The Griffin Volume LXXXVI, Number 4

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What's cooking in Science Hall?

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Don't be an ugly american

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Volume LXXXVI, Number 4

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02 October 2015

View from the Griffin's Nest

You can, but why didn't you?

Canisius unveils its new marketing campaign

Canisius drops "Go Exploring"

By Jesse PR Prieto News Editor &

CJ Gates

Editor-in-Chief

After two years spent trying to discover the best way to go exploring around Canisius, the College has finally found an advertising campaign that gives prospective students what they want: specifics. Since 2012, the College has suffered from mistaken identity. The $500,000 marketing campaign was overpriced and quite simply considered an embarrassment by many in the community.

Despite numerous requests, administration has refused to

provide the finances behind the new “You Can” campaign, so it is impossible to corroborate the claims that money has been saved by internalizing strategic planning. However, having been denied the price tag, students and faculty have found the new “You Can” tagline and “Exceeding Your Expectations” slogan to be a bold step in the right direction.

After a year of planning that included market research, community opinion and a comprehensive branding study, Canisius Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communication Matthew Z. Wojick has full confidence in this new,

public face of the College.

Having already had a soft opening to the campaign just before last week’s Open House on 26 Sept., the marketing team has decided that the first broadbased exposure of the new graphics will begin on 15 Oct. with 12 billboards split between Buffalo and Rochester along with television commercials across Western New York rolling out the following week. These efforts will then be complemented by a digital and social media blitz targeting residents ranging from Central New York to Cleveland, Ohio.

The College’s comprehensee You Can @ 3

H. Wil Johnson moonlights as a deacon

By Kyle Ferrara Features Editor

Officer H. Wilson Johnson, Canisius’ Public Safety Director for six months, served 32 years in the Rochester Police Department before joining the college ranks. The people of Rochester, many of whom Johnson said are Catholic, came to recognize him for his police work, but also for his preaching as a Catholic deacon.

“They’d be at church; I’d be preaching; They’d go, ‘oh, I know him,’” Johnson said with the most pleasant of grandfatherly laughs. “So

Since 1933

people start finding out. And what you start finding out is that their expectation of you is different. They expect you to be different because if you’re preaching about your faith and you’re going to have any credibility, then you’d better be trying to live it, too.”

Johnson never intended to be a deacon in the Catholic Church.

He grew up in a Baptist home, and didn’t convert to Catholicism until 1991 when he was in his late 30s.

At that time, his kids, who were being raised Catholic like their mother, Linda, were in third and first grade,

and they were just beginning their religious education. Johnson enrolled in his family’s church’s Right of Catholic Initiation for Adults program. At the Easter Vigil Mass in 1991, he was confirmed Catholic.

His commitment to the ministry of the church predates his role as deacon—he entered the diaconate in 2003 and was ordained in the Diocese of Rochester in 2005. Johnson decided at the beginning of his career in the police force that he always would act as both a Christian man and a police officer. see Johnson @ 5

Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.

The new marketing campaign has begun, though attentive freshmen should recognize it from the Griff Welcome Rally during New Student Orientation. “You Can.” In many ways, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, evidence that we can (and are) moving away from the pitfalls of “Go Exploring.” Seniors remember and everyone else is likely familiar with the days of “Where Leaders Are Made,” and now we see the dawn of a new age: “You Can.” Canisius President and former Griffin Editor John J. Hurley wanted to see a student-centered university and now we have a student-centered advertising campaign. This paper applauds the new branding because we are finally moving towards an external image of the College that befits our institution. You Can. It’s so simple. It’s been right in front of our faces this whole time. Perhaps if we’re ever awarded university status, we’ll literally see U Can everywhere.

Associate Vice President, Marketing & Communication Matt Wojick, when he and several of his colleagues came to speak at the student Senate on Tuesday, stated that people weren’t as familiar with Canisius as they could be. People didn’t understand the value of this education, and so that’s where their focus originated. This paper certainly thinks that it was successful.

You can. It highlights the opportunities. You can go on a service trip.

You can climb a mountain in Ireland.

You can intern with the Buffalo Bills.

You can write for a paper founded in 1933 (that’s us, in case you were wondering). The specificity and generality exists simultaneously--these are things that real people are doing and the tagline itself is the common denominator. It’s Canisius.

There’s no doubt that personalization is the way that Canisius really knocks people’s socks off. Sure, we’ve got the programs, but it’s the personal experience that are institution offers that truly sets us apart. Admissions sends out Christmas cards, gives away Canisius secrets and swag, and the counselors have to be surreptitiously studying high school senior photos because they’re always remembering names. This campaign does something that Admissions has already worked very hard to do: they connect a statistic with a student.

And it does it on a much wider scale.

So what’s the problem? We’ve got a great marketing campaign.

We’re finally characterizing ourselves correctly to the campus community. A question remains: How did we get it?

This paper endeavored to answer this question, as newspapers are indeed wont to do, and though we’ve obtained figures in the past, even the half a million dollars over two years that was spent on “Go Exploring,” we were not allowed access to the numbers for this year’s certainly more successful campaign. Furthermore, the reason we were given for not having received such information was that we didn’t want to give it away to our competitors. Yet the idea is not for them to catch up to us; it is for us

to lap them from a marketing standpoint, to bring in more students through a successful understanding of the College.

“You Can” also came about after a year’s work, with two of the billboards finished Tuesday morning, the same night as Wojick’s presentation to the Senate. What took it so long? As of this writing, it hasn’t even rolled out on the website, something that was supposed to have happened last week. Why wasn’t this done when “Go Exploring” was first discovered and detested?

This paper didn’t demand an itemized breakdown of paperclips and staples allotted to the project, but it would certainly take that as an option if it included an explanation of exactly how much was spent on this marketing campaign. Editor-inChief CJ Gates spoke with Director of Public Relations Eileen Herbert, who suggested that this paper speak to Matt Wojick on Thursday. That day, Griffin editors made an attempt to do this in a diplomatic process and were promised a financial explanation following the last information session which ended at 4:00 p.m.

Thursday. Just after 4:00 p.m., Wojick said “Do you think you could come over to Lyons at 4:30? I just want to make sure that we’ve got everything that we’re going to share with you.”

Upon arriving at Lyons Hall at the suggested time, Griffin editors waited twenty minutes before Wojick addressed them, just after 4:50 p.m., and then were told that they didn’t want the amount of money spent to be public knowledge--at 4:55pm on Thursday afternoon, just before close of business (i.e. our last chance to gather information for this printing). Five minutes before the end of the workday is not sufficient notice to look elsewhere.

Why aren’t our readers allowed to know? There are certainly many confidential matters involved in the running of a college, which this paper respects; why is marketing one of them? Students pay thousands of dollars in tuition, and it has gone up for years, which is again within the nature of running of a college. Enrollment has been down. “Go Exploring” broke student faith in the College’s ability to represent us. They have a right to know how much it took to dig us out of the hole. They have a right to know how much it cost to fix that mistake. This paper wonders why adminstration wouldn’t give that information to them. There is a degree of much-needed transparency between administration and students which was avoided in these discussions.

President Hurley promised us a student-centered university, and that’s been respected and reflected in the marketing campaign. “You Can” is brilliant; it’s everything we’ve been waiting for in a marketing campaign, but why aren’t we given details about how much it cost us? Apparently, we can do everything but get all the facts.

Design 2015 Annie Niland

2

02 October 2015

1000 dollars richer, 90 seconds later

Amber Quinney wins this annual Elevator Pitch Competition

By Justin Smith

Assistant News Editor

Everyone would love to earn 1000 dollars in just 90 seconds, like one student here at Canisius did just that this past week. Amber Quinney, a third year transfer student from Howard University, has only been at Canisius for a few weeks and she has already made an impact by winning last Thursday’s annual Elevator Pitch Competition here at Canisius.

For Quinney, coming to Canisius was a return home.

Quinney said that a tuition increase drove her decision to leave Howard, and, being from the city of Buffalo, she decided to resume her higher education in-state at Canisius. Quinney found out about the Elevator Pitch Competition after going to Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization’s (C.E.O.) first meeting this semester.

“The advisor and officers mentioned the contest and [I thought], ‘that sound likes something that I’d be interested in,’” said Quinney.

After hearing about the contest, there wasn’t a lot Quinney had to do to prepare in terms of thinking about content. Having done contests similar to this before in high school, with University at Buffalo’s entrepreneurs program, and at Howard, she already had experience and ideas.

“I picked an idea that I thought I could articulate really well to an audience.”

Having already picked an idea, Quinney was able to spend most of her time

practicing her public speaking skills and talking through her pitch aloud.

Quinney’s pitch, an idea that she had brewing for nearly a month, was a personal networking app that differs from current social media and networking apps in that in it focuses on the networks that people already have.

“Who are my mentors?

Who are my mentees? Who are my friends? Who are my colleagues? Who are my potential business partners?

Who are my potential business clients? It […] groups and organizes a person’s network.”

The app would use statistical analysis and data mining in order to allow people to manage their personal relationships. In other words, rather than focus on expanding one’s network outwardly, the app would help to manage and solidify the network people already had in place for themselves.

A person could more easily track how often they meet with people and whether or not they’re following-up with those people.

“I’m still in the research and development aspect of this whole idea […] It’s going to cost a lot of money to develop.”

Quinney also said she must consider how she’ll actually make money off of the app, how she will distribute it and how she will assess the viability of the app’s potential market. However, even with these considerations, she says she wants to pursue the idea.

Since the Elevator Pitch Competition was on a Thursday, Quinney was in classes all day before the competition and said that she was too busy with school to even make the competition her “top priority.” By the time she got out of her class at 2:15, she had until 4 o’clock to deal with the nerves she had about the competition.

“Yeah, I know my content, but I was really nervous,” said Quinney.

Quinney was number 14, giving her time to hear some of the other pitchers before she had to give hers.

“There were a lot of great pitchers, a lot of great people, a lot of great ideas.”

Quinney listened to the approximately thirty people who pitched, and then had to sit nervously while the judges deliberated.

“I’m sitting there nervous as ever and then, next thing you know, they call Amber Quinney.”

Quinney said it took her a while to actually stand up after that because, although she was confident in her performance, she was still in shock that she, as a new student to Canisius and unfamiliar with student life here, had actually won. Adding to her surprise was that Quinney said she hadn’t even gone into the competition with the intentions of winning, but rather for the experience.

However, despite her surprise at winning, Quinney said she was confident in her pitch—both the idea and her performance.

ITS in search of a Wi-Fi solution

By Felicity Werner Griffin Reporter

Scott D. Clark, the Director of User Services, reached out recently to The Griffin, eager to speak about what has been happening with Canisius’ internet as well as administration’s plans to update the system. These intended improvements are all a part of a five-year-plan of which we are currently into the second year. Thus far the plan has involved the installation of a new network core, the heart of the Internet, to replace the existing one, which was over a decade old, as well as improvements and updates to the wired Internet.

