The Griffin Volume LXXXVI, Number 2

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Volume LXXXVI, Number 2

Opinion

Failure is not 2 an option

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Notre Dame: First 6 Real test

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September 18, 2015

The triviality of sports

Two bouts with cancer put a new perspective on the games we love

By Aaron Rispoli

Assistant Sports Editor

Bike racks add to the ease of biking in buffalo

Malachite karpie-jones / news correspondent

Biking without chains Buffalonians seek to make cycling safer throughout the city

By Malachite Karpie-Jones News Correspondent

With bicycling numbers at an all-time high in Buffalo, it’s time for the resurging Rust Belt to pull in all support from its diverse riding community.

Henry Raess from Go Bike Buffalo granted this reporter an interview back in March, giving insight into both the growing bike-scene in the city and its effect on the larger community.

As a clean, efficient, and cheap way to get around, bicyclists have been consolidating their voice through grassroots organisations targeting local and regional governments. As a result, City Hall has been receptive.

The Bicycle Master Plan, which seeks to drastically increase cycling-safe infrastructure, is coming along slowly. All the while, the number of Buffalo bikers is quickly rising. The Griffin caught up with Henry Raess last spring, and has continued to watch the progress of this citywide phenomenon.

It’s a bitter cold afternoon in the first days of March as Henry Raess dismounts his weathered, personalized ten-speed layered for the late winter season.

A high of 16 degrees calls for his neon, high-visibility windbreaker, padded riding gloves, and a wool cycling cap beneath his sleek black helmet. He maneuvers through a snow bank as he uses two locks to secure his ride to the rack: a heavy, steel U-lock for the frame and a cable to link the tires. Raess enters

the immediate warmth of the GO Bike Buffalo office, peeling off his gloves and unzipping the high-vis. The cycling “casquette” stays on, its visor masking his thick-framed glasses from the lights above.

Bicyclists like Henry are no new commodity to Buffalo, New York. In a struggling, postindustrial region, the homier metropolitan has seen a lengthy transformation from a flexing hub of industry to a quiet, artsier scene with its own local urbanite personality. With cafes, book shops, and small breweries popping up in North and West regions of the city during the late ‘90s and 2000s, a newer mass of young, hip twenty-somethings seemingly came out of hiding, bringing with them a new trend in bike riding. Vintage road bikes and single-speed fixies quickly became the norm, throwing a spotlight on the daily commuter population and spandex-clad cyclists. The numbers speak to the scene: the League of American Cyclists 2014 census data marked Buffalo as the 14th heaviest population of daily commuters by bicycle, a ranking that continues to climb.

From 2000 to 2013, the number of riders in the City of Buffalo alone has seen a 268 percent increase. Biking in Buffalo is seeing a steady surge with infrastructure like bike lanes, vehicle and bike shared “complete streets,” racks outside of businesses, and bike paths through the abundant green space. Buffalo currently holds a bronze rating as a Bicycle

Friendly Community as projects and organizations continue to adhere to the growing statistics.

Henry Raess, a New York City product and tenured cyclist, is just one of those helping to build the community with the GO Bike Buffalo organization.

Raised in Buffalo at a young age, he then traveled the country often throughout his young life. In his early 20s he moved to arguably America’s cycling capital, Portland, Oregon, living with former bike messengers and picking up numerous tricks of the trade.

“I saw how integrated biking was to the infrastructure, community, and social fabric of the city, it honestly was so inspiring, it changed my life,” Raess continued, “By the end of my stay I could disassemble and reassemble a bike entirely.”

From there, he visited multiple cities and gained experiences in their community bike shops, using Buffalo as a temporary stay between each new visit. When a position in the Green Options organization, a Western New York nonprofit bicycle conglomerate, held an opening, Raess’ experience and knowledge earned him a paid position as an event coordinator.

Now under the name GO Bike Buffalo as the city’s leading program, he continues to breed Buffalo’s resurgence through biking with community education workshops, group rides, and endeavors towards infrastructure throughout the entire region.

Janet McNally

See page 4 for details about her first book!

Since 1933

Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.

To lose in a sport can provoke feelings of despondence. To be bested by another team can make the culmination of work and sacrifice seem all for naught. But in reality the number of wins and losses a team accumulates over the course of a season has very little barring in our lives. Our athletic prowess cannot protect us from the misfortunes that accompanies one during the course of a lifetime. It takes a loss, a real one, to have this kind of perspective.

Mike McRae, the Canisius baseball coach who led the Griffs to their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship in three years last season, lost his wife Michelle to cancer on September 5th, following a yearlong bout with the disease. With a loss such as this, sports are relegated to the very back of back burners. We come to realize that sports are trivial, and always have been, no matter the triumphant wins or athletic ability. When I lost my mother to cancer this past summer, I began to realize just that.

The last phone call from my mother came on a Friday in early June, just before I had to go into work. It would be only a few weeks until she would be able to come home following six long

months of convalescence from her stem cell transplant. She began to weep as she told me that soon enough she would be home and we, as a family, would spend the rest of the summer together. After being diagnosed with stage IV lymphatic cancer two years prior, a summer together was never a guaranteed prospect.

Upon her initial diagnosis and throughout her battle, I suppressed any and all urges to ever believe that my mom would succumb to cancer. Thus, her discharge from the hospital, though joyous, did not surprise me. My mother had an indomitable spirit; never revealing to me how truly sick she was. I had to ask my father what stage she was in because, to her, it didn ’ t matter.

She would continue on with life because, “ What use am I on the couch, anyhow? ” she once uttered. All appeared to be normal on the surface. My mother awoke at dawn to iron my clothes and make the coffee. Leaving a note laced with endearment, she wrote where I could find dinner and always, a request that I brush the dog. She would be working a doubleshift and then would depart on a redeye flight to Chicago; she had chemotherapy in the morning. see Rispoli @ 9

An introductory handshake

Canisius begins implementation of new job portal

By CJ Gates

Editor-in-Chief

The first part of any introduction is usually a handshake and at Canisius, that’s no different. Since July, the College has been working to transition from College Central to the relatively new company known as Handshake in order to introduce Canisius students and alumni to employers with available job opportunities.

“We rolled out Handshake to employers in July,” Assistant Vice President and Director of the Griff Center Annie Dobies said, “because we wanted to make sure we had employers in there first before students were so that the students would have something to look for. And then we introduced it to students the Thursday before classes started [27 August].”

Faculty will be introduced to the program at the Faculty Senate meeting on Friday, 25

Sept., as Dobies explained that the Griff Center didn’t want to overwhelm professors during the first week of the semester. However, Dobies is confident that faculty members are introduced to Handshake, they will be key in getting students to utilize the site and instrumental in promoting job and internship opportunities that are available. Handshake will become one more tool at professors disposal to enhance the classroom experience for their students.

The main reason that Canisius made the decision back in January to gradually phase out College Central over the coming months and to make the switch fully to Handshake was that College Central didn’t allow the staff of the Griff Center to interact with students nor did it allow students to give the College feedback with regards to their job or internship experience. see Handshake @2 Design 2015 Annie Niland

2 NEWS

18 September 2015

Ratliff ratified as VPSO

By Robert Creenan Griffin Reporter

The Undergraduate Student Association’s newest member has been appointed and approved this past Tuesday, finalizing for the moment the student bureaucrats of Canisius. This past Tuesday night, the Canisius Student Senate met in the cramped confines of the Faculty Dining Room, an issue that Executive Vice President Elias Ayoub said that they’d have to deal with, “for another few weeks.” The situation made the dining hall overstuffed and hot. And the freshman senators haven’t even been elected yet.

Regardless, the appointment of a new Vice President of Student Organizations was to go on as usual. The four candidates in attendance, Annie Niland, Darby Ratliff, Shai Fears, and Katie Parker (Samantha Sellers had dropped out of the race) stood at the front to provide their best responses over the next 45 minutes. If you missed last week’s issue talking about the candidates, here’s a brief recap of the four.

Annie Niland is a sophomore who’s part of SPB and The Griffin. She already ran for the position last year when Vance Stinson was chosen. She also was a freshman senator last year and was the main organizer for this year’s club fair during student orientation.

Darby Ratliff is a senior in her 3rd year serving as senator and is currently on the e-boards for seven clubs. If elected, she said, she would have to reorganize her extracurricular life to fit the position.

Katie Parker is a sophomore who’s on the mock trial team and Phi Alpha Delta.

She has also wanted to join

senate for a while and said that she made room in her personal schedule just so she can have the position.

Shai Fears is a freshman/preacher who’s been plenty involved in high school, whose main points include being class president and making the bible club the most popular club in his high school.

The candidate’s responses to questions were mostly similar to each other, as they believed that they needed to get to know student leaders, and that there’s a need for students to feel the need to join clubs. Niland kept hammering the point that she organized the club fair and how that got her contact with the club leaders. Fears brought up his many activities in high school and how he possessed the necessary leadership qualities, plus he always likes talking to people.

Parker brought up how she talked to Stinson extensively on what the position entails.

Darby made the points that she’s the oldest, has the experience of being in a wide variety of clubs and how she values people’s first names.

In the end, Ratliff was appointed due to her experience and ability to step into the position right away. The other candidates were told that they were all impressive and urged to participate more in campus life.

With two out of five E-Board positions already changed after the democratic election. Adding to this are rumors of a possible third party leaving his/her position at the end of this semester, causing yet another shift in the USA office. This question is pressed further by the fact that Senator Angela Graves continues to wait in limbo as Senate deliberates over how to proceed with her inability to attend meetings, yet long record of service to

the college and community.

All of this shift in leadership and structure raises a general question about the continuity of this year’s leadership.

Still, despite such confusion, Darby Ratliff feels confident and excited about taking on this new mantle of leadership.

After running for USA President herself, Ratliff expressed her glee for another opportunity working with fellow Canisians for the benefit of the college as an executive board member. Confident, yet humble, Darby expressed her passion for working with student organizations. Her stunning background in club leadership, which remains to copious to be listed here, suggests that she has a foot on both sides of the divide and can recognize the value in parliamentary procedure as well as the needs of student groups.

“I know clubs very well,” she explained. One of the reasons she was selected was the fact that her background in both Senate and club leadership allow her to jump right into the position; making up for the three weeks of lost time while the seat lay vacant.

