Volume XCIII, Issue 13
Jan. 30, 2014
www.thelamron.com
As freezing temps hit Geneseo, costs
rise and campus remains open
NICOLE SMITH
ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
As the extreme cold weather
in Geneseo continues, students
around campus are asking the
same question: Why haven’t
classes been cancelled? The answer can be found in Geneseo’s
Class Cancellation and Extraordinary Weather Conditions Policy.
The policy, which can be
found on the Geneseo website,
states, “It is the College’s policy
to continue normal hours of operation and maintain a regular
work and class schedule for faculty, staff members and students
during periods of severe weather
as much as possible.”
Vice President of Student
glio explained that the decision
to close campus is not one the administration makes.
“First of all, only the governor can close the campus. The
president has the authority to cancel classes, and that decision will
be made in consultation with the
chief of police and the facilities
people,” he said.
He said that, at times, information about extreme weather
conditions and warnings about
taking precautions come from Albany and are taken into account
when deciding to cancel classes.
because Geneseo is a residential
school, total cancellation of classes will rarely happen.
“There is a list the college
has of essential personnel that
are supposed to be here regardless of whether or not classes are
cancelled. We have written procedures so if classes are cancelled,
we have a protocol for opening
the College Union, gyms and recreational space to make sure that
is open,” he said.
If the campus closes, word of
the closing will be on local radio
and TV stations and posted on the
school website. People will also
sage on a hotline and using the
NY-Alert System.
Remaining open in the cold
poses problems, however. Assistant Vice President for Facilities
and Planning George Stooks said
that keeping the campus open in
the winter requires more attention. A main component of campus maintenance involves protection from the weather element
EVAN GOLDSTEIN/ASSOC. PHOTO EDITOR
With frequent below-zero temperatures, demand for energy in many of the campus’ buildings increases
costs.
– mainly freeze ups in mechanical
components.
“[Maintaining campus] requires more vigilance because of
the potential damage in the danger of equipment freeze ups and
equipment thaws,” Stooks said.
According to Stooks, both
Sturges and Newton Halls faced
problems during the cold spell
that hit over winter break. Bon-
tached in Monroe Hall due to the
cold and that steps in the Union
have begun to crack, possibly due
to the amount of sand, salt and
wetness brought into the building.
Stooks added that, as temperatures drop and demand for energy increases, the price of energy
rises by kilowatt-hour. With gas
consumption it is slightly different. While more gas is used dur-
ing the winter to keep buildings
warm, the price is more reliable
because a contract is purchased
and the price of gas is known
ahead of time.
is in the process of trying to rewrite the Class Cancellation and
Extraordinary Weather Conditions Policy.
See FREEZE on page 3
Student Association involvement to remain
consistent given leadership transition
MARY AULD
STAFF WRITER
EVAN GOLDSTEIN/ASSOC. PHOTO EDITOR
Geneseo’s Student Association
has undergone a change in leadership for the spring 2014 semester.
Former SA President senior Forrest
Regan left his position to former SA
Vice President senior Katie Becker,
as per SA protocol. Student Senator
sophomore Paul Michael has been
appointed as the new vice president.
The position of SA president
is normally one academic year in
duration. Regan, a sociology major
who will graduate in spring 2016,
said in an email interview that he
left his position to participate in an
internship in Washington, D.C.
Becker, an international relations major, took on his position in
accordance with the SA constitu-
tion’s procedure for the resignation
of the president. She said that she
was informed of Regan’s decision
to leave his position in late December 2013.
Becker said that, although
she had not anticipated the shift
in leadership, she wants “business to continue as usual.”
“I don’t want any big disruptions caused by this whole
transition process,” she said.
“It was surprising and a
little stressful, but I’m excited
to see how it pans out,” Michael
said.
The SA constitution states
that in the instance of a president’s resignation the former
vice president appoints his or
her successor. Becker selected
Michael, who is a political sci-
ence major, for the position. He
previously participated in SA as
a student senator.
Michael said he is excited
about his new position.
“Obviously it’s something for
me to learn, but I trust that [Becker]
is going to teach me a lot about the
vice president position. It’s going to
take some time but I can handle it,”
he said.
Becker has priorities for her
time as the new president of SA.
“One of my hopes is to get students involved in the presidential
search process,” she said. She is also
interested in exploring how the Student Opinion of Faculty Instruction
surveys can be made more effective.
See SA on page 4
at the Wed. Jan. 29 SA meeting.
WHAT’S
INSIDE?
“Seussical” opens spring
theater season
Forecasting fashion in a new year
PG. 5
GENESEO FORECAST
FRI.
30º/25º
SAT.
39º/21º
SUN.
The Super Bowl’s problem with
PG. 14
PG. 10
25º/16º
MON.
25º/14º
TUES.
Superbowl coverage
and analysis
24º/17º
WED.
PG. 18-19
20º/10º
Contact the news editor at lamron.news@gmail.com
2
Jan. 30, 2014
Chief of University Police Simonetti resigns
Short-term plans in place for Interim Chief Kilcullen
replacement in December 2013.
He arrived Jan. 13 to officially
begin his new position.
Kilcullen
previously
worked at SUNY Albany as
deputy chief of police. He has
over 30 years of police service
experience and has already
made a positive impact on the
community, according to Vice
President for Student and Campus Life Robert Bonfiglio.
“We are pleased that
[Kilcullen] has assumed the
leadership of our college police force. [Kilcullen] is well
known as a leader for his
work in SUNY, and has introduced several initiatives that
have become model practices
on campuses across the state.
He is a welcome addition to the
Geneseo University Police Department,” Bonfiglio said.
“I was very impressed with
the people within the department and the people I’ve met
on campus,” Kilcullen said.
“The community is engaged.
A lot of the bridges are already
emplaced here. A lot has been
done over time to forge these
relationships. It’s the police
and the community working together to problem solve.”
Speaking about his time
at SUNY Albany, Kilcullen
mentioned the importance of
“community policing,” which
is using both powers of the
community and the department to keep the area as safe
and comfortable as possible.
Albany was recognized twice
nationally for these policing
techniques.
According to Kilcullen,
service is the most important
requirement his job entails.
“It’s all service-oriented.
You need to focus on the service aspect. No more than 5
percent is enforcement.”
Kilcullen wants to ensure
that the rest of the organization
carries out this vision.
“I think the University Police have a strong presence on
campus,” Allegany Hall Senior
Resident Assistant junior Nicholas Damiani said. “They’re always looking out for students;
they’re very accessible. If I
ever have a problem at the hall,
they’re quick to respond.”
“You need to be able to be
in as many places as you can
as often as you can,” Kilcullen said. “Ultimately, presence
equals impact.”
than faculty and maintenance
staff, Scipione and his students
rghinis and Maseratis were excluded from the study.
With Geneseo ranked in the
top 150 Best Value colleges for
the 2014 edition of the The Princeton Review, Scipione observed
in his statistical report, “We know
of several vanity license plates
that hint that many upscale parents of Geneseo students may be
‘rewarding’ their son or daughters
for deciding to attend [Geneseo]
rather than pricier private colleges … and still saving tens of thousands of dollars in the balance.”
Though there is a presence
of luxury cars in student, faculty
and staff lots, the vast majority of
cars are Hondas, Fords, Toyotas,
Chevrolets, Jeeps, Subarus and
Nissans.
Scipione and his students
noted the dominance of foreign
makes on campus. In his study,
Scipione wrote, “While foreign
brands such as Honda, Toyota,
Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai and Kia all sell models at the
$35,000 price point or more, the
vast majority of their vehicles sell
A Geneseo research project directed by professor emeritus of business Paul Scipione observed a large number of luxury vehicles in student lots.
for less than $30,000, including that the $5,870 in-state tuition
even a few vehicles for less than for Geneseo not only attracts
low to middle-income families
$20,000.”
The study also reports that but also those families who
the current average price for can afford to buy their children
new vehicles in the U.S. mar- luxury cars.
ket is $30,000.
Scipione and his market
research students have shown
ZOE FINN/PHOTO EDITOR
Interim Chief of University Police Thomas Kilcullen said that he plans to place emphasis on community cooperation and presence.
ASHLYN VICARI
STAFF WRITER
Geneseo students and faculty have welcomed Thomas
Kilcullen, the interim chief of
University Police, to the community.
After three years of service, former Chief of Police
Sal Simonetti resigned for a
promotional opportunity elsewhere. State University of New
York Police Commissioner
Bruce McBride contacted Kilcullen regarding the need for a
Most of the chief’s responsibilities include strategic
planning, setting goals for the
department and oversight of
administration and operations.
“When setting goals, you
want to make sure they’re tangible as to some of the initiatives that are already in place,”
Kilcullen said, referring to
programming, community outreach and working with RAs
and residence directors.
While Kilcullen is in Geneseo as an interim chief, he
could consider resubmitting his
application once the search for
a permanent chief begins. Typically the tenure for this position
only lasts an average of three to
five years before resignation.
Right now the department is looking at short-term
planning, looking at possible
changes to implement for the
spring semester. Six to seven
months from now, the Department of Criminal Justice
Services should evaluate the
campus police department to
administer the Police Accreditation Program. According to
Kilcullen, no major changes are
to be made in the near future.
Students more likely to own luxury vehicles,
according to market research data
CASEY LARKIN
NEWS EDITOR
In December 2013, professor emeritus of business Paul
Scipione and his market research class conducted a study
titled, “Who Drives More Luxury Vehicles on the SUNY Geneseo Campus: Faculty, Staff, or
Students?”
They cataloged the cars
found in all student lots, the faculty and administration parking
area (Lot B) and maintenance
staff parking area (Lot K) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. on random weekdays and
Saturday mornings throughout
the month of November. The
total number of cars counted on
campus was 1,816.
The results found that student lots contained many more
luxury vehicles than the faculty
lots and vastly outnumbered the
count of luxury cars in maintenance lots. Because there are
many more students, and therefore student cars, on campus
with base values of 100.
As such, he and his students
observed that, for every 100
cars, there are on average 2.022
luxury cars in student lots. This
is compared to the faculty and
maintenance lots, which have
an average of 0.9155 luxury cars
per 100 and 0.77 luxury cars per
100, respectively.
BMWs represented the largest percentage of luxury cars for
all the groups, with 15.6 percent
for faculty (tied with Volvo and
Acura), 36.4 percent for maintenance staff and 18.7 percent for
students.
Per 100 vehicles, BMW also
represented the largest probability gap between students and faculty. The probability for student
lots was 4.534 BMWs per 100
vehicles and 1.715 BMWs per
100 vehicles for the faculty lot.
Luxury brands no longer
sold in the United States market
and exotic cars such as Lambo-
DAVID LIM/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Come by the Union Mailroom for The Lamron’s
general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays
The Lamron | www.thelamron.com
Jan. 30, 2014
3
Chancellor Zimpher’s
Heidi Savage hired as new philosophy,
agenda strengthens
women’s studies professor
opportunities for students
EMMA BIXLER
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
State University of New
York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher
championed the idea of a new
year bringing new innovation
and discovery to the SUNY campuses across the state during her
State of the University Address
on Jan. 14.
With a key goal of revitalizing the state’s economy and
citizen welfare, Zimpher gave a
speech that encouraged pushing
boundaries and challenging students.
Topics spanned from general
advances in the science, technology, engineering and mathematigrams like Open SUNY, which
provides online college degree
opportunities to New Yorkers.
There was also discussion of expanding internship opportunities
with Fortune 500 companies or
those of a similar caliber.
In regard to developing a
drew Cuomo has given incentive
through proposing scholarships
covering full tuition to those
students in the top of their high
school classes wishing to pursue
STEM on a SUNY campus.
“We have very strong STEM
programs and have made great
progress,” Geneseo Interim
President Carol Long said during her address. “But we also try
and keep some balance. We do
not want to be entirely a STEM
school. We want to keep strength
in all of our liberal arts disciplines.”
With notable STEM programs already present on campus, it leaves room for the college to pay attention to other
incentives present within the
State of the University Address,
such as internships.
The emphasis on internships
in Zimpher’s address has left the
Department of Career Development eager to aid students in
their search for work experience.
“My goal is to support
Chancellor Zimpher any time
she emphasizes internships,” Associate Director for Internship
Opportunities Rob DiCarlo said.
DiCarlo said that not only
See SUNY on page 4
Campus Police Log
Jan. 10 - Criminal Mischief, Merritt Athletic Center,
4 a.m.
Jan. 18 - Criminal Possession of Stolen Property,
G Parking Lot, 1:26 a.m., Arrest
Jan. 19 - Unlawful Possession of Marijuana,
Steuben Hall, 2:04 a.m., Arrest
Jan. 19 - Criminal Mischief, Newton Hall, 4:04 p.m.
Jan. 23 - Petit Larceny, Criminal Mischief, Newton
Hall, 2:47 a.m.
Jan. 23 - Reckless Endangerment, Integrated
Science Center, 8:42 p.m.
Jan. 24 - Criminal Mischief, Newton Hall, 2:55 a.m.
Jan. 24 - Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny,
sworth, 7:45 p.m.
Wad-
Jan. 24 - Petit Larceny, South Hall, 1:40 p.m.
Jan. 24 - Reckless Endangerment, Integrated
Science Center, 12:30 a.m.
Jan. 25 - DWI, University Drive, 2:05 a.m., Arrest
Jan. 25 - False Reporting of an Incident, Criminal
Possession of Stolen Property, Wyoming Hall,
2:12 a.m., Arrest
Jan. 25 - Criminal Mischief, Steuben Hall, 2 a.m.
Source: University Police and Geneseo Police
Order determined by time incident was logged.
