a second-place finish at the King's College Monarch Invitational.
The Colonels had three individual winners as well as three second-place finishers. In the 133 pound division, Josh Pauling
cruised through his bracket with a 9-2 win
over Mike Knapp of Oneonta before shutting out Erik Johnson 3-0. In the championship match he defeated Kyle Flicklinger,
who is ranked fifth in the National Wrestling
Coaches of American Preseason Poll, 7-6.
In the 174-pound division, Frank Heffernan recorded a fall in 4:56 to defeat Matthew Terry of Scranton before taking down
Brian Thomason of York, 7-2. In the championship match, Heffernan took down Mike
Rielly, who is ranked No. 7 in the preseason
NWCA Poll, 5-3.
Andrew Feldman, the No.I seed in the
285-pound division won three matches to
win his bracket. He took down Rich Dalmas of King's in a fall, before cruising to a
10-3 win over Shane Cooley ofYork. In the
championship bout, Feldman took a 3-1 win
over Chris Rash of King's.
Second-place finishers include Shaun
Farnham in the 125-pound division, who
recorded a fall in 1: 18 in his opening-round
match over Rich Beningo of Oneonta. In his
second-round match, he took a 9-1 win over
Davis Mason before falling to Jerrid Hartman ofYork, 3-2.
Anthony Dattolo, competing in the 141pound division, won two bouts before falling to Casey Smith of United States Military Academy in the championship. He took
down Mike Ebert of Scranton in a technical
fall in six minutes. He also defeated Tony
Miele of King's 9-5 before beating teammate Derek Brownmiller. He would eventually fall to Casey Smith of the United

States Marine
Academy.
In the 149pound division,
Erik Smith fell
to Rob Kein of
Muhlenberg in
a 4-2 overtime
bout. He opened
with a 7-2 win
over Chris Poleto before taking down David Staulters of
Oneonta who
had to default
due to an injury.
In the semifinals,
Smith
took down Devan Whiteman
of Oneonta 4-3
in overtime before falling to 149-pound wrestler Erik Smith tries to gain control against his opponent from SUNY Oneonta at the Monarch
Kein.
Invitational on Saturday November 8. Smith would finish second in the tournament.
Also competing in the 141-pound division was Donny 23-7. Andresen came back in the consola- Adam Levine fell to Victor Nicotra, 11-5 in
Clark, who won his opening bout over tion bracket to defeat John Rocha with a fall his opening bout before taking down Adam
Kevin Williams of Scranton with a fall in in 3:58 before taking down Frankie Davis. Finch in the consolation bracket with a fall
47 seconds, marking the quickest takedown He would eventually fall to Devan White- in 1:02. His day would come to an end with
for the Colonels. He also took down Steve man 2-1 in the fourth-place bout.
a loss to Matt Heisey.
Meditz of Oneonta in a 1: 15 fall before fallCompeting in the 157-pound division,
Tyler Ferry fell in his opening-round bout,
ing to Casey Smith ofUSMA.
Rich Sparks won his opening bout 8-7 over but advanced in the consolation bracket
Clark would come back in the consola- Mike Guenther of Scranton before falling to when teammate John Fritzch had to default
tion bracket to finish fourth with a 17-0 win Russell Bettancourt of Amly, 8-6. He would because of an injury.
over Miele before falling to Taylor Ulm of come back in the consolation bracket to deIn the 197-pound division, No. 1 seeded
York in the third-place bout. Brownrniller feat T.J. Brownell 12-1 for a third-place fin- Zach Pizarro took a 9-7 win over Tom Fitzfinished sixth in the same weight class. ish.
patrick in his opening bout before dropping
Browmiller won his opening bout 9-2 over
Wilkes had four members competing in out due to an injury. Pizarro is currently
Patrick Gibson of Muhlenberg before beat- the 165-pound division with James Histed ranked No. 8 in the NWCA rankings.
ing Justin Davy, 10-5.
taking a 17-1 win over Mike Bonomo of
The Colonels will return to action next
In the 149-pound division, Tom Andresen Scranton before taking down Matt Heisey, Saturday when they host the annual John
won his opening-round bout 8-2 over Dylan 3-2. He would eventually take fifth place Reese Invitational that will feature eight
Giandalia of York before falling to Kein, with a win over Jerry Robbins of King's. teams.

Men's Soccer
Football

Field Hockey

L 28-20 Del Val

W 1-0 King's
L 2-1 Eastern

W 2-0 Manhattanville
L Strokes @ Misericordia

Women's Soccer
W 2-1@ DeSales
L 6-0@ Eastern

Volleyball
W 3-1 King's
L 3-0 Eastern

�NOVEMBER

11, 2008

SPORTS

20

Greatest season in field hockey history may be over
Lady Colonels lose championship; team awaits bid to national tourney
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
One word to describe the end to
the 2008 Lady Colonel field hockey season: Heartbreaking.
The team won its' first ten games
of the season before losing to nationally ranked Elizabethtown.
The team posted its' best season in
the history of Wilkes field hockey,
reaching national recognition as
the 18th best team in Division III
in the process. The Lady Colonels
also defeated two-time defending
champion King's College twice in
four days last week.
Freshman goalkeeper Lindsey
Davenport won her first two collegiate starts in penalty strokes.
Senior forward Alyssa Koncelik
knocked in 14 goals and four assists for a team-high 32 points and
six game winning goals.
Entering the Freedom Conference Championship game, the
Lady Colonels only lost twice in
19 games. The ending to a memorable season: heartbreaking.
On Saturday November 8, Wilkes hosted Eastern University (146) for the title every player in the
conference hopes to walk away
with, a conference championship.
The Lady Colonels defeated Eastern earlier in the season 2-1 on the
same field; however in the game
that mattered most, the scored reversed itself and Wilkes fans were
left fighting back tears for a team
they had grown to love.
East~ forward Olivia Derr
scored the lone goal of the first
half just under seventeen minutes
into the game. The Lady Colonels
pressured throughout the first half
and despite three penalty comers,
Wilkes could not get past Eagle's

Check out Pizza Wars
in the SUB at 7 P.M.!
'Drop Dead Ken' will
be performing.

goalkeeper Laura Ressler.
The team controlled much of
the second half and freshman forward Amanda Peters was finally
able to beat Ressler just under
five minutes into the second half.
Junior midfielder Brittney Sines
was credited with an assist on the
play.
The score would not remain tied
for long however as Eastern freshman stand out Yvonne Herbster

out the season is clearly visible.
When a goal is scored against, the
players on the field huddle to regroup. Fans on the sidelines can
hear, loud and clear, the team talking to each other whether it be to
alert a player to an oncoming opponent or congratulate someone
on a job well done.
Despite a loss in the conference
championship, head coach Sara
Myers has no regrets about the

to concentrate on the good things
about this season," Myers said.
And then there is the five seniors. Kerry Battersby, Devon
McKay, Kristina Naveira, Diana
Wright and Koncelik started their
journey at Wilkes on a team that
went 9-11 their freshman season;
however each player worked hard
to improve their play and chase
their dream of a conference championship. And in their final season,

In route to the championship game the Lady Colonels defeated defending champion King's College
1-0 at Ralston Field. Number 23 Amanda Peters battles her opponent for the ball during the game on
Wednesday November 5.
chipped in an unassisted goal 30
seconds later. The goal would turn
out to be the game winner as the
Lady Colonels could not get past
Ressler again despite nine second
half penalty comers.
And the journey ended.
Watching this team on the field,
the bond that developed through-

Check out the "Behavior and Treatment
of
Schizophrenics"
lecture/seminar in the
SUB ballroom at 6
P.M.

women's play in the game.
"We worked extremely hard to
get to the championship game and
I couldn't be happier with the way
we played. We had the momentum at the start of the second half
and created some great opportunities. Unfortunately it did not go
our way this time, but we need

"Connect the Dots" presentation from former
alumni on how to make it
professionally in the SUB
from 6-8 PM. There will
be food and prizes, as
well as networking opportunities!

the women were one win away
from slipping on the glorious,
2008 Freedom Conference championship ring but the ending just
didn't go their way.
Myers could not speak any higher of those five talented and dedicated seniors.
"When I started coaching at

Come to the W-B township Barnes &amp; Noble for
a poetry reading; bring
your own too and feel
free to share! 7 P.M.

Wilkes they were freshmen and
all five have grown and developed
into impact players and great leaders. They have taken this team
and turned it into a championship
program. They have started a tradition and proved how hard work
and dedication can pay off," Myers said.
She added, "It is always hard to
say good bye to the seniors, but
they were the start of a complete
change in the program. I have
enjoyed working with them every
day for the past four years and I
hope they realize how amazing
their contribution has been to the
team."
As of press time, the Lady Colonels were waiting to find out if
they receive an at large bid to the
NCAA tournament or an invitation
to the ECAC tournament; however
despite a potential end to their season Myers could not be prouder of
a team that worked so hard.
"This years team understood
how great it can be when you
work together. Our team has
amazing talent, the upperclassmen
are hardworking and dedicated,
they demand the best out of every practice and every game. The
freshmen are extremely talented
and brought intensity and desire
into the team," she said.
Myers added, "But it was the
way they worked together that
made our season a success. You
can have the best players in the
world, but if they don't work together nothing will get accomplished. The 2008 team worked
together everyday, every practice
and every game."

Wilkes .. University's
Department of Visual
and Performing Arts
will present Rodger's
and
Hammerstein's
romantic musical "Carousel" at the Darte
Center at 8 P.M.

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                    <text>NOTO PROP 8
PAGE6

FINAL FOOTBALL WIN
PAGE 16

DIET &amp; AUTISM LECTURE
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18, 2008

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

State Albright to
deliver lecture

GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed. Editor
If walls could talk. ..
Rifkin Hall is located at 80 South River
Street. It was built in 1875, and acquired
from Arnold and Sandy Rifkin in 1989. In
its 133 year history, the massive, gothic
style mansion has endured floods, survived
community health epidemics, and urban
blight. Currentlly, Rifkin Hall houses 34
Wilkes students, one resident assistant.
But right now, Rifkin's walls are talking,
and some residence want no part of the conversation.
On November 3, sophomore business administration major, Kevin Taylor, and his
roommate placed a work order for what
they described as mold "growing out" from
underneath the paint on their wall.
After waiting two days, Taylor and his
roommate decided to take matters into their
own hands. Equipped with bleach and paper towels, they "wiped down" the surface
mold that had appeared on the wall.
Because of the mold, Taylor's roommate
was forced to move his bed to the middle of
the room as a health precaution. Mold has
been known to cause allergic reactions such
as wheezing, itchy or watery eyes, and nasal
tuffiness. In extreme circumstances, mold
can also exacerbate infections, cause asth-

YAMYFUSCO
eacon Asst. News Editor
On Wednesday, November 12, construe-

on on Wilkes-Barre's long-planned inter-

&gt;.M.

Issue 9

Students find unwanted mold in Rifkin Hall Former Sec. of
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor

The Beacon/Gino Troiani

Kevin Taylor's bedroom in Rifkin Hall was the site of mold growth discovered beneath the paint in early November. Mold releases spores into the air, which can endanger students' health. (INSERT) Mold growth on the wall of Taylor's room.
matic reactions, or deplete the immune system. Mold is common and often spurred by
dampness and heat; however, can be found
on most surfaces. But when growth goes
unchecked it can cause damage to materials
and health problems in residents.
"I feel cheated ... we pay so much money

to go here. We should at least have safe
dorms," said Taylor. According to Wilkes
University's Residence Life office, students
pay $7,180 a year to live in an apartment
style complex such as Rifkin.

See MOLD page 3

Intermodal transportation facility construction begins

1iversity's
of Visual
,ing Arts
Rodg~r',s
nerstem
;ical "Carhe Darte

Volume 61

odal transportation facility began in the
1ty's downtown.
The $25 million economic development

endeavor will consist of 752 parking spaces, an interior lobby and pick-up/drop-off
areas, and it will be home to the Luzerne
County Transportation Authority and Martz
Trailway buses. But as construction gets underway, new traffic patterns and parking restrictions are set to impact the downtown as

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes. edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5

Opinion...........6-8

well as the Wilkes University community.
Last Wednesday, the first step of the construction timeline began with the delivery
of steel, concrete and the crane. Marie McCormick, deputy city administrator for the

See INTERMODALpage 2
Lifestyles.......9-11
A&amp;E. ........... 12-15
Sports..........16-20

On Tuesday, November 18, Dr. Madeleine K. Albright will address the public
at Wilkes University's annual Outstanding
Leaders Forum.
Albright was sworn in as the 64th Secretary of State on January 23, 1997. She was
the first woman to hold that position and at
the time was the highest ranking woman in
history of the United State government. She
handed over the office in 2001 to Gen. Colin Powell, her successor. However, politicians, like President-elect Barack Obama,
continue to seek her advice with foreign
policy and economic matters.
Albright recently published her third and
most recent book, Memo to the President
Elect: How We Can Restore America 's
Reputation and Leadership. In a recent interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien,
Albright said that she gave a copy of the
book to Obama with the inscription, "With
the audacity to hope that you will find this
book useful."
Albright served as an advisor for Obama
and spent the weekend visiting foreign delegations on his behalf at President Bush's
economic summit.
"What has been so terrific is the interest of
young people in this election campaign, and
I consider it kind of my personal goal.. .to
keep young people energized on issues of
importance to the country. So I really welcome being able to come and talk to you

·w· .

See ALBRIGHT page 3

Established 1936
PA Newspaper
Association Member

..

·

�NEWS
NOVEMBER

INTERMODAL
from FRONT PAGE
City of Wilkes-Barre, explained
there will actually be a crane to
build a crane, with 11 tractor loads
of its various parts coming from
different areas of the East coast.
" We anticipate that [construction delays] will occur until the
end of March .. .If we have a bad
winter, it will go beyond March.
The estimated completion date is
June 2009," McCormick stated.
Changes in traffic patterns will
occur on South Washington Ave.
and Market Street due to delivery
trucks bringing in necessary materials, both of which are corridor
streets for downtown and for commuters to reach campus.
But McCormick explained that
a little inconvenience for some
will pay off in long-term benefits
for the community. "There are
great advantages to having all the
transportation modes in one location. It will certainly simplify the
ability for riders to find the correct bus," said McCormick. She
also explained that having a lobby
facility right where the buses are
pulling in, will give people the
comfort of air conditioning, heatifg, and seating instead of being
outside in inclement weather.
Along with a comfortable atmosphere, the lobby will be designed
with security cameras throughout
the facility to ensure greater safety
for passengers.
"It makes it easier for students
to go to one location and not have
to be wandering around wondering where their bus is . It's also going to be a lot easier for students
to park downtown to get to shopping, restaurants, banks, traveling,

and such," McCormick commented. She believes in order to keep
the momentum of the downtown
revitalization efforts going, Wilkes-Barre does need the additional
parking spaces.
The plans for an inetermodal transportation facility for the
downtown have been in the works
for years; however, delays in funding and steel availability put the

18, 2008

explained that the facility will
draw transportation services away
from an already congested Public
Square. "I'm really surprised how
rapidly Fridays and Saturdays during the school year have become
times when I have trouble finding
a parking spot. .. I think the intermodal concept works well and I'm
really glad to see they are moving
the project forward," Gilmour

CONTACT INFORMATION:
nicole.frail@wilkes.edu
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn.frear@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

going around the comers [of the
Square]," Hannon commented.
"Wilkes-Barre definitely needs
more parking, too," she added.
"It's a pain to find parking on
Public Square now, so it will be
better with the new parking garage," said GeoffHoffmann, senior
mechanical engineering major. He
also explained that offering a better, centralized location for public

Courtesy of City of Wilkes-Barre

The architectual design of the new Intermodal Transportation Center displays the outside view of it and
it will provide a safer, more comfortable atmosphere for travelers in the city of Wilkes-Barre.
project on hold while community
leaders and engineers made appropriate adjustments.
"I think the idea of the center
is to bring a better array of transportation services to the community," said Dr. Tim Gilmour,
Wilkes University president. He

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkesbeacon@gmail.com

added.
Sabrina Hannon, junior English
major, feels that Public Square has
become quite congested through
the months, too. "I know when
I'm walking, I always feel like I'm
going to get hit by one of the buses because they look so unstable

transportation will enable people
to want to utilize it more. "Public
transportation is always good, because it lowers fuel consumption;
it decreases harm to the environment and leaves a smaller carbon
footprint," Hoffman concluded.
· Paul Adams, vice president of

Editorial Staff 2008-09

2

student affairs, said the new center will "create a contemporary
and much more sophisticated hub
for the city, which has to be good
for downtown." He also explained
that it will make the downtown "a
more vital and dynamic destination [which] will be beneficial for
Wilkes students. It gives them a
more attractive, more appealing
place to go."
"It really goes hand-in-hand. If
there's somewhere to park, people
will take the chance and come
down here," said John Chaump,
store manager of Barnes &amp; Noble
College store located downtown
on Main Street. He explained
there are a lot of great things going
on downtown and the new parking
lot will be very beneficial. "It will
make the Square seem more of a
public park area than the middle
of a bus depot," added Chaump.
Gabrielle Lamb, the student development coordinator at Wilkes,
believes the centralized location
of the new facility gives advantage
to the "walk-ability factor". The
Intermodal Transportation Center "provides more parking right
in the downtown so students can
park their cars and visit the downtown merchants. " Lamb believes
that students have always had issues with parking downtown, so
the new spaces will make it more
attractive for them to visit it.
Kelly Hughes, kitchen manager at Rodano 's Pizza on Public
Square note that although most
businesses bring in customers
who are walking, she explained
that the traffic detours may even
help some businesses.
"The construction is going to be
inconvenient and hopefully the detours will bring people past here,"
Hughes commented.

.

Meet the staff...

Editor-in-Chief: Carlton Holmes
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Design Chief: Alison Woody
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
News Editor: Nicole Frail

Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Alissa Lindner &amp; Dan Kautz
Sports Editor &amp; Asst. Sports Editor

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

MOLD
from FRONT PAGE

g

a
e

n
e
e

11

n-

s
0

e

en
e

e-

r

But Taylor was not the only resident who
noticed mold growing in Rifkin Hall. Sophomore Matt Duffy lives in room 12 adjacent
to Taylor's. According to Duffy, he noticed
a "brownish" type of mold growing up the
wall next to his bathtub. "It looked like a little mushroom," he explained. He also said
that he believes that both the wall and floorboards underneath his bath tub are "rotted
out." Nonetheless, Duffy's mold problem
has not yet been addressed by facilities because he neglected to call it in.
Nine days after their original complaint,
Taylor's roommate, sophomore communications major James Rosato, received
an e-mail from Elizabeth Roveda, Wilkes
University's assistant director of residence
life. In it, Roveda wrote, "I was at an operations meeting this morning and they mentioned that you placed a work order about
your wall. They have looked at it and repaired what they could. Facilities will be
doing extensive work over the winter break.
Please let me know if you have any further
questions about the wall and the water. "
But Rosato noted, " I have no idea what

NEWS
repairs they are talking about because everything looks the same."
According to Brenda Stanley, Director
of Residence Life, on November 3, the
tenants reported not mold, but a "leak" in
their room. The following day, workers examined both the interior and exterior of the
wall, and located the problem. On November 5, workers then sealed the passage into
which water was seeping, and checked it
a few days later to make sure the problem
was fixed. Both residence life and facilities
have denied the presence of any mold.
According to Dr. Marleen Troy, Associate
Professor of Environmental Engineering at
Wilkes University, all types of mold release
"spores." Often, people will react to the
spores in a negative way, and cause allergic reactions." She also explained, "Once it
gets in there and grows ... it is very prolific
and hard to get out. It is just not a good
thing."
Stanley commented that a professional air
quality test was conducted, and everything
seemed to check out. Also, residence life has
been in contact with the tenants, and will
re-examine the room and address any problems at the convenience of the students.

ALBRIGHT
from FRONT PAGE

3
ment in a transition office getting briefed
up .. . "
Albright's lecture will be held at the F.M.
Kirby Center at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Tickets
are $20 and $IO for college students with
I.D. Corporate sponsorship packages are
also available.

all," Albright said in a recent conference
call interview that included The Beacon.
Albright's experience as Secretary of
State during the Clinton/Bush transition will
provide important expertise for the Obama
transition team. "It is a very interesting
time. I have written a lot about the transition and in many ways it's too short because
there is so much to do. Especially when it's
changing from one party to another ... And
in many ways it is too long, because the
world is, and the American public is, often
ready for a new president. So it is kind of an en
C:
0
awkward time - frankly," she said.
~
t)
Albright added, "This you will hear re- ·c
:::,
peated over and over again-and President- E
elect Obama has said it- there is only one E
0
president at a time. Also, there is only one 0
Cl
Secretary of State at a time. And the im- C:
:-'2
L.
portant thing is that the current Secretary C\l
~
of State has to work up to the last minute.
I know in my own case I actually worked 0&gt;,
until noon of January 20, 2001, and so you en
~
have the responsibility of carrying on the :::,
0
active diplomacy of the United States and 0
0
at the same time the designated Secretary of 0
.c
State .. . is already sitting in the State Depart- 0...

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

NEWS

4

Beacon survey indicates studen~
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon News Editor
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Managing Editor
On Sunday, November 9 at 6:45 p.m., freshman Matthew Manganiello was walking from
Sul Iivan Hall to the Marts Center for wrestling
practice. Listening to his MP3 player, he cut
through the block by taking Diver Lane next
to Passan Hall. Looking up, he saw two males
looking his direction. One of them spoke to
the other and pulled a ski mask over his face.
The other pulled his hat over his eyes. The
two males then approached Manganiello and
searched him for valuables. One of the men
reached into the pocket of his jacket and took
his wallet while the other grabbed the MP3
player from his hand. According to Manganiello, the two men then turned quickly and
continued walking down Franklin Street.
"As long as I was on campus ... ~ thought I
was pretty safe," said Manganiello.
Last week, The

Beacon conducted a survey among the
student body at Wilkes University to determine the degree to which students perceived they are safe in and around campus.
One hundred surveys, evenly split across
gender among respondents, offered some
insights into a cross-section of student attitudes about personal safety. Overall, the
survey found that students perceive themselves to be "pretty safe" with some exceptions.
Sixty-six students out of 100 surveyed
said that they feel safe when walking on
campus at night. Ninety-six also said that
they feel safe when walking on campus
during the day. However, even with the
students' perceived safety on campus, 53
percent believe that crime in Wilkes-Barre
is on the rise.
Gerald Dessoye, Wilkes-Barre Police
Chief, said that one of the reasons students
believe crime is on the rise is because bf
what they perceive to be a crirue."What
someone might view as a crime, unless
you are an actual crime victim, is subjective. There is a lot of things that may
look like a crime when it actually is not
a crime," he said.
According to Dr. Paul Adams, Vtce
President for Student Affairs, "There
have been some high-profile incidents in the city of late that recejved a lot of media attention and
I think that can certainly influence students' perceptions of the
environment."
According to the
yearly repo1t of
crime
statistics compiled by the Wilkes University Offl,ce of Public
Safety, the number of total violent crimes including rapes/sex ual assaults, robberies, assaults,
burglaries and vehicle thefts
have increased slightly over the
past three years from one vehcile theft in 2005 to 10 reported
crimes in 2007. In 2007, there
were four reported rapes/sexual
assaults, one robbery, one assault, three burglaries, and one
vehicle theft.
However, Dessoye cautions
community members not look at
crime rates from year to year. "You
need to look at half a decade or a
decade. You need to look at large
groups, and then you need to look at

what the specific types of crimes are. A Jot of safe," he said.
crime is police generated. Ninety-nine perHowever, Adams, Rebo and Dessoye
cent of your drug reported crimes are based all hailed the relationship Wilkes has
on an arrest by a police officer. If we don't do with the city.
our job, we, in theory, can have a very low
"We have a very open relationship
rate. If I don't want to show . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
60 = = ~ ~ - ~ ~ = ~ , - . . ~ =,,..,,,.....,...- - --i
drug crimes, we don't arrest
ey
druggies," said Dessoye.
1 - Strongly Agree
Adams says the results of so - ~ ~ - - gree
The Beacon's safety percep3 - Indifferent
tion survey were not surpris- 40 _,___..,.,_.~--ing and that the school works
5 • StfonglyDisagree
to make its students feel safe.
"Part of the reason we es- 3o
tablished the greenway was
to make people feel that they 20 - - - - - - - - had a safe pathway th.rough
the middle of the campus. I
mean, that is part of what [the 10
greenway] is all about, to
create a pathway that's pro- 0
tected. It's well traveled, it's
lighted, and it's off the city Statement 1:
streets. They are all things I feel safe while walking on campus at night.
that enter into creating that feeling of secu- with Wilkes security, and not the slightrity;' said Adams.
est of the reasons .is that Jerry Rebo is
Jerry Rebo, Manager ofPublic Safety, said a former Wilkes-Barre police officer.
one of events held to increase safety around So there is quite a bit of exchange of
campus is a "light walk." Members of Pub- information between the departments,
lie Safety, Residence Life, Student Govern- and certainly I think that enhances our
ment and other student leaders accompany ability to do that," saidDessoye.
Rebo on these walks once a school year.
According to Rebo, "We have [public
"What we do is look for not just issues in safetyJ officers on the weekends that
public safety, which is one of the factors, but work Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m.
we look for safety issues.. . ....--------Jlll.....?.....lli..w.....i.w.i......n.1.....ulU!.lt....ll....L!i:.w.ul,!.l,,l.i.1.1.L4
hazards, bushes over- so ,,__ _,,,,_,,,,__...,,,.,,,,.,.,,,,__~=""""'--""""'-----i
grown, lights out, doors
that are not secure ... We 70 +-----------~~-------'.-g_r_e_e_.....i
look at the campus as a
2whole to be safe as its own 60
3 - Indifferent
entity," he said.
4-Disa ree
50
Rebo also added that all
5 - Strongly Disagree
Public Safety officers go 40
through a two-day school
at Lackawanna Comruu- 30
nity College and in-house
trainings on how officers 20
should conduct themselves in specific, critical 1o
situations.
Adams admitted that the o
2
3
4
5
job of making students -S-ta-t-em_e_~-t2-:- -- - - -- - - -- - - -__.
feel safe is not made any
easier by Wilkes's loca- I feel safe when walking on campus during
the day.
tion in the city.
give us all the support we need ... like
"We're located in a
on
Ross Street. . . they rused to] come
neighborhood adjacent to the downtown, so
down
there, send some cruisers down
the campus is a through-fare for the comthere." Ross Street is the location for
munity. I. think that becomes a particular
many off campus apartments.
challenge for us when it comes to helping
Though the numbers show that the
people feel safe and assuring that they are
crime rate in Wilkes-Barre is not on

+---------

Ke

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

NEWS

5

perceptions of campus safety varied
Plus on Academy Street.
Even though individuals may have specific experiences on occasion, Adams, Dessoye and Rebo are
peased with the progress the city has made over the
years.
Thomas Leighton, Mayor of Wilkes-Barre, said
that he was pleased with the results of The Beacon's
survey.
"Overall, I am pleased with the results of the survey; however, we will certainly continue work to
make improvements in these areas. The city's number one priority has always been to increase public
safety and I believe that we have been successful in
this effort. For example, additional police officers
now patrol the area surrounding Wilkes University
as a result of the Business
Improvement
Key
District
(BID). We
1 - Stron I
ree
35
will continue to work
with Wilkes' Office
of Public Safety and
30
university administration to ensure that the
25 - t - - - - - - - campus and downtown as a whole is a
20 +------safe environment for
those who work, live
and learn in Wilkes15
Barre," said Leighton.
Rebo was not as
10
pleased. He expressed
concern over the num5
ber of students who
marked "indifferent"
for their answers. He
0
said,
"Being indiffer2
3
4
5
ent to crime is not the
Statement 10:
answer."
I feel that crime in Wilkes-Barre is on the rise.
Responding to the
statement, "I feel
that Wilkes UniverKey
sity is proactive in
1-Stron I A ree
35
its approach to crime
2-Agree
around campus," 27
3 - Indifferent
percent
responded
30
- 1sagree
'indifferent.' To the
5 - Strongly Disagree
question of whether
25
they think crime in
Wilkes-Barre is on
20
the rise, 38 percent
marked 'indifferent.'
15
Dessoye said the
numbers do not shock
him.
10
"That's the way it
was, it's the way I was
5
in college ... I went to
King's, which has the
0
same challenges, and
2
3
4
5
you know, I never
even gave
Statement 5:
a thought
IfI am in trouble I can rely on Wilkes's Public Safety to help me.

the rise, students at Wilkes do occasionally
witness or experience various crimes or illegal
activities as they walk the city streets and often
opt not to report.
"I know people who ha'-"'e been propositioned
and solicited in the area near University Towers and South Washington Street," said Kristen
Klimchak, p2 phannacy student.
''I have been solicited for drugs on multiple
occasions on and off campus,"
agreed Frank Kopyta, junior computer science and intergrated media double major.
Tim Sullivan, senior business major, even
claimed to have had a gun pulled on him at A-

+--------

-t--------

to my safety. I was a young college kid. Some of the situations
that I put myself in by intention
were more dangerous than any- Q: I feel safe walking on campus at night.
thing that I would ever imagine - Males: Strongly Agree/Agree= 41
that could happen at college and - Females: Strongly Agree/Agree= 25
I think most kids are that way,"
said Dessoye.
: I feel safe walking off campus at night.
- Males: Strongly Disagree/Disagree = 13
However, Rebo said that Public - Females: Strongly Disagree/Disagree = 35
Safety is willing to offer programs
to students to educate them about Q: Ifl am in trouble, I can rely on
many different aspects of safety
ilkes's Public Safety to help me.
on and around campus.
- Males: Indifferent= 8
"I know we had the identity - Females: Indifferent= 19
theft program... sexual assault,
alcohol and drugs, the safety pro: Ifl am in trouble, I can rely on the
gram that shows a little bit of hand
ilkes-Barre Police to help me.
to hand [combat] so to speak, and - Males: Indifferent= 13
talks about crime prevention,"
Females: Indifferent= 24
said Rebo. "I wish I could just
pick them up and say you know,
: I feel that crime in Wilkes-Barre is on
even though academics are so im- he rise.
portant, so is your safety."
- Males: Strongly Agree/Agree= 26
Thomas Messinger, Executive
Indifferent = 19
Director of Campus Support SerStrongly Disagree/Disagree = 6
vices, and Rebo agreed that there - Females: Strongly Agree/Agree= 27
are several things students can
Indifferent= 19
do to try and keep safe: walk in
Strongly Disagree/Disagree = 3
groups, stay in well lit areas, use
Wilkes's safe ride service, don't
be distracted by music players,
don't display valuables, and do
not walk while intoxicated.
Dessoye added, "I do think both
schools [Wilkes and King's] have
good security departments and I
think they're doing what I would
expect if I sent my children to
either of those schools ... but I do
think that students could use a
little more common sense."
Manganiello said he has learned
from his experience, " ... always
walk in groups no matter how
short the distance seems to be."
Editor's Note:
After hearing complaints from
Wilkes University students regarding crime in the area, The
Beacon initiated an investigation
into the student body's perception
of safety on and off campus. Onehundred surveys based on a five
answer Likert scale were distributed to students passing through
the Henry Student Center on
Tuesday, November 11. The Beacon analyzed the results of the
surveys and spoke to school and
city officials.

Gender Comparison

�Novet

The facts on
Obama
Page&amp;

0 12t!!i.~!l

CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
lauren.salem@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Repeal Proposition 8: Anti-gay legislation has
no place in progressive Ainerican society
BY THE BEACON
EDITORIAL BOARD

Since November 4, pundits have
hailed Barack Obama 's election as
an "historic step forward" for race
relations in America. But while
some barriers began to crumble
this month, others inexplicably
were fortified. The passage of
Proposition 8 in California, along
with similar efforts in Arizona,
Florida and Arkansas, saw civil
rights for gay and lesbian couples
evaporate like smoke.
But same-sex marriage supporters in California are not giving up.
In San Diego, as many as 10,000
people protested the passage of
Proposition 8, a law that repeals a
state Supreme Court ruling in May
that recognized the right of gay
and lesbian couples to marry.
About 1,000 gay marriage supporters protested outside a Mormon temple on November 6,
bringing the afternoon traffic on
Santa Monica Boulevard in Los
Angeles to a halt. According to
Associated Press reports, hundreds of p~ple also gathered on
the steps of San Francisco 's City
Hall, holding candles and signs
that read, "We all deserve the freedom to marry."
"Barack Obama is our new president. Here we just had a giant
step toward equality and then on
the very next day, we took a giant
step away. I was saddened beyond
belief," wrote talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, n a blog on November 6 titled, "My thoughts on
this historic election." DeGeneres
recently married actress, Portia de
Rossi.
Californians passed the measure
52.5 percent to 47.5 percent while
Arizona and Florida also passed
similar measures banning samesex marriage or even civil unions,

according to a November 7 article
by CNN. Just as shocking, Arkansas passed a measure prohibiting
same sex couples from adopting
or serving as foster parents. So,
to the Arkansans who passed this
measure, it is better to leave children in state institutions than to be
placed in safe and loving homes?
Where is the
logic?

To the voters in
these states, we ask a two-part
question: How is it possible to
legislate love, and why would we
want to?
The Beacon advocates overturning any law that prohibits samesex marriage for the simple reason that everyone should have the
right to happiness by being able
to marry whomever they want regardless of gender, race, or sexual
orientation. According to CNN,
in May 2008, the California Supreme Court eliminated the ban on
same-sex marriage because these
factors do "not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or
withhold legal rights."
The American Civil Liberties
Union, Lambda Legal, and the Na-

tional Center for Lesbian Rights legally recognized because
said in a written statement filed they were considered property.
with the high court that the ballot "Their marriage vows were difinitiative process "was improperly ferent: not until death do you
used in an attempt to undo the part, but until death or distance
Constitution's core commitment do you part," said Olbermann.
History apparently teaches
to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from us little. With the recent votes,
just one group: lesbians and gay countless men and women face
Californians."
what ancestors throughout hisDirecting an emotion- tory have faced, a denial of
al appeal to those a relationship sanctioned by
who voted for the state, all thanks to bigotry.
Proposition 8 Cardinal Roger Mahony, archin California, bishop of the Diocese of Los
MSNBC Angeles, said to CNN, "Propocommenta- sition 8 is not against any group
tor Keith in our society. Its sole focus is
Olber- on preserving God's plan for
mann ar- people living upon this earth
gued that throughout time." Not against
commit - any group? Excuse us?
ment
to
We contend that Mahony's
marriage position is morally wrong, and
can never be should be illegal. Legislating
a bad thing. love is not possible. Gay and
"These people lesbian couples pay taxes, serve
over here want the their communities, own propersame chance at perma- ty, and offer themselves as hard
nence and happiness that working contributors to society.
is your option...They don 't want To deny their right to marriage
to deny you yours. They don't is no different from the bigotry
want to take anything away from African Americans in our counyou. They want what you want, try faced when the same sorts
a chance to be a little less alone of limitations on freedom were
in the world. Only now you are exacted against them. Most
saying, 'No, you can 't have it on Americans look back on the
laws that prohibited interracial
these terms .'"
Efforts to legislate marriage as marriage as barbaric and back"a union between a man and a wards. How can we not think
woman" purposefully limits such the same of Proposition 8 and
unions to heterosexual . couples. its ilk?
But the meaning of marriage has
All people no matter race,
changed several times throughout creed, or sexual preference,
history. Olbermann pointed out should be allowed to exchange
that just over 40 years ago, it was marriage vows . We support all
illegal for blacks to marry whites efforts to overturn Proposition
in 16 states. The Supreme Court 8 and the anti-gay legislation
overturned that ruling on June 12, passed in Arizona, Florida and
1967. During the time of slavery, Arkansas.
marriage between slaves was not

Wesuppon
all efforts
toovenurn
Proposition 8.

Mariagehas
constantlv
been re-defined
throughout
historv.

BYTIMSl
Staff Writer

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�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Why Illodern parodies are a waste
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Staff Writer
There are no words that can aptly describe
the quality of the work of the Wayans brothers.
Oh wait, yeah there are: mrocious, dreadful, repulsive, abhorrent, heinous, terrible.
Allow me to back up a bit.
Recently, I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie, Dance Flick, which is the latest
in a string of movies designed to parody a
specific sub-genre of film. Obviously, this
movie is a spoof on the recent (admittedly
dull) trend of dance movies, including Step
Up, You Got Served, and Save the Last
Dance.
So, what's worse than a bunch of poorly
made movies about dancing?
The Bush Administration? Not what we
were looking for.
Madonna's forearms? They're plenty
gross, but not the answer here.
King's College? HA! Close, but incorrect.
Get a real mascot.
All fine answers, but the only thing worse
than a bunch of bad dance movies is one
movie that combines them for the sake of
parody.
Oh, did I mention it was written and directed by the Wayans brothers? Because it
IS.

That's right, the Wayans. The same guys
who brought us such recent abominations
as White Chicks and Little Man.
Now they are tackling the dance subgenre, which, let's face facts, is ripe for a
good spoofing. At the risk of upsetting a
handful of people that hang out in the Darte
Center, I honestly thought that Step Up (and

its riveting sequel, Step Up 2 The Streets) tively on RottenTomatoes.com, which is
were comedies. I didn't think for a moment about as good as a barometer as any. For
that they were actual attempts to make a se- a point of reference, M. Night Shyamalan's
rious movie. Really, think about it: Two peo- Lady in the Water received a 24%. I would
ple from opposite sides of the tracks form a have used The Happening, but unfortunatebond through the majesty of dance. Really? ly, there wasn't a number low enough.
That's the best you can come up with? Oh, I
But the Wayans and their movies aren't
forgot, one 's a ballet dancer and the other is the only example of bad comedies, just look
a street dancer or something. Which means at the recent "[Insert Genre Here] Movie",
they are going to clash at first, but in the including Epic Movie, Superhero Movie,
end, they use their collective dancing skills Date Movie, and etc.
to fall in love and win the big dance contest
The problem with these movies (besides
at the end of the movie.
the writer, director and actors) is that every
In other words, those movies are a joke, one of their jokes was derived from a setup
and not in a good way. I mean they are a or a character that occurred in another movjoke in the same way that income taxes are ie. That concept does not fare well over 90
a joke.
minutes, and furthermore, those jokes
A good writer and director
could probably make a decent
f
l
S C R
comedy out of dance movies,
but the problem is, the Wayans are not that good. They
have a worse batting average
with comedies than Henry the
\
VIII had with wives.
But really, if the Wayans are
behind this, then I surmise that
it cannot possibly be funny.
But Tim, shouldn't you give
it a chance? No, I shouldn't,
because the past is a good indicator of the future as any,
and recent history has told us
that the Wayans must have
done someone a favor, because they still get the chance
to make movies.
do not hold up well over time.
I need to look no further than the aforeA perfect example is the 300-spoof Meet
mentioned White Chicks and Little Man, the Spartans. There is one scene when a
which scored a solid 15% and 13%, respec- bald-headed Britney Spears is kicked down

i---'--=-

a deep well ala-300. That was mildly amusing at the time, but in ten years, is anyone
going to get that joke? Sure, you remember that Britney went crazy and shaved her
head, but the fleeting nature of the joke is
gone almost immediately after you see it.
If you want a good example for how to
make a goof parody, look no further than
The Naked Gun or Airplane. They managed
to spoof other movies, but they refrained
from using specific jokes from other movies. Hence, Airplane and The Naked Gun
are still funny in 2008.
Listen, filmmakers, there are a thousand
ideas out there that will put your crappy
movies to shame, so why don't you do us
all a favor and try a little harder?
You are single-handedly making the American people stupid
by cranking out these thi~s
that you call "comedies." Honestly, there should be some sort
of rule that prevents these movies from being released every
year unless the previous movie
was of half-decent quality. For
every good comedy out, there
are 100 bad comedies like
Good Luck Chuck.
Hey, American public: Stop
throwing your money at these
movies. It only encourages
them to make more of the same,
and in about 20 years, movies
are going to be nothing more
than 90 minutes of Napolean
Dynamite impressions and jokes
about poop.

YOURI\CllS
Dear Beacon Editor,
As the holidays are approaching, it is apparent that Wilkes is in the giving spirit.
You look around and you see all the boxes
that have been distributed throughout campus for various drives.
Zebra Communications and the Com 302
Public Relations class are holding various
fundraisers and events to help the Salvation
Army in their efforts to provide a happy holiday season to local families in need. Many
may be unaware but the truth is, those who
are receiving aid are whole families, many
with two working parents. There seems to
be a large misconception that those who receive aid are indolent, unreliable people who

do not make an effort. But that is a fallacy.
Most of the people receiving aid from the
Salvation Army are diligent people who
have simply had a case of
bad luck. Personally, I feel
compelled to help the Salvation Army in their efforts
to aid the Wilkes-Barre
community and I know
many of my classmates
feel the same way. Therefore, I am inviting you to
help our cause as well.
From November 17-25, we
will be hosting a variety of fundraisers. This year aside from the Kettle
Drive, which I'm sure you are all familiar

with as you hear the ringing of the bell,
we will be challenging the campus to join
in our Red Cup Campaign. The Red Cup
Campaign is a way for everyone to gather their loose
change from their pockets
and/or purses and put it in a
red cup to later drop off at
the kettle in the lobby of
the Sub. You can also help
with the Angel Tree Campaign.
The Angel Tree Donation is a wonderful opportunity to give a gift to the children
of Wilkes-Barre. Instead of decorating a
tree with traditional ornaments, we will be

adorning our tree with names, ages and desired gifts for 40 children of the local area. It
is a great opportunity to help make a child's
holiday special.
We understand this is a rough time financially for most students. However, we are
inviting you to help make a child's holiday
season a great one.
All it takes is some change.
Thank you and have a wonderful holiday
season,
Valerie J. Martinez
Senior communications and political science maJor

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

OPINION

Beacon Poll Results

Barack Oba01a: Discerning fact fro01 fiction
com found his driver 's license and ham Clinton (D-NY) stood with
property
records to support this in- their hands over their hearts while
Beacon Correspondent
formation.
Obama 's hands were clasped beNow that Barack Obama has
Myth 3. When Obama was low his waist. Obviously the picwon the presidency, I think it's sworn into office, he did not use ture was just taken at the wrong
time that we clear the air about the Holy Bible, but instead the time. Even the caption actually
some myths circulated during Koran.
reads Obama and others, "stand
the 22-month race to the White
Fact: This anonymous e-mail during the national anthem."
House. The television, radio and circulated in December 2007 afMyth 6. Accused domestic terinternet ads have been absolutely ter Obama took the oath of office rorist Bill Ayers and Obama ran
overwhelming in this year 's presi- for the U.S. Senate. It reads that a radical education foundation
dential election and it's often dif- Obama used the "Kuran" [sic] for together.
ficult to differentiate what is true his oath of office instead of the
Fact: John McCain made this
and what is a "pants-on-fire" lie.
Holy Bible. Obama is a Christian. statement in a web advertisement
PolitiFact.com, run and operated This e-mail is pants-on-fire wrong. in October 2008. Obama did serve
by the St. Petersburg Times and Dick Cheney administered the
on the volunteer board of
Congressional Quarterly, offers swearing in of office. Cheney
an education reform orAmerican citizens exactly what confirmed in two press reports
ganization on which
they want: the truth. Journalists with the Obama campaign
Ayers was a founding
and researchers analyze debates, that it was Obama's own Bimember. Obama was
campaign ads, speeches, and pretty ble that was used.
the chair on the board
much anything else that comes out
for the first four years
Myth 4. Obama is responof the candidates' mouths. Their sible for rising gas prices.
but an execuratings go from true to pants-ontive director
Fact: A television ad
fire, which I'm sure we can agree by Senator John Mcdealt with
is a bald-faced lie.
day-to-day
Cain's campaign acPresident-elect Barack Obama cused Obama solely
.,. functions .
was a huge target not just for the for the rising prices
T h e
McCain campaign, but the media, at the pump. The ad
foundation
bloggers and chain e-mails as well. claimed that Obama
was actualSince Obama has prevailed in the opposes new drillly founded
polls, we should clear up some of ing off the coasts,
by a Rethe most egregious myths . Here 's not drilling in the
publican
a list of a few things that were said U.S. and emphabusiness
about his campaign:
leader, Ansized, "Gas prices:
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
Myth 1. Barack Obama "re- Four dollars, five
nenberg.
;ects eve,yone white, including his dollars, no end in sight. ..
There have
mot~r and grandparents. "
because some in Washington are been many prominent figures servFact:Jerome R. Corsi started still saying no to drilling in Amer- ing on the board just like Obama.
this myth in August of '08, in his ica." The ad continued, "Who can And Ayer's involvement in the
book The Obama Nation. Actually you thank for rising prices at the group does not make it radical. He
Corsi 's statement is a misreading pump? O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!" This is currently a University of Illinois
from Obama's memoir, Dreams ad implied that since Obama sup- professor.
{,-om my Father. Obama said that ports the ban on new offshore
Myth 7. Obama "has no exhe felt disconnected from his black drilling, he has actually raised the perience or background at all in
friends when they would bring gas prices himself. This bill dates national security affairs. "
up the issue of race. In Obama 's back to 1982 and although it has
Fact: In response to Obama's
book, he talks about how close he been voted in favor of every year proposal to leave a "strike force"
is with his grandparents and moth- since, Obama has only served in of U .S. in the Middle East after
er and also how he has maintained the Senate for two years.
troops withdraw from Iraq, Mc"positive relations" with his white
Myth 5. Obama refused to re- Cain said he had no experience
relatives. His relatives visited him cite and put his hand on his heart dealing with national security.
in college and were present when during the Pledge ofAllegiance.
Obama helped write an exemption
he wed Michelle Robinson.
to
the 1954 Atomic Energy Act.
Fact: A chain e-mail circulatMyth 2. His true name is Barak ing in November 2008 stated that This allowed the United States to
Hussein Muhammed Obama.
Obama is unpatriotic in a photo- export civilian nuclear power techFact: After Politifact.com did graph taken by Time magazine nology to India. He also toured
some research, reporters were because he did not have his hand a weapons destruction facility in
able to find Obama's marriage over his heart. The picture was Ukraine with then-Senate Foreign
certificate and birth certificate. On taken during the "Star-Spangled Relations Chairman Richard G.
both of the official documents, his Banner," not the Pledge of Alle- Lugar. They worked together to
name is listed as Barack Hussein giance. Governor Bill Richardson triple spending for programs to
Obama, Jr. Journalists at Politifact. (D-N.Mex) and Sen. Hillary Rod- oppose the spread of conventional
BY JACKI LUKAS

weapons . He also participated in a
national security debated, which
argued against the decision to
move operations at Rock Island
Arsenal to Texas.
Myth 8. Obama "suggested
bombing Pakistan. "
Fact: McCain made this comment in February 2008 about
Obama saying that he suggests
bombing Pakistan. McCain told
this to the media, "My statement
that I made at my speech was that
he suggested bombing Pakistan
without their permission." Obama
actually said, "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value
terrorist targets and President
Musharrafwon't act, we will."
Myth 9. Barack Obama has
"pledged to reduce the size of the
military. "
Fact: Jerome R. Corsi attacked
Obama for being a political extremist in August 2008. Obama
actually wants to expand the size
of the military. Obama supports
plans to increase the size of the
Army by 65,000 soldiers and the
Marines by 27,000 troops.
Myth 10.
"Obama 's Ten
Point Plan to Change The Second
Amendment .. . Ban the manufacture, sale and possession of hand
guns.
Fact: The National Rifle Association (NRA) sent a direct-mail
piece to its members stating that
Obama wants to reform gunownership rules in August 2008.
"I have never favored an all-out
ban on handguns," said Obama
in April 2008. Obama also had
many opportunities to present a
ban on handguns as a U.S. Senator
and has never done it. The NRA's
claim is false.
I strongly encourage everyone
to look beyond the surface when
they receive chain e-mails regarding Obama's background and core
beliefs. Uncover the truth. We
have witnessed what is categorized as of the dirtiest campaigns
in history, and it is time that we
clear up any false statements that
could be potentially damaging to
our new president.