With respect to the library’s wireless Internet, there is a two-year plan in progress that involves increasing the school’s Internet speed and bandwidth in order to create capacity for large a large amount of devices to be connected at once.

When asked about the current problems students in the library have been experiencing with the Wi-Fi, Clark responded, “The current issues in the library are an enigma to us… but I am confident we will be able to figure it out.”

The frequent connection drops and slow speeds have been plaguing students since the start of the semester, and Clark explains that the first time they were able to directly observe and replicate the problems was Wednesday, September 30th. Currently there are, according to Clark, “3 or 4” people directly working on this issue as their top priority.

Clark beseeches students to provide his office with as much information as possible about the issues they experience in the library and email helpdesk@ canisius.edu with details such as where exactly they were in the library when they

experienced problems, what the exact time was, what device they were using, and what system their device operates on. He says that only with the help of the students will they be able to figure out what is wrong and find a solution.

While Clark’s case-bycase method of solving the problem may prove worthwhile, it should be noted that problems with Wi-Fi extend beyond the library and the wireless internet has generally been slow and more unreliable than previous all across the campus as opposed to in specific spots at specific times. The issue of Wi-Fi remains as much an “enigma” to students as it is to User Services, and it now remains to be seen if these multi-year improvement plans will ultimately achieve their intended goals. wernerf@canisius.edu

“I think that [my idea] is plausible and worthy of investment,” said Quinney.

“Also I definitely think that having a lot of experience in presenting in business period […] gave me a better shot.”

Quinney says that the three qualities that worked best in her performance were her clarity, her articulation, and her charm. Also, she said that her belief in her own idea helped her to convince the judges.

“I actually believed in the idea that I was pitching, and so it made it a bit easier for the judges to believe.”

Next up for Quinney— and the C.E.O. advisor and officers—is the National Elevator Pitch Conference in November from the 5th to the 7th. The conference will feature various speakers, workshops, global entrepreneurs, and, as winner of the local Canisius chapter, Quinney has earned the right to compete in the National

Elevator Pitch Competition during the conference.

“I’m excited,” said Quinney. “I think I have a good chance of winning just based on my own confidence in my product [and] in my pitch.”

Quinney admits that her pitch last Thursday wasn’t perfect, but says that she will continue practicing it and revising it to make it more concrete. She also noted that she will have to practice for a question and answer session that was not a part of the local competition.

Quinney said she is already an entrepreneur and, at 18, she started a business working as a vendor at shows selling custom accessories to go along with women’s clothes. She said that she had success with the model in the D.C., Virginia, Maryland area, but as a student, she doesn’t have time to devote to being a full-time entrepreneur.

However, she says what she learns in school, and experiences like

the pitch contest, are useful to her as a businesswoman.

Her hope for the business is to use apps and technology to make it more efficient, especially since she currently lacks the capital to actually run a physical storefront.

Quinney also said she wants to go to Law School, with the hope of one day starting a consulting firm focusing on corporate laws and contracts.

Quinney said that her move from Howard, a historically black university, to Canisius, a predominantly white institution, has helped her to deal with diversity and learn how to better communicate with people different from herself.

Quinney says that while she has some ideas on what she could do with it, she does not yet know what she’s doing with the money she won. smith322@canisius.edu

Correction: Last week’s article entitled “The quiet

campaign for Science Hall: The growing pains of a non-forprofit” stated that 685 individuals donated to the Canisius Fund in the 2014-15 fiscal year. In fact, the College close out this past year with 685 donors who gave substantial gifts as members of the Leadership Society, a sub-account of the annual Canisius Fund. In total, Canisius received donations from several thousand alumni and friends of Canisius “ranging from 10 dollars to 10,000 dollars,” which reflects a much larger giving pool than was originally stated.

Want to bed down in the Griffin's Nest? email prietoj@canisius.edu

3 New ad campaign emphasizes specific student stories 02 October 2015

You Can: continued from Front

sive marketing research, which was outsourced in large part to Edge Research based out of Virginia, was made up of two phases that began in May of this year. First, a quantitative approach to better understand the wants and desires of the consumer— a survey of 620 prospective high school students, their parents, and potential graduate students— was conducted. The survey found that while the College has strong name recognition, it lacks familiarity.

This trend was consistent with comments from incoming students who claimed to have not been introduced to the opportunities at the College until actually setting foot on campus.

Canisius prides itself on the welcoming student body and eager faculty who are willing to invest in their students; a culture that incoming students explained was only revealed after arriving on campus.

Recent advancements such as the creation of the academic Griff Center were strategic initiatives, planned and executed to

break down bureaucratic walls that traditionally separated prospective and new students from access to the community at large.

It’s important to note that these improvements show promise, having already boosted inter-office communication and improving response time for student needs.

Wojick explained that, while this enticed visiting students to enroll the following year, those viewing the College via the website or other media were simply left out of the loop.

“We really do have good name recognition,” Wojick said, “[but] less so among high school students. While they know the name they don’t really know much about us.”

The uniqueness of the word “Canisius” is a selling point that has yet to be fully realized. What is most unsettling was the fact that the majority of participants were residents of Western New York or within the frequent recruiting centers in the Northeast corridor.

The results from this quantitative survey were then transferred into a qualitative study, which

played with specific phraseology and tested various slogans such as “Magis in Action,” “The City College of Buffalo,” the College’s former tagline “Where Leaders Are Made” and “Exceed You Expectations” on public opinion.

With the two-phase comprehensive market research campaign completed, the administration was confident that it has learned from past mistakes and that it will be able to reach out to the target audience: prospective students.

What they found was different than had been professed in previous years. This generation is interested in specifics. Those surveyed ranked what they wished to know about a prospective school and the overwhelming majority of cases showed a need to see what the marketing team calls “tangibles.”

Freelance Writer and Creative Consultant Crista Geary explained that this research became the foundation for this new campaign in order “to really highlight what is special about Canisius education, so that people would

be familiar with what we are known for, what we’re good at and those student experiences.”

According to Wojick, students placed “teaching ethics and values” low on their list of collegiate priorities, and instead sought clear examples of students who have been set up for success, evidence that Canisius is a good investment of tuition dollars, and that there will be plenty of opportunities for research and hands-on learning.

Another objective in the design, Geary said, was to assure that the rebranding was “really ownable - you see a lot of ads out there that feel like someone else’s name could get put at the end of it.”

Therefore both the text and golden color of You Can bring attention back to name recognition while blending in nicely with the any number of subtitles that introduce a unique Canisius experience.

With a heavy emphasis on photography, You Can will be extremely visual. Stock photos will not be used, instead the campaign will be taking advice from students and faculty

using the photos and experiences that they provide.

The You Can campaign will soon come front and center on the Canisius home page that is set to be rolled out within a few days with the hopes that the entire website will be redesigned by Spring 2016.

The new home page, currently being designed OHO Interactive, a Boston-based web design firm, will feature four student profiles that will be refreshed every two months, along with select social media posts that are aggregated by Tint, a social media aggregating company hired by the College, that highlight various aspects of Canisius Life.

The faculty and staff who populated the advertising campaign information sessions had a few suggestions for the campaign. Fr. Michael Tunney, S.J. raised concerns that the terms “Catholic” or “Jesuit” were nowhere to be found in the campaign; Sarah Signorino, Associate Campus Minister, wondered if it was possible to have a map of service or study abroad opportunities; and Kathleen DeL-

aney, the College Archivist, wanted to know if the College’s history and tradition could be more prominent in the campaign.

Given the early stages of the ad campaign, Wojick welcomed all suggestions from faculty, staff and students. Since the campaign will be featuring actual Canisius students, it will allow the campaign to grow organically, allowing many of the suggestions to be incorporated.

sive robot head made out of Legos and felt. Jim has the abilities to its mouth up and down, to curl its upper lip to make a frown or smile, to move its eyebrows, and “blink” using its two LED eyeball lights.

Mrowczynski says that his head hasn’t reached it’s full potential yet, with future plans including giving Jim “voice synthesis capabilities,” where his voice would have to be recorded beforehand, and “facial recognition” through the use of a Kinect.

Jim’s systems would need to be improved as well, as the 3-D printer would make his new plastic components. He also wants to build a laser cutter, named “Mr. Beam,” to make the circuit parts more easily, along with making them double-sided.

The Physics Club took Jim to a robotics conference in Quebec City over the summer, where not only was it well received, but was also featured as

the poster presentation for the education portion of the conference. It certainly saved the club’s showing at the conference after a chess playing robot they designed malfunctioned

department so it help kids learn about emotions. “He can say ‘Show me your happy face’ and the kid will respond with their face, and Jim will say, ‘Good job.’” Mrowczynski

students taking part, Colson said that “anyone can jump on at anytime. We didn’t know what we were doing when we started.”

Mrowczynski also said that, “I didn’t know how to code computer software when I started working on Jim, and I coded it all within three months.”

“When a student usually starts out,” Mrowczynski said,” they’ll work on something like a music effects box and a starter kit introducing you different components. We’re open to anyone building anything; other people have made a radio, a Pong controller, and a mini synth drum kit.

It’s not just all student ideas that the club takes on.

Two Digital Media Arts professors, Jamie O’Neil and Bill Sack, are working on Electroskip, where sensors would be placed on the soles and heels of shoes. ‘When it detects peaks, such as when a dancer stomps down, it plays a note,” Mrowczyn-

ski stated. “The end-goal there is to get dancers to accompany themselves when they dance. I’m also working on an app for it as well, so anyone can control the sensors from any wireless device.”

Some of these projects have been used in classes taught here at Canisius.

Jim has been integrated into Dr. Burhans’ computer science course and the intelligent systems course, where his facial recognition and speech synthesis are key components of the class. Jamie O’Neil wants to use the 3-D printer for his DMA courses where students can print out their own designed objects. And one of the electronics classes would introduce students to the kind of circuitry found in Jim. The physics club is always open to anyone with a passing interest in science and doing DIY work.

@jessewashere94 prietoj@canisius.edu

@TGNGates

gates3@canisius.edu

3-D printer highlights Physics Club's achievements

By Robert Creenan Griffin Reporter

Something is cooking in the rooms of Science Hall. Or some things to more accurately put it. The Canisius College Physics Club, headed by Jon Mrowczynski and Chrissy Colson, build plenty of contraptions in their free time outside of class. And some of them have plenty of real world applications.

Mrowczynski and Colson helped build the club’s 3-D printer, which has the capabilities of printing out Darth Vader heads, gears, and mathematical equations.

“This printer took about a year and a half to build, mostly to gather all the parts,” Mrowczynski said.

“We would often put the parts together, then realize we forgot to put in a motor somewhere, so we would have to disassemble again.”

