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FRIDAY, MAR. 4, 2016
VOLUME CXXXIXVII
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T H E H O LC A D
W E S T M I N S T E R
S T U D E N T
C O L L E G E ' S
N E W S P A P E R
A1
READ ONLINE AT
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opinion A2
How the Oscars hit major social issues
news A4
Slavic academic journal
now headed by Dr. Martin
sports A5
Heath Miller retires
a&e B1
Mental illness in pop culture
features B5
Upcoming ALLARM &
Green Party Events
Sam Angelo
WEEKEND Westminster throws OxFam Hunger banquet
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Westminster!
Anne Walther
Staff Writer
On Feb. 23 Westminster College hosted its first
OxFam Hunger Banquet since 2010. It was sponsored by the Office of Faith and Spirituality, the
international studies program, sodexo and the
Newman club. The banquet was ran by Kristin
Park, a professor of Sociology, and Diane Gabriel,
the executive secretary at the Office of Faith and
Spirituality.
“I'm teaching a course called food culture and
society so I'm trying to find opportunities that use
experiential learning around the theme of food"
Park said. “We do quite a bit of studying hunger
both globally and right here in the United States.
It seems like a natural co curricular event. A few
of my students volunteered to set up and run it. I
approached Reverend Mohr and Diane Gabriel to
be a part of it because I remembered that it happened a number of years ago”.
Participants pay $5 to take part in the event. They
come in and turn in their ticket at the door. Those
who turned in a ticket are then given a second
ticket, randomly assigned, Each one of these
tickets sorts participants into one of three classes.
50 percent were sorted into the lower class, 30
percent were sorted into the middle class and 20
percent were sorted into the upper class.
Each person was also given a character explaining
how they were in that specific class. Those in the
lower class sat on the ground, and they were given
rice and beans. The middle class sat on crates and
were given pasta with red sauce. Upper class individuals sat in chairs and they were given beef tips
and noodles.
“There is another piece of the program where a
student emcee speaks and some of the students
who have a sticker code on the back of their ticket
have to move up or down a class depending on
what happened in the life of their character,"
Gabriel said. "So you have to move up a class or down
a class because maybe your shop took off or your corn
crop failed."
Sodexo donated the food, so the event was able to donate the proceeds to organizations that support the fight
against hunger.
“We decided that half of the proceeds would go to OxFam world hunger to work on grassroots efforts to help
global poverty," Park said. "The other half is for local efforts like cray youth and family services in New Castle,
Pa. especially their after school program which includes
feeding disadvantaged children."
The event was emceed by freshman political science
major Michael Angiolelli.
“I felt so honored to serve as the master of ceremonies
for the OxFam America hunger banquet," Angiolelli
said. "The evening was a very moving one. It truly put
into perspective how thankful we should be for all the
blessings we have in life, especially blessings such food
that many take for granted. It is beyond egregious,
outrageous an erroneous that around the whole world is
plagued by food and equality due to an unequal distribution of resources. Oxfam America strives to help
people in 90 countries from the bottom up and put
hunger to rest."
Along with the OxFam hunger banquet, Westminster
has taken on other efforts to better the world around
them and help fight global hunger.
“I am so pleased when Westminster adopted the program to donate food to the City [Rescue] Mission this
year," Angiolelli said. "I heard we have donated more
than 900 pounds of food this year and for that we
should all be thankful. With problems so large, it oftentimes seems like an individual, especially one without
considerable resources or power, cannot make a considerable impact. However, this is not the case. Change
starts in the hearts of individuals before we can work
as a collective. We all can all make a difference, starting
with you.”
Dr. Buffalari Presents Research at SRU
Rachel Shussett
Editor-in-Chief
A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Deanne Buffalari was the opening speaker
for a series being held at Slippery Rock University to kick off its new
neuroscience program.
Buffalari has been a professor at Westminster College since 2014, serving as an associate professor of psychology. During this time, she has
worked to advance her research regarding responses to stress and addictions with positive and negative stimuli.
"I am interested primarily on how things go from being adaptive to maladaptive. Stress, for example, is actually a good thing. It's important for
us to have a stress response, it's important for us and, you know, if you
think evolutionarily, it's important for an animal when it encounters a
predator, to have a stress response so that it can either try and fight or
flee," Buffalari said.
She then went on to explain that in humans, the stress response can go
bad. It may manifest in chronic stress, anxiety disorders or depression.
She is studying where this stress goes from being adaptive to maladaptive, as well as the same progression with addictions. She also is curious
as to why some people respond so differently from others.
To do this research, she does her testing on rats. The research she has
done on them was the topic of her presentation at SRU. This type of testing has translated to the research of her neuroscience students, as well.
"One of my most recent capstone students was interested in Parkin-
son’s disease and what she was primarily interested in was, there's this
strange interaction with Parkinson’s disease where women are less likely
to get Parkinson’s disease than men. People think that that's partly due
to estrogen," Buffalari said. "And then there's another effect, caffeine is
thought to be somewhat neuroprotective against Parkinsons so if you
drink coffee you're less likely to get it. But, when you put those two
things together, you lose the benefits in women."
Buffalari is incredibly popular among her current students, as well as
past ones. Both junior Ashlyn Brown and senior Brenna Guard consider her their mentor as they move through the neuroscience program
here.
"She has helped me in about 385 ways and I could never express just
how thankful I am for all of her help. She does everything from help
me develop the best course of study for what I am specifically interested
in within neuroscience to giving me research opportunities as well as
research conference exposure," Brown said.
She explained that Buffalari has allowed her to broaden her horizons as
well as explore neuroscience in ways that she never anticipated.
"This entire year has pretty much been about me rounding out my
experience and rounding out my resume so that I can get a really
awesome job next fall, and I just am getting to do things and practice
techniques with Dr. B that I wouldn't have ever been able to otherwise,"
Guard said.
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The Oscars: More Than an Awards Show
holcad@westminster.edu
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EDITORIAL STAFF
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COLUMNISTS
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Jonathon Krebs
WRITERS
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Annie Walther, Rachel Eliser, Heaven
Brown, Pat Gaughan, Zack Shively, Annie
Trombetta, Mackenzie DuBrock,
Emiley Westfall, Danny Owoc,
Marisa Toensing, Jen PIascik
The Holcad
@theholcad
Rachel Shussett
Editor-in-Chief
This past Sunday, The Academy Awards aired, and of
course I watched them. My mom and I have been doing
so for years, and I wasn't about to miss them this time
around, even if we were six hours apart.
I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things that
happened in the midst of the awards show. Leo finally got
his Oscar, Girl Scouts sold thousands of dollars of Thin
Mints and Trefoils and "Spotlight" won Best Picture (now
go see it, it's important).
However, these were small wins compared to some
of the social justice issues that were brought up in various
speeches and performances. Those really made the night
for me. Here are a few of the big ones that really brought
me to my feet (so to speak).
Race issues. It is pretty commonly known that this
year, as in many before, there were absolutely no black
nominees. Chris Rock brought this up on multiple occasions, namely during his opening monologue.
"I'm at the Acadamy Awards, also known as the White
People's Choice Awards," he said at the very beginning of
the show.
He went on to say that this is not the first time that
this has happened, nor will it be the last. He joked that to
get an award, African Americans would need their own
categories. He went on to say this, far more seriously in
reference to the number of killings and hate crimes toward
the black community:
"This year, in the 'In Memoriam' package, it's just going to be black people shot on the way to the movies."
Feminism. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the only Pakistani to ever win two Oscars, was the director of "A Girl
in the River - The Price of Forgiveness." This film, winner of Best Short Subject Documentary Film, is focused
on an 18-year old woman that survived the honor killing
her own family subjected her to. This is a subject that, as
a whole, is not generally covered--which is exactly why
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Managing Editor
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Obaid-Chinoy made the film.
"This is what happens when determined women get
together," she said during her acceptance speech.
Saving the planet. Leo, when he could have been salty
about having only just recieved an Oscar, instead brought
the issue of climate change to the platform. Here is what
he said:
"And lastly, I just want to say this: Making 'The Revenant' was about man's relationship to the natural world.
A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest
year in recorded history. Our production needed to move
to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find
snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It
is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we
need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do
not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of
humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the
billions and billions of underprivileged people out there
who would be most affected by this. For our children’s
children, and for those people out there whose voices have
been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all
for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet
for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you
so very much."
Helping and supporting victims of sexual assault.
This topic came up when Vice President Joe Biden introduced Lady Gaga to the stage.
"We must and we can change the culture so no abused
woman or man ever feels they have to ask themselves,
'what did I do?' They did nothing wrong," Biden said.
Gaga sang an incredibly moving performance of "Til
It Happens to You," the song that she wrote for the movie
"The Hunting Ground." The film is focused on the issue
of sexual assault and rape on campuses, a major topic of
discussion and contention these days. Near the end of the
performance, 50 survivors came on stage with words such
as "not my fault" and "it's on us" written on their arms. It
was a truly beautiful and heartbreaking moment.
This topic was also broached by the directors of
"Spotlight" when they won Best Picture. This film was
centered on the true story of the spotlight journalists of
the Boston Globe and the work that they did to uncover
the issue of pedophilia and rape among Catholic priests
in Boston.
"This film gave a voice to survivors, and this Oscar
amplifies that voice which we hope will become a choir
that will resonate all the way to the Vatican," producer
Michael Sugar said. "Pope Francis, it’s time to protect the
children and restore the faith. Thank you very much."
A Special Kind of Leap Year
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Everyone has that one moment in life, the one you
didn’t see coming and the one that could completely alter
your life forever.