When asked about her goals Ratliff was frank, explaining that she wanted to take the year old position for the good that it is while “ironing out the kinks” so that future VPSOs can benefit from a simple and sound system.

"My intention is to divide [student organizational rankings] into three categories: operation, collaboration, and service.” Doing away with the Blue and Gold memberships set in place by former VPSO Stinson, Darby wants to streamline the points system to ensure that smaller clubs are not alienated. “Not every club is an RHA,” said Darby, “I was on

2015 Fall Budget Allocations

the E-Board for three honors societies last year and they have very few events.” She went on to explain that there are different types of clubs, all of which serve a unique purpose for the community.

The Council of Representatives will also be given a facelift this semester. Taking hold of Stinson’s desire to build up a norm of collaboration between clubs, Darby would like to continue having clubs meet in divisions.

However, she recognizes the detriment to smaller clubs that this can cause and expressed her desire to facilitate co-sponsorship along the way. More importantly, the COR will be reverting in form to incorporate a town hall mentality for student leaders to air grievances, communicate expectations, and commit to clear and open communication.

Over all, VPSO Darby Ratliff ’s self appointed mission is this, “I think Vance did a wonderful job. I want to keep ironing out the kinks that would be found in any system the first time around, and I want to build a sustainable system that can be used by future VPSOs” Ratliff ’s appointment closes the chapter on EBoard member Vance Stinson, who stepped down after building the position to its current stature. Dealing with student organizations, overseeing the Counsel of Representatives, and building upon her own legacy, the already heavily involved student leader faces yet another mantle of leadership in the Canisius College community.

creenanr@canisius.edu

Griff Center and Handshake will evolve together Handshake: continued from front

With Handshake, the staff at the Griff Center now has access to a list of students who attend each of the career workshops along with a breakdown of the attending students’ majors which allows the Griff Center to better understand who is attending their events and enables them to tailor certain events towards students they know are frequently in attendance.

Handshake also allows the Griff Center to send targeted emails so that students aren’t getting emails in regards to job openings for every major, they just get notifications about jobs in their field which is something that wasn’t possible with College Central.

Another difference that students will notice is that with Handshake, students are able to upload all relevant documents that employers are looking for - transcripts, cover letters, re-

sumes, etc. - as opposed to College Central, which only allowed for resume uploads. Despite the streamlined process, the turnaround time is a bit lengthier when it comes to the actual uploading of documents.

That is due to the fact that everything that is uploaded is reviewed by a member of the Griff Center before being placed on Handshake.

“Depending on the day, Allison [Suflita, Assistant Director, OnCampus Recruitment], could have 30 or 40 resumes to review, which is a lot of reading and writing to go through,” Dobies said. “So some of our students are frustrated because they don’t have the turnaround that they want. If there’s anything I can stress it’s don’t wait until the day the deadline is to upload something.”

Canisius is now one of 75 colleges and universities across the United States using Handshake. And because Handshake is a relatively

new company, they’ve been around for about three years, they are still evolving and listening to the concerns of both students and colleges in order to best serve their customers.

“You’ll definitely notice it change over your four years at Canisius,” Suflita said. “I’ve noticed it change since August 27th [the day it was released to students] to now. There’s little nuances that they’re changing because they are being so responsive and I think it’s because they’re working with such a small population they’re growing smartly and they’re going in a direction that makes sense.”

As the Griff Center begins to find its niche on campus taking over the roles of Career Services, Tutoring Center and Accessibility Support, it too will continue to evolve to best meet the needs of the students at Canisius. gates3@canisius.edu @ceejgates

NEWS 3

18 September 2015

Commitment to Progress Senate Committees promise transfermation

By Justin Smith Griffin Reporter

The Undergraduate Student Administration has long suffered from a divisive gap between presentation and action. Yet this year, with USA Executive Vice President Elias “Fenoose” Ayoub at the helm of committees, campus life may see Senate chart a new course.

Anyone who has been to a Senate meeting knows they are places of great formality, but committees can theoretically function with more efficiency by doing away with the strict rules and simply focusing on action. Therefore, while Senate debates the big issues, committees are meant to serve as agents of change within the school.

"There hasn’t been enough oversight on the committees [in the past] to make sure that they get their work done, so that’s what’s different this year,” said Ayoub.

That was one of the messages Ayoub stressed when he sat down to talk to The Griffin about the this year’s Senate.

The Senate will, as per usual, retain their Diversity and Justice Boards, chaired by Paula Uruburok and Alexis Grebenok respectively. As for committees, as of now there will be four, including Dining Services chaired

by Hannah Flynn, Student Services formerly chaired by Darby Ratliff (the seat is currently in need of a replacement given Ratliff ’s recent selection as Vice President of Student Organizations), Public Health chaired by Dilpreet Kaur, and Sustainability co-chaired by Clayton Shanahan and Meghan Zickl.

“If all we do as an organization is get our committee goals done, we’ve done a lot,” said Ayoub, echoing his words from the semester’s first Senate meeting.

Student Services Committee, which Ayoub described as the “most ambitious,” has some goals which they hope to accomplish within the upcoming couple of weeks. These goals include a leasing service to connect landlords to students. The plan would also involve lawyers who would be able to ensure that the terms of contracts were equitable and the houses were of good quality. Another shortterm goal of the committee is to establish a service that would “provide advice” to kids who get into legal trouble and “don’t know where to turn.”

In the long term, Ayoub said they are “seriously looking into” an alcohol amnesty program so that students don’t have to worry “about getting in trouble if their friend’s sick from drinking.” The committee also hopes to set up a phone line so that students can call in for help at any time, day or night.

Sustainability Committee concerns itself with making the college environmentally conscious and fully modern.

In order to accomplish this, the committee plans to get the dining hall to compost all food waste, create a bike sharing program, install rain barrels and solar panels, reduce Styrofoam, incentivize reusable containers, plant a garden in the quad, and, perhaps most excitingly, create a can return system on campus that would be linked to Griff Bucks so students could get money on their cards for returning recyclables. The committee also wants to rewrite the college recycling policy—so that recycling bins actually get recycled—and has loose plans for bringing a farmer’s market on campus.

“As of right now sustainability is of low importance across campus and our [goal] is to change that among students, faculty, and administration alike,” said Shanahan and Zickl in a joint e-mail to The Griffin.

Dining Services will concern itself mainly with Chartwells. Ayoub stressed that not only is campus food “not great,” but Chartwells has other issues as well. Ayoub says he wants to “Tear down the wall … between Chartwells and students,” and get Chartwells to offer more dining options with voluntary or involuntary food restrictions, and lobby for healthier options.

“I hate to speak badly of past Senates, especially because I was part of them,” said Ayoub, “but I think we missed it. We missed a huge opportunity last

year when we were renegotiating Chartwells contract.”

The committee hopes to return to more frequent meeting with Chartwells, such as the Senate has done in the past.

Public Health has its emphasis on both physical and mental health. Ayoub said that although the College did sexual assault awareness last year, it’s important to do it again. The committee also hopes to improve the Health Center.

“There is a bevy of complaints on how they’re inefficient and ineffective,” said Ayoub.

As for mental health, the committee wants to work more closely with the Counseling Center and address issues such as anxiety and depression. The committee also wants to look into free CPR training for students and getting more AEDs on campus.

“The Public Health Committee hopes to deliver proper health related education and aims to further advance health services available to students and the larger society we reside amongst,” said committee chair Kaur.

Diversity Board will focus on events and campaigns around campus. Such events include Hispanic Heritage month, and the “I am a culture, not a costume” event in the spirit of dispelling racial and ethnic stereotypes in Halloween costumes. Next semester, the committee will shift its focus to issues of sexuality and gender identity.

Justice Board’s main focus this year is fair trade. They want to ensure that everything in the school follows fair trade guidelines. “[Fair trade means] everyone at every level of production of a good or service that we use is being treated equitably,” said Ayoub.

Ayoub was quite confident in Senate’s ability to get things done this year. “Seventy-five percent of that stuff can be actuality by the end of this year and everything … will at least have been started,” said Ayoub.

Although the many moving parts of the school means success can’t be universally guaranteed, but for the 25 percent of things left unfinished, Ayoub promised follow-ups on these issues.

Of course there is always a question of if Senate can actually accomplish what it sets out to, but this year the question becomes how the changes in Senate will impact their efficiency.

Committees this year are “more organic” than before, forming when problems arise and closing when the problems are solved. Ayoub, as EVP, wants more oversight, less talk, and more action.

“We’re going to take a harder look at what it takes to be an effective committee,” said Ayoub.

Only time will tell if these changes to the structure of Senate will translate to new results, but Ayoub emphasized that Senate meetings, the USA office, and individual Senators are open and transparent to all students in the school.

EVP Ayoub has reset the standard of expectations by which this administration will be judged. Impact is crucial and without it, Senate loses its value to both students and the community as a whole. Each committee has a set list of goals, of which all should be completed by the end of the academic year.

As the pandemic of sexual assault is drug into the light on campuses all across the United States, who else should be leading the charge here at home than those appointed to organize and lead the student body.

Solar panels, composting food waste, and recreating the college-wide recycling policy are no small tasks and could easily fall by the wayside if not given their due attention.

This is not a paperback issue with a cliffhanger ending “till next week.” Thus far, political scandal has already been averted and this USA administration has shown itself to be efficient in solving pertinent dilemmas. This is a recognition of the responsibility and importance of our student representatives, acknowledging them for their hard work and keeping them accountable as the academic year marches on.

Bikes: continued from front

As far as any sound explanations for the mass influx of commuters at the turn of the century, Raess first channels the national and local economies.

“Gas prices, it’s simple economics. We spiked from $0.90 to $4.00 a gallon in less than a decade. The average person, depending on region, can save anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000 a year by simply not driving.”

General social acceptance has brought many riders out of the darkness as well, with recent vintage revival and eco-friendly trends bringing more relevance to biking on a cultural standpoint.

“Trendiness is a definite factor, young people now see it as cool. Before, riding a bike as a main form of transport, you’d probably get asked ‘how come you’re not just driving?’ Now younger people, and even middle aged folks, are starting to embrace it for what it is and people won’t be looked at weird for riding their bike to work.”

Regarding strictly local endeavors towards biking, the choice to ride is not always one that the mass stereotypes of cyclists are attributed with.