EVAN GOLDSTEIN/ASSOC. PHOTO EDITOR
REBECCA SEMENETZ
STAFF WRITER
After a long search and
interview process, visiting assistant professor of philosophy
Heidi Savage will begin her
tenure track position in August
as the newest addition to the
department of philosophy.
Savage will be the first
tenure track professor for the
Women’s Studies minor.
She grew up in New
Brunswick, Canada, and lived
in Nova Scotia for 10 years.
She attended the University of
Maryland for her undergraduate studies in sociology. She
didn’t discover philosophy until near the end of her degree
at the University of Maryland,
when she added philosophy as
a minor and two more years to
her undergraduate education.
After attending school, she
returned to Canada to earn her
master’s degree in philosophy
at Dalhousie University. Savage returned to her alma mater
to work toward her Ph.D. and
spent two years there as a doctoral fellow. Before coming to
Geneseo, she worked as a visiting assistant professor at Saint
Mary’s University in Nova
Scotia and then held the same
position at the University of
Rochester.
Savage said she likes Geneseo significantly more than the
previous schools she worked
for and hopes to be teaching
here for the rest of her career.
According to Savage, the students here are motivated, interested in learning beyond earning grades and are generally
sharp and smart students.
She added that Geneseo
students are, for the most part,
kind and caring people and active and involved members of
the community.
Savage said that she was
inspired to become a philosophy professor by Duncan MacIntosh, the chair of the philosophy department at Dalhousie
University. She said that his
funny and engaging class discussions made the material interesting and applicable to her
life. She added that she also enjoyed reading his work.
Despite popular belief that
a philosophy degree is outdated, Savage listed a plethora of
fields for philosophy majors
including law, bioethics, programming artificial intelligence
and academia. For any students
undecided on a major, she said,
philosophy can be practical because it teaches logical thinking that can be helpful in any
field.
Savage’s advice to students
is in the words of comedian and
musician Tim Minchin: “Don’t
forget to pay attention to what
is in your peripheral vision,”
she said. Savage herself found
philosophy by accident.
“I wasn’t looking for it; it
found me,” she said.
Contact the news editor at lamron.news@gmail.com
4
SUNY launches online initiative
to increase educational access
EMMA BIXLER
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
The State University of New
York is in the process of expanding courses offered online as part
of the Open SUNY initiative. This
program draws on collaborations
between the 64 SUNY campuses
in order to offer vigorous online
classes and degree programs for
its students.
According to SUNY Associate Provost for Academic Technology and Information Services
Carey Hatch, “This is SUNY’s
attempt to take online learning to
scale like no other community can.
If the campuses align properly, we
can offer more robust things to the
people in New York.”
SUNY offers over 12,000 online courses a year and over 350
blended courses. Blended courses
consist of both face-to-face interaction and online portions. SUNY
in January, bringing more student
and professor support to the established programs as well as introducing new programs.
The program will work differently depending on whether or not
interested students are enrolled in
a particular SUNY school.
“If you are already matriculated with a single school, in or-
der to take a course from another
institution, you would need to get
approval from your school’s registrar and the other school as well,”
Hatch explained. “Nonmatriculated students can take courses from
any school, and those courses can
transfer to any institution.”
He said that, because of the
online format, some classes are
harder to offer than others. Sciences, for example, are more difaspect of the class. These classes
aren’t impossible to offer online,
however, as SUNY is uniquely
positioned because it has facilities
within 30 minutes of most residents of the state.
According to the Open SUNY
website, the program focuses
ence, simplicity and excellence.
Hatch said that SUNY hopes to
see education become much more
blended over time. He added that
students often take online courses
over the summer, which decreases
the time it takes for students to get
degrees, therefore also decreasing
their costs.
Hatch said he hopes to see
Open SUNY act as an opportunity
for adults to receive the education
they always wanted but may not
have always believed they could
have.
“Our tuition is our tuition. It
is the same costs for face-toface education or online. But
online classes helps with gas,
childcare, tolls and other costs
that the average student might
not think about but the working
adult does,” Hatch said.
While the cost of tuition
cannot be lowered, SUNY is
working to lower overall costs
for students. Because of this,
they are releasing an Open
Textbook program in accordance with the Open SUNY
initiative. Here SUNY schools
will together to allow people to
rent textbooks and technology
online, which decreases costs.
Another goal of the Open
SUNY online classes program
is to impact the roles teachers
play in mentoring. Hatch said
that SUNY hopes to see teachers take the lead in where they
are going with the class and
how they are going to provide
quality education by offering
new and different technologies
online.
The Open SUNY initiative
shows a trend toward technological integration of the education system while focusing
on increased accessibility for
New Yorkers.
Jan. 30, 2014
SA
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
In their new positions, Becker
and Michael will continue to work
on publicizing the Responsible
Community Action Policy. This
policy is part of an effort to encourage students to seek help for others
who are in need, even in situations
in which alerting authorities could
lead to punishment.
“We want to incentivize students to take care of one another at
the end of the day. We don’t want
fears of retribution to stop someone from seeking help for someone
else,” Becker said.
projects, Becker said she will bring
ciency to her position as president.
“I want to promote discussions
in the SA meetings on different topics that SA [representatives] and
those who attend meetings can talk
about,” she said. “I always want to
be available for students if they have
any questions or concerns.”
“The transition has gone very
smoothly, so I’m very happy about
that,” Becker said. “I don’t think this
has really been a drawback. If any-
Freeze
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
revision will have separate sections for students and staff members describing in more detail
the president’s options for action, such as an early closing or
delayed start of class. It will also
list how the chief of police may
consult with the state, local and
county police on road conditions.
“Students need to make
decisions in their own best interest,” he said. “If they have
concerns they should take the
necessary precautions and communicate with faculty members
about what they should do in
the case of an extreme weather
event. Communication and planning beforehand on the part of
everyone will help us get through
these things.”
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SUNY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Fortune 500 Companies but also
the smaller yet successful companies are what are truly changing opportunities for students.
Big internship contenders include Morgan Stanley, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Enterprise
Rent-A-Car.
“We are also currently
working with [the Walt Disney
Company] for internship opportunities,” DiCarlo said.
On March 6, the Department
of Career Development will further its push for internships with
a professional job and internship
fair, where companies like First
Investors, the Peace Corps and
Teach for America will be present.
The address also emphasized digital learning and degree
programs by announcing the
launch of Open SUNY, a center
of eight degree programs and
other avenues of education via
Want to write for news?
the Internet. This program provides students and graduates opportunities to take classes online,
therefore making it easier to obtain a SUNY degree.
Long, who previously taught
online courses herself, said she
“Geneseo’s approach has
been to try and determine, identify and discover how the digital
learning environment can enhance what we already do,” she
said. “If a student has a challenge
graduating on time because there
is not a course available and there
is a way to take it at a distance,
that is a great opportunity.”
Ultimately, Zimpher’s address and its outlined initiatives will have an impact on the
SUNY system as well as New
York State as a whole.
Contact the News Editor at lamron.news@gmail.com
KNIGHTS’ LIFE
April
22,2014
2010
Jan. 30,
I
Keeping up with what students are doing at Geneseo
nvasion of
Privacy
JANELLE MARXHAUSEN
STAFF WRITER
FAVORITES
We all have experienced the
recurrent nature of day-to-day
life. Campus Auxiliary Service
employee Kim Dioguardi has
one simple solution: Just stay
positive.
15
5
MJ’s Kim DioGuardi livens
routine with energy, conversation
come in and tell me their stories
and I just listen, if that helps.”
Dioguardi could not pinpoint
one single reason for her inherent
friendliness. She stated that she
has just always been very talkative.
“I have just always been very
outgoing; I love to talk,” she said.
COLOR: Pink
MOVIE: Pretty Woman
HOLIDAY: Christmas
TV SHOW: “The Voice”
DAY OF THE WEEK: Friday
Dioguardi has been working for CAS at Geneseo for eight
years. For the past two, she has
been working upstairs in Mary
Jemison Dining Hall, where she
has become somewhat of a campus celebrity, especially for frespace with her humble yet lively
person and has become well
known for her ability to start up
cheery conversations.
“[Dioguardi] is easily my
favorite cashier in Geneseo,”
senior Joe Leathersich said.
“Sometimes I want to get food
from downstairs MJ but don’t
because I would be losing out on
having a conversation with her.
She always brightens my day.”
“I try to be positive, espenals,” Dioguardi said. “People
Not only does she love to
talk but she also encourages
others to talk and share things
about themselves.
Dioguardi traces her communication skills to her time
working for a travel agency.
Prior to working at Geneseo,
she worked as the manager of
AAA travel agency, based in
Lockport, N.Y., for 12 years.
“You had to communicate
Kim DioGuardi has been a CAS employee for eight years and has gained a reputation for consistently
-
wanted to go, what they wanted
to do,” she said. “You wanted
to make sure that everything
went OK, make sure we were
on the same page.”
Dioguardi said her favorite
place to travel was Bermuda
because of the warm, sandy
beaches. She also traveled to
far-off destinations such as Ar-
gentina, Japan and Brazil with
AAA.
Her desire to travel, however, did not end after leaving
the travel agency to become a
stay-at-home mom. She said
she would still really like to
travel more.
“I’ve always wanted to go
to the South Pacific. Why? I
have no idea,” Dioguardi said.
She cited her mother as a
large and inspiring influence,
particularly during the time in
which Dioguardi was raising
her three children.
“My mom was a wonderful lady: compassionate, kind
and she put up with me,” she
said. “She was just always
there for us … She was very
patient.”
Dioguardi’s three kids
are now 15, 18 and 21. Her
15-year-old son attends a local high school and is an avid
athlete. Her other two children
are college-bound and plan to
go sledding.
So this week, Knights’
Life paired up with seniors
Awa Gaye and Stephon Lawrence, the geniuses behind the
Geneseo fashion blog AGSL,
to provide a little outfit inspiration for those extra cold
days.
Whatever your style, Gaye
and Lawrence emphasize that
layering is essential for ma-
neuvering back and forth from
indoor to outdoor temperatures.
“Sometimes I wear a leather
jacket under my jacket,” Gaye
said. “Or even a blazer – I’m always layering on jackets.”
Also, just because it’s dark
and gloomy outside doesn’t
mean your wardrobe has to be
colorless too. Lawrence advises
that even in the winter, brighter
is better.
in this winter,” Lawrence said. “I
feel like people are afraid of color in the winter for some reason,
but they really shouldn’t be. I’ve
been seeing it a lot lately.”
Also, Gaye suggests repurposing your spring and summer
wardrobe as an instant way to
add some nice color back into
your apparel.
“I love using spring dresses
as tops; just layer a midi skirt
become an elementary school
teacher and a registered nurse.
“They’re all headed in the
right direction,” she said. “My
idea for them is to get educated
so you can support yourself …
no matter what happens.”
Dioguardi’s hobbies include
spending time with her kids and
walking her dog around her
hometown in Niagara County,
which she describes to be a lot
like the Geneseo community in
that “everybody’s friendly.”
AGSL forecasts eclectic style, sensibility
JESSICA IRWIN
ASST. KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
Between the “polar vortex” blustering through the
area and the dangerously slippery hills of Geneseo, balancing fashionable and functional
in this weather, no matter how
chic your layers, it can be dif-
over the dress and it’s perfect –
[plus] it’s warm,” she said.
Additionally,
pairing
your dresses with turtlenecks,
sweaters and tights are all great
ways to keep warm and look
fashionable during the winter
months.
As for accessories for
both men and women, Gaye
and Lawrence agree: Get good
shoes!
See FASHION on page 7
Contact the Knights’ Life editor at lamron.knightslife@gmail.com
6
Jan. 30, 2014
Traveling in the Valley: Livingston County Transit
CHELSEA BUTKOWSKI
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
There are 36.6 miles separating Geneseo from the nearest city. That wide expanse of
space leaves room for all the
things we love about the campus, like tall trees and sunset
views over the valley. Without a car, however, those 36.6
miles seem to stretch on forever.
Whether you’re looking to
explore a new location or planning your trip home for spring
break, don’t let Geneseo’s rural campus leave you feeling
stranded. The community offers a huge variety of transportation options for students.
Livingston Area Transportation Service is a local
company with a contract with
Geneseo, providing the gray
buses that are most visible
on campus. Aside from their
popular routes to Main Street,
Wegmans, Wal-Mart, Livingston Lanes, Geneseo Theaters
and other locations on Route
20A, the LATS buses also provide weekend transportation
to Rochester. Friday, Saturday
and Sunday stops include Marketplace and Eastview Malls,
the Amtrack Station and Rochester International Airport.
According to inspector Joseph Van Remmen of the parking and transportation department, bus schedules can’t be
altered in the midst of a school
year to avoid breaking routine
routes. Geneseo collaborates
with LATS, however, to create
a schedule that will be most
functional for students. They
include seasonal stops, like fall
trips to Letchworth State Park
and the Rochester Public Market and incorporated a route to
Main Street in Mount Morris
in fall 2011.
LATS also offers a service
called Dial-A-Ride allowing
Students give back in Sandy’s wake
MAYA LUCYSHYN
ASST. KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
For junior Alyssa Stefanese, the most recent Livingston
CARES trip to Staten Island,
N.Y. was more than another volunteer opportunity.
“With Staten Island, it’s my
home,” Stefanese said. She is
a Staten Island resident whose
family is still displaced as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
Shortly after the disaster
the idea of a trip to Staten Island
to Associate Dean of Leadership
and Service Tom Matthews,
whom she already knew from
her position on the Livingston
CARES Board of Directors.
“I vocalized it a little bit,
but I’m sure it would’ve worked
without me,” Stefanese said.
On the trip to Staten Island,
student and community volunteers worked on a variety of
tasks, including dismantling an
entire house over the course of
three days and painting two stories of a residential home. The
average workday was six hours,
but volunteers agree that the reward is worth the hard work.