For me, that moment was during the final few months
during my senior year of high school. I can remember the
moment like it was yesterday. I stayed at school late to
practice for the upcoming choral production. When my
mom came to pick me up after the practice, the news hit
me like a ton of bricks. She told me my grandmother only
had weeks left to live. I felt as if the breath had been kicked
out of my chest. I didn’t know what to do, so I simply collapsed on the edge of the concrete sidewalk and cried.
My grandma had been sick for many years with a rare
condition known as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
which only affects five or six people out of every 100,000.
It is a neurodegenerative brain disease that has no known
cause, treatment or cure. The symptoms begin to show in
the early 60s, and it affects walking, balance, mobility, vision, speech and swallowing. In my experience, the most
frustrating thing is how little everyone knows about the
disease. I couldn’t count how many times doctors were
not able to properly diagnose the condition. The most
common conclusion was that she had the early on-set
symptoms of Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease.
From that moment on in my life, everything changed.
The world as I knew it would never be the same. Uma, the
nickname I gave my grandma before I was too young to
say "grandma," took on a whole different meaning. It went
from having the feelings of warmth and love to having the
feelings of fear and emptiness.
At that point in my life, I had never faced such a personal tragedy before. Sure, before that, I would always
overdramatize small, trivial situations, and I would say,
"The world is ending.” Never before in my life had I felt
such a numbing pain that simply wouldn’t go away. During those few weeks, everything I saw or heard somehow
reminded me of her.
Now, I don’t want to use this column to bring everyone down. I want to write about life, hope and new beginnings. In the midst of all of this tragedy and looking back
on the experience, I recognize how important those few
weeks were.
My grandma passed away on March 23, 2012. There
are times when I wish she was still here, like to see my
high school graduation, all of my college accomplishments, my upcoming college graduation and all of the
other important milestones after that. But then are all of
the other times that I am thankful for her being there, like
the times she would let me have ice cream even though
my mom disapproved or the times when we would sit on
my grandparents' couch and read Richard Scary’s books.
March 23, 2013 was also the day when I came to
Westminster for my second overnight visit. It was the day
when I fell in love with Westminster, and in a cheesy sort
of way, it was similar to one of my life doors closing and
another one opening. Not only did this experience show
me strength and guidance, but it also showed me how loving and tenacious my family is.
PSP slowly transformed my grandma over 10 years.
For 10 years, my grandpa and mom stood by her side
through every step of the way. It’s kind of hard to imagine waking up day after day to the harsh reality. But from
what I saw, they never once complained about having to
do even the simple things for her, like feeding her breakfast or helping her in and out of chairs. When it was all
happening, I was too young to realize how great gestures
like that truly are. That’s the kind of love everyone can
only dream of having: someone who will love you to the
very end, no matter how badly your body or mind are failing you.
Feb. 29 is Rare Disease Day, when people around the
world come together to celebrate life and fight against rare
diseases, such as PSP. Not only is this a day for the patients themselves, but also for their families and caregivers, who practically put their own lives on hold in order to
take care of the people they love so dearly. Even though
Feb. 29 will have passed by the time this article is printed,
I want to encourage all of you reading this column to reflect on the people you love who are still fighting or have
lost their battle with a rare disease.
Every day gets a little easier, but I honestly don’t believe the pain will ever truly go away. There have been
many times when I wonder if something more could have
been done for her, or if her life would have been easier if
the doctors were able to properly diagnose and treat her.
Now all that’s left to do is keep fighting: fighting in her
memory, and fighting for all of those patients and loved
ones who are currently going through what my family
went through four years ago.
We have to keep fighting. Why? Because there will
always be the hope one day of moving one step closer to
finding a cure.
If you are interested in finding out more information
about PSP and related diseases or making a donation toward research and patient care, visit www.psp.org.
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The Power of Silence
Pano Constantine
Columnist
Earlier today before I began writing this column,
I was at my niece’s first birthday party. I was enjoying spending time with my family and friends in honor
of somebody who was totally oblivious. On the drive
home, I forgot to turn on my radio in the midst of
everything that was going on around me. As I drove
home, I immediately realized something was different
about this car ride, and it was the sound of complete
silence.
I’m not the type of person to do yoga or practice
meditation, but at that time, I thoroughly enjoyed the
serene sense of peacefulness. In those moments of silence, I began thinking about exactly that – silence.
Something about doing nothing, being unplugged, and
focused nothing save the mindless action of freeway
driving had a profound effect upon my being.
It is an interesting phenomenon in our everyday
life that we fear silence. At nearly all times of the day
we bombard our senses with objects and devices to
overstimulate ourselves. We even coin the term “awkward silence” to describe moments where there is
nothing filling that socially constructed void. A question I would love to know is why we fear the absence
of stimulation. To operationalize a bit, to me, silence
refers more to just sound, but plays a visual role as
well. This includes being on our phones, computers,
watching TV, etc.
What about silence is so soothing and relaxing that it
can have such an impact on a person? Being silent does
a lot of things for us. First and foremost, silence allows
for relaxation. Being fully disconnected from the world
is necessary for a person to be relaxed. When we assault
our senses on a constant basis we end up forcing our
bodies to be hyper-alert for a prolonged sense of time
which causes long term stress and inhibits our ability to
get a good night’s sleep.
Second, silence allows for reflection. My favorite
time of the day is when I work out. The time of day when
I exercise I also fully unplug from the world. I usually
do not listen to music, and I attempt to not check my
phone at all. I oftentimes leave my phone in my room.
Not having to check my phone or even worry about the
little “buzzes” notifying me of correspondences allows
me to fully focus on what I am doing and also to reflect
on what is going on in my life. When we do not find time
to unplug from our devices, we cheat our minds of their
abilities to freely think. This stifles creativity, productivity, self-awareness and autonomy. Some of the world’s
greatest thinkers and visionaries have been people who
spent significant portions of time away from people
and by themselves in quiet reflection. Staying plugged
in hampers our ability to reflect and cheats us of truly
knowing ourselves.
Finally, making time to withdraw from the world
helps your brain physiologically. Research out of UCLA
has shown that taking time to sit and reflect while completely shut off from the world helps with the “folding”
in your brain which in turn helps boost our ability to process information. Additionally silent focus helps thicken
our brain’s grey matter. These two differences help your
brain to better improve its memory, decreases overall
burnout, increases a person’s sensitivity, and helps with
self-awareness. Sitting in silence also increases the number of “a-ha” moments a person can have.
When looking at the list of benefits to having a time
for silence, it seems like a common sense thing to do. It
is also important to keep in mind that it is unnecessary to
really spend a ton of time in silence – even 10 minutes
a day can do the trick. Silence is so important for us to
engage in and completely undervalued.
I’m not sure if I will fully understand why silence
was so beneficial to me driving home or what I was experiencing, but I do know for sure that silence is something everyone should schedule into their day and utilize
that time to really enjoy the activity of nothingness.
Harper Lee's Lessons
Emily Williams
Columnist
“Things are never as bad as they seem” – Harper Lee
I know that I’m already very late on this one,
but Harper Lee’s passing two weeks ago was a
shock to the literary world and all of those who appreciate it. For me, it was really sad. One of the
greatest classic writers was gone. Lately, the world
has been losing a lot of greats, and there really isn’t
much to be done.
In any case, Harper Lee was one of those writers that I would always come back and reread. No
matter what was going on, or what else I was involved in, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was just one
of those books I always found myself reading over
and over again.
I’ll never forget reading it for the first time in
my middle school English class. My teacher was so
passionate about it that I was motivated even more
to read it just to find what it was that made him so
excited to talk about it in class every day. After I
started college and began my major in English, I
finally understood what it was: it was her fearless
and completely real writing that drew audiences in
for years and years.
At the time that "Mockingbird" was published, she
was very bold and she expressed the racial inequality
problems in Alabama through the innocent eyes of a
child. No other author had the guts to publish something
so daring at the time. Even with the publication of her
second novel, millions came back and read her writing
some more.
One of the many things I love about her writing is the
fact that she so quotable. Nearly any line can be picked
out of "To Kill a Mockingbird," and people will instantly
know that it was from that novel. I personally really like
“Things are never as bad as they seem” because she is
so, so right. There are definitely days where it feels like
the world is against you and everything is going wrong,
but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not as bad as it
could be.
I know when I was younger I would always fall into
the belief that a bad day is possibly the worst thing ever.
The older I got, the more I realized that having a bad day
is just a part of life. Having a bad day can make you appreciate the good ones even more. When you see life that
way, bad days just become other days.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a day:
you wake up late, you leave your keys in your room, you
forget half of your books and homework, you’re late to
work and it seems like the day will never end. However,
instead of being so wrapped up in how bad of a day that
it was, be positive.
I bet the last time you had a bad day, your mood was
altered as well. I’ve come to the conclusion that as long
as you try and keep your attitude as positive as possible,
a bad day really doesn’t seem that bad. See the great in
every day; the fact that the sun is shining, you got an
A on that exam you thought you completely failed, or
when the TUB was having pierogies for lunch that day.
It’s the little things in every day that make them great.
Obviously, you can’t force yourself to be positive,
there’s no point to forcing yourself to be positive. If you
can at least try your hardest to see the good in every day,
having a bad day will be few and far between and harder
to have. There’s always a bright side to this: there is always tomorrow, and today is just one day.
Every day is just one day out of the 365 (or 366) you
have in a year, and the many, many more to come in your
life. It’s okay if you have a bad day, and it will not be and
is not that bad.