According to the 2014 US Census Bureau Report, Buffalo is the nation’s fourth most impoverished city; a factor that makes transportation expenses one of the most difficult to endure for the inner city demographic.

“Western New York is a poorer community, specifically Buffalo with lower income and poverty. When you don’t have many options on the table for transportation, maybe even a bus pass becomes too expensive. A bike can often be the most economical or inexpensive alternative to walking for some people.”

Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Board, headed

by Justin Booth, features monthly public meetings with a panel of community and city representatives to ensure bicyclists and

This past July, Christopher Dobiesz ‘15 passed away. This Sunday a memorial mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. to honor and celebrate his memory.

A recent alumni,

pedestrians aren’t overlooked in city infrastructure projects. Petitioning and matters happening on a federal level can bring that much more immediate response, which is only possible through a strong, vocal community. Locals are often asked to contact their congressional representatives in terms of any cycling concerns or pushes for further infrastructure. Organizations like GO Bike take the extra step to consolidate and educate the community riders and give the public the idea that Buffalo’s up-andcoming resurgence can be one that features bicycling and pedestrians alike. Last spring’s complete redesign of Allen Street, featuring wider lanes for parking and painted “sharrows” reminding drivers to share the road with cyclists, was courtesy of federal funding that was largely attributed to the public effectively voicing their input. Over the summer, Delaware Avenue’s “S-curves” saw an update with new vibrant, green bike lanes where any contact points between bicycles and merging vehicles are possible.

“It helps to have as many different opinions on the changes as we can,” Raess said about the Allen Street changes, “everyone simply deserves to have their voice heard. When you’re talking about one of Buffalo’s most prominent commercial districts in the last 30 or 40 years, you want to have as many people heard who will be affected.”

A Western New York exclusive project has been in the works for 2015, coming to be known as the Bicycle Master Plan. GO Bike has paired with the City of Buffalo to bring a massive haul of infrastructure and education about riding to the city, in hopes of eventually turning the existing bronze rating as Bicycle Friendly Community to platinum status as a premier cycling destination in the country. While countless propositions for changes and evalua-

tions of Buffalo’s existing conditions are released and discussed, the first order of the Master Plan will largely be the most difficult. While areas like Allentown and Elmwood Village have active and vocal support from passionate riders, others don’t acknowledge their community of bicyclists and form a public voice.

“The Master Plan will call support from all stretches of city riders. I know we’ll have our usual suspects in Allentown or Elmwood, or even the college kids, but we seriously need all the different neighborhoods to get involved. Outlying neighborhoods like the East Side and South Buffalo are really what we want to see. Suburban families, folks that ride with their kids, might not be able to make all the public meetings but will still want to make a safer environment for their children. This is where we’ll need them all most.”

Buffalo’s biggest obstacle to biking is itself. As a melting pot of different cultures in every neighborhood, many hold that biking in general has become too diversified and has excluded certain riders to inhibit the desperately needed community involvement. Raess is quick to call out the unnecessary false image of bicycling that came first with 2000s era popularity. The stereotyped images of cyclists, whether the young, urban hipsters riding fixies or “weekend warriors” who don spandex and embark on hundred mile rides on specialized bikes costing upwards of $2,000, have thrown a certain ideal of cyclists in people’s faces that almost discourage participation from those who can’t identify with an image.

“Even the word cyclist has a come under fire for being alienating. Many people now are saying I ride a bike, but I’m not a cyclist, choosing to popularize the word biker or bicyclist instead. There’s a

In Memorial Chris was a political science and urban studies major, who was soon to begin law school at Duquesne University in August.

Canisius community knew him as a man willing to

give of himself, with a smile on his face, and love in his heart. Chris was on the Executive Board of both Phi Alpha Delta and To Write Love on Her Arms and a char-

big push on the national level to make sure the biking movement is diverse.

There’s a lot of poor, rich, suburban, city, white, and black riders, but when you look at strictly the advocacy angle and the media, it’s not well represented. It tends to be white, middle class, educated people and there needs to be a bigger push to include everybody. Especially in Buffalo where the lower income community has made it a widespread affordable option. Though they might not be advocates to the biking community, they’re a huge part of it whether they know it or not.”

Bike lanes in those lower income areas like the East Side’s Humboldt Avenue have received a largely positive reception thus far. GO Bike is striving to draw in all communities and make sure each region can have their own necessary infrastructure to promote and encourage more bicycling. Options like a text messaging service were introduced, allowing anyone to message GO Bike toll free with a simple location of where they’d like to have a bike lane or shared street in their area. As more neighborhoods gain a sense of community, involvement will snowball.

“No matter if those with the lower income are taking their bikes, it’s still part of this bigger movement to make bikes more ‘normal.’ You look at Europe, almost 40 percent of the people ride bikes in some cities, it’s so normalized there. That’s what we’re working towards in the United States. It doesn’t need to be anything special where you need spandex or a fancy bike. Just pick up your bike, take it to work, get groceries, and just go out and ride.”

karpiejm@canisius.edu

ismatic member of the Mock Trial team during his last year here.

All students are welcome to attend the service on Sunday.

ifestyle 74 LFEATURES

18 September 2015

Atlas Genius singer has heard about Buffalo's weather; is willing to play here anyway JH: How has the response been to the new album, Inanimate Objects?

KJ: The response has been great. I don't go and actively search out reviews—I don't think it’s something an artist in general should do. But I have heard a bunch of them that friends or management have told me, and it’s been a really great reaction to the album. So a problem being a musician in this day and age is how to make more people hear it. You know, I’m really proud of what we did, but there’s so much music, so that’s the challenge. How do you stand out? But I’m really happy with the reaction.

It’s been overwhelmingly positive.

By Janelle Harb

Features Layout Editor

As of late, Buffalo is bursting with new music and concerts. I had the opportunity to interview the Australian-born lead singer of Atlas Genius, Keith Jeffery, about the band’s upcoming show in Buffalo.

Janelle Harb: Are you excited to go to Buffalo on your tour?

Keith Jeffery:Yes, it will be our first time playing in Buffalo, and it’s always great to play cities for the first time. For some reason we didn’t get to Buffalo on our last tour. We’ve toured the country so many Pictured from left to right are Michael and Keith Jeffery. times, so it’s nice to finally get there. I’ve heard good things! Wait, we’re not getting snow yet are we? I’ve heard some stories JH: How did it feel to perform on Jimmy about your snow in the winter.

Kimmel?

KJ: It was a lot of fun! TV is a weird JH:What’s your favorite city that you’ve beast because you’re playing one song and been to? there are ten cameras on you. It’s a very arKJ: There’s a bunch! It depends, some- tificial kind of vibe compared to a normal times you’re really lucky, and you can get show, but it’s a fun show, the way they do it. time off, and you get to see a city properly. They have a crowd in front of you so it’s not Like Vancouver, we had been there so many as sterile as it could be, and I think it turned times, and it was only until the last time I out well, so I was happy with the experiwent there that I actually had time to check ence. It was the second time we had done it out and realize how great it was and how it. It felt about as comfortable as you could much I had missed every other time. Van- expect from a TV show, so pretty good. couver, I love. In the States, I love Portland, Oregon, it’s a real favorite of mine. I JH: Who are your biggest musical influlove Austin, Texas. New York’s incredible. ences?

There’s a bunch, but those really come to KJ: Oh there’s so many! As a little kid mind.

I loved [Jimi] Hendrix, and I’ve really got into the whole Nevada, Soundgarden, JH: How is it to be on tour with your Smashing Pumpkins thing, the shoe-gazer brother? early 90s, Brit-stuff. And then in recent KJ: It’s fine. We’ve been doing this for years I’m really digging a lot of the elecseven years, and it’s just what we do. We tronic stuff coming out, like the bands that don’t really have any problems, we have the still manage to stay somewhat organic. I odd word every so often, but yeah we get on kind of shy away from stuff if it’s too plastic great, all things considered. and too processed. We’re kind of touring from a whole range of them.

JH: Is it nice to have family with you all the time?

JH: If you could collaborate with anyone, KJ: Yeah, it’s definitely one of the ben- who would it be? It seems like you have a long efits of it. I couldn’t imagine if I was here list of favorites! just myself, it would be a lot harder, I mean KJ: Yeah, I’ve had that question a few it’s still hard to be away from family years times! And one guy I really love is Benjaon end, but it does make it easier to have min Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie. I each other. think he’s really great. Their albums are some of my all-time favorites. Like Plans,

Photo by Frank Maddocks

if anyone’s going through a breakup, you just need to put that album on and it’s like he’s singing straight to you. I’d love to work with him. We were lucky on this last album that was just released, there’s a bunch of people we were able to jam with and write with, and not all of them made the album.

We did a song with Luke Pritchard from The Kooks, and it’s not on the album but it’ll get out at some point maybe. And that was a lot of fun with a guy like that because he’s such pro. He’s done so much great stuff.

JH: What has been your favorite song that you’ve written?

KJ: It changes. I’m never gonna be angry at “Trojans,” I’m pretty happy with that one, considering it’s done alright for us. On the new album, actually, “Levitate,” right at the end of the album, there’s this song and it’s one of the most unassuming tracks. It’s actually just me singing over it and playing acoustic guitar, with a little bit of electronic and few things coming in throughout the song. But, in essence, it’s really just an acoustic track, and I hope it still has a real power to it, even though it’s a bit soft. When I listen to it, it still kinda chokes me up. It can be difficult after the hundredth listen to still be emotionally affected by something that you’ve written.

But that song still manages to make me feel something really strong inside, even though I wrote the song. I’m pretty proud of that song.

Creative writing professor's daughters inspire her first published book

By Nathan Ress

Features Contributer

Professor Janet McNally has always considered herself a storyteller. Since her childhood she has pursued this dream, writing and reading as much as possible, honing her craft and preparing for the day she would have an audience. Now, that day has come and she enjoys the status of not only published, but also awarded author with her latest book of poems, Some Girls.

McNally got her start within the halls of Canisius College, adding creative writing as a minor the first year the program was offered. After graduating, she continued to study writing, earning an MFA in fiction from Notre Dame. Her primary goal was to write fiction, however with the birth of her first daughter, her focus began to shift.

“I didn’t have the attention span to write fiction so I went back to poetry, and that’s [the period of time] where a lot of these poems came from,” McNally said.