“When you actually talk to
a homeowner and see the look
on their face … it’s heartwarming,” she said.
As for working on disaster
relief so close to home, Stefanese said, “It was like ‘The Twilight Zone.’” She described seeing neighborhoods she used to
go with her friends, where houses are completely destroyed and
the streets are deserted.
“It’s just bizarre,” she said.
“One house will be completely
people to call 24 hours in advance to arrange a ride within
or between Avon, Dansville
and Mt. Morris for only a few
dollars on business days. A
schedule is available on the
LATS website.
While LATS buses provide
basic transportation for activities and errands in and around
Geneseo, options for traveling
to Rochester to catch a plane
or train home for breaks or a
weekend stay may seem limited.
While Student Association provides shuttles free of
charge for students around
break times, there are also two
daily buses that stop in Geneseo and travel to the Rochester
bus station and downstate. At 9
a.m. and 6 p.m. every day, Adirondack Trailways buses pick
up students on Main Street in
front of Joe’s Comics. Tickets
for those buses are for sale at
Joe’s Comics. If you simply
cannot take a bus, the parking
and transportation services department offers a long list of
taxi services on its website.
For more freedom in your
travels, Campus Auxiliary Services also offers Hertz 24/7
service, allowing students to
rent one of two campus vehicles by the hour for $8 an hour
or $62 per day.
Information about transportation options for students
and traveling during school
breaks is available at Geneseo’s transportation services
website and the concierge desk
on the basement level of the
College Union.
Launch your international
career through
Peace Corps service
PEACE CORPS AT GENESEO
Wednesday, Februar y 5
INFORMATION SESSION
5:00 p.m.
MacVittie College Union
322/323
Look for our table at
the Volunteer Fair!
Learn more from Geneseo
Recruiter Dove Russo
drusso@peacecorps.gov
be nothing but a staircase.”
Stefanese’s family currently lives in an apartment near
the site of their home, which is
still going through reconstruction.
After Hurricane Sandy, certain neighborhoods in Staten
where the government purchases an area’s property for its
pre-disaster value. For others
who do not qualify, volunteer
assistance is the only way some
families can afford to move
back into their houses.
With Sandy coverage dying
in the media but thousands still
displaced, organizations such
as Livingston CARES and the
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers
Foundation serve as reminders
that people have not yet forgotten about hurricane victims.
“Just to see that people
still care is so heartwarming to
me,” Stefanese said.
The Stephen Siller Foundation, which she worked with on
the trip, actually provided the
funds and volunteers that gave
Stefanese’s brother the means to
move back into his home.
Livingston CARES trips
connection to the area. Although
her third trip was to her hometown, Stefanese joined the club
and went on two trips before
Hurricane Sandy.
These service trips offer
students, faculty and community members the opportunity to
connect not only with those they
are assisting but also with their
peers.
“It brings you bonds you
can take back to Geneseo,” Stefanese said.
Peace Corps
peacecorps.gov - 855.855.1961
Want to get more involved in The Lamron?
The Knights’ Life section is seeking blog writers!
Come to our general meeting every
Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the
Union Mailroom
The Lamron | www.thelamron.com
Jan. 30, 2014
Keeping resolutions in check
MAYA LUCYSHYN
ASST. KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
New Year’s resolutions are
great, that is, until February.
This year, make a real difference by focusing on small habit
changes instead of drastic reinventions. Your body and mind
Most students come back
for their spring semester with
a well-intentioned but vague
resolution in mind, such as
“get better grades” or “be more
healthy,” but these general
goals will never come to fruiCory Hancock, Campus
Auxiliary Service’s nutrition
and wellness coordinator, suggested deciding a “when, what,
how, and most importantly, a
why,” for any goal. Hancock
said that there is no “‘one size
change that will suit them best
in the end. This change can
be anything from eating more
fruits and vegetables or going to the gym to getting more
sleep through better time management.
For those with dietary resolutions, this semester is the
perfect time to change their diet
with the arrival of a juice bar in
Mary Jemison Dining Hall.
“It’s good for anyone who
wants to boost their intake of
vitamins and minerals and antioxidants,” Hancock said.
Changes in diet and exercise can also benefit students
who resolve to boost their academic performance.
“You can’t strive or do
well in a class if you’re sick
or unhealthy,” media manager
for Geneseo Opportunities for
Leadership Development senior Nick Palumbo said.
Working on small changes
outside the classroom can actually hold many more benefits in the long term than overloading hours of studying and
stress.
Thomas Chew, a Transitional Opportunity Program
counselor, noted that students
often do not realize the myriad
of resources on campus that
can help them succeed in the
classroom. At Milne Library,
a program called the Center
for Academic Excellence helps
students through tutoring programs, walk-in appointments
and the Writing Learning Center. It also matches them up
with students and professors in
every department, so they can
receive extra help in classes in
which they need it.
Chew said that most Geneseo students did not require
help outside the classroom in
high school and struggle because they still feel reluctant
to ask. He stressed the importance of recognizing your
strengths and weaknesses before trying to blindly make
changes.
“If you know you suck at
math, ask for help in math,”
he said. “Don’t try to study it
the way you study history because you love history.”
In fact, according to
Chew, one of the best ways
students can improve academically is to ask for outside
help and have honest discussions not only with their professors but also their friends,
families or roommates.
So before you resolve to
read for eight hours a day or
start that juice cleanse, take
a deep breath and remember
that sometimes the simpler
path is actually the better one.
No matter your resolution, making small, everyday changes will create much
more improvement than the
all-too-common
two-week
surge students attempt before
returning to their previous
habits.
As Hancock put it, “Everyone has individual things
that they want to work on, and
it takes more than resolve. It
takes a whole plan.”
7
Fashion
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Gaye suggests tall riding
boots, ankle boots with block
heels or over-the-knee boots to
keep your toes warm and dry this
winter.
For going out on exceptionally cold nights, Gaye said to
remember that there’s nothing
wrong with wearing pants.
“Most girls think that going
out means skirts – short skirts,”
she said. “But wearing great troua sweater is okay. You’ll still look
great, and you won’t be cold.”
Though your nightlife apparel can be adapted to the snowy
weather, Gaye and Lawrence said
high heels in the snow might be
pushing it.
“Stilettos are a lot of work
when it isn’t snowing outside,”
Lawrence said. “Why would you
even take the chance?”
Lawrence added that, whenever it comes to fashion, dressing
the way you want to dress is always
best.
One thing both Gaye and
Shorts. Shorts in the dead of winter
is a not only a fashion faux pas, but
it’s impractical – and dangerous.
“Sometimes safety is more
important than fashion,” Lawrence
said.
And while it is possible to be
chic and warm, super low temperatures can be a health hazard. So
please, put some pants on, and accept that you go to school in Western New York. Don’t worry; it’ll be
spring soon enough.
Jonesing for juice or the right price? THE
THE
INQUIRING
INQUIRING
PHOTOGRAPHER
PHOTOGRA
What is the most
disappointing
thing you did
over break?
Junior
FRANKIE MANDRACCHIA
KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
Situated in the corner of
Mary Jemison Dining Hall
and somewhat antithetical to
what was formerly Taco Bell,
Campus Auxiliary Services’
juiced creation is now open.
The juice bar is touted as
a product of student choice,
as CAS conducted a survey in
fall 2013, beating out a proposed candy bar, according to
the organization’s website.
At first the approach
is vibrant, with color integrated into the design of the
concession; it is a bit lonely,
however, and has yet to create a consistent flow of customers. As you approach the
billboard-like menu, there are
items named by their apparent
health benefits. I tried “Purify
and Restore,” a ruby-red mixture of apple juice, beetroot
and carrots. The apple juice
was slightly apparent but was
quickly overwhelmed by the
earthy beet flavor. There is
also a “Make Your Own” option.
Each beverage prepared is
heavy on the vegetables and
uses orange or apple juice as
a base. Beets, kale, carrots and
ginger are among the options
available. CAS’ new offering
is unique in its approach and
a somewhat refreshing addition to the standard purview of
beverages offered by the food
service.
The options, however,
are a bit inaccessible to most
college students’ taste buds,
especially the beet’s intense
flavor. Notwithstanding the
fact that a can of V8 V-Fusion
juice sold just down the counter is $1.59 versus $3.99 for a
small cup of vegetable juice,
I can appreciate the merits of
a glass brimming with health
benefits like antioxidants and
nutrients like iron.
But the juice blends that
taste somewhat familiar and
simpler – like “Bright Eyes”
with apple juice, carrots and
ginger – can appeal to unsure
palettes. Forego Coca-Cola
and try something new in a
time when the bitter cold has
us carb loading and reaching
for fried foods.
Communication
Kelsey Gramlich
Aleni Sammler
Junior
Contact the Knights’ Life editor at lamron.knightslife@gmail.com
8
Jan. 30, 2014
Fate written by stars in the knight sky
JESSICA IRWIN
ASST. KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
Aries
March 21 to April 19
Getting your work
done may not sound
very appealing right now, but
ligations might lead to a romantic encounter this week or, at the
very least, an opportunity to get to
know someone better.
Taurus
April 20 to May 20
With a brand new
year upon you, it’s time to focus
all of your energy on accomplishing your goals – one at a time.
Your time will be best spent
slowing down and making quality work instead of just throwing
things together to get everything
done. With the semester in full
swing again, you will feel the
need to stay organized or risk a
dangerous slump in productivity.
Gemini
May 21 to June 20
If love is a top priority this month,
you’re in luck! If you’re already
lucky in love then aim to avoid
jealousy or suspicion this week.
Communication is the key to a
happy, healthy relationship, and
it’s important not to make mountains out of molehills this month.
Keep your emotions in check, and
make sure you express yourself
honestly and entirely.
Cancer
June 21 to July 22
Changes to your
professional life
are imminent, Cancer, but don’t
that comes along, as it may not be
exactly what you want. You need
to make your own decisions this
month, so be careful of unsolicited advice, even if it’s from close
friends or family members.
Leo
July 23 to Aug. 22
This month kicks
off the year with
a huge amount of productive
momentum. That being said, it
is important for you to assume
your position of leader by taking charge. Get a head start on
any group projects, and don’t be
afraid to take the lead. Don’t allow others to waste your time or
undermine your decisions.
Virgo
Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
With a new year
comes the opportunity to work on a new you! Take
some time to give yourself an
honest assessment, but don’t forget to think about your mental life
as well. Identify some areas you
could make improvements in in-
tellectually, and use the new year
as an opportunity to revamp your
old habits. You may not need to
start from scratch, but it’s possible you can make some changes
that will increase your academic
justments to the way you work.
Libra
Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
this month, and responding to
family matters should be your
initial focus in the coming weeks.
As the last half of the school year
begins, your future life is becoming even more imminent – but
don’t hold back, the future is
bright. Keep in mind that you
can’t expect things to change and
stay the same at the same time.
Scorpio
Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
As tempting as it
sounds to fall for
someone you connect with instantly, you should
take your time with an upcoming
situation and analyze the connection before making a move.
While the desire may be strong,
it’s possible that nothing else
about the pairing works. Be realistic about what you want rosomething real for passion. Just
because Valentine’s Day is coming up doesn’t mean you have to
settle – have fun. Things don’t
have to get serious right now.
Sagittarius
Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
You are often the
most sociable one
in your group, but you may do
well to pass on the party invitation this weekend. Of course
you still want to have fun, but
your recent introspective state
could mean that an evening at
cant other might be more compatible with your current feelings. Respect your emotions by
graciously declining the invitation and creating an evening
to catch up on some relaxation
and homework time. You can
always go out tomorrow!
Capricorn
Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
Don’t allow your
feelings to cloud
your vision this
month, Capricorn.
Your emotions may be running
high, but as long as you keep a
level head you will be able to
get through things. Using your
instincts will allow you to see
if there are any relationships in
your life that are no longer serving their purpose and need to
be disconnected. Clean endings
are possible this month, so do
what you need to do and keep
in mind that endings are merely
the start to new beginnings.
Aquarius
Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
Between
the
frigid
winter
weather and the start of a new
semester, you may be feeling a
little unmotivated this month,
Aquarius, but don’t let your lack
of inspiration cause you to fall
behind. Manage your time wisely by spending some extra time
in Club Milne instead of hitting
up the Geneseo bar scene multiple times this week, and your
hard work is sure to pay off.
cult to get back into the swing
of things, save yourself from a
future headache by doing your
Pisces
Feb. 19 to March20
In order to make
your dreams come
true this month, you
will need to start making some
new networking choices. You
have the chance now to get yourself and your work out there by
meeting the people who have the
The end of the month especially
will bring the chance to engage
people that could open up new
opportunities.
CLASSIFIEDS
Ļ5',)(5R51118Ļ',)(8)'
Dec.
3, 2014
2009
Jan. 30,
For Rent
Conesus Lake Waterfront
Homes: Furnished (4 bed, 1
bath $900/month) & (5 bed, 2
bath $1,300) Available Fall 2014/
Spring 2015 http://www.familytiesatpebblebeach.com/ 716-5480158
For Rent: 4 Oneida Ave. Beautiful house available immediately
for remainder of Fall/Spring semesters. 3 bedrooms. Negotiable
rent. Includes utilities, internet,
parking, and laundry. Call 585414-5550 or email johnsonjkyle@
gmail.com.
For Rent: Booking for the 20142015 school year on Court Street.
6-8 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, large backyard, on sight
laundry, and plenty of off street
parking. Rent includes heat, hot
water, and internet. Also available,
3-4 bedrooms and 5-6 bedrooms
includes the same as the 6-8 bedrooms. Call or text 585-354-6726
or e-mail cviewlimard@yahoo.
com.