The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon coducted
online this past week. The
poll was unscientific, and does
not claim to reflect the overal
attitudes of students on
campus.

The Beacon asked:
Do you support drilling for
natural gas in NEPA?
• Yes-67%
• No - 33%
• Undecided - 0%

Next Week~· question:
Should proposition 8 be
overturned?
• Yes
•No
• Undecided
Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published.
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

It's Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

J

]

�Energy alternatives
PAGE 11

d
is

li ostylJos
NOVEMBER

18, 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa. sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

g

Renowned author links diet to child autisnt treat01ent
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

:

'
•

Dr. Lisa Lewis pointed to the slide behind
her on the wall. It listed a variety of symptoms, including communication deficiencies, self-absorption, bizarre preoccupations, rocking or repetitive movements, and
laughing or giggling at inappropriate times.
"Does anyone know what these are symptoms of?" she asked her audience.
"Autism!" the audience shouted out.
Comprised mainly of relatives and parents
ofautistic children, the audience was all-too
familiar with the behavioral signs of autism
spectrum disorder.
"Actually, I got these symptoms from a
book on drug addiction," said Lewis.
According to the opioid excess theory, behaviors manifested in autistic children are
not unlike those exhibited by drug addicts,
and some researchers like Lewis are interested in finding out why.
Lewis, who received her doctorate in biological anthropology, came to Wilkes on
November 11 to offer a lecture cosponsored
by the NeuroSensory Center of Eastern
Pennsylvania on the effects of diet on autism. She spoke about how the breakdown
of certain foods in autistic children can
lead to drug-like reactions. Following her
lecture, Lewis remained for a question and
answer session during which parents with
autistic children asked for advice in implementing a changed diet.
"Parents could take from Dr. Lewis'
lecture

a sense of hope and a sense of control," said fusing them," she
Dr. Robert Bohlander, Wilkes professor of said. "There was a
psychology, who is also affiliated with the noticeable language
NeuroSensory Center. "So many times, par- increase."
ents with children on the autism spectrum
Lewis says that
are told there is no way to recover their adopting a glutenchildren, and certainly no 'cure.' Dietary free, casein-free diet
changes, such as switching to a gluten-free, can reduce many of
casein-free diet offer a way to improve the the typical effects
of autism, which inquality of life for some autistic children."
A noted author and lecturer, Lewis has clude language difwritten numerous books on the effects of ficulties, ability to
diet on autism, most recently "Special Diets focus, eye contact
for Special Kids."
avoidance, aggresLewis questions the relationship between sion, and sleep isfood proteins gluten and casein and the sues. Additionally,
~
typical manifestations of autism in chil- this type of diet
' The Beacon/Jenna
ns
dren. In her work and lectures, she explains can relieve gastro- Dr. Lisa Lewis, center, took time to sign copies of her book and
the opioid excess theory, which holds that intestinal problems, chat with audience members following her lecture.
gluten, which is found in wheat, oats, and which afflict a high
rye products, and casein, which is found in percentage of autistic children.
will eat foods of only one type, color, or
dairy products, can cause or magnify auKerry Sorber, of Shickshinny, attended consistency, and are fussy about the smells,
tistic behaviors when they are not digested the lecture with the intention of learning temperatures, and textures.
properly.
what foods would help her six-year-old son,
"Many times, it's a short list, sometimes
"If we remove the sources of the opiates, Mason, with his digestive problems. As a only three to five foods," Lewis said. "And
the gluten and the casein proteins, we can toddler, Mason was diagnosed with atten- usually, the list is appalling."
reduce or eliminate autistic behaviors," she tion deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
According to Lewis, poor food choices
said.
and high-functioning Asperger's syndrome, include highly processed food , those which
In the early 1990s, Lewis implemented an autism spectrum disorder.
are high in sugars and starches, and fried
a gluten-free, casein-free diet for her son
"I knew there was something just not right and fatty choices.
Sam, who was diagnosed with autism. She with him, and I kept telling my pediatrician
Sorber's son Mason eats these kinds of
was stunned by the noticeable changes in that," she said. "I just kept pushing and food on a regular basis. He eats only a small
five-year-old Sam after fine-tuning his diet. pushing, and finally he sent Mason to a gas- variety of food, including fried fish, chicken
"When I took gluten
trointestinal specialist."
nuggets, rice soup, and broccoli. He smothMason was given medication to aid his ers almost all his food in either ketchup or
out of his diet, his
pronouns got better,
digestive disorders, which Sorber says are barbeque sauce.
he stopped con"still a big problem." Eager to take her son
However, Sorber calls Lewis' lecture
off the medication, Sorber is now looking to "very insightful ," and intends to adopt the
try to offer her son treatment in the form of gluten-free, casein-free diet in her own
a gluten-free, casein-free diet. However, home.
she knows the transition won't be easy.
"I'm going to try to use more fresh stuff,
"He's very picky about the food he like chicken and vegetables," she said. "Maeats," she said. "It's hard to get him to son's picky about the texture of his food, so
try different foods. " I'm going to take a look through the cookOne of the diffi- book and see what I can make for him. "
culties of adopting
While Lewis strongly believes in the bensuch a strict diet for efits of a gluten-free, casein-free diet, she
autistic children is warns that it is not a cookie-cutter approach.
their insistence upon No therapy will help every child with an auroutine.
Accord- tism spectrum disorder in the same way.
ing to Lewis, many
"I think this is for everyone," she said. "If
autistic children are you don't do it, you still have to improve
"self-limiters" re- the quality of your family's diet, cut out all
garding the food the junk and sugar."
thev will eat. Manv

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10
NOVEMBER 18, 2008
LIFESTYLES
Center for Continued Learning opens eyes to schizophrenia
deficit in normal brain function.
Soprano also spoke about the common
myths associated with schizophrenia.
"Most people think that people with
schizophrenia have split personalities.
While the word itself means of having two
minds. This is not the case at all. People
with schizophrenia suffer from brain deficiencies that cause their thought patterns to
be unusual," said Soprano. "Many people
also believe that schizophrenics are dangerous and violent, which is not accurate either."
After Soprano discussed the symptoms
of schizophrenia, Dr. Krina Patel from the
Nesbitt School of Pharmacy lectured the
pharmacists and nurses about the pharmacological medications that are used to treat
the disease.
There are two forms of treatment for
schizophrenics, first and second generation
antipsychotics The most common medications for the disease are Clozapine, Olanzapine, Ziprasidone, Risperidone, and Quetiapine.
"It was interesting and informative," said
Elaine Blondek, a pharmacist at Moses

BY MATTHEW GOGAS
Beacon Staff Writer
The National Institute of Mental Health
defines schizophrenia as a chronic, severe,
and disabling brain disorder that affects
about 1.1 percent of the U.S. population
ages 18 and older in a given year. Most
people suffering from the schizophrenia
are diagnosed in their early teens to late
20s. According to statistics, only 25 percent of those diagnosed with schizophrenia
will recover from the disease.
As part of a lecture series for continued
learning credits for practicing nurses and
pharmacists, the Center for Continued
Leaming at Wilkes University sponsored
a seminar on Wednesday, November 12,
in the Henry Student Center Grand Ballroom.
Cherie Ann Soprano, assistant professor
of nursing, began the lecture by discussing
the various forms of schizophrenia and the
positive and negative symptoms associated with the disease. Positive symptoms
are the treatable symptoms, while negative
symptoms describe absence of thought or a

Taylor Hospital in Scranton.
Blondek attended the seminar
to receive continued learning
credits towards
accreditation for
license renewal.
"Being a pharmacist, I was
most interested
in learning about
the new treatments of schizophrenia, which
Dr. Patel talked
about in detail."
Assistant DiThe Beacon/Lauren Biernacki
rector of the
Center for Con- Roundtable discussions about medications and treatments began
tinued Leaming, during the lecture on schizophrenia in the Henry Student Center
Margaret Petty, Ballroom.
supports Wilkes for sponsoring a lecture
gram on it. In fact, some of the people indion schizophrenia. "Because so many peocated when they registered that they work
ple requested schizophrenia as a topic, I
directly with these patients," said Petty.
think there was a real need to have a pro-

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�11

Wilkes students present alternative energy research
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor
In the 1970s, oil shortages generated a
push for alternative fuel sour~es, and again
in the early 1990s due to environmental concerns. Today, nations worldwide are striving to harness renewable energy sources to
both cut costs, and improve environmental
conditions
Wilkes University's Money Matters club,
led by four students, gathered at the Wilkes/
King's Barnes &amp; Noble to offer a presentation on the economics of alternative energy.
The presenters included: freshmen pharmacy majors Andrew Trout, Willie Eggleston;,
and freshman environmental engineering
majors, Ben Lockwood and Wayne Cocciola.
Trout kicked off the presentation by categorizing fuel sources as either renewable-like solar, wind, biofuel, and hydropower- or nonrenewable- like coal, oil,
and natural gas.
Each of the four hosts took turns explaining how the different sources worked, and
why further development should be pursued
in the future.

Eggleston explained that the "problem"
with fossil fuels is that prices often fluctuate, they are vulnerable to politics, and
they are running out quicker than most
realize. If precautions are not taken in the
near future, many nations will find themselves in a scramble to cultivate renewable
energy sources.
Solar energy is a viable resource that
holds enormous potential for the future,
explained Lockwood. Solar energy is
practical because it is highly reliable, requires little maintenance, and has virtually
no impact on the environment. In addition,
it is relatively inexpensive.
The next resource the team tackled was
wind energy, which combines giant turbines and ,----- - ~+.. ...:pn
wind curto generate electricity.
It is also
one of the
fastest

iS

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Conveniently located in
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growing energies in the country. According to the team's research, wind electricity
is currently generated in 35 different states.
The American Wind Energy association
predicts that, "American wind farms will
generate an estimated 49 billion kilowatthours (kWh) of wind energy in 2008, just
over 1.5% of U .S. electricity supply."
Hydropower, which was used over 2,000
years ago, was started by the ancient Egyptians . Hydropower gained popularity, and
by the 1940s, nearly half of
the United States energy
came from hydroelectricity. However, after World
War II, coal power plants
quickly gained popularity. The problem
with hydropower
is that it is limited to certain
geographic lo-

Wayne Cocciola
presents his energy
research last week.

cations.
As time progresses, biofuel continues to
gain more popularity. According to Lockwood, biofuel possesses the ability to produce more energy than wind, solar, and geothermal energies combined.
"It can also be converted to liquid fuels ,"
explained Lockwood. It is also relatively
cheap, costing only five to ten cents kilowatts per hour.
The presentation ended by providing a
slew of simple tips for the average Joe to
follow to conserve energy and protect the
environment. Always look for the "green"
environmental friendly . stickers, stressed
Eggleston.
"Energy smart appliances can reduce your
costs by forty percent," he said.
#A significant amount of energy may also
be saved if people remember to properly
shut off lights and appliances when not being used.
As more nations continue to develop, the
need for fuel sources to power their economies continues to skyrocket. The transition
from nonrenewable to renewable sources
may not be an easy one, but it is already on

�CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu
amanda.gunther@wilkes.edu

NOVEMBER

18, 2008

---------- 12
wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

Farmers' Market bids fare well for the Winter season
BY AMANDA GUNTHER
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

"We've been losing
customers steadily as
weather has been getAs the weather gets colder, Public Square ting colder since probbegins to look pretty bare on Thursday af- ably early October,"
ternoons as the final weeks of the Wilkes- said Golomb.
According to Linda
Barre Farmers' Market come to a close.
Mancinelli
of Brace's
The 35th season kicked off Thursday,
Orchard,
this
happens
June 26, and will be packing up for the year
every
year.
this Thursday, November 20.
"People just stop
At the start of the season market-goers
coming
in November,
find the square packed with local vendors
even
if
it's
nice," said
and shoppers, but as winter beings to set
Mancinelli.
in, the number of people who show up for
Some customers stop
home grown produce and homemade baked
coming
because of
or canned goods begins to dwindle.
the
cold,
while
others
Throughout the summer there are usually
come
to
purchase
pro12 to 15 regular vendors set up every week,
duce
that
is
only
availbut only five were set up for the second to
able during particular
last week of the season.
times
of the year.
"These would be the 'diehards'. These
Golomb
sees this
would be here no matter what," said Harold
often
with
his
reguGolomb of Golomb Farms &amp; Greenhouse
lar
customers.
The
in Plains Township.
Golomb
produce
shifts
The Golomb family has set up at the mar.
throughout the season,
ket every year since it began in the 1970s.
The
Farmers'
Market
on
the
quare
1s
a
gathering
place
from
June
26
to
November
20 for local people
depending on what
shopping
for
fresh,
reasonably
priced
food
and
other
merchandise.
crops are ripe and ready
Rain has a big impact on each of the venfor sale. Herbs tend to be popluar selling
item for their farm over the summer. "As dors' sales, year-round. According to Manthose items stop being available for us to cinelli, "It doesn't matter whether it is Auharvest, they tend to stop coming and sup- gust of November, if its raining like this in
porting us for that item, there's no reason to August it would be really slow, too."
Although the last few weeks have been
come out," said Golomb.
Farmers Rose Jagodzinski and Liz Gef- slow for the Farmers' Market, the vendors
fert of Yogi's Potato Pancakes sell the same agree that the 2008 season has been busier
product all year; however, their clientele is than usual, partially due to the current instagreatly affected by the shift in customers at bility in the economics world.
Both Mancinelli and Golomb have seen
the end of the season.
"I think we could count on two hands a slight increase in the overall number ot
how many people came today," said a dis- people attending the market throughout
the year."People are trying to save money.
appointed Geffert.
Things
are definitely cheaper, and of a betWith the Thanksgiving holiday approachter
quality
anq_price," said Mancinelli.
ing next week, vendors hope to see more
customers coming out to stock up on fruits
Vegetable sales for the Golomb Farm have
and vegetables for their family feasts .
increased
as families are choosing to stay in
"There are people that look forward to
for
a
home
cooked meal as opposed to gogetting the seasonal vegetables that are
ing
out.
According
to Golomb, "Overall
available for their Thanksgiving dinner,"
our
business
was
probably
up slightly."
said Golomb.
After
a
successful
season,
the local-vendBrace's Orchard usually sees a slight iners
will
pack
up
their
tables
for the cold
crease in its business with the approaching
Wilkes-Barre
winter,
resting
up
for June of
holiday, but due to the poor weather for the
The Beacon/Jenna Stephens
2009.
Last minute shoppers bargain for the best deal on fall fruits before the farmers' mar- last set up not very many customers ventured to the square.
ket ends on Thursday, Nov. 20.

.

.

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

13

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

Internationals look forward to Thanksgiving for cultural exchange
BYYOHANNADE LOS SANTOS M.

Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor
Celebrating Thanksgiving is one of the
few uniquely American trac;1itions. The day
set aside to give thanks for abundance holds
special interest for international students
who usually have little to compare it with in
their own cultures.
This year, thanks to the Wilkes University
Center for Global Education and Diversity,
international students will now be able to
enjoy the very traditional dinner with an
American family from the local community.
Georgia Costalas, Associate Director of
the Center for Global Education and Diversity, said, "There is a cycle of culture shock
[for international students] beginning to
assimilate into the culture ... Then, there is
the normal culture shock cycle that comes
after three months of being in the new culture, which in our calendar, is right when
Thanksgiving starts." Costalas noted that
the timing of Thanksgiving, as well as the
unique tradition itself, offers an important
opportunity to connect international stu-

dents with American culture.
day in the United States when more people
Costalas has organized connection be- go home than any other holiday.. .is also the
tween_ Wilkes.,.,fterna_tional students an_d time when international students are in the
Amencan fatnih
~llfog to open their worst part of culture shock," added Costahomes and set ex
atih'e traditional las. Students are encouraged to get involved
Thanksgivin 1
not only with the community around them,
be done abo
but are also encouraged to learn about the
being a po
differences that separates the American culinternationa
ture from their own. International students
very positive
will also have the opportunity to share their
learn about a
own culture with host families.
and get them
A international student Zhengwei
said Costalas.
m China is one of the international
Currently
s tljat will be part of this activity, she
international
·
o my conversation partner's
tries like Ch.
with them. It is very nice
distant to trav
iving dinner], because it
go back home
d I can have the real
day. Thus, fin,
eri&lt;,an culture."
' tet, science
.
.
students to
· ,,
maJor,
1
American
d part of ~hiiyas~
decided that he
the Center's mis
will ,pe
ipg auring the
Costalas no~ea th
d of last br~ak~ " .
in(_on D.C. !o
week, apprmq:m,ate1Yt,4,,O h,omes bad offered el}IOY my bteak and see the• s1ghts," said
places for students. "The students ate com- ' Gulati.
'
ing and signing up and are being placed
A Thanksgiving exchange is not only a
with families," said Costalas.
Wilkes University experience since a Jong
"Thanksgiving, the most important holi- time ago Dr. Godlove Fonjweng, Direc-

tor for the Center of Global Education and
Diversity, was also an international student
from Cameroon, Africa. Thanks to this experience he was able to learn more about
this unique day and is a strong supporter of
this new activity, "We talked through this
and ... you don't know how important this is
for international students," said Fonjweng.
When talking about his experience as a
student he said, "It was a very rewarding
experience I was able to talk about where
I'm from [Cameroon, Africa] and they [host
family] were happy to listen," said FonJweng.
The goal to place international students
in homes at Thanksgiving is also "to help
them feel comfortable and confident when
they see someone and want to start a conversation," said Marcie Herman Riebe, • sistant Director/Immigration Specialist at
the Center. International students want to
talk and to feel welcomed by the other students at Wilkes.

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�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Benefit raises funds for for01er grad assistant

Cover to cover to cover celebrates Otis Reading s 'Blue'
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor
Cover to Cover to Cover is an event to raise money for
the medical expenses of Jen Diskin, a former graduate assistant for the Creative Writing program at Wilkes. The
benefit took place this past Saturday at Paper
Kite Press Studio in Kingston. Diskin was diagnosed for the third time with cancer after being
in remission for over seven years.
The event was the brain child of Jim Warner,
assistant director of the Creative Writing program at Wilkes and Jennifer Kaucher, Paper
Kite co-owner and editor. Warner also enlisted
Marissa Phillips, graduate student and assistant
of the Creative Writing program, to help coordinate Cover to Cover to Cover.
Diskin, Warner, and Kaucher all write poetry
and have performed together on the local poetry
scene. Cover to Cover to Cover was conceptually based on a reading Kaucher, Diskin, and
Warner did in New York. The reading focused
on records, musically inspired poetry. Diskin
chose the Otis Redding album "Blue" after considering other bands such as Sonic Youth and
Velvet Revolver.
"We [Kaucher and Warner] sent out a call to

local artists, musicians and poets to listen to the music on
that album and create something inspired by the album,"
Kaucher said.
Because the local poetry scene is relatively small, Cover
to Cover to Cover aimed to include all types of artists. War-

ner said, "We wanted to extend the idea beyond just the
small art world and try to involve musicians and visual
artists, as well as the Wilkes community on top of that."
Saturday's event was held from 12 noon to 5 p.m. The
performances were split into ten minute intervals to keep
the cadence of the day flowing. Jen Diskin was the first
to perform at noon. As the day proceeded, artists of all
kind took the stage including puppeteers and belly dancers. An art auction took place at 6 p.m.
Chad Stanley, assistant professor of English, donated
a painting for the event. "It's a gorgeous painting of Otis
Redding," Diskin said.
Poetry was also collected and made into a chapbook
that was sold at the event with all the proceeds going to
Diskin.
"People donated their time and money...it's been phenomenal," Warner said. Cover to Cover to Cover was
a big success raising over $1 ,700 for Diskin's medical
bills.
Phillips said, "I was really impressed with the turnout. There was a good variety of stuff. .. there was a good
group of people from students to some professors to the
poetry lovers in the area."

Tim Mcdemott performs original poetry from 2:40 to
2:50 at Cover to Cover to Cover
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�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

Kudracross

BY CHRIS KUDRAK AND DEVIN KING
Beacon Correspondents
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Baglike structure
Fragrance
Bombastic declamation
Group of three
Russian revolutionary
leader
Liveliness
Roughly
Get rid of
Blank slate philosopher
Fictional "LOST" re
search initiative (TV)
Mistake eliminator
Antiquated
Classic windows game
Boring routines
Toothpaste flavor
Unrefined
Urgent letters
Food and Drug adminis
tration, for short
Fencing blade
Genders
Pulls vigorously
Like a dark clammy dun
geon
Common desert sight
Three to Cesar
To give without return
Religious song book

59
60
61
65
66
67
68
69
70

Hedonistic person
6.02xl0" 23
Lost in solitary
thought
Prayer ending
Smallest amount
Engineer, for short
Precious stones
Student assignment
Childs plaything

Down

I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

12
14
18

Like uncovered bread
Tree planting ay
Approximate date
Heavyweight cham
pion boxer
NASCAR engine
sound
Undivided
Moderate in force
In other words
Purchase online
again
Wilkes graduate, for
short
American space
agency
Wiley coyote weapon
Hardwood trees
Appear to be

22
24
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
com
36
43
45
48
49
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
60
62
63
64

Baldwin of"30
Rock"
Outer edge
Attractively stylish
Final destination
Actors environment
Insect stage
The garden of God
Reason for a shower?
Abrasive tool
Ajunkie
Andy Kaufinan sit
Laboratory items
Epidermis
Melancholy
Legally responsible
Sailors need
Given at birth
Government worker
Ballroom dance
Diary passage
Place of residence
Initial substance of the uni
verse
Robert E. or Spike
A periodic publication, for
short
More in Spanish
America letters
Swine enclosure

�Lady Colonel
Basketball

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

pg.17
NOVEMBER

18, 2008

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Football ends challenging season with a win
QB Johnson throws for three touchdowns in win
Courtesy of Craig Merriman,
Sports Information Director
The Wilkes University football team
concluded the 2008 season on a bright
note, taking a 30-27 come-from-behind
win over Widener University. The game
saw five different lead changes and two
ties before the Colonels won their fourth
game of the season.
Rob Johnson found Jason Prushinski
from 23-yards out with 2:46 to play to
give the Colonels a 29-27 advantage before Chris Hom put the icing on the cake
with a PAT. Johnson finished the day with
198 yards passing, completing l 5-of-28
passes and three touchdowns.
The Pride were able to move the ball at
will on the Colonel defense, racking up
409 yards of total offense, including 266
in the air. Although the Colonels were unable to stop Widener, defensive back Darnell Corbin came up big at the end of the
third quarter with a 4 7-yard interception
return for a touchdown, giving Wilkes a
23-21 advantage with 3:43 to go in the
third.
The Colonels opened the game with a

bang, as Sean Madden returned the opening kickoff 79 yards to the Widener 18yard line. Johnson and the rest of the Wilkes offense took advantage, taking just six
plays before Jonathon Kocher caught a 2yard touchdown pass from Johnson to give
the Colonels an early 7-0 lead.
Widener quickly tied the game on its
next possession as the Pride travelled 72
yards in 14 plays on a drive that took over
six minutes. Quarterback Al Humes was 7of-7 on the drive for 71 yards while Salah
Hawkins carried the ball seven times for
just 11 yards, but scored from two yards
out. Hume finished the day with 266 yards
passing, completing 24-of-39 passes with
two scores. Despite his slow start, Hawkins
would finish with a game-high 96 yards on
25 carries with one touchdown.
The Pride would make it 14-7 with 7:19
to go in the second when Humes found
Marc Bandola from five yards out that
capped off an eight-play, 46-yard drive.
Hume was nearly perfect once again, completing four-of-five passes, including a 19yarder to Justin Homing.
On its next possession, Wilkes drove

eight plays that covered 76 yards when
Johnson found Madden from six yards out
for his second touchdown reception in as
many weeks. On a second-and-20 play,
Johnson connected with Prushinski for a
73-yard completion that put the Colonels
on the Widener 13-yard line.
Widener would take the lead once again
with two minutes remaining in the first half
when Humes found Cedrick Clayton from
eight yards out to give the Pride a 21-14
lead. The scoring drive covered 76 yards
in just eight plays that took just over three
minutes. Back-to-back run plays covered a
combined 60 yards, including 32-yard run
by Hawkins followed by a 28-yarder by Ian
Decker to put the Pride on the Wilkes nineyard line.
Not to be outdone, freshman kicker Chris
Hom finished his first collegiate season
a perfect 7-of-7 in field goals, this one a
career-long 47-yarder that pulled the Colonels within four (21-17) with 5:08 to go in
the third. The score would remain that way
until Corbin's pick-off gave the Colonels a
23-21 lead with 3:43 to go in the third.
The lead would not last long as the Pride

took advantage of a Wilkes fumble at the
Colonel 24-yard line. Four plays later,
Widener would have a 27-23 lead after the
two-point conversion failed.
Wilkes would go three-and-out on its
next possession before the Colonel defense
forced Widener to punt. Aireil Adams returned Kevin Huelster's punt 28 yards to
the Wilkes 35-yard line. Johnson came up
big in Wilkes next possession, completing passes of 13, 11 and a 23-yard scoring
strike to Prushinksi for the game-winner.
Prushinski would finish with five catches
for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Five different receivers caught passes in
the win, while six different Colonel players
ran the ball for a total of 145 yards. Punter
Mario Della Fortuna had another solid performance with five punts for an average of
42.4 yards including a 50-yarder. Both Della Fortuna and Hom lead the MAC in punting and field goal average respectively.
Fifteen seniors completed their eligibility
for the Colonels which means head coach
Frank Sheptock will have lots to work with
next season as he returns players in key positions.

Farewell Football Seniors
# 19 Jason Prushinski WR
.#

#4 Justin Friedel DB
# 17 Jordan Schreffler QB

#1 Corey Tucker LB
# 82 BJ Fusco WR

# 78 Josh George OL

# 95 Mario Della Fortuna KIP

# 4 7 Matt Archey DE

# 79 Angelo Marocco OL

# 50 Kyle Kutney OL

# 80 Ryan Pepper TE

# 30 Philip Cimilluca DB

# 41 Tim Yeagley DE
# 26 Ryan Holmes DB

�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

SPORTS

17

Lyna01's career-day propells Lady Colonels to victory
Courtesy of Craig Merriman,
Sports Information Director

Sam Lynam poured in a career-high 33
points to lead Wilkes to an 80-72 win over
Arcadia in the 2008-09 season-opener. Lynam was l 1-of-23 from the field, including
3-of-7 from beyond the three-point line.
The Lady Colonels shot an impressive
45.1 percent from the field, including 48.4
percent in the first half. Wilkes also took
advantage from the free throw line, hitting
3l -of-46 attempts from the charity stripe.
Ironically, Arcadia had less attempts (26)
than Wilkes converted.
Chelsey Gosse made a layup with 12:48

to go in the first half to give Wilkes the lead
for good. Arcadia's Liz Plum converted a layup at the 16-minute mark to give it an 8-4
advantage, but a six-minute scoring drought
by Arcadia propelled Wilkes to an 18-0 run
and eventually led 22-8 after a jumper by
Erin Schneider.
The Lady Colonels led by as many as
19 in the first half when Lynam hit a layup with 3:33 to go in the first half. They
would eventually go into the locker room
with a 41-25 advantage at the half. Despite
its scoring drought, Arcadia hit 40 percent
from the field in the first half, but was 0-of5 from beyond the three-point line.

Wilkes hung on to its double-digit lead,
but Arcadia threatened with a 9-0 run that
brought it within eight with 10:46 to go
when Caitlin Sparks hit the front end of a
pair of free throws. Both teams would exchange buckets before Arcadia used a 6-0
run to pull within five (59-54) with 6:31 to
play. The Knights would pull within five
with under a minute to play when Murphy
hit another jumper, but they would not score
again the rest of the way.
The Lady Colonels will open their home
season Monday when they host PSU-Hazleton at 6 p.m. in the Marts Center.

Lady Colonel Starters
for Arcadia
#22 Brittany Ely 5'7" F
#30 Chelsey Gosse 5'11" F
#3 Allison Horn S'S" G
#12 Sam Lynam 5'7" G
#25 Samantha Simcox
5'7" G

Colonel basketball season gets underway this week
BY CARLTON HOLMES
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
Last week, coaching staffs around the
Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) picked
the Wilkes University men's basketball
team to win the Freedom championship for
the 2008-09 season.
Nearly sweeping the poll, the Colonels
garnered seven first-place votes and DeSales University (Pa) received the remaining two votes from the nine teams around
the Freedom conference.
"We are more focused now that we know
we have a target on our back because we
know teams are going to be coming after
us," said senior power forward Steve Kline.
"We used to be the ones chasing teams. But
now we have to be ready for everyone."
The Colonels reached the first round of
the conference playoffs last year based on
the team's 7-5 MAC record which secured

Wilkes a spot as the fourth and final seed.
Even though the team suffered an unpleasant 69-53 defeat at the hands of top-seeded
DeSales, the young Colonels team only
lost one senior last season (Matt Gould),
and gained postseason experience that may
come in handy this season.
"This season will be our best chance to
win the conference since I've been here,"
Kline said. "Team chemistry is looking
good and this is the deepest team of all my
four years."
The Colonels roster depth has inspired
head coach Jerry Rickrode to enforce a more

up tempo style of play than in recent years.
According to Rickrode, the Colonels will
throw multiple ball-handlers on the floor
at the same time which means that at least
two players have the ability to start the offense. Not only will that result in a quicker
pace, but teams will have difficulty defending against the Colonels because it will be
difficult to identify the where the Colonels
want to go with the ball.
"The guards we have are guards that have
the ability to bring the ball up if we need to
do so," said 17-year head coach Jerry Rickrode. "It may allow us to get into our early

offense and get up the floor a little bit faster
because we don't have to rely on one guy to
flow from transition and early offense."
Both junior Tom Kresge and sophomore
Chris DeRojas were named second team All
Conference last season and will play major
roles in the Colonels offense.
The first game of the season was yesterday in the Marts Gymnasium at Wilkes
University against Baptist Bible. The Colonels will return to action tonight at home
against Penn College. Tip-off is scheduled
for 7pm.

Field hocke ends record season in ECACs

The Lady Colonels field hockey team plays Washington &amp; Jefferson on Wednesday November 12 in their ECAC tournament game. The team defeated Washington &amp; Jefferson 2-1 before losing to Kean on Saturday, November, 15 4-3.

�--

NOVEMBER

18, 2008

18

SPORTS

RINKSIDE REPORT

.

A

Long road trip takes so01e Penguins ho01e
BY MICHAEL CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer
It might be the most grueling bus ride of
their young lives, but many of the WilkesBarre/Scranton Penguins are looking forward to their upcoming road trip.
The Penguins play Friday night in Grand
Rapids, Michigan, Saturday afternoon in
Toronto, Ontario, and Sunday afternoon in
Cleveland, Ohio. When they finally return
to Wilkes-Barre, the team will have spent
27 hours on the bus and traveled over 1,500
miles.
It's all part of a job that requires commitment and sacrifice. While players chase
their dreams of one day playing in the National Hockey League (NHL), they'll spend
months away from home. Weekend after
weekend, many go without seeing friends
and family.
But not this weekend.
Head coach Dan Bylsma grew up in the
port city of Grand Haven, Michigan, located
about 20 miles west of Grand Rapids. When
the bus pulls into Grand Rapids on Thurs-

day, Bylsma plans to have lunch with his
friends from home. Later, he'll have dinner
with his family.
"You don't get back very often, maybe
once every other year," Bylsma said. "This
is a chance to do that, for sure."
Bylsma's friends and family will be in
attendance Friday night, when the Penguins take on the Grand Rapids Griffins at
Van Andel Arena. The Griffins play a very
disciplined style of hockey; their 171 penalty minutes are the fewest in the American
Hockey League (AHL).
It's a system that goaltender Adam Berkhoel knows well. He spent the 2007-2008
season with the Griffins and still keeps in
touch with many of his former teammates.
Though Berkhoel spoke highly of the
Griffins organization, he explained that
when the puck drops on Friday, they're the
enemy.
"Obviously we're going there to win,"
Berkhoel said. "It'd be great to beat them."
While Bylsma and Berkhoel have ties to
Grand Rapids, other Penguins will unques-

tionably be looking forward to Saturday's
game against the Toronto Marlies.
Rookie winger Luca Caputi grew up in
suburban Toronto and has a group of 30
people coming to see him play.
"It's going to be fun, for sure," Caputi
said. "I've been away from home for a couple months now. Just to see a couple of my
old buddies and family, it's going to be neat.
I'm definitely looking forward to it."
A 51-goal and I I I-point scorer in juniors
one year ago, Caputi has struggled to find
the back of the net in his first full season of
professional hockey. He has been limited to
just one goal and three points through the
Penguins first 14 games.
Saturday night's tilt provides a little extra
incentive for the rookie.
"It'd be awesome to score a goal there,"
Caputi said. "That would definitely be
something special, something I always remember."
While Caputi will try to make some
memories at the Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday night, defenseman T.J. Kemp has some

pleasant ones that will be brought back.
Kemp represented the Manchester Monarchs in the 2007 AHL All Star Game,
which was held in Toronto.
"Just to hear that I got picked for the
game, I was pretty excited," Kemp said.
"When I realized it was in Toronto, it just
made it that much more special."
Special because Kemp grew up in Pickering, Ontario, which is about 25 minutes
northeast of Toronto. It was Kemp's first
opportunity to play professional hockey so
close to his hometown.
"I haven't played there in a couple years,"
Kemp said. "It'll be nice to see family and
friends."

Visit
www.wilkesbeacon.com
for Penguins updates
throughout the week.

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�NOVEMBER

18, 2008

SPORTS

19

Athlete Spotlight: Kathy Harrington
•n1e,

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kes
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,,' "

the right attitude. We worked hard to be
prepared and came in with a lot of intensity. They're a great team, but beating them
again in playoffs was the icing on the cake;
it really erased any doubt about our first
win."
Speaking of the Freedom Conference
Tournament, Harrington's second goal
helped the team advance to the playoffs, a
feat that has evaded the lady Colonels since
2004.
With the help of Harrington's un-teachable poise and leadership, the lady Colonels
broke through that barrier, cruising right on
through to the semi-finals before falling at
the hands ofNationally ranked Eastern University.
"I'm happy with the way the season went,
stated Harrington. "We had a great group of
girls and we worked hard together to reach
our goals. We played a tough non-conference schedule and we managed to exceed
everyone's expectations by finishing 4th in
the MAC."
The stats, sure they're easy on the eyes.
There's the 44 blocks, 24 more than the second leader on the team and the 226 kills,
good for second on the team. But it's the intangibles that make Harrington a role model
and a valuable asset to this young team.
Junior Julie Page couldn't express enough
praise for the outgoing senior.
"Kathy has brought leadership, enthusiasm, and a love for the game to our team,"
said Page. "She will be greatly missed next

year not only because she is an awesome
teammate but she brought everything she
had to our team and played to the best of
her ability every game."
Now that her playing career is over, Harrington will be dedicating most of her time
to the pharmacy department. But as for
the future goes, Harrington would "love to
become a coach." And of course continue

playing volleyball until she can't anymore.
"Katherine has taught me so much on
and off the court that I will carry with me
throughout my life," Page said. "Most imp011antly, she taught me that believing in
yourself and your abilities will help you
come out on top."
Looks as though coaching might be right
down Harrington's alley.

for the majority of the contest before taking a late lead (15-13) on freshman William
Gouger's 9-7 decision against Chad Craft.
Mt. Saint Joseph's recovered quickly, however, winning their next bout and leaving
Wilkes in a tight spot. Trailing 15-16 going
into the final bout, C. Smith stepped up for
the Colonels and pinned Mt. Saint Joseph's
Nate Rychlikm in six minutes to secure the
win.

"I felt really happy [after winning the
match for the team]," said C. Smith. "It
was just a great feeling to contribute to the
win."
"Chris Smith stepped up for us at the end
in a big way," said Weinrich.
The Colonels finished the day 4-0 and in
high spirits.
"We were confident going into the matches that we would win," said Heffernan, who

is one of the team's captains. "We were
happy at the end of the fo~ matches but we
didn' t expect anything less of ourselves."
The wrestling team will host New York
University and McDaniel College this Saturday, November 22, at 11 A.M in a trimatch.

BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon Correspondent
Meet Katherine Harrington, senior captain
of the Wilkes University Volleyball team.
For the past four years, Harrington has been
dominating opponents with her thunderous
spikes and her phenomenal blocking abilities, while spearheading the resurgence of
the Wilkes volleyball team on the Freedom
Conference Map.
All this on top of putting countless hours
into the rigorous work that comes along
with being a Phannacy major.
A four-year letter winner and the only senior on the women's volleyball team this
year, Harrington is this week's spotlighted
athlete.
Coming into the season, Harrington had
two goals stored in the back of her mind.
First and foremost: beat Kings.
Perennially in the upper echelon of the
conference, the Monarchs have had the
Lady Colonels number since Harrington
was dominating the high school circuit and
honing her exceptional skills at Lafayette
High School in upstate New York.
Fast forward to 2008 where Harrington
led the Colonels to not one, but two triumphs over the pesky Monarchs; the latter
coming in the opening round of the conference tournament.
"Beating Kings was the highlight of
my college career, explained Harrington.
"We've faced them every year hoping to
win, but this year the whole team just had

WRESTLING
from PAGE 20
The Colonels would wind up needing
that support, as the match would prove to
be their most difficult. The team ended up
winning by the slim margin of21-16 behind
major decisions from Farnham, E. Smith,
and Heffernan. Wilkes trailed the Lions

Football
W 30-27 @ Widener

Field Hockey
W 2-1 Washington &amp; Jefferson
L 4-3 Kean

Photo Courtesy of Kath~Harrington

Wrestling
W 23-12 Centenary
W 35-9 Baldwin Wallace
W 39-9 Scranton
W 21-16 Mt. Saint Joseph's

Women's Basketball
W 80-72

@

Arcadia

Men's Soccer
W 2-1 @ PSU-Behrend
L 4-0 @ King's

�_-""'

_18,. 2008
_, ... _,

NOVEMBER

SPORTS

20

No. 25 Wilkes wrestling undefeated at John Reese Duals
Colonels start season with a perfect 4-0
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The No. 25 Wilkes University
wrestling team saw great success
at the fourth annual John Reese
Duals on Saturday, November 15,
winning all four of their matches
in a packed Marts Center. The
team received major contributions
from numerous wrestlers in their
impressive home debut which is a

good sign for the upcoming season.
The Colonel's first match was
against Centenary College at 11
A.M. Senior Shaun Farnham (125
lbs.) won his first match against
Centenary's Anthony Bachmann
by a major decision (12-0), giving Wilkes an early 4-0 lead. Senior Josh Pauling (133 lbs.) lost
his first match by a single point

before freshman Anthony Dattalo
(141 lbs.) and senior Erik Smith
(149 lbs.) won their matches, giving Wilkes a total of 11 points.
The most critical bout of the
match belonged to sophomore
James Histed (165 lbs.), whose
dramatic reversal with seconds
remaining capped a 6-4 win over
Centenary's Derek Schisler. The
win gave Wilkes a 14-6 lead and

prevented Centenary from closing
to 11-9. Freshman Daniel Brown
(184 lbs.) and juniors Frank Heffernan (165 lbs.) and Zach Pizzaro
(197 lbs.) won the following three
matches for Wilkes, giving the
team a 23-6 lead before forfeiting the final bout. The Colonels
would win the match 23-12.
Their second match came
against Baldwin-Wallace College

The Beacon I Gino Troiani

of Berea, Ohio. Farnham and
Heffernan both won their bouts
by technical fall in a match that
was never in question, as the
Colonels came away with a 35-9
win after jumping to a 20-0 lead.
Erik Smith (149 lbs.) also contributed with a pin against Baldwin-Wallace's Eric Schubert,
and sophomore Chris Smith (197
lbs.) recorded a major decision in
his bout that ran the score up to
29-9.
Off to a 2-0 start in the Duals,
the Colonels turned their attention to the University of Scranton, their opponent for the third
match. Wilkes would record five
wins by fall against the Royals,
coming from Farnham, C. Smith,
freshman Thomas Andresen (149
lbs.), and sophomores Jake Weinrich (285 lbs.) and Donny Clark
(141 lbs.). Histed and junior
Devin Sassone-McHugh (184
lbs.) won their two matches by
major decision and technical fall.
Collectively, the Colonels won
by the score of 39-9, improving
the team's record to 3-0.
The Colonels' final match of
the day came against Mt. Saint
Joseph's College; another school
visiting from Ohio.
"Towards the end of the day
against Mt. Saint Joseph's College [when we realized we had
a chance to go 4-0) our team really started rallying behind one
another for each bout," Weinrich
said.