One of the greatest things that I took away from
Lee’s writing was to write fearlessly and even if it takes
fifty years, to never give up on what you love. Thank
you, Harper Lee.
The Artistic Merit of A Good Game
Jonathon Krebs
Columnist
What is art? A vague question, I know. I’ve been
thinking about this question a lot over the last few
weeks. Last week, I wrote about the prevalence and
importance of violence in video games in video
games. Writing about that got me thinking. Can video games be considered art? My initial thought was
“of course,” and I think I can explain why.
To start, we need to define exactly what “art”
is. Googling the question “what is art?” returns a
straightforward definition immediately. It states that
art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form
such as painting or sculpture.” This definition doesn’t
touch on writing or film, but I would include those in
a definition of art as well. By this definition, I think
it’s easy to see that video games can – and should –
be considered art.
If art is the expression or application of human
creativity, video games are definitively art. Most, at
least. Creativity comes from many different sources,
but it can be seen in many video games, old and new,
that creativity is largely responsible for their creation. Even something as simple as the original Leg-
end of Zelda is a massively expressive form of creativity.
The world may be two dimensional and the plot may be
simple, but that doesn’t detract from the game’s depth.
Depth is a contentious issue in the art world, especially in the case of writing and filmmaking. I don’t
typically subscribe to the idea that some art is good and
some is bad, all dependent on the treatment of heavy
themes or something like that. Art can be bad, or good.
But it doesn’t have to tackle big ideas to be good. Simple
can be good. Simple can be bad. This is how the difference between “literary” fiction and more common, or
simpler, fiction is made. Video games are similarly able
to address larger, more complex issues. They don’t have
to, though. Art itself doesn’t have to at all.
Video games have embraced the philosophical and
found success in a number of artistic ways. The enormously popular Bioshock series has examined the faults
of a society which fully embraced Ayn Rand’s political
and social philosophies. It didn’t end well – but that’s the
point the video game creators were attempting to make.
Video games have even begun to perform meta-analysis
of themselves. Two prime examples of this shift are the
games "Shadow of the Colossus" and "The Stanley Parable." "Shadow of the Colossus" turns the established
stereotype of prince-saves-princess on its head by forcing the player, the “prince” character, to kill creatures to
save the princess after being told to do so by a voice in
the sky. The creatures, or colossi, are non-violent; they
only attack after the player does. The implications of this
are clear. Similarly, "The Stanley Parable" begs players
to consider the question “what is a video game?” Both
games accomplish these complex motives through aesthetically beautiful gameplay and wonderful storytelling.
Both "Shadow of the Colossus" and "The Stanley
Parable" become art through their treatment of heavy
themes and ideals. Art does not intrinsically have to address heavy ideas, though, as I’ve said. A painting of an
apple can be artistically beautiful and simple all at once.
The independently designed video game "Flower" is one
of the simplest ideas I’ve ever heard: each of the game’s
six levels has players do nothing but control a single
flower petal, blowing through the wind. It’s aesthetically
beautiful in its simplicity. Even with this simple concept,
a bit of depth can be found. This game, and others like it,
have loose narratives that beg players to piece together
the details on their own.
Art has obviously changed a lot over the course of
human history. Video games have joined the world of art
in a number of interesting ways, and should be embraced
for their artistic merit.
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T H E H O LC A D - W E S T M I N S T E R C O L L E G E , N E W W I L M I N G TO N , PA
Dr. Martin Becomes Editor
of Slavic Academic Journal
Megan Simpson
Staff Writer
It is one thing for a professor to teach a
subject, but it is another for him or her to be
truly immersed in the field.
History professor, Dr. Russell Martin, is
the Associate Editor of the Canadian American Slavic Studies Journal, and he will become the Editor in Chief starting on Jan. 1,
2017.
The journal was founded in 1967, and
it was strictly a Canadian journal until it expanded to the United States in 1971. It is a
peer-review journal that consists of articles,
essays, documents, illustrations and book
reviews about Slavic and Eastern European
culture. Therefore, the journal not only publishes pieces that have to do with Russia, but
also with the countries that influence Russia,
such as Romania, Albania, Greece, etc.
Martin brought the journal to the college.
He was nominated for the position by
a professor from Texas A&M who remembered Martin's impressive editing work on
several published books. After receiving the
go-ahead from Dean Jane Wood, Martin accepted the position.
“She right away understood that this
was a good thing for the college," Martin
said. "She got it, so I’m really grateful to
her. She’s generally been great to the college in that way.”
Even though Martin only holds the
title of Associate Editor, he is already the
functional Editor-in-Chief. The current
editor, Charles Schlacks, who has served
since the founding of the journal, was
injured and unable to continue his work,
but Martin refused to claim the title before it was necessary.
For Martin, however, it is more
about his students.
As of right now, Martin has two student assistants who work on the journal
just as much as he does. Senior Raechel
Pusateri and junior Andrew Henley carry
the titles of Editorial Assistants for the
journal, and they are receiving internship
credit for their work.
Even though this journal is an incredible way for Martin to add to his list
of accolades, he spoke more on the fact
that this journal is one of the best ways
for History and English majors to get an
internship with a premier journal in the
field that is provided on campus.
“Especially in the Liberal Arts, ev-
ery experience you have and everything you are comes with you into the
classroom," Martin said. "On that level,
I think that experience enhances what
you do everything you do, especially
teaching. We have to be the message of
not just conveying knowledge but creating it. It’s not enough to be great in
the classroom, not today. We have to be
productive scholars, and that’s always
translated into the classroom."
This is not a job Martin could take
on alone since he is already a professor
here and the translator for the webpage
of Russia's Grand Duchess, so he relies heavily on his two interns. In fact,
he says that they do most of the editing
on the articles that are sent to him to be
published, and it is necessary that they
have impeccable writing, reading, organization and communication skills.
"I think that it is an experience that
is much different from what I've done
before; it's very valuable for the future
and not only from an academic perspective but also from a personal development perspective," Henley said.
The journal is published four times
a year, so the editors are responsible for
editing approximately 40 articles over-
all. Martin hopes to gain at least four more
interns for next year so that he can have
two for the first semester and two for the
second. However, he says he will take all
the help he can get and will take more if
there are many applicants.
"This internship has given me a sense
of what it would be like to take the skills
that I've learned in the classroom and apply them to an actual job in a professional
setting," Pusateri said.
This journal is an opportunity that not
only enhances the reputation of the college but also the resumes of anyone who
becomes a part of the staff. There's only so
much that the classroom can teach; it's up
to the students to reach further and gain the
experience necessary to succeed.
"We have to generate knowledge here,
not just teach,” Martin said.
Any sophomore or junior who has interest in being one of Martin's assistants
next year, whether a History major, English major or neither, should contact him in
order to learn more about the job specifics.
Student, Faculty and Alumna
Present at Conference
Jen Piascik
Staff Writer
job to be effective. Dr. Robison has also
presented twice in the past about her research about educational experiences of
incarcerated women.
Dr. Paul Bones, assistant professor
of sociology and criminal justice studies presented, “Hegemony and Lifetime
Sexual Victimization: Examining the
Intersection of Gender, Physical Disability, and Sexual Minority Status.” James
Foltz, senior criminal justice studies
major, presented “Current Perspectives
of the Criminal Justice System” and Tricia Johnston ’14 presented “The Social
Ecology of Offender Decision Making: A
Developmental Framework.”
Dr. Smithey shared she loved the
conference because it brought together
people from many different disciplines,
such as political science, sociology,
criminology, and the criminal justice system to name a few.
"There’s a whole bunch of different kinds of things going on at the same
time," Smithey said. "It’s nice because
you here from people of multiple disciplinary perspectives about things that
you might be interested in. There are
people who study pop culture and so
they look at depictions of the criminal
justice system and movies and television. There’s been a couple of panels
on Orange is the New Black and how
depictions of prison life in Orange is the
New Black compare to actual prison life
and does that affect the way that people
look at does fictionalized prison influence attitude towards real prison and it
does.”
Dr. Robison has being going to the
conference for many years and has presented at most of them. She expressed
how influential that these conferences
can be for collaboration and networking.
Dr. Robison shared her experience
and thoughts about the conferene. “You
go to this conference and there’s thousands of people there so you feel kind of
lost, but what’s happened is after going
year to year, you kind of realize that even
though it’s this huge place there’s like five
people or so who are doing the research
you’re interested in," she said. "You find
each other because you go to each other’s
presentations and then you see each other
year to year and then eventually the goal
is that it turns into some sort of collaboration."
Robison recently published a book
chapter edited by a colleague who she
met and formed a relationship through the
Criminology conference.
Robison also noted how it feels to take
students to these conferences and see them
grow as students and then as professionals. This year, Westminster alumna Tricia Johnston ’14 presented an article that
she had published as a graduate student at
Georgia State University.
“It was really fulfilling to come fullcircle seeing a student that I took to the
conference is now going on her own and
presenting and publishing,” Robison said.
Students, faculty and alumni represented Westminster at The American Society of
Criminology in Washington D.C. this year.
According to their website, The American
Society of Criminology is an organization
whose members pursue scholarly, scientific
and professional knowledge concerning the
measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control and treatment of crime and
delinquency. Westminster is known to send
faculty and students to many prestigious and
national conferences for many years. This is
the fifth year Westminster has sent representatives to the conference, with the conference being in different cities every year. In
the past, it was held in Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. Next year it will be held
in New Orleans.