The major project the club created was Jim, an emotionally expres-

The Physics Club hopes Jim, pictured above, can help with autism reseasrch

during its demonstration.

Mrowczynski hopes that Jim could be used for the autism research

said. “Or if the kid gives a wrong face, he’ll show the correct one.”

When it comes to new

creenanr@canisius.edu

ifestyle 74 LFeatures

02 October 2015

The Griffin's Creative writing showcase Creativ To those who Get up

Would you like to see

By Scott Perez your If you're reading this you're in college, maybe starting life on your own creative With no one to tell you it's getting late, go to bed and tell your date to go home Because now you have the freedom to do what you want writing or And with your experiences here, you will be self-taught After falling and failing you'll keep getting up poetry in Sometimes you'll feel you've run out of luck But you have to keep going because life will get hard print?

I'm sure there's someone counting on you to succeed and go far And if there isn't anybody, do it for yourself Submit Maybe life has been rough and this is your way out your work You have to keep in mind we're only human, we fuck up and make mistakes That's why wisdom comes with experience and age to That's why some of these freshman act like this is the third grade As if college is just one big game ferrarak@ When it's not This is where your future lies canisius.

This isn't where preschoolers come to colonize And you don't have to be all work all the time edu or You just have to know when to draw the line And that's the truth harb12@ I guess I appreciate this more that others canisius.

Because I didn't even expect to make it this far last summer When I had lost faith in myself and the skills I pertained edu When I tried shooting for my goals, but had forgot how to aim.

e W r i g came totin conquer

By Kofi Dedenyo Akadjah

I open my arms and welcome you all To a new beginning that will only end in sublime glory Today we are strangers Tomorrow and the days ahead We will be friends and family, one big Jesuit family.

From you and I, Hi’s and a hello’s In our highs and lows.

Smiles and winks That are not afraid of first impressions.

Together we will soar on the golden griffin’s wings Spreading warmth and compassion To the world around us Even when the tide rages wild It will be worth the while.

We are one None left behind, Our voices will be heard at the twilight of a new era Wherever we may find ourselves.

"Slap me up!"

The case for giving your neighbor a high-five

By Nathan Ress

Features Contributer

As a Buffalo student born and bred, I live, breathe, and die by the slap-up. For some it is just a simple handshake, but for others, those of us who see its true value, it is something much, much more.

For those of you unlucky enough to not know what a slapup is, let me clarify. It is a handshake between two people, starting with a sideways high-five. The hands are then slid back towards their respective owners roughly until only the fingers are touching. They are then quickly locked together, and released. When complete, the maneuver takes about a second, depending on the speed and emphasis of the participants.

You may have witnessed this handshake in any number of sources around campus. For example, you may have seen it as a greeting, a farewell, or even as a random interjection during conversation. You may recognize it as an almost ritualistic display, often between hockey players, frat-bro’s, or just average Joe’s. You may even partake in it yourself.

No one quite knows how the slap-up originated, or at least I don’t. My first memories of it are in high school hallways, watching pairs of people enthusiastically slapping-up betweenclasses as they passed. In no time, however, it blossomed and everyone, myself included was doing it, not only in my high school, but in the area, on the streets, in stores, restaurants, malls, etc. It was everywhere.

From my personal experience, I have seen the slap-up numerous times, and have even slapped-up with total strangers.

Recently, in the bustling University Heights district, later in the evening, a friend and I were enjoying a calzone from Calios Restaurant, looking out from the open doors of the shop to passersby on the street. A young man and woman passed us,

and we exchanged glances. Immediately the man shambled into the restaurant and over to our table, much to the dismay of the woman he was with. “Boys!” He exclaimed, and immediately offeredup his hand in a hearty slap up. He then went on to explain, “She only wants me for my looks, boys!”

After a couple minutes more of him reaching out to us in his time of need, and our consoling him, he turned to go, once more stumbling into the night. That is, not before offering us one more enthusiastic slap-up, and chanting with almost ritualistic vigor, “Boys!” The experience left me feeling elated, as though I was intimately connected to not only that man, but the Buffalo community as a whole.

This explosion in popularity shot the slap-up into the everyday lives of many Buffalo area students and youths. However, it also had a very negative effect. Because of the popularity, some began to criticize the slap-up, calling it foolish, or just for the douchiest of the population. People who slapped-up were then often looked down upon, and mocked behind closed doors.

Despite this poor publicity, the slap-up continued to limp on in more limited circles, confining itself once again to locker rooms, dorm hallways, and high school classrooms. I am here to dispel the ill-founded belief that the slap-up is evil. I, for one, still use the slap-up as a primary form of physical contact, second only to the classic handshake. I have studied its uses and have found several positive qualities intrinsic in the gesture.

First, as a greeting, the slap-up finds its perfect niche. It is an enthusiastic gesture, one that puts overtones of happiness, familiarity, and fraternity on the following interaction. One can’t help but smile as they slap-up. It is the perfect start to any interaction between not only friends, but also strangers, family, and even, dare I say, lovers.

In a similar way, the slap-up can be used as a farewell. The slap-up at the end of an interaction promises future friendliness, and affirms a positive feeling at the end of a conversation.

Furthermore, the mid-conversation slap-up is possibly the most important of all. This slap-up can serve many purposes, none of them insignificant. For example, if an individual says something especially profound, meaningful, or important a slap up may be presented to show support or agreement. By contrast, if in the course of an interaction one member of a group seems especially down or upset, a slap-up may be presented to show similar support, often as if to say, “I see you, and I am here for you.” The slap-up as such can help that individual through their issue, reminding them that they are not alone, and they have at least one friend and supporter.

It is that use of the slap-up that I respect above all, the slap-up as a gesture of support, and of mutual humanity. The supporting slap-up transcends the negative stigma that surrounds it and turns it into something extremely positive. It is for that reason that I am a firm supporter of the slap-up and I encourage everyone to overcome the negative hype, seeing it not as a douche-bag pastime, but as a Buffalo-born affirmation of mutual humanity.

So if you see an old friend, or someone who looks glum, or even your good old mom, slap them up. If you’re meeting your significant other’s parents for the first time, or seeing a beloved professor for the last time, slap them up. If an officer of the law pulls you over, slap them up. And of course, if you see me around on campus, go ahead, slap me up.

ressn@canisius.edu

Lifestyle58 Features

02 October 2015

Mustache-less Public Safety Director finding his niche Johnson: continued from front “They’re not mutually exclusive,” he said.

“Sometimes in police work, part of your job is to do things to protect people. Sometimes that includes taking away somebody else’s freedom. And how you have to approach that is - you’re always looking to help the victim.

Sometimes that has negative consequences on somebody else, but as a police officer, you’re there for the victim. That’s really who you’re looking to help out as a person. It’s interesting, the disenfranchised, the victimized, the people on the fringes, are really the same people within your outreach in the diaconate. So really those are very much the same.”

Johnson views his police work as his ministry. He always had that idea of his work, but only after he became a deacon did he really learn how to verbalize it. His commitment to the ministry, his diaconate identity, makes him a perfect fit at Canisius, something that he sensed from the minute he found out about the job opening here.

The only thing that discouraged Johnson about the career change was Canisius’ location. A move to Buffalo seemed to make little sense for him and his wife. His son and daughter-in-law live in Rochester. His wife grew up

in Rochester, and besides, they agreed that if they ever did move anywhere, it would be to a warmer climate.

But a funny thing happened. Before Johnson even told his wife about the job opening, she received an offer from a former boss to work in Buffalo.

“Why would I want a job in Buffalo?” she asked her husband.

Johnson’s eyes widened.

“Let me tell you about Canisius!” he said.

They agreed then that if he got the job at Canisius, she would look into the job offer.

Linda Johnson accepted the position in Buffalo in July. Now they both are thrilled to be a part of the resurrecting Buffalo community. *** It’s weird to be in the Director of Public Safety’s office and look at a naked upper lip.

While it’s unfair to continue to compare Johnson to the mustache that graced Canisius for 33 years, it is hard to not do so. Gary Everett was the manifestation of Public Safety at Canisius.

Johnson, though, isn’t trying to be the next Everett.

“One thing I know,” he said, “is I will never be Gary Everett. Gary was the face of Public Safety. He had a real gift for that, and people

came to love him because of that.”

Part of it is a simple matter of time. Johnson doesn’t have 33 years to spend at Canisius.

But another part of it is that it would be dishonest to try to be Everett when he should be trying to be just ‘Wil’ Johnson.

“I think the thing that I would like [students] to see is I want them to see me as being friendly, fair, that I know my business, but that I’m somebody that they can trust if they need Public Safety for something, that I’m somebody that they can trust to be fair,” Johnson said.

Fairness, trustworthiness, and friendliness have all been tools in his tool belt during his 32 years as a municipal police officer, and it should be easy for the veteran officer to translate those skills to the collegiate realm.

“It’s different than being a municipal police officer,” Johnson said. “It does let you be more friendly here. That’s one that I hope that they see is that I’m a friendly person. I do like the students there. It’s been a great start to my career here. I’ve been very happy with what I’ve seen.” @TGNFerrara ferrarak@canisius.edu

To see or not to see

A Look into the Honors Stratford Trip

By Janelle Harb

Features Layout Editor

This past weekend, 35 students from the Canisius All-College Honors Program traveled to Stratford, Ontario to see Carousel and The Taming of the Shrew during the famous Stratford Festival. Stratford is a small town that seems frozen in the time of a quaint, Renaissance-era village. After arriving a little past 10, earlier than estimated, Dr. Dierenfield, our moderator and head of the Honors Program, allowed us to wander around the town for a little while. I noted many eccentric but quaint shops as I walked about including several speciality chocolate shops, a few European-style pubs, numerous antique bookstores, and many stylish clothing stores.

Once we had done our fair share of adventuring, Dr. Dierenfield arranged for us to be taught one of the dances from Carousel by two of the members of the ensemble. Our two instructors were Matt Alfano and Jason Sermonia, both of whom have been with the Stratford Festival for six and four seasons, respectively. As a dancer of thirteen years, I absolutely loved learning from these two incredible professionals. The large group of us, including Dr. Dierenfield, learned the intense choreography to the sailing chant “Blow High, Blow Low” from the musical. It was obvious that our instructors had an intense passion for dance and musical theatre as they taught us with great enthusiasm. Although the dance was fast-paced and difficult, we eventually managed to earn the praise for our hard work

Canada's gift to the Canisius College All-College Honors Program.

from Matt and Jason. After our dance session, we had a short question and answer with Matt and Jason about their past stage experiences, both with the Stratford company and without, their favorite roles, as well as their dream roles. This class had been my favorite part of the entire trip as I loved being able to perform alongside two professionals, as well as learn about their lives and journeys.