See WRESTLING
on PAGE 19

Wilkes' Tom Andresen holds down Jeff Kapica of the University of Scranton in the Colonels' third match, which they won 39-9.
Andresen would go on to pin Kapica for the win in 4:07.

Go watch Madeliene
K. Albright lecture as
part of lhe Outstanding Leaders Series at
8:00p.m.

Attend the "Successful
Coaching
and
Mentoring"
seminar
at 9:00a.m. in UCOM
231.

Listen to the music of
ErthaN, Grateful Dead
and more at the River
Street Jazz Cafe at
8:00p.m.

Twlight
opens
at
12:CJ0a.m. Visit Movies
14 to catch the opening of the much anticipated movie.

.

Watch the Lady Colonel basketball team
take on Baptist Bible at
7:00p.m. at the Marts
Center.

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Duals

lNIVEE
CORN
PAGE

Ohio. Farnham and
both won their bouts
J fall in a match that
in question, as the
me away with a 35-9
mping to a 20-0 lead.
(149 lbs.) also conh a pin against Bald! 's
Eric Schubert,
1ore Chris Smith (197
:d a major decision in
t ran the score up to
-0 start in the Duals,
s turned their attenUniversity of Scran,ponent for the third
:es would record five
against the Royals,
1 Farnham, C. Smith,
omas Andresen (149
,homores Jake Wein,.) and Donny Clark
Histed and junior
one-McHugh (184
eir two matches by
,n and technical fall.
the Colonels won
of 39-9, improving
;ord to 3-0.
els' final match of
e against Mt. Saint
ege; another school
Ohio.
he end of the day
;aint Joseph's Calve realized we had
o 4-0] our team reallying behind one
ch bout," Weinrich

ESTLING
19

Twilight BATTLE:
BOOK VS. MOVIE

.

PAGES 13-14

Lady Colo3tball team
:iptist Bible at
Jt the Marts

PAGES

FIELD HOCKEY PLAYERS
MED
AU-CO FERENCE PAGE 17

Volume 61

Former Sec. of State Albright offers insights to WB
BY

ORE

SEAMA

Beacon Monagmg Editor
On Tuesday, ovember I 8, Dr.
Madeleine K . Albright, fonner US
cretary of tate, addressed the
Wilk
University community at
the F.M. Kirby Center on Public
Square. Her lecture was part of Wilkes University·s annual Outstanding
Leaders Forum
Before her lecture, Albright attended several function at the Westmoreland Club on South Franklin
treet. he took Lime to meet \\ith
area high school tudents during a
question and answer session, talked
"rth invited guests at an event later
that nighl and held a press conference for several members of the local media
The Beacon/Nicole Frail
Albnght"s experience as part of W ' lk
,
• p
•d
1i
President Bill Clinton •s cabinet of1 tS 01vers1ty re 1 ~ot 1m . dmour attended a private pre conference ,.ilb former
fered the backdrop 10 her analysis of
cretary of ra~e Madehn~ lbngbt on Tuesday. ovem~r 18 at the Westmoreland Club
the current political climate between on South Frankhn treet prior to her speech at the F.M. Kirby center later on ;0 the evening.

c·

the current Bush administration and
the incoming Obama admini tration.
" (President•elect Barack Obama) is

somebody that i very knowledgeable, Md
obviou ly did an av. ful lot of v.ork on host
ofi uesduringa very long campaign. What

IS

happening is the transition is in full mo-

See ALBRIGHT page 5

Lund and Fields announce departures from Wilkes
8 A IY F SCO
Beacon Asst. News Editor
&amp; ICOLE FRAIL

Beacon ·ews Ed11or
Last v.eek tv.o Wilkes admmiscrators-o
member of the President ·s cabinet and an
academic Dean
nnounced that they will
depan EPA for new positions at other inst1tut1ons.
Maggie Lund, vice pr idem of human resources and organizational development for
Wilk s University, announced th t she will

lini h her tenure on December 19 and will
as ume responsibilities as enior vice pre i•
dent for the Catholic Healthcare Partners
(CHP) headquarters in Cineinnah, Ohm on
January 5. Lund 's depanure "ill create the
fifth Wilkes cabinet vacancy in three years.
Dr. Darin Fields. Dean of the ollege of
Arts. Humanities and Social ciences, has
accepted the Vice President of Academic
Affairs and Dean of Faculty position at
Bethany College in Bethany, 'W t Virgin111, and "'ill leave Wilkes after 15 )ears on
January 9.

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives.wilkes.edu

~

BISHOP MARTINO'
POLITI

INDEX
s . .. .

1-5

Opmion. ...•......6-s

Lund's new employer, HP. is the hugest health y tem in Ohio and the seventh
largest Catholic health sy tern in the nation,
\\hich includes care hospitals. senior living
communities, social service agencies, ambulatory health centers, health and fitnes
faci lilles, and other enlili . Lund will su•
pcrvi one of the four CHP districts.
Lund began her Wilkes post in June 2007.
he explained that she was never actually
seeking 10 leave Wilkes, but the opportunity

See DEPARTURES page 4
Lifestyles.......9-11

A&amp;E .. ........ 12-15
Sports.......... 16-20

Struggling economy
makes it difficult for
grads to find work

r~

lot l

BY CARLTO, IIOLM

Beacon Eduor-m-Chief
These days, the main reason people purue a college degree i to find a career
tudents spend four or more ) ears stud)'·
ing and searching for inlemsh1ps for the relevant cxpcri nee they need just so they can
build a strong resume that \\ill d1stingu1 h
them from the rest of the competition
onnall . those tactic "'ork but in 10day's economy, most student,, are certaml)
nervous "'hen it comes to finding a job.
With various companies cutting hundreds
of job sat an abnormal rate. the immediate
future doesn ·1 look bright for thi year's
graduating class.
The percentage of people unemplo)ed in
the Uniled tat hll5 significantly increased
this year alone. Right no", the unemploy ment rate has climbed 10 a taggermg 6.5
percent, bringing the total unemployment
number in the first 10 month of this )ear
to 1.2 million according to 1h Bureau ol
Labor tatistics of the U. Department ot
Labor. In Augu I, unemployment m re:bed
by 127,000 \\ith 284,000 Jobs losl m the
following month. In October. 240,000 Job
\\Cre cut.
" I can tell you that in times Ille tins, o~
viously, when th unemployment rate I going up and it's tougher to get a JOb. &gt;our
prospects in May ('09) or December ( ·osi
are not as good as they "'ould 'vc been al a
different time,~ said Dr. ecley, professor of
economics.
..This is not a great time to be entering
the job market. That doe n ·1 mean you· re

w

See GRADUATES page 2

Established 1936
PA Newspaper
Association Member

1e Beacon/Bet~

aftey officials 1
tursday.

s to go through
round involves

PARKIN&lt;;

proba
oosted a 73 perc
exams.
er than our pre,
igan, chair of th
wledged, but sl
, still working b
tJ.d prosperous p
Merrigan, the N
1 examination ,
oard." The c
;o five hours an
·een 75 and 26

NURSIN(

�OVEMBER

18,

~

·o. 25 Wi
?lonels staJ
NovEME

ANIELKAUTZ
·on Asst. Sports Editor
No. 25 Wilkes Universi
ing team saw great succe
fourth annual John Ree
on Saturday, November 1
tg all four of their match
acked Marts Center. T
!ceived major contributio
umerous wrestlers in th1
sive home debut which ii

NEWS

--GRADUATES
from FRO T PAGE

been laid off, who have 15 to 20
years of job experience," said senior bio-chemi try tudent Kyle
Ungvar ky from Horseheads, Y.
~who's to say employers will hire
a college tudent with no expenence over someone who has 15 to

25, 2008

130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wdkes University
Vw'ilkes-Barre, PA 18766

---~

a job. Bosack-Kosel.. encourages
students to ign up for CAR 198
A, a one-credit career development cl
for student who are
ready to enter the job market or
graduate school. The objective or
the course is to help students im-

not going to find a job; ou may
very \\ell find a Job. II' ju I that
on average, it's going to be 1ough
to gel a Job.~ said Dr. eley.
Wilkes niversity ·s Director or
Career Services
Carol
BosackKosek taled Iha!,
compared to previous years, there
has been a noticeable decline
in jobs seeking to
recruit
tudents
at the un ivers,ty, marking the
-..orst decrease
he"s seen during
her time
director. Bo;.ack also
staled that "hile
non-govern ment
funded positions
are pulling back
from
posting
jobs. government
jobs such as the
nited tates SeThe Beacon/Bethany Yamnck
cret Service and
urh a resume writhealth care posi- Career ervke employees ucb as u an Frank offer scrvic
1ion contm ue to ing a i lance and guidance thro ugh mock interviews.
be consistent.
prove their resume ·writing and inTherefore, the idea or delay- 20 years in the industry?"
ing the job search in exchange
Ungvar ky is currentl) applying terviewing kills to increase their
for a master ·s or doctorate de- to medical schools to attend on e chances or gelling a job.
Seeley believes the current regree mighl be a good idea for se- he graduates in May ·09_
sually students arc concerned cession can be attributed 10 the 6niors looking to duck the present
tale of the economy. Once the with poli hing their resumes to nancial eris, "'ithm the "real sececonomy rebounds, students with appear more attractive and mar- tor" of the econom)'. Home values
higher level degrees will have ketable than the next college can- have decreased therefore people
a helter chance at landing a job. didaJc. But in today's economy. are cautious about their pendmg.
•· ot only are "e competing with that ' not th case and the com- The more people pull back from
each other but \\e·re going 10 be petition for job is stiffer To im- spending, U,e less money is being
compclmg with people who have prove students' chances oflanding pumped in10 the economy \&lt;'h1ch

ACON

s' Tom Andresen hold
1sen would go on to pi

NOVEMBER

n.

8\ CATIIR\

2

mail.com

All§llSl2008
nemployment
incre d
by 127,0 0

Beacon Asst I
For 1udent
from horn , 61
tep m the coll
than halrorthc
campu. and 1
been 25 and 3(
One i uc fac
cot. eniorbM
tuna lives off•
~It \\'85 just C
isn ' t bad ... e p,
mg for it."
Accordmg IC
University 01

about hal r..."'
don ' t know ho,
\\C do based or
At Wilkes, ro
per )'ear With
bill for on-can
not including c

®cttJber 2008

rrickle down to seniors and the
lack or funds available 10 pay
them.
"This recession is going 10 be a
lot worse than the last two ( I982
and 1991 recessions), said Dr.
Seeley. ··we hove had almost a free
ride for 26 years. ™-0 littl bitty
recessions. o for graduating seniors thi is going to be worst than

anything you ' ,e experienced "
~That doesn '1 mean if you go
out in10 the labor markeL )ou·re
not going to be able to find a job.
There's lots or people "ho "ill
find jobs. It's gomg to be tougher:
prospects are going to be \\Orst
till most people will find JQb,.
but JUSI a mal ler percentage 1han
what normally finds job .

Meet the staff...
.• ;, :n lf:li'!!'r
•• ~., ~~-: 7

Opinion Editor. Gino Troiani
L.lfntyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Spotts Editor: Alissa Lindner
Photo Editor: Jenna Stephens

PHO E: (570 ► 408-5903
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz
E:\tAIL: wilkesbeaconi&gt;gmail.rom - ~ - - - - - - - - - -

itch Madeliene
'ight lecture as
f the Outstandaders Series at

wilkesbeacon.new

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Carlton HOimes
Managing Editor: Andrew Seaman
Design Chief: Alison Woody
Advertising Manager: Chnsbne Zavaskas
N.ws Editor: NICOie Fra~

Stu,

CO:\TACT INFORMATIO:\:
n1cole.frail'a'wllkes.edu
amy.fu
a wilkes.edu
calhryn frear(!t\\ ilkes.edu

,;

~ti',

~

..

:\:.?t

: · : '$

'
&amp; l.aurcn Biernacki

J ordon rbrcffit
apartment. Livi ,

Photo Edi1or and A I Pbolo Editor

1ppartmea1 ..io

JHH Stephen

�INIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12
NOVEMBER

25, 2008

NEWS

3

Students weigh on and off campus housing benefits
8\ CATHRY, FREAR

according to the Wilkes website. A cording to Wink, it"s about SS,000 a year for
For srudents who choose not to commute rent, including utiliti . at the University
from home, finding proper hou ing is a big Common . Living on outh Franklin tree!
step m th college process. At Wilkes. more in a two-bedroom appanment with utihti
than half of the tudent body opts to live off included, it' about SS,300 per year. To live
campu and a 1)-pical freshman class has in a two-bedroom on Ross treet also with
been 25 and 30"/o who commute.
utilities included, it' s about $4,000 per year.
One i ue lacing college students today is This brings the total of off-campus housco t cnior biology major Mario Della For- ing and tuition to approximately 25, 170tuna lives off-campus and acknowledged, SJ0,470 annually.
While the differences m cost are mdi put"It "'as just cheaper and this (apartment)
1sn·1 bad ... especially with what we·re pay- able, Brenda Stanley, director of residence
ing for it:·
life, believes living on campus in WilkesAccording to ancy Win~. head of the owned aparunents and dorms can be a good
University Commons I ing office, ~1cs way to tran itioo off-campus and into real
about half... we·re a private compan , so I life. " We give you the tool to solve I ues
don ·1 know how Wilke figures its coSL but like roommate problems before living on
\IC do based on what we need."
your own."
At Will.es, room and board co ts S l 0.680
She added that on campu apartments and
per year With tuition thi brings the total dorm provide a tep between living "ith
bill for on-campus students to SJ5,850 your parents and living alone. " Parents drop
not including course, lab, and music fees, off their ldds with the comfon that they' ll
be taken care of,"
tanley said .
In contrast, according to Wink,
·'[Living off campus] teaches the
kids a lot of responsibility.
They're
getting ready for
the real world.
They have bill
that they have to
take care of."
During the freshman year, studen
generally
make
friends
through
their livmg ituation
On-campus
sophomore political cience major
Tara Kennedy noted, " I don ·1 even
know how I would
have met anybod}
otherwise.
You
meet a lot of your
friends
initially
through hving with
them."
But
according to off-campus
sophomore nursing major Lindsey
Baldwin, " It' like
a rran irioo. You
live with your parThe Beacon/Lauren Biernacki
ents as a kid, your
Jordon rbrtffler walk5 into his utb River trtct off-umpu
1p1rtmcnL Living on South Fra nklin tred in a hH&gt;-~droom first year of college
you Iivc on-campu ,
■ ppartment ,.itb utilitirs included, it' about 5,300 per year.
then you move off-

Beacon A.isl Ne,u Editor

Volume 61

Issue 11

.

' lot woes

r

Courtney Graham utilize the common room in Evans Hall fo r studying. On-campus
location ucb as thi one art good placts to bang out and meet ~ople for those -.ho
choo to dorm at Wilkes.
campus, then you graduate and live wherever you \\ant"
Baldwin added, " [Unlike in dorms] you
can escape from your roommates [when
you hve off-campus).''
According to tanley, university officials
arc working "ith an new automated program to improve hou ing placement It will
take ten characteristics that tudents are
looking for in a living-partner and match
them with someone ,vho shares a good majority of those same chara teristics. In the
current system many students still get their
roommates through Iott ry or major matching
" I got a single because I didn ' 1 want to
deal with roommates.~ said Kennedy. "I
know so many people who have to move
or their roommates have to move because
ofprobl ms."
Off-campus sophomore nursing major
Tiffany Flores lived on-campus last year
and had to switch rooms because of roommate issues
he explained,
he would
have all these people over and I even found
out she let people sleep in my bed when I
w115n 't there."
tanley believes that the proximity of the
residence halls is helpful to academic progres and an ndance. "Students can literally
roll out of bed and attend an event or class,"
said tanlcy.
However, on-campus ophomore nursing
major Brittney I lodnik lives in the niversity Towers, just a block from most of
her classc , acknowledged, •· ext year I'm
moving aero the treet from the library

I will be able to be to clas in lik 5 minutes ... The Towers are far enough that if for
any reason I don ·t wan! to go to class. rm
not going."
tanley noted that the facilities dcpanmcn1 i one great advantage to living in univcrsit)-owned property. Off campu landlords can occasionally be unavialable 10
student renters on basic maintenance need~
" ot the contractors, but the ma mtenan c
people. because they work for the uni, ersity, they have aece to Iroom i:· according 10 Stanley.
The system at Wilkes requires tha1 residents or others mut submit "'ork orders to
formally addrcs facilties problem . but becau e of this process, they are usuall y erviced relatively quickly
Living off-campu can be a different stol)
at times. Della Fonuna says, " We· ve ne, er
had any huge issues, but once there was water leaking into my closet and they didn' t
come to fix it for like two weeks because
they id that they would have to shut the
water off in the whole building ... and the
damage still isn't fi ed (even though the
water was stopped from leakingr
Even if a tudent were to choo e to live m
a box throughout his or her college experience, probably the biggest issue is comfon
in safety. But, in thi matter, at Wilkes. ,rs
nol effected by ,,hether )OU h,e on-or olfcampus. According 10 Wink. "Student, h, ing in off-campu apanmcnts can 1111 call
Publi
afety becau:,e [th re:.idence, ] are
1ill a pan of the Wilke communit) ··

he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

,aftey officials remind commrsday.

ls to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
exams.
er than our previous years,"
rigan, chair of the nursing de&gt;wledged, but she noted that
s still working hard to main.nd prosperous program.
Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
ti examination administered
&gt;oard." The computerized
to five hours and can range
reen 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5

�-----.!l;,·•
..
18, 2

EMBER

. 25Wi
1nels staJ
TEL KAUTZ
sst. Sports Editor

25, 2008
DEPARTURES
from FRO T PAGE

25 Wilkes Universi
!am saw great succe
th annual John Ree
aturday, November I
four of their match
i Marts Center. T
ed major contributio
·ous wrestlers in the
1ome debut which ii

NEWS

NOVEMBER

ofa new Job came lo her.
.. I recei,ed a phone call from the CEO of
Cl IP. a fonner bo ," said Lund. u1 was not unhappy. I was not looking fora job. and I wasn·t
eckong anything. I liked th continued challenges and positive opportunitie at Wilkes,"
she added. c enhel
Lund believed CHP
offered her a uonce-in-a-lifetimc opportunity"'
and she felt that if she did not do it. he would
regret it.
Petra Carver. vice president for finance and
suppon, will play a major leadership role for
the Human Resources Depanment, "hile Wilkes ad mini trators decide how to best move
forward Along with Caner guiding the Human Resources direct repons, Joe Housenick,
d1rector of human resources, will work directly
with Carver managing day-to-day operations.
In addition, Lund has numerous committee assignments, all of which will be evaluated as to
how best to move forward .
"I \\ill take on operations management for
human resources on a da to day basis," Carver
lated. ~It's bittersweet. We are all excited and
happy for her [Lund]. On the other hand. it is
a huge loss for us because she was a great colleague. a good friend of min and "e will miss

r

I

her dearly She was really good at what he
w doing." Carver has worked in human
resource at prior positions, so i familiar
with key i ues associated with the field
Lund 's depanure will t least temporarily
change Carver· workload.
·•we are presently discussing our options
and no final decision has been made;· said
Dr. T im Gilmour, president of Wilkes Universit . One of the options might be to have
a national search for a future vice president
of human resource . But a national earch
can co t approximately $35.000, Gilmour
explained.
~we review all enior po 1tions when an
incumbent leaves to determine if they are
the wi est investment of resources for the
achievement of university goals," Gilmour
aid in re ponse to whether selecting a new
vp of human resources is effected by economic or financial issues.
"As with all departures of senior people
here at Wilkes, Maggie will leave a huge
gap in our leadership. She is the consummate profes ional and someone "ho cares
deeply about people. Out when you hire talented people, }OU have to expect that other
organization will seek them out and the
opportunity be has before her significantly
advances her career. We all wish her well,
and know we will mi sher," said Gilmour.

Martz Trailways Student Discount Program

7

Save 25% on Martz
Full-Fare Bus Tickets

Brt.ag thi coupon to Martz Traihnys
46 Public Squan Wilkes-Barre along With ·our College ID
I
to receive a

I

I- Rl'I I , t·a1 \lt•111ht·1 ,hip

is tt

('.!O, al11r1

Lund 's parents live m the area. so it was
tough for h r to choose to "-Ork far away.
During No \\eekends of the month, Lund
plans to fly back to Pennsylvania to see her
fan1ily and "ork from home. CHP's support
of th is arrangement reflect how some organizations arc becoming more flexible w11h
work ethics.
"There really is a great sense of accomplishing through cooperation and collaboration [at Wilkes], whether it JS ben,cen faculty and administration. faculty and students.
etc. I've seen it in various forms. \\/hen I met
with Dr. Gilmour to tell him about the opportunity. I saw the thread of consi tency ... he
was veiy happy for me;· Lund commented.
Because word of Field 's departure from
the university was not released until late Friday afternoon, The Beacon did not have time
to contact him for comment before publication. Howe\-er, in an email to the community Field "Tote: " In my 15 years at Wilkes,
it has been an honor to work with so many
dedicated and talented faculty and taff, and
it has been a pnvilege to teach and be pan
of the lives of our students. I cherish deepl
all of the friendships I have developed over
th e yeass, and 1 am proud of all of the
,-ork we have accomplished together. I have
'grown up· at this institution, and the lesson
and skills I have learned here will unqu -

G Notes: November 19, 2008

• PHILADELPHIA PARTY-OF-2 SPECIAL
• NYC PARTY Of 2, 3, 4, S, 6, 7 or 8 the bpr your party, the mo~ you saw!
• NYC SHOPPERS SPECIAL sd
I
• ATLANTIC CllY 7 DAYS A WEEK - Amulng Casfno

Andresen hold
rould go on to pi

tl

• Ge11eraf- :!.684.74

• Special Pro;ec1s. S1.570.74
-Spm1· S:!.000.00
-uadersh1p
3.744. ·9

Club Rrports

Thefol/ow,mg
clubs pres.tnted

upda1es 011 their
event
- Programming

Madeliene
lecture as
1 Outstandrs Series at

ously did an awfu
issues during a very
happening i the traJ
and ,arious team tu
the agencies to pull t
the tran it ion,•· said,
The fonner diplom
top advisor for Ohan
ance at Wilkes niv
foreign dignitaries a
on Obama· behalf
At the lecture All
university for its re
and leadership traini
the chool for its Uf
"orld of academia.
Albright. a profcSSI
vers1ty. said diat he
high
hool student
-.ill won. to make tl
voice in an Obama ad
- 1 do spend a lot
people ... and think th
mg about thJS campai1
that the youth "ere on
\\ay and also using al
technology and I thilll
lbri t said he add

• SUl'\'ey Sys/em

EvtniS
- Council of Club, November 20, 11
am. to I p.m.
• Wing Eating Cont 1
No\ember20, 7
pm tud·nt
Center Lounge
-Commuter
Council Bus
Trip YC
No\ember
22
-Wil~ Barre City
Christmas
Parade ovember 22

Live

Board
-MC

FLYING OUT OF NYC OIi PHILLY'/
LET MARTZ DO TM£ DRIVING FOR YOUI

New Busio
• Student Concerns
- law Ropes Cour: e: SG mcmb.:is panici-

off !Ally 1eMCt to
nd Pflilly.
Mid the aitpOrts a jtJSt a shoit hop

patcd during meeting time for a bonding
experience.
Old Bu int

L

from FRO T

- Set:rel Snmojla!.e

Tru urrr' Repori
- All College: S3,396.69

ii

SIC ABOUT OUR OTHER

NOVEMBER

ALBRIGH'

locauon
eacon Correspondent

a.on 100th Bi

fUE TICKET Oil YOUR lltTHDAY
TLANTlC OTY oa NEW YOik am s

4
uonably serve me "ell in m} fu ture endeavors."
According to Bethan} Collcg ·, "el&gt;1te. Fields "ill begin his nc\\ role of
vice president of tudent Affiurs and
dean o f Faculty on Febni31) 16. Fields
"'as selected from 80 applicants ma national search run by the college. Bethany College is West Virginia 's oldest
private college and has an enrollment of
a.ppro..:imately 850 Ludents.
" Our loss i Bethany College·s gain:·
said C. Reynold Verret, provost. m an
announcement to the Wilkes community Friday. •·we deepl} appreciate the
leadership and imagination that he has
exercised during his tenure among us
We wish him the be:.t on hi, ne\\ position."
Fields began at Wilkes as an assi tant
professor of Engli h in 1993 and b,:came assoeiate professor and Chair of
the Div1 ion of Humanities in 1999. He
was appointed to Dean of the College
of Ans, Humanitie and Social Sciences
in 2003.
According to Verret, an interim dean
of the College of Ans, Humanities and
Social Sciences will be announced
shortly.

• Bookstore /..jxlate
• W1/kes-8a1Te C11y Chr1S1mas Parade.◄ /-

• Al 7:30 p.m ., a
motion "as made to
adjourn dte SG meeting.
TI1e mollon \\as approved.

SG mtttings an: open to all studnts. TIit) are held e&gt;'el') Wedn e day in the Miller Conference room
on the s«ood floor of the H

I

•

�INIVERSITY
CORNERS
25, 2008
ALBRIGHT
NOVEMBER

t In cnpllDD. " I I ie au OCII) 10
hope that you will find this boo!.. u tul ··
Albright was s"om in as the 64th ~e rctary of tale on January 23. 1997. he \\ a,
the first "'oman to hold that position and at
the time "as the highest-ranking \\Olllan in
history of the United States government
he handed o,er the office in 200 I to Gen
Colin Powell, her successor. Ho1\ever. politicians, like President-elect Baracl.. Obama.
continue to seek her advice with foreign
policy and economic matters
W1

from FRO T PAGE
ou ly did an awful lot of work on host of
issues dunng a very long campaign. What is
happening is the transition is u\i(ull motion
and various team have been di patched to
lhe agencies to pull together the material for
lhe transitiont said Albright.
The fom1erdiplomat bas been serving as a
lop advisor for Obama. Prior to her appearance at Wilkes University Albright met with
foreign dignitaries at an economic summit
on Obama's behalf
At the lecture Albright praised Wilkes
University for its reputation in mentoring
and leadership training while also praising
the school for its upport of women in the
11orld of academia.
Albright. a professor at Georgetown Uni1ersity. said that she enjoyed talking to the
high school students earlier and that she
-.ill work to make the youth a prominent
voice in an Obama administration.
-1 do spend a lot of time with young
people ... and think that what was so exciting about this campaign "-85 the whole way
that the youth were tn\'olved in very active
1\8)&gt; and also using all kinds ofmformat1on
technology and I think that will continue,"
Albri ht said. he added. ~1 think there will

PAGE 12

5

NEWS

Volume 61

The Beacon/Andrew Seaman
Madeline Albright spoke at the F.M. Kirby Centrr on , ovember 18 as part of the
Outstanding Leaders Forum pn,sentr.d by Wilkes niversity.
be many activities 1vhere many people will
Albright recently published her third
be involved and are able to do feedback book. Memo to the President Elect: How
on a w,hole host of issues, because I think We Can Restore America· Reputation and
that President Obama i going to be some- Leadership. In a recent interview on '·Late
body that wants to hear from a vanety of
ight with Conan O'Brien," Albright said
le.'·
that she ave a co of the book to Obama

Watch
the press
conference
online at:

Issue 11

: lot woes

ilkesBeacon.com

Barn s &amp; Noble Wilkes-Kh1g's Bookstore

7South Main Stre t, Wilkes-Barre, PA1S701 ~ 570.208.4700 ~ wilkes.bncollege .com

'1Vhat's happening at. our bookstot·e thi week!
nsic Every ednesda
igbt
di ount on anything ou pur hase from the

Live "Free"

d mo Friday's witl 25%
fe during the musi act.

• Open Mic Night for Poeh &amp; coustic l\lusic
Tuesday No ember 25 th from :oo m - 8 :3op111
• Frida ) No ember 28th Live Music with
Scott&amp; Tom' t :3op1n
• , ednesda 1 De ember 3 rd we ha e
EamonJt Ga-raghty li e at6 .3opm
• Frida , December 5th Li e Music with
· Th-reeimagina-ry Boys' at :3opn1
• 'IfYou Give a at a Cupcake" this w ek dtu·iug our
weekly Saturda morning story time t 11: ooam
• 'New in Bioga·aph Book Club Monda
'Mystery Book lub
ThuTsd from 6: o- :
m

he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

iaftey officials remind com~ursday.
ls to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
. exams.
'er than our previous years,"
rigan, chair of the nursing de)wledged, but she noted that
s still working hard to mainmd prosperous program.
Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
11 examination administered
)Oard." The computerized
to five hours and can range
veen 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5
,6

nber

~Ali'
~

�fEMBER

18,

~

~. 25 Wi
~onels sta,
Promise ous text
messa es

NIELKAUTZ
Asst. Sports Editor

). 25 Wilkes Univers
team saw great succ(
urth annual John Re~
Saturday, November l
all four of their matd
ked Marts Center. T
:ived major contributio
nerous wrestlers in th
re home debut which i:

_ ,a,-ea

N ovEMBE

~Opinion

Pay attention, world:
DRC genocide threatens humanity
EDITORIAL BOARD

1' Tom Andresen

holcl
sen would go on to pi

Jtch Madeliene
right lecture as
f the Outstandaders Series a1

Th Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), fom1ally known
as Zaire, gained its independence
from Belgium in 1960. It is the
thud largest counby located in
central A Inca.
Since the late 1990s. after the
Rwandan civil war and genocide,
there has been an ongoing strug•
gle for both power and Iiberty
\\1thin the DRC" borders which
has led to the death of million .
And yet the current genocide in
the Congo has largely gone unreported.
Accordi ng to Jeanyves Ngabonziza senior environmental
engineering major, and Rwandan civil war and genocide urvivor, Mobutu
ese Sekothe
fernier president of Zaire, had
strong ties , ith former Rwandan
president Juvenal I lab:,,arimana
who life ended after his plane
was- hot do,m in l 994.
When the Tutsi rebellion defeated the Hutu regime and won
the,,.arin Rwanda in 1994, man
I lutus were exiled to the Congo.
and became refugees. gabonz.iza eAplained that Mobutu' government began to train the I lutu
refug s so that they •· ... could
come ba.ck and attack the new
establi hed Rwandan government."
As the Hutu regime began to
gain strength. ekothe upported
the social cleansing of the Congo, which targeted the ban:,,annulenge, who are Congolese Tutsis
As a resull, many Tutsis fled to
the newly formed no panisan
Rwandan government.
In respon . enraged Tutsi
fore-es led by Laurent-Desire
Kabila fough t and won the war

against ekothe and the Congolese government. Sekothe then
fled the counby, and Kabila was
named president in 1997. He then
changed the name of the country
from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of Congo ARer his rise to
po"er, Kabila turned hi back on
the Tutsi forces, and sided with
the Hutu militia. Ngabonziza explained that Kabila began to act
exactly as Sekothe did, ordering
attacks on the banyannulenge,
while using force in an effort to
drive them from the Congo.
The conflict led to Kabila's assassination in January of
2001 by one of hi bodyguards. hortly after. hi
son. Joseph Kabila Kabange
took his position, and follO\,ed the
same agenda. supporting segregation, and "social cleansing."
The DRC is categorized as a
democracy; however, it is not. It
clos ly resembles a dictatorship.
Ngabonziza e plained that there is
still strong suppon for segregation
bemeen Hutus and Tut is wit11in
the country. They have even gone
as far as setting up roadblocks, and
ordering the people to seperate. " If
people didn ' t want to separate ...
they would kill everybod ... The
main problem is that the genocide
has now gone over there If th
Congo lese goverrunent stoppe

supporting it. it "'ould solve a lot
of the problems."
Laurent kunda, current leader
of the rebel faction operating in
the
outhcast
providence
of
NordKivu
is
fighting

BYTI\I EIGF

a"

wi lke beacon.oped = gmaiLcom

BY THE BEACON

Thel

CONT CT I. FOR.\1ATlO1':
gino rroianitg;" ilkes edu
lauren.salem
ilkes.edu

Beacon Stoff Wr11

6

~

died from "ar-related causes in
Congo since 1998. ··1t is unjust
that people in their own counby
are not treated fairly by their own
government." id gabonziza.
When asked about the press
coverage. gabonziza said that
it has been adequate in recent
:,,ears; ho"ever, many till do
not know of the mayhem that is
happening in the DRC.
The Beacon feels that the fighting within the DRC needs to be
addressed. If 5,400.000 people
have died from war-related
cause , the American people, as
well as governments across the
world need to pay attention. One
death \\Ould be

~

Dver5MIIII
lives have bee
lost In the c ng
d•towar
related causes
SI ce199 .

Media covera e
has been lackln
since the stan of

gov-

aconn ct

~
er n •
mcnt ,
and the
tions. According to a
recent Associated Pre s
article, this warfare ha
uprooted some 200,000 citizens
from their homes. The United aLions has described this as " ... a
humanitarian cri is of catastrophic
dimen ions," causing civil unrest,
and large food hortages. De pile
bill ions in aid, and the deployment
of the ,,orld's large t peacekeeping force, a January 2008 International Rescue Committee s urvey
found that 5,400,000 people have

t 00

many. O\,er
5 million i catatrophic to all of human it . The
bloodshed needs to top. Thi
fighting will not cease until democracy and equality is established with in the DRC borders.
just like neighbonng Rwanda
did in 1994.

war will c nunue
to rage until
apeacetul
emocracvls
stablished in
the Con

Congress sha/
an establ, hmen,
tllt free exercist
freedom of spet!i
right of the pe&lt;&gt;J
and 10 pell/Ion
dress ofgneva,.
Those45 won
Bill of Rights. •
the Constnut1on
Amen ca, "'h ich
ofth1 rant
For those who
of December i
Wilke!&gt;. which ll
for the Con titu
more importantl
University to pu
First Arnendme1
pnsed to be w1
reading. a work
~offensive·· (I c
asked to Iisten t
may not contain
ethnic groups.
That's what ti
about, though. r
all things peec
and a sembly.
So in the pirit
I sur,e)'ed I 00
see exactly how
knew a bout the

{C11e gloomy
hock )-OU.
aturally. I fir
familiar tudent
are protected by
Hence. Qut Ii
does the First

YOl
Dear Editor:
The Wilkes I
member Mondi
mond "as kille,
mg home from
Mt Washington
of us "ho kne1
that he was tak
from climbing a
us of -.hat mad,
us pnuse. amid
lntle over the so
Art ' many fn
smile, his gent!
hfe A11·s profe

�INIVERSITY
CORNERS
NOVEMBER

25, 2008

7

OPINION

PAGE 12

The Educational
Rant: The First Amendment
.,
BY TI\I EIGflllED
Btucon Stoff Wmer
Congress shall make no law respecting

an establ,shment ofrehgwn. or prol11b1ting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech. or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to pe1111on the Government for a redress ofgr,evances.
Those 45 words arc the beginning of the
Bill of Rights. which is the beginning of
the Const11ut1on of the United States of
Amenca. 1&gt;hich brings us to the beginning
of this rant.
For those who are unaware, the first ~eek
of December i Fn'St Amendment Week at
Wilkes. 1&gt;hich is essentially Christmastime
for the Constitutional nerds out there. But
more importantly, it is a time for Wilkes
University to put on public di plays of the
First Amendment in action. Don ·1 be urpnsed to be 1&gt;itnesscs to a banned book
reading. a work of art that some might find
•offensl\e.. (I call them i sics), or to be
asked to listen to some music that may or
may not contain slurs against one or more
ethnic groups.
That's what the First Amendment is all
about, though, right'! A free expression of
all things peech. religion, press, petition
and assembly.
So in the pirit ofFirst Amendment Weck,
I surve}ed I00 local coll ge students to
see e,;actly how much the average student
knew about the First Amendment.
{Cue gloomy m1,sic} The results ... may
shock you.
aturally. I first wanted to find 0111 how
familiar students arc with the rights that
are protected by the First Amendment .
Hence. Quution I: How many rigbt(s)
doa tht First mtodmtnt protect? (5)

Of 100 students, only 23 of them an v.ered
correctly. 16 students an wered wilh " IO."
I don 't know what' more surprising: That
fe1&gt;er than 20% of students knew there are
five , or U1at 16 thought there were ten.
Que tioo 2: or the following lw ord
baakl, which right does the First
Amudment guaraattt? ( peech, Pre
Religion, A mbly, Petition)
15 students correctly selected all five. 92
students selected free spettb, 69 students
selected pre and
embly, S4 students
selected religion, and only 23 students selected petition .
It's not urpri ing that th maJonl} of tudents picked free peech. bul ii i unusual
that religion was selected less frequently
than assembly, pecially amid one of the
most polarizing religious climates in our
nation ·s history. At least most (not all)
students know they hav the right 10 free

peech.
Question J:
oder the first Amendmtol, can }OU ltgally burn a flag? (Ves, if
it i dari11g a protest)
Fifty-four tudents got this one correct. If
you did your math, that means that 46 got
it wrong.
Que lion 4: When did you first learn
about the first Amendment and the
rights it guannttts?
Sc enty-threc students said they learned
about it betl&gt;een 6th and th grad .
Que tion 5: \! ould you be protected
under the First Amendment if you wrote
a tory about a celebrity that yo■ knew to
be untrue? ( o, that's called libel)
Sixty-nine students got this one correct.
It's also worth noting that the First Amendment does protect you if you are writing
something satirical . (Like Saturday 1ght
live and other sketch comedy shows) The
ultimate defense against libel is the truth.

If something is true, regardless of its defamatory quality, then the First Amendment
protects the writer. And if some of you remember. I once wrote about how Rosie
O ' Donnell was fed a live animal in bel\,een
commercial breaks during her time on '"The
iew'". Truth or satire? I' m just ssyin '
Que lion 6: Under the first mendment, have experimental drugs ever been
used ltgally in accordance with religio us
rigbts? (Ye see the American I ndian Religious Freedom ct or 1978)
ixty-nine rudents al o got this one correct. No 1&gt;onder. tupid hippie .
Que tion 7: A. Doe the First Amendment apply to a public chool new paper? (Ye )
inety-two tudents said yes.
8. Doe the First Amendment apply to
a private school newspaper? ( o)
ixty-one tudents said no.
A quick le son: The First Amendment protects a public school 's newspaper because 11
is a governmentally funded school, such as
state schools. Ho1&gt;ever, the first amendment
does not protect the nev.spaper of a private
hool, such as Wilk University.
What thi means, in a nutshell, is that a
public school cannot have its paper hut
down because the college's administration
does not like its content or wan to stop a
potentially problematic story from making
the newstand . lnat would be prior restraint
(look it up, people) and a violation of the
First Amendment. However, the brass at
Wilkes University could hut down the paper if they didn ·1 like the content because
it's a private institution. ( ot that Pre ident
Gilmour would hut us down though, becau e he gets it about student pre freedom. By the "'ay. 1r, how is that "tuition
problem" 1&gt;e talked about CQming along'!

Que tion 8: The first
mendmtnt
goe too rar in the righ ts it guarantets.
Forty-s ix students disagreed, 15 strongly disagreed, 24 agreed, and 15 trongl)
agreed. Um, pretty concerned about !hose
last 39 folks . Too far? This question nurrored the 2008 tale of the First Amendment (SOFA) survey conducted nationally. The national results are slightly more
hopeful in that I0% of respondents agreed
and 10% strongly agreed. Obvio us!) , the
filct that local college students came out
19% beyond those figures in their desire to
see the First Amendment scaled bacl sa)
a great deal about the need for educatio n
here.
So what have we learned today'
It appears that students don "t I.no\\ too
much about the First Amendment, as evidenced by the less than 30% succes rate
of questions one and r-,o
Maybe it's just me, but i it too much to
ask of college tudents lo kno1&gt; what their
rights arc? It' interesting to see the mass
of college students who \\ere involved m
the election this year, but I \\Onder ho \\
many of those students knew which nghts
they were guaranteed? If I were to stump
for a political candidate, I' d like to kno\\
what my rights were and what that candidate was going to do to them.

Volume 61

Issue 11

: lot woes

•Author's note: This is the last rant ofthe
year 2008, and my apologies for II being
tducational - Who wants that in college.
right' It was a good year. and /he Rant
shall return m Jan11ary 2009 with the first
annual ..Angry Rant Awards. .. And JUSt so
you know. Dane Cook and J11110 11'111 be
made fun of MANY ttmes.
Merry Christmas and Happy 11olida; s.
a/f.

•wink• )

he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

,aftey officials remind commrsday.
Dear Editor:
The Wilkes fanuly lost an important
member Monday night when Art Redmond was killed in a car accident returnmg home from climbing the summit of
Mt Washington, ew Hampshire. For all
of u,, \\ho knew and loved Art, the fact
that he was taken from us coming home
from climbing a mountain helps to remind
us of \\hat made An special. It also gives
us pa=. amidst our grief. to smile just a
hnle over the sort of person Ari was.
An ' many friends will ne,er forget his
;mrle, his gentle demeanor and his love of
hfo Arf professors will also remember

an cKlmordinarily bright }Oung man who
was ajo to have m class . I consider myself
truly fortunate to have been both his professor and his friend
What I will remember the most about Ari
was his constant pursuit of living life to the
fullest. Art loved Latin America and was set
to serve in the Peace Corps taning in the
summer of2009 and later to anend graduate
school. Ari loved to travel and relished the
opportunity to study abroad. While many
students go to Spam. England, or Australia,
An 1&gt;enl to Peru and Ecuador. The proudest
moment of my teaching career was receiving an email from him describing his \\Ork

with children in an Ecuadorian orphanage.
In difficult moment such as these it can
be hard to find comfort in tragedy. Ho1&gt;ever. those of us who knew and loved Ari
can take solace in Art's friendship and the
kno\\ ledge that he was able to touch so
many in a life that was too hort. In times
like these, it is also imponant to examine
our own lives. our pnorities, our friends, our
family and the way we want the world to be.
We can all honor Art by trying to succeed m
the way that he did. Live life to the fullest,
be a friend, tudy abroad. take a chance!
I wanted to leave you with the 1&gt;ords of
Ralph Waldo Emerson,"To laugh often and

much: to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and to endure
the betrayal of fa! e friends . To apprec1a1e
beauty; to find the best in others; to leave
the world a bit better whether by a health)
child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social
condition; to know that even one hfe has
breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."
Art clearly succeeded.

Dr. Andrew P. Miller
Political Science

Is to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
exams.
er than our previous years,"
igan, chair of the nursing de,wledged, but she noted that
s still working hard to mainnd prosperous program.
Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
11 examination administered
,oard." The computerized
to five hours and can range
reen 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5

�_ __ _... !lio·""'- V'.

NOVEMBER

18, i

No. 25 Wi
Colonels staJ
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The No. 25 Wilkes Univers
wrestling team saw great succf
at the fourth annual John Ree
Duals on Saturday, November l
winning all four of their match
in a packed Marts Center. T
team received major contributio
from numerous wrestlers in th1
impressive home debut which ii

NOVEMBER

25, 2008

OPINION

8

In response to Bishop Martino
BY GI 'OTROI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor
Thi October a lener was sem
10 Catholic followers by cranlon
Bishop Jo eph F. Martino urging
volers to strong! consider the
Catholic stance on abortion when
they went to the polls on November 4 The subtext, of course,
was that a vote for Barack Obama
and all candida1es to upport a
woman 's nghl lo choose "ould
be con 1dered a vote against 1he
Catholic faith .
Excerpts of 1he leller, widely
read al Ca1holic church aero s
lhe Diocese, included : " Being right on l~e , education,
healthcare, immigrat10n, and the
economy fai ls 10 make up for the
error of disregard ing the value
of human lifc ... (Abortion) ... is
the single mo t important i sue ...
He does nol ask us to take up his
cross only to have us leave it at
the voting booth doort Martino
,note. lnstantaneou ly, these
remarks generated controversy
both in and 0111 ide the Catholic
cornmunily.