Affordable Student Housing - A
Really Nice Place! Quiet Environment! Available: Spring 2014/
Fall 2014 & Spring 2015. Fully
Furnished - Nice Furniture! 1.5
baths, Off Street Parking. 2 min.
drive/15 min. walk, from Campus.
3 Bedroom House. All Utilities included: Water, Trash, Heat, Electric, Cable & Internet. Big front
porch, nice yard, back deck, free
laundry, Wireless Internet/Cable
in every bedroom. Non-smokers
Only. No Pets. Pay by semester.
Security Deposit Required. Call
or email for pics and to schedule
a walk-thru. Call: Bob @ 585-797-
5254, Email roh4@mac.com
For Rent: 2 person and 5 person
apartments available for 2014/2015
school year. Call 243-5740.
For Rent: 2014-2015 School year
3-4 students: All single bedrooms.
Includes: off street parking, laundry facilities, utilities included.
Close to college. Call 585-2338402.
FOR RENT 2014-2015 school
year - just one apartment left- 3
bedroom apartment for 3 students.
$1875 per student per semester
($375 per month)-10 month lease.
Most utilities included. No pets.
Call 585-243-9173 evenings.
STUDENT RENTAL FOR
2014–2015: 4 bedroom house on
4 Highland Road village of Geneseo. $1,900/semester/student based
on 4 students, 7 bedroom (2 apartment house) 21 Elm St village of
Geneseo $2,200/semester per student based on 7 can be split into 4
and 3. Both apartments with washer/dryers and off-street parking. If
interested call 585-243-4260 or
email tpalma@frontiernet.net.
Apartments for Rent: 4 bedroom
21 Orchard St, off street parking,
bage and snow removal.
1990.00/semester per person.
Call John Wallin at 585-737-7420
or email at jdw3175@rochester.
rr.com
Student Rentals: 4 bedroom/1
bath and 5 bedroom/2 bath units
available for 2014-2015. On-site
laundry, close to campus. Single
rooms available for Spring 2014
- $1500 this semester only. Dial/
text 585-208-4210.
Want to
advertise in
THE LAMRON?
Contact our ads team by
emailing lamronad@geneseo.edu
or call (585) 245-5896
For Rent: Three BR apartment
for 2014-2015 above Club 41. For
info or appointment call Mark
585-346-2600.
For Rent: 1 BR apartment for 2
people on Main Street for 20142015. For info or appointment
call Mark 585-346-2600.
House for Rent: for the 20142015 school year. 2 separate
apartments for 3, 4, 7 or 8 students, great location on Ward
Place. Please call 329-3223 or
243-5740.
House for Rent: 4 Bedrooms;
4 Occupants; all appliances included; private yard and parking;
large living room and dining
room; beautiful village home
with great front porch; safe and
well lit. Available for 2014/2015
school year; $500 security deposit; $ 1,900 per semester/student; Summer storage available.
House is rarely open to new renters! This is your chance to live
in a beautiful, clean, well maintained house! Take a drive/walk
by 5 Highland Road. Call/text
585-243-5018.
For Rent: 19 Franklin St. 4 bedroom house that borders campus
on two sides. Washer/Dryer on
premise and off street parking.
Need 4 students at 2400/semester. Contact Jake at 585-755-9395
Conesus Lake Rental 8.5 miles
from campus-3500 sq ft fully
furnished 5 bedroom house with
two living rooms, queen beds
with matching dressers, large
kitchen table, porch, piano, new
washer+dryer, two car garage
and off-street parking. Contact
Jake at 585-755-9395. Looking
for at least three responsible
students.
For Rent: 10 Center St 3 bedroom upper and 2 bedroom
lower apartment. One block
from campus. Contact Jake at
585-755-9395.
For Rent: 3 and 4 bedroom apartments for rent for
2014/2015 school year, corner
Main and University, VERY
cluded, $3,000 per person per
semester. Call 330-2139 or 2611393.
Student Rental for the
2014/2015 academic year. 4
students for a 4 bedroom colonial house on North Street. Five
minutes walk to campus. First
information call 243-4389.
STUDENT HOUSING: 20142015. Three, four, seven, and
eight person units available.
Main Street, Center Street, and
North Street locations- walking
distance to campus. CALL 585397-2633 or EMAIL gvapartmentrentals@outlook.com
For Rent: Wonderful lakefront
2 bedroom home. Near campus.
2 Full-baths/Well-furnished/
On-site
parking.
Includes
W/D, internet, cable, water,
trash. $1975/person/semester.
Available 2014-2015 academic
year. Pics: http://www.rentalsatconesuslakeny.com/
Ann,
5853870487.
99
Rental: 2014-2015 School
Year: Beautiful house located
in Woodbine Park, 2 students.
Off street parking, large deck +
yard, newer appliances, washer
& dryer, gas and electric included, 2500 per student/semester
plus security. Call or text 585402-6668.
FOR RENT 2014-2015 SEMESTER: 3 bedroom, furnished apartment, heat, water,
garbage included in rent. Offstreet parking. Main Street location suitable for three females.
Please call 585-704-5516 for an
appointment.
Sublet
Needed
SUBLET NEEDED: Spring ’14
Semester. Price reduced $2,500
to $2,100 in Meadows Apartment Complex. Living with
two other female students. All
utilities included. Laundry and
parking on site. Email gallesk@
gmail.com and call (585) 7468769!
10
Dec. 3, 2009
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jan. 30, 2014
14
“Seussical” opens spring theater season
with fun for children great and small
Photos by Sinead Haegeland/Staff Photographer
and Evan Goldstein/Assoc. Photo Editor
ANTONIA MARIC
STAFF WRITER
The department of music revisited the childhood tales of Dr.
Seuss in performances of “Seussical the Musical” between Jan. 24
and 26 in Wadsworth Auditorium.
The show follows the imagination of a young boy named JoJo
and his journey through a Seussical world, guided by the notorious
Cat in the Hat.
Professor of theatre Melanie
Blood directed and choreographed
the show. Blood said that she chose
“the focus on imagination, strong
characters and wonderful music
seemed to really speak to college
students.”
Geneseo students had been
putting in long hours in prepara-
tion of the show since Jan. 10.
Children ages 9 to 17 years old
from the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir also participated as
the Who ensemble.
Sophomore Kevin Weber
played the Mayor of Whoville
with charisma and charm and emphasized the transcendent nature
of the musical.
“It might seem like it’s purely
Dr. Seuss’ books, the themes of the
musical are relevant to someone
no matter their age,” Weber said.
As soon as the audience
members entered the lobby of
the auditorium, they were greeted
with colorful paintings depicting
Seuss scenes as well as caricatures
of cast members with their bios,
which conveyed the playful character of the show.
The stage was equally well
decorated, dressed in larger-thanlife Seuss scene paintings and
multi-level platforms painted
in vibrant colors. Costumes enhanced the colorful scheme, especially with all of the birds.
With the exception of the
Whos and JoJo, all of the musical’s characters are animals. There
were no furry ears or elephant
trunks in sight, however, providing a more mature interpretation
of the popular musical.
Every cast member delivered
their role with great excellence.
Senior Billy O’Donnell in particular shined as the Cat in the Hat.
Senior Elyssa Ramirez starred
as Mayzie LaBird and wowed the
audience with her powerhouse
voice and larger-than-life acting,
along with senior Melissa Taranea
as the Sour Kangaroo. Junior CJ
Roche and freshman Nicole Eras
both stunned the crowd with their
amazing performances as Horton
the Elephant and Gertrude McFuzz.
A freshman in high school,
Blood’s daughter Miranda Blood
starred as JoJo, and she was able
to stand out among her older
peers.
“Every member of this ensemble, college and youth, is very,
very talented and makes his or her
unique mark in at least a moment
or two of our production,” Melanie Blood said.
Every member was essential to the production, and they
all worked together very well to
create a show of sheer fun and
entertainment. The excellent performance of Geneseo students and
choir students alike was entrancing.
The performances truly
brought back memories of Dr. Seuss days, with rhyming conversations and endless imagination.
“The show itself is believing in your own, limitless imagination and never underestimating the power of your ‘thinks,’”
O’Donnell said. The cast and
crew of “Seussical” successfully
portrayed this idea with their
performance.
The Lamron | www.thelamron.com
Jan. 30, 2014
11
Post-hiatus Neutral Milk Hotel plays SPOTLIGHT ON:
fan favorites with new fervor
BRIAN REMY
STAFF WRITER
On Jan. 19, I attended a
Neutral Milk Hotel concert in
Toronto. I can describe it simply in one word: breathtaking.
“Sorry we were late last
time,” Neutral Milk Hotel
band member Scott Spillane
said at the start of the show.
The “last time” to which he
was referencing had to have
been at least 15 years ago. The
band’s long-awaited reunion
tour started in 2013 and is currently planned to run through
August.
The band went on a long,
indefinite hiatus after it released its 1998 record In the
Aeroplane Over the Sea for
unclear reasons. Some have
speculated that it was because
of an emotion breakdown of
lead singer Jeff Mangum. In
its reunion tour, the band is
fully restored with the original lineup.
The show opened with
the band Elf Power, a member of the Elephant 6 collective, the recording company
that Neutral Milk Hotel and
various other indie folk bands
are signed with. In between
songs, Elf Power members
rarely looked up and made no
comment about song names,
or even their own name – I had
to look it up later. The group
was a great opener but in no
way did it prepare the crowd
for what they were about to
witness.
I had seen Mangum play
a solo concert, which was
beautiful but missing a major element: the band. When
he walked onstage this time
around he had a full beard,
long hair and wore a hat, making his face impossible to
see. Alone on stage he start-
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
-
ed strumming the song “The
King of Carrot Flowers Pt.
One,” from In the Aeroplane
Over the Sea. In the middle of
the song the rest of the group
walked out and completed the
picture. The band erupted into
an explosion of power starting
“The King of Carrot Flowers
Pts. Two & Three.”
Before I could catch my
breath, Mangum started playing “Holland, 1945.” Any
Neutral Milk Hotel fan would
know that this is probably their
most energetic song, so there I
was back in the mosh pit reliving my metal-head days.
The biggest highlight of
the show was when they played
songs I hadn’t ever heard. Not
knowing a good amount of the
songs made standing there in
the crowd absorbing all the
amazing music and lyrics truly
enjoyable.
Band
member
Julian
Koster contributed many of
his own elements to the band’s
sound. Most notable was the
singing saw, a handsaw Koster
played with a bow, showcasing a trademark instrument in
Neutral Milk Hotel’s sound.
Spillane and Jeremy Barnes
also contributed to the band’s
stunning horn section. The
concert had all the elements
that made for a mind-blowing
night.
In the wake of this concert, I’ve reflected a lot about
the future of the group. Who
knows what is in store for Neutral Milk Hotel? Seeing the
band 16 years after it released
any new music gives me hope
and excitement for the group’s
future endeavors.
BOOK REVIEW:
Hyperbole and a Half
Clever illustrations redefine children’s book
SARAH SIMON
ASST. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Words can conjure up so
much for those with eager eyes,
making each reading experience
particular to the individual. But
when illustrations become just
as essential to a book as syllables and consonants, the author
ushers readers into a realm of
understanding that is too often
restricted to kindergarteners.
Yes, Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate
Situations, Flawed Coping
Mechanisms, Mayhem, and
Other Things That Happened,
released in late 2013, may be a
picture book. But don’t turn up
your collegiate nose quite yet.
Brosh starts the traditional
blurb on the back of her graphic novel rather untraditionally:
“This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back
cover to explain what it is.”
Obviously, Brosh has no
trouble revealing her dork
side. Turns out she has been
doing just that for years; her
popular BlogSpot page, which
claims the same title as her
book, tells of ridiculous life
stories, complete with hilariously simple illustrations. One
blog entry selected for the
book describes a time when
young Brosh would stop at
nothing to get her hands on her
grandfather’s birthday cake.
She ended up eating all of it.
See HYPERBOLE on page 13
LEXI HANNAH
Student artist
LUC MAKOWSKI
ASST. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Science student turned professional visual artist, senior
Lexi Hannah lives a life of artistic creation and expression.
Working multiple commissions ranging from murals to magazine covers to graphic novels, she is well within her element.
Hannah’s concentrations in her artistic studies include
painting with watercolor, egg tempera, printmaking and jewelry and metals. She painted her first mural in Geneseo’s Intramurals office in fall 2012.
“All day and all night, I was painting,” Hannah said. “One
day I was on the ladder for 14 hours and didn’t realize that I
hadn’t gotten down. I realized I was so happy to be doing what
I was doing.”
This experience brought her to painting murals at a bedand-breakfast in Italy and a church in Albany, and she will
soon be redoing the murals in the Merritt and Schrader gymnasiums.
In addition to her murals, Hannah has also completed various graphic design projects for Geneseo.
Hannah’s art places a noticeable focus on color, and her
pieces tend to be bright and saturated. She likens bright color
in a piece to focusing on the best in the world, taking reality
and showing it in an even better light.
Outside of her commissioned work, Hannah said her personal artwork often shares themes of humans’ connections
with one another and how, using our differences, we can help
each other to grow.
Hannah has a lifelong background in the arts as a whole,
having grown up in a large family of musicians, actors and artists. She said that, while growing up, she would spend much of
her time in her room creating something.
The arts followed Hannah to high school, when she painted solely for herself but did not take it seriously. It was not her
plan to develop her career in the arts when she entered college,
as she instead focused on her studies of natural sciences.
“I came to Geneseo and was so unwilling to say ‘I’m an
artist’ because it sounded like saying ‘I’m not smart, but I can
doodle,’” Hannah said. “I would get sick every winter, and I
would have to withdraw early. It happened twice. I realized
that I was overworking myself, not doing what I was supposed
to be doing.”