After cooling off from our dance workout, we made our way to see the musical itself. Coined as the best musical of the 20th century, Carousel is about a carousel barker named Billy Bigelow, who gets fired due to his relationship with Julie Jordan, a millworker. In trying to provide for their unborn child, Billy becomes caught up with a dangerous scheme, and is later offered a second chance to make things right for his family. The show is an ode to the difficulties of the generation who endured the Great Depression, with the music and lyrics being written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The story is a real look at the struggles that families and communities faces during this time, but is overall ends with a tone of hope and optimism for a brighter future; much like the general tonality of the 1950s itself.

I found the show to balance humor, romance, and drama incredibly well, being that there were many tears shed as a result of all of these aspects of the show. The cast worked together well to give new depth and meaning to this classic show even in the 21st century, so that even modern audience members can relate to its story of redemption. The beauti-

Photo by Janelle Harb

ful design of the grand carousel and other sets, along with the talented cast completely transported every audience member into the world of these characters.

Once we had gotten out of the magical Carousel induced trance, we were given more free time to roam around the town before our evening show, The Taming of the Shrew, a play by William Shakespeare. After revisiting the chocolate shops again, we walked about 20 minutes outside of the main street to the Festival Theatre where the play was being performed. Along the walk, we came across the iconic Canadian black squirrels, and even some ducks and swans nibbling on the lakeside grass. The Festival Theatre was much bigger than the previous Avon Theatre that we had been in, and allowed for the stage to uniquely extend into the audience, as if it were a runway.

The Taming of the Shrew is about a man’s two daughters, Katherina, who refuses to get married, and her highly sought after younger sister, Bianca, who therefore can’t get married before her older sister does. This changes when the bold Petruchio believes that he can “tame” Katherina into marriage, however, he simply wants to marry her for the land and riches that her father possesses. As one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the play included many humorous moments of the various men trying to court the women in extensive ways, much to both of their discontent. I enjoyed the beautifully designed costumes of the show, as well as the talented cast that demonstrated their expert understanding of Shakespearean dialogue, and brought enormous personalities to these characters.

The 19-hour day was finally brought to a close as we crossed back over the United States’ border. The Stratford trip is a staple in the Honors program, and one that I would highly recommend every member of this program to take full advantage of. I found the trip to be a whirlwind of unforgettable adventures and an incredible opportunity to see two masterfully done and iconic shows. I will surely be attending this trip again in my next few years at Canisius, and am already looking forward to what next year’s shows will be. harb12@my.canisius.edu

Cultured Correspondence: Gender Roles

By UT Etim

Assistant Features Editor

Growing up in a Nigerian home, I certainly learned a lot… a whole lot about supposed gender roles. As a result of this, my then ideology on how things between men and women ought to be was quite different from how I see things now. Long story short, this is a sneak peek into my “pre-woke” and “pre-feminism/ womanism” days. Yes womanism is a word.

The first thing I learned as a kid, after my name and all other basics, was the fact that as a girl, I am expected to aspire to marriage. We must be married late enough to not be considered a child bride but early enough to not be counted as part of the old cargo going for endless vigils in church in search of a husband, or as the western world politely calls it, spinster.

Funny enough, no one ever puts pressure on guys to get married early. I guess there’s no biological clock ticking for them. Also we are the only ones required to have some semblance of home training. It’s amazing how the actions of the female child only reflect on the family. The sons, however, are excused with youthful exuberance. Once this fact was established in my little mind, it became a struggle for me to fully imbibe these roles expected of women and men alike for one sole reason: I was a tomboy.

It had been drummed into my head severely the fact that I had to know how to cook.

Cooking is a fundamental part of being a successful woman. Without this ability, you are not considered a full-fledged woman regardless of how accomplished in life you are. So every Saturday morning I was dragged to the kitchen to learn how to prepare one dish or another which was actually exhausting and irritating as I didn’t care for a lot of those meals.

Now the thing with boys and cooking is this: they had no obligation to learn how to cook because they would marry good women who would know how to cook for them and feed the children too. So while I was being dragged to the kitchen at 8 a.m. to become a junior chef, my cousins were busy sleeping in bed because they had no reason to aspire to marriage. They wouldn’t be judged by their ability to not burn a pot or a house down or clean up after themselves and others in a house. As for cleaning, I personally think that it is a necessity because it doesn’t make sense stewing in your own mess.

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s words, “aim to be successful but not too successful or else you will threaten the man”. I was once advised by a very nosy uncle to not attain a PhD as no man supposedly wants a woman who is seemingly smarter than he is. With this bout of unwarranted and unsolicited advice, I was also advised to earn less than men as their masculinity is frail enough to be broken a woman within a high pay grade. The icing on the cake was the advice to not drive flashy cars even if I could afford them for myself as men feel the need to feel wanted and as a result these cars will be given to me as gifts instead. For lack of better words, he summarized with “don’t bring out your Mercedes Benz, drive your Toyota corolla so you don’t drive these boys away because you are pompous.”

In other words, the female child was basically called and made to be subservient to men for some strange reason. And for all these reasons and more I’m thankful for the feminism and more importantly black feminism (there is actually a difference between the two) without which I would be sitting in the fattening room being groomed for marriage to a man who thinks I was born to be his servant and not his equal. So I can look him dead in the eye and tell him to make his own meal, to mend his fragile ego that seems to be so very intimidated and broken by my accomplishments and strides in life. We are just dismantling the gender roles I suppose. Who wants to be oppressed and suppressed by illogical notions anyway?

etimi@my.canisius.edu

02 October 2015

After four years, barista-ing isn’t on my bucket Darby Ratliff Opinion Editor

I’m going to preface with that fact that I currently inhabit the social sciences and humanities and that I intend on pursuing a graduate degree in the humanities. I’d also like to say that I’m too scared of science to touch it.

The same thing can be said for math.

The College has put a lot of focus on the STEM subjects and other disciplines outside of the humanities. Science Hall is clearly a building dedicated to STEM, with the Pre-Medical Center, statistics, and mathematics departments being housed there and with the intention of moving most, if not all, of the sciences into that building. The only class that I will likely ever have had in that building is Business Statistics II, and admittedly, it seems as though only the sciences will ever get to have the shiny new building. Granted, we’re not really sure when their new toy will

Opinion 65 Opinion

be completely finished, but the point stands.

I don’t mean to lessen the importance of the STEM subjects.

I wish I had the ability to study, understand, and still like science, and the dedication to commit the rest of my life to medicine.

However, I also happen to know that Canisius is a liberal arts institution. Our Core Curriculum requires two english classes, as well as a number of philosophy and religious studies courses as well. We’re required to complete a science, and, for some, a math as well, but the liberal arts basis is lost in the shuffle of the sciences.

Business decisions are important to our continuance as an institution, but I have a hard time forgetting the fact that the College appears to be shifting its focus towards the sciences.

With this in mind, I haven’t forgotten the fact that the Kenneth L. Koessler Award Distinguished Faculty Member was awarded to Dr. Mick Cochrane of the Creative Writing program, and

the award winner also received a grant for the Contemporary Writers Series, which last year welcomed National Book Award winner Phil Klay and National Book Award finalist Tea Obreht.

Janet McNally received a New York Fellowship of the Arts.

These are a few that I’m extensively familiar with, given my academic background, but a number of liberal arts faculty members have been recognized for their effort. However, many of these accolades were awarded by a source outside of the administration or the College itself.

I don’t want to stop pushing the sciences. I want biology to flourish and to recognize that Animal Behavior Ecology and Conservation is a top program within the country. However, why aren’t we striving for universally strong programs. I would argue that my academic disciplines are incredibly student-centered and strenuous. The Raichle PreLaw Center has brought a number of Supreme Court Justices to

campus, including Chief Justice John Roberts in 2010 and has received little internal recognition for its efforts. Our second largest network of alumni is in Washington, D.C., and so for students who wish to study law or enter politics, it’s an amazing opportunity. Why aren’t we pushing these opportunities? Why aren’t we giving each department and program an opportunity to thrive?

The Humanities are so often laced with the connotation that one day their graduates will work in coffee shops as baristas. Or just won’t have a job at all. Why aren’t we trying harder to stop that stereotype? That’s what I want to know and what I think a lot of my comrades want to see as well.

Proof that any degree at Canisius provides you with security--in jobs and in graduate school. The stereotype doesn’t need to exist, but our humanities do--that’s the claim we should be substantiating, not the inverse. ratliffd@canisius.edu @darby_ratliff

them; when I went to a workshop on study abroad I found it far more than insightful—except the Study Abroad Office, not the Griff Center ran it.

I had a great Griff 101 advisor, and she did her absolute best to have a good class, and was always fantastic when I met with her individually; she didn’t fail me. The Griff Center failed me when I tried to get the Griff 101 requirement waived second semester so I could take a course offered in the same time slot. I had a brief meeting there, where I stated that Griff 101 was not an academic course, yet, it was interfering with the rigorous academic schedule I set for myself. The response (paraphrased tactfully): “well, Griff 101 is an academic course, and I know what I’m talking about—goodbye.” Not my most pleasant meeting ever.

The other experience in which they failed me was when I went there for resume help: instead of working with me toward a format I liked, the resume was completely edited by the “helper” and sent back to me digitally. Thanks. It’s not like I’m capable of doing my own work or anything. Honestly, though, it was probably my most offensive experience there, because I wasn’t treated like the actual college student I was. I imagine many others would appreciate being coddled like I was, but I don’t understand how we can grow as people if we don’t have to perform conscious actions to change ourselves.

Lastly, at the end of my Griff 101 course, they had me complete a lengthy, in depth, survey in which I was able to express my concerns about how to improve

the program, and what I had thought of it—is what I’d like to say. They didn’t ask me anything.

There were no questions: “did you meet friends?” “was your advisor helpful?” “was the program a good use of time?” Not one of these was asked of me. If the Griff Center is unwilling to actively improve themselves as an office, ask me to “Join Handshake” (or the thing like Handshake from last semester that no one used), makes my resume for me instead of having me do the work, and continues to host the failure that was and is Griff 101, I cannot understand why we keep allowing them to fail. Their job is to make sure students don’t.

while living abroad. If you don’t understand what they said and you need them to explain in English, apologize before you ask them to explain. It is very important that you apologize. You’re in a foreign country and you’re asking someone to speak your language. There’s nothing wrong with asking for clarification, but if their accent is hard to understand or their English isn’t perfect, continue to treat them with respect.

Don’t get upset if their accent is thick—not only are you being a rude American, you’re also being a rude human.

If you order something in a restaurant and the food your waiter brings is not what you expected, eat it. If you don’t like it, get over it. As long as your waiter didn’t make a mistake and bring you the wrong dish, there is no reason for you to complain. Being a foreigner in a new country is very similar to being a guest in someone’s home. If you are invited to dinner and you don’t like what is being served, you would not ask your host to make you something else. If you’re ner-

vous about not liking the food, ask your server for suggestions or research before you travel. If you still don’t like the food after researching and getting a personal suggestion, at least you succeeded in broadening your horizons.