The Firs1Amendment guarantees
that all Americans may choose
wha1 religious denomination (if
any) lo practice. Once that choice
is made, the religious faithful ubject themselves to the practice
and beliefs of that denomination .
Bishop Martino has every right
to promote pro-life candidates
because uch a political stance
is con i tent with the beliefs of
the Catholic church. Freedom of
speech is also protected under the
First Amendment. and Martino. as
the local head of the Diocese, has
an obligation lo lead by e ample,
So members of the Catholic
church should not have been urpriscd by Martino· message.
evertheless, many "ere certainly urprised and chagrined by
1he overt push prior to and after
election day. Wh -.ould an individual subject themselves to the
teachings and rules of a pecific
group if 1hey do not fully agree
with them?
Do I agree with Manino'
tanoe? Absolutely not. My view
is that there is no room for politics -.ithin the walls of a religious

institution. Any time the t"o are
associated, there is a great danger
of promoting bias and ignorance.
Guih and fear arc far 100 po\\erfu l tools.
Bui I do respecl hi right to
·tate 11. 1 also respect the rights
of Catholics to d,sagree and vote
their conscience.
Recently, Martino claimed that
the Obama administration 's aggressively pro-abortion policie
are vie\\ed "as an attack on the
church."
Th, i \\Tong; a similar issue
was resolved over 200 years ago.
The "establishmen1 clau :· of
the First Amendment state ~congress hall make no law re peeling
an establishment of religion." The
founding fathers made ii crystal
clear in the Coosti1ution that the
Uniled S1a1es government shall
not favor or discriminate again t
a ny one religion. Bi hop Martino,
there i no " anack''. The rules regarding choice come directly from
the me documen1 that grants you
the nghl to practice your religion
freely.
On Oc1obcr 7, 1801, the Dan-

Beaco11 Poll Results
bury Bapt1s1s, a religious minorily in C0Mec1icut. -..rote a letter
to then-President Thomas Jefferson complaining that the religious
liberties they practiced were not
viewed as immutable rights by the
state.
Jefferson responded on January
I, 1802 tating, ··t contemplate
with sovereign reverence that act
of the whole American people
which declared 1hat their legislature hould ' make no law respecting an establishment of re ligion,
or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof,' thus building a wall of
separation bct\\ecn Church &amp;
Sta
I am not Catholic, and have no
religious ti . I am simply responding as an American who
operates under the same Constitution. America I a truly great and
unique nalion because its people
possess the ability to practice
and speak freely. Although some.
may not alwa s agree with others
views, we must remember that it
1s their right, no matter their ideology.

Students improve upon conventional flirting
BY CHRI TA
OBBA
Beacon ltfest:y/es £d11or

Wilkes' Tom Andresen hold
Andresen would go on to pi

Passing folded-up notebook
paper etched wi1h sweet nothings
"a,, once the wa that brave high
school s1udents could express
1he1r attraction to the opposite
sex. ow, love notes ha~e gone
passe. in favor of a more revealing medium.
And this new crop of high
school students is reveal ing much
more than !heir inncrmo I emouons.
Tunkhannock Area High chool
recently garnered tatewide attent10n, when reports surfaced
that five cell phones that had
been confiscated from tudent
contained picture of nude o r
cnunude female classmates . In
a lelter senl home to parents on
Oc1obcr 31. school admmistrahon said the phones contained
pictures "of a highl sexually explicit nalure" of female students.
The males "ho had the pictures
on their phones were behveen

the ages of II and 17, "bile the
femal m 1he pictures appeared
to be between the ages of 14 and
16. According to District Allorney George Skumamck Jr., some
of the girls pictured had actually
lakeo the photos. One girl in1ervicwed described the pictures as
"1he new ffutrng. ~
Perhaps most disturbing is tha1
the core issue is nowhere near
an isolated occurrence. In 2008
alone. Pennsylvania, ew York,
Connecticut, Ohio, cw Hamphire, Michigan. Texas, and other
states reported such cases.
The Tunkhannock Area students
whose confiscaled cell phones
contained explicit picture of minors could face felony charges
of sexual abuse of c hildren and
criminal use of a communicat10n
device.
However, sticking a sex offender
label on an I I-year-old for trading
e ual images ignores the root of
the problem: a sociely that
ms
to promole sexual izing a younger
and younger demographic.

Teenagers ca1ch their cue abou1
how to dress and how to talk from
celebn11 , so it's not a stretch to
assume they look to them for wa)S
to "flirt.~ And they got a crashcourse in the new genre of flirting
a yea r ago, when nude pi ture
of Vanessa Hudgens, from ~High
chool Musical'· fame. circulated
over the Intemet.
Like the girls from Tunkhannock Area, Hudgens took the provocative photos of herself with
the inten1ion of sending them 10
someone she was dating. But unlike lh p
nt case, there were
no legal repercussions involving
the pictures, "hich surfaced when
Hudgen was 18 years old.
So what do the teenagers see?
They se bcau11ful. wildly-popular
Hudgen choosing to po e for sexy
pictures. then to send them on to a
guy she likes. Any kind o f public
falloul "
quick!) squelched by
the support of Di oey, who owns
the " I ligh chool Musi al" franchise. and the signing of Hugdens-,.ith a raise-for the 1hird

in tallment of the serie .
The movie took in more than
$42 million during its opening
weekend a few weeks ago. leaving Hudgens firmly planted as the
new American wcclheart.
Teenagers may be looking to
this case for flirting inspiration,
but 1hey·re not lookmg at it for legal realily ending nude pictures
via lcxt message or e-mail may
not have been a crime for H udgens. but average Joes have found
themselves in trouble for it . A few
weeks ago, ten studenis in Michigan were suspended after passing around a female classmate'
nude picture on their cell phones.
In October, a 15-year old Ohio
girl was charged "ith the felony
of " illegal use of a minor in nudily oriented material" for sending
nude pictur ofherselfon her cell
phone.
Baiting your eyes or covering a
nolc with gel-penned hearts may
be an outdated form offlirt ing, but
al least it won 't get you a felony
ex-offender conviction.

Toe following are rel.ults ofa
poll that 771e Beacon conducted
onlinc this past "c.:k The
poll was unscienufic and doe;
not claim 10 reflect lhe a1t1tuJe
of s1udcnts on camptb

The Beacon asked:
Should Propos11lon 8 be o,er
turned?
• Ycs-69%
• o-31¾
• Undecided - 0%

Next Week's que lion:
Do ) OU foe( that U IS
doing enough to keep peace
in the Congo·&gt;

•Ye
•No
• Undecided
Vi ii WWW,\\il~esbcacon
com 10 cast )our ,ote.
Re ull will be publ ished
onhnc at w1lkcsbeacon com

Speak Up!

It's Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
Wilke Beacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your \ame.
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon re,,ervei. lhe nght

10 cdi1 submitted pi · for
space and conlenl

.
Go watch Madeliene
K. Albright lecture as
part of rhe Outstanding Leaders Series at

8:00p.m.

�INIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12

bridal busme
Mo!her-~a~ghter
PAGE 10

l1'iastreos
NOVEMBER

5, 2008

CONTACT I FOR\1ATI0'1:
christa.sgobba•'.g" il~es edu
leeann.searfoss a ·1lkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles gmail.com

g

Technological changes on the horizon for Farley Library
Dickinson o cge in Caran · where he headed a 12

Volume 61

g renovalion
•A

cjust a place to hit the book , the farIC) Library is now pre
to launch itself
headlong into the technological advances of
lhe 21 st century and hit back wtth high tech
acce,.; for students an faculty.
Wilkes officials confirm plans for structural and programmati&lt;: changes co the E.S.
Farley Library o\cr the ne\.1 few academic
tcnns. While chang have
n forthcoming on the Iibrnry sta s agenda, the new
Dean of the Library. John 18Ch z. has
,pearhcadiug inquiry into»ew projects
and new "'ays of thiru.ing about the buildmg that should seM' as the informatJon hub
on thc umvenny.
"John i,, Just labulous as oor !IC\' dean. He
s a super advocate ilr bonging the i ues
the nt,- said Brian Sacobc, Heal of

·leamina-' umla the servic,.

: lot woes

c of a traditional lill!nr), IT scni=. and
a writing center. 1udents can get
h
hip.IT
f
Poin or
Staci
lm·e

IICffllel) p 11nn1

a

Issue 11

ttlOIIS to

both available
nsel
or ei,.amp
lcadmg an effort t
common
imilar to

l

·

·

FarleyL

"W
is to get

putelS.
here

sruden

bas bad ~ry ofcxpcric:n

reworkiog the 5lruclUn:S ,r

past His most reccnt pructi
being 11111111d Dim:lorofL1
· llniversit),-JCokomo

Ii•-c
·•

-stop "lcaming

to the Farlc~ Lib
ill.es with 86 ollege

tc• wll

pc

udcat.s

beou.
podclas for
ing to
CUlbeus.:d"

som.: stud
.
what lhC} are lookm tor.•
to both the materials and th&lt;l
c libral} are in d1e taff"s protural changes to die Ii
,
h • part of the propowd, ill
' and study than the co Ice-

and we art"
dlisAldea
least, 11

on the
to the h
-.1 rhrouglt

and easi«
uu«-lilnry lolll.
tlchlll:z.
Books and journal an: not the only malerial getting face Ii in the coming seniesters. Sacolic has created. and is p.,rfecting,

warerhadrisen
to-6,ot•. . . . lacir. Asaresult,rl
residual smdfia..,..6111}' dtsSipeted
"'1t• hip liml;lllll9'llllellls desene a nic
Ii
," said Saeolic.

he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

1aftey officials remind comilUrsday.

ls to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
:exams.
·er than our previous years,"
rigan, chair of the nursing de&gt;wledged, but she noted that
s still working hard to main.nd prosperous program.
Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
11 examination administered
&gt;oard." The computerized
to five hours and can range
,een 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5

�1VEMBER

18,

~

l. 25 Wi
lonels sta,
\NIEL KAUTZ
~ Asst. Sports Editor

[o. 25 Wilkes Univers
g team saw great succ(
)urth annual John Rec
1 Saturday, November l
all four of their matd
:ked Marts Center. T
eived major contributio
:nerous wrestlers in th
ve home debut which ii

10

LIFESTYLES

NOVEMBER

18, 2008

Mother-daughter team breaks into bridal business
8\"AMA DA GU T HER
Beacon Asst A&amp;£ Editor
For some }Oung \\Omen. the song " I lere
Comes the Bnde.. inspires panic, for others,
dreams of the mo I irnponant day in their
young live Bui for one Wilkes freshman.
the song--and the \\edding finery thal accompanies it--mspires entrepreneurship.
Busmcss major Breanne lfolby is getting
a head l3r1 10 the busmess y,orld by opening her own nc, bu iness "ith her business
panner and mother, Gail Holby.
The pair plan to open a bridal shop nexl
}ear thal specializes in mother' dresses, after five dresses, communion and
flower girl dresses Ga Bree·
Bou1ique will
be located be-

1he Gatewa} Gardens o n lhe 01her ide of
the Market treet Bndge.
on truction on Ga Bree's will begin
around December 20. The Holby hope to
open 1heir doors some1ime in January, jus1
in time for the big busy bridal season to
stan.
The ne" store will be connected with
Kathy's Bridal and Prom Excitement." here
Breanne got staned in the bridal world after
\\Orking for O\,ner Kathy Nardeone.
" My mom and I are actually taking pan
10 one of her stores because he [Kathy] is
expanding so much with prom." said Breanne
Breann and Gail have a close relationship with ardeone, who has been
in the busin s for over 25 years. Nardeonc i helping the I lolby duo in 1he
basics and to cstabli ha solid bu incs
··since I have somebody
that' s done thi before,
she's totally set me up
with eve,ything that I
need d," said Gail.

Breanne llolby, lrft, and htr mothrr Gail, plan on opening
The mother and
tbrir bridal bop busin
in January.
daughter team hav

been considenng this partnership for o~er
r,.o years, but it wasn ·1 until aboul a month
ago that the plans really took off.
--we ·ve alway talked about me going
nut door [to Kathy 's] and expanding the
tores together." said Gail, but he needed
her daughter's incenlive to actually get the
ball rolling.
•·1 told her that if this is what we want to
do, Y.e have 10 sl3r1 it now," said Breann .
Soon after Breanne and Gail began looking
through books and mag)!Zines, rounding up
idea from all the different vendors.
During winter break, th Holbys will venture 10 cw York City to check out dresses
the design rs present through fashion hows
and vendors.
" We bnng a bunch of stuff back and just
tart trying to sell," said Breanne.
Although the busine will be launching
dunng the school year. Breanne is not concerned with Ga Bree's mterfering with her
studies. Doing both at once i bcnefitting
both her tudies and the business.
"The business aspect of helping my mom
open the busin s right now is the same stuff
I am doing in my cla es," said Breanne.
Breanne chose to become involved in the

busines Y.orld because she love,, Y.orl.ing
with people. After ,,or~ing for ardeone.
she realized she wanted 10 be mvolved in
the bndal \\Orld. because she loves fash ion
and its customers.
'·When you work wi1h a bnde or you y,ork
with a mother, 1hey are so thankful ; you see
o much joy;· said Breanne.
While studying business a1 Wilkes, she
plans 10 intern at other larger businesses in order 10
gain more experience and
knowledge.
After gradua1ion,
Breanne
hopes
to
expand
Ga Bree's,
making
it a big-

fr an chise.

NovEMBI

Wilk
Gilmo1
BYCIIRI T l
Beacon L,festyli
A t} p1cal day I
dent of WIii.es I
fore 6 00 a.m. ,
and a quick brcal
h1 first batch of
Then Gilmour
day chock-full o1
conference , rnaJ
oubide lhe area.
ncr. but usually I
another three hol
u,ual 12-hour y,c
A schedule Iik
one. but it IS p
our · case that I
body In April . G
with early-stage
common cancer I
rng men ,n the U1
" I wa pretty su
tend y,11h it, becl
history. My fath.
cancer.- he sa,d
"They say thal
1fyou have an
au1op y
of

ty, as bi trong,
1'ith prostate ra1

Tom Andresen hold
m would go on to pi

ch Madeliene
Jht lecture as
the Outstandders Series a1

�NOVEMBER

25, 2008

11

LIFESTYLES

INIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12

Wilkes President urges proactive stance on health
Gilmour joins growing ranks of men diagnosed with prostate cancer
BY CIIRI TA SGOBBA
Beacon life.styles £d1tar
A l}p1cal day for Dr. Tim Gilmour, Presidenl of Wilkes niversity, begin JU t before 6:00 a.m. After some brisk exercise
and a quick breakfast, he its down to check
his first batch of e-mails for the day.
Then Gilmour heads to his office for a
day chock-full of meetings, fundraisers, and
conference , many which require traveling
oubide the area. lie makes it home for dinner, but usually pops back lo the office for
another three hours of"ork to round out his
u ual 12-hour workday.
A schedule like that can be tiring for anyone, but it is especially important in Gilmour·s case that he does not o~erexert hi
body. In April, Gilmour, 64, -.as diagnosed
"ith early-stage pro tale cancer, the mo t
common cancer besides skin cancer afflictmg men in lhe United tales.
"I was preny sure that I would have to contend -.11h ii, because il's part of my family
h1s1ory. My father
had prostate
cancer.- he said.
"They say lhal
1fyou have an
autopsy
of

every male over 80, -.ell over 90 percent
have some sort of pro talc cancer "
Accordmg to the American Cancer Society, one out of evel) six men will be diagnosed -.1th pro tale cancer. Ho-.ever, while
the frequency of developing such a cancer i
rather high, the incidence of mortality from
it is not. Only one man out of 35 who is diagnosed with prostate cancer will die from
it, and when the cancer is dctec1ed early, the
progno is becomes even better.
Knowing his famil y history, Gilmour
made it a point lo receive regular testing
lo check for any indications of cancer. He
was tested by the pro late- pecific antigen
(PSA) test -.hich hows the level of cancer
agents m the blood.
After his P A level jumped, Gilmour
undernent three biopsies over a year and a
half to test for cancer. In April. following
his third biopsy, Gilmour's pathologist at
Johns Hopkins Hospital was able 10 identify cancer. Then, Gilmour had 10 make a
decision about his treatment.
According 10 Susan Bi ~up, a counselor
at Wilkes University Counseling Service ,
taking an aclive role in treatment can be a
helpful coping mechanism to a frightening
diagnosis.
" Being proactive about &gt;our diagnosis
and treatmenl can be empowering for everyone involved," she said. "Take the lime
lo ge1 lhe fac1s, do the research. and ask
your doctor questions in regard to your
specific plan of treatment."
Gilmour researched his diagnosis and
po ible treatment 1hrough many channel . He 1udied his options online al
the National In titute of Health and the
National Cancer lnslitutc "ebsiles. He
dJSCusscd lh
opuon "ith hi phys 1-

ty, 15 hi strongest upporter during his fight
,.ith prostate uncer.

ciaos, each of "1tom had a lightly ciJf.
ferenl philosophy regarding his treat-

ment.
" Each one of1hose perspecrives -.as really informative. but ii \\&amp;Sonly a piece of the
puzzle,~ he said. " But -.hen you pul them
all 1ogether, you could see a clearer, more
entire, picture."
Becau· of the early stage of the cancer,
Gilmour and his doctors decided on brachytherapy, a treatment thal involves the implantalion of radioaclive seeds to klll cancer cells. After ix months. G ilmour·s PSA
levels will be retested to sec if they returned
to the pre-cancer point.
While Gilmour descnbe~ the oulp t1en1
procedure as " not a fol of fun. - he was urprised by how energecic he felt after his recovery period.
" for me, 11 hasn ·1 really affected my energy levels," he said. ~People I have known
"ho had radiation in lhe past described ii as
just Ihis tremendous sense of being fatigued
all the time."
Gilmour recalls feeling 1ired for "only a
\\eek al mosl," and "orked ha! f days for
only three days before returning to his normal schedule. Al this point in his 1rea1ment,
he can'I di tinguish any lo s of energy.
According to Biskup, main1ai111ng an ac1ive, healthy lifestyle is key 10 coping with
treatment
" Anticipate physical changes and maintain a healthy lifestyle a much as possible,''
she said. " Develop a personal trategy that
-..orks for you. lhat include work, as tolerated, and rela,calion lhrough lei ure, music.
art, socialization, and journaling."
Gilmour plans to keep healthy by increasing hi exercise regimen, adding vitamin
supplemenis to his diel, and making smart
food choices. He counts the unwavering
upport of his wife, Patty. as something thal
gave him strength throughout his diagnosis
and treatment

Volume 61

1

~

" Pany was just a great rock and a questioner all the way through." be said. " he
gol herself very well informed on lhe lopic.''
Gilmour ·s struggle has helped him recognize the importance of laking care o f
hi body, a lesson he thinks is vital for the
younger genera1ion to leant before it is 100
late.
" Everybody \~ho 's younger assumes
the body will continu to work perfectly
throughoul your life:· he said. " You real!)
need 10 take care of it, because ii thrives
on some things, and really is damaged b)
others, most clearly smoking and e ~cess ,ve
alcohol consumption."
Over the years. Gilmour says thal struggles like his current situation have helped
him reevaluate the priorilies in his life.
wThings involving work and so on are not
-.ha1 real! give you lhe greatest feelings of
belonging and self\,onh,., he said. " I began
to realiu ho" importanl family is. 1ha1 ii really is the key lo a Iifc that is "ell lived "

Issue 11

lot woes

'he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

saftey officials remind comlmrsday.

ils to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
[ exams.
rer than our previous years,"
rigan, chair of the nursing deowledged, but she noted that
is still working hard to mainmd prosperous program.
1 Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
al examination administered
board." The computerized
to five hours and can range
ween 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5
16

"'Ali'

nber

~

�NOVEMBER

18,

~

No. 25 Wi
Colonels staJ
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The No. 25 Wilkes Univers
wrestling team saw great succf
at the fourth annual John Ree
Duals on Saturday, November 1
winning all four of their match
in a packed Marts Center. T
team received major contributio
from numerous wrestlers in th,
impressive home debut which ii

Wilkes' Tom Andresen hol~
Andresen would go on to pl

A&amp;£\
NOVEMBER 25,

2008

COi'TACT I FORMATION:
alyssa.benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossanto mana@:wilk .edu
amanda.gunther'.?fwilkes.edu
....__wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com___,

______

Economic downturn affects local theaters, Broadway
B YOHA

DEW

ANTO M.

Beacon Asst. A&amp;£ Editor
In ew Yori&lt; City, Broadway shows offer
audiences the opportunity to escape from
reality. Unfortunately, economic realities
are \\orking their way back into theaters
as investors and producers have to think
twice before producing new shows. And
1he economic i sues are not only impacting Broadway.
The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts is also facing economic
chal lenges as belts continue to tighten
across the country.
Marilyn antarelli Executive Director of lhe F.M. Kirby Center for the
Pcrfomung Arts said, ' ome of the
analy i that \\ 've done on the sales
10 date and advanced sales looks as if
we are down about 20"/o."
Analy Is note that in hard economic
times. people tend to default to the familiar. People are more attracted to shows
with huge popularity such as the popular
musical show "Cats~ or " Phantom of the
Opera,~ which is one reason why investing
in new shows is something to think twice
about. " I think that anything that is not hot,
like really in the mainstream, has a great
following from all different age groups,
or ju ;t a great following for a certain age
group ... will sutler first or suffer most.~

said Carolan Cohan, Director of Marketing &amp; al of the F.M. Kirby Center for the
Performing Arts.
" .. I think the reaon why people are not

money
on
tickets
is
because there is
a sense of fear among the
population that things are going to get \\Orse
and they are con&lt;:emed about allocating any

not essential dollars," said Santarelli.
I lowever, even if the ticket sales are
gcnerall down. Broadway
show tickets C\·entually tend to
sell. Co-

said ,

-we had

' Chicago ·
the mu ical here
in October and ticket sale
were down with that great how. It was performed extremely well and our audience

The holiday season iJ underway. The
tity of\~1l kes-Barre ha made prepenitioas by decorating Public quare with
light and will have a large e.-ergreen
tree a Chri tmas grows closu; The
rttent cold weather and flurries have
made the sea on all that more festive.
tudenu go on Thanksgiving Break
on nvcmber 25 to the 30. The annual
Cbristam Parade was held November
22. On aturday there were musical
performances, free movies. and am
and cnifts to all tho who attended to
cclehnitc the beginning of the holiday

had a great umc and we sold [the) 11cke1,
We are about to h8\ e another Broad"a)
ho" called - Moving Out'' in May and '"
expect that to be a uccess as \\ell .,
In a time of economic do" ntum. hO\,e,er
most consumers are he itanl to pend mone)
on luxUJ)' items lik ou ide en1ertammen1
But entertainment venue are careful lo 1101
base all re enu treams on ticket sale;
~So much of our operating re~enue come&lt;
from philanthropy, so it's nol jus1 about th,
number of people who are bu} mg 11ckeb
It 's also about their willingness to continue to make gifis to the organization:
said Santarelli. This includes donor..
individual , and corporate ponsors.
Despite this, an ailing econom) doc&lt;
not tend to change people ·s perceptior
of the importance of the arts. Viger
Kadysewski, freshman bus me s administration major said, " Art is important
because it mak you rela.~ and II mak~
you understand the people around )OU in e
more artistic way."
antarelli believes thal 1f the econom}
continues the way it is there migh1 be ar
upside to thi , " Performing arts center car
make their product affordable [and] peoplt
will look at it as maybe a nee ity bccaus.
it's fun and ii is an escape," he said.
The F.M. Kirby Center \\BS built 1n 1936
three years after the great depression start·
ed, and " People fled to movie theal rs IC
escape the great depre ion because 11 \\I!
affordable," said Santarelli.
enior mu ical theater maJor. Chri,tine Borchick id, " I think 11 i extremel)
unfortunate. Tickets for a lot of the huge
Broadway shows arc selling at place, likt
tickets for half off their normal selling prnx
because theatres are de perate to sell then.
seats. I think it' a hame because wher
people it down to decide ho\\ the) car
make ends meet it's often al the expense ol
the arts, much as it "ould be for any othei
form of entertainment, like sporting e,ent1
or concerts.n
ari&lt; Thomas, Program Director of tilt
F.M. Kirby Center said, " We are Just coming from a difficult contentious clectior
and now the economic [downturn] on tor
ofit, so people are proc mg 1ha1 informa•
tjon dealing with it and evemually \\ill sian
looking for that cape: ·

bovt:
The Beacon/ Bethany Yamnck

.
Go watch Madeliene
K. Albright lecture a~
part of the Outstanding Leaders Series a1
8:00p.m.

12

�NOVEMBER

25, 2008

ART S &amp; ENTE RTAINMENT

.

Mo-vie Review

t

BY A IILEY FILIPEK
Beacon Sta.ff Wruer
I mad fun of my mom v.hen I caught
her reading the novel Tw1hght (gean:d toward that "tween,. group) but she insisted
I 1ake the time to sit down and read at least
the first of the four novel series. I finished,
si&gt;. hours later, eager to get my hands on
Twilight's successor, New Moon. Before
I knew it, I ran out of words to read, and
the four books of Stephenie Meyer's series \\ere over. All I had to look forward to
happened this past Thursday at midnight
rn all u's "'tweeny" glory.
I walked into the midnight showing,
filled with screaming 13 year-old girl ,
with high expectations for not only the
cast of characters but that the moview
\\Ould make an attempt to stay true to
Meyer's plot. I was not disappointed.
The casting was very true to the charactenzation and descriptions m the book.
For the movie, Bella's Forks friends were
"updated" and hilanous. Her mom, Renee
(Sarah Clarke), was that crazy, unrestricted mother that everyone can relate to.
Billy Burke, v.ho
plays Bella 's father Chart ic (Billy
Burke), somehow
manages to be
simultaneously
someone
v.ho
does not hover and
yet IS still overly
protective of hi
newly acquired
daughter.
Also
true to his charact r in the book, Jacob Black (Taylor
Lautner) is both a
caring friend and
VCI) interested in
Bella
And then \\e
come to the intriguing Cullen

13

LINIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12

-

1 1
family. The youthful and ethical Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), heads the
clan and is unlike anything associated
with vampiri m; his wife Esme (Elizabeth
Reaser), beautiful and warmly inviting.
The "siblings" are physically preci ly
what Meyer described in her series: beautiful and synergistic. Emmett (Kellan Lutz)
serves as the perfect '-meathead" counter
to his wife Rosalie·s ( ikki Reed), cold
complexity; Alice (Ashley Greene), \\ho
eventually becomes Bella ·s slosest .friend,
is precisely the adorable, intense and athletic sister, and her partner, Jasper(Jackson
Rathbone), th most recently inductee lo
the vampire clan, is appropriately tricken
with the pam of human scent.
The leads were equally well cast. Robert
Pattinson took on the role of Edward with
a cool aloofness, seemingly a remcarnated James Dean. Kristin te"art
assumed th role of clutzy, drunk
with love Bella, and turned her into
a more down-to-earth and likeable
character.

I
I
B KE
BROW
Beacon Sta.ff Writer

I
J

I
I

This Friday million of screaming
girls (and more boys than will admit it)
across the nation were finally be able to
see what they have been waiting for for
months: Edward Cullen and Bella Swan
on the big screen, in Catherine Hardwick's directorial adaptation of Stephenie Meyer·s Twiflght.
To understand the excitement, though.
it's important to realize that this cult
crush did not start with a movie. It was,
in fact, created through the v.ords of
tephenie Meyer, the acclaimed author
if the 1\yi/ighl series. Some have called

her the JK Rowling for over-estrogemzed
teenage girls.
7'wdight, the first book in a four part fantasy series was released in 2005, slowl&gt;
sucking its way into the veins of fans "ith
its romantic a peels and its fantasy charm.
The story begins in Forks, Washington,
the rainiest city in the nation. Bella wan,
a 17-year old girl from Phoeni hcsitanlly moves in with a father he·s seen le,,
and less frequently over the years as her
mother and stepfather chase his dream of
professional baseball. To add to th av.~wardness, Bella is in her sen 1or }Car of
high school. Although she v1s1ted For~
every summer until she v.as 14, she was
not looking forward to the mon: permanent
change of scenery. When Bella begin, at
her new school he does not automat1call;
make friends, but as the daughter of the local police chieC discovers he
is the center of attention .
It is not until he meets the
unusual Edward Cullen, a son
of the local doctor that she truly
finds any interest in the 1O\\n.
But that meeting will pro,e to
the mo t important of her
oung life.
Before I began 'fa'i/1ght. I
was admittedly keptical. I had
n avoiding reading the book
for quite ome lime. I had h ard
that is was a romantic vampire
novel and honestly nothing
sounded chee icr than Dracula
and a candlelit dinner. But after
much begging and pleading on
the part of my girlfriend. I finally gave in. And hone ti} , for
n e I will sa} she wa, right
and I v.a, wrong ( but do not let
her know that).
7\i•il,gltt is an amazing read .
ot only does Meyers creative! catch your mind·s e_),e
with beautiful dcscripllons of
the Pacific orthwest setting, but she
aptly develops a slOI) line and relat10nships between characters even more so.

See BOOK page 1-1

Volume 61
y

~

Issue 11

lot woes

·he Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

saftey officials remind comhursday.

is to go through, it does take
round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
posted a 73 percent pass rate
l exams.
rer than our previous years,"
rigan, chair of the nursing deowledged, but she noted that
is still working hard to mainmd prosperous program.
Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
al examination administered
board." The computerized
to five hours and can range
veen 75 and 265 questions.

NURSING page 5
:6

nber

~AH
~

�NOVEMBER

18v;~

~o. 25 Wi
~olonels sfa j
iY DANIEL KAUTZ
'eacon Asst. Sports Editor

"he No. 25 Wilkes Univers
;stling team saw great succt
the fourth annual John Ref
als on Saturday, November :
ming all four of their mater
i packed Marts Center. T
n received maj or contributio
n numerous wrestlers in th
ressive home debut which i:

NOVEMBER

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

25, 2008

MOVIE

BOOK

from PAGE 13

from PAGE 13

o f cl utz}, drunk " ith love Bella, and turned her in10 a
more down-lo-earth and likeable character.
Although 1he plol progressed ra pidly, whose of us who
had read the series were enthral led with the scenes in
which we saw lhe novel come to life. When Bella joms
lhe C ullen fam ily for her fi rst game of vampire baseball,
lhe entire !healer focused in to wa1ch just how director,
Ca1herine I lardwic ke, \\ 0uld make
lh 1s work. Unbelievable! The scene,
backed by an awesome score, left me
a"'estruck. Of course. the throw down
be1ween " good" vampire Edward and
··bad·· vam pire James. le ft viewers in
complete ilence as Edward raced 10
save Bella·s life. A nd now we know
va mpire have refl ection .
Wi1h lhe exception of a few mo men ts
of melodramatic acti ng, overdone
"Anne Rice-y" va mpire momems , and
Edward 's g litte ring skin (come o n guy
... I have shimmering make-up loo!) I
came out o f the fi lm feeling a sense o f
sa1isfaction. I had seen it, and it came
close to be everything I wanted to be.
Good enough for me. ow I' ll play E~
ert a nd Roeper ... 3 stars . Excellent job,
Catherine Hardwicke.

From the complex, largely un poken relationship bemeen Bella and her father Charlie, to 1he all-&lt;:on ummg,
instanl fire belY.een Bella and Edward not once do readers
question the believability of their re lationships.
Although a common lo,e-stands-again t-semingly insurmountable-obstacles theme. Meyers delivers a slory
with substance. From the mmule Bella steps off the plane

14

NOVEi

10 the lasl page you will not wanl to close 1he book m fear
that it is all just a dream.
Overall Tw,bght 1s a great fir;t boo~ in "hat seems
to be an cxciling series. Bui with every great lhing there
is always something to complain about. and 7i,·,t,ght 1s
no different. My only issue wilh the book is a c haracter
named, Edward. ow do not gel me wrong, 1f I \\ e re a
girl I would wanr lo jump hi bones J ust
much as the
next one, but let's gel serious here. EdY.ard Cu llen gi, es
all guy a bad name. I remember \\.hen ni.
girlfriend told me she had been upset
her ex for weeks because, he was no1 hke
Edward. I Icy, no man is perfect. No man is
Edward C ullen . J ust like no ,~oman is really
like Rachel McAdams. I know 11 is sad. bur
it is true.
cvertheless, Twilight it is a wonderful
novel- for both men and \\Omen. al1hough
most men may develop a complex about Fdward. And please uy and read II before ) OU
see the movie; the book i ah,ay bener.

"1th

Kathy Dalton and Iii on S bla t in ky wa ll
in li ne for the midnight showing of r,.,_
light. Every stat in RIC movie 14 thta trt
OD Nort b bampton trtcl ... sold OUL T bt
crowd wa ,•cry rcspon ivc throughout th t
fflO\'ic.
The Beacon/ Alyssa Benner

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Gheck out our website for more Information!
www.cllangeableskies.com

vatch Madeliene
bright lecture a~
of lhe Outstand_eaders Series a1
).m.

1

�14
book on tear

I he

&lt; on

\I hat seems
re:u thing there
and 7il'll1gh1 1s
k is a character
,ng, 1f I \\CIC a

NOVEMBER

25, 2008

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

~NIVERSIT'
CORNERS
PAGE 12

Kudracross
BY CHRI K DRAK

ND DE IN KING

Beacon Correspondents

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Volume 61

~

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ds to go through, it does
round involves student

PARKING page

probatio
posted a 73 percent pas!
, exams.
,er than our previous ye
rigan, chair of the nursin1
owledged, but she noted
is still working hard to n
md prosperous program.
1 Merrigan, the NCLEX e
al examination administ
board." The computer
to five hours and can n
veen 75 and 265 questi

NURSING pagt
16

nber

'"AO
~

•

�No. 25 Wi
Colonels sfaj
Novi

BY DANIEL KAUTZ
"fJeacon Asst. Sports Editor
The No. 25 Wilkes Univers
restling team saw great succc
the fourth annual John Ret
tials on Saturday, November ·
inning all four of their matcl
a packed Marts Center. 1
1m received major contributic
lill numerous wrestlers in th
1pressive home debut which i

Rinlsl e Repon pg. 18

__;::SPORTS
NOVEMBER

25, 2008

AtJ

ONTACT l:,,/FOR.\.1ATIO, :

RY LI

alissa.lindnerg ilkes edu
daniel.kau U\.a lkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.sports ginail.com

Beacon~

16

Wilkes wrestling defeats No. 27 NYU and McDaniel
BY DA 'IEL KAUTZ
Beacon AssL ports Editor

The o. 24 Wilkes University wrestling
team looled to improve its record against
visiting New Yori&lt; Uni,ersity and McDaniel College last Saturday in the Marts Cenler following an impressive performance at
the John Reese Duals last weekend.
"Our boys were definitely on a high [following their 4-0 result at the John Reese Duals]:' said A i tant Coach Mitch Marcks .
"We ·ve been wondng on our consi tency
and getting stronger each week. and ir
shown in our results."
The team's opening match came against
o. 27 NY , who last year edged the Colonels for second place in the Metropolitan Wrestling Conrerence Championship.
Wilkes jumped out to an early 8,-0 lead

behind major decision wins from sen iors
Shaun Farnham and Josh Pauling, but
U
chipped away and was able to close to within 11-10 thanks to contributions from Greg
Martino, Matt Magill and Pat Knight. With
the Violets threatening to take the lead, •
nior captain Frank Heffernan stepped up
and defeated aum Shuminov 3-1 , earning
the decision in the waning seconds of the
bout to keep Wilkes ahead. The bout ,rnuld
pro,·e to be NYU' last chance to take the
lead, as freshman William Gouger, junior
Zach Pizzaro, and sophomore Jake Weinrich each put a\\ay their matches (7-4, 12-2,
9-3) to give Wilkes a 24-10 victory.
Their next match came against McDaniel
College. Farnham and Pauling led the Colonels to a 7-0 lead after their first two bouts,
much as they did in the first match. Fresh-

men Anthony Danollo. Tom Anderson, and
Richard Sparks won their next three bouts
(13--0, 19-1 8, I0-2)togive theteaman 18--0
lead, and the olonels never looked back.
Anderson 's bout drew a loud response from
the spectators in Marts, as he and McDaniel
ophomore Brent Lowe \&gt;Cnt back and forth
in a tense and exerting match-up. Wilkes led
30-3 \\hen sophomore Chris Smith took on
junior Wall Yeo; despite the match being
well being decided by that point in time, the
two wrestlers went all out and wound up in
overtime, where mith \\OD 12-10.
The Colonels \\Ould go on to defeat McDaniel 30-9, giving them a 2--0 record on
the day and running their season record to
6--0,
~we were ready to go today;· said Head
Coach Jon Lauden lager. "Our young

guys have been getting more e,pen~nce
lately, and the team overall has been ge1ting hcalthier.r He continued, saying '"I \185
very pleased with our perfoml311ce overall.
A couple of matches slipped away from us
today, but ifwe got all ofrhe breaks ifd be
too easy; I mean. ,,..c· re talking about a vel}
good team (New York University) that bear
us last year in the Conference Championship," he concluded.
"Everyone did their part for us 1oda).'.
added Marcks. ..It was very exciting to
watch.r
The Colonels' next match will be held
on Friday, December 5, when they head
to Grantham to panicipate in the Messiah
Petrofes Tournament.

Winning
Frank lief
he placed
vidual Pe
I hs high sc
\\On 1he s
took secon
peel anyth
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e"Ver since

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fcman Y.OL
pol on the
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m Cedar~
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Being abl

Foll
BY LI
Beacon Sf)(.

Vilkes' Tom Andresen hole
,ndresen would go on to p

, watch MadelienE
Albright lecture ai
rt of rhe Outstand
Leaders Series a·

Op.m.

At the cor
season m fi
olonels, or
First team
team also Cl
and oach o
enior fon
ished the sea
goals, six of
4 assist Ko
games thi SC
--Alyssa·ss
and her abili
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e~plained.
Jumor midi
named to the
games she pl
goal and se,

�.
NOVEMBER

25, 2008

17

SPORTS

UNIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12

Athlete Spotlight: Frank Heffernan
8Y ALI A LI 'D1 ER
8taca11 Sports Edttar
Winning I something junior wrestler
Frank lleffeman 1s used to. In high school,
he placed seventh and eighth in the individual Penns}lvania state champion hip.
lhs high school learn from Nor1hern Lehigh
v.on the state championship in 2005 and
took second in 2006. So why would he expect anything lcs in college?
Heffernan has been a standout wrestler
c,er since he tepped foot on the mats for
Willes during the 2006-2007 eason. That
season he tarted for the Colonels. representing the team m the 1571b. weight cla .
lie fimshed his freshman campaign with a
22-IJ record and a third place finish in the
Mctropolitian Conference Championship.
lleffernan's skill would only improve
for his sophomore season. He competed
primarily at I651bs. and ended the season
with an oeerall record of32-12. In the Metropohhan onference Champion hip, Heffernan Y.ould take second while earning a
spot on the NCAA tournament list
Heffernan traveled with fellow teammate Enk Smith 10 the CAA tournament
,n Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As soon as he got
there, h1 mo,es were tested, wrestling two
seeded opponents on the first day of the national competition. Heffernan was eliminated from the tournament after falling to
the sixth seed and the third seed on the first
day
Being able to taste All-American tatu

only motivated Heffernan for this season.
~It [the CAA tournament] helped me real ize how much harder I have to work and
it gave me a good feel of what the competition is like," Heffernan said.
After three weekends of competition in
the 2008-2009 season, Heffernan has seen
much early success. He has already won
an individual tournament at King's College
where he defeated Mike Reilly, who -.as
ranked o. 7 in the pre-season poll in the
championship match.
In the following weeks, Heffernan has
helped the Colonels to a 6-0 start. Of the six
matches. Heffernan has competed in five
and remain undefeated. He has also earned
the o 10 posttion in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll .
ot only is Heffernan successful on
the mat, but he i also seen as a leader to
his teammates. He is co-captain of this
year's squad; how-e,,er head coach Jon
Laudenslager explained Heffernan ·s leadership started before his junior season.
··About halfway through last season I had
Frank start taking over some of the leadership duties as a sophomore. He comes from
a state champion hip team in high school
and understands ""hat it wm take for our
team to have the success at the college level. What makes Frank a good leader for us
is he is al-.ays looking to improve and get
better and expects others to challenge themselves as be does." Laudenslager said
During practice, Heffernan practices with

Volume 61

Issue 11

g lot woes

fellow teanunates including James Histed,
Buddy Gougar and Rich parks, all of
whom he says are great workout partners
and challenge his kill because of the variation in their wrestling tyles.
Of Heffernan m the wre tltng room during practice., Laudenslager explained. "He
certainly could not be ranked 10th in the

country if he didn't challenge himself and
be self motivated to be the besl. I can't
recall a practice in Frank's years at Wil~es
when he hasn't given his best at practice "
Heffernan ·s early uccess will be challenged again when the Colonels travel to
ess1ah for a tournament on December 5.

Four Lady Colonels named to All-conference team
8V ALI A LI DNER
Beacon Sports Editor

At the conclusion of completing the best
,eason m field hocley history, four Lady
Colonel • one from each position, received
I 1r t team All-Conference honors. The
team also captured the Rooki of the Year
and Coach of the Year awards.
Senior forward Alyssa Koncelik. who finished the season with 32 points including 14
go b, s1, of which were game-winning and
4 assists . Koncehk played and tnrted in 19
games this season.
"Al) sa ·s strength i her cl imination skills
and her ability to make mart decisions in
the cm:le. he was able to score man
goals this season because of her patience
and ttck kills,~ head coach ara M) ers
e\plamed.
Jumor midfielder Brittney Sines \\BS also
named to the First Team. Sines star1ed all 21
games she played and contributed for three
goals and seven assists.

In addition to her contribution offensively, Sines also contributed defensively and
was the mo t consistent player Myers explained.
" Britmey's trength t her consistency and
versatility. She has been our play maker all
year, every goal that was scored this year
started with her. he ts the one player that
we can never take off the field, because she
is how we transition from defense to attack," Myers said.
Kerry Battersby \\as the only defender to
be named to the All Confernce team Battersby, a senior, also started all 21 games she
played in often serving as th anchor for the
Lady Colonel defense which allowed just
28 goals all season.
Myers explained. "Kerry's strength is her
aggressive style of play and intensity. he
was a force in the center of the field and really held our defense together in pre urc
situations."
Rookie goaltender Lindsey Davenpon received First Team All Conference honors as

\\CII as the Rookie of the Year award. Davenpor1 started as goalkeeper for 20 of the
Lady Colonel's games and finished the season with a l.56 goals again t average.
Myers knew Davenport' ability even before h became the starling goalkeeper for
the Lad Colonels.
"When recruiting Lindsey I knew that her
kill level far urpassed most keepers, but
it was her composure m pres ure ituation
that made her a tandout She made som
amazing saves this season and has a very
bright future ahead of her," Myers said.
Myers has been at the university for all
four seasons of Koncelik and Banersby's
career and has seen her pla flourish .
- KB [Kerry Battersby] and Aly sa have
both grown and developed into amazing
players. Every year their skill level has
grown, they always work hard in the off
season to improve for the next year. Every
year they have consi tently gotten better
and belier. They are both totally different
players than they \\ere when they came here

as freshmen," Myers said.
be added, '"But what makes them both
stand out 1s their work ethic and de ire;
they showed the tean1 how hard you need
to work to accomplt h your goals. They
have proven that if you \\Ork hard enough
for something, you will get iL ..
Myers received the Coach of the Year
award for the Freedom Conference M}ers finished up her fourth season as head
coach and led the team 10 a record of 183, etting the school record for most wins.
The Lady Colonels also received national
recognition. ranked o. 20 at the finish of
the sea on.
"Coach ""as a huge part of our su ces,
this season. I have "orked with her for
four years and thi season he really got us
working together as a team. Coach helped
us but Lisa [Wasser, grad as istant coach]
and Lunda [Comi ley. assistant coachj
were also a huge part of our uc:cess this
season," senior midfielder and c&lt;&gt;-&lt;:aptain
Diana Wright explained.

fhe Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

saftey officials remind com'hursday.

ds to go through, it does take
t round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
; posted a 73 percent pass rate
I( exams.
ver than our previous years,"
rrigan, chair of the nursing de.owl edged, but she noted that
is still working hard to mainand prosperous program.
&gt; Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
1al examination administered
board." The computerized
to five hours and can range
ween 75 and 265 questions.