Some Girls was written with not only all three of her own daughters, but all girls specifically in mind. It is a book of poems written from the perspective of a woman similar to McNally, a new mother. The book centers on the idea of children’s myths and fairy tales. With this base, however, McNally has tried to expand these fairy tales into something less limiting for young girls. In many respects she has adapted the fairy tale to the modern world, in her own words “retelling and re-imagining them.”

Some Girls was selected in its manuscript form to be published by The White Pine Press independent publishing group. It is the winner of the 20th annual White Pine Press Poetry Prize, as chosen by the poet Ellen Bass, who helped McNally make many edits and additions to the book throughout the process. Bass herself has remarked that within

Some Girls, “The past and the present, the personal and the universal, are braided with surprising and lush language.”

On Monday, 21 September McNally will be reading selected poems from her book at the Grupp Fireside Lounge at 7p.m. The reading is free and open to the public, and will also feature books available for purchase and signing. McNally will not only read her work, but also give explanations and histories behind each of her poems, offering her listeners personal background as well as context. The reading offers both students and faculty a chance to hear McNally’s work and experience it for themselves. This experience promises to be heightened by the fact that McNally is reading the work, adding her own vocal inflections and rhythms.

McNally will also be discussing her work as well as the larger topic of girls in fairy tales at the upcoming Buffalo Humanities Festival, “Gender Bender.” This event will take place 23-26 September in the Burchfield Penney Arts Center and Ketchum Hall on the campus of SUNY Buffalo State. Registration begins on the 23rd at 10:00a.m. in the Birchfield Penny lobby and McNally will be presenting at 11:00 a.m. in Ketchum room 111.

Looking further into the future, McNally will be publishing a young adult novel, Girls in the Moon scheduled to be released in the fall by HarperCollins. She plans to write a second young adult novel and continue writing adult fiction as well.

She enjoys her role as a multi-disciplinary writer, often switching between poetry and fiction as she develops new ideas.

For aspiring writers, McNally says, “Read everything.

Read widely. Read all the time.” With this in mind, plan to attend her upcoming reading, grab a copy of Some Girls, and dive into McNally’s reimagined fairy tale world. ressn@my.canisius.edu

JH: Have the shows reflected that new positive energy?

KJ: Oh, it’s been a few factors, like the new band. We have two new guys playing with us who are really great performers, really fun to be with, just that alone is a good vibe onstage, with the four of us. The crowd’s been great, even though some of these songs have only been out for a week or two, we’ve seen a lot of people sing along to the tracks, and I think all of those factors have created some of the best shows we’ve ever done. We were in San Francisco the other night, and it was amazing. That was the first show on the tour. We just did a show the other night in New Orleans and that was one of the best shows we’ve ever done, and it’s been great.

JH: How has the success of “Trojans” changed your life?

KJ: I mean I’m currently in Tennessee, and so the fact that I’m in this, for me, the most exotic place in the world, it’s changed everything about what we do. It allowed us to, after so many years of writing music and trying to get it out there, to get it heard.

“Trojans” instantly changed the game, where all of a sudden we had an audience, and we were allowed to tour, and we’re in the States now rather than being back in Australia.

JH: Thank you for your time! Buffalo is so excited to have you.

KJ: I’m vegan so I’ll make sure to try and find some vegan chicken wings. harb12@my.canisius.edu

Maggie Leaves the Underworld

By Janet McNally We saw her for weeks in our dreams, a slim ghost crossing the street in suede boots. Her strides were plastic, doll-kneed, and the sidewalk waited or her, bleeding purple in neon. Quiet. Dead girls can come back, hearts bruised as plums on the orchard floor. Some secret flint sparks their beating and those girls stretch and rise.

By spring, Maggie had thrown all her miracles like white doves in magic tricks.

Her last dreams were wildflowers, dipped in the useless pollen that gathers on windowsills instead of bees’ legs. She came back, she breathed in, her slate eyes opened.

It was some kind of show. We presented her to strangers, but she never told the truth while we were listening. We asked her to open her mouth wide enough for us to see the seeds strung like garnets on silken thread. Imagine, we said, her throat as it opens. Imagine everything she had to swallow before she convinced them to let her go.

This poem is also featured in McNally's book Some Girls. It references the Greek myth of Persephone.

L ifestyle 8 FEATURES 5

18 September 2015

The person in the Petey suit is probably not who you think it is

By Kyle Ferrara Features Editor

leader at my church when I was 13. So that’s when it really started. I remember when I was a kid that I would play school with my sisters. And I used to have an alter-ego and she would make us do boot camp.

KF: So what are some ways that our generation can bridge that gap?

PG: You just need to go. You need to stop making up excuses. We need to stop being lazy, stop pretending like we’re too tired, which we are, but life is tiring. You’re always going to be tired. You might as well get over that now. Stop being lazy and just go.

People from Buffalo who actually know the Petey Griffin: Can I ask you some ques- city, we have to be ambassadors and have tions first? to take ‘friend-fieldtrips.’ Go to whatever event, museum, party, fundraiser, exhibit.

Kyle Ferrara: Of course.

Honestly if you pick up Gusto or Art Voice, there’s like 50 million things to do in BufPG: What have you fallen in love with in falo. You just have to go, and not be afraid Buffalo? to talk to people. People are afraid to actually engage in conversation. They just stick KF: Over the summer, my girlfriend and I together. went down to Canalside handful of times.

One Wednesday we went down there and KF: You want them to branch out from each there were Salsa lessons going on— other.

There’s a new Petey in town. Well, there’s a new person in the Petey suit at least. On the condition of anonymity, the new human in the griffin suit discussed the beauty of Buffalo, dancing, and alter egos.

PG: Salsa with Sarah— KF: Yes! And I loved it. And we were pretty good at it, too. We just had a blast. I really wish that I would take more advantage of what’s down there because the waterfront is such a hidden gem in this city.

PG: It’s unfortunate because, as college students, we’re so busy. We are stretched like silly putty, and not enough people really get to go into the city. And this is a problem because there are so many events, and there are so many different groups in Buffalo that want to meet us, and a lot of the events and a lot of the people are older people, and they need youth to come in and show them what our generation is actually like. I feel like there is a big divide between the new generation and the old generation.

We have to be that bridge.

PG: Yes! I will go up to people and talk to random people. If we’re at an event, we’re all here for a reason. We’re all here for whatever this event has to offer, and we all have that in common. We can all talk to each other, but when we talk to people, it’s almost like you’re always asking someone out on a date. Like you have to be smooth or else they’ll be afraid. And it’s that fear of rejection from them and then the fear of someone talking to you and actually caring about what you have to say [stop people from doing it].

KF: At what age did the alter ego go away?

PG: My alter-ego is very much still alive. So when I was younger I had four alter egos.

Now in college, I still have them, but it’s more developed and it makes more sense.

I used one today, her name is Red. This morning I was so tired. I didn’t want to go to dance class, didn’t want to go to school, catch the bus. And there are a lot of things going on right now for me. I called Red— it’s not crazy! I called upon Red—she’s extremely focused. She just does tasks without thinking about it. She’s like, ‘Do work.

Feed your 12 pets.’ I’m very emotional, so I have to change my perspective. It’s like pretending to have a character to play. Having an alter ego is like being a character for a scene.

KF: When you’re Petey, are you one of you alter egos? Or are you yourself totally?

Should Petey Griffin be on the United States $10 bill?

Photo by Nick Foraker

to be part of a community, to get to know other people. So if I talk to someone, I might have the chance of making a great connection.

KF: What are the some of the things that you KF: But you just said you’re not good at conare passionate about? versations, that you’re awkward.

PG: I like to dance. And I teach dance.

PG: Usually when I go to an event—an art show, dance class, whatever—I know KF: When did you start teaching? that those people have taken the time out of their day to come to this event. And that PG: Last year, but I was the PRAISE dance shows that they are willing to put in effort

PG: When I am Petey, I am not an alter ego.

I am myself, but my most energetic and most excited and most loving self. And I have to give the gift of excitement about life to everyone else. So I just want to give my energy to other people and just know that it will radiate throughout the room through Petey’s image. I’m not shy about performing. That is when I’m my most honest and vulnerable self. There aren’t any layers.

There aren’t any alter egos. When I perform, it’s sincere. It’s me being vulnerable, allowing other people to see my emotions and expressions and all that jazz. @TGNFerrara ferrarak@canisius.edu

Would you like to see your creative writing or poetry in print?

Submit your work to ferrarak@ my.canisius. edu or harb12@ my.canisius. edu The Griffin will be covering the Pope's visit to the United States, but we probably won't get this close.

Check out canisiusgriffin.wordpress.com for our pre-Pope video series featuring our Jesuits, administration and students.

Opinion 65 Opinion

18 September 2015

View from the Griffin’s Nest

Finding our center

On May 17, 2015, three Mr. Canisius winners walked across the stage in the Koessler Athletic Center. Three members of the Undergraduate Student Association Executive Board did the same. The Student Programming Board knocked over its chair. RHA President and former DiGamma Student Master left her post after two years of Grilled Cheese and Nacho/Smoothie Nights to finish her M.B.A. here. The tap-dancing, outspoken (to understate) President of C-Block. The Recycle Champion’s voice will haunt those who knew her. Jesus (well, Little Theatre’s Jesus) left the stage.

Three Griffin editors flew the nest.

So who’s left?

This paper isn’t telling the Class of 2016 to scour the tunnels for a new E-Board position, nor does it insist that a new wall of big names needs to be chipped into Churchill Tower. A new dynamic needs to be forged, though it’s unlikely we’ll be allowed a forge and a rifle range. This campus has a fresh feel to it, perhaps related to the new impending marketing campaign, and for those who fled

our ranks in the spring of 2015 and have returned for this fall, there’s a new vibe.

This campus is great at traditions. This paper is one, for certain.

Beating Niagara. Mr. Canisius. The bonfire. Beating Niagara. We’re also great at reinventing these traditions. Griff Fest (Spring Fest/ Quad Party). Sexual assault awareness. How we beat Niagara. Students are such a large part of these things, and in the past year, members of the Class of 2015 played a huge role, either overseeing such projects themselves or working in conjunction with an underclassman on them. These practices will go on with faculty members providing the institutional memory that we need, but they will continue onwards, mostly because mutiny would arise otherwise. (And it nearly did over SPB’s April Fool’s Joke.)

