Vol. 3, Issue 6 Feb.17, 2011

The Summa

University of St. Thomas

Vol. 3, Issue 6

Thursday, February 17, 2011

www.ust-summa.com Show me the Money It’s never to late to start building your nest egg. Find out how to do it on a college budget.

Story on Page 4

Professor Punches Out

Grammy Glamour

After a four decade career at UST, Professor Wilbratte is all set to travel the world and enjoy retirement.

Story on Page 6

Top of the Class

Forget the singing.

Who wore it best down the red carpet?

Spoiler Alert: It wasn’t Lady Gaga.

Get on the top of your game, literally, when UST goes rock climbing this weekend.

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 11

Peter Kreeft Speaks at UST Crooker hosts Lunar New Year, Club Fair

Kreeft. After the awards were given, Sommers introduced Staff Writer Kreeft to the podium, who On January 27, 2011, then proceeded to offer UST hosted a lecture by humorous quips about both Dr. Peter Kreeft as part of his person and that evening’s St. Thomas Aquinas feast lecture. Specifically, Kreeft day celebrations. Jones Hall proposed what he called the was filled beyond its seating four questions necessary for capacity, with students and a marriage between Thomism visitors filling the seats, sitting and personalism.

“There can be four on the auditorium stairs, and lining the walls of the possible answers to that auditorium, a testament to the question,” said Kreeft. “ ‘Yes,’ or a ‘Yes with qualifications popularity of Kreeft.

Dr. Dominic Aquila, Vice and warnings’ or a ‘Perhaps, President of Academic Affairs, but it’s too early to tell,’ or began the lecture with an a ‘Sorry but this just won’t explanation of the traditions work,’ which in turn may behind UST’s annual St. be either ‘Let us amicably Thomas Aquinas celebrations agree to disagree,’ or a ‘Get before going on to summarize thee behind me, Satan,’ or a the life of St. Thomas Aquinas. ‘Frankly, my dear, I just don’t He then introduced the head give a damn.’ ” Kreeft’s lecture turned of the Center for Thomistic Studies and person responsible more serious when discussing for organizing the Aquinas the ontological, metaphysical, lectures each year, Dr. Mary and theological aspects of Catherine Sommers.

She these answers, drawing on began with a speech that quotes from Pope John Paul II commemorated the 25th year and other Thomistic scholars of the Center of Thomistic to explain the importance of Studies, and the department’s using Thomistic philosophy creation of the Order of St. for what has been called a “synthesis of self,” between Thomas. metaphysical and “[Awards are given] to the persons who have testified phenomenological.

“It is that we are, in to the incomparable value of the philosophy of St. Thomas ontological fact, both subjects in their writings, teachings, and objects,” said Kreeft, philanthropy and way of life,” “and therefore must explore both dimensions and unite said Sommers.

This year’s awardees were them, as they are in fact united Fr. Robert W. Crooker, CSB, LECTURE, Page 2 Michelle Malloy, and Peter Stephanie Hernandez

Photo by James Ramos

Year of the Rabbit

Celebrations around the world, including at UST, rang in the Lunar New Year with fireworks, red envelopes, and traditional lion dancing.

Allyson Manno Staff Writer Two annual events took place in and around the Crooker Center on Thursday, February 10, 2011. One, the Lunar New Year Festival, allowed students to express their hopes for the new year and share good food with good friends.

The other illustrated the cornucopia of different ways that students at the University of St. Thomas can get involved on-campus through the biannual Club Fair.

The Lunar New Year Festival is an annual festival held on the first day of the first month of the traditional Chinese calendar. It lasts for

15 days, beginning on a new moon and ending on the first full moon of the year. The traditions of the Lunar New Year focus on gaining good fortune in the coming year by cleaning out one’s home and decorating it with symbols of luck. Prominent use of the color red helps to scare away demons along with loud noises, which are the product of fireworks, colorful dragon dancers, and drummers.

“Every year, the elders would give you red envelopes filled with ‘lucky money,’ ” said Junior Ignatius “Iggy” Nguyen. “Of course, to get the lucky money you must first praise the elders and give them blessings that offer good health, wealth, and longevity.”

This year, the Lunar New Year began on February 3, 2011, however the University of St. Thomas hosted the 5th Annual Lunar New Year celebration on Thursday, February 10 from 12:30 to 2:00 PM in the Old Bookstore.

The event had been scheduled to coincide with the inception of Lunar New Year however the frosty conditions and subsequent closure of the UST campus prevented its observance on that day.

“We [planned] to pass out ‘lucky’ red envelopes and [have] a dragon dance,” said Sophomore Quyen Nguyen, the Treasurer of the Vietnamese Student Association. “We

does not mean the Church necessarily encourages the use of the work, but simply that it contains nothing which would be offensive to the Catholic faith and is acceptable for use. While the imprimatur is normally given for the approval of books such as religious textbooks, this is the first time that an application has received an imprimatur.

The app is not a substitution for confession, but merely supplies a guide to confession, a personalized examination of conscience, an other features.