In the summer of 2012, Hannah took Western Humanities
I abroad with professor of philosophy Elias Savellos. It was
during this course that she learned what the study of art history entails and decided to pursue it instead of science. When
she returned to Geneseo for the fall semester, she changed her
major to art history in the studio art track.
Having discovered her calling as an artist, Hannah holds
the arts on a level of importance that is above financial or job
security.
“Even in Florence, they’re having cuts in art programs,”
Hannah said. “It’s funny because I feel that people maybe
think that, career-wise, it’s not a guarantee. But what about
being a decent human being? What about being happy?”
Contact the Arts & Entertainment editor at lamron.arts@gmail.com
12
MOVIE REVIEW:
I, Frankenstein
Undead thriller is
truly monstrous
Jan. 30, 2014
Groundbreaking Grammys
wedding spotlights celebrity
JUSTINE TALBOT
STAFF WRITER
Theaters are marketing I, Frankenstein as an action-horror
movie. It is intended to be thrillingly dark, or at least darkly thrilling. Instead, it turned out to be something of a comedy.
Frankenstein
ten Tomatoes ratings are in the single digits. Still, I, Frankenstein
appears to have potential. The creators of the Underworld series
produced it. They enjoy a cult following – and with good reason.
But there is just no denying that I, Frankenstein is an appall-
subs in demons and gargoyles – read: ugly angels – for the go-to
choices of vampires and werewolves.
a bizarrely biblical turn when the gargoyle queen christens Frankenstein’s monster Adam. And the good-evil divide is disappointingly obvious. Spoiler alert: The monster is not the bad guy here.
And, of course, the science is a joke. It certainly was incredible
back in 1818 when Shelley wrote about an impassioned scientist
reanimating a corpse one dark and stormy night using lightning.
But apparently the creators of this movie believed that this little
So, what source of electricity does Dr. Frankenstein actually
use, according to this version of the tale? Electric eels. It is not
lightning that shocked this apparently immortal beast alive but the
current conducted by several electric eels. Sorry, what?
The acting is not the worst ever, but it’s certainly not great.
Aaron Eckhart’s performance as the monster/Adam/Frankenstein
is rather unsatisfying. He doesn’t exactly have clever lines to work
with – other than “Descend in pain, demon!” of course, which
is just brilliant writing – but his delivery is actually laughable at
times. It’s easy to forget that this guy played Harvey Dent not to
mention Two-Face in The Dark Knight.
Yvonne Strahovski of the TV series “Chuck” is also underwhelming in her role as a 21st-century scientist. She simply isn’t
passionate enough about her work to be interesting or even convincing, and she and Eckhart have zero chemistry.
Bill Nighy is reasonably creepy in his role as the demon
prince, but his performance feels a little derivative of that of the
Underworld series’ evil head vampire. A quick Internet Movie Database search reveals that this is because he was, in fact, that head
vampire. Not only is the character the same but the actor is also
the same.
The aspect of this movie that has the potential to be really impressive is the effects, but even those are lackluster. The computergenerated imagery just isn’t cutting it, especially when it comes to
2000s fantasy PC game.
It’s kind of cool when the demons “descend” to hell in red
white light, but it just makes one wonder what the supposedly ignorant humans think of that particular spectacle. Fireworks, maybe?
The Northern Lights? It’s simply too ridiculous not to question.
CHELSEA BUTKOWSKI
ARTS & ENTERTAIMENT EDITOR
Thirty-three couples varying in race and sexual orientation
exchanged wedding vows in front
of millions of people they’d never
met. Queen Latifah presided over
the marriages accompanied by the
sweet sound of “Same Love” performed by Madonna and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The actual
ceremony lasted under a minute.
Yes, that’s what really happened at the 2014 Grammy
Awards.
The unexpected nuptials
angry rants to happy tears and utter worship. The marriages themselves, performed to take on “a
humanitarian issue … not a political issue,” according to Recording
Academy President Neil Portnow,
indicate a leap in American popular culture. That same-sex couples
wedded on national TV to mostly
widespread support demonstrates a
society, and that’s beautiful.
The sheer fact that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same
Love,” a song touting marriage
equality from a straight man’s perspective, is well-accepted enough
to make the Top 40 charts is re-
markable. I respect Macklemore’s
effort to promote equality.
But all that notoriety doesn’t
shake away the looming sense of
insincerity that crept up throughout
the performance.
It’s no one’s fault. It’s not
Queen Latifah or Macklemore or
Madonna with her pimp cane and
cowboy getup. They’re all just people whose celebrity has gifted them
a degree of power, and they’re
using it to communicate with us.
What bothers me is that the focus of
the event was on the celebrities instead of the people we really should
have been rooting for: you know,
those 66 people who got married?
Of course, it was the Grammys, a celebration of music and
celebrity and fashion wrapped into
one, but I do think that 33 weddings
warrant a little more screen time
than a few snippets you might blink
and miss. These weddings pack the
political punch of a Janet Jackson
Super Bowl nip slip combined
with the sentimental pull of Kanye
West’s 2009 Taylor Swift bashing
at the Video Music Awards. The
weddings are different from other
notable live TV incidents because
they were highly staged.
The Grammys meticulously
orchestrated this event – right
down to the white chapel-inspired
stage – with a statement in mind.
But the strongest initial statement I
felt pushed to draw from the whole
ordeal was something along the
lines of, “Wow, these celebrities
are good people for supporting
marriage equality.”
The event felt like a celebration of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ song (which is more a repetition
of clichés than groundbreaking in
itself) and the cherry on top of their
four Grammy wins. It should have
celebrated those 33 individual couples, gay or straight. Instead, the
couples themselves seemed like
pawns in a much larger scheme.
Maybe I’m just impatient
with our progress. The performer
on that stage who really shone for
me was Mary Lambert, the openly
lesbian singer who performs the
chorus of “Same Love”: “I can’t
change, even if I tried.”
Or, I’m just impatient for the
day when, instead of listening to
a straight man express the dreams
and voices of the LGBTQ-plus
community on such a weighty
stage, we can listen to raw music
in which the point of view comes
from the heart of the issue. When
the face of musical celebrity
changes, there will be no questioning sincerity anymore.
rather pitiful piece of modern cinema is this: Eels? Really?
Best songs for braving the cold:
Song
artist
submitted by
“Hey You”
Pink Floyd
Herb Susmann
“These Eyes”
The Guess Who
Casey Larkin
“Hot in Here”
Nelly
Anthony Rodriguez
“Sun”
Two Door Cinema Club
Ava Russell
“Summerboy”
Lady Gaga
Zoe Finn
“Blurry Nights”
Hayden
Kevin Frankel
“Turbulence”
Steve Aioki
Maddy Smith
Louis Marzella
Sophomore
“Heart Lines” by
Florence and the Machine
The Lamron | www.thelamron.com
Jan. 30, 2014
13
WINTER TV REWIND
“AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.”
OLIVER DIAZ
FRANCESCA PANZARIELLO
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
The momentum Lena Dunham generated from
both critics and worshippers of the first two seasons
of HBO’s “Girls” continues in the show’s third season but with a few twists.
Hannah, our leading lady, has found solid
ground with her highly unique “partner, lover, rentsharer” Adam. Her stability gives this season new
excitement as her professional career is finally
headed in the right direction and serves as a new
source for Hannah’s hyper-dramatic humor.
On the other hand, Charlie’s character is gone
because actor Christopher Abbott decided to leave
the show, which leaves Hannah’s former roommate
Marnie to flail as the season begins. As a viewer and
a writer, it’s nice to see Hannah perfect her stroke
while Marnie treads water for now, flipping their
roles from season two.
Shoshanna has decided to balance academia
and partying in her senior year at New York University in order to “enjoy both sides” as she becomes
a mature adult. She adds lightness to the show with
unpredictable and usually unintentional humor as
she watches her friends struggle to survive in the
real world.
Her lifestyle change is juxtaposed with Ray’s
“career success” – his new position as manager of
a Cafe Grumpy in Brooklyn Heights – but we see
him continue to struggle with their break-up in the
beginning of the season. Ray and Shosh show no
compatibility this season, making me wonder how
they ever dated in the first place – I’ll have to go
back and watch season two again.
Forget all about that though, as the true focus of
the season’s opening was the return of Jessa, in the
form of a phone call: “Don’t scream, relax … I’m
in rehab.” Hannah immediately takes Jessa’s word
and agrees to come get her from rehab, which provides the viewers with great humor to Jessa’s rehab
experiences, from her pleasuring Danielle Brooks
from “Orange is the New Black,” to the road trip on
which Hannah, Adam and Shosh embark.
BBC’s “Sherlock” is the latest British craze to hit
American airways. Now early into its third season,
“Sherlock” portrays the familiar iconic British detective solving crime in modern day England.
Season two ended with one of the most talkedabout cliffhangers in recent TV history. Sherlock’s
supposed suicide and later-revealed survival of his
fall from the roof of St. Barts Hospital had fans of the
show coming up with a wide range of theories. Even
though the show’s creators, Steven Moffat and Mark
Gatiss, have everyone awaiting the solution, the real
anticipated moment comes with the reveal of his survival to his mourning friend, John Watson, after two
years.
CHRISTIAN PERFAS
STAFF WRITER
Set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D.” explores the more human side of affairs in a
world of superheroes and expertly balances playful and seseason premiere aired in early January.
With a healthy dose of action and humor, a handful of
appearances by recognizable characters from the Marvel
franchise and numerous nods to the source material, “Agents
tent from Marvel Studios.
For those who may still be feeling a bit lost: “Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is set in the same “universe” established by
recent Marvel superhero movies – with the most relevant being The Avengers, given that the series picks up where that
movie left off. The program aims to redirect focus from these
super-powered stars to the regular activities of the secretive
organization that supervises them.
It is essentially a show that comes from a perspective
er-than-life characters, and it does an excellent job expanding the mythos and introducing other interesting but lesser
known Marvel characters.
While the challenge of a movie-to-television adaptation
ly has Joss Whedon behind the reins, who helped to amplify
the success of the collaborative Avengers
experience in such adaptations.
Whedon’s creative expertise and vision are evident in
the writing and character development within the series and
help keep the show engaging. With the central, easily recognizable character Phil Coulson acting as the medium between
mediums, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” effectively manages to
establish a sense of authenticity that so many other adaptations fail to cement in its viewers.
Though still in its developmental stage, the show opened
strongly after its month-long hiatus. Viewer reception has
been mixed from both critics and fans, but the series has
potential and plenty of time to convince its more skeptical
audiences.
“SHERLOCK”
“GIRLS”
speedy deductions and comical detachment from normal social interactions, the real core of the show is the
unique friendship between Holmes and Watson.
Brilliantly represented by rising stars Benedict
Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as
“The Empty Hearse” tackles Sherlock’s re-emergence
and the threat of an underground terrorist network in
England. This is followed by “The Sign of Three,” in
which Sherlock must prevent a murder at Watson’s
own wedding while juggling being best man, an even
will see Holmes and Watson trying to take down newspaper mogul and professional blackmailer Charles
Augustus Magnussen who has sensitive information
on someone close to them.
Currently, the writing and acting of “Sherlock” is
unparalleled in television. As a loyal fan of the show,
season three doesn’t fail to live up to expectations and
sure to appreciate these three 90-minute gems while
you can; “Sherlock” is known for its rather lengthy
and unbearable wait between seasons.
The third episode of season three of “Sherlock”
airs Sunday Feb. 2 at 9:58 p.m. on PBS.
Hyperbole
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
Now Accep ng Applica ons for
Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy
Application deadline is May 1, 2014
For those wishing to attend our Interview Day on February 28,
2014, applications must be near completion by February 15
The drawings are memelike in nature; often just the
look of them is enough to incite lighthearted uproar. When
viewed with the short blog entries, though, you’ll be apologizing for your constant giggling.
Not all of Brosh’s stories
prompt laughter. Hyperbole
and a Half is also Brosh coming to terms with depression
and a resource for readers
who may be dealing with the
illness. In our tirelessly Internet-reliant age, we use social
media to relate to others and
decompress. Similarly, Brosh
seizes her blogging opportunity as an outlet for emotional
expression. Now we have the
pleasure of reading her work
in paperback.
While she suffered from
depression for 19 months
before glimpsing recovery,
Brosh isn’t afraid to share her
story. She breaks down the
inexplicable illness for her
readers. And yes, you guessed
it; she does so with the help
of her drawings. In the process, Brosh conveys the seri-
ousness of her subject matter
while somehow maintaining
her shameless frivolity. Her
openness facilitates connection with readers through pure
human feeling.
As fellow blogger Jenny
Lawson wrote, “This book
made me laugh, cry, and leak.
It was honest, poignant, and
ridiculously silly in all the
best ways and I’m better for
having reading it.”
Life may be absurd at
times, but with Brosh’s help,
we are reminded to acknowledge the hilarity – and embrace the emotion – of all its
facets.
Join
The Lamron!
Meetings on
Thursdays at
5:30 p.m. in the
CU Mailroom.