So where do we go from here?

Up, logically. On downwards into the depths of the tunnels. This paper wants to see these traditions continue, but it also wants to see innovation. A bar came to campus last year, and it isn’t perfect. There’s

Branwyn Wilkinson

during that late night Tim Hortons run.

To say that fruits and vegetables should be included in every meal block is rather reminiscent of a high school cafeteria meal, but if we’re supposed to be eating five servings a day, shouldn’t they be included? Fruits and vegetables should not be forced upon students, as they often are in high school, because that creates food waste. Some students just won’t eat them. But other students, like myself, my roommate, and others I’ve talked to, miss the abundance of fruits and vegetables they have at home. Students like us shouldn’t have to use more of our meal plans to get the food that makes us happy, and keeps us healthy.

Speaking of happy, did you know that the type of food you eat can have a big impact on your energy level and mood? Studies show that eating a balanced diet will give you energy to get through long days. We all know that college days last longer than most, and are filled with classes, homework, hanging out with friends, and other commitments. It’s tempting to rely on caffeine and sugar to make it through such hectic schedules, but that’s not the smartest option. Unfortunately, though, es-

some work to be done there. There are events to be grown, and there are new and returning students to help with this process. However, it doesn’t need to be a group of 10 seniors forming an Illuminati to do so; rather, a task is to be charged to all student leaders: engage the campus. Chip a new age. There’s talk of a Griffin statue bedding down in Student Life and USA; perhaps it could instead be built by a community. After all, it takes a village (townhouse).

It’s a big burden to pick up, certainly. Three of these nowalumni brought a bar to Iggy’s, after all. At the same time, however, there’s something to be done to pick up after their legacy and leave our mark at Canisius without pretending to be more than we are.

At the same time, the dent left by the Class of 2015 wasn’t entirely one dealt painlessly. This paper acknowledges their faults; it’s certainly been the victim of some them. The class wasn’t perfect, but what reign is? President Hurley even admitted his vision last year was too widely aimed, and such was the breadth sought to be left

by this year’s predecessors. They made mistakes, and so too will this new class of almost-grads.

With enrollment at 2,500 students, Canisius is clearly a small institution, a size coming with a variety of benefits, not the least of which is its conduciveness to student leadership and getting involved. Dr. Terri Mangione, Vice President of Student Affairs for the College, attended the last Senate meeting, and she listened to a variety of concerns brought forth by the representatives, including gender-neutral spaces and more vegan/vegetarian options. Like many other institutions, Canisius is moving to a new place in the age of millennials, and it is seeking to explore the values posed by its current and future classes.

President Hurley, as noted in last week’s edition, highlighted the College’s focus on being a student-centered institution, and so without students to help lead each other into this new phase, there is no center to be found.

Fruits and vegetables: Rare animals on college campuses?

Opinion Contributor

When I arrived on campus, I knew not to expect to find a giant squid in the swimming pool or to see a herd of zebra galloping across the quad. That would be crazy. But I did expect to be able to find fresh fruits and vegetables at the dining places on campus. So far, though, these healthy options have proven to be almost as unlikely as that squid or zebra.

Don’t get me wrong, we have great dining options here on campus, and I love the variety. There are always four or five choices in the dining hall. If you don’t like any of those, there’s Iggy’s for dinner or Subway or 2mato for lunch.

At Canisius, we even get a choice of coffee places! Out of all six of these dining places, only the dining hall allows you to grab a piece of fruit or a salad as part of your meal block.

At Iggy’s, Subway, and 2mato, getting a piece of fruit with the rest of your meal puts you over the meal block limit. You have to use Griff Bucks to make up the difference. That’s okay, but many students would rather save their Griff Bucks to pay for a coffee between classes at the Science Center, or

pecially with the dining options available on college campuses, it’s often the easiest.

According to NPR and other sources, this sort of diet can become a vicious cycle. When we’re tired and stressed after staying up all night to finish that paper, we turn to caffeine and sugar to help us get through the day.

These foods have long been associated with energy “crashes.” The crashes then lead us to consume more caffeine and sugar, which can end up keeping us awake at night. Thus the next day, the cycle begins all over again.

This might be a manageable way to live, but I somehow doubt that mood and energy swings are how most people want to live.

According to the Rocky Mountain Collegian, eating like this in college can actually lead to health problems that won’t show up until later in life. It can also establish bad eating habits that will be hard to break after our four years here.

Which is why we need better available healthy options on campus, including more choices of fruits and vegetables. Salad and apples are great and all, but honestly I’ve eaten more salad in my first three weeks here than

I had all summer. I’ve only seen cooked vegetables as an option in the dining hall twice so far. At Iggy’s, the healthy options are few and far between, and usually require one to be an adventurous eater. I’m not always in the mood for eggplant and mushrooms.

Sometimes I just want good old fashioned green beans, or peas and carrots like I have at home.

My roommate and I have ended up stocking our fridge with the healthy food we are used to at home. While others snack on chips and ramen, our snack food is grapes, or carrots and hummus.

But it’s expensive snack food, and the cost comes out of our own budgets. Considering that we’re already paying to eat on campus, ensuring healthy dining options should be Canisius’ responsibility, not any individual students’.

It’s time to see better fruit and vegetable options at the dining places on campus. Not every student would take advantage of these options, but they should be available for every student.

wilkin14@canisius.edu @w_b97windy

The Believeland-Buffalo conundrum

Darby A. Ratliff Opinion Editor

The Cleveland Browns are certainly not the best team in the National Football League right now. To be honest, they haven’t been in my lifetime, and I’m not optimistic that they ever will be. 18 years spent full time in Cleveland, and I didn’t even own a Browns t-shirt or hat to wear for the game on Sunday against the New York Jets. What did I have? A Buffalo Bills shirt from a blood drive we hosted my freshman year, and to be even more honest, I was more content to wear that then the orange and black of my homeland (when it comes to the Indians or Yankees, don’t expect the same kindness,

New York).

Every Sunday, when I log into Facebook to procrastinate studying or doing homework, I find that someone has ended a status with “Go Bills.” Half the time, the idea of the post has no relevance to Ralph Wilson’s tenants. Mostly, it’s something to the effect of “It was great to get outside today and enjoy the fall weather in my backyard. Go Bills” or “I love my mother’s homemade cooking. Go Bills.” Never once have I seen a similar inclusion of “Go Brownies” into a Clevelander’s social media. It’s something I respect quite a bit about the Queen City and its inhabitants; in fact, it makes me care about football, a feat unaccomplished by my father during my

tenure in Ohio, despite his honest attempts.

I will always be the first to argue that Cleveland and Buffalo are similar cities with the latter being a smaller version of the former. Two terrible football teams. Two waterfronts on the rise. Two cities with a friendly history and underappreciation abound. Buffalo, however, has an almost nationalistic quality. It’s got its history--its tradition figured out. It knows how to celebrate itself. Taste of Buffalo, the chicken wing festival, St. Patrick’s Day. Its richness plays out all over the city, both downtown and its surrounding suburbs. It’s the “city of good neighbors,” where the smell of Cheerios wafts through the streets, all the way

out to Hamlin Park where I catch it on my walk home down Eastwood.

Cleveland isn’t there yet; it could afford a few pages out of Buffalo’s book. It needs to return to the age of Gund Arena and Jacobs’ Field, the age in which the city was personal and not promoting Progressive Insurance and Quicken Loans.

We’re a people, not an ad placement.

Let’s kick into gear, Cleveland, so that I can at least say “Go Brownies” enough to rival my Buffalonian counterparts.

For now, go Bills.

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 ...

Jolene Flammger, Copy Editor Annie Niland, News Layout Editor Joana Moraes, Sports Layout Janelle Harb, Lifestyle Layout Jedhad Ahmed, Opinion Layout ...

Justin Smith, Assistant News Editor Aaron Rispoli, Assistant Sports Editor Zulema Rodriguez, Assistant Opinion Editor Ut Etim, Assistant Features Editor ...

Dr. Catherine Foster, Advisor Marcie Dineen, Graduate Advisor ...

Facebook.com/thegriffin.canisius Twitter: @CanisiusGriffin

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

t

The good news: the Bills are undefeated. The bad news: so is everyone else in the AFC East.

Whoever set off the fire alarm in the Student Center on Wednesday has made the Underground’s list; it is severely lacking in its ability to swim should the sprinklers ever go off.

Griffin Editor-inChief reported to the Underground that he was pleased by a fifth log in his takeout container from Iggy’s.

The Underground is pleased to report fall’s impending arrival, but it asks that Instagram users limit themselves to one pumpkin spice latte gram.

Prizes will be awarded to those that abstain.

The Underground looks forward to a number of jokes regarding The Griffin’s “bird’s eye view” of the Pope.

Darby Ratliff ’s inclusion of ‘hot dog’ as an exclamation in the Undergraduate Student Association’s meeting minutes is to found to be a highly humorous circumstance.

ratliffd@canisius.edu @darby.ratliff

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

18 September 2015

C. Boyden Gray: An example of ignorance and pretense

Nathan Baumgartner Opinion Contributor

Going into Tuesday of this week, I was excited to meet a former Ambassador to the European Union; as a triple major in German, International Relations, and European Studies, becoming an ambassador of the United States to European countries has always been a dream of mine. I was even more excited to have been given an opportunity to participate in a small-group Q&A session with him before his lecture at 8:00 p.m. that day, along with a prelecture dinner and a cocktail hour beforehand. Although I had some anxieties about such a dignified speaker taking up so much of my time, I never have attended such an event before, and I had hopes to get his perspective on what it would be like to become something as prestigious like an ambassador.

I felt let down after C. Boyden Gray’s “lecture” on Tuesday night: never would I have imagined that someone involved in such a supranational organization like the European Union would be so ignorant and dismissive of policies enacted in the European Union. I was thoroughly intrigued with the title of his lecture as evidenced by posters which I saw around campus: “U.S./European Trade Relations; Toward an Economic NATO?” Gray deviated immensely from that topic, instead talking about his Sunday bridge games and

Elizabeth Sawka

Opinion Contributor

I was very pleased to come back to campus to see the Sexual Violence Bill of Rights posters on display in various campus buildings. Canisius has also printed that its definition of consent on the back of the planners in addition to the Bystander Intervention training Orientation Leaders and Resident Assistants receive during summer training. Orientation Leaders, Resident Assistants, and a variety of faculty members were witness to a presentation from Title IX Coordinator Dr. Terri Mangione on Title IX, the New York State Enough is Enough Campaign, and the procedure the College follows when victims of sexual violence seek justice.