“Some media sources erroneously reported or suggested that the app allowed one to go to confession via iPhone,” said Bishop Rhodes.

“These false press reports sowed some unnecessary confusion.”

“It is essential to understand well that the Sacrament of Penance requires [...] personal dialogue between penitent and confessor and absolution,” said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. “One cannot speak in anyway of confession by iPhone.”

CLUBS, Page 2

Church gives green light to iPhone app

Matt Wood Editor-in-Chief The Catholic Church has given its approval for the production of Confession: A Roman Catholic App. This app is designed to aid Catholics in preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The app received an imprimatur from Bishop Kevin Rhodes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana. An imprimatur, which is given by the bishop of the diocese in which a certain work is published,

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The Summa

LECTURE Continued... in ourselves. This is the argument from the nature of the human person” Kreeft went on to explain existence, the esse, that composes our human natures, outlining the different acts necessary for us to not only exist, but to act upon our existence.

“It is correct to identify God with existence. This sounds like a reduction of the personal to the impersonal, but it is not, because existing is not an impersonal thing, state, concept, or universal abstracted from all things.

It is the supreme actuality, dynamic and concrete. That is what God is,” said Kreeft.

“Only God’s essence is existence; in all creatures essence and existence are really distinct. And the connection of this absolutely central Thomistic theme with personalism is that God is personal. God is three Persons. Thus existence, when infinite, is personal.”

To summarize, Kreeft explained how the marriage of theological comprehension and understanding of self are necessary to construct love in our lives.

In concluding his lecture, Kreeft gave his answer to whether the marriage between Thomistic spirituality and personalism should take place.

“Yes. [It] is not only made in Heaven but is destined to be so fruitful on earth that it will be the greatest piece of philosophical progress since the 13th century,” said Kreeft.

Those UST students in attendance voiced CLUBS Continued... are also having several competitions such as a fortune cookie eating contest and a chopstick contest.”

The event was collaboratively sponsored by the Vietnamese Student Association and the Office of Student Activities, and was free and open to the community. Nguyen spoke about the club, describing it as a group of people who are interested in learning more about the Vietnamese culture, and outlined the club’s involvement in the celebration.

On the same day, the Spring Club Fair took place on the Crooker Patio. Various on-campus organizations took the opportunity to showcase their specialties and recruit new members. Among them were the Swing Dance Club,

their reactions to the lecture in varying ways. ”I liked how Dr. Kreeft merged Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy with modern topics of relationships, a new way of approaching an old way of thinking,” said Jonathan Franks, an International Studies/ Political Science Major. “He basically talked about how [to] understand oneself better, using Thomistic philosophy to look at self. Something which is really useful because it seems that nowadays people don’t really take time to know themselves before getting into a relationship.”

A few faculty members also expressed their opinions regarding the presentation of the material and Kreeft as a speaker.

“All philosophers talk about the real world,” said Sommers. “Dr. Kreeft is a legend and something of a ‘rock-star as you could tell from the crowd that came to hear him… the throng of people who stayed for an hour after the lecture to get his autograph on their copies of his books and ask questions about Thomas Aquinas, C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

He was also the teacher of our colleague, Dr. Ted Rebard, and has been to UST before to speak, notably about The Lord of the Rings.”

The university celebrates the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas every year with a special mass, reception, and guest speaker’s lecture.

Students are always invited to attend. To learn more about Peter Kreeft and to find a list of his books and other writings, visit www.peterkreeft.com. the Knights of Columbus, Laurels, Celts for Life, Campus Ministry, the Student Government Association, Students Working Against Human Trafficking, and the Club Na Heireann to name a few. “[The] Club Fair is a good time for students to learn more about the clubs on campus, and to get more involved,” said Sophomore Adam Rivera.

Despite the recurring frigid temperatures and strong winds, many groups persevered in order to spread the news about their respective clubs. Among the displays were posters with some basic facts about each club, fliers about their upcoming events and fundraisers, and occasionally free food and other incentives to sign up.

For more information on how to sign up for a club contact the Council of Clubs.

News

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Volunteers join Ivany for day of service David Markus News Editor On Saturday, February 12, 2011, Dr. Robert Ivany led more than sixty UST students and faculty in the President’s Day of Service. The program, instituted by Dr. Ivany upon his arrival at the University of Saint Thomas, offered an opportunity to serve the school community and beyond through five separate projects.

Volunteers were organized via e-mail to sign up early to clean benches, paint walls in Crooker Center, plant a memorial garden in the Guinan Courtyard, make fleece blankets for Project Linus, or make hug-pillows for children in local hospitals.

On the morning of the event, they checked in at Crooker Center to receive a name tag and final project assignment.

After checking in, volunteers congregated around a free breakfast in the cafeteria, courtesy of the University.

Many individuals seized the opportunity to serve in their community, as well as several on-campus organizations.

“It’s important because I know the fact that our university is a very diverse community,” said Senior Carlos Vences, a member of the American Chemical Society.

“This gives us an opportunity to come together and kind of get a sense of community working together, trying to accomplish common goals, and realize that sometimes we have to step back from

academics and give back to the community.”