· NURSING page 5
i6

mber

"i\Ali'
~

�NOVEMBER

18,

~

No. 25 Wi
Colonels sta;
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

The No. 25 Wilkes Univers
wrestling team saw great succ&lt;
at the fourth annual John Re(
Duals on Saturday, November
winning all four of their matd
in a packed Marts Center. T
team received major contributio
from numerous wrestlers in th
impressive home debut which i1

NOVEMBER

18, 2008

18

SPORTS

RINKSIDE REPORT

ai·

Cote adjusting to life in Wilkes-Barre
B\' Ml H EL CIG, OLI

Beacon Sta.ff Writer
When defi nseman Jean-Philippe Cote
signed with the Wilkes•Barre/Scranton

J.P. Cote has made a nice transition

Penguins at the tart of the season, he knew
he would have to make some adjustments.
Cot -.as coming olT hi fifth season
with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the American
Hockey League(AHL)affiliatcofth Montreal Canadiens. He had spent hi entire pro
career with the Montreal organization, as&gt;pearing in eight ational Hockey L ague
games during the 2005-2006 season and
winnmg a Calder Cup in 2007.
After spend mg five years in the organiza•
lion. Cote got lo know Hamilton ' passive
S) tem of defense quite well. He ,s the Bulldogs all-lime leader in games played by a
defenseman "'ith 334 under his belt, and
"on the club' mo t ,aluable defenseman
award last year.
After being the go-to guy in I lamilton last
eason, Cot joined a Wilkes-Barre/Scran•
Ion defensive corps that run eight deep.
Generally, teams dre
ix defensemen per
game, which means that not every blueliner
has an opportunity to play every night.
" I have coached in the past where I have
had ix defenseman and six defensemen

on! and that does not give the urgency necessary for people to get bener and find their
•A" game," said Penguins head coach Dan
Bylsma ·'Ha ing eight defen men mean
that there arc a couple of guy who want
to get in th Iinc-up that arc unhappy, but ,t
does provide competition and motivation to
find a better game."
After appearing in all but one of Hamilton 's 80 games last season, Cote has already
sat out 5 of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's first 16
games Part of that is because Cote i still
adapting to the Penguins· aggressive brand
of hockey; completely different from the
system he had been playing in for so long.
" I'm s1111 working on it, for ure. 1 want to
get bener at it, prove myself to be very, very
efficient," Cole said. "Of course. I'll never
be ti lied. That's me, I want to improve
all the lime: ·
The adju tments that Cote had lo make
"eren 't limited to the ice surface. Before
this year, he had only seen the roads in Wilkes-Barre between the Bulldogs· hotel and
the Wa hovia Arena at Casey Plaza. Aside

from that, Cote knew next 10 nothing about
the greater Wilk •llarre area lie enlisted
the help of teammate Jean-Michel Dame.I
to show him around.
~, got lo 1 the first time." Cote sa,d ..1,
is a small town. but I got lost in th do"11•
tOWll."
" We were going to Scranton:· Daou,1
plained. ~ After going to the mall. "c "er
trying to find another pla e. and then 11e
just got lost there:·
As the duo cruised the street of d0\111•
tOWTI Scranton, they eventually en ounter d
a ign for Interstate 81 .
"We ju t follo"'ed that sign after that:·
Daoust said.
Luckily for Cote, the Penguins d1dn "t sign
him to drive the team bus.
"J .P's a guy who bas pla}ed in th, league.
won in this league, battled in thi lcagu~
and so that's whal we 're looking for him 10
bring,•· Bylsma said. " llc·s a defens"e dcfenseman who penalty kills and add, some
grit to his team."

c,-

Save
L-v-es

Dona

a

C)

... p te&gt;
IVle&gt;ll'llth!
Wilkes' Tom Andresen hol&lt;
Andresen would go on to p

Go watch MadelienE
K. Albright lecture ai
part of the Outstanding Leaders Series a·
8:00p.m.

~

Interstate B ood &amp; P l asma Inc .
665 Ca r ey Ave
i lkes-Bar.-e, Pa
Ca ll (57 0 ) 823- 41 1 9

.

-

�UNIVERSITY
CORNERS
NOVEMBER

25, 2008

PAGE 12

19

SPORTS

Poor shooting haunts Colonels basketball in OT loss
DeRojas drops 20-p-0ints for third straight game
Co1u tesy of Craig Merriman
.Spons lnformallon D1rec1or

Wilke Uni,e~it) madejust 15fieldgoals
and shot 31.9 percent from the field which
prm cd 10 be !he difference in a 69-68 overlune loss 10 Kean. The loss marks the fi~t
se1back of the season for the Colonels. who
n101 e 10 2-1 on the )eat.
The Cougar, mad 24-of-55 field goals,
shooung 43.6 percent from the field and
pulled down one more rebound, but only
made 17-of- 0 free throw , which kepi the
Colonch in the game. In stark contrast, Wilkes made 35-of-47 from the charity stripe
for 74.5 percent.
The Colonels were fortunat 10 send the
game lo o,crtime as Steve Kline, who was
fouled after n Kean missed free throw with
.02 seconds to play, knocked down both
freebies 10 tic the game at 63 before the
horn sounded m regulation. Prior 10 Kline'
free-throw,, Kean 's Vinme Darpino drained
a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go to
g1&gt;e the Couga~ a 62-61 lead before hitting
the front end of a pair of free throw with
11\0 seconds to play, giving them a 63-61
advantage.
Chris DeRoJas, who scored a game-high
26 poin1&gt;, drained eight of the team's 15
field goals and scored over 20 point for the
thtrd time in as many games.
Th Colonels opened the game with a 7--0
run after Tom Kresge converted a layup and
the free throw aflerwards with 17: 12 to go
10 the half Wilkes "ould only score four
points o,er the next four minutes and by
that tmie, the Couga~ took their fi~t lead
\\hen Jonathan Jones made a 15--footjumpCl\\ith ll 12 to go in the half.
DeRojas quickly gave the Colonel the
lead back with one of his three three-pointm on the day, giving Wilke a 14-1 2 lead
"'th 12:47 to go. His bucl.el would Jumpstart a 13-2 run, giving the Colonels a 27-14

advantage. their largest of the game.
with 10: 16 to go in the first. They
would hold a double-digit lead until
Michael Oglesby hit a three-pointer
with 5:47 to go in the first to pull the
Couga~ within eight (32-24).
Despite not scoring a point in the
last 2:55, Wilkes went into the locker
room with a 37-33 advantage. The
worst was yet to come for the Colonels as they made just four field goals
in the second half, but managed to
keep the lead nearly the entire way
by draining l 7-of-24 free throws.
Even though the Colonel were not
able to hit from the in tde or the outside, they held the lead until Oshodi
Akinwandc hit a pair of free throw
with I :28 10 go to tie the game at
59.
Like the majority of regulation.
Wilkes led for most of the overtime
period as OeRojas opened the extra
fram "ith a pair of free thro\\ S "ith
4:36 to go It would be more than
two minutes later before either team
would score, but Brian Lytle broke
the drought "ilh a jumper just outside the paint to tie the game once
again al 65. OeRojas would come up
big once again with a steal and a fast
break layup with I :37 to go to give
the Colonels a 67-65 lead. He would
score four of the team's five points in
the overtime period.
With 41 seconds to play. Kresge hit
the back end ofa pair of free throws
to put Wilkes up by one (68-67), but
Lytle drained l\\o frcebi with 25
seconds to play to give the Cougars
a one-point lead, which proved to be
enough .

Volume 61

g lot woes

rhe Beacon/Bethany Yamrick

W H11,1&amp;c]HJ8 00:JL.oN 11011 .S
1

Men's Basketba II
W 100-84 Baptisit Bible
W 98-78 Penn College
L 69-68 Kean

Issue 11

Wrestling
W 24-10 New York University

W 30-9 McDaniel

Women's Basketball
W 74-62 PSU Hazleton
L 62-50 @ Susquehanna
W 57-47 Baptisit Bible

saftey officials remind com'hursday.

ds to go through, it does take
t round involves students ap-

PARKING page 3

probation
; posted a 73 percent pass rate
IC exams.
wer than our previous years,"
rrigan, chair of the nursing delowledged, but she noted that
is still working hard to mainand prosperous program.
) Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
ml examination administered
board." The computerized
to five hours and can range
ween 75 and 265 questions.

· NURSING page 5
36

"Ali'

mber

\':!,J\!,j

�)VEMBER

18, :

o. 25 Wi
&gt;lonels sta;
►ANIEL KAUTZ
m Asst. Sports Editor

No. 25 Wilkes Univers
ng team saw great succ,
fourth annual John Re,
m Saturday, November
g all four of their matcl
1cked Marts Center. 1
1ceived major contributic
umerous wrestlers in th
;ive home debut which i

NOVEMBER

atch MadelienE
)right lecture a:
)f rhe Outstand
~aders Series a
.m.

SPORTS

20

Colonels match best four-game start under Emmerthal
B\' CA RLTON HOLM

Beacon £d11or-in-Ch1ef
The Lady Colonels escaped a late
second half comeback by Baptist
Bible on Saturday evening for a
57-47 win in the teams' fourth

Pack

es' Tom Andresen bolt
'esen would go on to p

25, 2008

your bags and
head home for
Thanksgiving break
before tne final two
weeks of the semester.

game of the season Not only does
the teams' solid start match the
best fouriJ3flle start under head
coach Rachel Emmerthal, who
is noN in her fourth season, but
the Lady Colonels have already
passed their win total from a sea-

Catch Cabinet at the
River Street Jazz Cafe at
10:00p.m.

son ago. The team finished 2-23,
1-11 In the conference
The Lady Colonels posted a 3-1
record last week with game five
coming l.Wlderway this evening at
6 OOpm against Marywood (PA).
There was a time
dunng the second
half or Saturday's
game when the
Lady
Defenders
went on a 10-2 run
that left the Colonels and their fans
quietly restless as
they watched from
the bleachers of the
Marts GynaS1um.
"II was a point
where we weren't
scoring very much
and we just need to
get ourselves back
on track." said Emmerthal "\We didn't
get any fast breaks
and we got complacent but when our
defense
starting
getllng stops and
we started scoring,
we bounced back.·
SenJOf" Chelsey
Gosse led the team
with a game high
15 po,nts and sophmore guard Alison
Horn added 12 With
half of her po,nts
COl'Tilng at the free
throw line to seal
the game.
The Lady Colonels
shut the Defenders
down in the first
half holding them
to 25 percent from
the ffoor on 8-32
shooting. On the
other hand, The
Lady Colonels shot
46.3 percent and
led 36-23 at the

half.
Freshman guard Samantha
Simcox from Sinking Spnngs. Pa
snatched down a career-high 11
rebounds and sophomore guard
Sam Lynam provided a presence
off the bench With eight po,nts.
lady Defenders Naomi Sweeney was the only player to finish
wrth a double-double, grabbing
1o boards and neltlng 13 po,nts.
The Lady Colonels have certainly looked
composed as
a team thus far. Of the teams·
three wins, two were by dooble
digits.
·We have a lot or team chemistry this year,- said senior forward
Khadija Bates. ' And I think that
we are all working for one common goal and that's to win •
Pnor to the their win on Saturday, the Lady Colonels traveled
to Selinsgrove (Pa) to face former head coach Jim Reed and
h,s Lady Crusaders
Despite finishing the game
strong in the second half, the
Lady Colonels lost their only
game &lt;:I the season 62-50. But
,t was the teams' poor first half
perfomance that plagued them
for the rest of the contest.
The Lady Colonels seemed to
struggle offensively, finishing the
game on 17-56 shooting and
traded 23-13 at the half scoririg
only six field goal attempts during the first half
Lynam led the team With 11
points and Sincox chipped in
with eight Gosse finished with a
game-high 14 rebounds
Reserve player Jennifer Buttsled the Lady Crusaders with 16
points and starter Rachel Hugghes helped out with 10 Enka
Barron caused trouble for the
Lady. Colonels, coming away
with soc steals to help force 20
lady Colonel turnovers.
The Lady Crusaders shOt 40 percent from the ffoor en route to a

Happy Thanksgiving!
EnJoy a homecookei:t
turkey dinner and say
thanks for all we have!

Take advantage of the
Black Friday sales at your
local stores and
shopping malls.

3-0 start

' It was a tough game and I think
that we Just couldn t get over that
hump to wm the game," sa,d Emmerthal. · 1think we ended up betrig
satisfied with being close to them
But we will learn how to dose those
games and take the lead •
Reed was a long-bme coach of
the Lady Colonels and oped for
a p051tion with Susquehanne four
years ago The Lady Crusaders
are apart of the Landmarll Conference where Scranton University
won the conference champ10nshIp
a season ago
Before the lady Colonels
dropped that game the team won
their first two games
The Lady Colonels went on the
road for their season-opener to
face cross-conference opponent
Arcadia University, a team from
the Commonwealth Side of the
Middle-Atlantic Conference
Lynam led the team With a careerhigh 33 points, shoobrig 11-23from
the fi,eld and knocking dOWll three
three-pointers m the process. Lynam might have had the highhght
day but it's the team effort that deserves an applause.
As a team, the Lady Colonels
shot 31-46 from the free throw hne,
knocking dOWll more free throws
than the Knight's attempted.
Erin Schneider was the secondleading scorer on the team for
the Lady Colonels with 14 off the
bench. Eight of her po,nts were
cashed in on free throws. Forward
Chanel Murphy led the Knights
With 17 points.
The Lady Colonels knocked off
Penn State Hazleton in their homeopener 7 4-62- Gosse led the team
,n scoring for the third bme this
season With 20 points wile Lynam
netted 14 po,nts and went 2-5 fr001

downtown.

Local ski mountains such
as Jack Frost Big Boulder
and Sno Mountain are
open for the season.
Enjoy a Saturday
afternoon in the
wilderness.

JANUARY

27

Tond
Malk
contr
holes
BY NICOLE
Beacon Managi
Between late I
two members o
announced pla
MikeMalke
port Services an
finished his ten
ary 16 and left
in industry.
Tondrick will 1
ate director of l
at Wilkes Uni1
communication
nia Homecare
Hill. A 1998 a
has been emplo
May 2001.
With a wedd1
Tondrick had b
ployment opp01
risburg, where l
"The [new] j
one particular ii
multiple audien
current studenti
ees, the board,
audiences that
PHA, our audie
and our homec
fessionals," she

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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                    <text>WILKES
VS. DEL. &amp;
HUNTER

UNIVERSITY
CORNERS
PAGE 12

PAGE 20

JANUARY

27, 2009

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

Tondrick,
Malkemes
contribute to
holes in staff
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Managing Editor

Between late December and early January
two members of the Wilkes University staff
announced plans for departure.
Mike Malkemes, director of Campus Support Services and 19-year Wilkes employee,
finished his tenure at the university January 16 and left for an unspecified position
in industry. And on February 6, Christine
Tondrick will leave her position as associate director of Marketing Communications
at Wilkes University for the position of
communications director for the Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) in Camp
Hill. A 1998 alumna of Wilkes, Tondrick
has been employed by the university since
May 2001.
With a wedding date set for September,
Tondrick had been actively looking for employment opportunities in and around Harrisburg, where her fiancee lives.
"The [new] job will be very focused on
one particular industry. At Wilkes, we have
multiple audiences of prospective students,
current students, parents, internal, employees, the board, alumni ... We have multiple
audiences that we serve and service. At
PHA, our audience is focused on members
and our homecare providers and health professionals," she said.

See STAFF page 4

Volume 61

Issue 11

New permits, weather leads to parking lot woes
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon News Editor

As the second semester
began, so too did the struggles with parking permits
and spaces.
Last Thursday, public
safety officers began ticketing students who are parking illegally--either without
parking passes or in areas
not designated for student
parking.
According to students and
school officials, it is typical
to encounter confusion and
frustration during the first
weeks of each semester.
Gerald Rebo, manager
of Public Safety, explained
The Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
that Wilkes wants students
The ticket on the car above signals the start of the season of which public saftey officials remind comto have time to pick up their
muters of the rules of the parking lot. Parking enforcement began last Thursday.
permits. They do not start
"It's courtesy-wise that we do that [wait are three rounds to go through, it does take
ticketing because they have not had time
to pick their permits up, which is a process to ticket]; that way students have a chance time. The first round involves students apto get their permits," said Rebo. Since there
that consists of three rounds.
See PARKINGpage 3

Nursing program improves scores, avoids probation
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

For almost a year, anxious nursing faculty
and students awaited National Counsel Licensing Examination (NCLEX) test results
to see if the nursing program's accreditation
would avoid the worst-case scenario of probation.
According to the National Council of State
Board of Nursing, the national pass rate for
all students who took the NCLEX was 85.5
percent for the 2006-07 testing period. In

ON THE WEB
www.wilkesbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilkes.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion...........6-8

that same period, Wilkes recorded an average pass rate of 59. 7 percent, just under the
minimum requirement.
If a university or college does not achieve
the national minimum pass rate, its program
runs the risk of probationary status.
With below average exam results, members of the Wilkes University nursing community discussed what would happen if
Wilkes's accreditation was suspended.
However, the Wilkes nursing program
made significant gains and avoided any
problems this year. For the 2007-08 testing

Lifestyles....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports .......... 16-20

period, Wilkes posted a 73 percent pass rate
on the NCLEX exams.
"It's still lower than our previous years,"
Mary Ann Merrigan, chair of the nursing department acknowledged, but she noted that
the university is still working hard to maintain a healthy and prosperous program.
According to Merrigan, the NCLEX exam
is a " ... national examination administered
by the state board." The computerized
test is limited to five hours and can range
anywhere between 75 and 265 questions.

w

See NURSING page 5

Established 1936
PA Newspaper
Association Member

.

�NEWS
JANUARY

27, 2009

CONTACT INFORMATION:
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn. frear@wilkes.edu
jacqueline.lukas@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

SUB kitchen receives facelift, expansion and updates
BY JACQUELINE LUKAS
Beacon Asst. News Editor
Changes to the way students
unload their trays in the cafeteria
of the Henry's Student Center has
left some students feeling shortchanged.
The changes are part of a renovation to the cafeteria's dish room,
says Paul Kaspriskie Jr., director
of capital projects for Wilkes Uni-

Due to the increasing number of
students who are purchasing meal
plans and utilizing the cafeteria,
the dish room is being expanded,
said Kaspriskie. He added that tile
was replaced on the walls, a new
dishwasher was installed and a
new conveyer system is being put
in within the next few months.
He explained that currently,
there is only one smaller cut out in
the wall for the cafeteria's patrons

the amount of the people that we
serve there during the day," said
Kaspriskie.
Although the renovation is only
a temporary inconvenience to
the patrons, some students have
trouble reaching over the space to
place the trays on the conveyer.
Maggie Wesolowski, a sophomore business administration major, has had trouble placing her
tray on the conveyer system.
She said,
"It's hard
for me to
reach over
to put my
tray on the
rack." ·
Mah amed Jalloh,
undeclared
freshmant,
does not
believe the
renovations were
necessary.
"I feel
we could
have spent
the money
on something else.
You know,
_ _ _...., if it's not

The Beacon/Bethany Yamrick b r o k e ,

Students line up to place their trays on the conveyer. Students need to lean over to reeach don't fix
it. Other updates of the kitchen include new stoves, ovens and tiles on the wall.
it," he said.
Mike
versity.
to place their trays, but there will Molnar, general manager of CamAccording to Kaspriskie, the be an additional cut out once the pus Dining, says the renovations
school has been thinking about new conveyer system is installed.
and upgrades to the space are necrenovating the dish room and re"We expanded the dishroom essary.
placing machines for the past year because there just wasn't enough
"We outgrew it a little bit. So the
and a half.
room in there for the help and new system will handle the addi-

*

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkes.beacon@wilkes.edu

The Beacon/Jacqueline Lukas

A student reaches across the platform to put his tray in the rack.
The new conveyer system will be flat unlike the current system.
tional volume," he said.
Molnar added that the equipment in the dish room has not been
updated since the Henry Student
Center opened in 1999.
John Pesta, currently interim
manager of support services , said
the dish room is being completed
in phases due to the fact that the
conveyer system had to be custom
made.
The first phase is to replace the
dated equipment, re-tile the area,
and expand the room. The second
phase will include installing the
new conveyer system. The new
installation will be more of a flat

system as opposed to the current
system we have now which is a referred to as a carousel system.
Molnar said the total cost of the
project is about $250,000. The
price includes replacements in the
kitchen, stoves, ovens, dishwasher, tiling and the new conveyer
system.
Pesta said the money for the
project comes from the University
Capital Projects funds. He added
that all of the projects were bid on
by different companies and Wilkes took the lowest prices on the
projects.

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Managing Editor: Nicole Frail
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
News Editor: Amy Fusco
Photo Editor: Lauren Biernacki
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Bethany Yamrick
Asst. Photo Editor

�NEWS

27, 2009
PARKING

JANUARY

from FRONT PAGE
plying for a parking peIIOit and being selected by Commuter Council and Residence
Life in order to go to the next round.
Kevin Hettrich, Wilkes junior and president of Commuter Council, further explained the application process. He said that
on the parking application, there are a few
questions with regard to how far away the
student lives from campus.
"If you are in walking distance to campus,
which is one of the questions of the application, you don't get a parking spot," Hettrich
said. "We usually favor the people who are
further away. It goes on a poii1t system." After the first round, students on the waiting
list will move up if people do not pick up
their permits.
Hettrich also admitted that some people,
including himself, thought that public safety officials started parking enforcement the
week before, which was part of the mixup. He sympathizes with the students who
are not able to park in the parking lots, but
Hettrich said that the process has worked
similarly in the past. Lastly, he explained
that students' accounts are not charged for
parking until they pick up their passes.

Amanda Woodle, P3 student, has been applying for a parking pass similarly in previous years since she was a first year student,
close to five consecutive years.
"I always seem to have problems when
trying to apply for the commuter parking
pass," Woodle commented. "I live right
near campus, within walking distance, so I
never seem to qualify for the first round of
parking passes."
An issue she consistently deals with is
living so close to campus, meaning she did
not meet the qualifications of the first round
of parking passes. Woodie's main concern
is obtaining a pass because she needs to be
able to drive to pharmacy sites off campus
up to three times a week for class.
"I am told that I can't have a parking pass
because I live so close. They don't seem to
understand that it is a requirement for my
classes that I have a car available to drive
to sites off campus," said Woodle. "I was
eventually able to get a parking pass during
second round selections, but by that time I
had already received a parking ticket."
Along with parking issues due to people
parking in the wrong lots, some parking
lot conditions have reduced the amount of
spaces. In the past few weeks, temperatures
have been extremely low causing snow and

3

ice to remain around the parking lot. Rebo
explained that people are not ticketed for
parking over the line unless it is an extreme
issue.
According to Rebo, Public Safety will
not accept the excuse that a student could
not find anywhere else to park, in
reference to parking on campus
without a parking pass or lack
of space due to weather conditions. He suggested the use of the
parking garage because there are
always parking spaces open. Before the semester began, there was
an email sent out to students describing the parking enforcement
policy.
"A $25 ticket will be given if
you don't have the proper permit
for the proper lot," stated Rebo.
Additionally, if anyone is parked
in the fire lane or in a handicapped
spot, the car will be ticketed and
towed. Furthermore, people cannot park alongside Passan Hall in
the alley in case of emergencies
requiring fire trucks and, specifically, ambulances, as Health Services is now located on the first
floor of Passan Hall.

"The first two weeks, we give them [students, faculty and stafl] the benefit of parking on campus," Rebo said. Parking enforcement will be consistent with ticketing
from now on. Finally, he stated that not everyone can be satisfied within the first two

BAL
900 RUTTER AVE.

nt

2ND )FLOOR, fO"'l'Y-FOR1"', PA 1~708
570-332-5705
.

$100 SEMESTER CLASS PASS
UNLIMITED CLASSES FOR ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY
on
il-

MUST PRESENT STUDENT OR FACULTY ID
OFFER EXPIRES 2/15/09

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ba la n ceJ!ogastu d io. net

�~~

JANUARY

-

---

27, 2009

--

--

-

--

.

-

4

NEWS

"I'm happy for Christine. This is a really
wonderful opportunity and in today's job
from FRONT PAGE
market, it says a lot about the quality of the
individual to find and get this kind ofjob. It
"Also, one of the more challenging things allows her to get on with a major portion of
about my job will be learning and working for her life," said Jack Chielli, executive directhe state government, working in legislative af- tor of Marketing Communications. "Over
fairs and working very closely with PHA's lob- the years she has done a fantastic job .. . She
byists to advocate for homecare providers ... to has earned the compliments and respect of
- ................,......,.""""'""""""""=....,.........,..,....._.,.,,,.,,,..,..__________, the entire campus
community."
"I met Christine
when I tried out
to be the mascot.
She was the one
who really spring
boarded the entire
mascot program,
and she has been
sort of the rnklascot advisor for
Dave [Lewis], Jason [Woloski] and
me," said Emilee
Strobeck, junior
elementary education major.
"It was obvious
how passionate she
was toward making it a successful
program, and her
leadership skills
and professionalism she displayed
with us were surely among the best.
--.,,,,,,..,~. ~~r"""', ,,--.,..._-J It will be hard to
replace her," Strobeck added
MickelBoth

STAFF

make campus events, such as the Outstanding Leaders' Forum and the Kirby Lecture,
successful.
"I' 11 miss the people [at Wilkes] ... People
have been so overwhelming supportive and
I'm just so touched by everybody's kind
words and well wishes," said Tondrick.
On December 23, Tom Messinger, executive director of Campus Support Services,
announced Malkemes's choice to leave the
university. According to Messinger's release, Malkemes was leaving Wilkes for "a
new opportunity in a private industry" on
January 16.
As manager of CSS, Malkemes was responsible for campus safety, mail room,
insurances, vehicle fleet, access control and
support services, said Messinger. Prior to his
departure, Malkemes had been an employee
of the university for 19 years.
"He has done a wonderful job here at Wilkes. He was well-respected and liked and really did a good job," said Petra Carver, vice
president for finance operations.
Having only begun his career at Wilkes in
late September, Messinger did not work with
Malkemes long before he informed him of
his resignation on December 15. "He appeared to be a very capable and well organized individual," said Messinger.

FUTURISTIC
INNOVATIVE
GRAPHICS

son and Chielli ~ - - - - - - - stressed that Tondrick's personality
and commitment to
Wilkes can not be
The Beacon/Lauren Biernacki replaced, though
Christine Tondrick, associate director of marketing communica- her position will
tions will be leaving for a career opportunity PHA in Camp Hill.
be filled.
•
Chielli does not
help draft legislation that will help benefit our expect to hire outside of the university
audience," she added.
to fill Tondrick's position. Instead, other
Throughout her years at Wilkes, Tondrick members of the Marketing Communicahas worked closely with many members of the tions team will take on her responsibilities.
President's Cabinet, faculty, staff and students.
"Do I think there are other individuals
Melanie Mickelson, director of Admissions, out in our community that can learn to grow
described Tondrick as "class, with a capital on the job like Christine has? Yeah, I do,"
C."
said Chielli. "I hope that we get a good ap"1 have always admired her class. I don't plicant pool; this is a critical position."
think that that's something everybody naturally
According to Chielli, Tondrick acted as
has, and if you don't have it, it isn't something the chief spokesperson for Wilkes Univeryou can learn," said Mickelson. Mickelson sity. Her responsibilities as associate direccredits Tondrick with aiding the develop- tor of the department included, but are not
ment of the relationship between Wilkes and limited to, writing press releases, writing
160over90, a branding agency based in Phila- for the president and administration offidelphia. The campaign has earned the univer- cials and working closely with the graphic
sity national recognition recently.
design and advancement departments to

Neither Carver nor Messinger could
comment on Malkemes 's future employment opportunities.
"[H]e indicated this new position
provided some future potential that he
could not pass up," said Messinger.
"He was not willing to share that information with me ... " said Carver. "The
way he communicated with me was that
after 19 years he had a career advancement opportunity .. . that was very exciting to him, and I would never hinder
that kind of initiative."
According to Carver, John Pesta will
act as interim manager ofCSS until they
decide how they will permanently fill
Malkemes 's position. Paul Kapriskie
will fill Pesta's empty position in capital
projects as Pesta takes on new responsibilities.
"[Malkemes] leaves a big hole for us.
Fortunately, in the past, John Pesta has
handled these areas. He has a similar
background here and he should be able
to seamlessly fill in. Though it is very
painful, we should not experience a lack
or loss in service," said Carver.
Malkemes was contacted but chose
not to comment on the details of his departure.

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�27, 2009
NURSING

NEWS

JANUARY

from FRONT PAGE

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Students don't receive a score, but rather
a "pass" or "fail". It is taken yearly and to
maintain accreditation, Pennsylvania requires each college/university to achieve a
minimum pass rate of 60 percent.
Merrigan explained that state board monitors the university's program to ensure improvement. She also added that even if the
accreditation were suspended, Wilkes would
still be fully approved by the State Board of
Nursing. In other words, accreditation is an
option rather than a requirement.
The state board of Pennsylvania allows
nursing students to practice with a permit
for up to one year after graduation. Merrigan said, "If students don't take the examination within the first few months of graduation," they are less likely to pass. "We
had five students who waited over eleven
months ... and they were all not successful."
But the pressure of the test does weigh
heavily on nursing students as they work
toward that culminating event in their education. Jeanne Wood, a sophomore nursing
major said, "I was worried that Wilkes was
going to lose its accrediation because many
employers look for that. Even though it's
more than two years away, I'm still pretty

:::~~sbecauseeveryoneseemstosayit's
Records show that from 2003-2005 Wilkes posed pass scores of 77.80%, 84.00%,
and 70.00% respectively.
Merrigan explained that the nursing program " ... grew rapidly" in 2006 and that
resources could not keep up. "We more
than doubled our enrollment in the past five
years, and our faculty did not." According
to Wilkes's 2007-08 Fact Book, the number
of full-time undergraduate nursing students
has jumped from 89 in fall 2003 to 282 in
fall 2007, a trend that is consistent with national growth in the nursing education area.
According to Merrigan, in order to compensate, Wilkes hired five new full-time
instructors and has also introduced a slew
of review programs. In addition, the nursing program has raised admission requirements. Applicants must now stand within
the top 50 percent of their class, achieve a
minimum math score of 450 on the SATs,
present two letters of recommendation,
write an entrance essay and conduct an interview.
This March the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education will conduct a full
overview of Wilkes's nursing program to
decide if it will be approved for another ten
year accreditation.

SG Notes: January 21, 2009

BYAMYFUSCO
Beacon News Editor

16,. Lar:ge Pizza

12•' Pan Pizza

Cold
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!!21

Meatball WI Cheese
Tuna&amp;Cb.m e
Cheese Steak:
Ham&amp;Chee.se
Cbi~ken Parmigill
Club Sub
Turkey&amp;. Cheese Cm. Bacon.&amp;: Cheese
Sa.usage
Roast Beef &amp; Cheese
Grilled Cmcbn
Chicken Cheese Steak
13ufl"4!o Ohi~ken C.S

Events
-Jail &amp; Bail- January 22
- PA Student Government February 7
-Winter Weekend February 20-21
-VIP Day March 21, 12:30pm

New Business
Acceptance ofPositions
-new SG members accepted
their positions
Lacrosse Club Fund Request (Week 2
of2)
-motion passed to fund $2,685.00
for the club
Paint Ball Club Recognition (Week 2
of2)
-motion passed for club status

*

* At 7:30 p.m. , a motion was made to
adjourn the SG meeting. The motion was
approved.
SG meetings are open to all students.
They are held every Wednesday in the
Miller Conference room on the second
floor of the RSC.

Fried Mushrooms
Fried Ravioli (6}
Mozzarella Stieb (S)

Mini Tac.os (12)
Mini Potato l?mwes (1:2)
J~lapen&lt;&gt; Po~ (6)
French Frie,

'MlhJ..&amp;Jm s~

Cheese Fries
OniooRmp
Chicken Nuggets (8)

:JD Eat Norlh.mpt.tm St

Bread Stieb

8.25--51661 82S-W7
Hnn

Deli Melt

Old Business
-Vagina Monologues Donation
- Rock Wall Certification

Club Reports
The following clubs
presented updates on
their events.
- Programming Board
-MSC

PIZZA•WW
.US• IALADI-

Our Original Fried Sicilian
Regular Cut
12 Cut Tray
While CUt
10 CUt Tray
B.roooo1i Cu.t
10 Cut Tm)'

SG Major Initiative
-SG members brainstormed ideas for
ways to enhance the Wilkes campus
through the Student Government buffer
fund.
- Student Concerns

Treasurer's Report
- General: $11,324.74
- Special Projects: $3,864.06
- Spirit: $4,000.00
- Leadership: $8,652.56
- Start-Up: $2,400.00

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Ronn~ .f.,k !
12»Medium Pizza

Mtm • llum 11A.H-11PM
Fri~ Sat 11 AM-12:30AM

Sun l2PMpl1PM

AMO
lo,&amp; Discount for Studeau*

Tossed wl Croutons
Tossed w/ Tuna
Pasffi w/ Ol»ei-e
Crispy Chicken
Chicken. Caesm-

Antipasto
Caesar

ChefSalad
Gneck

Chicken Caesar

CheeseSteak

Grilled Cbjcke.n

Veggie
Turk~y Club

Cris.PY Cbiekm
California Cheese Ste.Ilk

Tuna

•DINI JMGtll'

Delivery ~pedals
:2 Urie Pi~ S l7.95
2 Small Pizzas $13.9S

All Major Credit Cards Accepted
FREE DELIVERY O ALL WILKES DORMS

5

Delivery Speclab
Mix &amp; M,ateh Vlmgs &amp; 8uhs
3 fur$lSJ&gt;S

�-------

-

- ----

-~--

-

- - -

•

Opinion

CONTACT INFORMATION:
· gino.troiani@wilkes.edu
anthony.dorunda@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

An open letter to President Oba01a on education
BY THE BEACON
Editorial Board

Dear President Obama,
Congratulations on becoming
the 44th President of the United
States of America. Over the past
three years you have overcome so
many obstacles and broken countless barriers. You have inspired us
as well as enchanted the nation
and most of the world with your
promises of change, but now it is
time to deliver.
Understandably, yours will not
be an easy job. The global economy is in terrible shape, we are
fighting two wars, and most of the
world distrusts us. You obviously
have a rather lengthy to-do list.
But we want to make sure that
you don't forget about some of
the other important issues facing
the nation like the cost of higher
education.
In November of 2007, you said,
"We need to put a college education within reach of every American." Over the past five years the
average cost of a college education
has grown nearly 40 percent Because of the rising costs, two million people will have been denied
college education during the first
decade of the new millennium.
Throughout your campaign you
discussed what you would do to
address the cost of higher education. Your tax credit plan, which
will insure that the first $4,000 of
an individual's education is paid
for, is a good start. We especially
like the idea that students must
complete community service to
be eligible for the credit. The plan
reminds us of a similar one proposed by President Clinton during
his administration. However, given the cost of a college education
at private and public four-year institutions, this $4,000 puts only a
small dent in the challenge young
people and parents must meet to

«

earn a bachelor's
degree.
And
most would agree
that today's bachelor's degree is
the
equivalent
of a high school
diploma of the
1950s and 1960s-a must for sustainable employment. Thus, we
urge you to assemble the most
creative minds
out there to design yet more
opportunties to
defray--or even
eliminate
altogether--the overall cost of tuititon
with national or
international servi~:u have also

Trends in rising education costs

1rtB]~
~

$42,323

The average
cost of acollege
education has
gorown nearlv
40% in the past 5
vears.

$44),275
$38-,227

$36,179
$J4,IJl

mentioned that
you will eliminate the Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid or FASFA. Michael Frantz,
our Vice President for Enrollment
Services, explained that your plan
is not eliminating the process for
analyzing student need, just simplifying the it. This is definitely a
good change, because for some,
the process is aboput as clear as
the Tax Code (which means as
clear as mud).
In addition, special consideration must be made for those families who have been hardest hit by
the current economic crisis. If the
federal government could subsidize special programs for free or
low-cost retraining for those who
have lost their jobs, colleges can
partner in that effort. Locally, we
applaud Luzerne County Community College for taking the lead in
offering free classes to community
members and see it as the sort of
model colleges across the nation
should consider. But colleges

2008

2009

20l0

2011

2012

This chart shows a national increase in tuition at 6%
annually according to College Board projections.

can't afford to take such measures
indefinitely. We ask that your administration harness the creativity we think is there and devise
a means by which such solutions
can be found.
On that note, please try to ensure
the survival of community colleges. Community colleges play
a key role in providing affordable
and adequate education to individuals who may not have been able
to pursue higher education if the
institutions were not available.
The most important thing that
you could do for us is to ensure
that student loans will be available when we need them. Headlines are popping up all across the
country about the uncertain future
of student loans. Frankly, we are
scared. Many of us cannot afford
college on our own and depend on

banks and financiers to fund the
remaining cost. While we hate
the idea of debt, not attending
college because we can't get the
loans does not seem like a viable
alternative.
We know that these issues may
seem trivial right now, but we are
depending on you. The future of
this country rests in the hands of
our schools and the future leaders they are shaping. But because of this financial crisis, that
future feels at best murky, and at
worst non-existent. We ask you
once again to give us hope and
the change we need in the area
of higher education.
Sincerely,
The Beacon Editorial Staff

President
Obama intends
to simPlifV the
application
processfor
financial aid.

If legislation is
properlvwritten,
student loans
will become
more accessible
-10 individuals
pursuing higher
education.

6

�JANUARY

27, 2009

OPINION

7

The Angry Rant: Celebrating cultural absurdities
BY TIM SEIGFRIED..
Beacon Wilkes Alumus
It's a new year, and that means it's also
awards season, and 'The Angry Rant' is
no exception. Over the last year, I've compiled some of the most rage-inducing cultural...uh, events ... and compressed them
into an easy-to-read collection of fury and
acerbity.
Let's get to it.
The Most Absurd News Story of the
Year ...
The "pregnant man."
Okay, let's get a few things straight: men
can't have babies. Can we all agree on that?
So why did the major news organizations
in the country decide to call a female - who
had some "refinements" - a man? In reality, she possessed no organs or genes that
would label her as such. Unless scientists
have successfully found out how to manipulate the human genome (which means
my Metal Gear Solid fantasy could be a
reality - awesome), she still is a female.
Just because you call yourself a male, cut
off your cans, and pump yourself full of
enough testosterone to look like Mick
Foley, guess what - you're still a chick.
Oh, and also, you are able to bear a child.
That's one thing that men haven't figured
out, at least without having hilarious results
(see also: Junior).
You're not a pregnant man, you're a female who is doing something that many
other females in the history of the world
has done: bear a child. You're not special.
Also, did anyone else catch his her interview with Oprah? At one point, she said
that she was concerned that their neighbor
would find out that she was pregnant, and
you know, they wanted to have privacy in
this moment of joy with her and her wife.
I'll give you all a moment to bang your
head on the table.
Really? You go on The Oprah Winfrey
Show, and you're worried that your neighbor might find out? This fetus has had more
exposure than Madonna's skeletor-arms.
So there is a pretty good chance that your
neighbor has already caught wind of your
story. And if he hasn't, then I'm sure that
the ten news vans parked in your front yard
may have him just a tad suspicious.
Listen, I don't see how this woman is legally a male. It doesn't make any sense, because she retains the genetic structure of a
female, and unless she was born with both
sets of equipment (she wasn't), she is still
a woman. But ifwe are allowed to call ourselves whatever we want, then I wish to be
called Odin - I'll ride around on Sleipnir,
my eight-legged horse, welcoming the
proud dead into Valhalla until I am slain

during Ragnarok. (My props to the three
people who got my Norse mythology joke.
Which is the best kind of mythology, by
the way. That's right, Greeks, you and your
"gods" that look like rejects from the Abercombie and Fitch catalog can take a hike.
Seriously, have you seen what Zeus looks
like? Nice wax job on your chest, Nancy.)
Back to the rant.
Best movie series that was given an unecessary sequel that was the cinematic equivalent to an abortion ...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull!
First off,
the lndi-

Jones
s er i e s
has produced
some of the best adventure movies of all-time. The first three
ranged from "good" to "perhaps the greatest film about a fedora-clad archaeologist
and his octogenarian father."
But the latest installment was an abomination. It was like a mother giving birth to
three children who turned out to be Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and George
Washington, and then giving birth to a
fourth child nearly two decades later, only
that kid turns out to be Dane Cook.
Anyhow, the gift that Miley received from
Tyra Banks, model-turned-actress-turnedtalkshow host-turned-windbag?
A picture of a 16-year-old Tyra Banks.
That's right, because nothing says "your
special day isn't about you" more than
a picture of an aging model who is more
bat-ESS crazy than the old man who keeps
jars of his own feces in his basement so the
aliens can clone him when the mothership
returns.
Remember when Tyra Banks was considered to be a talented actress who had one of
the most critically acclaimed talk shows on
television? Me either.

All I can remember is the time that she
was photographed in her bathing suit and
the media frenzy that followed.
For those who aren't aware, Tyra was
photographed on vacation on in a bathing
suit that was less than flattering. Perhaps
it was a bad angle, but whatever it was,
Tyra, who is at the vanguard of promoting
a healthy self-esteem among the females,
decided that the only way to combat this
was to wear the suit on her show to prove
that she is a healthy woman who was victimized by the paparazzi.
The result: Tyra was right, it was
a bad angle. She would go on
to say that women are hurt
by comments like that,
and that self-esteem
is a fragile and frail
creature, like a kitten made of glass.
Except
that,
during her explanation, she basically said: "As
you can see, I'm
not fat. But if I
was, that would be
okay because I'm
happy with myself.
But I'm not that, just
to let you all know. Me,
Tyra Banks, international
supermodel, isn't fat. But guess
what, it would be okay if I was. But
I'm not. Just to be clear."
Nothing like promoting a healthy image
and self-esteem for women who aren't supermodels, so as long as it's not you, right
Tyra?
Hey! Remember me, I'm somehow still
popular ...
Paris Hilton!
Really? She has her television show?
What? It's about people who want to be
her friend? Well, are they dudes who just
want to nail her? WHAT? They're girls
who actually crave her friendship? Oh,
I see, so those girls are pulling an elaborate prank on MTV and the rest of society,
right? No? They're serious? Wait, did any
of those girls vote? Oh, they didn't even
know who Obama was? Well, thank God
for that, I guess.
Which leads me to this: This country
needs to establish a license for people to
vote. Ifwe can't consistently meet 60% for
turnout, then we do the next best thing and
eliminate all those who are too uneducated
to vote. Of course, that rules out a good
portion of the American population, but is
anyone else with me when I say that it's a

problem that the voting system for the NFL
Probowl is more organized than the current
system we have in place for electing the
leader of the free world?
The unecessary sampling of two good
songs by an artist who is less talented than
the guy who is pumping your gas ...
Kid Rock!
Kid, seriously?
Did you really need to sample "Sweet
Home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London" for your song "All Summer Long?"
You single-handedly ruined two songs, .md
the ears of anyone who has good taste in
music, when you could have done the same
by just remixing "Bawitdaba."
But really, how bad is music getting? Katy
Perry is somehow popular, Britney Spears
is on her third comeback and for whatever
reason, Rob Thomas is still producing hits.
Nothing makes sense anymore!
This is some of the worst music to be
released, ever, including the "stone rock"
era. (That's where cavemen would pound
out tunes with rocks and sticks. Oops, cromagnon puns not doing it for you? Fair
enough.)
The truth is that the youth of today (including many who are reading this) have
no idea about classic music. I don't mean
Beethoven or Mozart. I mean classic music
like Led Zeppelin or the Beatles. Because
I'm going to scream ifl have this conversation again:
"Man, this song by Sean Kingston is
great! I love the composition!"
"You know that he just sampled Led Zeppelin, right?"
"Who?"
But seriously, children, can you switch
off the bad music, if only for a moment,
and embrace the beautiful composition
that is known as "Stairway to Heaven." Or
"Hey Jude." Get to know names like Plant,
Paige, Hendrix, Morrison, Lennon and McCartney. Forget Britney and Fergie. It's going to hurt at first, because your ears have
been conditioned to such poor music that
it won't fully recognize brilliance. But I
promise you, you will not regret it.
This is your job, readers. Go out and pick
up a copy of Led Zeppelin IV, and just listen
to it. You will not be disappointed. In fact,
I guarantee that it will change your life. If
everyone could listen to Led Zeppelin, then
there would be no war, there would be no
recession, there would be no hatred. There
would only be love ... and the sweet sounds
of Robert Plant.
Welcome back, Wilkes.