OPINION
Contact the opinion editor at lamron.opinion@gmail.com
14
6
Jan. 30, 2014
Dec. 3, 2009
Staff Editorial:
State of the Union offers
little to inspire hope
EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MADDY SMITH
MANAGING EDITOR
REBECCA FITZGERALD
NEWS EDITOR
CASEY LARKIN
ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
NICOLE SMITH
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
CHELSEA BUTKOWSKI
OPINION EDITOR
KEVIN FRANKEL
KNIGHTS’ LIFE EDITOR
FRANKIE MANDRACCHIA
SPORTS EDITOR
JOE LEATHERSICH
COPY EDITOR
AVA RUSSELL
PHOTO EDITOR
ZOE FINN
ASSOC. PHOTO EDITOR
EVAN GOLDSTEIN
DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR
LIZ KOODIN
S
ettled comfortably into the second term of his presidency, President
Barack Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address on
Tuesday Jan. 29. He touted the successes of the Affordable Care Act, the
country’s environmental record and promised to act unilaterally to address
income inequality without interference from a stalled Congress.
promise since he was a senator. It would be a major victory in closing an
ugly chapter of the War on Terror, but given the tumult of the last few
months, it would be seen as too little, too late. Obama is damned if he does
and damned if he doesn’t.
ago. But, taken in the context of Obama’s increasingly frustrating presidency, the speech simply seemed like a desperate attempt to recapture the
sense of hope and change the president initially campaigned on.
The address took on a decidedly self-congratulatory tone, with
Obama trotting out reminders of past successes. The president reminded
the nation of his success in withdrawing troops from Iraq, a process completed in late 2011. Almost three years later, he might as well be bragging
about killing Osama bin Laden.
Obama’s attempt to reassure the nation that “it’s all good” also
reached varying levels of desperation. Though he proudly proclaimed
business leaders named the United States the best place to invest worldwide, Politico noted that that claim is based on a single survey done by
Washington politics once saw a symbol of change, it now sees a distillation of those qualities.
Perhaps the strongest portion of his address, in which he promised a
minimum wage of $10.10 for federally contracted employees, included
a meager plea to states and businesses to act on their own, saying, “This
will help families. It will give businesses customers with more money to
spend.” As a second-term president, Obama does not have to worry about
re-election anymore. Would it really kill him to directly address the poverty crisis happening in America rather than haphazardly hinting at it?
It’s not that Obama’s presidency has been a failure so much as it has
been disappointing. Though Obama’s promises of hope and change were
pretty unrealistic in hindsight, the compromise and stalemate he has had to
deal with feel no less painful. The State of the Union address was simply
a reminder that when it comes to Washington, you always have to manage
your expectations.
put the U.S. at number 14 and the Milken Institute ranked the States at 22.
And can the president’s promise to close the Guantanamo Bay deten-
WEB EDITOR
HERB SUSMANN
As Super Bowl approaches,
trafficking concerns arise
ADVERTISING MANAGER
KAYLA MOLARO
ADS SALES DIRECTOR
ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ
CREATIVE ADS MANAGER
SAMM ALVARADO
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER
ALYSSA STEFANESE
FACULTY ADVISER
GINNI JURKOWSKI
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
ERIC NIAOTI
The seedy underbelly of football’s biggest gam e
ADDITIONAL STAFF
COPY
KATELYN BAROODY
MAYA BERGAMASCO
KATY BOLAND
MALLORY VELTE
NEWS
EMMA BIXLER
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
LUC MAKOWSKI
SARAH SIMON
TYLER THIER
OPINION
JOSHUA DEJOY
JESSICA HEPPLER
KNIGHTS’ LIFE
JESSICA IRWIN
MAYA LUCYSHYN
SPORTS
NICK PRELLER
PHOTO
JAMES MATTSON
DESIGN & LAYOUT
DYLAN ELDRED
WEB
KIERAN REGAN
BUSINESS
JENNY CHENG
ALEX DRAINVILLE
AUSTIN NOJAIM
PAIGE O’CONNOR
MICHAEL SALAS
PUBLIC RELATIONS
MOLLY DOWNEY
COLLEGE UNION BOX 42,
10 MACVITTIE CIRCLE,
SUNY GENESEO
GENESEO, N.Y., 14454
(585) 245-5896
LAMRON@GENESEO.EDU
THELAMRON.COM
The Lamron is published by the Student Association
of SUNY at Geneseo. The views and opinions
expressed in this publication are not necessarily
those of the College. The Lamron is distributed
free of charge to the Geneseo community every
Thursday, except during examination and vacation
periods. Funding is provided by mandatory student
fees and advertising revenue. The Lamron is printed
by Messenger Post Newspapers, Canandaigua, N.Y.
The views expressed in the staff editorial do not
necessarily reflect the views of the entire Lamron
editorial board.
GREG KALVIN
COLUMNIST
O
Bowl XLVIII will take
place at MetLife Stadium in
East Rutherford, N.J., attracting thousands of fans to the
area as well as to the sex trafficking industry.
Pimps will sell the
victims of the sex trade to
people, primarily young adult
males, who flock to northern
New Jersey from across the
country as Super Bowl festivities rev up.
To curtail the epidemic of
the sex trade at the Super Bowl
annually, it would be useful to
look at why our society accepts
wild and antisocial behavior in
the name of “having a good
time” at sporting events.
As United States Rep.
Christopher H. Smith told The
Washington Post, “One Super
Bowl after another has shown
itself to be one of the largest
events in the world where the
cruelty of human trafficking
goes on for several weeks.”
Smith is the co-chairman of
the U.S. House Anti-Human
Trafficking Caucus.
At Super Bowl XLIV in
2010, 10,000 girls and women
were trafficked to Miami according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.
According to the United
Nations, human trafficking,
which includes both the sex
and forced labor trade, is a
$9.5 billion industry in the
U.S., and there exist 2.5 million active victims of the trade
worldwide at any time. Due to
the covert nature of the illicit
sex trade, however, reliable
statistics are hard to find.
The trade is essentially
a modern form of slavery in
which victims are held against
their will. People are often
sold by their families or are
taken in by pimps, who at first
appear to offer them help out
of difficult life situations.
The average age of girls
entering forced prostitution is
The average life expectancy of
a girl after entering this world
is only seven additional years.
Not everyone forced into
prostitution comes from a
poor background or a foreign
country. The story of Danielle
Douglas, a girl who was trafficked by a man she initially
met at what she thought was
a party at Northeastern University in 2000, is a tale that
shows the ugly roots of the sex
trade can grow anywhere.
Speaking on the pimps
that control the lives of girls
like herself, she said, “They
know everything you do, every minute of the day. [You
are] mentally and physically
chained.”
There are various ways
in which groups and law en-
forcement try to save victims.
Phone numbers for a hotline
will be posted on soap wrappers in motels around New
Jersey where victims may be
working, an ingenious idea
by the organization Save Our
Adolescents from Prostitution,
or SOAP.
Making arrests of pimps
through tracking online classifieds is the main way law
enforcement tries to stop this
issue. Beyond that, however,
people simply must be made
aware of this silent scourge.
The Super Bowl is one of the
biggest sporting events of the
year, so invariably the big
game overshadows the issue of
human trafficking every year.
The tendency to ignore
that which is ugly or morally
repugnant is just as damaging.
Confronting these problems,
difficult as it may be, is vital to protecting the rights of
the most vulnerable people
not just here in America, but
across the world.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
“
What would you have liked to see in
Obama’s State of the Union address?
Each week we will ask you, the readers, a news-related question.
You can email or tweet your responses to us.
We will then select our favorites and run them in the next issue.
”
Tweet @TheLamron with #lamronquestion or comment on our Facebook page.
Jan. 30, 2014
ContactĻ5',)(5R51118Ļ',)(8)'
the opinion editor at lamron.opinion@gmail.com
15
In Texas, a law threatens
Capital
bodily autonomy
punishment and
its unfortunate
persistence
JESSICA HEPPLER
ASST. OPINION EDITOR
O
n Sunday Jan. 26, Marlise
Munoz, a Texas woman who
was pregnant and subsequently
pronounced brain dead, was taken
off life support. After weeks of
controversy surrounding both her
rights as well as ethics surrounding the circumstances, a judge correctly ruled that the hospital was
indeed misapplying state law.
According to Texas law, “A
person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment . . .
from a pregnant patient.”
While several states have
this law in place, it is unsurprising considering Texas’ poor track
record in reproductive health. The
National Abortion Rights Action
in its 2014 reproductive rights report card, with the United States
receiving an embarrassing D overall.
years old when her husband found
her unconscious. Both she and her
husband were paramedics, and her
family was aware of her wish to
cease life-sustaining treatment in
the case of brain death.
Indeed, Munoz has been
medically and legally brain dead
since Nov. 28, two days after she
experienced what may have been a
blood clot. According to her wishes as well as her family’s wishes,
life-sustaining treatment should
have been ceased immediately.
Due to Texas’ law prohibiting the
withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, however, a living will as opposed to verbal wishes would not
have overridden this.
Munoz was already 14
weeks pregnant when she was
pronounced brain dead. Between
a lack of oxygen and life-sustaining treatment, it was initially unknown how much damage was
done to the fetus. By the time
her fetus was believed to be at 22
weeks, the fetus was pronounced
“distinctly abnormal” and unviable outside of the womb.
Arthur Caplan, director of the
Division of Medical Ethics at New
York University Langone Medical
Center, makes an important distinction surrounding the semantics
of “life support.” Certainly, according to Caplan, no one wants
to end what is known as “life support,” when it is actually quite the
contrary.
This misconception is likely
due to a common belief that brain
death accompanied by a beating
heart – from “life support” – indicates a hope of recovery. Brain
death requires an element of irreversibility, according to federal
and Texas state law. Much of the
controversy involves the question
of whether or not a miracle is possible, but with the legal and medical requirement of irreversibility,
that is unfortunately not the case.
Remaining cognizant of Munoz’s irreversible brain death, the
unviable fetus and the total disregard of Munoz’s wishes as well as
those of her family, it is important
to consider what “life” was truly
being sustained. Certainly, the
judge agreed that the hospital was
misinterpreting the state law.
I agree with Caplan that this
law – or the misreading of this law
– imposes the state’s ideas surrounding personhood above her
own informed and autonomous
choice for her body. Since Munoz is irreversibly dead, it is not
her life that was being supported.
Rather, her fetus was being barely
sustained at the expense of her
grieving family.
Though her body was being
“sustained” for her fetus, I believe
that it does not matter whether
or not the fetus would have been
viable outside of the womb. This
supports the argument against lifesustaining treatment, but I do not
think that is the most important
aspect of this debate.
Above all, Munoz’s wishes
and her family’s wishes ought to
be honored before her fetus, for
which her body was only being
“sustained” as a host at the expense of her bodily autonomy.
Lessons learned from the
Grantland “Dr. V” debacle
information to share. That was his
KEVIN FRANKEL
OPINION EDITOR
A
journalist’s job is, essentially,
to collect and report information. Where there are inconsistencies, the onus to illuminate and explain them falls on the journalist.
As Caleb Hannan learned, however, there is a distance that must
be kept between reporting and involvement in a story.
While reporting for Grantland on Essay Anne Vanderbilt,
the enigmatic creator of a revolutionary golf club, Hannan uncovered a number of discrepancies in
Vanderbilt’s supposed education
and professional background. After digging a little deeper, Hannan
also found that Vanderbilt was a
transgender woman.
After Vanderbilt learned that
Hannan divulged this information to one of her investors, she
strongly urged Hannan to back off
with his reporting. Shortly after
Vanderbilt committed suicide.
Vanderbilt’s status as a transgender woman was not Hannan’s
ticle and its subsequent focus on
Vanderbilt’s status as a trans woman violated Hannan’s agreement
with Vanderbilt to “focus on the
science and not the scientist.”
The argument that Hannan
had no business outing Vanderbilt
and should have edited his work
was littered with misused pronouns – is undoubtedly true. Given these horrendous errors, many
have suggested that the article
should have never been published.
I do not see it that way.
The article was published
months after Vanderbilt took her
own life. I am not normally fond
of justifying something by saying
it “started a conversation,” but I
see a very teachable moment in
this whole debacle.
for ESPN who also serves on
GLAAD’s board of directors,
discussed the myriad issues with
the article in a piece published
by Grantland. She points out that
Hannan’s story would reinforce
the wrong messages about the
trans community to Grantland’s
readership, comprised largely of
older white males.
I see it slightly differently,
though. Hannan’s piece, pub-
lished quietly with little fanfare
or promotion, has become notable
original reporting is inseparable
from the ensuing controversy. In
apology from Grantland Editorin-Chief Bill Simmons at the top
of its page. Hannan’s story reads
as much as the story of a new golf
club and its creator as it does a
tutorial of how not to talk about
trans people.
Maybe I am being overly
optimistic in thinking that Grantland’s readers will be cognizant of
but feel, however, that this piece
has brought issues surrounding
the trans community to the fore
that would otherwise continue to
be overlooked.
cantly damaged Grantland’s credibility as a publication. Granted,
its handling of the fallout has
been admirable, but as Simmons
acknowledged in his apology, the
fact that this piece made it through
so many levels of editing without
adequate attention being paid to
its inherent issues is unacceptable.
As long as Hannan’s piece spreads
awareness about how to talk correctly about the trans community,
however, I will continue to see
some positive in this situation.
JOSHUA DEJOY
ASST. OPINION EDITOR
I
n an Ohio execution chamber on
Jan. 16, Dennis McGuire spent
26 agonizing minutes gasping for
air before succumbing to a mixture
of chemicals previously unused
for lethal injections. The descriptions of his death by reporters, his
adult children and his correctional
facility’s Catholic priest leave
little doubt that McGuire suffered
through cruel and unusual punishment.
Meanwhile, the execution of
Mexican national Edgar Tamayo,
in contravention of a ruling by the
United Nations’ International Court
of Justice, and recent proposals to
strate the indifference of governments at the state and federal levels
to international law and the Eighth
Amendment.
McGuire’s execution was experimental in the worst of ways.
It utilized a new two-chemical
mixture of midazolam and hydromorphone due to Ohio’s inability
to acquire pentobarbital. Pharmaceutical companies have been cutting off the Ohio government and
distancing themselves as much as
possible from these executions,
leading to the pentobarbital shortage.