Congratulations.

I promise that no matter where you study abroad the WiFi sucks. As long as you are able to send the occasional “I’m alive” message on WhatsApp to your family, you’ll be fine. When you can’t get a good signal, go for a walk. Find a new restaurant in your city. Don’t complain about the Wi-Fi because you’re abroad and this is a truly wonderful experience. You still have an experience even if you don’t upload any photos to Facebook or Instagram.

Your Facebook newsfeed will be waiting for you, but your time abroad is limited. Do not be like the girl I sat next to in class and complain about how “at least WiFi works in America.” America has a lot to offer, but I have yet to find pizza as good as in Florence.

I have my priorities.

Be conscious that Americans

can dress in gym attire without attracting attention for it, but in most other countries, they dress more nicely. You can wear gym clothes everyday abroad if you want to, but keep in mind you’re putting a target on your back.

Don’t be surprised when street vendors follow you and try convincing you to buy a watch, lighter, etc..

Don’t ask people at the bar for directions to your apartment.

Have fun, but don’t lose track of yourself while you’re bar hopping and put yourself in a dangerous situation. The loud, drunk American is a stereotype following you abroad and this is arguably the worst version of the ‘Ugly’ American to embody. Not only is it embarrassing that you look naïve, it’s also dangerous. Look up the places you want to go beforehand and make sure you always know how to get home from where you are. sawkae@canisius.edu @elizabeth_sawka

Letter to the Editor: Against Griff 101 Drew Sasala

Opinion Contributor

Griff 101 failed me, and it seems to be failing the freshmen because of its handling by the Griff Center. What was supposed to be a course where I met friends turned into an hour of my week I wish I could have back (or spend in actual class). This started as a response to last week’s article, so here I’ll do my minor refuting, and then get on with my big point: Griff 101 needs to be zero credits because otherwise you couldn’t necessarily take all the classes that matter to you (students that have labs or take classes like band for 1 credit would be pushed past the 18 credit barrier if Griff 101 was a for-credit course). I won’t fight anybody on the workshop thing, except to say that it is the Griff Center that seems to have bungled

sasala2@canisius.edu @AndrewSasala

Be better than your stereotype

Elizabeth Sawka

Opinion Contributor

If you’re considering studying abroad, go abroad. If you are afraid to study abroad, go abroad.

Walk down to the study abroad office in the basement of Frisch and talk to Nicole Calamunci.

She will find you a program. If she can’t find you a program that sounds exciting to you, then you have never experienced excitement, and it’s a new feeling for you. She can help with that too.

While abroad not only are you representing Canisius College, but most importantly you’re representing yourself. Stereotypes are ugly and I could write an entire piece about them, but for now I’m discussing how to avoid being labeled an “Ugly” American.

If you’re in a country where English is not the primary language and you don’t speak the primary language, count yourself lucky if they speak to you in the language. You’ve been mistaken for a native, and that’s the best compliment you can receive

Founded in 1933 The Griffin is the student newspaper of Canisius College.

2001 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14208-1098 Phone: (716) 888-7835 Email: griffin@canisius.edu www.canisiuscnect. net CJ Gates, Editor in Chief ...

Jesse PR Prieto, News Editor Dominic Chamberlain, Sports Editor Kyle Ferrara, Features Editor Darby Ratliff, Opinion Editor ...

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Letters to the Editor The Griffin gladly accepts letters to the editor. Letters should be addressed to ratliffd@canisius.edu.

Notes from the Underground But seriously, how much did that marketing campaign cost? Was it enough to finish Science Hall? The Underground would like to know.

The Underground is very pleased with Mighty Taco on campus and scorns all Taco Bell supporters.

Thanks are owed to Chartwells for its Bills Sunday menus. According to the Underground, the Buffalo Bills feel the same, considering the win.

The Underground believes that a billboard should read “You Can... spend all of your time in the tunnels” because it would like more people to keep it company.

Vending Machines, the Underground is very cross that you aren’t working. We inanimate objects are supposed to be in it together.

Once again, the Bills are undefeated...if you pretend that two Sundays ago didn’t happen. The Underground believes this will lead to a happier campus.

Unsigned editorials appearing on this page represent the opinions of The Griffin. All other columns, letters, artwork and advertisements represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily representative of The Griffin’s position. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Canisius College or its student body. Articles and Letters to the Editor must be typewritten and should not exceed 300 words in length. The deadline for Letter submission is 5 p.m. Tuesday of the week of publication. Letters must pertain to an article recently published in The Griffin. Letters must include the writer’s full name, class year and email address. No pseudonyms are permitted. Letters are published at the discretion of the Editorial Board and are subject to editing and condensation. Send to griffin@canisius.edu.

Opinion 67 Kevin J. Daley Editor Emeritus

Pope Francis’s encyclical letter Laudato Si’ treats the “persistent storm of change and challenge” in higher education described by President Hurley in his convocation address of 9 Sept.. As the College continues its strategic planning, the Holy Father’s exhortations remain salient.

The substance of the encyclical critiques not capitalism nor ecologi-

02 October 2015

Letter to the Editor: Laudato Si’

cal practices, but the abandonment of a theocentric orientation, and the full commitment of mankind to the technological project. The displacement of God by praxis and science has, in the Pope’s view, engendered a Promethean culture, a dictatorship of scientific method which aspires to the subjugation of nature, the triumph of humanism, and the distillation of the vast glory of human knowledge into data points for the emerging global technocracy.

The attendant problems the sci-

entific culture creates (wealth disparities, environmental catastrophe, How I Met Your Mother) must be rectified by a profound cultural realignment. In this endeavor, a major pedagogical correction is required, imagined by the Pope in the closing sections of his encyclical. His meditation on “integral ecology” compels us to ensure that our own Canisius College remains stalwart in its commitment to liberal education.

The temptation to emphasize outcomes, value, and assessment (as the

nomenclature en vogue at Canisius suggests) begets campus practices which tend toward an instrumentalist method of education abetting the techno-scientific consensus -- divorcing student life from academic life, pre-professional programs from the core, research from teaching, and a gargantuan administrative apparatus from its partners in governance aids the compartmentalization of our lives and our knowledge.

The Promethean regime is stronger for it.

The Holy Father teaches the return to a fully human education, which cultivates love of learning and ceaseless dialogue between disciplines, must be part of our new moral project. May the Griffin and her Dear Readers heed his call.

zation has events that only they can do and they do them extraordinarily well. Yet, I will say that a majority of the programming falls on SPB. Nick Morelli wrote an article last week that stated, “SPB is in fact a council of USA and not a club organization, they are funded accordingly and are able to put on many popular events.” SPB is a council, but that has nothing to do with our funding. The only other council is Council of Representatives, and they don’t receive a specific budget at all. Being a council means that we work closely with USA, which represents the students for whom SPB programs. We still fill out a budget form as does every organization on campus. Our budget is so large because we took on much of the programming that was once done by the Office of Campus Programming and Leadership Development (CPLD).

When CPLD dissolved, SPB took on fitness, travel, and weekend programming. We took that on because those elements were important to the Canisius students, and they shouldn’t disappear because CPLD

did.

Mr. Morelli’s article stated his discontent with the amount of money SPB received for the Fall Semester. I ask you to think about that sum of $200,000. Included in this semester’s budget were all of our Special Events: Fall Welcome Week, Fall Fest, White Panda, SemiFormal, Christmas in the Quad, Build-a-Bear, and Griff Fest. Also included in this budget were the costs of movie rights for Griff Flix. It’s required by law that we pay to publicly show movies. SPB’s goal is to fill in the programming gaps left by other organizations, not to outshine their programs. My advisor and I sat down over the summer, and any day that there was a large event being run by another club, we blacked out. We don’t program over Fusion Game Nights, RHA’s fall event, or CSA’s roller skating rink. Any weekend not filled by events such as these, we program for.

Programs don’t just magically happen. They are the effort of an event coordinator. Fall planning starts in the summer and revisions to

initial ideas continue throughout the weeks leading up to the event, with the understanding that they program to the professional standard of either graduate students or full time staff members. Our Executive Board members do not run for these positions. They are selected based on skills and experience. The chair does not run for this position, he or she is selected by a senior member of SPB and the advisors. This organization takes the amount of money we are allocated very seriously; therefore, the individuals who spend it are chosen with care and the events that SPB hosts must be done as though the person behind it is paid.

Due to our extensive programming, we try to cater to a large group of people by trying new ideas. Sometimes those ideas aren’t as successful as we would have liked. The previous article said, “Yet when some of their events welcome the visit of less than 30 participants, it seems as though the money spent could have been used more efficiently for a different club event.” With the amount of programming we do, it’s not feasible to

expect every event to be a roaring success. However, SPB is constantly practicing self-evaluation. Our event coordinators fill out an evaluation form after each event. Something is learned from each event and those lessons are implemented as we move forward.

The Student Programming Board is lucky to have a large budget to utilize when planning events, but we plan those events for the student body. We don’t win the gift cards at Grocery Bingo. We don’t buy the tickets we sell to the Haunted Catacombs. We don’t arrive at Griff Fest at 1pm, we arrive at 8am to greet the vendors. We do all of this because we love events, we love Canisius, and we want you to experience both to the fullest capacity.

everyone. By any depth of the imagination, that’s impossible, even with a little over 3,000 students.

Earlier in the week, I had the pleasure of getting a perspective from a close friend of mine who happens to be a Division I athlete.

In response to Mr. Fiorella’s article, they said, “After reading this article, I was a little surprised at these stereotypes. I don’t feel like I give off these impressions to students who aren’t involved in athletics. Some of my best friends here aren’t athletes, and at least on the soccer team we have friends that aren’t involved in athletics. I don’t think it’s fair to stereotype athletes in this sense. Of course you are going to find athletes walking around together, eating together, and studying together. When you’re on a team, you’re a family, and family does things together. You are put into this family when you arrive here freshman year. They are your first friends. So why do people judge us for that? I bet most non-athletic students are doing everything with your first friends you make on campus. So I don’t think it’s fair to stereotype athletes in this sense. What do you want us to do? Not hang out with our teammates and represent our school?”

This student-athlete’s perspective brings to light an issue that to some can become problematic: when you sign that Letter of Intent to play a Division I sport for Canisius College, that team is your first friend group. Many athletes beginning practice in the fall start a matter of weeks before the average freshmen is allowed to move into his/her/their dorm the first day of New Student Orientation. When you arrive on campus, it seems that athletics is immediately emphasized: when an athletic schedule trumps an academic schedule, problems arise. Away games are played in the middle of the week. Practices occur during school hours, limiting the availability of certain courses to student-athletes, in some instances,

and infringing upon Canisius College’s commitment to academic excellence: on its website, one can find statistics that support the fact that we have the best accounting program in the United States, 9 out of 10 medical school applicants from Canisius get in, and that 100 percent of German majors find employment after graduation from Canisius (a statistic which obviously pleases me greatly, if you know me in the slightest.)