�JANUARY

27, 2009

OPINION

8

Charges dropped on 9/11 conspirator
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon OP-ED EDITOR

Imagine a prison where prisoners are subjected to prolonged isolation, sleep deprivation, forced
nudity, physical threats, degrading
treatment, prolonged exposure to
cold, and 18 to 20 hour interrogations that span over 48 days. Prisoners are completely cut off from
the outside world and all basic
civil liberties are non-existent.
No, this is not a story cooked
up by Stephen Glass. Nor is it a
rehash of Abu Ghraib. This is a
cruel reality for many detainees
being held at the Guantanamo Bay
detention camp located in Cuba.
The existence of Guantanamo
has severely blemished the United
States' image within the international community, and has sent a
message that completely contradicts its own laws protecting civil
liberties.
On August 4 2001, Mohammed
al Qahtani, a Saudi national, was
denied access to the United States
by a suspicious immigration inspector at an Orlando airport.
According to U.S. officials, Qahtani planned to become the "20th
hijacker" in the attacks on September 11 , 2001. In 2002, Qahtani
was captured in Afghanistan and

transported to the Guantanamo
detention facility where he began
interrogation.
Qahtani had been facing counts
of conspiracy, terrorism and murder in violation of the laws of war.
His interrogation began in November 2002 and ranged over a
fifty day span. Qahtani was then
held in isolation until April 2003.
Currently, there are approximately 245 prisoners being held in
the Gitmo detention camps alongside Qahtani. That is 245 to many.
According to Susan Crawford, a
retired judge that runs the military
tribunals at Guantanamo, the interrogation methods used on Qahtani
were life threatening and qualified
as torture.
In an interview published by The
Washington Post on January 14,
Crawford said, "The techniques
they used were all authorized, but
the manner in which they applied
them was overly aggressive and
too persistent. ... You think of torture, you think of some horrendous
physical act done to an individual.
This was not any one particular
act; this was just a combination of
things that had a medical impact
on him, that hurt his health. It was
abusive and uncalled for."
The Washington Post also reported that because the interroga-

tion process used on Qahtani was
so intense, he was hospitalized
twice because of a condition called
bradycardia, which happens when
the heart falls below 60 beats per
minute. Bradycardia can lead to
heart failure and death.
According to a report by Amnesty International, a human rights
organization, Qahtani was also
forced to wear women's clothes,
tied by a leash and ordered to perform animal tricks.
Because Crawford defined the
treatment Qahtani sustained as
"torture," she found herself unable to prosecute and has dropped
all charges. However, Qahtani
still remains a prisoner at Guantanamo.
Despite outrage from critics,
former president Bush and vice
president Cheney have continued
to deny any allegations of torture
being used for interrogation purposes at Guantanamo.
In a recent interview with Larry
King, Bush proudly commented,
"We don't torture ... I am very
comfortable with what we did,
and know it was necessary to protect the country."
President Barack Obama signed
an executive order last week to
shut down the detention camps
and has promised, "Guantanamo

will be closed no later than one
year from now." In addition, he
has also ordered the closure of all
secret CIA prisons overseas.
This is where it gets sticky. If
Guantanimo is shut down, what
is to become of its remaining 245
prisoners?
On January 24, the New York
Times reported that 50 to 100 detainees may face federal trial.
There have been talks of moving
dozens of detainees into federal
maximum security prisons; however, it seems as if lawmakers are
shying away from the possibility
of accepting them into their own
states. Some lawmakers have argued that If these individuals are
placed into the U.S. prisons, the
risk of possible terroristic attacks
on U.S. soil greatly increases.
Obama administration officials
are currently reviewing inmate
files to determine where they
should go. Although some detainees have been deemed not dangerous, no countries will take them. If
these individuals disliked the U.S.
before imprisonment, just imagine
how they feel now.
All possibilities are imperfect,
however, GITMO needs to be shut
down immediately.

On the morning of November
25, 2008, Rice township resident
Susan Kaminski suffered for nearly an hour before receiving medic~ attention after she had slipped
on a pile of wet leaves and shattered her leg. Between the time it
took for someone to find her and
an emergency unit to respond, she
developed hypothermia from the
harsh conditions.
The Mountain Top Area Community Ambulance Association,
which is made up entirely of volunteers, was the crew originally
called to the scene of Kaminski's
fall.
The association is made up of
approximately 30 volunteers covering four towns, which, according to the 2000 census, is a total of

12,218 residents.
The problem is that the Mountaintop Area Community Ambulance Association has only a
limited number of volunteers who
are expected to respond to every
emergency
in a 54 mile
radius. This
makes it difficult to provide
adequate and
timely
service.
Hanover's
crew already
covers the area for calls requiring
advanced life support, but with a
new deal in place, the crew will be
dispatched for basic life support
calls as well - something a first responder crew with enough volunteers should be capable of.
Thus the nagging problem: vol-

unteers.
It is becoming more difficult for
emergency medical services to recruit and retain unpaid volunteers
because of the amount of training
and time commitment.
This
problem is prevalent
throughout
the
field of emergency medical services in general.
According to
firehouse. com,
during the span of
1974 to 2005, the
number of volunteer firefighters in
Pennsylvania plummeted nearly
230,000 people, from 300,000 to
72,000 volunteers.
The drastic decline can be
chalked up to many different possibilities, but probably the most
pressing issue is that many peo-

Next Week's question:

Do you feel President Obama
will implement change to the
current higher education process in a effective and timely
mannor?

• Yes
•No
• Undecided

Visit www.wilkesbeacon.
com to cast your vote.
Results will be published.
online at wilkesbeacon.com

Speak Up!

Local EMS units face problein: Volunteers
BY ANTHONY DORUNDA
Beacon ast. Op-Ed Editor

Beacon Poll Results
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted
online this past week. The
poll was unscientific and does
not claim to reflect the attitudes
of students on campus.

pie do not have time and feel as
though there is little incentive.
In previous generations, it was
not only considered an honor, but
a duty to volunteer for the EMS.
Today, that is not the case.
The EMS certification process
takes approximately 180 hours and
is usually offered through local
hospitals or emergency response
units. Graduates of approved
EMT-Basic training programs
must pass a written and practical examination administered by
the State certifying agency or the
NREMT.
Local ambulance companies like
the ones in the small towns surrounding Wilkes-Barre need our
help. Young and old alike have a
responsibility to make a stand and
give back to both their communities and fellow man.
Make a difference, volunteer.

It's Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Concact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Inauguration 2009
PAGES 10-11
CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

After stepping onto
the stage of the Dorothy Dickson Darte
Center at the age of
17, Corinna SowersAdler didn't yet realize
the influence it would
have on her life.
Now, nearly 15 years
later, Sowers-Adler is
gearing up to say her final goodbyes to the theater where she started as
an undergraduate and left as
performer, director and professor.
A 1999 graduate of Wilkes
University with a theater major and musical theater emphasis,
Sowers-Adler, 31, will leave the university this semester after 10 years
teaching theater in the Wilkes Conservatory, a division of the department of visual and performing
arts. Along with running a vocal
studio each semester, SowersAdler also served as an adjunct
professor through the department of visual and performing
arts.
"Corinna bonded with many
students over the years, and
has left a unique, indelible
mark on the community,"
said Shelley Pearce, director of the Conservatory. "In
many ways, she is truly irreplaceable."
Starting in February,
Sowers-Adler will take
on the role of Director of
the Foundation Series at
the Young Actor's Training Center (YATC), a
professionally-focused
acting studio for children and teenagers in New
York City. She will also
work with the New Jersey
School of Dramatic Arts.
As Director of the Foun-

dation Series for YATC, Sowers-Adler will it was going to be my life. It changed and
be in charge of developing, marketing, and evolved as I got older and different opportuteaching a program for 10 to 13-year-olds nities presented themselves, but that initial
that will include acting, theatre, perfor- knowing has always been there."
Over the years, theater has taken Sowmance art vocabulary and vocal lessons.
The goal of the Foundations Series at YATC ers-Adler all over the country, where she
is to prepare students for the Masters Series, performed in regional, dinner and touring
a program tailored to professionally-work- companies. While teaching at Wilkes and
performing, she also served for five years
ing students.
According to J.P. Matthews, the Founding as the children's theater director for the
Artistic Director of YATC,
Pocono and Bucks
County playhouses.
Sowers-Adler seemed an
ideal candidate for the poJuggling roles as
performer,
direcsition because of her work
tor and teacher can
mentoring young actors
be difficult. While
here at Wilkes.
Sowers-Adler loves
"Most importantly, she
brings a real passion to the
mentoring children
and teens, she has
development of kids," he
learned it is necessaid. "She is about instilling
sary to devote time
the belief in kids that they
to perfecting her
are unique. It's more about
own skills as well.
support and their own de"It's tough. I work
velopment, and that's what
hard
to carve outtime .
turned us on to her."
for my own instruAdditionally, Matthews
points to Sowers-Adler's
ment and my own
role in the development of
creative
growth,"
the Conservatory program
Corinna Sowers-Adler directed she said. "It's not alat Wilkes as evidence of her nearly 100 individual perfor- ways easy because I
talents working with young mances while at Wilkes.
love mentoring and
directing, and it's
people.
As director of theater for the Conserva- easytoforgetthatlneedtohonemyownskills."
However, Sowers-Adler believes a strong
tory, Sowers-Adler was responsible for expanding the theater program from one class mentoring relationship is vital to breaking
with five children to six courses each semes- into the world of theater. She describes the
ter, ranging from children to adults. Pearce industry as "very competitive," and imparts
credits Sowers-Adler with the expansion of to her students the same advice she received
the program in less than a decade from a when studying theater.
"Until you come to terms with the fact
handful of students to over a hundred each
that any rejection you may receive is not
year.
Like the children she taught at the Con- personal, it can be a tough road," she said.
servatory, Sowers-Adler joined the field of "You need to realize there is no other person
theater at an early age. After performing like you in the world. Therefore, there is no
in a talent show at the age of nine, Sow- competition. There is only you making your
ers-Adler was bitten by the acting bug. She instrument better."
Sal Infantino, a junior telecommunicaperformed with professional theater and opera companies during her high school and tions major with a theater minor, says Sowers-Adler helped him grow as a performer
college years.
"I just always loved to sing," she said. "I by teaching him to step outside his comfort
can't remember a time when I didn't think zone. Infantino, who worked with Sowers-

£.iwii"•••

Adler since he was a
middle-school student
in the Conservatory
program, often had to
learn lines and stage directions on the spot.
"She was always so
concerned with making
classes fun that I often
forgot how embarrassed
or nervous I felt," he said.
"By the time I actually hit
the stage and nerves set in, T
was so practiced with such a
close-knit group of people that
I overcame a lot of fears."
Infantino believes that Sowers-Adler's departure will leave a
hole for the Conservatory kids, and
that "the Darte Center will never be
the same."
Leaving the Darte Center was
indeed an emotional experience
for Sowers-Adler, who walked off
the Darte stage for the last time
on January 11, after directing the
final show of the Conservatory's
production of "Children of
Eden."
She described the final days
leading up to the show as filled
with "lots of tears and hugs."
After spending much of her
professional career at Wilkes, leaving it will be a trying experience.
"There was a moment
about two days before our
final show together when
I was alone in the theater
and I just sat down and
cried like a baby," she
said. "It kind of just hit
me at that moment how
much that place has
meant to me. You just
don't forget something
that has made you grow
as much as this place has
helped me grow."

�10

LIFESTYLES

JANUARY

27, 2009

Wilkes students react to Presidential Inauguration 2009
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor
Almost two million people packed into
the National Mall and along the presidential parade route in Washington, D.C., to see
Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.
But for those who couldn't make the trip,
Wilkes University offered other alternatives.
On January 20, Student Development
hosted coverage of the inauguration in the
Henry Student Center by providing a place
for students, faculty and staff to gather and
watch the ceremony on television. Student
Development provided free hot chocolate
and food for students to snack on while
they watched the coverage. But televisions
all over campus were trained to the coverage. Next door to the first floor lounge
in the Henry Student Center, community
members crowded around the flat screen
television on the wall, and just one floor
up in the Grand Ballroom, those attending
the internship meeting watched the coverage projected onto the big screen. And the
scene was repeated all across campus.
Rae Ellen Zekas, a graduate assistant of
Student Development, estimates around

150 students turned out to watch the coverage over the course of the day in the student
center's first floor lounge.
According to Zekas, the idea for the event
stemmed from a desire to provide students
with a venue where they could get together
and witness a historical event.
"This was part of history, and it was nice to
offer students a festive community environment in a group setting," she said.
Zekas described the atmosphere as generally calm while the students listened attentively to the speeches. However, during the
swearing-in, they became more emotional.
"It was pretty quiet for the most part, but
right after Obama took the oath, the students
started cheering because they were excited,"
she said.
Joshua Siejak, a junior political science
major, watched the inauguration in the
Rifkin Cafe, and observed the same burst of
excitement during the oath.
"In Rifkin, everyone just started clapping,"
he said. "It was teachers, students, and faculty alike."
However, students watching the swearing-in noticed it did not go as smoothly
as planned. During the oath of office, there

was a verbal flub, when Chief Justice John
Roberts recited the oath out of sequence.
For freshman accounting major Matthew
Ruch, who describes himself as "not having much political interest," the garbled
oath provided an even more memorable
addition to an already-historical event.
"I thought it was funny how the Chief
Justice messed up the oath," he said.
Freshman nursing major Christina Kuriakose also counts the verbal faux pas as a
memorable moment; however, she paid
close attention to the speeches as well.
Kuriakose, who keeps up-to-date on political happenings, thought Obama's speech
was slightly lacking.
"It was good, but it was a little bland,"
she said. "He could have spiced it up a
bit."
As a political science major, Siejak
looked to the inauguration as a crucial
point in bringing in a new face to deal with
old problems. He is especially interested in
seeing how Obama will act during his first
100 days.
However, while Siejak speculated on the
future, some parts of what he witnessed
during the inauguration will stick with him

as pieces of history.
"For me, it was seeing the scope of the
people, all the ex-presidents and people
of government there," he said. "Everyone
seemed to get along for an hour."

BY
Th~
neare

tre

Students gather in the SUB to watch coverage of the residential niauguration.

Martin Luther King Day
_ _ Januar,y 19 2009

•

of The Beacon/Jacki Lukas

Just one day before the inauguration of America's first black president, Wilkes University hosted several events to commemorate Martin Luther Day on January 19.
Students, faculty, and staff turned out to march from the Student Center to Public
Square. Later, community leaders and presidents of local colleges spoke at the Kirby
Center in remembrance of Dr. King's legacy. Martin Luther King Day concluded
with a multimedia event which included songs and a slideshow.

w
m

�JANUARY

27, 2009

LIFESTYLES

11

Presidential Inauguration: A Personal Account
In below-freezing temperatures and an eight mile walk in the middle of the night, I was determinded to join hisory.
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor
The world turned its ey~ and ears to the
nearest televisions, radios, and computers,
to watch the 44th President of the United
States take the oath of office last week.
People crowded around whatever medium
they had access to with their friends, fa~;
ily, and co-workers to listen to the solemn
oath that marked a pivotal turning point in-ideally to a time of optimism and change.
While many watched from televisions and
computers, several million got to experience firsthand the Presidential Inauguration
in Washington, D.C.
I was one of the lucky millions in attendance.
After months of annoying my local Congressman for a ticket, and a few weeks of
preparatory planning for food, transportation, hand warmers, etc., I was ready to
trek to Washington to see what I believed
would be deemed one of the most historic
moments of our time.
I logged my experiences from Monday,
January 19, 2009 through Tuesday, Januazy

The U.S. Capitol became the focal point
for millions of people who crowded the
National Mall.

20, 2009. The following excerpts provide
snapshots of my journey.
Monday, January 19, 2009
After a four hour car ride, I arrived in
Arlington, VA at my sister's house. I immediately put my things down and headed
for the metro to ride the 14 stops to Capitol
South, where lplanned to get off the metro
in front of my Congressman's office to pick
up rQY ticket. Monday was the only day
ticket holders could pick up their tickets,
and stepping off the metro, I realized we all
had the same idea at the same time. I did
not anticipate standing in line for hours just
to get the ticket to Inauguration, but that's
what happened.
Taking a cue from the girl behind me, I
phoned my Congressman's office and asked
them if they were too busy to run the ticket
out to me. Lines of people wrapped around
House Office buildings, three and four
times over.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
3 a.m. Wake up call!
4 a.m. After eating some breakfast and
putting on four layers on the bottom and
six layers on the top, we hobbled out of the
house to begin the seven mile walk to Washington, D.C. My sister, Laura, her friend,
Allison, and 1 walked through Arlington to
.Georgetown and wandered our way into the
District. Laura and Allison had planned a
route for us to walk. The city had advised
anyone who lived within eight miles of the
District to walk because of the number of
streets that were shut down or would otherwise be packed with traffic.
5:30 a.m. As we entered Georgetown, we
began seeing more and more people leaving
their homes (and some bars) to walk toward
the Inauguration. Bars that applied for specific licensing were able to open at 4 a.m.
on Tuesday and stay open until 2 a.m. on
Wednesday morning.
7:30 a.m. We arrived at the security
checkpoint for the parade grandstands (this
is where Laura and Allison would be sitting
for the remainder of the day). At this point
in the morning, as the sun just started to
creep over the horizon of the Capitol, people already filled the streets, many chanting
and yelling. Clumped together in groups,
swarms of patriotic people filed through toward the National Mall. The security checkpoint for the parade grandstands is where I
had to part with Laura and Allison. I had
to find my own security checkpoint for my
particular ticketed area.
8:30 a.m. After almost an hour of being
apart of human traffic jams on the streets of
Washington, I :6nally found the line for my
security checkpoint. Unfortunately, the end

Members of Congress, as well as former Presidents and members of State, crowd the
steps of the U.S. Capitol to witness Barack Obama and Joseph Bi den be sworn in.•
of the line was a bit harder to track down.
Thousands upon thousand$ of people filed
one after the other in the line. Making my
way to the back of security checkpoint line
took several minutes--and almost two miles.
The line wrapped around several blocks,
around several street comers. This began
my two hour wait to get through security to
get to the section in which I was ticketed to
stand (because everyone had to stand, unless
you were a former President. .. or Oprah).
10:30 a.m. The line eventually did move
and I hustled to the security checkpoint. After being patted down by a well-intentioned
policewoman, I wandered around the Mall
towards a spot where I thought I could see
the Capitol clearly.
11:00 a.m. I sandwiched myself between
a middle-aged couple and two collegeaged girls. Talking was minimal, probably
to keep the warm air inside themselves.
Most people in my vantage point huddled
together to stay warm and snapped pictures.
Listening to the sounds of the choir that offered the prelude, eyes were intent and kept
forward.
11:15 a.m. The chanting started. Invoked
somewhere in the middle of the crowd and
waving towards the outside, chants of"Yes
we can!'' echoed throughout the masses of
people.
11:30 a.m. Aretha Franklin. Her voice
was loud, but not as loud as her bow head
dress .
11 :45 a.m. After the procession of members of Congress and former Presidents,
Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in.
The crowd cheered and clapped for our new
Vice President.
11:50 a.m. Yo-Yo Ma performed with an
ensemble of other classical artists.
12:00 p.m. Chief Justice John Roberts
was introduced to administer the oath of
office to Barack Obama. At the mention of

Obama's name or a glimpse of him on one
of the many jumbo-trans that surrounded the
Mall, the crowds erupted with cheers. As he
stepped forward to take his oath, the crowd
fell silent. When Chief Justice Roberts said
"Congratulations," the crowd applauded,
screamed, yelled, cheered and many cried.
1\vo women in front of me hugged.
12:05 p.m. Newly-sworn in President
Obama stood to give bis address to the millions in front of him and the billions watching around the world. The crowd of people,
despite its size, fell oddly silent as he began to speak. I turned around at one point
to take a picture and noticed that not one
person was yelling or screaming. Each per~
son I could see from where I stood looked
straight ahead and watched in awe at our
new president.
12:40 p.m. People began funneling towards either the parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue or toward the opposite
side of the Mall to find their routes home. I
shuffled with thousands of others who were
just as tired, cold, and sore as I was up miles
of avenues and streets. As I manuevered my
way toward the meeting spot Laura and I
had agreed upon, I passed stands of food,
tables of souvenirs and people dancing and
singing in the street. The celebration has
definitely begun.
5 p.m. I head back toward Arlington,
with thousands of others trying to leave the
city. The feeling of happiness and change
has stayed with those present at Inauguration 2009 as their aching feet and tired eyes
work towards their respective homes.
Even though the crowds stretched into
the millions and temperatures stayed well
below freezing, the frustration of traveling
through all those people subsided as those
in attendance claimed their spots on the National Mall. Having the opportunity to witness such an event will always be with me.

�J
page 13

A&amp;K
JANUARY

27, 2009

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa. benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com

12

Theater complex changes hands and adds Blue Chip Gourmet
BY YO HANNA DE LOS SANTOS M.
Asst. A&amp;E Editor

To ensure better chances of success m
the revitalization of downtown, the WilkesBarre Chamber of Commerce announced in
December that they would transfer 75 % of
its stake of the former project "University
Comers" to Carlsberg Management Company, a Los Angeles based real estate firm.
Carlsberg Management Company is responsible for bringing new businesses into
the complex where Movies 14 is located.
"University Comers is the new name
for the Chamber of Commerce development that has been in existence for several
years," said Bill Geary Jr., President of
Carlsberg Management Company.
"University Comers is a new name for the
movie theater, the movie theater includes
the 14 screen movie theater plus 13 stores
that are surrounding the movie theater.
Blue Chips cookies is one of the stores,"
said Bill Fraser, Treasurer.
Blue Chip Gourmet was the first tenant
to be announced after Dennis Bonvie, exhockey player for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, signed a lease agreement.
The location of Northampton and Main
Complex creates a very central place for
this new project that consists of shops and
restaurants. Considering that Wilkes University and King's College surround the

complex, it represents a great
opportunity to market and to advertise aiming at students.
"There are several levels that
University Comers is going after. Of course, Wilkes University
and King's College absolutely
we are going to market. But keep
in mind we have over 14,000
office workers downtown that
we are going to market; the local residents are also going to be
marketed. There are just so many
individuals that we are going to
make aware not only in WilkesBarre but outside of WilkesBarre," said Fraser.
Fraser added, "This is the place
to be - University Comers, and
of course the revitalization of the
entire downtown."
This new project will not only
bring life and lights to downtown
but it will also be a new opportunity for those students who are
searching for jobs off-campus.
When asked if students will be
able to apply for jobs, Pamela
The Beacon/ Alyssa Benner
Rudd, Marketing Director said,
Pedestrians
unknowingly
pass
by
the
future
site
of
Blue
Chip
Gourmet.
Blue Chip Gourmet is
"Absolutely! If the retailers and
tentatively
expected
to
open
in
March
of
this
year.
restaurants open, there will be multitude of jobs available [on many]

See BLUEpage 14

Movie Review: Notorious earns yawns, fails expectations
BY KENNY BROWN
Beacon Staff Member

Who knew what to expect when Hollywood decided it was time to produce a
biographical film about one of the most
famous rappers of all time?
Some worried that it would be a shoddy
B-list flick that did nothing more than
mock the artist's life and history. And then
there were the hopefuls--the ones who
waited and believed Hollywood could
get it right and catch the true persona of
the musical prodigy so many knew and
loved.
Notorious, is the long-awaited biographical film by George Tillman, Jr. about
the life and death of rapper Christopher
Wallace, better known as the Notorious
B.I.G.

Sadly, despite hopes for a complex story
that shed light on a cultural phenomenon,
all that came of some excitement was an
average Joe gangster movie with nothing
more than some mediocre acting and a
slightly interesting story.
We mostly all know the story. It was the
early nineties and a rap war was waging
between the East and West coast. A handful of popular artists stood on one side, and
more on the other. Stuck in the middle of
this was the Notorious B.I.G. along with
others like Tupac and Lil Kirn. They led
lives of extravagence--performing, spending money, and participating, at least according to rumor, on the fringe of gang
wars. In the end, the worst happened and
B.I.G. was shot and killed one night by rival rappers.

When transformed to film and put on
the big screen the story is pretty much the
same. However this big screen gangster
street movie lacks excitement, thrill, or
true intere,st in the plot unless you're an
avid fan of B.I.G. It's not a film for the
masses.
Playing the main role as Christopher
Wallace aka B.I.G is newcomer Jamal
Woolard. His acting is okay, his resemblance to the artist is striking, but his performance is well, to be completely honest, forgetful. There does not seem to be
anything special or superb. Do not get me
wrong, his performance was not terrible.
It is just that given the hype and the hope,
an average, common performance is disappointing. Woolard 's performance felt

like anything we could catch on Friday
night TV.
When we look to the storyline and script
there do not seem to be any striking moments of nostalgia. The writing was elementary - lacking depth. You really only
have to get in up to your knees to follow
the story. The writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker do not
seem to know how to really throw you into
the middle of it all. They just seem to coast
along with the wrfting style of high school
seniors.
Now, to the camera work. I usually tend
not to point these things out, but there
were some very seedy cuts and angles

See NOTORIOUS page 14

t]

e

�JANUARY

27, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

SES Club to show short docuIDentary
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

The current buzz word is "change." The
new administration has pli!Jmised copious
amounts of change in America but how do
these supposed changes affect Wilkes students? For those involved in Students for
Environmental Sustainability, the changes in the nation's energy plan are being
closely watched.
Sarah Decesaris, president of SES said,
"I think there have been a lot of promises
made about the direction of environmental policies by the new administration,
and we will eagerly evaluate those moves.
Our main objective for Wilkes is to change
our values toward the environment and I
would like to see more support in our environmental and sustainability clubs."

In efforts to create discussion within the
Wilkes community about environmental
sustainability, SES is showing a film entitled, "The Story of Stuff." The film, sponsored by the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, is
twenty minutes in length. It will be shown
on January 29 in Stark Learning Center
Room 435 at 12:00 noon. The movie goes
through the stages of how "stuff' is made.
The film depicts the extraction, production,
distribution, consumption and disposal processes of making "stuff' and then relates it
to the social impact.
"Hopefully others will offer their opinions in the discussion afterward and maybe
even learn something new. The point is not
to agree or disagree with the film, but to just
think about it, "said Decesaris.

Dr. Marleen Troy, associate professor of
Environmental Engineering and Chair of
the Department of Environmental Engineering &amp; Earth Sciences also serves as advisor
to the SES Club.
Troy, along with Decesaris, worked with
the Environmental Working Group consisting of Wilkes faculty, students and staff.
The group composed a report of the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions for
fiscal years 2006-2008. The report states
that, "This inventory serves as a benchmark
for future reduction strategies as Wilkes
University moves towards its long-term
sustainability goals."
Further plans for SES involve showing
films once every month during club hours
and holding a sustainability salvage in April.
According to Decesaris, "It is a collection
and redistribution of items often tossed
away at the end of the academic year which
could be reused by other students. Binders,
box fans, storage bins, lamps, toasters- you
know the kind of think your new apartment
might have so you discard your old one."
Decesaris said, "Our main objective for
Wilkes is to change our values toward the

environment and I would like to see more
support in our environmental and sustainability clubs."
On a more national level, Troy said, "I
am optimistic about the new administration and feel that the timing is right for the
implementation for several environmental
initiatives - particularly in regards to energy efficiency and sustainability. I hope to
see many of these programs become routine
and accepted."
According to the Barack Obama official
website their goal is to, "Build more liveable and sustainable communities."
The comprehensive energy plan captures
the essence of what the SES club is trying
to accomplish at Wilkes. However, none of
the objectives can be met without student
and staff cooperation.
Troy states, "Increased awareness of their
actions (day-to-day activities); participating in the programs we have on campus;
requesting and having a voice to ensure that
these programs become implemented and
are part of any future planning that is done
will be helpful."

*

Cll!fE TRI/ II Pll/t/ER 1/11~ Ctllcfcf IIT

!f/JLLI/IJ~II
LOCATED INSIDE DANKO'S GYM
3 NORTH RIVER STREET, PLAINS
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Fridays 8:30-9:45 am
Monday evenings 6:00-7:15 pm

Student rate $8/class

Tiu /"1,~t JleKI 1/ 1111611.t ul 3/''~;t.,,./it,...

/t/ut llN ,,.. "'"'"tt°KJ P"'?

Sophomore Harry Reese practices environmental awareness in the Stark Lobby
by recycling. A short film will be shown by the SES club to raise awareness about
where "stuff' comes from on January 29 in Stark 435 at 12:00.

For more info call Molly at 239-0022.
ou do not need to be a member of the gym to attend.

�JANUARY

27, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

UNIVERSITY from PAGE 12

NOTORIOUS from PAGE 13

different levels."
Johnny Espinoza, freshman and business major, said, "I'm
more used to the city so it will make me feel more at home
and I'm pretty sure people around here wouldn't mind walking
through a few more stores around here instead of just heading to
the bookstore."
"Right now we are talking to national, regionals, and local
prospects ... Carlsberg Management and Colliers work together
in Bill Geary's entertainment complexes in the Florida Area. We
have a lot of contacts, we are contacting those individuals because we know there is enough synergy and enough opportunity
to attract quality tenants that will do very well down there," explained Fraser. At the moment, they cannot disclose the identities
of said contacts, but assured restaurants and retailers are qualified.
"They will have the opportunity to enjoy their redevelopment
district with additional festivals and activities from the redevelopment of University Comers," said Rudd. "The stores as they
open will create college programs at the complex and customer
programs for locals," she added.
"The Chamber started the redevelopment," added Rudd. The
Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce shares the other 25% of
the project.
When more businesses join the complex there will be more
places to choose from which could attract even more students to
the area. University Comers represents one of the first steps for a
better year in the area because it will serve as incentive to come
to the downtown area.

being used. It wasn't prevalent but every once in a while simple 5, for being so terribly average it's annoying.
if you looked closely viewers could catch a glimpse of how
quickly some shots tended to cut out, as if the
• •
film editors were not really paying
• • • •,
.
attention.
_,,;J!_
The list of shortcomings goes on and on.
Some were hop- ;
ing for great- •
ness.
Then •
there were
some who
were worried about
garbage.
But in the
end neither
was
correct. You will
not be seeing
any Oscar nods
for Notorious. And
it isn't low enough to
earn itself a Razzie. MovMovies
14
ies come and go, and one of them
Downtown
is
is Notorious. It will be forgotten in a few
showing Notorious and
months and no one will be saying in ten years, "Hey,
will soon be showcasing many of the movremember that movie." So in short here is my rating. On
ies coming out in time for the Oscar's.
a one to ten scale this time around Notorious is earning a

.

•

Barnes &amp; Noble Wilkes-King's Bookstore
7 South l\tlain Street, "\Vilkes-Btu•1-e, PA 18701 ~ 570.2.08.4700 ~ '\\1 ilkes. bneollege.eo111

Live "Free" Music Every Wednesday Night and most Friday's
2.5% discount on anything you purchase from the cafe during the
performances!

• Open Mic Night for Poetry &amp; Aco11stic Music
Tuesday, January 27th from 7:00pm - 8:30pm

• Live music w ith Kei th Z.
Wednesday, January 28th at 6::3opm

• Live Music with ''Dealer in Wares''
Friday, .January 30 th live at 7:30pm

• Sat11rd ay morning story time at 11:00am
This ,veek: all about "Far111 Anin1als" durin sto

tilne.

�JANUARY

27, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

'

Crossword

BY DEVIN J. KING
Beacon Correspondent

I

;z

:3

4

~

7

a

1U

14

16

17

13

20

22

11

1::Z

'13

$2

19
H

44
H

~

-45

53
60

6-3

ee

ACROSS
Abbr. for celebrity
1
Home of Adam and Eve
6
10
Past tense of "slay"
14
An excuse
15
Short note used as a reminder
Religious man in the white hat
16
17
Meaningless subject
19
Belongs to us
20
The 4th state of Matter
21
Noah's large wooden boat
22
Violent Uprising

23
25
26
30
32
35
39
40
41
43
44
46
47
50
53
54
55
60
61
63
64
65
66
67
68

Dense black wood
Synonym of Objects
Talks in Pee Wee's playhouse
Take up plan or idea
Of which
Fast eye movement
People enlisted in US Air Force
Ship used for catching whales
Louis XIV
Epic novel by James Joyce
Fate of untended flowers
Large scholarly book
Wheeled wagon
Pocono Down's big attraction
Opposite of good
Relaxing water treatment
Result of heating a pan
Underwater respiration organ
Small compartment for letters
Erase the last change done
Popular figure
Hopeless person
Scottish monster
To be inclined to behave a cer
tain way
Secreted from sweat glands

DOWN
1
Live in a tent outside
2
6th month of the Jewish
year
3
Largest city of Peru
4
Refluxes of the tide
5
Rainforest and desert
Large bird
6
7
To ask for
Site for stem cells
8
_and cranny
9
10
Televised info about
sports
11
Former Family Feud Host
12
Answer is Eprom
13
In ownership ofKanye
18
Straight punch
24
Big, clumsy person
25
Mouse from The Simp
sons
26
What Phelps did at the
Olympics
27
Home of Cedar Point
28
Popular green houseplant
29
Two armored mammals
31
Part of a ratchet

33
34
36
37
38
42
43
45
47
48
49
51
52
54
56
57
58
59
62

Weird and Spooky
On one occasion
Likewise
To consider
Goidelic language of
Ireland
Home for terminally ill
July 7th, 1947 citing
Large pitcher used for
drink
Past participle of begin
Sheep-like
Make something seem
better
Vietnamese Diplomat
Music albums consist of
Camel activity
Word in 10 Command
ments
Smaller than a lake
Old term for margarine
Territory Abbr.
Opposite of beginning

�CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu

JANUARY

27, 2009

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

1

I

16

Men's basketball uses second half surge in win
Colonels overcome rough first half to defeat Misericordia_5_9_-5_3_ _ __
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
The Wilkes University men's basketball
team needed a strong performance to defeat
visiting Freedom Conference opponent Misericordia University on January 14. The
Colonels trailed by as many as 12 points
in the first half behind poor shooting (928, 32.1 % FG) and looked to be in trouble
entering the half, despite having closed the
gap to five. They would not disappoint
their fans in attendance, however, as they
eventually pulled ahead for the 59-53 victory, improving their record to 9-4 (5-1 in
league play) in the process.
Misericordia (8-8, 2-5) hit seven of its
first thirteen shots, jumping out to a quick
14-5 lead in the opening 12 minutes of play.
The lead would extend itself to 21-9, largely as a result of the Cougars' ability to score
points off of turnovers (seven to Wilkes'
three) and penetrate (14 points scored in the
paint against Wilkes' eight). Despite their
troubles, The Colonels were able to heat up
and close to within 31-26 going into the half
behind a couple of big defensive stands.
"I felt that our offense was somewhat
stagnant in the first half our game with Misericordia," said head coach Jerry Rickrode.
"We seemed to have little north to south
movement, with few punctures to the basket."
The Colonels came out gunning in the
second half, shooting 57% from the floor
as Misericordia suddenly went cold (24%
FG). ~e Cougars' missed their first eight
shots of the second half, allowing Wilkes to
pull back within a point; they would eventually take their first lead of the game after
junior guard/forward Tom Kresge made a
layup to make the score 35-33. Misericordia would tie the score four more times, but
was finally put away by a 10-4 Colonel run
in the game's last four minutes. Senior forward Steven Kline led Wilkes by scoring

15 points and pulling down nine rebounds,
while Kresge contributed with 13 points
and eight rebounds.
"We moved the ball much more insideout in the second half and were able to get
high percentage shots," said Rickrode in his
assessment of what allowed the Colonels to
make their second-half comeback.
"We really pulled it together as a team,"
added sophomore guard Kyle Ruby. "Coach

cord to 9-7, 5-4. The short losing skid is part
of what has been an up and down season for
the men's basketball team, a trend Rickrode
is looking to stop.
"I would assess our performance as somewhat inconsistent at this point," said Rickrode. "We have ridden a bit of an emotional
rollercoaster with some big road wins and
bad home losses. I hope to have us more on
an even keel mentally down the stretch with

Basketball Recap from
over Winter Break:

F
33
po
ils
th(
blc
a1

FI
OU

12/20/2008- W 97-73 @ PSU-Hazleton
Five different players scored in double
figures, helping Wilkes rout PSU-Hazleton. Tom Kresge scored 20 points for the
Colonels, who hit 13 three-pointers in the
game in one of their best offensive performances of the season.

w

1/3/2009- L 71-69 Elizabethtown
so
Sophomore guard Chris Derojas hit six
three-pointers and led the Colonels with
27 points, but it wasn't enough to stop visiting Elizabethtown from eking out a close
win. Kline was the only other Wilkes player to score in double figures, contributing
19 points and eight boards.

1/4/2009- W 89-86 Ramapo
Ramapo jumped to a quick 14-5 lead in
the first half of the game, but the Colonels
recovered to take the lead for good entering halftime. Derojas scored 27 points for
the second straight game, earning himself
a spot on the Wilkes-Barre Challenge alltournament team.

Freshman guard Michael Donatoni drives towards the arc against Misericordia on
his way to scoring two of his six points. The Colonels defeated the Cougars 59-53.
let us know that we didn't play well in the
first half, and so we came out prepared to
play harder in the second. Our intensity on
defense really allowed us to come back and
take the win," he concluded.
After their win against Misericordia, the
Colonels lost three straight games against
Alvernia (75-66), DeSales (65-30), and
Eastern (60-58), dropping their current re-

more consistent overall effort. If our intensity is there night in and night out, that's all
you can really ask for."
The Colonels will need to bring their intensity tomorrow night when they play rival King's College at the Marts Center at
8P.M.

1/7/2009- W 58-49 @Manhattanville
Kresge scored 18 points and grabbed
15 rebounds to help the Colonels defeat
Manhattanville in Purchase, New York.
Wilkes shot 42.5% for the game and outrebounded Manhattanville 38-26 for the
conference win.

See Basketball on
Page 17

a
C

�JANUARY

27, 2009

17

SPORTS

BASKETBALL
from PAGE 16
1/10/2009- L 86-80
FDU-Florham
FDU-Florham's Ryan McPherson scored
33 points behind the strength of five threepointers and 8-12 shooting to lead the Devils past Wilkes. Kline scored 27 points for
the Colonels, with seven rebounds, three
blocks, and three steals. The Colonels held
a lead until the very end of the game, when
FDU-Florham went on an 8-0 run to close
out the game and seal the win.

1/12/2009- W 91-81 (OT)@
Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley scored 30 points off of
Wilkes University turnovers, but was unable to beat the hot-shooting Colonels. The
men's basketball team shot 60.4% for the
game and out-rebounded Delaware Valley
47-24. Kresge and Kline both had doubledoubles for the Colonels, and James Jones
scored 35 points for the Aggies.

Senior forward John Defeo and the Colonels took on visiting DeSales University on January 19. The Colonels were defeated 65-30
in what has been their worst defeat of the season to date.

Lady Colonel's basketball
winter break recap
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

12/13/08 Wilkes 80,
Keystone College 57
Wilkes' defense was a force in the win
against Keystone. Sam Lynam lit up the Giants, going 8-13 with 22 points. The lady
colonels improved their record to 5-3 with
the win.

1/3/09 DeSales 69, Wilkes 39
DeSales downed the Lady Colonels, confining them to just 39 points. LeighAnn
Burke ofDeSales was a force with 17 points
and 4 rebounds.

1/5/09 Wilkes 65, Immaculata 46
Sam Lynam once again led the Colonels
with 17 points and 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Mackensey O'Hara and Allison Hom also
helped, scoring 9 points each.

1/7/09 Manhattanville 78,
Wilkes 76
In a close match between Wilkes and
Manhattanville, Wilkes suffered their third
freedom conference loss. Five of Manhattanville's players scored ten or more points,
and racked up a total of nine steals.

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1/10/09 Wilkes 67,
FDU-Florham 52
Wilkes exhausted the Devils in the second
half, scoring 36 points, 16 of which were
on free throws. Allison Hom performed at
a high level, dropping 20 points with 6 assists, and 3 steals.

1/12/09 Wilkes 74,
Delaware Valley College 57
With a 44.1 % field goal average on the
game, Wilkes rolled over Delaware Valley
with ease. Erin Schneider lit up the court
with a total of 23 points and shooting 5-5
on three pointers.

PEARCE MANOR
84 WEST ROSS STREET
200 SOUTH FRANKLIN
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�JANUARY

27, 2009

18

SPORTS

St

RINKSIDE REPORT

Lovejoy Illakes illlpact after going undrafted
BY MIKE CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer

In the 2003 National Hockey League entry
draft, there wasn't a single team interested
in selecting Ben Lovejoy, a young defenseman who had just wrapped up his freshman
season at Boston College.
Six years later, it's hard to believe that
there wouldn't be a club interested in having him in their organization.
Lovejoy, who leads all Penguins defensemen with 7 goals and 24 points in 44 games
this season, is midway through his second
year of professional hockey and was one of
three Penguins selected to play in the 2009
American Hockey League All-Star Game.
Veteran forwards Jeff Taffe and Chris Minard also represented Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the annual affair, held in Worcester,
Mass. on Monday.
But Lovejoy's story reads a little different
than those of his all-star colleagues. Minard
and Taffe are established offensive threats
at the AHL level, whereas Lovejoy is developing into one of the premier two-way

defensemen in the league.
After a disappointing freshman
season at Boston College, Lovejoy
transferred to Dartmouth, an Ivy
League institution located in his
home state of New Hampshire. It
was there that Lovejoy started to
develop into the rock-solid defenseman that he is today.
"I went to a place where I was
more comfortable, close to home,"
Lovejoy said. "I sat out a year, really remembered how much I loved
hockey and how much I missed it
while I wasn't playing. That was
a big thing. You know, you kind
of take hockey for granted sometimes. Sitting out really re-ener-

See HOCKEY
on PAGE 19

•
After going undrafted, Ben Lovejoy has been able to make an impact on the Penguin's
defense and has been tapped for the 2009 AHL All-Star game.

De&gt;r1c1t~ Plc:1srr,-c:1 Tc:,d-c:1y_

Ea ~■ !r ■■

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11 ■

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IVl«• ■ wth

Interstate· Blood Be. Plasma Inc_

665 Carey Ave Wilkes-Barre .. Pa
Call (570) 823-411 9

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•

�JANUARY

27, 2009

SPORTS

19

Athlete Spotlight: Shaun Farnhain
BYANTHONYDORUNDA

.
Shaun Farnham, senior criminology ma-

Beacon Asst. Op-Ed Editor

jor, and co-captain of the Wilkes University
wrestling team from Baldwinsville, New
York is this week's Beacon Athlete of the
Week.. On the season, Farnham has led the
Colonels to a 12-5-1 overall record while
recording a 23-2 record of his own in the
125 weight class.
As oflast week, Farnham was ranked second in the conference at 125, the highest
ranking of any Wilkes wrestler.
It's apparent that Farnham is no stranger
to success. He won the state title match as
a junior in high school and then came back
and earned a second place finish as a senior.
At the end of his senior campaign, he was
ranked 15th in the country at the 112 weight
class.
As much success as he's experienced individually, it would be easy to soak up the
limelight and take all the credit, but Farnham dedicates all of his success on the mat
to his teammates, contending they are the
reason he has been so successful over his
career.
"I credit all my success to the team and for
them pushing me, especially Josh Pauling,"
said Farnham. "He pushes me everyday and
makes me a much better wrestler."

But his teammates do not
think it's them. They
see the work and
preparation
Farnham
p u t s
into
ev-

The Beacon/Steve Felter

said sophomore Jake Weinrich. "In practice, he
will pick people
up that are
falling behind,
a n d
h e
al-

ery
s 1 nways
g 1 e
is the
practice
Senior Shaun Farnhaiµ prepares for the whistle while on hardest
and match, top against No.4 Chris Sheetz of Delaware Valley.
worker. Just
and recognize
watching him
the determination
give it his all mohe has to win every sintivates us to want to do
gle match.
better and work harder. He is not
"Shaun's greatest attribute is his leader- only a vocal leader, but one that leads by
ship; he pushes everyone to work harder, example. He motivates his teammates on
whether it be at practice or during a match," and off the mat and is always pushing each

wrestler to push harder."
Coming into his senior season, Farnham
kept his goals simple: "Win the metros
and qualify for nationals." Obviously, he
wanted to be an all-American and a national champion, but nationals were the
important goal.
Last season, after winning an astounding
35 matches throughout the course of the
season, Farnham lost the most important
one: a 3-2 decision to York's Kyle Flickinger to earn the alternate spot in nationals.
That match set the tone for what Farnham
set out to accomplish this year.
"Just missing the tournament made me
push so much harder this year," said Farnham. " I had my work cut out for me f nd
it gave me even more motivation to get to
the national tournament."
Farnham can add another goal to shoot
for, the prestigious I 00 win plateau.
As of this writing, Farnham is only 13
wins away and counting. At this pace, he
would have to get into the national tournament to have a shot at that remarkable
feat.
"I have got to get to the national tournament before I can even think about I 00
wins," said Farnham. "It would be pretty
nice though."