Dr. Shannon Smithey, associate professor of political science, presented her most
recent research, “The Impact of Perceptions
of Crime and Justice on Support for Democracy in Africa.” This research delved into the
topic of newly formed governments and why
people do or do not support it and how crime
reflects these sentiments about the state.
Dr. Smithey also co-presented, “What
Works? Probation Officers’ View on Adult
Probation,” with Dr. Kristenne Robison, associate professor of sociology and criminal
justice studies. This is an ongoing longitudinal study regarding adult probation. They
started collecting recidivism data for this
study in 2011, and they have presented earlier data from this study at the Criminology
conference before. Recidivism is the act of
a person repeating an undesirable behavior
after they had either experienced negative
consequences of that behavior, or had been
trained to extinguish that behavior. It is also
used to refer to the percentage of former
prisoners who are rearrested for a similar
offense. They are collecting data for their
last data point and plan to present the finished study at next years’ conference. This
data point includes interviewing those who
work in the probation setting, if they think
that they are helping and if they see their Johnston '14, Dr. Robison (middle) and Dr. Smithey (right) present at the crimonology
conference.
westminster.edu
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FRIDAY, MAR. 4, 2016
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
By Francesca Nardone
Sports Editor
The idolization of athletes happens around the world. People
dream about being as good at
sports as these athletes in the hopes
that some day they will be on the
same skill level. However, does this
kind of fan girl crush or bromance
with your favorite athlete lead to
more leniency in the courtroom?
If you ask the officials who help
with these cases, they would say no
one was blinded by the limelight
of these celebrities. They held firm
to their beliefs just as they would
any other person. I'm sure there are
some judges and juries out there
who believe they have done so.
However, there are some cases that
prove those statements false.
Professional basketball player
Gilbert Arenas was sent to a halfway house for his crime, according to ESPN. Seems like his crime
would be pretty small for such a
simple sentence: he received a gun
charge, a crime that would typically
receive a minimum sentence of
five years, according to fas.org. He
may have reached a plea agreement
with the judge, according to washingtonpost.com. Normally, pleas of
guilt sometime do not let a person
off the hook for that many years of
prison.
In 2009, Donte Stallworth was
charged for involuntary manslaughter in Fla., a crime that re-
ceives 10 to 16 months in prison as
punishment, according to findlaw.
com. For Stallworth, this conviction meant 30 days in prison and
being suspended from the NFL
for the season, according to nfl.
com. Although the NFL may have
suspended him for the season, that
does not take away from the fact
that he should not have been able to
play during the season. Not because
they suspended him, but because
he was doing his time in prison like
any other person would.
There is not a single case where
a professional athlete got let off
easy that bothers me more than the
incident with Ray Rice in 2014. The
fact that he got away with what he
did, physically harming his fiancé
of the time, barely begins to scratch
the surface of everything that went
wrong with this situation. According to sbnation.com, his head coach
addressed the situation, saying the
main take away from the situation
was Rice and his wife had issues to
work on and they were doing that.
Other big names in the NFL, like
Roger Goodell, tried to turn their
heads away from the situation like
it was no big deal. The video surfaced of Rice dragging his now wife
out of the elevator in Feb. Goodell
made a statement in March saying
the NFL knew about the incident
and he did not know if there would
be punishment. He would let the
facts dictate that.
I am not saying these cases
where people get let off easy just
happen to celebrities. There could
be times when people deserve a
break, a judge sees that, and they
are let off easy. However, some
of these cases just seem too big
for punishments like a halfway
house, 30 days in jail, and being
indefinitely suspended from the
NFL. What kind of example are
these athletes setting not only for
their adult fans, but the youth of
the world who watch and admire them? Oh, it is okay kids if
enough people know your name
and are fans you can get away with
anything. That is not okay.
It can be hard on those involved with the trial to be the
one who has to convict such
beloved athletes. Being the
center of attention for reporters, the news, and anyone who
has involved themselves in the
case through television, no one
wants to be the person who
sends away a person's favorite athlete is not a reputation
anyone would want. Until this
problem can be solved, athletes
may continue to receive fairly
minor sentences and set a poor
example for those who look up
to them.
sportswire.usatoday.com
Heath Miller Retires
By Emiley Westfall
Sports Writer
Many Steeler fans will be missing a certain player after it was
announced he is retiring. This
player isn’t only a great player, but
also a great person. Along with
receiving many awards playing
with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he
has also been involved with charity events. You don’t hear his name
in the news for being arrested or
being charged for certain violence
actions, but instead as being a
great player and role model for
the Steelers. That player is Steelers
tight end Heath Miller Jr.
Junior Nate McMaster is
someone who is constantly wearing Steelers jerseys and rooting for
the team, along with keeping up
with the players’ performances. “
I personally think Heath was the
best tight end in Steeler nation,"
McMaster said. "He was always a
reliable target for Ben.”
Many call Miller “Big Money”
or shout out the famous “Heeeeaaath” call when he completes a
pass. He brought a lot of energy to
the Steeler nation and was a key
player for the Steelers. His first
year of being drafted to play for
the Steelers, he was a strong candidate for Offensive Rookie of the
Year, finishing with 39 receptions
fanspeak.com
for 459 yards and six touchdowns.
Even though he didn’t receive the
award, he was still a big contribution to the Super Bowl XL game.
During that game, he caught
three passes for 61 yards and one
touchdown.
But he didn’t just stop performing well and settling after his first
season: He kept working hard and
kept up with being a key player
for the Steelers. In 2006 against
the Dolphins, he had the longest touchdown catch for a tight
end since 1974, which also was
a record for the longest caught
touchdown pass on Heinz field.
In 2011, he became the Steelers'
all-time leader in career receptions for tight end. During that
season, Miller was also named
to the USA Football’s All Fundamentals Team. After retiring,
Miller is announced to be the all
time leader in touchdowns (45)
and catches (592) by a tight end.
Senior Kayla Kormanik is a
big Steelers fan and even bigger Heath Miller fan. “I feel like
Heath Miller was one of the
greatest under mentioned players
Pittsburgh had. He held himself
with poise.”
Even though football was
Miller’s life, he took some time
outside of football to hold "Bid
for Hope." This event raised more
that $1.6 million in 2014, benefiting organizations under breast
cancer study and the integrated
oncology realm, which treats
mind, body and soul. Miller has
said he is happy to be able to be
involved if it means researching,
learning more and curing the
disease.
Junior Justin Dahl is a fan who
is going to greatly miss watching
Miller. “Heath Miller was a man
with class and a legendary player
that will be greatly missed.”
Miller is known for his humble personality. He’s an athlete
that has great ambition and
leadership on and off the field.
He knows the right time to say
something and how to say it correctly without screaming. Doing
those tasks have made many of
the Steelers players respect Miller
for who he is and for what he has
to say to them.
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FRIDAY, MAR. 4, 2016
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T H E H O LC A D - W E S T M I N S T E R C O L L E G E , N E W W I L M I N G TO N , PA
James Conner
on
practice field
despite
diagnosis
Conference Player of the Year in
2014, and he was named to seven
James Conner's toughest oppo- postseason All-America teams.
However, the new season
nent is within him and feeds off of
his strength, diminishing his own. brought new challenges for Conner.
Conner ran only eight times in
His toughest opponent never rests,
the
2015 season opener before he
but neither does Connor.
tore his MCL, and he was out for
On Thanksgiving Day, the
Pittsburgh Panther's All-American the rest season. His recovery was
running back was diagnosed with going smoothly until he started to
stage two Hodgkin lymphoma can- experience symptoms, such as a
cer, a cancer of the immune system puffy face and shortness of breath
that affects white blood cells called while he was working out during
rehab.
lymphocytes.
Conner was doing a phenomenal Tumors on his neck and chest
job as a running back for the Pitts- were blocking the flow of blood to
burgh Panthers. His freshman year, his head.
he averaged 5.5 yards per carry and "When I heard those words−`You
scored eight touchdowns, and his have cancer'−I admit I was scared,"
sophomore year he improved to 5.9 Conner said on Pitt's website. "But
yards per carry and 26 touchdowns. after thinking about it for a bit, I reThis along with an impressive 1,765 alized that fear is a choice. I choose
to not fear cancer. I choose to fight
yards earned him Atlantic Coast
By Megan Simpson
Sports Writer
it and I will win."
As of Feb. 11, Connor was only
through six of the twelve chemotherapy sessions that he has to
endure until May, but he was in
the weight room next day, according to espn.com. The day after that,
he was already practicing with his
teammates as shown in a video that
head coach Pat Narduzzi posted on
Twitter on Feb. 13.
Even though he claimed that
his performance in that video was
"sloppy," Conner refused to let cancer alter his habits and participated
in about 90 percent of the drills
that day.
"One year ago today I was asking
myself, `Why me?' Why was I the
lucky one to be getting the ACC
Player of the Year award when
I had so many teammates who
deserved it as much as me?" Conner said on Pitt's website. "Now one
year later, instead of asking, `Why
me?' I am saying, `Why not me?' I
can beat cancer."
Not only has Conner been
training during his illness, but his
doctor suggested to Conner that
he could return to play this season
and possibly as early as September.
Conner's goal is a date he circled
on his calendar: the ACC opener at
North Carolina on Sept. 24.
"With being an athlete you learn
to manage time, but you're also put
into situations with adversity....but
it's how you handle that adversity,
and James Conner really shows
that and embodies that," Pittsburgh
Panther fan and baseball player
Kellen Gursky said. "I don't think
anybody thought he was going to
have cancer, but the drive and the
heart he has is incredible."
It is apparent that Conner does
not view his cancer diagnosis as
career-ending. In fact, doctors say
that the cure rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is 85 percent to 95 percent.