The only way to solve this problem is to eliminate an economic incentive to become an athlete for this school. The line between emphasizing athletics and emphasizing academics can become very blurry at times. And at times, financing athletics can become burdensome: according to a report compiled by College Factual, a subsidiary of Media Factual and boasting endorsements by USA Today College, The Business Journals, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canisius College does not make a profit off athletic events, instead breaking even, with the College spending $4,433,724 on men’s athletics and receiving $4,433,724 in revenue and the College spending $3,625,750 on women’s athletics and receiving $3,625,750 in revenue.

While we are breaking even, which I see as optimal, this refutes the notion that Division I athletics makes a profit for colleges and universities in the United States: according to an article written on 29 September 2015 by The Island Packet, “A USA Today analysis of the public schools in NCAA Division I shows that in the 2013-2014 athletic year only 10% of the 230 schools listed had self-sufficient athletic programs.”

And don’t even get me started on gender inequality in Division I athletics: between head coaches for men’s athletics and head coaches for women’s athletics, the average income for a head coach of a men’s athletic team at Canisius College

is $73,917 according to College Factual. For women’s athletics at Canisius College using the same source: $62,885. An issue with college athletics is not that men’s athletics receives more than women’s athletics: according to the NCAA website, “The Javits Amendment stated that legitimate and justifiable discrepancies for non-gender related differences in sports could be taken into account (i.e., the differing costs of equipment or event management expenditures). A male football player needs protective equipment such as pads and a helmet, and a female soccer player needs shin guards.

Title IX does allow for a discrepancy in the cost of the equipment as long as both the football and soccer player received the same quality of equipment. However, a female ice hockey player must receive the same protective equipment that a male ice hockey player would receive, inasmuch as the protective equipment is the same.” But surprisingly, an interesting phenomenon happens when it comes to Division I scholarships.

The average athlete playing a sport for a women’s team at Canisius College receives, according to College Factual, $13,708 in sports-related student aid. Meanwhile, the average athlete playing a sport for a men’s team at Canisius College receives $11,978 in sports-related student aid.

So let this serve as a reminder for all Division I athletes: you are not any better than “the rest” of the students who go here. And we are not any better than you. You are not a burden, yet you are not inherently beneficial and you do not bring extra revenue to this school. When it comes down to it, we really are all the same, when you think about it. You are not “in the know” if you know all the Division I athletes. You are not “out of the loop” if you do not know any Division I athletes. I applaud Mr. Fiorella for addressing a difference between athletes and non-athletes.

It exists; I am not trying to say that it

does not. But not every athlete walks into the pitfall of thinking that he/ she/they are better than everyone else. And last week’s article was unfair in that sense: it shows clearly the dangers of stereotyping. I know the environment of Mean Girls and the environment of stereotyping all too well: I basically lived the life of Cady Heron throughout my four years at Canandaigua Academy. And I can tell you from firsthand experience, Canisius College does not deserve the insult of being compared to a cliquey high school. Throughout my

kevjdaley@canisius.edu @KevinJDaley

Letter to the Editor: Do what you can with what you have Kate Anticoli

Opinion Contributor

When prospective students and families tour Canisius, they are inundated with facts and ratios. They think this information will help them truly understand Canisius.

We know Canisius is much more than facts and ratios. Yes, we have a 12:1 student to faculty ratio and are located in the second safest neighborhood in Buffalo. But we’re more than that. Canisius means celebrating the last day of classes by stuffing your face full of Lloyd’s tacos at Griff Fest. Canisius means ziplining through the quad during Welcome Week. Canisius means sitting on the edge of your seats to discover who the next Mr. Canisius is. Canisius means waiting outside Montante in the cold to be first row at Bo Burnham’s performance.

What most of these events have in common is that they’re presented by the Student Programming Board.

As the Chair of SPB, I will be the first to say that we don’t program everything and we shouldn’t. Each organi-

anticolk@canisius.edu @kanticoli

Letter to the Editor: The great divide: Does it really exist?

Nathan Baumgartner Opinion Contributor

On 25 Sept. 2015, there was an article written by Russ Fiorella titled “The Great Divide: Athletes vs. Non-Athletes.” In this article, Mr. Fiorella writes, “Strolling into the dining hall is comparable to stepping into a scene from ‘Mean Girls.’

Turn to your immediate left and (indubitably) you will find a cohort of athletes situated in what many call ‘the nest.’ Like a territorial venture of vultures raising their heads from half devoured prey, they throw (passiveaggressive) glares at any unrecognizable pedestrian. Judgmental, critical, they tend to gloat with their eyes.

Walk the halls, venture into the library, or take a seat in the common area in Science Hall. Everywhere you turn braggadocios ‘flying-Vs’ of blue and yellow warm-up jackets fetid with pettiness, arrogance, egomania, and narcissism prowl to and fro. As they skulk, they half-scowl. Their heads sway left and right throwing emotionless looks sharp enough to cut steel. Need I go further? If you fall in the bottom slice of the pyramid, none of this is probably coming as a surprise to you. What’s interesting is if you’re the average athlete reading this, you are likely flummoxed.”

Apparently Canisius College needs to switch its name to North Shore High School. While I personally do sense somewhat a degree of elitism among Division I athletes and “the rest,” this surely is not a sweeping phenomenon of all athletes here at Canisius College. The aforementioned statement is effectively a stereotype: something I cannot condone. What this is saying is that, just because a person happens to be a student-athlete with a Division I program here at Canisius College, they are automatically known to the rest of the student body. I consider myself a person with many friends on campus, but I am not friends with everyone. In fact, I do not know a single person on campus who knows

two-and-a-third semesters here at Canisius, I learned how to get into touch with myself, how to be myself, and how to be more confident with myself. I hoped dearly for an invention a-la Ms. Norbury in high school, where people learned to be okay with themselves and their relationships with other people. Unfortunately, it did not happen.

Thankfully, we only need to mend a rift, not a divide. baumgarn@canisius.edu @NijNijBaum

Like the layout of this section? Don’t like the layout of this section? Opinion Layout Editor needed! InDesign experience preferred but not required!

Do you draw? Do you do it well? Can you draw political cartoons? Opinion would love someone to draw political cartoons.

If you’re interested in either, please contact Darby Ratliff, the Opinion Editor, at ratliffd@canisius.edu

Unsigned editorials appearing on this page represent the opinions of The Griffin. All other columns, letters, artwork and advertisements represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily representative of The Griffin’s position. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Canisius College or its student body. Articles and Letters to the Editor must be typewritten and should not exceed 300 words in length. The deadline for Letter submission is 5 p.m. Tuesday of the week of publication. Letters must pertain to an article recently published in The Griffin. Letters must include the writer’s full name, class year and email address. No pseudonyms are permitted. Letters are published at the discretion of the Editorial Board and are subject to editing and condensation. Send to griffin@canisius.edu.

8 SPORTS

02 October 2015 volleyball

Griffs split matches on the road, prepare for Marist and Siena

By Adam Duke

Sports Reporter

After falling to Manhattan 3-0 on September 26, the Canisius women’s volleyball team battled back to finish the weekend with a 3-2 win against Iona on Sunday to even out the record from the trip at 1-1. Kaitlyn Tyler led the team with 32 kills and Grace Streicher led with 83 assists. In addition, Lauren Siebert and Rachel Kline had 23 kills apiece.

“We had some perseverance to get a much needed road win,” said Coach Cathy Hummel, recapping the weekend’s events. She also stated that though the team has been struggling to get points at critical times, they never give up. “One of the things they’ve done all year is put the losses behind us,” she said, “We still have strong belief and strong work ethic.”

She continued, mentioning that the team is readying for the road ahead.

“We have so much further to go in terms of where we want to be. We just look forward to the next match.”

With the players, a recurring theme regarding improvement is having a better mentality. As setter Grace Streicher said, “We definitely need a better court demeanor, a more winning attitude. We need to show a little more fight to win.” Outside Hitter Katlyn Tyler agreed, saying, “We seemed very dead and only celebrated points that we won, when we did some good things on other plays, but only focused on the ones where we got the point.”

They both attested to the fact that

Photo Credit: Tom Wolf

Katlyn Tyler recorded 32 kills for the Griffs last weekend.

in order to improve play, they must focus, keep the energy high, and, as Tyler put it, “Play for ourselves and not worry about outside distractions.” They also discussed how they bounced back from the loss to Manhattan to defeat Iona. “We had not forgotten about the loss on Saturday, but went into Sunday’s game and didn’t let it affect how we played. We went into Sunday’s game with a whole dif-

ferent mentality,” said Tyler. Streicher added, “We really had to focus. I really think that we had the mentality of ‘we’re not losing this game no matter what.’ We really just stuck to the winning mindset and came out with the W on Sunday.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s matchups against Marist and Siena, Coach Hummel expressed that “The challenge will be taking care of our

side of the court and doing what we do well, but not to confuse the fact that we’ve got to stop two very good teams on the other side of the net.”

She then went on to say, “That’s going to be our challenge for the rest of the year- doing what we can do on our side and minimizing what the other teams can do against us.”

Hummel also alluded to the team’s health, once again stating,

“We’re still recovering. We’re not 100% yet.”

Regarding the play of Marist and Siena, Streicher mentioned that “Fundamentally, in every position, they are a lot more consistent than a lot of the other teams, so position for position, they have it all together.” She continued, saying, “We have to match that and be on top of our game at every position, focus on fundamentals, and again, just have a good mentality and be focused on fighting for every point.” Tyler then added, “To me, they’re the two teams in our conference that go into a game to get the job done and that’s that. They don’t focus on anything else.” Her response to their style of play included sentiments such as, “We have to play well to beat these two teams, we can’t just expect it. We have to really work like they do,” as well as, “They celebrate every point and they’re high energy. Just get it done. We all have to have the same mentality.”

Marist and Siena are both coming off 1-1 outings as well, each dropping a loss to Rider and picking up a win against St. Peter’s. This weekend is essential not only for positioning in the conference, but to keep the swing of momentum in the Griffs’ favor as well. The Griffs are currently tied for second in the MAAC standings with Siena and have the opportunity to break that tie as well as stay ahead of fifth place Marist, with a pair of wins this weekend. @Duke_University dukea@my.canisius.edu

Back-to-back!

Griffs repeat as Little Three Champs golf

By Samuel Brouwere Sports Reporter

The Griffs men’s golf team had a big victory on Wednesday at River Oaks Golf Club in Grand Island, NY. They won the Little Three Championship for the second consecutive year with a team score of 700, finishing two strokes ahead of both Niagara University and St. Bonaventure.