RINKSIDE REPORT
From HOCKEY

on PAGE

18

Lovejoy's second wind translated into a
significant increase in point production.
After recording just six assists in 22 games
at Boston College, he tallied 11 goals and
43 assists in 96 career games for the Big
Green.
During his junior year of eligibility,
Lovejoy led all Big Green defensemen in
scoring and helped Dartmouth win its first
ever Eastern College Athletic Conference
regular-season title.
According to Lovejoy, that led to a lucrative contract offer from the Montreal
Canadiens. Just three years removed from
not being drafted by any NHL team, he had

an opportunity to join what is arguably the
most storied organization in the NHL as a
22-year-old.
He said no.
"I was offered a pretty good deal and decided that hockey hadn' t worked out quite
so well earlier, why rush it? If I'm good
enough to make it, I will after my senior
year," Lovejoy said. "I wanted to graduate."
Lovejoy signed an AHL contract with
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after his senior year
at Dartmouth and registered 20 points in 72
regular season games as a rookie. That led
to an NHL contract offer from Pittsburgh,
which Lovejoy inked prior to the 20082009 campaign.

woo i1K ons
Wrestling
L 38-3 Delaware Valley
W 30-15@ Hunter

Midway through his second year of professional hockey, he already surpassed his
offensive totals from his rookie season, but
there is one statistic that is truly remarkable
- his plus-25 rating is the highest total in
the AHL.
In hockey, a player is given a plus-one rating for each time they are on the ice when
their team scores an even strength goal.
Likewise, they are given a minus-one rating
when the opponents score an even strength
goal against them.
Lovejoy, along with defensive partrler
Joey Mormina, have been assigned the
daunting task of neutralizing the opponent's
most potent offensive lines.
"They've been our match-up pair all

year long," said Penguins head coach Dan
Bylsma. "Ben Lovejoy's plus-minus is outstanding, considering the job that he gets
assigned every night."
If Lovejoy keeps it up, he'll not only shatter the previous Penguins record for plusminus in a single season - Alain Nasreddine's plus-24 rating during the 2005-2006
season, but he'll also be competing against
some of the NHL's most dangerous lines on
a full-time basis.
"Everyone's goal is to get (to the NHL),"
Lovejoy said. "But right now I still have
some things to learn and still have goals to
get to down here."

&lt;0&lt;0&gt;x:..&lt;0&gt;~ 1HJ 1r,,&amp;

Men's Basketball
L 65-30 DeSales
L 60-58 @ Eastern

Women's Basketball
L 64-54@ Lycoming
W 54-49 @ Eastern

�JANUARY

27, 2009

20

SPORTS

Colonel wrestlers bounce back after tough loss

E

Fall to No. 3 Delaware Valley, defeat Hunter
BY ALISSA LINDNER
Beacon Sports Editor
After suffering a home loss Friday, January 23 to No. 3 Delaware
Valley College, the No. 19 Colonel wrestling team came back to
defeat Hunter College just a day
later.
On Friday evening in the Marts
Gymnasium the Colonel wrestlers were only able to defeat
one Delaware Valley wrestler, as
sophomore James Histed won a
2-0 decision over Robert Hickerman at 157 pounds. Several other
Wilkes wrestlers came close to
winning their bouts; however, the
Aggies would take the convincing
38-3 win.
"I think we may actually gain
a little confidence from [Friday].
We certainly could have won
at 125, 133, 149, 197 and 285
last night, and add in the match

Histed won at 157 and we win 6
out of the 10 matches contested
against the third ranked team in
the country. I think we just need
to take the next big step and we
are right there. I think the guys
know we are close," Head Coach
Jon Laudenslager said.
The Colonels traveled to Hunter College in New York for a dual
meet the next day. Despite a loss
at home the night before, the Wilkes wrestlers won six out of nine
matches to take the 30-15 win
over the Hawks.
The Colonels opened the match
with four straight wins. Senior
Shaun Farnham started the winning for the Colonels. Farnham,
who has only lost two matches
on the season, won a 9-2 decision over Hunter's Eric Velez at
125 pounds. Senior Josh Pauling,
freshman Anthony Dattolo, and
senior Erik Smith would post the

next three wins before Histed, the
only winner Friday evening, lost
by pin with 30 seconds left in the
157 pound weight class.
The Hawks would also take the
next bout as Billy Calvacca defeated freshman Richard Sparks
by an 8-4 decision. Junior
Frank Heffernan received
a forfeit at 174 pounds before junior Chris Smith was
pinned by Joey Scott in the
second period. Junior Andrew Feldman would finish
the match strong for the Colonels, earning his first pin of
the season a minute into the
bout at heavyweight.
The Colonel wrestling
team has performed steadily
this season, currently ranked
No.19 in the country with a
12-5-1 record.
Of the season thus far,
Laudenslager
explained,

"Well, we have really wrestled well
throughout the season, so I think
just being consistent each week
has provided many highlights. I
think the thing that really vaulted
us up the National Rankings was
the tournament win at Messiah

son, the Colonels have six more
dual meets before the Metropolitan Conference Championship on
March 22. Laudenslager explained
the need to continue working hard
in hopes of making it to the national tournament.

F1

''
tha
fe
pa
no
The Beacon/Steve Felter

Senior Josh Pauling tries to gain control against the Aggie's Brandon
Clemmer on Friday. Pauling lost the match by a close 3-0 decision.

The Beacon/Steve Felter

In the 141 pound weight class, junior Donny Clark battles Delaware Valley's Eric McCann on Friday January 23 at the Martz Gym. McCann went on to defeat Clark 14-4
and the No. 3 Aggies went on to win the match 38-3.

Go to the House of
Nutrition in Luzerne
for an informational
session called DetoxifY.ing your Body and
Weight Loss at 6:00
.m. Call 570-714436 for more info.

g

Attend the Wilkes
vs. King's basketball
games at the Martz
Gym. The women
tip off at 6:00p.m.
and the men at 8 :00
p.m.

Attend the
Reducing Stress,
Managi~g Ener.9y and
Improving Perrormance Seminar at
9:00 a.m. in UCOM
231.

back in December."
The Colonel roster features
13 freshmen wrestlers including Sparks, Dattolo, and Daniel
Brown, who all wrestled over
the past weekend for the team.
Laudenslager explained the importance on the new talent in the
room.
"Freshman are always going to
be a big part of the team in one
way or another. It just so happens
that we have three freshmen in the
line-up every week. We also have
many other freshmen that are getting better and also pushing some
of the upperclassmen to reach their
goals this year, so the all are making an impact," he said.
As for the remainder of the sea-

Listen to Jason Anderson, Strand of
Oaks and These Elks
Forever at Cafe Metropolis at 8:00 p.m.
Admission is $7.

"The rest of this season we need
to maintain our focus and make a
big push to get as many guys to
the NCAA tournament. J think we
need to get in a little better shape
and also clean up our technique in
some areas, so we can bring home
a conference title. We certainly
need to continue to improve each
day for that to happen though,"
Laudenslager said.
The Colonel wrestling team will
take on The College ofNew Jersey
on Tuesday January 27 at the Marts
Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. before
traveling to Gettysburg College to
take on Gettysburg and Kutztown
on Saturday, January 31.

Head to Barnes and
Noble for milk and
cookies at 11 :00 a.m.
for storytelling hour.

de
20

la
C

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s
b

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                  <text>&lt;p&gt;This is Wilkes University's &lt;em&gt;Beacon&lt;/em&gt; Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the &lt;em&gt;Beacon's&lt;/em&gt; predecessors, &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Bison Stampede&lt;/em&gt;, 1934-1935 and &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Beacon&lt;/em&gt;, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact &lt;a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua"&gt;Bucknell University's Special Collections Department&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
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              <name>Creator</name>
              <description>An entity primarily responsible for making the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
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                  <text>The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department.</text>
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              <name>Format</name>
              <description>The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource</description>
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                    <text>BIOFUELS

NEW SPORTS
WE;BSITE!
PAGE 19

PAGES

.

FEBRUARY

3, 2009

SZILI'S ART
PAGE 13

THE NEWS OF TODAY REPORTED BY THE JOURNALISTS OF TOMORROW

"Great citizen of Wilkes community" passes away
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Managing Editor
On Saturday, January 31, members of the
Wilkes community were shocked to learn
that Dr. Matthew J. Zukoski, associate professor of math and computer science, had
passed away unexpectedly. At press time,
no cause of death was known.
According to Dr. Paul Adams, Vice President for Student Affairs, "In the more than
20 years that I've known Matt, he always
treated his students, his colleagues, his
friends and Wilkes with the utmost respect.
We were blessed to have his positive spirit
and generous nature among us. His contributions to Wilkes are something to be emulated. We will miss him deeply."
The news of Zukoski 's passing took the
community by surprise.
Jason Wagner, a Wilkes University student majoring in mathematics and computer
science, worked closely with Zukoski.
"The general feeling myself and everybody I've talked to today is just shock. I last

See ZUKOSKI page 3

Since the Center for Global Education
and Diversity opened its doors last fall, a
full-time staff member has left the institution, budgets have been squeezed and several programs have begun to take shape.
According to Wilkes University's undergraduate bulletin, the Center, located in the
Max Roth Center, was created to "better
prepare students for success in a multicultural world." Services the Center provides
are geared toward not only American stu-

Issue 12

Bed bugs
continue to
plague residents
BY ANDREW SEAMAN
Beacon Editor-in-Chief
Editors note: Because this story focuses
on a health issue, The Beacon has opted
not to identify the student residents who
faced the recent bed bug infestation and its
resulting problems out of respect for their
privacy.

Photo Courtesy of John Mishanski

Dr. Matt Zukoski talks to former advisee John Mishanski in Mountain View, Calif. while attending the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in
2007. Zukoski died unexpectedly this weekend.

Center's first eight months marked with ups and downs
BY NICOLE FRAIL
Beacon Managing Editor

Volume 61

dents wanting to study abroad, but also international students who want to study, or
have already begun their courses, at Wilkes.
In addition, the Center is designed to be the
social center and geographic home for programs related to domestic diversity issues.
Budget constraints and staff changes
have limited immediate, comprehensive
programmatic changes, however. In an effort to bring more international students to
Wilkes, Dr. Godlove Fonjweng, director of
the Center and Study Abroad advisor, traveled to Asia last fall and spoke with students

ON THE WEB
www.wilk:esbeacon.com
beaconarchives. wilk:es.edu

INDEX
News ............... 1-5
Opinion...........6-8

in China, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan
and Indonesia. Unfortunately, due to a tight
budget for the Center and financial hardships across the nation, Fonjweng may not
be able to revisit students who may have
been interested in studying at Wilkes in the
near future.
"People want this to work, but you can't
expect positive results the first time. You
need to go three consecutive times in the
same area ... " said Fonjweng.

See CENTER page 4
Lifestyles ....... 9-11
A&amp;E ............ 12-15
Sports.......... 16~20

Wilkes University residents living in University Towers have reported a case of bed
bugs. The report makes this the third bed
bug outbreak at Wilkes University this academic year.
The Wilkes University residents impacted
by the infestation said that they had been
dealing with the problem since last semester.
Brenda Stanley, director of residence life
at Wilkes University, confirmed the case of
bed bugs and said the university was first
made aware of the problem toward the end
oflast semester.
"It was presented to us at the tail end of
the fall semester. .. we were first alerted that
individuals in an apartment had concern. It
wasn't an issue that bed bugs were running
rampant, but just that there was something
suspicious about what they found in their
space and had asked that we address it," she
said.
One resident in the affected apartment
experienced an allergic reaction to the insect venom that caused large, welt-like bite
marks.
Stanley said Terminex was brought in to

w

See BED BUGS page 3

Established 1936
PA Newspaper
Association Member

.·

.

�N E WS
FEBRUARY

3, 2009

CONTACTINFORMATION:
amy.fusco@wilkes.edu
cathryn.frear@wilkes.edu
jacqueline.lukas@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.news@gmail.com

2

Catholic schools' struggles Inay iinpact local teacher prep
BY AMY FUSCO
Beacon News Editor

sylvania has eight dioceses, six of
A recent protest outside of St. which had unions, now down to
Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming five. They functioned with little or
Avenue recognized the one year no problems.
anniversary of Bishop Joseph
Pashinski explained that the
Martino's refusal to recognize the Pennsylvania State Labor RelaScranton Diocese Association of tions Law of 193 7 recognizes
Catholic Teachers' call for a teach- that Americans have the right to
ers' union. With this weekend's unionize and to challenge unjust
announcements of plans to close treatment legally. In the past, peohalf of the area's Catholic parishes ple teaching in Catholic schools
and talk of more cuts in local Cath- were nuns and priests, who did
olic schools, there are questions as not wish for higher salaries. Pashto how the Diocesan money woes inski noted that today 95-98% of
and resistance to unionization may Catholic school teachers are now
impact local colleges preparing lay teachers.
new teachers.
Theresa Monaco, Wilkes InterAccording to The Times-Tribune, faith Director, has been employed
a Scranton publication, Michael by the Diocese of Scranton since
Milz, the union president and a March 2008 . She explained that
former teacher at Holy Redeemer the Catholic schools in the area
High School, is heading the fight want to unionize and the Bishop
for unionization. Those who advo- feels that such a move would close
cate for unionization are primar- the schools for lack of resources.
ily lay teachers, those who are not Because of this refusal to recogof religious background.
nize a teachers' union, Monaco
Lay teachers formed the Scran- acknowledged, many Catholics
ton Diocese Association of Catho- in the area see his action as being
lic Teachers (SDACT), which has against the church's teaching of
been in existence since 1981. On social justice.
the SDACT website, the ScranMonaco has seen both sides of
ton Diocesan School Policy #417 the story. When she worked in a
notes that "Catholic social teach- Catholic school in New York, she
i~ strongly supports the rights was in administration so was not
of lay teachers to organize and part of the teachers union. During
to bargain collectively ... " The her tenure there, Monaco said she
policy guarantees the right to form saw never-ending battles between
unions.
the union and the Archdiocese.
State Representative Eddie D. The contract they worked on in
Pashinski, (D-Luzerne County), New York included stipulations
explained that the Diocese of on classroom size and the number
Scranton had a union for 30 years. of student teachers allowed. That
It became a problem when the new contract limited the number of
Bishop, Rev. Joseph Martino, opt- student teachers to one every two
ed not to recognize the union after years per classroom. Monaco does
the Diocese reorganization. Penn- not know if it would be the same

BEACON
130 S. River St,
First Floor, Conyngham Hall
Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
PHONE: (570) 408-5903
EMAIL: wilkes.beacon@wilkes.edu

if the Scranton Diocese unionized, Pashinski combut the tensions that currently ex- mented in reist suggest a possible impact on ferring to what
local education majors observing will happen for
student teachin the Catholic schools.
"I think it's a shame that an issue ing and observsuch as this would possibly cause ing at Catholic
problems for student teachers," schools.
said Erin Wimer, junior educa"One of the
tion major. "As future educators, things that peowe simply want to be in front of ple don't seem
a classroom, and a situation where to get when it
the amount of available class- comes to Cathrooms dwindles makes that goal olic education
is that you can't
difficult," she added.
Robert Gardner, assistant pro- raise the teachfessor of education at Wilkes, ers '
salaries
believes that the church has the without raising
tuition,"
right to make decisions on how the
it is organized and how it decides stated Monaco.
to use its assets. However, he ex- "They go handplained that historically the church in-hand."
Catholic
has been very supportive of the
rights of workers. It is part of the schools
are
church's ethos and mission to im- already strug- '
prove the conditions for working gling financially so increases
person.
"It seems to me [that] to disal- in tuition could
The Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
low unionization in their schools decrease enroll- Members of St. Nicholas's parish in W-B leave
is kind of contradictory to the ment.
church Sunday morning. St. Nick's Catholic Church
positions they seem to hold in
"I'm not say- was not on the list of closures the Diocese released.
the universal themes that they es- ing that the
pouse," said Gardner.
teachers shouldn't make more; Wyoming Valley when one of the
Although Wilkes places most they should make more than base- previous Fathers fought for the
student teachers in public schools, ball players do," Monaco com- coal miners union. Pashinski beGardner thinks a teachers' union mented. "Nobody goes into teach- lieves the Diocese is hypocritical
would have an impact and that it ing to make money ... The thing is because it will not fight for its own
is a positive thing to maintain re- [the teachers] are not looking at teachers.
"Right now, as individuals, [the
lationships with both public and the larger picture; they are looking
teachers] have no power and right
private schools. It will give the at their salary."
"The Catholic church has always now they are scared to death," Pastudents the option of choosing
taught fairness and justice to the shinski stated.
where they want to teach.
He added, if the teachers are to
"Frankly, if they unionize, it common man and always fought
would organize them [the Dio- for equal rights for the common unionize, they will have a vehicle
for and organization to speak up to
cese] better and provide a better man," said Pashinski.
mechanism of communication,"
Pashinski recalled a time in the the Diocese of Scranton.

Editorial Staff 2008-09
Editor-in-Chief: Andrew Seaman
Lifestyles Editor: Christa Sgobba
Managing Editor: Nicole Frail
A/E Editor: Alyssa Benner
Advertising Manager: Christine Zavaskas
Sports Editor: Alissa Lindner
News Editor: Amy Fusco
Photo Editor: Lauren Biernacki
Opinion Editor: Gino Troiani
Advisor: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz

Anthony Dorunda
Asst. Opinion Editor

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

BEDBUGS
from FRONT PAGE
investigate the report.
"We brought in our pest control contractor. .. who we have used for a previous bed
bug incident. . . and they came in and were
inconclusive in their findings in terms of
what the occupants presented and based
upon what they actually found," she said.
To alleviate any concerns school officials
asked the pest control person to spray the
area with the pesticide, which according to
Stanley is eco-friendly.
Stanley also said that the school continued
to treat the area over winter break and into
the beginning to the spring semester. However, the residents continued to report bites
and visual confirmation of the insects.
After repeated treatments by the pest control company failed, the residents contacted
the City of Wilkes-Barre.
An official from the city toured the apartment and told the residents to contact the
school again and he would type a report for
their records.
One of the residents said, "I'm okay with
the outcome. The school did what it can, and

ZUKOSKI
from FRONT PAGE
saw him as he was leaving late Thursday
afternoon to go home, and then just hours
later, he's gone. He always seemed so
healthy and active, as we all hear the news,
we think of him being the last person this
could happen to," said Wagner.
He added, "Over the past three and a half
years at Wilkes, Matt has played many roles
to me as a student. He has been my instructor, I've worked with him on several projects, we've hosted several contests together,
and he was to be my internship coordinator
this semester. It's probably not going to sink
in fully until Monday when he's not there."
Zukoski first came to Wilkes as an undergraduate majoring in electrical engineering.
He graduated in 1986 and went on to complete his masters in computer science from
Virginia Tech in 1990 and his doctorate in
computer engineering from Lehigh University in 2007.
Dr. Reynold Verret, Provost for Wilkes
University, said that Zukoski 's passing
leaves a big hole at the University, and he
was "one of the great citizens of the Wilkes
community."
John Mishanski, a 2007 Wilkes graduate
and one of Zukoski 's advisees, reflected on
his many memories of his advisor.
"Dr. Zukoski was one of the happiest,
kindest, and most thoughtful people I have
ever known. He brought a smile everywhere he went, in any situation, and under

3
now my roommates and I have to
compromise with the option we
have chosen, which means four of
us in a three bedroom apt. It was
either that, or we split up."
The resident added that the
school provided money for laundry and will provide new furniture
for their new apartment.
Stanley added that the school
and the pest control contractor
was able to isolate the infestation
to the single apartment.
She said, "We actually tested the
four rooms adjacent to the apartment space, above and below, to
ensure there wasn't a deeper issue.
That was both reassuring for the
residents and for us to know that
we had truly isolated it to its one
location."
One of the residents acknowledged
who fear a
Th e Beacon /A nd rew seaman
. that
. students
.
possible mfestat10n to act on the
suspicion immediately.
Although bed bugs are small, they can still be seen with the human eye without the use of a mi"I would say that they need to croscope. These bed bugs were discovered recently in an apartment in the Towers.
take care of it right away. Search
the bed, save any bug they find and brainstorm the possibilities of where and how

they could have possibly gotten bed bugs,"
the student said.
Stanley reiterated the advice and recom-

mended that students who suspect they may
have bed bugs should contact residence life
immediately.

any amount of stress. There's no short way
to summarize what a great man he was,"
said Mishanski.
Wagner added, "Above all he's done for
me academically, he was a friend - a sentiment I'm sure the entire Wilkes community
shares. I think he'll best be remembered for
his outlook on life, and how he spread it to
everybody he was around. He was always
just fun to be around, and there hasn't been
a single moment where I saw him without a
giant grin on his face."
Mishanski also notes that no matter how
busy Zukoski was, he always put others
ahead of himself.
"Mr. Zukoski had an unwavering ability
to put others ahead of himself no matter
how busy he was. Go to his office on a random weeknight, and you'd find him helping
a student with a math class that he didn't
teach, or helping a local non-profit setup a
website .. .I'm not sure he experienced real
spare time for years," said Mishanski.
For those in the Wilkes community who
did not know Zukoski personally, he was
the man zipping by on his bicycle.
"Drive into Wilkes on a random weekday
morning and you'd have likely seen Dr. Zukoski riding his bicycle along River Street
toward the Stark Leaming Center - peddling feverishly of course, stylishly late for
class," said Mishanski.
According to his website, Zukoski had
many interests: image processing, computer vision, robotics, web development, and
gaming. Mishanski also noted that he re-

membered spending many hours watching
episodes of Seinfeld with Zukoski.
At the time of publication the time and
dates for funeral arrangements were unknown. Verret said that the school will also
be doing something to remember Zukoski;

however, nothing has been finalized.

For updated information on the
passing of Dr. Zukoski check
back at www.wilkesbeacon.com

The Beacon/Andrew Seaman

On Sunday, February 1, a photocopied article from a local paper was posted on Dr.
Zukoski's door notifying people of his passing. The article said Zukoski passed away
unexpectedly and arrangements were yet to be announced.

�f EBRUARY 3, 2009
CENTER
from FRONT PAGE
But proposals for funding future recruiting
trips for the university can still be presented,
said Dr. Maria Suarez, executive director of
the Center and special assistant to the president for diversity and community affairs.
"We're really trying to work with our budget
and it's not easy ... There are some expenses
that come with a big trip like that and our budget is tight," Suarez added.
According to Suarez, a number of planned
events were cut to make up for the unexpected
expenses the Center has faced.
"We were very ambitious with the calendar
and had added lots of little things. We're revising, [figuring out] how to put things back
together," she added.
While additional recruitment trips may be
put on hold as the Center manages its budget
issues and the country continues to deal with
its own financial woes, Fonjweng is making
efforts to spread the word about Wilkes's study
abroad programs to locals. For example, he
has spoken at Coughlin High School about the
opportunities that Wilkes provides for students
who may want to spend extended periods of
time learning in other countries.
"Study abroad has not been a main focus

NEWS
for the university. Very few people know
about study abroad. The economic situation of the students who attend Wilkes does
not allow them to have a lot of disposable
cash that they can just add to their academic budget and pay for study abroad," said
Fonjweng. "It's a very challenging thing to
talk to people who have not really thought
about it and convince them it's a good idea.
After that, they need to figure out where to
get the cash. It's a major challenge, but we
are moving in the right direction."
But the other side and purpose to the
Center is its dedication to the advancement of domestic diversity issues. Last
summer, Brandon Ice was hired as the first
point of contact in the domestic diversity
area as well as advisor to the Multicultural
Student Coalition (MSC). His title was
assistant director of diversity initiatives at
the Center. He abruptly left the university
in December, and officials have chosen not
to comment on the specific reasons for his
separation.
"His departure had nothing to do with his
work here," said Suarez.
"I was shocked when I was notified about
[Ice's departure]. I feel the university made
a huge mistake when they decided to let
Brandon go. The Center will not be the
same without him, but I don't think the

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4

Center will be greatly
affected by it," said
Joshua Pellew, freshman work study for the
Center.
A national search is
underway to fill Ice's vacant position. According
to Suarez, the price of
advertising in journals,
such as The Chronicle
for Higher Education,
will be paid by the Center.
The Center has also
compiled a list of accomplishments since its
opening last fall.
For example, participation and attendance at
events sponsored by the
Multicultural
Student
Coalition (MSC) has
been high.
"We've had really
great events, but what
is really wonderful
about those events is
that there has been great
The Beacon/Bethany Yamrick
participation not only
Joshua Pellew, work study for the Center, may help in
by the populations that
the organization of upcoming events, such as the Chinese
we target, which are the
New Year Celebration and Poetry for the People.
international and minority students, but the
The results of the accreditation review
community at large. That coming together conducted by the Commission of Engof different people has been wonderful and lish Language Program will be released
something different from the previous year," in April.
said Suarez. She cited the MSC talent show
"Assessment is what's going to guide
last semester as one of the most successful future initiatives that we take on," said
events the MSC has held.
Suarez. "We are monitoring academic
In addition, the results of a faculty and progress on a regular basis with individstaff survey were recently released. One of uals ... We are looking at each of them
the questions asked if the respondents agree and if they are doing okay. If we feel
with the emphasis the university has placed that there is a need for support, we offer
on multicultural issues.
it by direct contact."
"Over 90 percent of the faculty and staff
In addition to upcoming events, the
answered that they agree or strongly agree enter's staff members are also working
with the emphasis the university is putting on two new initiatives to aid underrepon diversity issues. When you talk about resented students with their college edulabor of love, I think that's something that cations.
demonstrates that this is something that the
According to Suarez, "A pre-proposal
campus itself sees as a need," said Georgia aimed at providing resources for transCostalas, assistant director of the Center.
fer students in biology was submitted to
"One of these goals is making the Intensive the National Science Foundation by Dr.
English Program (IEP) one of the best in the Will Terzaghi."
country ... In order to do this, I wanted us to
Suarez and other members of the Cengo through accreditation. We just recently ter's staff have suggested strategies that
went through that process and received their will increase the number of transfer stureport back from them. We met 50 of the 52 dents at Wilkes. The Center is currently
standards they require for accreditation," waiting for word on the proposal's fundsaid Kimberly Niezgoda, assistant director mg.
for the IEP.
A memoranCU,1111 of understanding is
The IEP was formally known as the Eng- also in progress. The Center has teamed
lish as a Second Language Program. This up with the Commonwealth Medical
semester, 31 students are enrolled in the pro- School in Scranton and LCCC to form
gram from countries including Poland, Saudi a Pipeline Program for underprivileged
Arabia, China, Turkey and Korea.
students in the area.

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

5

NEWS

SG seeks input for how to spend $100K of surplus funds
BY JACQUELINE LUKAS
Beacon Asst. News Editor

:k

n

,,_
:d

le
1d
ic
i-

Student Government (~G) has accumulated funds over the years from student activity fees. This year, there is approximately
$105,000 in the Buffer Fund set aside to
better the campus for all students, not just
one particular club or group.
How the money will be used will be decided by a committee of students involved
in SG. Discussions have included ideas for
new flat screen televisions in the SUB, a
new gym on campus or new communication boards, similar to the flat screen television that the Sidhu Business School has in
Breiseth Hall, but SG is open to all suggestions.
"Student Government wants to donate
something tangible, something that can be
utilized throughout the years," said Elizabeth Roveda, assistant director of Resident
Life and an advisor to SG.
The student activity fund, a fund paid by
all students, goes to SG. Every year, certain
clubs and organizations that have events
going on are allowed to request additional
funding; however, the money that SG has

to spend on clubs is not always completely
used. At the end of the year the money is put
into a fund that is allowed to build up for
couple of years.
"At the end of the year, if all the money
is not used up, it gets transferred back into
what we call the 'Buffer Fund.' So ultimately, we want to make sure that all student
activities fees are going back to students in
some way," said Philip Ruthkosky, associate dean of Student Development and an
advisor to SG.
In past years, SG has donated "large-scale
items that you really don't purchase on a
whim," said Roveda.
"In the 2005-2006 school year, we used
our resources to bring the rock wall and
ropes course to Wilkes, which was an opportunity to develop personal and professional leadership experience. We have expanded that program to invite local high
schools in the area. There are teachers that
have utilized that course for classes," said
David Sborz, senior class president.
Roveda says it is the organization's goal
to put the money to good use.
"They want to utilize the money for the
students instead of having it just sit there.

Especially because it is student activity fees," said Roveda.
The next step in the process is to
form a comittee to come up with
different ideas for how the money
will be spent, and the people who
will ultimatley decide which purchase they make.
"We're at that stage right now
just coming up with ideas," said
Carl Santana, President of Student
Government.
The committee meetings are
scheduled for Tuesday, February
3, at 6 p.m. in the Student Development Office in the Student Center, Thursday, February 5, at 5:45
p.m. in the Student Development
Office and Monday, February 9, at
3 p.m. in the Student Government
Office.
David Sborz and Carl Santana-..................................___.......,.......,....._......._.-._......_......,.........__ ____.
encourage students to come forth
The Beacon Archives/ Nick Zmijewski
with any ideas they have that could A student climbs on the rock wall SG donated in
make the school better for all stu- the 2005-2006 school year using the Buffer Fund.
dents, not just specific clubs or
organizations. Students with ideas can go They can also call SG or go to SG meetings
to the SG website or stop by the SG office. every Wednesday night.

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Bio fuels impacting food supply
Pa e8
CONTACT INFORMATION:
gino. troiani@wilkes.edu
anthony.dorunda@wilkes.edu

wilkesbeacon.oped@gmail.com

Foreign language offerings insufficient for global ed.
BY THE BEACON
Editorial Board

Throughout its history, Wilkes
has offered classes in a slew of
foreign languages such as Russian, German, Spanish, French,
and the occasional Japanese and
Chinese courses, but in the past
few years, that number has drastically declined.
According to the Wilkes 07'-08'
Fact Book, in 2007, the University posted an enrollment of 5,114
graduate and undergraduate students. At the same time, the only
foreign language offerings included French and Spanish.
The elimination of other foreign
courses has left us scratching our
heads wondering what exactly
happened.
Dr. Paola Bianco, Associate Professor of Spanish in the Humanities Division, explained that when
she graduated from Wilkes, the
university had a " ... department
of Foreign languages," which included, "Spanish, French, Russian
and German. There were several
professors tenured full-time, plus
adjuncts. As soon as the language
requirement dropped from two semesters to one semester and students were able to choose between
either Spanish or philosophy, [to
meet general education requiremefts] the language enrollment
dropped significantly. The fact
that students must choose between
one semester of either philosophy
or Spanish is hurting both disciplines."
According to Dr. C. Reynold
Verret, Wilkes University Provost, in order to compensate for
the declining language offerings
on campus, "A foreign language
institute at Wilkes existed as a collaboration with our sister institutions, King's and Misericordia."
However, that institute ended last
year, mainly due to low enrollment.

The Beacon/Jacqueline Lukas

currentlv, Wilkes
onlvoners
Spanish and
French.

Dr. Paola Bianco, Associate Professor of Spanish teaches one of the few foreign language classes
offered at Wilkes.

The coalition program was a
step in the right direction, but still
far from perfect. The reality is that
the process of studying a foreign
language at another institution can
be problematic for many students,
especially for those without vehicles.
Despite recent enrollment numbers, The Beacon Editorial Board
maintains that there is a need to reintroduce more foreign language
class offerings as part of the curriculum.
"With the importance that we
place in the growing globalization
in every country ... and the growing number of people in our multicultural society, it is a pity that instead of reinforcing the languages
program, it has been reduced to
only one language, Spanish," said
Bianco.
When asked if there were any
plans to re-introduce a variety of
foreign languages, Verret confirmed that Wilkes is currently
re-evaluating its general curriculum, but any drastic changes are
unlikely.

Andrew Sobiesiak, sophomore
computer information systems
major offered, "I could see a lot of
people signing up for classes ... it
would be good for the school."
Dr. Thomas Baldino, Interim
Dean of College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
confirmed that if Wilkes were to
expand its foreign languages offerings there would be a rigorous
hiring process that would be both
time consuming and costly.
We should all be concerned
about the dearth of foreign language opportunities at Wilkes. In
spite of widespread recognition of
the importance of global education and an awareness of cultures
beyond our own, Wilkes students
are deprived of their chance to explore diverse cultures through formal language instruction. While
Spanish is indeed important, it
makes sense to consciously pursue additional opportunities that
will aid 21st century professionals
in internationalizing their fields
such as Japanese, Chinese, Arabic,
German and Russian.

Is it possible that the apparent
lack of interest is a direct result of the lack of opportunity?
If the university made a strong
statement about the importance
of foreign language as part of its
commitment to preparing students to meet the needs of a multicultural world by increasing
the value of such courses in its
general education requirements,
might we see a natural increase
in enthusiasm as well? We propose that students be required
at least one year of a foreign
language of their choice. The
knowledge of another language
can be extremely beneficial not
in only the workplace, but also
in everyday life, and may also
lead to even greater employment
opportunities.

Wilkes
dropped its
"collaboration"
with King's and
Misericordia last
vear.

There is aneed
to introduce a
broader foreign
language
offering.

.

6

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

OPINION

7

The An.gry Rant: A nation of ''babies''
BY TIM SEIGFRIED
Wilkes Alumnus

"No one gives it to you. You have to take
it." -The Departed
On January 13, a high school basketball
game took place between The Covenant
School and Dallas Academy, a game that
The Covenant School would end up winning by a score of 100-0.
There is far more to this story than just the
score, as the Dallas Academy is a school
that specializes in educating children with
"diagnosed learning differences," such as
attention deficit disorder or dyslexia.
In the days following the game, the national media got wind of the story, resulting in a firestorm of controversy regarding
the ethics of high school sports and the
rules of fair play. The Covenant School has
since fired its basketball coach who was accused of running up the score to reach the
100 point mark, as well as allegedly using
a full court press defense throughout the
game, despite having a 59-0 lead after the
first half.
While I agree in principal that The Covenant School was wrong, I also feel that the
controversy is doing more harm than good
for the psyche of all involved.
In professional sports, there is such a
thing as sportsmanship. A team will (most
likely) avoid running up a score out of respect for the game and the opponent. In
baseball, if a team has a 13-0 lead in the
8th inning, batters aren't going to be swinging away on a 3-0 count, nor will runners
be stealing bases. However, they aren't going to purposefully make errors or take bad
swings, either. They will play the game, but
not at a level to embarrass their opponents
any further.
The same thing happens in pro football
and basketball, when a team won't continue to score at will, but they also won't hand
the ball to their opponent and say, "Here,

go ahead and make yourselves feel better."
If they would continue to score, or if they
gave the opposing team mercy points, it
shows a lack of gamesmanship, and no one
looks good.
There was definitely a need for that in
the aforementioned high school basketball
game. The Covenant School had the game
won after the first half. They could have
(and should have) taken their foot off the
gas. Play defense, but don't steal and don't
press. Take shots, but don't score right away,
and don't shoot threes. In other words, give
a good effort, but don't go all out.
Of course, that didn't happen, and now
The Covenant School is apologizing for
winning the game, and the school is now
seeking to forfeit the game, even though the
Dallas Academy hasn't won a game in over
three years.
And here we are, yet again, getting beaten
into submission about how children need to
be nurtured and cared for and how we need
to tell them that they can be whatever they
want and that life is nothing but roses and
clouds and chocolate fountains! Pfft.
The idea of "You can be whatever you
want" is fine for a seven-yr-ar-old who wants
to be a pirate. But when that same kid is 16years-old and failing high school, a dose of
reality needs to set in, and fast. Because at
that point, mommy and daddy can't coddle
them anymore and they need to get off their
tails and start to earn their life.
Of course, it's not like the kid will fail,
because teachers can't give out bad grades
without being threatened with a lawsuit
from the parents, even though the kid knew
there was a test and knew what to study.
But perhaps more importantly, the kid knew
his parents would come to his aid and bail
him out, even though they've never taught
him the value of a hard days work, instead
taking the BS psychology route and just
handing him everything. No wonder Clint
Eastwood called it "The Pussy Generation."

And guess what? When Dirty Harry talks, field for the Philadelphia Phillies, I would.
you listen.
But the truth is that I'm not good enough.
But seriously, everyone, can we please (Also, I'm a natural second baseman, so I'd
put a stop to this? The younger generations be out of position anyway.)
need to learn that they can't (and won't) alThe end result is that America is beways win, and that the only way that they coming a land for people who want to be
can grow is to learn from that.
spoon fed everything, and we continue to
Back to the basketball game: if the los- let it happen. It is occurring in our schools
ing team played the entire game and never already; where is it going to end? People
gave up, then it learned something. Despite are being punished because they are good
the bleak outcome, the players were going at something because it is at the expense of
to keep trying because that is the only way someone else.
they will get better, which builds character.
There are two types of people i• this
You can't always win, but the effort is as im- world: those who can, and those who can't.
portant. However, if that team were handed If you are one of the few who can, then go
points by the opposition, or perhaps they ahead and do it. But if you can't, you need
throw the game, then they don't learn from to try harder until you can. Bottom line:
it because it wasn't earned. It was out of pity There has to be a loser so there can be a
that they won the game, and nothing else. winner.
And one day, that pity is going to manifest
And if you're not a winner, the only thing
itself in every kid in this country whose par- holding you back is yourself.
ents didn't force them to work
for their rewards, and that will
only lead to a very dangerous
sense of entitlement.
And that's the issue, folks.
We are raising a nation of babies, a nation of whiners and
quitters, instead of the next
generation of leaders. Kids
lt/6..
want everything, and more often than not, their equally stupid parents give it to them.
There is a sweeping notion among the bleeding heart
PC'ers in this country that evP14it
eryone is the same, and that
everyone should be given an
equal chance. That sounds
~tt
good in principal, but at a
certain point, everyone is not
€.11!i11~
equal, which is why everyone
can't go to college, why everyone can't be a millionaire, and
why everyone can't be presiCartoon by: Pat Zeigler
dent. Look, if I could play left

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wtl).

y~\,(J: f5 Sensitivity to diversity lacking in 'Rant'
This letter to the editor is written in response to Tim Seigfried 'Angry Rant' column of 1/24/09 and therefore addresses the
columnist directly.
Dear Mr. Seigfried:
To answer the first question you posed in
your article referring to the "pregnant man"
story, "Why did the major news organizations in the country decide to call a femalewho had some "refinements"-a man?
Answer: Because Thomas Beatie is a
male, period. Yes, he has the reproductive
organs ofa female and is able to bear a child
but he is one of the many people who identify as transgender. Do you need a minute

s

to look it up? The media is doing what the
media does best, making a spectacle out of
something that is different instead of properly educating the public. And your rant is
not helping.
Research. That is what's missing here.
I understand it's an opinion piece and it's
your spot to rant and rave about what ticks
you off, but this topic is something I argue
you know very little about. Do me a favor
and read "Becoming A Visible Man" by
Jamison Green or "Both Sides Now" by
Dhillon Khosla, or pick up a Sociology 101
book and tum to the chapter about gender
and sex.

Your article offended me almost immediately. As a member of the trans gender community who has yet to completely transition, your language is very discriminating
especially your constant use of the pronoun
"she" when referring to Thomas. Your relations to video games and fantansy characters is insulting. You're trying to be funny, I
get it, but it doesn't work here.
However, a few minutes after reading this
I realized something that helped me understand. You do not know what you are talking about. You have no idea the amount of
strength and courage it takes someone to do
something so brave, like changing their sex

in order to live a fulfilled life. Transitioning
is something that is met with discrimination, confusion and the possibility of losing
friends, family, and adequate health care.
What you failed to mention in your rant
is that Thomas Beatie always wanted to
have a child and his wife could not, which
is why he decided to go through with the
pregnancy.
And for you to ridicule this man and argue
whether or not he is legally male is completely out of ignorance. Your article should
have been titled "IgnoRANT" that week.
Best,
Meg Krisanda, Wilkes 2008 alum.

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

OPINION

8

Biofuels pose threat to world food supply
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Opled Editor

Recently biofuels have elbowed
their way onto the energy scene,
and for many, have posed as a
strong alternative to fossil fuels ;
however, there is a dark shadow
lurking behind the ideology of a
strong biofuel economy.
According to Dr. Gregory Peters, assistant professor of chemistry, biofuels include anything
that can be used to create energy
which comes from biological systems such as crops. Some of these
materials include com, soybeans,
switch grass and sugar cane.
Due to rising energy costs, the
United States, European Union
and Brazil have been active leaders in exploring alternative energy
sources such as biofuels. As a result, instead of harvesting crops
for food production, many farmers are taking the higher bids and
selling products to biofuel producers, which creates an unbalanced
system of supply and demand.
Although this may seem harmless, experts say that the growth

ofbiofuels has created a ripple effect on other food crop markets.
The International Grain Council
reported that the demand for cereal in the U.S. has risen 32% in
the last year.
According to The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), many countries
are experiencing difficulty in providing food for their people. One
of the hardest hit regions includes
Sub-Saharan Africa, where 21 of
36 countries are in a food security
crisis. That region imports 45%
of its wheat and 84% of its rice.
In recent months, the World
Bank Group, which provides finance and advice to countries for
the purposes of economic development and eliminating poverty,
has distributed approximately
$497 million to over 30 countries
to help ease the food crisis. Some
of which include, Afghanistan
($8 million), Bangladesh ($ 130
million), Benin ($9 million), Burundi ($10 million), Central African Republic ($7 million), Djibouti ($5 million), Ethiopia ($275

million)
Increasing fuel prices,
droughts, floods, and
changing diets can also
contribute to the problem;
however, experts argue
that the production of biofuels has exacerbated an
already devastating situation.
Why the U.S. has con- In recent years, Biofuels have driven
tinued to promote biofu- food prices sky high.
els as an alternative fuel
According to an article pubsource? Peters said, "It sends
a positive message to people that lished on November 16, 2007 by
we have the potential for reduc- Time magazine, one-quarter of the
ing or eliminating our reliance on U.S.'s corn harvest was diverted
foreign oil," but in truth, biofuels to biofuel production in 2007.
as a whole are not significantly efShould we continue to experifective.
ment with biofuels? Yes. If scienRecently, the U.S. made claims tists can enhance the performance
that plant derived fuels have con- ofbiofuels, or balance the system,
tributed to less than 3% to rising there is a possibility that they may
food prices; however, a report re- serve as an alternative fuel source
leased by the World Bank in April in the future. But until then, there
claimed that biofuels have forced is no reason for the U.S. and othglobal food costs up by 75%. "I er countries to be diverting mass
would imagine that the truth is amounts of their grain production
somewhere in between," said Pe- to serve as biofuels.
ters.

Beacon Poll Results
The following are results of a
poll that The Beacon conducted
online this past week. The
poll was unscientific and does
not claim to reflect the attitudes
of students on campus.