Dr. David Waisel, an anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical
School, warned an Ohio court that
the drugs would cause McGuire
“agony and horror” while he experienced “air hunger.” Essentially,
McGuire felt himself suffocate.
The United States is the only
advanced industrialized country
that still executes prisoners. No
other country in the Western hemisphere allows for capital punishment, and the dictatorial Belarus is
the only European country with the
practice in place.
By killing its own citizens, the
U.S. becomes a member of a dubious club. In 2012, the only countries to conduct more executions
than the U.S. were China, Iran,
Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to
Amnesty International.
By executing foreign nationals, the U.S. forges ahead into even
murkier territory. In Tamayo’s case,
for example, he was not informed
of his consular rights to have legal
defense from the Mexican government. Had he been informed, his
sentence may have been reduced
to life imprisonment; he reportedly
had an IQ of 67, according to The
Guardian, qualifying him as intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for capital punishment.
In 2004, the ICJ ruled that the
U.S. had violated the Vienna Con-
vention by failing to notify Mexico
that some 50 of their citizens had
been arrested and, in many cases,
failing to notify the convicts of
their right to consular legal assistance. Tamayo was among these 50
Mexicans.
Despite former President
George W. Bush urging Texas to
comply with this mandate, thenTexan Solicitor General Ted Cruz
managed to have the Supreme
Court rule that international law
did not apply to the states without
congressional authorization.
Cruz bragged about this result
during his successful 2012 senatorial campaign.
Now, state representatives in
Missouri and Wyoming are proposmethod of execution. According to
CBS, Wyoming State Sen. Bruce
Burns, a Republican, introduced
a bill to Wyoming’s legislature al“One of the reasons I chose
other form of execution is because
frankly it’s one of the cheapest for
the state,” he said, revealing that his
concern was not how humane executions were but that they not burden the state. This would allow for
cheaper and more frequent killings.
The biggest problem with
these executions is not merely
place. Giving the state the “right”
and moral authority to murder its
own citizens or foreign nationals
– to administer so-called “ultimate
justice” – opens the door for totalitarian government.
This disturbing trend toward
ishment reveals the creeping threat
of increasingly authoritarian forms
of control.
Pope Francis I
became the first pope
to grace the cover of
Rolling Stone. In fairness, his album drops
next month.
U.S. Rep. Michael
Grimm threatened to
throw a reporter off
a balcony. At least he’s
creative.
After receiving
100,000 signatures,
the White House is
now obligated to
address a petition
calling for Justin
Bieber’s deportation.
Tread lightly, Obama.
Macklemore & Ryan
Lewis clean up at the
Grammys, robbing
artists like Kendrick
Lamar and Kanye
West. That’s the joke.
The editor
Lamron |at
thelamron.com
Contact the opinion
lamron.opinion@gmail.com
16
Jan. 30, 2014
Russia’s intolerance in public eye
ahead of Winter Olympics
RACHEL CAMPBELL
COLUMNIST
T
he Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia are a time for
nations from across the globe
to join together in athletic
games. It is a time in which
thousands of athletes from
various backgrounds and cultures can unite in the name of
mental occasion for … homophobia?
Sochi has been heavily scrutinized in the months
leading up to the Olympics.
Although there are numerous
issues with hosting the games
in post-Soviet Russia – including environmental factors, destruction of citizens’ homes
and public safety issues – the
most publicized issue is Rus-
sia’s codified discrimination
of the LGBTQ-plus community.
Russian President Vladimir Putin passed what is being
called the “anti-gay propaganda law,” which forbids the
expression of homosexuality,
transgenderism and bisexuality in front of any child under
the age of 18 in order to “protect” the children.
Putin has expressed, “We
don’t have a ban on nontraditional sexual relations. We
have a ban on promoting homosexuality and pedophilia
among minors.” He later went
on to request to “leave children in peace.”
This legislation has proven to be quite vague about
what exactly “expression” entails and has been criticized
by the LGBTQ-plus commu-
nity for infringing on people’s
right to freely express their
sexual orientation.
Human rights advocate
Boris Dittrich stated that Russian politicians use homosexuality as a scapegoat instead of
addressing more pressing issues.
“LGBT people are a
scapegoat because people
don't know much about LGBT
– they mix it up with pedophilia, bestiality or even think
it has something to do with the
devil,” Dittrich said.
Unfortunately, it seems
that Russia, along with a multitude of people even here in
our own United States, have
misconceived and outdated
notions of homosexuals as
flamboyant, sexual deviants
rather than simply being biologically disposed to be at-
tracted to members of their
own sex. This association of
homosexuality with things
like pedophilia and bestiality
by the Russian government is
disheartening to say the least.
Russia has a remarkably
poor track record for LGBTQplus civil liberties. Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in Russia in 1993, only 21
years ago. Still, homophobia
seems deeply rooted in Russian society as is illustrated
by a Pew Research Center survey, which states that nearly
75 percent of Russian citizens
believe that homosexuality
should not be publicly allowed
in society.
President Barack Obama,
although stating that the U.S.
will still participate in the
2014 Winter Olympics, said
he was offended by Russia’s
stance on homosexuality and
hoped that the gay and lesbian athletes would shine in the
events.
"One of the things I'm
really looking forward to is
maybe some gay and lesbian
athletes bringing home the
gold or silver or bronze, which
would, I think, go a long way
in rejecting the kind of attitudes that we're seeing there,”
he said.
Putin seemed adamant in
most of his televised interviews
that hosting the Olympics in
Sochi is a giant step forward
for Russia, especially since the
fall of the Soviet Union. With
Russia’s systemic homophobia,
however, it seems that the Russian government, in the progression of LGBTQ-plus rights
and the freedom of expression,
is not going anywhere.
Republican alienation of women
voters may prove costly
Huckabee’s comments paint bleak portrait for GOP
sented their views. The GOP’s
inability to understand the importance of a woman’s right to
contraceptive access will continue to promote a hostile environment in politics around the
country.
Todd Akin proclaimed there exist
cases of “legitimate rape” and former Republican Senate candidate
Richard Mourdock said “rape is a
gift from God.” These narratives
proved costly for both men at the
voting booth and present women
with a peculiar situation.
Though his comments rethe Republican Party, Huckabee
is nonetheless one of the GOP’s
SUSAN WALSH/AP PHOTO
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee took a firm stance against expanding access to
women’s preventative care.
CRISTIAN VEGA
COLUMNIST
ormer Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee is touting the
same wisdom that has become
a staple of Republican Party
ideology over the past few
years: Preventative health care
for women is simply unnecessary and Democrats, according
to the former governor, believe
“[women] can’t control their
libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.”
Huckabee’s comments, and
the Republican Party’s stance
on women’s health care at large,
present a dilemma the GOP faces in garnering women voters.
Recent comments by the former
governor position women as
victims who are spellbound by
an appeal for free contraception
under the Affordable Care Act.
In his latest remarks, Huckabee targets the contraceptive
mandate, which requires that
employers provide preventative
services without copay.
The GOP must make the
decision of when and how to
cut ties with their most radical fringe or face dim election
prospects, especially among minorities and women. Evidently,
the Republican Party’s rhetoric
attempt to win nationwide elections.
A National Journal poll
conducted in 2013 showed only
14 percent of women believed
the Republican Party repre-
fact that he is continuing to double down on the type of rhetoric
that has soured female voters to
Republicans in recent years does
not bode well for his party. Rhetoric and legislation go hand in
hand, and this is not an exception.
With the memories of legislation restricting access to abortion
across the country looming large,
the GOP is shooting itself in the
foot for the midterm elections and
beyond.
Beyond the fact that women
are neither in favor of anti-abortion legislation nor the denial
of basic reproductive care, the
GOP’s rhetoric is downright offensive. Women are reduced to
the image of irresponsible victims with no morals. It is condescending, to say the least.
The platform the Republican Party continually serves to
voters is viable for catering to
fringe groups of the conservative movement rather than the
general populace. The GOP
continues to promote polices
of obstruction in effective governing instead of promoting
policies that encourage income
equality and empowerment of
women and minorities.
Rather than utilizing divisive language assaulting women’s sexual choices and freedoms, Huckabee and the GOP
traception. Women who have
access to birth control have the
ability to choose if and when to
have a family.
In Missouri, when women
were given the choice of fully
paid (governmentally subsidized) contraception, there was
a sharp decline of unintended
pregnancies. Thereby the necessity for abortion decreased and
was lower than half of the regional and national rates, something anti-abortion advocates
like Mike Huckabee should
support.
Contact the
opinion editor at
lamron.opinion
@gmail.com.
The Lamron|www.thelamron.com
Jan. 30, 2014
17
Hockey looks to bounce
Women’s
basketball finds back from tough loss
consistency
against Oswego
NICK PRELLER
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
It was a true team effort by
the Geneseo women’s basketball
team on Tuesday Jan. 28 as the
team cruised to an 83-58 victory
over SUNY Oswego.
Geneseo faced the Lakers once earlier this season in a
much closer game. This time, the
ders offensively, which spurred
the team on to its third-highest
scoring total of the season.
Forward junior Shannon
McGinnis led the charge with
six minutes of the game to put
the Knights ahead with a comhalf out strong with 15 of the
24 points she would score in the
game. It was McGinnis’ seventh
double-double of the season.
Not to mention, several
other players put on their own
impressive performances. The
Knights had one of their best
shooting nights of the season,
going 8-of-18 (44.4 percent)
from 3-point range while holding Oswego to a 3-16 (18.8 percent) shooting performance from
behind the arc.
“A lot of players stepped
up as leaders today,” head coach
Scott Hemer said.
Geneseo saw excellent play
from freshmen Bridgit Ryan
and Kayleigh Cavanaugh. Ryan
of her 12 total points, while Cavanaugh earned seven points of
her own in the second half.
The team’s success didn’t
stop there. Guard junior Biz Reinhardt added 12 points, while
forward freshman Katie Vienneau, guard sophomore Dana
Cohan, forward sophomore Allison McKenna and center junior
Katie Peterson would all go on
to score six or more points on
the night. The stellar play both
offensively and defensively allowed the Knights to come away
with a crucial conference win.
Coming off a loss from the
previous game, Hemer looked
for the Knights to improve on
the mistakes they were making
recently and come away with
another victory over the Lakers.
“For us, it’s has been a factor of inconsistent play,” Hemer
said. “Tonight we focused on
two 20-minute halves and trying
to control what we could control,
and I felt we did a much better
job.”
The Knights look to improve their SUNYAC record
with a game against SUNY
Fredonia on Saturday Feb. 1.
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KATI BUCK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
of the net against the Golden Flyers.
BRIAN MCCORMACK
STAFF WRITER
As
the
Geneseo
Ice
month, it is important to recall
an old sports adage: Teams are
never as bad as they appear
when they’re losing and never
as good as they appear when
they’re winning.
A 4-1 loss on home ice to
Nazareth College on Saturday
Jan. 25 dropped the Ice Knights
to No. 14 in the national rankings – a wake-up call heading into the game with No. 4
SUNY Plattsburgh on Friday
NYAC.
After a 5-1 victory over the
Hamilton College Continentals
on Jan. 24, the Ice Knights returned home for a non-conference contest against Nazareth.
The Golden Flyers, with only
four wins on the season, were
coming off a shocking overtime win against No. 11 Utica
College the night before.
The Ice Knights opened
the scoring just under six minutes in with a goal from forward senior Zach Vit – his third
goal in two games.
That was all the 1,700 fans
at Ira Wilson Arena would have
to celebrate, thanks to Nazareth’s
goalkeeper Ed Zdolshek. He recorded 46 saves on the night, 20 of
them in the third period. Zdolshek
is 2-1 in his career against Geneseo with a save percentage of .953.
Geneseo’s
penalty
kill
dropped down to 78.5 percent
Knights were twice at a two-man
disadvantage, which Nazareth was
able to capitalize on. The Golden
Flyers were also able to score on
a power play off a goal from forConversely, the Ice Knights were
on eight power play opportunities.
with a team when it is winning.
That was the case with Geneseo
during its 10-1 stretch dating back
to Nov. 22. What a difference two
weeks can make.
A 5-1 loss to unranked Elmira
College coupled with the Nazareth
upset exposes an inconvenient Ice
Knight truth: Geneseo struggles to
overcome hot goalkeeping.
for any team to break through.
For the Ice Knights, however,
Blue Wave
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
The Lamron | www.thelamron.com
the concern isn’t so much who’s
stopping the puck but who is
shooting it. And based on the
lineup juggling from the past
weekend, the coaching staff
knows it.
Forward sophomore David
Ripple has two goals in his last
15 games. First-year Stephen
Collins hasn’t scored in 11 of
nor Anthoine and Jack Ceglarski have only combined for two
goals. For the amount of ice
time these players command,
it is safe to say the Ice Knights
need more scoring.
This isn’t to say these players haven’t played well, but the
truth is that when Vit or forward
junior Tyler Brickler can’t break
through offensively, the Ice
Knights haven’t had many other
answers. They did not have answers for Nazareth.
They’ll
need
answers
against Plattsburgh to get back
on track and to possibly put the
team in the driver’s seat for a
tournament berth in March.
for their record-setting performances of the week.
To keep the streak alive after coming off a 4-1 stretch, Blue
Wave had to face Division III rival
SUNY Oswego on Saturday Jan.
25.
The men swam to a 157-132
victory, while the women defeated
the Lakers in a dominant 172-102
decision. Both teams remain undefeated in SUNYAC meets.
“Our top swimmers especially
are posting some great times right
now,” head coach Paul Dotterweich said. “I think we are right
where we need to be as we start to
look ahead toward the end of the
season,” he added.