As an Orientation Leader, a student, and a woman, I was pleased that the presentation was included during training to make the Orientation Leaders and Resident Assistants mandated reporters. In fact, it had to be. Mandated reporters are required to report knowledge of sexual assaults, which means that if we learn of a sexual assault that involves a Canisius student, we are required to report the location, time, and day of the attack.

other irrelevant matters at the expense of what was supposed to be the goal of discussing an economic cooperation between both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Although he did mention the TTIP, or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is a proposed trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, his relative lack of interest in this prospective agreement was substituted for a discussion concerning innovation; in his opinion, academic institutions of the United States are innovative, whereas those in Europe are not, despite the existence of a European Consortium of Innovative Universities and the presence of over $35,000 of student debt per graduate of the Class of 2015, according to Business Insider.

Gray seemed thoroughly uninterested with the idea of economic cooperation. His prime example: the ban of U.S. chicken imports into the European Union. Under the guise of French discontent with our methods of bathing chicken in chlorine, Gray seemed to have declared that the French have waged a “war on chicken” of sorts. But he lied. We do not bathe our chicken in chlorine: the controversial substance in question is actually peroxyacetic acid, or PAA, which, according to studies conducted by the State of New Jersey’s Department of Health and Senior Services, is considered

a “highly corrosive chemical” (labelled as such in the study with capital letters, likely in order to draw attention to this fact) with the risk to “irritate the nose and throat” as well as the risk for “causing coughing and/or shortness of breath.”

Unfortunately, due to pressure from the United States (and people like Gray), the EU lifted the ban of imported chicken products into the United States, but, according to Business Insider, there was a huge outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza occurring in the United States a matter of weeks after this ban was lifted, fueling discontent with consumers in the European Union.

Through advocating for deregulation of the European Union market – something Gray unfortunately discussed without any concrete examples, rather integrating a stereotypical demand of the United States for the international community to become more malleable in order to benefit our relative lack of regulation – Gray assumed the role of a stereotypical citizen of the United States; more often than not, we tend to be either ignorant or uninterested in the affairs of other nations, regardless of the fact that other nations see us as “the police of the world.”

It has become a part of French – and, by extension, European – culture to have more transparency between the producer and consumer, with the government often serving as a

referee between the two and consequently introducing regulatory procedures. According to famous albeit controversial chef Jamie Oliver, such a move like the aforementioned lifting of restrictions of U.S. imports of poultry into the Europe can result in the risk of “importing inferior food from the USA.” Gray brought up a difference between the United States and the European Union; according to him, once a person fails at something in the European Union, he/she/they will experience the demise of his/ her/their career. Conversely, the opposite is true in the opinion of Gray. That is extremely easy for someone with a privileged lifestyle to say: Gray attended Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts as a child, which is the oldest junior boarding school in the United States, and eventually went on to attend school at Harvard University, neither of which are cheap by any means of the imagination; the cost of Fay School, according to ranges from $36,550 to $64,520 and depends on a multitude of variables. Harvard University, despite promises that over 30 percent of its students go to school for free, has an asking price of $45,278 for tuition alone, according to Harvard’s website.

Deregulation has proven disastrous in the United States; the whole reason why we have it in the first place is to counteract a norm in society

where people are ultimately concerned about amassing wealth above anything else.

Innovation can take place in a country with more progressive measures of taxation, provision of public education at the postsecondary education, and the provision of universal health care, which is the case with many EU member states. So for all those people who think the United States is inherently good and organizations like the European Union are bad or worse than we are, think again: search up “Why the United States isn’t the best country in the world” on Google. You’ll get hits from more reputable sources like Business Insider, Huffington Post, even a YouTube clip from The Newsroom. Switch “isn’t” for “is” and the first hit comes from none other than the Bro Bible. You see, the rest of the world does not necessarily need to change. To some extent, I think we have to change. We need to stop believing that we are the greatest country in the world: a variety of statistics say otherwise. We need to stop dreaming that every other country will automatically be receptive of the United States: each country has its own reasons for that belief.

We need to stop thinking that everyone will cater to our interests: it just will not happen.

The victim remains anonymous throughout the process; rather, the goal is to record an accurate number of reported cases.

New students had a similar presentation from Dr. Mangione and though they were not made mandated reporters, consent was thoroughly explained and a conversation about sexual assault was a part of orientation. I was not present for this presentation, but I am pleased that Canisius is making tangible efforts to start the conversation about consent with students early in their career at Canisius. As men and women for others, it is our responsibility to ensure we have an educated and safe campus.

I attended the Fall Club Summit this past Saturday, and Dr. Mangione gave another presentation on Title IX . There was less time allocated to Dr. Mangione for the Summit than there had been for summer training, but the limited time was not what disappointed me about the presentation. I was disappointed with the direction the conversation took when Dr. Mangione used a student example during her presentation. She asked two students

to volunteer for the example which involved one student putting their arm around the other student. It is disturbing that during a presentation on consent, there was physical contact initiated between students without a prior conversation. Discussions of consent are to encourage students to think before they act and show a respect to the personal space of others.

I am not suggesting that this was sexual assault, but this is a prime example of why the nature of conversations about consent are so important.

Though Canisius has made serious strides to open the dialogue about consent, the way Canisius structures the conversation is just as important as having the conversation in the first place. The student example was further problematic because the mood of the room became very lighthearted.

Students were laughing at Dr. Mangione’s example, which took away from the validity of the presentation. It’s a serious subject.

Speaking of consent, perhaps you remember the faux pas that was “Zero Shades of Grey” last spring, an unfortunate circumstance that the Student Programming Board

could not have foreseen. Students who attended remember the unprofessional presentation that focused on the friend zone and dick pics and little else. A large problem with this presentation was its blatant heteronormativity: a male attacker taking advantage of an innocent, unsuspecting, young girl. The presenters made jokes and did not address rape culture as appropriately as I had anticipated.

It is incredibly important that conversations about consent and sexual violence are taking place, but the nature of the conversation are equally important. If the conversations Canisius is having about consent are done in an unprofessional and comical manner, then we are failing to create a safe and welcoming campus and we are perpetuating victim shaming. Jokes cannot be incorporated in these presentations because it automatically suggests rape is a safe topic to be joked about.

Many students at the club summit were neither Orientation Leaders, Resident Assistants, nor new students, so this was their first conversation about consent from Dr. Mangione. The Club Summit is full of student leaders who

are, for the most part, hearing an administrator discuss consent for the first time, and if they are to leave the Summit with that presentation as their impression of campus efforts on combating sexual violence, they are leaving with a misrepresentation of Canisius. The posters and programs are important, but the way we engage students reveals much more about our climate than allocating money for new posters.

Lighthearted presentations about sexual violence contribute to victim shaming culture because if our presentations on consent are jokes, then victims are taught their crime will not be taken seriously. In the future, Canisius administrators must refrain from making light of the consent conversation because it negates the efforts our campus is making to combat sexual violence on campus. The summit presentation suggests administrators do not take sexual violence seriously and though I know this is not the case, we as a community must always be conscious of the impact our conversations are having on the campus climate.

Let’s talk about consent

baumgarn@canisius.edu @NijNijBaum

sawkae@canisius.edu @elizabeth_sawka

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

18 September 2015 volleyball

ESPN3 debuts at Canisius

By Canio Marasco, III Sports Reporter

The most thrilling aspect of Tuesday night’s Volleyball matchup might not have been the Griffs win over the University of Buffalo, but rather the platform that presented the game.

On March 23rd, Canisius College announced that it entered into an agreement with ESPN, to allow the school to produce live Canisius athletic events. These events are produced exclusively by the students, with the supervision of the Canisius faculty. To take advantage of this new platform, the school now offers a new program called Sports Broadcast Journalism. To produce these games Canisius has built a modern Golden Griffin Sports Broadcast Center, located on the first floor of Science Hall. The students will control up to six high definition cameras and have full access to live replay. Also, students who produce these games have access to all ESPN graphics and are responsible for pregame, halftime and postgame comments.

Andy Helwig, a student who was able to experience ESPN3 firsthand, shared his thoughts on the opportunity, saying, “When I got the call on Tuesday morning, I was ecstatic. It was a dream of mine since I started broadcasting games that I would be able to do one on ESPN. My second thought was a little frenzied because I had less than eight hours to prepare for a worldwide

broadcast on ESPN3, which for a freshman who just started college was surreal.” Canisius is one of the few schools to rely heavily on students to produce the ESPN3 broadcasts.

Dr. Shawn O’Rourke, the Associate Dean of Graduate and Canadian Programs and Director of the Sport Administration Program, looking at the possible effects of ESPN3 on Canisius sports, said, “All games will be streamed through the GoGriffs website, which will allow family and friends to watch all games online. Also, I think this will really assist the ‘Olympic Sports’ because they will get more exposure. Further, having only three other schools in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doing ESPN3, this gives the Griffs an advantage.”

ESPN3 is broadcasted nationally, surely a new selling point for incoming recruits. Canisius has estimated that the game productions will reach somewhere around ninety-nine million households, along with twentyone million college students in the United States.

Dr. O’Rourke expanded upon on this idea further, relating ESPN3 to Canisius in general, saying, “ESPN3 will not only give our student athletes exposure but the college as well; we will be able to further profile our academic programs and campus life.” Dr. O’Rourke also commented on how the new Sports Broadcasting major could affect the journalism program, stating, “The Sports Broadcasting major gives students another option to gain practi-

cal experience and gain some credit towards a certificate, which is really positive, in an area that I am not sure students were familiar with.”

Canisius is very hopeful that ESPN3 will transform its Journalism program. When the program was first announced, Athletic Director, Bill Maher, stated, “The new Sports Broadcast Journalism program, the agreement with ESPN and the new broadcast facility, positions our Department of Communication Studies through its Journalism program to be a leader in developing the next generation of live sports production professionals.”