The Beacon asked:
Do you feel President Obama
will implement change to the
current higher education process in a effective and timely
mannor?
• Yes - 50%
• No - 50%
• Undecided - 0%

Next Week's question:
Do you feel that Wilkes should
offer more foreign language
courses?
•Yes
•No
• Undecided

Go,,ern01ent lies declassified: Gulf of Tonkin
BYANTHONYDORUNDA
Beacon Asst. Opled Editor

For many reasons ranging from
economic instability to security
challenges, U.S. citizens need
to lo~ to their government with
confidence perhaps more than
ever before. Truth goes a long
way toward building confidence.
In 1964, a major bond of trust
was broken by the US government, and did not surface again
until decades later in late 2005.
On August 2, 1964, naval forces
of the United States and North
Vietnam skirmished in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Just
two days later, the USS Maddox
reported yet further engagement
with North Vietnamese torpedo
boats.
Upon the news of the second
clash, it took a mere three days
for Congress to pass the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution, which stated
that President Lyndon B. Johnson, could give aid to any Asian
country whose government was
in harms way of a communist in-

vas10n.
Recently, the National Security
Agency, declassified over 140
formerly top secret documents on
the August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin
incident. Included in these documents were histories, chronologies, signals intelligence reports,
and oral history interviews that
drove home the point that has
long been suspected, but never
proven that there was no second
attack on US ships.
Dr. Diane Wenger, associate
professor of history at Wilkes acknowledged that this resolution
gave President Johnson " ... a free
hand to escalate the war." In essence, it gave him the justification
he needed to convince skeptical
Americans that more involvement
was needed in Vietnam.
Why, though, did the truth take
more than 40 years to surface?
Wenger offers a simple answer:
The U.S. did not want its image to
be blemished.
"The National Security Agency
naturally wanted to portray the
United States in the best light; to

continue the justification for the
nation defending itself against
the attacks," said Wenger. "As a
reporter for The New York Times
has suggested, releasing the news
might have caused unwelcome
comparisons with the war in Iraq
and the misleading information
about weapons of mass destruction that led Americans to support
that war."
The declassification of the documents has left many Americans
with the nagging question, "What
else are we not being told?"
In 2004, a poll conducted by
both The New York Times and
CBS reported that 28% of Americans felt the government was lying or covering up specific details
regarding September 11.
An untruthful and misleading
government creates an uneasy
feeling for citizens. With the
power to decide what truths to
release and what to cover up, it
is hard not to ask how often the
people do not get all the necessary information.
Wenger said, "This was not the

first time that U.S. government
officials made a decision that later
proved questionable. I was skeptical of attempts to link the invasion oflraq to 9/11 attacks and the
war on terrorism."
Wenger is also skeptical about
the government's policies of detaining suspects without due process as well as the use of torture
and notes that aspects of the Patriot Act wrongly deprived citizens
of their guaranteed rights.
Any lies, distortions or withholding of important information
diminishes any credibility government officials hope to have among
citizens. President Obama's new
administration would be wise to
avoid hiding behind the curtain of
half-truths, given public outrage
over the Gulf of Tonkin realities.
The U.S. is a democracy, a government "For the people, by the
people, and of the people." If
what our founding fathers wrote
centuries ago is true, then there
should be no secrets, no misleading ideas, and no distortion of fact
from reality.

Speak Up!

It's Your Right!
The Beacon wants your
opinion. Contact us at
WilkesBeacon.OpEd
@Gmail.com
with your Name,
Major, Year, and
Opinion!
The Beacon reserves the right
to edit submitted pieces for
space and content.

�Free clinic opens
in Wilkes-Barre
PAGE 11

.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
christa.sgobba@wilkes.edu
leeann.searfoss@wilkes.edu

FEBRUARY

,

2009

wilkesbeacon.lifestyles@gmail.com

9

Wilkes alu01na pursues passion for rescuing ani01als
BY MELANIE THOMAS

Beacon Correspondent
According to The Animal Network, seven
puppies and kittens are born for each human
life that comes into this world.
That totals an estimated 52 million dogs
and 57 million cats living with United
States' families . However, as many as 12
million dogs and cats are euthanized each
year, and millions more abandoned in rural
and urban areas.
But thanks to people like Marge Bart,
co-founder, owner and animal caretaker of
Blue Chip Farm (BCF) Animal Refuge Facility in the Back Mountain, some of these
animals have discovered a second chance at
life.
Bart, who received her master's in business administration from Wilkes in 1979, is
a native of Wilkes-Barre. Despite her urban
upbringing, she grew up fond of nature.
"I was a city girl with a dream of owning
my own farm one day," said Bart.
For a number of years, she worked as a
production superintendent at Certainteed in
Mountaintop, before she became disabled
with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease of
the nervous system that affects the brain
and spinal cord.

Ten years ago, she started work to create
Blue Chip Farm. BCF is nestled on 35 acres
of rolling farmland at 974 Lockville Road
in Dallas. It began to take shape when Bart
and Tanya Stankus, who are neighbors and
close friends, combined their passion and
love of animals.
"Marge really makes a difference for the
animals. She understands animals well, and
this intrigued me to join her in her efforts
to rescue animals," said Stankus. "Marge
is close to Ceasar, the pet whisperer. She
bonds to an animal within five minutes of
knowing them."
While Bart's own health neither defines
her nor seems to slow her down as she works
to achieve her vision for BCF, it is possible
that in Bart the animals see someone who
understands their plights uniquely.
"I've always had animals and noticed that
there was a need for someone to take care
of special needs pets," Bart acknowledged.
"The unconditional love given to me by
these animals is enough to keep this animal
shelter up and running."
Because of Bart's MS, she has to take care
of the animals in the early part of her day.
"I become tired as the day goes on, so I
need to get all the physical work done earlier," Bart explained.
"A safe haven in what
could be a cruel world," is
BCF's mission statement,
which communicates the
organization's commitment
to treating animals humanely despite their backgrounds or circumstances.
"The Blue Chip Farms
seek to provide a sanctuary
where older, stray, abandoned, sick and abused animals can wait to be adopted
or simply live out their
lives in safety and peace,"
said Bart.
BCF offers a home to animals that can no longer be
People who ride their
horses at Blue Chip Farm
help Marg Bart with the
chores that need to be
done on a daily basis.

The Beacon/Melanie Thomas

Marge Bart emphasizes responsible pet care and searches for adoption options for the
15 dogs, 20 cats, and two potbelly pigs currently residing at Blue Chip Farm.
cared for by their owners and also a second
chance at adoption. Bart tells a story about
an abandoned chocolate lab to illustrate the
circumstances that could bring an animal to
the farm.
"A little over [a month ago] around 8:30
p.m. a man in a pickup truck pulled up on
the side of the road in front of the farm.
He then pushed a dog out and left the dog
standing there all alone. We have no information about this animal. There is no
name, no tags, we don't know if it had all
of its shots," she said. "The only thing we
do know as of now is that she just had puppies."
So, Bart's rescue mission steps in once
more, and with luck, the dog may find a loving, permanent home.
Bart stressed that a kitten is only a kitten
for a short while, and adult animals can be a
great solution for a pet companion.
The farm is run strictly through fundraisers and donations given by pet owners and
people who drop off their animals. Right
now, the animal refuge facility is taking
care of 15 dogs, 20 cats, and two potbelly
pigs.
The farm is also run with the help of vol-

unteers. For example, people who do their
horseback riding on the farm contribute to
the work that needs to be done on a daily
basis.
"We need volunteers all the time to help
us with various things, like sitting in the
cat house and just being with them," said
Stankus. "They don't get a lot of human
contact and need to be socialized with."
BCF is a multifaceted nonprofit organization. Since Bart doesn't believe in euthanasia, BCF provides the public with education
on ways to fight the overpopulation issue.
Workers have spoken at schools and other
public venues on an array of topics including responsible pet care and the need to
spay and neuter pets.
Another goal of BCF is to get these animals adopted. Lastly and most importantly,
Bart and Stankus provide a safe place for
these victims of circumstance.
In the future, Bart hopes to expand Blue
Chip Farms. She has planned a staffed animal hospital which will provide low-cost
spay and neutering services, an animal
boarding facility, a dog park and a horse exercise facility.

�10

LIFESTYLES

FEBRUARY

3, 2009

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Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

Wilkes has been invaded by 'space people.' They wear distinctive white hooded,
air-tight suits, and can be seen only on the
early mornings right before winter break
is over, and two Saturdays after the spring
semester has commenced. They cluster together for five days total, from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. throughout the Stark Leaming Center
and Breiseth Hall.
The 'space people' are actually students
in the environmental engineering course
ENV 298: HAZWOPER. HAZWOPER
stands for Hazardous Waste Operations and
Emergency Response Regulations, and is a
technical elective but required of all environmental engineering majors who want to
work with hazardous waste materials.
The course, while spanning less than a
week and spread out over the course of four
weeks, helps students understand hazardous materials and spills, how to clean up the
spills, and the proper PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) to wear, according to John
Luff, a student in the ENV 298 class.
The class contains 25 students, 24 males

the sessions from
I have the proper
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to
training to work on
begin certification
a hazardous site.
to handle hazardous
We also got a cool
waste. The course is
certificate with our
populatedbystudents
name on it," said
from several differJoe Falko, a junior
ent majors, including
environmental enenvironmental, elecgineering major.
trical, and mechaniThe course is sucal engineering.
pervised by RichHAZWOPER was
,,,, ard Hofman, the
created by the OccuSenior Safety and
pational Safety and
Health
ConsulHealth Administratant, as well as an
tion (OSHA) and
authorized OSHA
requires that each ininstructor for High
dividual have at least
Safety Consulting
40 hours of training
Services. He has
prior to certification.
been handling the
"The reason I chose
safety for the ENV
to take it is it gets me
298 class for sevone step closer to
eral years. Hofman
working at a hazardStudents sift through hazardous
also oversees safety
ous waste site. After materials for the ENV 298 HAZoperations for stuI completed this class WOPER course.
dents at Penn State UniI need to get 24 hrs of
versity.

ardous waste materials since 1990, and believes, "having the certification makes individual more marketable."
While the course is said to be a valuable
training tool for the job market, there is
one aspect of the training sessions that is
bit more amusing. All students enrolled in
ENV 298 use the last day of their course to
apply what they have learned by wearing a
Level B suit. According to Hofman, that
means the students are "fully encapsulated
in an airtight suit and use an oxygen tank
and mask to set up breathing."
Some students are given controlled
breathing apparatuses. The apparatuses use
oxygen cylinders as the air source and can
be compared to scuba gear for divers. "You
can get very warm in these suits which is
why a lot ofus wore shorts and t-shirts underneath them even when we went outside,"
said Falko.
The students spend their last Sunday out
on the greenway, doing calisthenics to raise
their heart rate to get a feel for how to work
under stressful environments.

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�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

LIFESTYLES

11

Volunteers in Medicine clinic offers care to uninsured
BY CHRISTA SGOBBA
Beacon Lifestyles Editor

.

A few years ago, the property on 190
North Pennsylvania Avenue was just another old, abandoned warehouse.
Now, it is filled with all the makings of
a doctor's office--exam rooms, medical
equipment, pharmaceuticals, and even a
waiting room filled with toys to keep young
children amused.
In just over two years, that building has
tranformed into a fully functioning medical
clinic that serves the poor of Luzerne County. During the summer of 2008, the Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) clinic opened
its doors to provide primary and preventive
care to the uninsured in the area, especially
to the working poor.
"Before we opened, there were feasibility studies that showed 35,000 people in
Luzerne County do not have medical insurance," said Kelly Ranieli, the executive
director of VIM. "They have nowhere to
go for basic care, let alone for serious situations."
There are over 70 free clinics in the United States affiliated with VIM, a non-profit
organization that utilizes retired and volunteer health care professionals to serve the
medical needs of the uninsured. According
to volunteersinmedicine,org, over 89 million Americans had no health insurance for
2006 to 2007. Nearly 80 percent of those
uninsured were from working families.
The only criterion for treatment at VIM in
Wilkes-Barre is that the patient must not be
eligible for any kind of insurance. Usually,
this rules out children under 18, who can be
covered under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and people over the
age of 65, who can be covered by Medicare.
This leaves a gap of uninsured between the
ages of 18 and 65 who are not offered insurance by their employment.
"Sometimes there are people who work

two part-time jobs and don't have insurance, or there are people who work fulltime jobs," said Dr. Marie Roke-Thomas,
Wilkes University assistant professor of
pharmaceutical sciences and member of the
board of VIM. "A lot of people who work
full-time jobs for minimum wage do not always have an insurance option."
VIM in Wilkes-Barre is staffed by a rotation of around 10 physicians from the area
who etch out time from their own private
practices to volunteer at the clinic. It also
includes a registered nurse practitioner, 10
nurses, and nearly 20 reception and clerical
workers.
Student volunteers are also an important
part of VIM's mission. Nursing students
from College Misericordia rotate through
the clinic, where they learn how to room patients and observe the actual examinations.
Pharmacy students from Wilkes University
spend one day a week at VIM, filling and
distributing medications.
Dr. Kimberly Ference, the faculty advisor
of the pharmacy students while they work at
VIM, believes the clinic offers them experience that only augments their studies.
"It provides them with some patient interaction and allows them to see a different
aspect of pharmacy practice in a physician's
office," she said. "Seeing patients gives
them a hands-on experience while reinforcing what is taught in the classroom."
Andrew Garofoli, a P2 pharmacy student, spent four days at VIM last fall and
will now spend one day a week there this
semester. He says his time there gave better
understanding of prescribing medication, as
well as giving him experience interacting
with patients and other healthcare professionals.
"My favorite part of working there so far
has been gaining hands-on knowledge of
different patient illnesses and understanding
how those illnesses are treated," he said.
VIM offers primary health care services,

Christa Baker, a student in the nurse practitioner program at Misericordia University, examines a patient at Volunteers in Medicine. Pharmacy students from Wilkes
also rotate through the clinic, and nursing students will start later this semester.
as well as obstetric and gynecological care,
and a full pharmacy. Patients also receive
free services from institutions like Vision
Imaging, where they can receive mammograms, x-rays, CAT scans, and MRis.
Through Geisinger Health System, all of
the patients at VIM have been covered for
lab work.
The clinic also has relationships with specialists from the area who donate their surgical skills or areas of expertise if further
treatment is necessary.
"Our ultimate goal is to try to detect those
severe cases when they are treatable," said
Ranieli. "We have a network of specialty
physicians in the area who have been extremely kind to the clinic, and have covered
most of the expenses, so our patients can
see specialists at no cost."
The goal of VIM is preventive care, but
sometimes doctors will notice a condition
that has already progressed to the point

where immediate treatment is needed. RokeThomas points to lack of medical insurance
as one of the reasons for late diagnoses.
"We've seen here somebody will come
in with a problem they have had for two or
three years that will turn out to be a cancer that needs to be treated immediately,"
she said. "If they had insurance, they might
have gone before, but they just don't want
to go because they can't afford paying for it.
They're very proud."
Without this free access to healthcare,
Roke-Thomas believes the whole community would suffer.
"They just wouldn't get health care. A lot
of common things like colds and infections,
if left untreated, could become pneumonias
or something more serious," she said. "The
mission of this facility is that health care is
something everyone should be entitled to,
and we provide that."

�Get a first hand account of
Luna-The new bar/lounge on
Main Street

PAGE 14

A&amp;£
f EBRUARY 3, 2009

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alyssa. benner@wilkes.edu
yoh.delossantosmaria@willces.edu
matthew.goags@wilkes.edu

-wilkesbeacon.ae@gmail.com
- - - - - - - 12

New Works course pushes at creative boundaries
BY MATTHEW GOG AS
Beacon Asst. A&amp;E Editor

Imagine the unconventional for a moment. Imagine a class in which you singlehandedly decide your grade by doing
whatever you want. Imagine that you
could take this class at Wilkes University.
Imagine this class is a reality because it
actually is.
For the first time at Wilkes the theater department is offering a course that involves
improvisation, acting and movement, but
the students get to choose how they want
to contribute and through what mediums
they wish to express themselves.
Taught by Naomi Baker, assistant professor of the Visual and Performing Arts,
New Works is based upon a theater improvisation technique called Viewpoints.
Viewpoints incorporates both acting and
dance movement. It was originally &lt;level-

oped by two American theater directors
named Anne Bogart and Tina Landau.
Bogart currently teaches the course New
Works at Columbia University. There are
also a small group of theater and performing arts departments around the United
States that teach the course.
"I took a New Works class in graduate
school and the professor made us do a play
that was pretty much her own work. That
isn't what I wanted for this class. I want to
explode the students' imaginations by doing self designed projects," said Baker.
Baker decided that she wanted to teach
New Works this semester so she went to
the department chair and asked to teach
the course.
"Naomi is a good fit for the course because she is an acting and movement
teacher, it just comes naturally," said Joseph Dawson, department chair for the Vi-

The Beacon/ Lauren Biernacki

LEFT: Students and instructor Naomi Baker, far right, express themselves through
an acting excercise called Viewpoints in the New Works course. RIGHT: Naomi Baker, top of stairs, prepares her New Works class for their end of the semester play by
peforming an out of class exercise.

sual and Performing Arts at Wilkes.
Baker decided she wanted to put
her own spin on the course by
incorporating a unique theme.
Each of the students gets to
participate in their own way,
but they have to work with
the theme of power. The
most recent activities
they completed were to
make visual representations of how they
define power and
they have also conducted interviews
around campus in
which they asked
others to define
power in their own
words.
"I want the students to think globally within the city
of Wilkes-Barre. I
want them to have
a global perspective
of what power is, so
I made up questions
before the course began for the students to
redefine and ask in their
own way," said Baker.
"I really love the class
because it is something different. It is experimental and
it is up to us, the class, to decide the direction and outcome.
It is very exciting to me because I
want people to experience all types of
theater and get a true great appreciation
for it," said Junior Theater major, Jessica
Lech.
The students in the class consists of both
theater and performing arts majors and
non-theater majors, which is what Baker
aimed for with the course.
"I wanted to attract students from other
disciplines to show them that you do not
have to be a theatre major to have fun with
the course," said Baker.
At the end of the semester, the New
Works class will put on an unconventional
play to bring to life all of the work they

The Beacon/ Lauren Biernacki

have done with the course.
Senior Communications Studies major
Anthony DeMarco, is looking forward to
the end product and is excited to show people what he has gained from the course.
"The class is creative to say the least.
We do some pretty far out things. I hope
people show up and see what we did," said
DeMarco.

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

13

Student's art career sparked through coIDinunity effort
BY ALYSSA BENNER
Beacon A&amp;E Editor

Scott Szili, senior entrepreneurship major, is putting his creative energy into the
hands of the Wilkes-Barre arts the community.
Inspired by music as well as his need to
create art, Szili creates acrylic portraits
and is especially fond of painting eccentric
icons such as Albert Einstein, Lil Wayne,
and Jim Morrison.
"Those are the type of personalities that

attract me," Szili said.
His professional painting career began
14 months ago, and since that time he has
been featured in three local exhibits. An
exhibit at Barnes and Noble July 18, 2008,
marked his debut in the public art arena.
Another exhibit at Arts YOUniverse followed from September to October of2008
and currently Szili has an exhibit at the
Kirby Center.
"Wilkes-Barre is a very artistic community," Szili said.
His current exhibit at the Kirby Center
was booked with the help of Kimberly

Hughes, the Wyoming Valley Art League
Gallery Director.
According to WVAL.org: The League is
an organization that promotes fellowship
among all artists, art leagues, and galleries; provides an artistic outlet for local talent; sponsors programs of both local and
out-of-town artists and fosters an interest
in art within the local and surrounding
communities.
"I think Wilkes-Barre has great potential
where the arts are concerned. There are
so many organizations, venues and educational outlets the support can only grow from
here," Hughes said.
Although for some
the art world may not
seem tangible others
believe it is a driving
force in the WilkesBarre community
and is becoming
more available
through community organizations.
"I
would
have to say
Scott Szili is
the first one who
has contacted me.
If there are other
Wilkes University
students interested I
would be more than
happy to assist them as
well," Hughes said.

Jahrnitza Perez, Integrated Media major and art minor said, "It's comforting to
know that if someone wants to pursue an
art career and make it their life that there
are people you can meet and places you
can go to get your name out there."
As the warm weather peaks its head
around the bend Szili might be found
painting and gaining perspective out on
the campus greenway.
"There is good exposure on the greenway," Szili said.

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

14

Hot Spot Review: Luna
BY YO HANNA DE LOS SANTOS MARIA
Beacon Asst A&amp;E Editor
In downtown Wilkes-Barre, Luna, at 41 S. Main Street
next to Boscov's, is the new hot spot to go - a place to
be with friends within walking distance to campus, while
also creating feeling of a far away, exotic destination.
Luna is inspired by different places from all over the
world. New York City, Miami, and parts of Europe contribute to the eclectic decor. As customers open the door
to the Chill or Terrace, as the owners call it, they will
feel a sense of relaxation that is just not typical of a local
bar/lounge.
The aesthetic interior design offers a clean, chic feel
with contrasting white and black sofas to the right and
left respectively. The furnishings say, "Go ahead. Relax.
Sit down and enjoy yourself." Candlelight decor adds a
romantic, Mediterranean touch to Luna's terrace. The rest
of the space is completed with a piano and a bar along with
portraits of Audrey Hepburn and mirrors in the wall.
As I was sitting there enjoying my tapas and drinks I
wondered, "Why Audrey Hepburn?" The answer came almost immediately. Hepburn epitomized class and a time
when elegance was celebrated, which is the feel that Luna
aims to cultivate. Artists like Frank Sinatra playing on th
sound system, only add to that ambience--finally, good
music to enjoy dinner and drinks to!
Lighting is the other important characteristic of the bar

and lounge to which I give two thumbs up. Blue and purple lights create a cool, night-lit sort of visual experience
which sets the tone of the place.
Now, let's talk about food and service. After choosing
our place to sit, (we chose to sit on the modem white sofas to the right)
the waitress approached us and
asked if we already knew what
we wanted to

order. To which we responded that we needed
to have a look at the
menu. After she handed
the menu to us, we realized that there wa&amp; really uoi:llwg iu the rnenu so we had
to wait for her to come back and tell her. With that little
problem out of the way, as we looked into the menu we
discovered that the prices were not cheap; however, they
weren't ridiculously high, either.

I was impressed by an introduction to the Tapas, the
drinks, and the philosophy of the lO's on the menu. What
most impressed me was the philosophy of the 10, and on
every section of the menu there were either 10 tapas or
10 drinks. Tapas means 'small dishes' and is traditionally
associated with Spanish cuisine. At Luna, they were well
priced. The highest price was $10 for drinks or tapas. Vinos (Wines) and Sparkling were of course of a higher price.
Luna offers a great variety of quality drinks not offered by
other places in downtown or in the area. As the night went
on, I ordered hummus chips and Cuban wedges as tapas
which were simply delicious and at the same time I
felt transported to another place.
However, service was not so good. For eleven patrons in Luna there was only one person taking care
of everyone. The staff should be better trained if
perfection is their motto. I could not leave the place
without a chocolate gelato in order to live the real
Mediterranean experience so I ordered it. To my surprise I got a strawberry gelato which did not make
me very happy.
Even with service lacking, I believe with time this
will improve since this is a new bar/lounge. However,
the feeling of comfort along with the overall ambience,
music and environment were out of this world, or at least
Wilkes-Barre.
Bottom Right: The Beacon/ Gino Troiani
Top Left: The BeaconNohanna De Los Santos Maria

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665 Carey Ave Wi lk.es-Ba.rre. Pa
Call (570) 823-4119
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�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

ARTS &amp; ENTERTAINMENT

15

Crossword
BY DEVIN J. KING AND CHRISTOPHER KUDRAK
Beacon Correspondents
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ACROSS
Abbr. for authoritarian
ruler
Ty Webb's actor in
5
Caddyshack
10
Protected by a goalie
14
Reflected sound
15
Benefits
16
Doing nothing
17
To bow in respect
18
Shield of Zeus
19
Expensive metal
Occurring between
20
planets
23
Synonym for tractor
trailer
24
Teeter-Totter
Dirt held together by
25
grass
Spinning machine tool
27
31
Be quiet, please.
34
Rola means hello
Paths or routes
39
41
Assembly place in an
cient Greece
42
To care for
43
To put in alphabetical
order
46
Resolution abbr.
Act of fastening a ship
47
with cables
Ingestion of materia I
48
for nutrients

Withstand
the benefits
Popular brand names
Served in restaurants
More than one radius
Ocean, sound, and light
waves
65
To dazzle with light
66
Large container made of
wood
67
Volcano in Sicily
68
To have split with an axe
Responses from a "Yes69
man"
70
Male gypsies or two of this
bread
DOWN
1
Place to buy fresh meat
2
Desktop inhabitants
A slide
3
4
Poles paying homage to
ancestors
5
Fate of lips in current
weather
Kitchen" , show on
6
FOX
7
Underwater plant
What invertebrates lack
8
"S's" spelt out
9
10
One Billion Watts
11
Scent
12
Friend
Light source for LCD TVs
13

50
55
58
62
63
64

21
22
26
28
29
30
31
32
. 33
35
36
37
38
40
44
45
49
51
52
53
54
56
57
58
59
60
61
62

A violent mob
"Clap" in Indian classical music
Faded clothing or appearance
Synonym for tournament brack
et
There is no place like this
Results or outcomes
What people did in pools this
summer
Popular Sci-Fi Xbox game
Prefix; less than normal
Length of time one has existed
Sarcastic catchphrase in 90's
Lanka
To pass time in relaxation
Concealed
Large plastic surgeon society
To make worthy of
Short movie trailer
Friend of Thomas the Tank En
gine
Chicago airport
Drinks recently banned in
schools
Most powerful people
Peaceful harmony
Popular cylinder-shaped noodle
Snake oil, for example
Gooey substance
Fate of one who drinks poison
Seven areas of water
Looking into Salmonella out
break

�F

]

Preview
pg. 19

CONTACT INFORMATION:
alissa.lindner@wilkes.edu
daniel.kautz@wilkes.edu
E

FEBRUARY

3, 2009

wilkesbeacon.sports@gmail.com

16

Men's basketball defeats King's for second time
Colonels use hot hand in second half to win season series
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor
&amp; LEEANN SEARFOSS
Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor
The Colonels may have lost three straight
entering last Thursday's game against
King's, but those who were worried about
Wilkes's chances had their fears put to rest
quickly. The Colonels turned in one of
their best performances of the season in a
crowded Marts Gymnasium, defeating the
Monarchs for the second time this season.
The win helped Wilkes improve to 6-4 in
the Freedom Conference, keeping them in
the upper half of the crowded standings.
The Colonels shot a mere 39 percent from

the floor in the first half, but still managed
to enter halftime with a 33-31 lead. Sophomore guard Chris DeRojas hit five three
pointers in the opening 11 minutes of the
game, hitting three in a row at one point to
send the crowd into a frenzy. He would end
the game with 19 total points.
"Chris Derojas started off hot and they
[had to reposition their defensive alignments to stop him], so we needed other guys
to step up for us later to stay competitive,"
said Head Coach Jerry Rickrode.
Wilkes began to pull away with 6:37 remaining before the half, taking a 24-15 lead
off junior guard/forward Tom Kresge's layup. King's then went on a run to tie the
game at 26, receiving six points from both

Kevin Conroy and Mike Wagner to keep the
Monarchs in the game.
Wilkes came out with a renewed intensity
in the second half, shooting 60 percent and
establishing a stranglehold on the game.
Kresge and senior forward Steve Kline

game's only double-double. Kevin Conroy
of King's scored a game high 27 points on
10-17 shooting and also grabbed six boards,
while Kyle Stackhouse added 20 points and
four rebounds.
"I don't even want to really evaluate [this

m
wi
A
an

te
he

Sophomore Chris DeRojas was a great boon for the Colonels in the first half, hitting
five three-pointers in the game's first 11 minutes.

Junior Tom Kresge pulls up for a three-point shot over King's Nick Reisig. Kresge
would finish with 20 points, helping the Colonels along to their win.

combined for 28 of the Colonels' 47 points,
helping them pull ahead by ten or more
points five different times. Wilkes led 7158 with roughly three minutes remaining,
but allowed King's to close to within 78-72
with 30 seconds remaining. The Monarchs
were unable to complete their comeback,
however, as Wilkes made 9-11 free throws
down the stretch to ice the game. DeRojas
and freshman Michael Donatoni were integral in stopping King's from being in any
type of position where they could have tied,
as each player hit four free throws each after being fouled. Kresge finished the game
with 20 points on 8-12 shooting and also
added seven rebounds, while Kline contributed 16 points and ten rebounds for the

game], I just want to move on to the next
one," said Rickrode afterwards. "It's nice
to get the win against your rival down the
street, but we know that you've got to move
on now and stay focused on winning consistently down the stretch."
The win gave Wilkes a 10-7 record on the
season, while King's dropped to 8-10 (1-9
in Freedom Conference play). The men's
basketball team's next home game is against
Manhattanville at 8 P.M. on February 8.

�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

17

SPORTS

Late co01eback, penalty allows Wilkes tie vs. TCNJ
No. 19 TCNJ's coach costs team a point for arguing
BY DANIEL KAUTZ
Beacon Asst. Sports Editor

Those who attended the home match between No. 19 Wilkes University and No. 18
TCNJ on Tuesday, January 27, witnessed
an intense, back and forth match that ultimately came down to the fi.pal bout and a
controversial call made by the referee.
Wilkes got out of the gate quickly, receiving a 4-0 lead behind senior Shaun Famham's (125) 15-2 major decision win over
Dan Franke. Wilkes eventually saw its lead
increase to 10-0 thanks to decision wins
from fellow senior Josh Pauling (133 , 6-0)
and freshman Anthony Dattolo (141 , 8-1).
Despite their strong start, the Colonels
were unable to keep up the momentum. The
Lions stormed back with five straight wins,
including a pin by No. 6 Justin Bonatitis at
the 165 pound level. The wins helped TCNJ
take an 18-10 lead with just Wilkes ' juniors
Zach Pizarro (197) and Andrew Feldman
(285) left to wrestle. Pizarro recorded a 94 decision win over TCNJ's Ed Broderick
in his bout, helping to pull the Colonels to
within five points. Feldman and TCNJ's
Adam Koziol walked onto the mat next,
and what followed was certainly out of the
ordinary.
Following the first round of their bout,
Koziol received a warning from the referee
for stalling. He received another call of
stalling moments later, earning Feldman a
point and incensing TCNJ's coach, David
Icenhower. Icenhower received a warning from the referee for leaving his team's
bench area during the middle of the bout after another call of stalling. Moments later
he had his team penalized one point for ap-

parently stepping onto the mat to protest the
referee's calls toward Koziol. The penalty
dropped the score to 17-13, meaning Feldman had a chance to give Wilkes a victory
with a pin. Although he was unable to do
so, his major decision win over Koziol (157) earned Wilkes an additional four points,
tying the match at 17-17 in the end.
"To be honest, I didn't even notice [the
penalty on Icenhower] right away," said
Head Coach Jon Laudenslager after the
match. "I was more focused on trying to
get [Andrew] information and some suggestions on how to get a possible pin for the
win at that point. [Icenhower] did approach
the scorer 's table and received a warning
and then I was told he later came onto the
mat, but I was more focused on the bout,"
he added.
"Certainly the score says we tied, but
in reality we really lost 18-17," said
Laudenslager. "We missed a couple of bonus points that could have swung the match
our way, but it was a great dual meet overall."
"I thought the guys who wrestled today
showed a lot of heart," said sophomore Jake
Weinrich (285). "Even when TCNJ made
their run, you could see the guys cheering
on their teammates from the bench and really getting into it."
The tie helped to ease the sting ofTCNJ's
36-7 win over Wilkes earlier in the season
at the Budd Whitehill Duals tournament, although in fairness it was a match in which
the Colonels used only two starters.
Wilkes' next match is at home against
Elizabethtown at 7 P.M. on Friday, February 6.

Freshman Anthony Dattolo won his match for the Colonels at 141; Wilkes needed
every point it could get against No. 19 TCNJ, but it took a gift point from TCNJ's
coach to get them the tie.

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�FEBRUARY

3, 2009

-y~
18

SPORTS

RINKSIDE REPORT

Fighting raises questions in AHL
BY MIKE CIGNOLI
Beacon Staff Writer

The untimely death of a Canadian ice
hockey player last month has raised questions as to whether or not fighting has a
place in the game.
Don Sanderson, a 21-year-old defenseman, lost his helmet during an altercation
and his unprotected head struck the ice surface during a December senior league game
in Ontario. Sanderson was in a coma for
nearly three weeks before finally succumbing to his injuries on January 2.
Sanderson's death has already prompted
the creation of a new rule in the Ontario
Hockey League, one of the top junior
leagues in the world.
"If a player should remove his helmet or
undo his chinstrap prior to or during an altercation, such player shall receive a game
misconduct in addition to any other penalties assessed and an automatic one-game
suspension," the new OHL rule states.
If a player's helmet becomes accidentally
dislodged during the altercation, officials

are required to intervene immediately.
Any potential change to American Hockey League rules regarding fighting will
come after National Hockey League general managers discuss the issue at a meeting
in March.
"We're going to see what they do and
follow their lead," AHL President David
Andrews told the media during his annual
State of the League during All-Star festivities on January 26.
Many are calling for an outright ban on
fighting in the sport, which has many players up in arms over the potential removal of
what has become an established tradition.
"I think it's stupid," said WilkesBarre/Scranton Penguins enforcer Aaron
Boogaard, who has 15 fighting majors this
season. "Fighting's been a part of hockey
since it started... People die from boxing,
they're not going to cancel boxing. They're
not going to stop that."
Boogaard is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's resident policeman. He takes it upon himself
to make sure that other players don't take

liberties with the skilled players on
the team who might not be able to
hold their own in a fight.
"It's the hardest job out there but
someone has to do it, and if they
don't then other teams are going to
take liberties and just run around,"
Boogaard said. "It's just com,mon
sense to keep it in, or else hockey
is going to turn into something that
a lot of people aren't going to enjoy
anymore."
Andrews doesn't think that removing fighting from the sport with
have such an adverse affect.
"Can you play without it? Obviously. There is no way you can say
fighting has to be part of hockey,"
./
Photo Courtes of Chris R-utsch
Andrews said during his address
to the media. "There are all sorts The recent death of a player has raised quesof great hockey games that don't tions as to whether fights, like this one between
have fights in them."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Paul Bissonnette and
Brandon Sugden of the Hartford Wolf Pack,
belong in the game of hockey.

BAL
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Ema il : info@balanceyogastudi o. net

�FEBRUARY

SPORTS

3, 2009

19

Lacrosse club optiIDistic about '09 season
BYANTHONYDORU~DA
Beacon Asst. Op-Ed Editor

After struggling last spring, the 2009
version of the club lacrosse team just wants
to take the field, and this team could have
the makings of something special.
The Colonels return a bevy of talent, especially in the midfield where all four of
their seniors play, including John Edler and
Justin Friedel whom McCaffrey says are
"two of the best face-off midfielders in the
Eastern PA division."
The team returns six starters to a unit
that went 2-5 last year. Their record, however, can be misleading. The Colonels play
schools that triple or quadruple its size, but
remain more than just competitive.
"We play in one of the toughest divisions
of the National College Lacrosse League,

the country's largest club lacrosse league,"
says McCaffrey. "Three teams from our division made the national playoffs last year
and we played a fourth qualifier out of our
division. Millersville lost by one goal in the
final four to the University of Cincinnati."
Included in those returnees are seniors
Friedel, Edler, and Phil Cimilluca. Sean
O'Neill and captain/president Nick Dipaolo
round out the juniors while Pete Vecchione
and Will Botterman enter their sophomore
seasons after making a big splash during
their freshman seasons. Some players who
saw significant playing time and made major contributions include sophomores Tyler
Howe Ryan and Austin Stearns. Between
them is nearly 15 years of starting experience, which should help ease the growing
pains of such a young team.
"Our four seniors are all leaders in their

own way and we will look to them to step
up in every aspect this spring," said McCaffrey. "Our young players have shown incredible maturity in their development and
we expect them to also lead throughout the
season."
In the past few years, one lingering problem has been the Colonels inability to find
the back of the net. This year, McCaffrey
doesn't see this as a dilemma.
"Our senior midfielders as well as juniors
in the same position combined with quality
returnees and freshman at the attack position should alleviate this issue."
Instead of trying to be on the offensive
this year, the Colonels need someone to
man their own goal as graduation took the
biggest hit on the Colonels net minder.
McCaffrey liked what he saw last fall, and
sees a team bonding better than in the past.

"It will be a tough road to make the playoffs this season but it remains one of our
team goals," offered McCaffrey. This particular group of players has meshed better
than any we've had previously here; they
are a tight knit group."
The team is excited to get on the field
and show how much they have improved
over the course of the season. Botterman, a
sophomore pharmacy major, has big expectations for the team this season.
"We have improved a lot from last year,"
says Botterman. "I think we can at least reverse our record from last year and make a
run in the playoffs."
#We'll see how much the team has progressed on February 8 when they open up
against Broome Community College in
Binghamton, New York.

Athletic departIDent introduces new website
BY GINO TROIANI
Beacon Op-Ed Editor

This year, the Wilkes sports page has received a complete face lift which has made
it competitive with other schools for the
first time in years.
The need for an updated sports page was a
lurking problem within the athletics department and the creation process began in July
oflast year. Teaming up with Internet Consultant Services (ICS), Phil Wingert (associate director of Athletics), Sara Myers (head
coach of field hockey), Adelene Malatesta
(athletic director), Craig Thomas (assistant
director of Marketing Communications),
and Andrew Sekula (graduate assistant of
Athletics), began drawing the blue prints for
what would be the new and improved page,
www.GoWilkesU.com. The page offers information for the University's, 16 varsity
sports and combines interactive technology
with traditional sports coverage.
According to Jack Chielli, executive director of Marketing Communications, production took roughly 2 months and totaled
$5,400. In addition, there will be an annual

maintenance cost of $4,300.
The design for the new page was derived from a template which was originally used by William Patterson University. Once the groundwork was finished,
the group of directors began the decision process as to what applications the
site would host.
Craig Merriman, Sports Information
Director, said some of those features include live stats (which are required by
the conference), player bios and links
for both the fitness center and University. The site has also drastically updated
its graphics and staff directory. Wilkes is
in the process of including an individual
login where student athletes would possess the ability to view their workouts
and schedules posted by coaches. Mer- The new Wilkes University Athletics website was launched over the Holiday break and
riman hopes to introduce this feature be- can be accessed by visiting gowilkesu.com.
fore the end of the spring semester.
Chielli explained, "It gives a lot more
out of date ... Other schools almost laughed
Merriman explained that the effort to
information
to student athletes and their
switch to ICS was somewhat of a "trickle at how bad it was." Sekula also spent a sigparents
...
it's
a very large step in the right
down effect" and that around eighty percent nificant amount of time transferring large
direction."
of the schools in our division are ICS cus- amounts of data to the new site.
tomers.
"Were pleased with it, it's a great recruitSekula added, "Our old site was just so ing tool for us," said Malatesta.

'W' 11 ii ◄JI:&lt; •B)S &lt;O&lt;C&gt;JC...&lt;C&gt;N 18) 11
Men's Basketball

Wrestling

W King's 80-72
L Del Val 81-75

TTCNJ 17-17

◄s

Women's Basketball
W King's 65-61 (2 OT)
L Del Val 75-60

�c - - - , ~

-

--

FEBRUARY

--

3, 2009

-

----.

--

20

SPORTS

Lady Colonels defeat rival King's in double OT
Breaks long losing streak to in cross town rival
BY LEEANN SEARFOSS

said head coach Rachel
Hartung Emmerthal.
While King's took an
The crowd at the Marts Gymearly lead, and led most
nasium on Thursday, January 29
of the first half, the Lady
went from sparse to jam-packed
Colonels made sure to
as the Wilkes Lady Colonels took
gap was not too big.
on the King's Lady Monarchs in a
With only a few minutes
face-paced, aggressive match up.
left in the first half, the
Postponed from January 28 due
Lady Colonels turned on
to inclement weather, the Lady
the gas and came
back with
intense
runs to tie
up the score
right before
halftime.
Sophomore guard
Allison
Horn sank
a
three
pointer Number 25 Samantha Simcox prepares for a foul shot in last Thursday
right before night's match up again King's College.
the buzzer
to give the
tonight. She is one of those play- 60. The Monarchs began panickLady Colonels a ers that is under-sized, but she will ing and fouling, giving the Lady
three-point
edge be ripping down rebounds."
Colonels foul shot opportunities.
over the Monarchs
Senior Chelsey Gosse made a Both Ely and Simcox took advanlay-up between two King's de- tage of the foul opportunities and
going into the half.
The
extremely fenders with 26 seconds left in went 1-1 and 2-0 respectively.
physical
second regulation to tie the game at 52.
The made foul shots pushed the
half had periods
Wilkes then battled back from a Lady Colonel's lead to 65-61. As
of
aggression,
seven-point deficit with 2:45 to the seconds counted down on the
evidenced by the play, using a 9-2 run the rest of clock, the crowd rose to its feet
double foul called the way to force overtime. Gosse and cheered furiously. The Wilon both Wilkes and finished with seven points and a kes win would snap a multi-year
King's at the same game-high 12 rebounds.
losing streak against King's.
time.
Sophomore guard Brittany Ely
"We are a very young team, but
Freshman
Sahelped the Lady Colonels push these girls put so much heart into
mantha
Simcox through the first overtime with her it and never gave up," stated Harkept the team neckthree pointer with 1:21 to go. The tung Emmerthal.
and-neck with the first overtime finished in a tie at
The win evens the Lady Colonels Freedom Conference record
Monarchs
with 59-59.
her career-high 28
As the second overtime com- at 5-5 and are now 10-8 overpoints and nine remenced, the crowd began to grow all. They will be back in action
bounds.
and grow, and the intensity height- Wednesday, February 4, when
Hartung Emmer- ened as Wilkes took the lead 60- they visit DeSales at 6:00p.m.
thal reflected on 59 with three minutes left in the and again on Saturday, February
Number 25 Brittany Ely dribbles past a King's defender on Thursday January Simcox's play after second overtime.
7, at FDU-Florham at 1:00p.m.
29 en route to the Lady Colonels 65-62 double overtime win over their cross- the game, "Simcox
With 38 seconds left, Wilkes
town rival.
did a very nice job kept its lead with a score of 61Beacon Asst. Lifestyles Editor

Monarchs traveled all of five
blocks to uphold the tradition of
the rivalry between Wilkes and
King's.
"It's always a rivalry. It's always
a big game, no matter what sport it
is, and to have us be able to work
so hard to come back from losing
down there, and now being able to
beat them at our gym [is a thrill],"

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Attend the Ski Club
meeting at 11:30 a.m.
Contact AmY, Bradley
for location (x 4624).

Enjoy a cu~ of coffee at 3:00 p.m.the
Multicultural Coffee
Hour at the Savitz
Multicultural Lounge

Always waiting til the
last minute? Go to the
Procrastination WorkshoP. from 12:00 _p.m.
to 1:00 PJ'.11. at Penn
State
Wilkes-Barre.

Go watch the Vagina
Monologues in the Ballroom on the second floor
of the Student Union
Building at 7:00 p.m.

Painting the
Beauliful: American
~mpre~sionist. Paintings ,s oP,enmg on
Monday, Feb. 2 at 12
PM at the Sordoni
Art Gallery.

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�</text>
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              <name>Description</name>
              <description>An account of the resource</description>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366514">
                  <text>&lt;p&gt;This is Wilkes University's &lt;em&gt;Beacon&lt;/em&gt; Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the &lt;em&gt;Beacon's&lt;/em&gt; predecessors, &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Bison Stampede&lt;/em&gt;, 1934-1935 and &lt;em&gt;The Bucknell Beacon&lt;/em&gt;, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact &lt;a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua"&gt;Bucknell University's Special Collections Department&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Missing Issues:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1947 August 8th&lt;br /&gt;1947 September 5th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 3rd&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 17th&lt;br /&gt;1947 October 31st&lt;br /&gt;1947 November 21st&lt;br /&gt;1947 December 19th&lt;br /&gt;1948 September 9th&lt;br /&gt;1950 April 28th&lt;br /&gt;1953 April 10th&lt;br /&gt;1962 February 2nd&lt;/p&gt;</text>
                </elementText>
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            <element elementId="39">
              <name>Creator</name>
              <description>An entity primarily responsible for making the resource</description>
              <elementTextContainer>
                <elementText elementTextId="366515">
                  <text>The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department.</text>
                </elementText>
              </elementTextContainer>
            </element>
            <element elementId="40">
              <name>Date</name>
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                  <text>1934-present</text>
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              </elementTextContainer>
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            <element elementId="47">
              <name>Rights</name>
              <description>Information about rights held in and over the resource</description>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366517">
                  <text>Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. </text>
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              <name>Format</name>
              <description>The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource</description>
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            <element elementId="44">
              <name>Language</name>
              <description>A language of the resource</description>
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                  <text>English</text>
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                <elementText elementTextId="366521">
                  <text>Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a &lt;a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/"&gt;legacy website&lt;/a&gt;. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward.</text>
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                <text>Wilkes Beacon 2009 February 3rd</text>
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            <name>Publisher</name>
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                <text>Wilkes University</text>
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