"From my experience as a student athlete, the balance of school
and extracurricular activities is always a challenge but I could never
imagine the struggles of dealing
with a health problem on top of
that especially for a Division I athlete," cross country athlete Matthew
Slagle said.
Nonetheless, Conner somehow
manages to find time to do extensive volunteer work with Children's
Hospital, World Vision and the
National Kidney Foundation. During his hospital visits, he hands out
used game gloves as souvenirs to
children.
"What makes an athlete successful is staying within yourself,"
Pitt fan and Westminster baseball
player Justin Abbs said. "You cannot try to be someone that you are
not. James knows that he is a leader
on his team. For him to show up,
even when he was injured and be
able to support his teammates and
help coach them in any way that he
could, I would say he had a successful year last year."
Conner's success as an athlete
has helped him fight the toughest
competitor that he will ever face,
but it is one that has not gotten the
best of him.
Unconventional Sports in
the Spotlight
theclubfit.com
By Mackenzie DuBrock
Sports Writer
When thinking of the word “sports,” what comes to your mind?
Did you think of football? Or did you think of basketball? How about
soccer, tennis, baseball or softball? These are some of the more popular sports that most people think of, watch and play. However, there
are many unconventional sports that students across Westminster
enjoy to play.
One unconventional sport that seems popular among students
is racquetball. Racquetball has similar rules to tennis but is played
indoors. Hitting the ball off of the walls with a racket on the court is
how to scores points.
“It is a really good stress reliever," sophomore Lucas Turner
said. "I like to practice alone with music in, and it is fast paced
which keeps the energy up."
Senior Aaron Shifflett also plays racquetball in his spare time.
“I play racquetball because I'm not really a team sports person," Shifflett said. "I like playing games that are me versus
someone else. I also play because it is one of the few things on
campus that is not crowded. It allows my friends and I to blow
off steam, but it is not in a crowded area, like playing catch in the
quad.”
One of the main reasons students like these unconventional
sports is the stress relief it gives them. Another example of one
of these stress-relieving sports is golf.
“[Golf] is very relaxing to watch,” sophomore Courtney Cohen said. Cohen is on the Titan’s softball team, but she enjoys
watching golf from time to time. “That’s why I like to watch it. I
know a little about the rules. I usually just watch it to relax, and
also I think it's interesting the different level of competition that
goes on. I know it's still competitive, but it's different then the
competitiveness in softball.”
Senior Joshua Wentz also enjoys golf, however he grew up
playing the sport with his family.
“I was raised on it,” Wentz said. “I watched it with my dad
just like my dad watched it with his dad. We loved to play over
the summer and it didn’t matter that we sucked. We had fun
together and the loser would always buy hot dogs for the rest of
the group.”
Unconventional sports can be great stress relievers, and can
even help athletes with their other sports they play. They can
provide great exercise to keep the athlete in shape, while also
providing a new skill set that can relay back to the main sport
they may play. Although these sports are not that popular
among the majority of students at Westminster or in the U.S.,
these sports still provide entertainment and stress relief to many.
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FRIDAY, MAR. 4, 2016 VOLUME CXXXIXVII B1
A Lighted Window at Dusk
Christian Na
A&E Ediitor
“It’s the sense of touch.”
“What?”
These are the two first lines of the
2004 film, “Crash,” starring a handful of
well-known actors like Sandra Bullock,
Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard and Jennifer Esposito, among several
others. The lines are spoken over ambient music as the opening credits are being
shown.
The first speaker continues:
“Any real city, you walk, you know?
You brush past people, people bump into
you. In LA, nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think
we miss that touch so much that we crash
into each other just so we can feel something.”
And so soon in the film, the meaning
behind its title emerges and sets the audience tumbling through a two-day period in
Los Angeles, during which several charac-
ters’ stories interweave or crash into each
other.
It is the kind of movie that shows one
character “crashing” into another. When
the first character leaves the second one,
we learn the second’s backstory, and get
to see what they do next. Of course, they
encounter another character and the cycle
goes on.
A thought-provoking piece about identity, race and stereotypes, the film’s greatest accomplishment, in my opinion, is its
shameless approach to the topic of racism.
Rather than portraying characters as racist
or not, “Crash” depicts victims of racism
as often being prejudiced themselves.
The movie always fascinated me.
For about a semester’s time during my
senior year in high school, I developed a
peculiar interest in short film. It was peculiar because I did not, and still do not,
know much about the art of filmmaking,
much less the art of short filmmaking. Further, all of the short films I did watch were
through YouTube.
Regardless, as odd and random as my
brief short film stage was, it was during
that stage that I stumbled upon “Cold.”
The first time I watched “Cold,” I instantly thought of “Crash.”
“Cold,” however, took an interestingly zoomed out approach to the premise
of “Crash,” which is this human cycle of
chance encounters and the impact that they
have on those involved. Set in Toronto, it
focuses less on prejudice, and more on the
theme of loneliness.
The film begins with a woman taking
over a man’s shift at a radio broadcasting
studio. As he leaves, he talks about the
cold weather, saying,
“I just think what makes the city colder is the fact that we’re so busy trying to
stay out of each other’s way.”
And so the message has been clearly
communicated.
The encounters begin in a supermarket
as a woman named Kate sees her ex-boyfriend grocery shopping. She tries to speak
with him, and it is clear that she misses
him, but he has moved on. She runs out of
the supermarket when she learns that her
friend is now dating her ex- boyfriend. She
takes a taxi home.
The story then focuses on the taxi driver after he has dropped her off. He calls
his family, and we gather that they live
far away and are impoverished and struggling through their absent father’s inability to provide financially for them. Pained
by loneliness and feelings of failure, he
spends the last of his family’s money on
a prostitute.
As he enters their room in a seedy hotel, he feels too guilty to go on and cuts her
off. Under the pressure of the choices he
has just made, he yells at her and criticizes
her lifestyle. She responds with a sharp
reminder that he is not the only one alive
who has had a difficult life. She takes a bus
home.
Across from her on the bus sits a
young man holding a Christmas tree he
just purchased. The prostitute makes eye
contact with him several times, but they
never speak. When she leaves, he smiles
at her, and she offers a sort of half-smile
in return.
When the man gets to his apartment,
he posts a “lost connection” online, and we
hear him reading aloud what he is typing.
As he finishes, the voiceover that has been
playing changes from his voice to a woman’s. The woman, we find out, is reading
his lost connection into a microphone, and
we recognize her as the woman from the
testtube.com
first scene who works for a radio station.
The scene quickly changes to a view
of a car parked in an isolated lot outside of
the city. We now hear the woman from the
studio as if we were hearing her through
the radio. We see inside the car an older
man looking petrified. He turns down the
radio as he raises a gun to his head.
“Let’s take some calls,” the woman on
the radio announces.
The first is a young girl whose lost
connection is her brother.
“Ok, where is he?” asks the woman.
The girl replies, “he killed himself last
summer.”
As the man in the car is about to shoot,
he hears this and his eyes pop open, and he
slowly lowers his shaking hand from his
face.
The story goes on, but I’ll leave the
plot here so you can finish it for yourself.
Watch it on YouTube! It’s called “COLD
(Award-Winning Short Film).”
The story brings to mind an interesting word I found in the Dictionary of
Obscure Sorrows (a collection of Tumblr
posts about things humans experience for
which there aren’t actual words.) The word
is sonder, and this is the definition:
"The realization that each random
passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their
own ambitions, friends, routines, worries
and inherited craziness—an epic story that
continues invisibly around you like an
anthill sprawling deep underground, with
elaborate passageways to thousands of
other lives that you’ll never know existed,
in which you might appear only once, as
an extra sipping coffee in the background,
as a blur of traffic passing on the highway,
as a lighted window at dusk"
(continued on pg. B3)
Unseen Conditions in Pop Culture
Heaven Brown
A&E Wriiter
Recently, I had the opportunity to see
poet Neil Hilborn perform live.
If that name is familiar to you, you
may recognize him from your Facebook
feed or from other social media, or by his
poem, "OCD." The viral hit has become
the most viewed slam poems on YouTube.
"OCD," along with many of Hilborn’s other works, focuses on the topic of mental
illness as experienced by Hilborn himself
and others in his life. Having the chance
to see such a passionate artist perform
live and speak so honestly about the topic,
sparked my thinking about mental illness
in our culture, or more specifically, how
mental health is portrayed in the media.
Popular culture can be a reflection of
our society, an influential force, or sometimes both. That is why what is chosen to
be displayed through our movies, television, and print is so important. For some
people, pop culture is their only resource
before forming an opinion about other
people.
When I think about those with mental
illness in pop culture, a few stereotypes
come to mind. There’s your typical, untrustworthy mentally ill person who is
prone to random spurts of violence and
crime. While there are cases in which people with these disorders are aggressive, in
reality people with mental illnesses are
more likely to be the victims of violence
and abuse rather than the perpetrators of
it.
There are often times when people
with mental illnesses are made to look
different than the rest of the “normal” cast
so we have the convenience of knowing
who to look out for. Whether it’s an un-
kempt appearance or a wild look in the
eye, these portrayals further contribute to
the “otherness” of those with mental illnesses. People with various disorders are
our neighbors, our coworkers, our family,
and our friends. They carry on with their
lives just with the addition of a mental illness. There isn’t always some undeniable
signifier of their illness to alert the rest of
the “normal” people of their presence.