The tournament wasn’t easy for the Griffs as they trailed Niagara University early down four strokes after the first round. The Griffs were able to not let that bother them and took care of business in the second round.

When asked about what it says about himself and his team as they were able to come back after trailing early on, junior Cory Cullen said “It says a lot that we were able to come back in the second round and pull out the win. It would have been easy for any of us to let the conditions get the better of us and let our scores get out of hand but everyone grinded. Every one of us had a round that day where things weren’t

going great but we kept our heads in the game and kept the scores in a respectable range which was the difference in the end.”

Cullen posted a total score of 152 and shot eight over par, while posting a score of 74 in round two, to finished 4th overall in the tournament. Cullen finishing 4th overall was the first time in his collegiate career in which he finished in the top five of tournament play.

Also for the Griffs junior David Berkun and senior Andrew Romano tied for 5th posting total scores of 153 and shooting nine over par.

Seniors Brendan Poslin and Hunter Sagar finished tied for 9th with total scores of 156 and finishing nine over par. In the first round, Sagar posted a score of 75 which helped keep the Griffs in it early and it was big for the Griffs in their win overall.

When asked about what this tournament meant to him and the other seniors as it was their last time participating in it, Sagar said “I’m happy that us seniors get to leave on a high note with another victory. I wish I would have played better myself, but I’m glad I could help

the team with my first round’s score.”

It is good that the Griff seniors were able to leave on a high note with the victory in the tournament. As there are currently four seniors on the roster and this was a tournament that Griff players often performed very well in. In the last four years the Griffs have been Little Three Champions three of those years.

When asked if there is any extra motivation for this tournament for the Griff players, Sagar who won the individual title in 2014, said “There’s certainly some extra motivation. Golf is mostly individual so having individual incentive, like a Porter Cup invitation, definitely gets you a little more excited to play well.” Senior Josh Stauffer of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies actually won the individual title this year posting a total score of 148. However, the Griffs still were able to win the whole tournament as a team, by all of them posting scores that helped the team be the 2015 Little Three Champions.

The Griffs next tournament is the Binghamton Fall Classic on October 4-5 in Apalachin, NY. This tournament will be the last of the fall

season for the Griffs.

When asked about if there is any extra motivation as this is their last tournament of the fall, Cory Cullen said “I think the motivation for this weekend lies in the fact that we have one more tournament for this fall season to beat some teams that we haven’t been able to beat in the past. We have been close to beating Binghamton in a few events that I can remember and it would mean a lot to beat them at their own tournament. To me, that would put us in a good state of mind to get better in the offseason and prove to our team that we have what it takes to consistently beat any school we play and work our way to be contenders for a MAAC Championship come April.”

This will be a big test for the Griffs at the Binghamton Fall Classic. The Griffs do, however, have every reason to feel optimistic coming off a big team win. @SamBrouwere brouwers@my.canisius.edu

Stuck in the middle women’s soccer

Clark’s crew jammed into fourth place tie

By Robert Janish

Senior Sports Writer After the first three games of their 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule, the Golden Griffins sit at 1-2. The Griffs also find themselves in the midst of a three-way tie for fourth place overall, with the Siena Saints and Marist Red Foxes. The Griffs beat the Red Foxes in overtime 2-1 on Wednesday to earn their first conference win of the year.

However, the first two games for the team’s conference schedule were not as successful. The Griffs were shutout a combined 9-0 in their first two conference games against the Manhattan Jaspers and Monmouth Hawks. These first two MAAC games were not the start to conference play that head coach Todd Clark and his staff were looking for.

The Griffs first conference game of 2015 was a 4-0 loss to the Manhattan Jaspers; not really the start the Griffs had in mind. Despite the result, the Griffs had high hopes of going to Monmouth and beating one of the top teams in the MAAC on their home turf. That did not come to pass either as they beat the Griffs 5-0 to conclude a four-game road trip for the Griffs.

Although it was a rough start to MAAC play for the Griffs, the first home game for Canisius against a conference opponent, went their way with a 2-1 overtime win against the Red Foxes. It was freshman Emily Kuta who provided the late heroics for the Griffs and the first MAAC win of the season. Senior goalkeeper Kailee De Franks definitely came through for her team as well, earning eleven saves in the victory.

With this win, Canisius will stay at home for their next game, which will take place this Sunday against the Fairfield Stags. Then, the Griffs will head out on the road to square off against the Saints and the Iona Gaels. The next three opponents for the Griffs have a combined conference record of 1-5-1 thus far, so it will be quite intriguing to see how the team can play during this next stretch of games.

As of right now, the Griffs are in the middle of the pack through the first three games of the conference season. Tied for the lead in the MAAC thus far are Monmouth and our arch rival Niagara University Purple Eagles, each with a conference record of 3-0.

Right behind them in the standings are the Jaspers, who currently have a 2-0-1 record, with the Rider University Broncos sharing the same amount of wins, but are currently at 2-1 in the MAAC.

However some teams in the MAAC that find themselves at the bottom of the standings and already have a long way to go if they want to get back to the top. The Fairfield Stags, Iona Gaels and St. Peter’s all currently have zero victories and hope to change that fact real soon on the field.

When it comes to other statistics such as the amount of goals scored by a team, the Monmouth Hawks lead that department as well, scoring an astonishing 11 goals in their first three games of MAAC play, while only allowing two goals so far against conference foes.

They are followed by their fellow undefeated squad Niagara, who has scored nine goals and allowed four.

The least amount of goals scored is by the St. Peter’s Peacocks, scoring only four but allowing thirteen, including eight in a shutout loss to Rider last Wednesday. However, the Griffs through three conference games, have only scored two goals, both coming in their home win against Marist, while allowing ten goals in that same stretch.

There are a couple players that the Griffs should watch for throughout the rest of the season especially when they play in the MAAC. Erica Murphy of Monmouth has scored four goals, while Haillie Price of Niagara has scored three along with Andrea Pereira of

Siena. These three lead the conference in scoring.

If those three players can be limited on the field, Coach Clark and his squad will have a better chance at winning against those particular teams and hopefully advance up the conference ladder.

The Griffs next three opponents, and a good majority of the remaining opponents, are winnable matchups. Another good thing for the Griffs is that they have already played two of the top three teams in the league Manhattan and Monmouth. Only rival Niagara remains of the top conference teams the Griffs are yet to face.

If the Griffs can play in the form they did against Marist, that resulted in an overtime win, they could definitely wind up with a good conference record and be able to better themselves for the playoffs once the season concludes.

After earning his first MAAC win as Canisius head coach, it will be intriguing to see how coach Clark can get his team to respond to the win. Hopefully the Griffs will be able to pile up the victories as they continue their season with the hopes of winning the conference when it’s all said and done. @robertjanish janishr@canisius.edu

02 October 2015

Sports 9

Not a great start Men’s soccer

Griffs fall to 0-2 in MAAC play

By Marshall Haim Sports Reporter

The Canisius men’s soccer team did not get off to the start they would have liked to in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

The conference schedule began last Saturday when last year’s conference champion, Monmouth, tripped up the Griffs at home 2-0. On Wednesday the Griffs took a trip downstate to Poughkeepsie to face the Marist Red Foxes, but came up short again in a 3-2 loss.

The Griffs couldn’t muster any offense against Monmouth in front of approximately 536 spectators. Both goals for Monmouth were scored in a span of four minutes which proved to be the major factor of the game.

In the 32nd minute Dave Nigro netted his second goal of the season to give the Hawks the lead. Following Nigro’s goal in the 35th minute, Colin Stripling, who was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week, scored his fourth goal of the campaign beating Griffs goalkeeper Andrew Coughlin.

There were a multitude of shots taken in the game for both teams, as the Griffs outshot Monmouth, 19-13. Only three of the Griffs’ shot attempts were on net and were credited to Thomas Teupen, Melvin Blair, and Mathew Santos. Monmouth’s Eric Klenofsky proved to be, if not the best, one of the best goaltenders in the MAAC. He holds the conference lead for shutouts (6), goals against average (0.78), and save percentage (.833).

On top of the advantage in shots, Canisius led in the amount of corner kicks, 7-6. The Griffs also had the lowest amount of fouls in the game with 6, compared to Monmouth’s 9. Both teams were given a yellow card in the 2nd half, as Monmouth’s Andrew Gee’s was assessed one in the 64th minute, and Mitch Cancilla of the Griffs was handed a card in the final minute of play.

On Wednesday afternoon the Griffs played their first road conference game at Marist in front of an estimated crowd of 124 people. The game was an unusually high scoring affair, but Marist’s late goal in the 2nd half enabled the Red Foxes to prevail. The game saw three lead changes and like the Griffs’ previous match, a fair amount of shots were attempted. Canisius outshot Marist in the 2nd half by a 15-8 margin and in the game, 20-14.

In the first half, the game appeared to be in favor of Marist. The Red Foxes outshot the Griffs, 6-5, and had five corner kicks, while Canisius only had two. The only goal of the half came from Marist’s Cameron Harr, an unassisted goal, in the 21st minute.

The second half happened to be the more offensive half as Lucian Preis, a sophomore midfielder from Lörrach, Germany, netted his second career goal (his first of the season) in the 55th minute off of a rebound in front of the net. Later on in the 79th minute, SimonLund Jorgenson scored for Marist.

In the following minute the Griffs countered Jorgenson’s goal with Melvin Blair’s first collegiate goal from an Alex De Carolis pass.

Blair, a redshirt freshman from Frome, Jamaica, transferred from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, but did not play in any games last season due to injury. Blair’s goal is only his third shot on net and his 12th shot attempted on the season.

While the game was filled with offense, it was also a very physical affair. The majority of the fouls did not come until the second half.

Griffs look to replace key positions Hockey: continued from back

the team appeared to be inconsistent. The two Ridgeback goalies, Colin Dzijacky and Brendan O’Neill gave a combined 95 goals last season. The offense of the Ridgebacks had no stand out player as most of the team’s scoring seemed to be pretty spread out.

The Griffs however will be dealing with different problems than the Ridgebacks. One problem is replacing some key seniors from last year. Two that jump out are Doug Jessey and Keegan Asmundson.

Jessey proved to be a solid defenseman for the Griffs over his four years at Canisius.

Jessey was named team captain for his senior year and was also Atlantic Hockey’s Defensive Player of the Week in Feb. after the Griffs swept Mercyhurst.

As for Asmundson he proved to be the go to guy for the Griffs down the road. The goalie from Inver Grove Heights, Minn. finished last year with a 1.96 goals against average, a .930 save percentage which are both school records. Asmundson also holds the career record for Griffs goalies in both departments. To top it all off Asmundson was rewarded with the Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award, which is given to the goalie in the AHC with the lowest goals against average.

It marked the first time since the awards in-

Photo Credit: Joana Moraes/Sports Layout

Thomas Teupen advances the ball against Monmouth.

ception in the 2004, that a Canisius goalie has earned the award.