On Tuesday night the Griffs faced the University at Buffalo’s women’s volleyball team. The Griffs opened the game with a first set victory, 25-16. The Griffs overpowered the error riddled UB team, totaling fifteen kills in the first set. In the second set, UB came back with a 25-20 victory, pounding the Griffs with 16 kills. Canisius responded strongly, taking the next set by the score of 25-23. The set wasn’t dominated by either team, but in dramatic fashion the Griffs won the set by winning two successive, highly contested, points. In the final set, Canisius pummeled an emotionally depleted UB, 25-12, winning the game three sets to one.

Helwig, who was the color commentator for the game, said, “The game itself was very exciting, the third set that the Griffs won 25-23 was incredible and the atmosphere was amazing. It was loud and being the first game on ESPN3

The VolleyGriffs were pleased with their win over UB on Tuesday. They might also have been happy for Andy Helwig, but that’s unconfirmed.

people wanted to make a great first impression.” The Griffs took all the momentum, in the third set, after exchanging points for a long period.

The Griffs used this momentum to win the game in a decisive manner in the fourth set.

Although Tuesday was the first broadcast Canisius produced, the production occurred with almost no mistakes. Helwig stated, “Everyone had their kinks to work out, including myself. There were a few problems, including the scoreboard on screen going out, meaning we had to provide the score. However, after the first set things went rather smoothly.” As the first set wore on, the production became more seamless. Outside of a few errors with the

Photo Credit: Tom Wolf

graphics in the first set, the production was rather professional.

With the first production completed Helwig was able to look to the future, stating, “The ESPN3 broadcasts in the future are only going to get better from here. The first one was incredible, and they have fifteen more in the fall alone, and when basketball season rolls around, you’re not going to be able to tell the difference between the ones being produced in Science Hall and the ones that come from ESPN in Bristol.”

@CanMar11 Marasco3@canisius.edu

women’s soccer

Griffs hoping for hot start to MAAC play

Alexis Kroese, much like many of her teammates, has torn her ACL.

By Robert Janish

Senior Sports Writer

Despite having a 2-5-2 overall record in nonconference play in 2015, Coach Clark and his team enter this weekend confident in their ability to begin their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule on the right foot.

Starting it off on the road against both the Manhattan Jaspers and Monmouth Hawks, the Griffs will surely have their work cut out for them starting their conference play in 2015 away from their home crowd.

Even though they hold victories over both the Jaspers and Hawks from last season, this is a brand new

year and it is important to not dwell on the past too much, especially since they’re playing both games on the road.

“The intensity really has been picked up going into MAAC play,” sophomore forward Taylor Kugler said. With in-game situations already being played out in practice, Kugler adds that the team can’t afford to make the same type of mistakes they were able to make against nonconference opponents.

Senior goalkeeper Kailee De Franks says their nonconference games have been more practice for the rest of the schedule. “They have been our building blocks to trying to

Photo Credit: Tom Wolf

get better and trying to prepare for MAAC play.” She says these games also help in correcting any mistakes the team makes and shows what the team needs to improve on both offensively and defensively.

Junior defensemen Alexis Kroese says it’s been mainly about effort and hard work this week in practice, especially due to some recent shortcomings the team has had. “We have to be able to push through the last few minutes of the game and try and pull out that win.”

With a recent role change, Kugler has been moving into the midfield more frequently and playing as more of a forward. As a result, she

believes there is much more communication, and also a growing chemistry with her teammates.

De Franks is a true starter this year and she has earned that playing time, but she realizes that being a starter also comes with higher expectations. “there’s no second chances anymore, and this is when you have to prove yourself to your teammates.”

Kroese, however, like a few of her fellow teammates, tore her ACL recently, but has still been able to motivate her teammates, whether in practice or during a game. “Four of us tore our ACLs, so we have been the motivators, more spiritually and been talking more to the girls and pushing them in ways that we can’t do on the field.”

Throughout the year thus far, De Franks has mainly been working on “not trying to take any steps off, working as hard as I can in every practice and also mentally focusing before every practice and every game, and after the practice and after the game as well.”

Going into MAACs, she believes it’s “more of a mental challenge and to also be on and not take a single play off, along with continuing to improve and work hard and to not make the same mistakes made in nonconference play.”

“We just say bring it on!,” said De Franks when addressing their conference foes Manhattan and Monmouth. With a history of being successful against both teams, she’s aware that the success can continue, and “we just work on the little aspects and we hope that works out for us for the game.”

Kugler knows the importance of setting the tone early for their team in MAAC play. While not underestimating their opponents, “getting two road wins would really be the best possible outcome.”

“Personally, I think these two games will define us, not only as a team, but also to other people,” Kugler said, addressing the importance

of these games.

Kroese says these upcoming MAAC games are pretty huge. “Especially going into MAACs, it would definitely show teams that we mean business and we’re not going to take it easy and we’ll be gunning out for everybody.”

“Last year, we had some games that we should have won, but lost, and some games we should have lost, we actually won.” She further adds that they need to start off strong in MAAC play to earn a good seed in the tournament.

“We definitely don’t want any letdowns, so coming out and showing them that we definitely deserve to win and also be able to show them that we are a good team and we can beat those teams,” Kroese said.

Kroese believes winning the two games this weekend “would be pretty huge because Monmouth is definitely the top gun in the conference, so that win would be huge.”

She adds that Manhattan has been doing well recently, so “being able to knock them off their streak would be pretty good.”

De Franks says if the team is able to win one or both games this weekend, “it’s really going to boost our confidence, so being able to get one or hopefully two wins in our pocket, it’s going to be able to help us take on teams and learn things about other teams that we can achieve as well.”

Kugler echoed her fellow teammates’ sentiment, saying that it all starts from winning these games “and being able to get two wins in our pocket.”

De Franks believes once they can get these two wins, “We’re going to be able to go the rest of the season 10-0.”

@robertjanish janishr@canisius.edu

Sports 9

18 September 2015

Notre Dame provides a tough test cross country

Chad Maloy looks to lead Griffs at Notre Dame.

Cross Country: continued from back

first race of the season for the Griffs. Huckle called Little Three a good way to kick off some rust as they enter the season. However for the Griffs top runners, Maloy, Antolos and Roach, Little Three also serves as the only race before the National Catholic Championship.

The Griffs do have a race separating Little Three and the Catholic Championships, but Huckle uses it as a chance for younger runners to earn their spot in the National Catholic Championship. That race was the University at Buffalo Stampede Invitational.

“At the UB Stampede, we were really looking to settle out our last three roster spots for the National Catholic invite,” said Huckle, “And we did that. The freshman got a great opportunity to hit the 8k distance, which they haven’t done yet.”

With the roster in place, attention turns back to Notre Dame and defending the win

Courtesy of Tom Wolf

the Griffs earned last year. It will be no small task the Irish will still be a tough team to race against. The Griffs and Irish will just be two of the over 40 teams registered for the invitational this year. Needless to say the competition will be fierce and it’s something the team is ready for.

“This is a huge race,” said Huckle “Size wise it’s very large, with over 40 teams registered for the invitational and prestige wise; this is a great opportunity for our runners.

This is one of those meets where the runners get very excited for it and we’ll go out and take advantage of the great competition that will be offered this weekend.”

If the Griffs want to repeat as champs, the top three runners of Antolos, Roach and Maloy will need to be on their game and with how close their times are, it should be easy to feed off of eachother.

“I know Coop and Chad are in very good shape right now,” said Antolos, “We are probably going to go out there and run together.

We just need to be smart and kind of see how the race takes it. We don’t want to go out too hard or too slow, just kind of try and control the race like I think we did last year.”

The three Griffs are always close in times and seem to swap wins throughout the year.

It’s this type of “friendly competition” that really pushes them to run their fastest times.

“Of course we all want to beat each other,” Maloy said with a laugh as Antolos and Roach sat nearby. “But you got to kind of tamper a little bit; we don’t want to go out there and kill each other early on. But I know that both of these guys sitting next to me want to go out and win as bad as I do.”

That’s the goal; to win and a realistic one at that. Antolos was close last year with Roach and Maloy not far behind but while an individual win would be nice, the Griffs still want to win as a team again. However the Griffs know that although they won last year, it doesn’t make them the favorites going into the event.

“I think a big thing for us is keeping our composure and not getting overconfident,” said Roach. “Especially after last year with that upset win. We’re just trying to keep that out of our mindset and just go with the game plan.”

Although the race at Notre Dame is the first big race of the year, the Griffs know that this race will be used to set the tone for the more important Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship which will take place on 31 Oct. “This is my first 8k since the end of last cross country season,” said Roach, “So similar to them this race is a rust buster, to see where we are at fitness wise but we are just looking to go out, stay in control and see what we can do.”

@Dom_Chambo chambe17@canisius.edu

Wheels fall off on Rispoli: “Sports, in the extended road trip grandest of contexts, Men’s Soccer: continued from back

seven goals and seven assists for the Griffs. Like Baudo, he has a very high career shots-on-goal percentage, 42.3 percent. This season, De Carolis has one goal and two assists, while attempting 12 shots (four hitting the net).

Berardi, one of eight players from the Buffalo metro area, has been a very good player for Coach McGrane, starting in 29 of the 59 matches he has appeared in. This season alone, Berardi has scored three times and added one assist. Like the previous two players, his shotson-goal percentage is above 40.0 percent (40.4 percent).

Teupen, a junior from Münster, Germany, has been an excellent defender for Coach McGrane and the Griffs. Last season, he was named to the All-MAAC Second Team and was named Western New York’s Defender of the Year. Teupen has played in 39 matches for the Griffs, starting in all of them, except one. When looking at his statistics he doesn’t draw your attention like Berardi or De Carolis, but Teupen’s play on the pitch is well worth noting.

The season got off to a good start for the Griffs as they defeated the New Jersey Institute of Technology at the Demske Sports Complex on August 30th, 1-0, off of a penalty kick from Ryan Schroen in the 74th minute. After the win, the Griffs began a three-game losing skid.

The first road game, out of five consecutive for the Griffs, was at the University of Buffalo. the Griffs allowed a goal in the 20th minute, but then got two penalty kick goals from Berardi in both halves (33rd minute, and 52nd minute).

Once the Griffs held the lead, the wheels began to fall off as they allowed three unanswered goals to the Bulls in the 57th , 73th, and 84th minutes.