It also hasn’t always been common
to see the recovery of people with mental illnesses on our screens. Perhaps the
sometimes long, tumultuous and complex
process is too difficult to include on TV or
in movies. That is, of course, unless that
recovery takes place in a psychiatric hospital or treatment facility that more closely resembles a prison or haunted house
than reality. Today, many people willingly
check themselves into these wards and receive quality care.
It can be difficult to see past the dramatizations when all that comes to mind
is “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest,”
a film so deeply ingrained in pop culture. Whether it be therapy, medication,
or some other treatment, recovery can be
a lifesaving process that not everyone is
fortunate enough to experience. For example, Neil Hilborn’s emotional poem,
"Joey," details the difference in paths that
his and his friend Joey’s early lives took
simply because Hilborn’s parents could
afford treatment and therapy sessions and
Joey’s could not. Without later access to
these treatments, the poem could have
easily been about Joey’s funeral.
In more recent years, there have been
efforts to cast those with mental illnesses
in a light that shows their humanity and
reality. The award-winning film “Silver
Linings Playbook” depicts two main characters with mental illnesses. Pat Solitano,
played by Bradley Cooper, is a man with
bipolar disorder who has recently been re-
leased from a psychiatric hospital. The recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell played
by Jennifer Lawrence lives with depression. The movie follows the two as they
struggle with the highs and lows of recovery and love in a way that seems honest
and genuine.
The Netflix hit TV show “Orange is
the New Black” also touches on the topic
of mental health (as well as race, gender,
and the justice system, to name a few).
The character of “Crazy Eyes” definitely
comes to mind, who, while displaying the
stigmatic trait of violence, is also a source
of comedic relief, empathy, relatability,
and friendship on the show. A well-rounded portrayal such as this is refreshing
when it seems that most are based on an
overgeneralized, outdated point of view.
Nearly one in five American adults
lives with a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Now, it is more important than
ever before that people are being given
accurate information about mental illness.
The media is one of the foremost sources of information and perceived societal
norms. Of course some people do exhibit
the characteristics and behaviors shown
on television, and it’s important not to
dismiss their experiences.
However, the problem is that the depictions of people with mental illnesses
are limited. As a result, a whole group
of people on the spectrum of mental illness are neglected or misrepresented. To
this day, people with these illnesses are
fighting to be even recognized as having a
valid condition simply because it isn’t as
visible as other disorders.
If pop culture is simply feeding on
people’s insecurities and distrust of those
with mental illnesses based on incorrect
notions, we are serving our society a huge
injustice. The public deserves an authentic portrayal of such topics, and those
with mental health conditions deserve to
be represented in a way that breaks out of
the strict stereotypes to which we are so
accustomed.
thedailybeast.com
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Spring: Good Vibes
and Tropical Sounds
Pat Gaughan
A&E Writer
With the frequently and rapidly changing weather
patterns that we've been encountering this winter, I've
found myself very apt to listening to reggae and tropical music to take my mind off the snow, rain, sleet, and
spastic temperature changes.
There's something about listening to reggae and
summer-geared music that helps motivate me to get
schoolwork done, especially when the sun goes down
between 5-6 p.m. daily. Reggae can be soothing, stressrelieving and uplifting, from both the content of the lyrics and the instrumentation.
Contrary to the timeless reggae classics like Bob
Marley and the Wailers, current reggae artists are producing new albums and going on national tours each
year, and there is a huge pool of them. Stick Figure,
Iration, Rebelution, Pepper, One Drop, Sticky Fingers,
Tribal Seeds, Morgan Heritage, Lutan Fyah, Slightly
Stoopid, Keznamdi, The Skints, SOJA, Collie Buddz,
Toots & The Maytals, Matisyahu, and Jah Cure are the
prevalent reggae bands in the American music industry
right now. Each of them is unique in its own way, making it entertaining to listen to playlists of various reggae
artists.
New to the world of reggae is Stick Figure's new
album, "Set in Stone," which was released on Nov. 13,
2015. As of this week, "Set in Stone" is ranked fourth
on the Billboard Reggae charts, and has been on the
Top 10 for 14 weeks straight. Stick Figure has released
six albums, all recorded solo by frontman Scott Woodruff, who composes 100% of the music for the band.
Scott Woodruff plays guitar and sings lead vocals in
live performances. The lineup of the band has remained
constant ever since Woodruff first wanted to take his
masterful composition to live performances and found
musicians to fill in the spots that were needed. Stick
Figure is made up of Kevin Bong on keyboards, Kevin
Offitzer on drums, and Tommy Suliman playing bass
guitar for the band.
"Set in Stone" features 14 new tracks, and includes
musical guest artists, including Eric Rachmany of Rebelution on "Mind Block," Kyle McDonald of Slightly
Stoopid on "Choice is Yours" and Collie Buddz on the
album's single, "Smokin' Love." Stick Figure is currently on their "Set in Stone" tour across the continental US, promoting their new album, and will be within
driving distance of campus on March 20 in Cleveland at
the Beachland Ballroom, and on March 23 at the World
Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
Another new reggae release from a young and rapidly expanding group is the album "Hotting Up" by
Iration. Iration is a six-member alt/reggae group from
Isla Vista, Calif. that has been making music since the
summer of 2008. Iration is currently on their "Hawaiian
Punch Winter Tour 2016" with supporting bands Pepper and New Kingston. This Iration tour is in promotion
of Iration's new album, "Hotting Up," which has also
spent numerous weeks on the Billboard Reggae charts
and Billboard Overall charts. Iration has played at more
than twenty major festivals across the US and Europe,
sold over 150,000 albums, and sold more than 500,000
singles on iTunes. Iration brought Stick Figure on tour
when they were a new band, and have also toured alongside Rebelution, Pacific Dub, The Movement, The Expanders, Tribal Seeds, Passafire, SOJA and many more.
Check out Iration's music for a great rock-reggae sound
that encases the "Aloha spirit," especially the nine new
tracks off of their most recent album.
If you are more into rap or pop music, the artists Lutan Fyah, Pep Love, and Jah Cure may be right up your
alley. If you are traditionally more drawn to heavier
rock music, you may find an immense amount of enjoyable music in the genre known as "ska" music. "Ska"
is a sub-genre of both punk rock and reggae, and fuses
the two together into a more upbeat and quicker-tempo
genre that also has the uplifting and positive sounds of
tropical and reggae music.
There are hundreds of ska bands, but to give you
a few to start your searches, try out Less Than Jake,
Streetlight Manifesto, Big D and the Kids Table, the
Expendables, the Flatliners, Mustard Plug, Deal's Gone
Bad, Catch 22, Goldfinger, Authority Zero, The B Foundation, or Reel Big Fish. Any one of the "ska" bands I
mentioned would be a great place to start on your search
of lesser-known music and will direct you on an exciting musical adventure of exploration through hundreds
of bands that make upbeat and fun music.
Whether it's Stick Figure, Iration, or any of the other great bands that I've mentioned through this article,
music in the realm of reggae is great for this late-winter/
early-spring season that can lead to some dreary and
bleak days. Reggae is uplifting, easy to listen to, good
as background music during study sessions and can be
an anti-stress and anti-depression remedy for these late
winter nights of schoolwork and studying. There are
thousands of reggae bands, and there are various Spotify playlists and channels dedicated to the various subgenres of reggae and tropical music.
Take some time to listen to new music: reggae, reggae-rap, ska, or any of the tropically-influenced music
genres. It can have a positive influence on you, your
attitude, and state of mind.
amazon.com
Affordable Gaming
Zach Shively
A&E Writer
My friends and I have an interesting
passion for video games.
I do not understand it fully. What
drives me to want to play "Legend of
Zelda?" Normally I am not into anything
involving elves or fairies or any of that.
Yet, when it comes to Link, I want in.
Our passion for video games has led
to some weird financial decisions. For
example, my friends and I all chip in to
pay for a video game bundle that typically includes awful video games. And
we love it. Why? The same reason that
people like terrible movies: it’s funny.
While we do spend some time on horrendous games, we spend most time playing
games like “Chrono Trigger” or “Heavy
Rain.” These games not only entertain,
but they also deliver great storylines and
look beautiful.
On one hand, playing video games
can be a lot of fun. On the other hand,
gaming can be expensive. Most new
games cost around $60. Along with the
game, you need something to play it on.
The newest gaming systems range from
$300 to $350. If you want to play multiple games, you could easily be spending upwards of $500. Even if you want
a nostalgia trip, older consoles like the
Nintendo 64 and the original Nintendo
system will cost anywhere from $40 to
$100 with games that cost between $5
and $80. While cheaper, this option still
costs more than many of us may be willing to spend. So, I came up with an alternative.
Online gaming distributors, such
as Steam and GOG, will give you a fair
price for games. Most college students
have a laptop or a computer to use. Both
services allow for people to download
games onto their computer for a relatively affordable price. Along with their
everyday affordable prices, both distributors have massive discounts during
the holiday seasons. While they have big
name games listed at $60, they also sell
great games from $5 to $10.
Steam sells “Portal,” possibly one
of the most innovative games ever, for
only $9.99. The player plays as Chell,
a human test subject, as she navigates
through puzzles in a series of test chambers in a science center. Your progress
is supervised by an artificial intelligence
GLaDOS, which IGN ranked as the
number one villain in the history of video games. “Portal” is revolutionary because of the physics involved in solving
the puzzles. Chell has a portal gun with
her that shoots out portals that allow her
to pass through space in an unprecedented way. Basically, one portal serves as
an entrance and the other an exit. If you
put the entrance on a wall and the exit on
the ceiling, the player will fall from the
ceiling. The game has garnered much
attention, even managing to earn a spot
in the Museum of Modern Art. The low
price of $10 is not bad for the quality of
the game.