The Griffs will have two goalies this year looking to take over the starting spot.

Reilly Turner is entering his second season with the Griffs and he saw a decent amount of playing time in his first. Turner started in 11 games for the Griffs while playing in relief in two more contests. Turner was also named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week last season after a solid series against Air Force. The Griffs will also have freshman Simon Hofley as an option between the pipes The Griffs will look to use this exhibition game to help launch them into the regular season. Last year’s exhibition game saw points from the Griffs top players such as Ralph Cuddemi and Shane Conacher.

Ryan Schmelzer, who was a freshman, last year, saw playing time and took advantage by getting himself two points.

It’s safe to say the Griffs will use this game to get some of the new players ready while the top players will look to get back into the swing of things. And for the first time since March 14, Griffs hockey will be back, ready to kick off their first full year, at the HARBORCENTER. @Dom_Chambo chambe17@canisius.edu

In the opening 45 minutes, the Griffs had the lower amount of fouls with two. In the following half however, the fouls kept coming as the Griffs picked up six more fowls to total eight while Marist finished the game with six.

Along with the fouls there were five yellow cards and one red card handed out.

Four of the six cards in the game were given to Marist but Canisius was handed the dreaded red card. Amongst the cards handed out to Canisius, the yellow card was given to Nicoló Baudo in the 66th minute and Teupen was assessed a red card in the 85th minute.

In the late stages of the game, in the 89th minute, Harr scored his second goal of the game and his conference leading 6th goal of the season. Harr received a pass from Brian Coyt that was placed in the middle of the field that was able to beat Coughlin. The Red

Foxes earned their second conference win, in as many games.

Canisius will travel to play the Fairfield Stags in Fairfield, Connecticut on Saturday evening. Both teams will be vying for their first conference win of the season, as kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm. Following the matchup with Fairfield, the Griffs will return home to face off against Siena at the Demske Sports Complex for a 4:00pm kickoff on Wednesday, October 7.

@mhaim1934 haimm@my.canisius.edu

Coach Clark makes no excuses Women’s Soccer: continued from back

The Griffs last game was against conference rival, Marist. The Griffs won 2-1, in double overtime. The Griffs first goal was scored

by Samantha Gagliano off of a thrown-in.

However, they conceded an own goal in the second half, forcing overtime. The game winning goal was scored by Emily Kuta, deep into second overtime. Kailee DeFranks picked up the win in goal, making 11 saves on the day.

The next game for the Griffs is on October 3, against another conference rival, Fairfield. When asked about the game, Coach Clark stated, “To have seven players, I don’t care who they are, I don’t care if it’s the best player on the team…seven players not available on a roster of twenty-two is significant.

So, when I look at, ‘Am I going to win or am I going to lose?’ Yeah, I’m going to try to win every game. So we’re going to do everything in our power to win the Fairfield game.” Fairfield is currently sitting below the Griffs in the MAAC, with a 3-6-2 record.

Looking to the future, Coach Clark said, “The reality of it is, we can’t look at the situation, with all the injuries, and say ‘boo-hoo,’ you know, ‘you lost seven kids.’ I actually look at it as a tremendous opportunity. In spite of losing this player or that player…all great stories are comprised of someone beating insurmountable obstacles.” Coach Clark isn’t exactly upset that the team has dealt

with so many injuries, but rather stated, “For me, these injuries give us the potential to do things special from now until the foreseeable future, which in a way, is pretty cool.”

However, despite the adversity, Coach Clark understood the importance of the remaining season and future. He stated, “Several weeks ago, within the coaching staff, we said that we we’re going to try to win every game, despite the obstacles, but at the same time, as one is coaching today, they are also coaching for tomorrow, and as one is coaching for tomorrow, one is also coaching for next week, and next week is for next month and next month is for next year. And so, very consciously we have said the weak way to go would be to look at the problems…but if we don’t expect a very high level, why would we expect a high level of commitment in the future.”

Looking to the future, Coach Clark understands that the example he sets today, is the doctrine that could carry the team in the future. He ended by saying, “We could be a team that perseveres, or we could be part of the zillions and zillions of people who understand they have a good excuse to give-up. We are going to go for it every night.”

@CanMar11 Marasco3@canisius.edu

Volleyball

griffs bounce back against iona

men’s soccer

slow start in 8 maac play

golf

Little three 9 Champs again

8

“The reality of it is, we can’t look at the situation, with all the injuries, and say ‘boohoo,’” - Coach Todd Clark, see women’s soccer @ 9 Volume LXXXVI, Number 4

www.canisiusgriffin.wordpress .com

02 October 2015

hockey

Speaking loudly does not change the result

By Aaron Rispoli

Assistant Sports Editor

The Griffs men’s soccer team suffered a 3-2 loss on Wednesday against the Marist Red Foxes; falling to 3-5-1 overall and 0-2 in MAAC play. The winning goal scored with less than two minutes left in regulation; epitomizing the Griff ’s season thus far.

Canisius has outshot their opponents 39-27 in their past two losses to Marist and Monmouth and yet, all efforts appear to be in vain. What seemed to be a propitious affair has turned out to be another lowly season for the Griffs and I would be remiss if I failed to bring attention to fifth year coach, Dermott McGrane.

Following their loss to Marist, Coach McGrane asserted that his team should have come away with the victory but, for a reason seemingly unbeknownst to him, the game ended up in the loss column. “We dominated the second half today,” said McGrane. “(We) had numerous chances to play the game off but we failed to do so.

The game should have been over 15 minutes into the second half.”

Allow me to explicate McGrane’s comments. Canisius did indeed outshoot Marist 15-8 in the second half and sure, if that constitutes “domination”, then so be it. I would contend however that McGrane’s comments were excessive and brash. Quite possibly the frustration of losing a winnable game was the impetus that led to his immoderate comments. But his comments leads one to believe that the temperament of the men’s soccer team is volatile.

I am not in the soccer locker room, nor am I in their pre-game huddles or talks in the Griffin team room.

But I would surmise that the Griffs are quickly approaching panic mode with eight games left in the regular season.

The temperament of the team begins with Coach McGrane.

McGrane is one of the more successful soccer coaches at Canisius College, leading the Griffs to a nine win season in 2014, only done one time before in Canisius history by Steve Achromovitch in 1980. McGrane has coached a multitude of individuals to the very apogee of the sport; most notably Asani Samuels who signed a professional contract with the Rochester Rhinos in 2014.

And yet, year in and year out the product on the field, though talented, is laced with mediocrity. So to make assertions that your team should have come away with the win does nothing for the fans and falls just short of Marist, acting out sympathy, granting you the win because you “dominated the second half.”

The Griffs have dealt with their fair share of injuries and have had the misfortune of graduating such a productive asset in Samuels, I recognize that. But I also know that the rest of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will not sit down on the field and commiserate with the Griffs. They will have to play their way back into a groove and that begins this Saturday against Fairfield.

@ArranneGernardo paigeria@canisius.edu

Since 1933

Photo Credit: Harry Scull/ Buffalo News

Shane Conacher joins his teammates celebrating a goal.

Hockey is back Griffs return to the HARBORCENTER

By Dominic Chamberlain Sports Editor

For the first time since the heartbreaking loss against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, Griffs hockey is back.

The Griffs will take on the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology Ridgebacks in an exhibition game at the HARBORCENTER, this Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

This will be our first chance to see the Griffs since last season ended in controversy. The Griffs were playing the Tigers in the semi-finals of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament at Blue

Cross Arena in Rochester. The game was tied one to one, when the controversy happened.

The play started in the Tigers’ zone with a battle for a loose puck which was eventually won by the Tigers. Following a quick break-out pass, Andrew Miller of the Tigers skated with the puck in the neutral zone with teammate Danny Smith alongside. As the two entered the zone, it appeared Smith had entered before the puck which should have resulted in an off-sides call. However no whistle was blown and Smith tapped in his own rebound after Miller gave him the puck, scoring the eventual game winning goal.

What made it worse for the Griffs is that due to a technical problem, it was determined before the game that off-sides was not going to be a reviewable call in this game. And thus, much like the Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals, we were left to think about what would have happened if the refs made the right call.

But that was last year and this year the Griffs look to be a strong team in the Atlantic Hockey Conference yet again. That will all start with the exhibition game against the Ridgebacks.

The Ridgebacks have already played four games this year and stand at 1-3 in those four games.

The Griffs will have to watch out for the Ridgebacks’ Ben Blasko who has had a solid preseason for the Ridgebacks so far.

Last year Blasko played Division III hockey for the Nazareth Golden Flyers. He proved to be a player that could find a way to get people the puck as he totaled 25 assists last season. Coupled with the six goals he scored, Blasko finished the year with 31 points in 27 games.

Blasko will look to help spark a Ridgebacks offense that seemed to struggle last year at points.

The Ridgebacks finished their last season at 10-18 and See Hockey @9

women’s soccer

Injuries still plague Griffs

By Canio Marasco, III Sports Reporter

Although the beginning of the season has been riddled with injuries, the Griffs understand that a successful campaign will require more than wins, it will take great perseverance.

The Griffs season has begun tumultuously.

They were able to begin with a respectable 2-3-2 record. However, this average start was derailed by a tough four game losing streak. The Griffs record now stands at 3-7-2, placing them in seventh place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Coach Todd Clark said that a large problem that the Griffs are still trying to rebound from are the injuries the team has incurred. He stated, “In soccer you want to play the first 11.

But as people get tired or are injured, you have

to use substitutes.” Coach Clark said that he isn’t trying to disparage any of his substitutes, but rather that an inconsistent lineup leads to a lack of quality and continuity of play throughout the year.

These injuries have caused many girls, who might not have played much this year, to be placed prematurely into prominent roles. Coach Clark expounded upon the adversity the injuries have caused, stating, “We have just not seen the concerted, concentrated effort, very many times this year. I think as we set our goals, if one looks at the first four games, each one of those was a sign that we were heading in a positive direction…

Unfortunately as we’ve had injuries, we just have not been able to maintain that concerted effort.”

Coach Clark was not critical of one particular player, but rather the effort of the team as a whole to play through adversity.

Todd Clark was named the head coach

Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.

of the Griffs in December of 2014. When he first came to the team he said the area that needed the most improvement was the quality of players in the program. With greater quality, the depth of the squad along with the overall talent, would increase. Greater depth is something the squad could certainly use, as the starting eleven has been decimated by injuries this season.

Certainly a bright spot this season has been Sophomore Taylor Kugler. After only registering one point her freshman season, Kugler has shown much improved this year. She has already contributed 11 points, only half way through the season. Kugler is someone that Coach Clark is excited about as a future focal point on the team.

However, he did caution that with the numerous injuries to his starting lineup, her production has precipitously dipped as the strength of the supporting players around her has decreased.

See Women’s Soccer @9

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