A couple days later after the loss to Buffalo, the Griffs traveled out west to face San Francisco and they couldn’t muster any offense, as

the home team took the match, 2-0. The Griffs allowed both of the goals in the 1st half, while outshooting San Francisco, 8-5. Also, Canisius had six corner kicks in the opening half, while the Dons only had two. Overall, the Dons took 14 shots total, while Canisius had 13. The Griffs, however, did still have more corners in the game, 6-4.

They then continued on their California trip when they had a meeting with Saint Mary’s.

The Griffs hung tight with Saint Mary’s as they allowed the only goal from 20 yards out in the 75th minute. The Griffs were visibly outplayed as they were outshot in the match, 26-7. The game was also a physical game as the Griffs were assessed two yellow cards, and Saint Mary’s was given four.

The final two matches for the Griffs on their road-trip were quite successful. Last Friday, the Griffs gave up a goal in the 27th minute and were trailing for majority of the game, until De Carolis scored in the 88th minute, which led to the 1-1 draw with Bryant University.

Two days later, the Griffs found the win column, for the first time since the opening match, with a 2-1 win over UMass-Lowell. In that game, the Griffs allowed UMass-Lowell’s only goal in the 55th minute, but then got goals from Berardi (57th minute) and Mathew Santos (65th minute).

The Griffs will conclude their road-trip with a rivalry match with St. Bonaventure on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled to be at 1:00 p.m.

The following Saturday, the Griffs will host their first conference game against last year’s conference champion, Monmouth, at 7:00 p.m.

That game will be the first men’s soccer match streamed via ESPN3.

@mhaim1934 haimm@my.canisius.edu

does not matter.”

Rispoli: continued from front

Now six months since she left for Chicago, her arrival was a planned occurrence.

The thought that she would not return home never inhabited my mind, until it became a reality. Not long after our phone call ended, her bladder began failing, just days away from going outpatient. My father implored me to come to Chicago to see my mother who had made an inexorable transition to impotence.

It was beside my mother’s bed that I witnessed a courageous battle and more rallies than I could count. It was at my mother’s bedside that I witnessed a person pushed to their very limits. This was not for a record nor was it for the adoration of fans. My mother’s fight was to live.

I shall not speculate on the occurrences of Michelle McRae’s bout with cancer but I would surmise that she also fought to the very end for her life. Yes, the Griffs defeated Siena last season to win the MAAC Championship.

Indeed, the team can be seen this fall putting in the work to allow them to repeat such an accomplishment. But the real battle, the ultimate testament of faith and indomitable will, went on during Michelle’s illness. During that time, Coach Mike McRae was simply Mike McRae: husband and father.

Our culture is dominated by the glorification of sports. Athletes are deemed heroes and stadiums are tantamount to a holy sanctuary. There are a slew of networks dedicated solely to sports, a litany of jobs made to bring coverage to those sports and a number of athletes who desire to reach the very apogee of their respective sport. And yet, in my chair that rested next to my mother, I recognized

sport for what it is: a trivial endeavor. Today, two children are without their mother. I, too, am without my mother. Coach McRae is without his partner. And losses such as this are not uncommon; many families right at this moment are going through battles such as this. And so, dare I ask, who truly cares about where your team is in the standings?

My relationship with sports, both as an athlete and a sports writer, is not one of lustful passion any longer. Liken it to a newly formed relationship, when the relationship is incredibly saccharine. Adoration is ubiquitous and endearment is laced in daily conversation. Now, I am in a refined relationship with sports, akin to marriage. Sports has given me more moments than I can recall of pure enjoyment. I have formed bonds with teammates and coaches that can never be broken, seen sights that can never be unseen and have accomplished feats that can never be taken away from me. And even so, I have a newfound perspective on sports. Sports, in the grandest of contexts, does not matter. I am no longer a slave to sport.

Last night, I wrote this article for The Griffin as I am a sportswriter. Today, I will run in order to become faster for my next race. Tonight, I will watch my darling Yankees take on the first place Mets. But, should the results turn out unfavorably for my sports teams, I will not fret. There are more severe implications involved in life than that of a win-loss column.

@ApapapaPaige paigeria@canisius.edu

women’s soccer

coach clark’s club carries confidence

volleyball

cross country

ESPN3 Provides surreal griffs return to 8 Notre dame 9 experience; Griffs win 8

“A new dynamic needs to be forged, though it’s unlikely we’ll be allowed a forge and a rifal range.” -- see editorial @ 6 Volume LXXXVI, Number 2

www.canisiusgriffin.wordpress .com

18 September 2015

men’s Lacrosse

Injuries are bound to happen

By Dominic Chamberlain Sports Editor

What defines a contact sport?

Is it the requirement of contact to finish a play? That’s how it works in football; if a player is tackled, the play comes to an end. But we know that and we know football as a contact sport.

Is it the fact that contact is permissible within the rules of the game? Well that’s hockey where teams (not all) have players specifically for the purpose of delivering big hits. But, once again we know hockey as a contact sport.

I’m sure if i polled sports fans around campus, the results would be clear cut as to which sports are classified as contact sports and which sports are non-contact. I’m next to positive that soccer would be listed as a non-contact sport.

But yet four players on the Griffs women’s soccer team have torn their ACLs. Four.

It seems as if ACL tears are happening with more frequency across all sports. Derrick Rose seems to tear his ACL at least once a year and beloved former Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso tore his ACL causing him to miss all of last season.

Teams seem to have an ACL every year; it’s almost inevitable at this point, but getting two players to tear an ACL in one year is kind of a rarity in sports. So how is it that a team has four ACL tears, in a non-contact sport none the less?

The obvious explanation is that although we don’t classify soccer as a contact sport, contact is allowed.

That was the case in the Griffs most recent ACL tear. Two players ran for a ball; contact was made, and one player went down in agony. There appeared to be no malicious intent on the play and thus no foul or penalty was assessed.

Perhaps another reason is just the competition sports brings.

Players always want to play harder, better, and help their team win anyway they can. Sports are physically demanding, contact or not. Players push their bodies to the limit, injuries are bound to happen.

Sure some sports inherently have more contact than others, but the idea of doing whatever it takes to win stays the same across all sports.

It will cause people to take a chance and go for that risky play, even if the advantage the play would provide is minor.

So yes, I’m surprised that four people have torn their ACLs but it’s not in anyone’s control, it’s just a byproduct of the game.

@Dom_Chambo chambe17@canisius.edu

Since 1933

Photo Credit: Tom Wolf

Andrew Coughlin stares down the history books; opposing strikers cower beneath his gaze

Putting the Pieces Together

Coughlin approaching multiple records

By Marshall Haim Sports Reporter

The Griffs’ Men’s Soccer team hasn’t started the season off like they had last season, as the Griffs currently hold a 2-3-1 record. Head Coach Declan McGrane has some very good talent on his club and they will be heard in the latter part of the season. One of the key players for Coach McGrane’s team is goaltender Andrew Coughlin.

Coughlin, a senior from Baldwinsville, New York, would be ranked third in Canisius men’s soccer history in career save percentage

if his numbers were over a certain threshold.

The 22-year old goalie, who transferred from Syracuse after his sophomore year, is one win shy from tying Dave Dimitroff and Kareem Gray’s spot for fourth place in Canisius men’s soccer history for wins as a Griff, with 12. Dave Borchard, who concluded his career with 17 wins with Canisius from 1999-02, holds the career wins record.

As well with the wins record, Coughlin is currently ranked third in Canisius’ history for career shutouts with 9. With one more shutout, he will join Borchard for second place.

Nick Christou, who played with the Griffs from 1992-1995, has the record with 11.

Not only has Coughlin been an influential piece for the Griffs, some offensive players have also done very well for Coach McGrane, who is in his fifth season as coach of the Griffs.

Some of the players include, Nicoló Baudo, Alex De Carolis, Chris Berardi, and Thomas Teupen. Even though they won’t be breaking any records, they get the job done.

Baudo, a 23-year old midfielder from Genova, Italy, was a transfer from Nyack College after his freshman year. Once he came to Canisius,

he made his mark on the team, as he started 16 of his first 17 games. He scored three goals and assisted on two others. In his career with the Griffs, he has started every game since his sophomore year and has scored five goals. He has a remarkable shots on goal percentage, hitting the net on 46.3 percent of his shots attempted.

De Carolis, a senior defenseman from Sarnia, Ontario, has started in 56 matches over his career, and has started in all but two games while at Canisius. He has See Men’s Soccer @9

“Rust Buster” Griffs look forward to a tough race at Notre Dame Cross country

By Dominic Chamberlain Sports Editor

Quietly, the Griffs Men’s cross country team are preparing to return to an event as defending champions. The event in question is the National Catholic Championship in South Bend, Indiana; known better to us all as the University of Notre Dame.

Last year, the Griffs went down to the home of the Fighting Irish not as favorites in the event. However, they upset the hosting Irish and earned the win even though the Irish had the top two finishers in the race. The Griffs top finisher came in third overall in the form of then sophomore Jeff Antolos.

Antolos finished the five mile run with a time of 25:07.84, just 10 seconds behind race winner Jake Kildoo of the Irish. One second behind Antolos was fellow Griff Cooper Roach;

two seconds behind him was Chad Maloy. The Griffs had three of the top six finishers in the event.

These three runners will be instrumental for the Griffs to repeat as champions of the event.

Another event the Griffs are champions of is the annual Little Three Championship. Winning this event is nothing new for the Griffs. All time the Griffs have won 30 of the 45 Little Three Championships and with winning the championship this year on 5 Sept., the Griffs have won 10 consecutive Little Three Championships.

“The race at Little Three was pretty textbook,” said Head Coach Nate Huckle, “We wanted to go down there, win our tenth straight title, and just kind of prove that we were the dominant team in Western New York.”

The Griffs did just that with taking the top seven spots in the race en-route to the easy victory. 10 straight titles goes a long way in recruit-

Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.

ing for the Griffs.

“When we’re recruiting regionally, if we’re recruiting from section six and section five and the Western New York area, teams know that we are one of the premier Division I colleges in the state and we can kind of use that against our competition recruiting wise,” Huckle said.

While Little Three isn’t the hardest race of the year for the Griffs, the team knows winning the event is still an honor and serves as motivation for the runners to still take the event seriously.

“It’s definitely an honor,” Maloy said, “just keeping the tradition alive. Obviously you don’t want it to end on your team. I didn’t want it to end and we put in a good effort.”

Little Three, as it did last year, served as the See Cross Country @9

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