Another game that Steam sells is
phys.org
Valve’s “Half-Life” and “Half-Life 2.”
These two games have received incredibly positive feedback. The Steam users
have given both games perfect ten out of
ten ratings. According to Valve’s website, the original “Half-Life” won over
50 Game of the Year awards; the sequel
went on to win nearly 40. The games follow theoretical physicist, Gordon Freeman, after a failed experiment that rips
a hole in another dimension. Like “Portal,” each award-winning game costs
$10.
Both GOG and Steam share some
other great titles. A black and white artsy
masterpiece titled “Limbo” also stands
at $10. The game helped kick-off independent video games as a serious way to
develop games. On Games Radar’s list
of Top 100 Games of All-Time, the game
ranks at number 88. The game allows the
player to control a little kid as he completes puzzles and escapes spiders.
Another affordable game blurs the
line of novel and video game through
an elaborate and touching storyline. In
an interview with Alternative Magazine
Online, the game’s creator, Kan Gao,
explained that the premise for the story
comes from a number of events, but it
specifically derives from his grandfather’s failing health and the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” The
plot follows two scientists who have the
technology to jump into the memories of
patients. This particular case deals with
patient, Johnny’s dying wish for his deceased wife, River.
One of my favorite games to play is
Terry Cavanagh’s “VVVVVV.” The other games listed have artistic value and
beautiful storylines. This game does not.
Instead, it is a $5 game that is simply entertaining. The player can only move left
and right. Instead of jumping, the player
flips. While the controls are simple, the
game gets insanely difficult at times.
When playing, you have to avoid spikes
and traverse a number of space-related
puzzles. On top of the original game,
“VVVVVV” gives players free extra
levels created by fans. Given all these
levels and challenges, the low price for
the game leads to a good amount of time
playing.
Given the quality of games for
such a low price, I feel that anyone who
strongly dislikes video games now can
find at least one game to enjoy. One way
to test the waters are through online distributors, as listed above.
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This week, I had the chance to speak with sophomore music education major Jordan Sherman.
Sherman’s focus is the oboe, but he has a strong
interest in visual art as well. As a result of his interest,
art has become forms of release and communication
throughout his life.
Art has played a large role in Sherman’s family history. His great grandfather, John C. Becker, had a hand
in creating the sets for "Ziegfeld Follies," a stage production featuring stars such as Judy Garland, Lucille
Ball, and Gene Kelly. Additionally, he had an exhibit in
the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, called
“Yesterday’s Main Street."
Due to their similar interest, Sherman has always felt
a connection with his great grandfather.
“I have always been around art… I’ve been around
it a lot of my life. I’ve loved it a lot," Sherman said. "I
never got to meet my [great] grandpa, because he passed
away before I was born, but I’ve always felt that connection whenever I did stuff with music and art. My mom
tells me that when I was little, I used to color by myself
in my room for hours … I would come out with a whole
bunch of pictures. She would ask me, ‘What were you
doing?’ and I would say, ‘Oh, I was just coloring with
grandpa.’”
Additionally, Sherman used art as an outlet during
his youth.
“I [had never really known] what was going on
with myself, especially with my sexuality," Sherman
said. "Where I was brought up, nobody ever wanted to
think that their child was gay or their child was different. [They wanted] their child to fit in the societal norms
made a long time ago... In reality, it was the hardest thing
for me to find an outlet in a world where I didn’t have the
acceptance.”
His artistic skills have been a part of him for as long
as he can remember.
“I just had that talent. I was able to see it differently,"
Sherman said. "I was able to see the arts and music in a
different way. I had a great sense of rhythm already; I
was always dancing. I was drawing before I could even
talk.”
While art is more of a hobby for Sherman, music has
been his main focus.
“Art is actually something that I didn’t really get that
into until high school," Sherman said. "I would always
doodle and stuff like that, but I wouldn’t be that involved
with it as much as music."
For Sherman, art has been a source of confidence
and self-assurance over the years.
“It’s a way for me to communicate," Sherman said.
"I doubted myself all the time, but I never doubted myself when I went to play piano, or when I picked up a
pencil."
Despite his passion for art, Sherman struggled in
school, and did not respond to certain types of teaching
styles in school.
“I needed hands on work," Sherman said. "I needed
[hands on work] to retain the information, or to communicate what I wanted to communicate. My teachers
didn’t realize that.”
As an education major, Sherman’s negative experiences in school have become part of his teaching philosophy.
“I want to help those kids that are like me who can’t
always focus or retain information," Sherman said." I
want to be able to give them an outlet where they feel
powerful. I didn’t feel powerful for a very long time.
Even now, I question it. I don’t know how powerful I
am. I know it’s a term that’s often used negatively …
but, I see power as [meaning] ‘You have overcome so
many things. That power is just a reflection of everything
you’ve gone through.’”
Sonder
(Continued from B1)
No doubt, “Crash” and “Cold” are about
sonder. But to what extent do we recognize
sonder in our own lives?
I spent the past weekend in New
York City. While there, fellow Titan, Liz
Buechele (former Thompson House resident gone New Yorker) and I went to see a
musical called “Fun Home.” (The show was
phenomenal, thank you for asking.)
On our way into the theatre, Liz
looked hard at the girl standing in front of
us and quietly mumbled, “Allison?” The girl
turned around and replied incredulously,
“Liz?!” Allison had gone to middle school
with Liz before she moved to Colorado.
Watching and listening to their exchange, I
gathered Allison had gone to college, graduated early and was now living in New York,
just like Liz.
After the incident, Liz remarked
on how crazy and oddly coincidental it was
that they had reunited there. Had I come to
visit another weekend, had we not won the
lottery for “Fun Home,” had we decided to
wait until after the show to eat pizza, had
we arrived at the theatre just a minute or
two later or had any of the countless other
variables of that moment been different than
they were, Liz would not have reconnected
with Allison the way she did.
I sometimes wonder what happens
to all those times when what might be's
turn into might have beens. How often are
we missing each other? Or how often do we
crash into each other and is it for the better?
Do we learn from these experiences or are
we deprived of them, making us cold?
I believe firmly that when we choose to do
one thing, millions of doors close for us,
while millions more open. It is the fact of
life – everything we do makes a difference,
and works like “Crash” and “Cold” teach us
that the difference we make must be a positive one.
On Feb. 17, 2015, "Humans of New
York" posted a photograph of a woman
wearing a green coat and eccentric earmuffs
as she reached into a yellow bag at her feet.
The caption was something she had said to
the photographer.
“Sometimes I find little pieces of
paper that give me clues as to what's really
going on in this world.”
If you scroll through the photo’s
comments, the most popular one, written by
Steven Schade, says this:
“A stranger once gave me a scrap
of paper that said: ‘Your choices change the
world, live well my friend.’ I framed it.”
I’ve told you about the philosophy
and now you know about the art that backs
it. So know that your choices change the
world, and live well, friends.
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Student Spotlight:
Jordan Sherman
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BUBBLE
TRUMP AND CLINTON LEAD POLLS AS 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS LOOM // BY NIKKI ANDERSON
A multi-millionaire with no political experience, Donald Trump, is
leading the Republican Party polls. While a former first lady, secretary
of state and senator, Hilary Clinton, is the leading the Democratic
Party polls. Trump believes in the second amendment and would like
to be more serious about the prosecution of violent criminals. Trump
has plans to reform the trade agreement between China and the US,
bringing more trade and jobs to the US. He would also like to reform
taxes. He would give the middle class a tax break and would simplify
the tax return process. Clinton has a lot of political experience and she
is a well know American politician. She has tried in the past to be the
Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidential election but lost
both times to Barack Obama. She became the secretary of state after
Obama won the 2008 election.
(
see the full stories
at www.holcad.org
)
blackchristiannews.com
TAXI DRIVER KILLS SIX IN MICHIGAN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING
// BY CHRISTEN DUERRING
Last Saturday, a taxi-driver shot and killed six random strangers and
injured two others within a period of about six hours that evening in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. The shooter, now in custody, is identified as
Jason Brian Dalton, a 45-year-old married man. Dalton had passed the
background check required for him to work at the taxi-driving company Uber. According to the NY Daily News, Dalton started the carnage
by driving near some townhouses and shooting a woman walking with
two children several times before driving off around 6 p.m. Dalton then
waited five hours before he decided to kill again, and approached a car
dealership parking lot and fired lethal shots at Richard Smith and his
son Tyler Smith as they were supposedly picking out a car to buy.
www.mlive.com
THE POTENTIAL BREXIT // BY DANIELLE DINDAK
British Prime Minister -- David Cameron -- announced referendum on
whether or not the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union.