On the men’s side, junior Kenny Athans led the way – his four
victories of the day provided the
spark for the Blue Wave. Athans
swam the day’s fastest times in the
200-yard breaststroke (2 minutes,
16.51 seconds) and 50-yard freestyle (22.35). For the women, senior Lily Powell continued her impressive season with four victories
of her own. Powell’s 58.74 time in
for the fastest time at Alumni Pool.
On the diving boards, freshman Anthony Burgois won the
1-meter event with a pool-record
307.40 score, while senior Brandon
294.90 score.
Dotterweich praised his
team’s recent performances and
said the team is “looking good”
season. With only two meets left
in the regular season including the
Geneseo Invitational, Blue Wave
the always-challenging SUNYAC
championships.
Blue Wave visits Buffalo State
College on the morning of Saturday Feb. 1.
Ļ5',)(5R51118Ļ',)(8)'
Contact
the sports editor at lamron.sports@gmail.com
18
Jan. 30, 2014
Richard Sherman’s impact on the NFL’s reputation
ELAINE THOMPSON/AP PHOTO
Richard Sherman is recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and he often touts it. This arrogance has gotten him into trouble, most recently at the NFC championship against
the San Francisco 49ers.
JAMIE LEVINE
STAFF WRITER
Richard Sherman is a very good
football player. I will be the first
person to say that. His game-winning tip that led to an interception at
the end of the NFC Championship
game was astounding and should be
remembered for sending the Seattle
Seahawks to the team’s second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Nonetheless, being an extremely talented player does not give him
the right to go around acting like a
buffoon. I’m not just talking about
the postgame interview with Erin
Andrews, either.
Immediately after the interception, Sherman made the choke
symbol in the direction of the San
Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin
Kaepernick – a gesture he was later
fined for.
That is not the behavior of a Pro
Bowl-caliber athlete. He should go
out onto the field and let his play
speak for itself.
Before last year’s Super Bowl,
Sherman was out on the streets of
New Orleans interviewing pedestrians about their opinions of Darrelle
Revis compared to him. He had only
Super
Bowl
Pick ‘Em
been in the league for two seasons, and
he was already trying to validate himself to people on the street. A player
of his ability should not be concerned
with what the public thinks. He should
focus his attention on being prepared
to play his best every Sunday.
In March 2013, in an appearance
on the ESPN show “First Take,” he got
into an argument with Skip Bayless –
whom I acknowledge is not the most
sympathetic character – over who had
“won” at life between the two. Where
he stood as the best cornerback in the
league and his style of play were never
discussed. Sherman decided to use this
opportunity to settle personal scores
rather than debate anything of real
substance.
Sherman’s behavior in his limited
time in the league has done nothing but
demonstrate that he has a severe lack
of maturity. A player’s behavior represents not only himself but also the
entire league, and Sherman has done
nothing to convince me that he is concerned with the image of his employer,
the NFL.
JOE LEATHERSICH
SPORTS EDITOR
30-24
KEVIN FRANKEL
Sherman himself said it best: “The reason it bothers me is because it seems like
America’s relationship with profes- it’s an accepted way of calling somebody
sional athletes is a muddled and confusing the N word now.”
Coded language dominates our nahealth and well-being for our amusement tional conversation about race. Black pubweek after week, and we pay them handsomely to do so. But the slightest display and get lambasted for any perceived outof passion by these adrenaline-fueled be- spokenness. Kanye West gets called arhemoths can provoke the ugliest vitriol our rogant for referring to himself as a genius,
but what would you call a man who owns
country has to offer.
Moments after his tip to teammate
Malcolm Smith sent the Seattle Seahawks Cannes Film Festival and designed some
to their second Super Bowl in franchise of the most sought-after clothing of recent
history, Richard Sherman proudly de- memory? White America clearly cannot
clared himself to be “the best corner in the stomach hearing a black man talk plainly
about his accomplishments.
game.”
Even without the racial component,
What followed was a fervent postgame interview in which Sherman called this “controversy” is hugely overblown.
out San Francisco 49ers wide receiver He was not speaking at a postgame press
Michael Crabtree for disrespecting him conference. Rather, Sherman was seconds
throughout the game. His remarks drew removed from the biggest moment of his
criticism for being overly boisterous, career. You will have to forgive him if he
while media commentators referred to
You cannot demand humility and grahim as a “thug” 625 times the subsequent
ciousness from the same people that are
day according to iQ Media.
And how convenient that “thug” was putting their bodies on the line for your enthe word of choice to describe Sherman, tertainment. Sherman is an explosive player
an African-American. Never mind that
the cornerback was salutatorian of his the best in the league.
If anything, Sherman’s comments will
high school and graduated from Stanford University with a 3.7 GPA. Sadly, in only push him to play with more intensity
2014, Americans are still inclined to judge in the Super Bowl so that he might back up
people not by the content of their charac- his claims. If you ask me, that would be an
ideal outcome for everyone.
ter but by the color of their skin.
OPINION EDITOR
MADDY SMITH
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CASEY LARKIN
NEWS EDITOR
KEVIN FRANKEL
OPINION EDITOR
24-20
21-17
20-16
AVA RUSSEL
COPY EDITOR
29-23
Contact theThe
Sports
Editor at lamron.sports@gmail.com
Lamron|www.thelamron.com
19
Jan. 30, 2014
Staff Editorial:
Weighing consumerism and the
economic impact of the Super Bowl
CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP PHOTO
does little for the surrounding city.
The Super Bowl is right
around the corner, and the nation
is abuzz. The coveted spectacle
of America’s most beloved sport
is one of the year’s most anticipated events. Who is performing at halftime? Who is singing
the national anthem? How many
“squares” did everyone buy? All
the while, people are gorging
themselves with pizza, wings and
their favorite cheese-based dip.
the economy. Politicians and the
committee promised managers
that they would be booked solid,
but these hotels are struggling to
The frenzy over commerissues. Companies shell out millions of dollars for mere seconds
of airtime in an attempt to achieve
going viral. It’s odd, though.
Has a particularly clever Super
Bowl ad ever prompted anyone
to become a patron of its maker?
What’s the return on investment
for a 30-second, $3.5 million
Doritos commercial?
pride in the fact that it gets nearly
half the nation to sit down in front
of a television to watch massive
men nearly kill one another – literally.
In 2013, we were exposed to
the short and long-term dangers
of the sport that will force some
of us to watch with mild to severe
apprehension.
But should it? Is there pride
in the commercialization that
spawns all over the country this
time of year?
The game this year is in New
York – well, really New Jersey –
in a cold weather stadium. As
if there was not enough hype
around the game, the league felt
it necessary to block 13 blocks of
Broadway in New York City to
create “Super Bowl boulevard,” a
carnival of events all things football.
nation’s busiest city by saying
it will drum up the local econ-
neatly with the larger Super Bowl
trend of mindless consumption.
Why would a company spend
millions of dollars for a short advertisement aside from a largerthan-usual audience? Well, if they
don’t, someone else will.
The Super Bowl, in all its glitz
and glam, is basically only that.
SOURCE: ABC NEWS
omy by as much as $500-$600
million. The problem is there
is no evidence to back this up.
According to CBS, an NFL
spokesman said the Super Bowl
committee does not perform any
studies to survey economic impact – the very same one claim-
ing to bring in hundreds of millions.
This promise is made year
after year, but it never seems to
follow through, according to
economists. For instance, the
1999 championship held in Miami was projected to bring in
over $300 million, but a study
by Robert Baade, professor of
economics at Lake Forest College, found that the Miami local
of $32 million.
Hotel managers are already
is the NFL. The city and its people
certainly feel no effect from the
arrival of tourists or, rather, lack
thereof. The event, as much of the
NFL does, turns a blind eye to real
issues (see: athlete’s head trauma).
Unfortunately, we – The
Lamron staff – will be watching because it is a spectacle. But
know when you are watching that
the value of the event is as empty
as the hotel rooms in New York
City.
Contact the Sports Editor at lamron.sports@gmail.com
20
Jan. 30, 2014
ARTICLE
ON PAGE 17
ARTICLEs
ON PAGEs 18-19
Hockey
heads into last
month of
regular season
Super Bowl
coverage
inside
Men’s basketball on 8-game hot streak
NATE JOSEPH
STAFF WRITER
JOE LEATHERSICH
SPORTS EDITOR
SINEAD HAEGELAND/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
No. 23 guard senior Connor Fedge has driven the Knights to success as of
late. Fedge is ranked in the conference for both free-throw percentage
and assists-per-game
While Geneseo experiences a frozen vortex, the
men’s basketball team has
been red hot, winning its last
eight games. The team now
sits just one game out of first
place in the SUNYAC conference behind SUNY Brockport.
One player can’t be singled out for the team’s success; multiple players on the
team are statistically ranked
in the conference. Forward junior Gordon Lyons is first at
rebounds per game (10.9) and
field goal percentage (.686)
and is fifth in points per game
(19.5). Guard senior Connor
Fedge is first at free throw percentage (.892), ninth at points
per game (16.3) and 11th at
assists per game (3.0). Guard
senior Thomas Decker ranks
seventh in the conference at
assists with 3.5 per game.
Head coach Steve Minton
also noted the play of forward
junior Devon Anderson, saying, “He has really stepped up
his play. He has scored for us.
He has rebounded for us. He
has been a big part of our success of late.”
Lyons plays upwards of
30 minutes per game – another
SUNYAC ranking at seventh
– which means he is involved
with much of the gaming
scheme. Being as dominant
as he is, one might think this
scheme is simple, but Minton
said otherwise.
“It’s actually more difficult than you think,” he said.
“You could think it could be
simple: Come down, do this,
get the ball to Gordon and play
from there. But that’s not how
it is.”
During the current sevengame win streak, the Knights
have won by double digits in
five of the games. Regarding
how the team is scoring seemingly at will, Minton said,
“Since we have so many dif-
ferent weapons, it’s not necessarily a style of play as it is
when one guy gets keyed on
another guy is getting good
shots.”
In the game against SUNY
Oswego, it was much of the
same for the Knights. After the
first half, Lyons led the way
with 12 points, forward junior
James McKenna added 11 and
Anderson scored another eight.
The Lakers came out strong in
the beginning of the second
half, but the Knights were just
too much to handle as they
cruised to victory, 81-73.
Fedge led the Knights with
20 points and scored his 1000th
career point at Geneseo. Lyons finished the game with
16 points and 13 rebounds,
Anderson finished with 16
points and five rebounds off
the bench and McKenna added
14 points.
The Knights face Brockport on the road in a battle for
first place in the conference at
8 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 1.
Indoor track competes in Blue Wave finishing
Boston invitationals out strong season
MIKE EISINGER
and 5 seconds, Keira ran 2:14
While it’s the dream of
every athlete in all sports to
be able to test oneself against
the best competition available, the chances for this are
rare.
On the weekend of Jan.
25 and 26, however, some of
the men’s and women’s indoor
track team not only got to compete against the best collegiate
athletes but also some internationally elite runners at Boston
University’s John Thomas Terrier
Invitational.
Several Knights had memorable days in the meet, which was
populated by a host of larger Division I schools as well as many
other top Division III teams.
Generally, Division I
schools are larger and can
offer athletic scholarships to
get top athletes, something
that Division III schools are
forbidden to do. The chance
to compete against Division I
schools is an exciting opportunity for the Knights.
Junior Keira Wood turned
in one of the best performances in the meet at the 800-meter run.
“Even though there’s
someone who ran 2 minutes,
her heat. That puts her in the top
two in D-III,” head coach Dave
Prevosti said. “She wasn’t even
in the fast heat, but she could
have been. Her time puts her
right in there,” he added.
Geneseo
had
another
strong performance from the
men’s distance medley relay team, consisting of juniors Tony George, Benjamin
Schwartz and Colby Burke
and senior Thomas Clark. The
quartet completed the race in
10:04, a time that Prevosti said
sion III.
“If you look at what we did
with our [distance medley relay] team last year, we actually
ran better at this time of the
year with this team than we did
with last year’s DMR team,”
Prevosti said.
Even if the Knights had
not done so particularly well,
the meet would still have been
exciting to attend thanks to
two young superstars. Galen
Rupp, the silver medalist in
the 2012 London Olympics
in the 10,000-meter run, easily won the 2-mile event at
the meet. High school senior
Mary Cain, hailed as having
the potential to become one of
the greatest American women
STAFF WRITER
runners of all time, also took
top honors in her event, the
mile run.
Other members of the
team were in action elsewhere, as the field athletes
competed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
Art Farnham Invitational.
Junior Chaz Abad and freshman John Panus took first and
second, respectively, in the
3,000-meter run. Sophomore
Aidan Fullerton and junior
Phil Longo swept the top two
places in the long jump, while
senior Jake Pasanen won the
pole vault. On the women’s
side, freshman Joanna Heath
took the long jump title.
Geneseo returns to action
at the SUNY Brockport Invitational on Saturday Feb. 1.
Also at this meet:
Junior Keira
Wood earns
SUNYAC Player
of the Week
KATI BUCK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Blue Wave has taken down Division I opponents this season, and has
an undefeated record in SUNYAC meets.
NICK PRELLER
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
While everyone was away on
winter break, the Geneseo Blue
Wave men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were on
campus continuing their winning
ways.
The Blue Wave saw victories over Rochester Institute of
Technology, SUNY New Paltz,
Monroe Community College and
Westminster College. The team’s
only loss came against Carnegie
Mellon University.
The meets allowed several
athletes from the team to be recognized by the State University
of New York Athletic Conference
with weekly honors. Sophomore
Yonghoon Jun had three victories
including a solo performance in the
won four events against Carnegie
Mellon and three against Monroe
Community College. For diving,
seniors Emily Wanamaker and
Brandon Peifer were both honored
See BLUE WAVE on page 17