This momentous decision will take place on June 23. According to the
Electoral Commission, the wording of the question will be “Should the
United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the
European Union?" The two choices will be ‘Remain a member of the
European Union’ and 'Leave the European Union.’ Eligible voters will be
legal British, Irish, and Commonwealth residents who are over 18 years
old.The BBC reported earlier this week that opinion polls in Britain
show the majority want to leave the EU.
chronicle.com
UNITED STATES AND SYRIA TIE THE KNOT ON FRIENDSHIP
BRACELET // BY HOLLY MARSHALL
The United States and Syria have agreed on a ceasefire that will take effect on Saturday, Feb 27. In this agreement, the Syrian Government has
been asked for a retreat of hostilities. This truce, however, does not apply
to the two most extremist groups in Syria, the Islamic State (ISIS) and
Nusra Front, according to U.S secretary of state, John Kerry. This raises
questions whether this truce will be more lasting than previous ceasefires. This agreement calls for the Syrian government to indicate by noon
on Friday whether they will end the hostilities. President Obama sealed
the agreement over a phone call with Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, who has become an important person in the Syrian War on behalf of
his client, Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.
en.wikipedia.com
KURDISH FIGHTERS RESCUE SWEDISH
TEENAGER IN IRAQ // BY GEENA HAYBARGER
Kurdish Special Forces rescued a Swedish teenager from the Islamic
state territory in the city of Mosul on Tuesday according to officials. The
Kurdistan Regional Security Council said the raid was conduced on
Feb. 17. However, a previous statement released misspelled the name of
the young Swedish girl. Kurdish officials told the New York Times “she
was misled by an ISIL member in Sweden to travel to Syria and later to
Mosul." She was identified in Swedish news reports as Marilyn Nevalainen, 16, from the city of Boras. Kurdish officials said the United States
did not participate in the raid, although American military trainers are
working with Kurdish commandos in the fight against the Islamic state.
nytimes.com
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ALLARM and Green Party
The Green Dream Team
Green party members Selena Dasari, Molly Breit, CHristina Mauri, Kelsey Kilbane and Alexis Shellow.
2015 Argo
Marisa Toesnsing
Staff Writer
The environment is very important to many
students on campus. For some, an interest in the
environment has led to their involvement in organizations such as ALLARM (Alliance for Aquatic Resource Management) and Green Party. The
goal of both of these groups is to bring awareness
to the preservation of the environment.
ALLARM is composed of both community
and student volunteers. The mission of the program is to “educate the community about the environmental, social and economic implications of
the oil and gas industry.”
This group is very active in the community
around New Wilmington, especially because
fracking is becoming more and more of an issue
in this area.
The main goals of the Green Party are to start
a discussion with the campus community about
an array of environmental topics, provide ecological wisdom and promote non-violence and
peace.
Both ALLARM and Green Party host a number of events on campus per year. ALLARM frequently hosts guest speakers.
“We had a panel discussion last semester on
local zoning laws and how they apply to the oil
and gas industry,” senior Christina Mauri said.
“In addition, we travel to other events to spread
awareness and gain volunteers. Last spring we
attended Earth Fest at Penn State Shenango.”
Green Party also feels that education is
important. The group holds an annual celebration that includes tie-dying and fundraising for
various charities. Last year they sold fresh fruit
smoothies and donated the profit.
During the week of February 22nd-26th,
Green Party hosted a “Green Week” where
they teamed up with ALLARM to try to gain
new members.
Mauri says that both of these groups
are significant to her because protecting the
community around us is vital.
“I joined ALLARM because I think that
protecting our resources and educating the
community is important,” Mauri said. “And,
the values of the Green Party are values that
are important to me, like ecological wisdom
and social justice.”
Senior biochemistry major, Kelsey
Kilbane also believes in the power and message of each group. Kilbane conducted a 6
week water monitoring experiment for her
senior research and shared her data with ALLARM’s public website. She is also an active member of Green Party.
“I am in ALLARM because water quality is important to me and I love being able
to inform and educate the community,”
Kilbane said. “I am in Green Party because
environmental concerns are such an important issue.”
It is very easy to get involved with either group. If anyone would like to join the
Green Party, students can join them for a
meeting every Thursday at 6 p.m. on the 3rd
floor of the TUB. Also, those interested can
e-mail Mauri about the Green Party and Dr.
Helen Boylan about ALLARM.
dickinson.edu
"Fox and Friends" Makes a
Westminster Friend
westminster.edu
Georgia Kourakos
Staff Writer
2010 Westminster graduate, Jordan Early,
was hired by big-time cable news network, Fox
News. Early was contacted by the network and
offered a producer role for the early morning
show, Fox and Friends. The road to acquiring
the role took Early on a journey of hard work
and determination.
“She was ambitious and determined to gain
experience in news,” broadcast professor Bradley Weaver said. “She went on her own and
worked hard to land her first internship and then
landed a following internship.”
When Early was a student, she dedicated
herself to her studies. She came into Westminster with the passion and intent to succeed in the
broadcast business. From the first day of classes,
broadcast students utilize the cameras and learn
from hands on experience. Early not only received a great education and seized opportunities
from the college-- she made opportunities.
Early had a lot of passion for broadcast, but
also an interest in politics. One of Weaver’s favorite memories of Early was when she invited
Senator Robert Robbins to the Westminster set.
Her grandfather was a state senator and through
connections, she was able to arrange for Robbins
to come to campus for an interview.
After Early’s sophomore year, she began
searching for internships. She worked tirelessly applying to various employers by mailing a
shoebox with a cover letter that read, “I’m trying
to get my foot in the door,” in order to stand out.
CNN called Early and offered to bring her in for
an interview. Even though the position was already filled, CNN offered her an internship. Her
junior year, she received internship offers from
corporations such as MTV and E-News, but ultimately decided to accept an offer with CBS.
Her internship with CBS allowed her to choose
whichever location she wanted, so she decided
on CBS London.
As a senior, Early’s next goal was a to find
a career. After being in London, Early’s eyes
were set on accepting a job with a big time
station. She wanted to branch out of the small
town atmosphere and be a part of something
larger. Early submitted numerous applications,
but she did not receive one call back. She did
not give up and dedicated her entire spring
break to traveling and sending in applications.
This persistence landed her a job at a small station in New Orleans. After that, she worked in
television news as a producer and reporter in
Mobile, West Palm Beach and Orlando.
One of her biggest pieces of advice is to
try new things. She worked as a producer but
decided to leave that better paying job to see if
reporting was her preferred passion. She found
producing to be her true calling and has no regrets about seeing if reporting was for her or
not.
“Always be a student,” Early said. “In this
business you need to be willing to come in early and stay late. You need to leave your ego at
the door and be willing to work hard.”
She currently is a producer for KDKA-TV.
She always loved Pittsburgh, and she was excited to accept a job in Pittsburgh, since being in the news industry made her too busy to
regularly visit home. At KDKA, she produces
the 10 o’clock newscast for the Pittsburgh CW.
Continued on B6
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FRIDAY, MAR. 4, 2016
T H E H O LC A D - W E S T M I N S T E R C O L L E G E , N E W W I L M I N G TO N , PA
Weekly Horoscopes
ARIES: Your energy will be high; however, if not channeled suitably, temper tantrums may erupt. Your emotions will be
touched off concerning recent encounters with your lover. Confusion regarding other people's money and joint ventures will
come to a head. Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.
TARUS: You will get along well with your colleagues this week. Opportunities to learn important information will surface
through discussions with peers or seminars you attend. You can make a serious attempt at quitting those bad habits that you've
picked up over the years. Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.
GEMINI: You can make adjustments in your domestic scene this week. Difficulties will result if you have to deal with
controversial groups this week. Unrealistic promises will only get you in trouble. Your lucky day this week will be
Wednesday.
CANCER: You're in the mood for love. Consider making residential changes; either moves or renovations could payoff.
Someone important may be watching you from afar. Trouble could be brewing at home. Your lucky day this week will be
Monday.
LEO: You may think gifts will win their heart, but it could add stress from lack of funds. Younger relatives may seek your
advice. Don't push your mate if you want to keep this union going. You will need to finalize important deals this week. Your
lucky day this week will be Monday.
VIRGO: Talk to your mate about a vacation and discuss the expectations of your relationship. Don't let the erratic behavior of
someone you live with interfere with your professional performance. Don't beat around the bush; state your case in plain and
simple terms. Use your ingenuity to manipulate things to get what you want. Someone you live with will, be impossible. Your
lucky day this week will be Thursday.
LIBRA: Watch your tendency to live for the day and to spend too much on entertainment and children; it could set you back.
Avoid scandals of any sort. Use your added discipline to get what you want. You should get out and enjoy social events where
you are likely to meet new potential mates; however, don't over spend. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.
SCORPIO: Losses could occur if you haven't been careful when dealing with joint financial ventures. Children will keep you
busy. You need to look into ways to change your self-image. You might not be as reserved on an emotional level as you'd like.
Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.
SAGITTARIUS: You should be setting up interviews or sending out your resume this week. Do things you enjoy instead of
being a chameleon. Take care of any paperwork concerning institutional or governmental agencies. Try not to upset others
with your plans. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.
CAPRICORN: You could be attracting individuals who are anything but good for you. Your efforts will be rewarded
handsomely. Use your obvious talent to work with detail and you can come up with something great. Look for something
entertaining to do. You've got that competitive edge. Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.
AQUARIUS: Your creative ability will surface, giving you good ideas for ways of making money. You can make favorable
changes in your home environment. Pleasure trips will be favorable and bring about possible romance. You can ask for favors
and get sound advice from close friends or relatives. Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.
PISCES: Ferret out information that will hold them responsible. Work quietly on your own and you will forge ahead. A
romantic infatuation from your past may surface if you frequent places that you both used to go. Children may be less than
honest with you.Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.
SUDOKU PUZZLE
"Fox and
Friends" Makes
a Westminster
Friend
(continued from B5)
answer
As Early has been climbing the
ranks in the industry, her talent
and skills have been sought
after by many companies. Fox
News had heard about Early’s
passion and talent for producing and they contacted her,
asking her to come interview.
When she went to the interview in New York, she felt right
at home with the employees
of Fox and Friends. Fox News
offered her a position in the
producer's booth.
“I love telling stories and enjoy
getting to know people in the
community and give back,”
Early said. “It is not just a job to
me—it is a passion."