Not only were members of the UST ACS present, but several SGA Senators also devoted their Saturday to serving in the community.

“I let the Senators choose what opportunity they wanted to do. First thing is stuffing the pillows and the blankets […] Project Linus and pillowmaking,” said SGA President David Torres. “Unfortunately, that was taken up as one of the first things, so they wanted to put us together as a group, and I wanted us to be a group, so they moved us to benches, cleaning the benches.”

The Senators worked together to clean the cedar benches that line the Campus Life Mall, which offer the community a chance to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the UST campus.

“At first, [it] seemed like a daunting task, because there were so many and they were really dirty, we didn’t realize how dirty they were,” said Torres. “But we kept on going, had fun no matter what, even if we were getting dirty and everything, and we enjoyed it because we were all together and we got to know each other a little bit better.”

Meanwhile, students painted three walls in the Council of Clubs room and one wall near the restrooms in Crooker Center.

Next door to the Council of Clubs, volunteers cut fleece blankets to create ruffled edges and then sewed them together to finish

A Brief Rest from their Labors

each one. Across the street, dozens of volunteers were split between making hug pillows out of donated UST t-shirts and working on a memorial garden planted inside Guinan.

Each person tried their best to meet the goal for each project, and also expand their personal horizons. “[Everyone] needs to be well-rounded, to know how to give back to the community, help out others and not just study all the time,” said Vences.

At the end of the day, several posters in the Old Bookstore listed the accomplishments of the volunteers.

Thirty cedar benches had been cleaned and left to dry in the warm sun of the Campus Life Mall.

Thirty-four fleece blankets lay ready and waiting for firefighters and medical personnel to give to children in need.

A new Memorial Garden in Guinan added more beauty for the residents’ benefit.

Four walls in Crooker Center accepted new layers of paint to revive the life of the building Sixty hug pillows awaited the opportunity to hug and comfort children in area hospitals.

The President’s Day of Service was a resounding success.

“We’re leaders of faith and character…and it’s good to be working for the good of all,” said Ivany.

Photo courtesy David Markus

Volunteers working on cleaning the on-campus benches take a moment to admire their handiwork and enjoy the pleasant weather. Two of the five projects were held in the outdoors.

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The Opinion

“Man can learn nothing unless he proceeds from the known to the unknown” - Claude Bernard

Lost in London

Rebecca Mechler Editor-at-Large I have absolutely no sense of direction. Even when I’m in Houston, where I know all the streets and the area pretty well, I get completely turned around. It doesn’t matter if I’ve visited the place twenty times, I still get lost. Game at Rice? Forty minutes to get home to UST. Grabbing a quick bite at Chuy’s? Thirty minutes, minimum.

I don’t try to get lost, I promise. I always look up directions or double-check my map, but one way or another, I always end up going the opposite direction than I need to be headed. It’s rather frustrating.

You would think I would have an even greater problem with getting lost now that I’m in a brand new city. And I do.

But somehow getting lost in London is much more fun and exciting than getting lost in good ol’ Houston. I rarely know what street I am actually on (street signs are either posted fifteen feet up the side of a building or two feet off the ground) or where the nearest tube station is, but I always eventually end up where I need to be – or at least somewhere interesting and new.

As the Internet on campus has a tendency to dislike me at any given

moment, I decided that I ought to find an alternate, and hopefully more reliable, source. Google told me – that was my first mistake, trusting Google – where to find a McDonald’s and a coffee shop, both of which ought to have (free) Internet access. Google lied. Or was seriously outdated. Neither establishment actually exists in the area; both do, however, have locations several miles away and not where I was pointed.

Of course, I didn’t know that little fact right away and therefore spent several hours one dreary English afternoon wandering around Twickenham searching for the Golden Arches.

Not being able to find what I first set out to look for was certainly disheartening, but I did find several fun shops, pubs, and cafés along the way that I can’t wait to check out again.

A few very kind locals eventually pointed me towards a quaint coffee shop much closer to home, which was very much appreciated.

I even made it there without getting completely disoriented!

Generally, I hate getting lost. It’s really annoying most days to never quite know where I am, but the adventuresome spirit of exploring an unknown (to me) land definitely outweighs any exasperation caused by not actually recognizing what street I’m walking down.

I doubt I will get to know London well enough in the next three and a half months that I won’t get turned around walking out my front door (10 years in Houston still isn’t enough), but I will certainly enjoy getting lost every once in a while, because you never know what may be around the next corner.

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The Summa is the official newspaper of The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. It has a circulation of 2,000 copies. The Summa is a student run organization, whose purpose is to inform, comment, and interpret events of local, national, and worldwide importance.

This paper serves as an open forum of student expression and welcomes letters from the UST community.

All submitted materials will be printed at the discretion of the editorial board.

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V-Day: Or, Day of the Dancing Gorillas Becky Tapia Staff Writer Before you accuse me of being bitter, dear reader, I feel the need to inform you that I’ve been both single and in a relationship on Valentine’s Day. Whenever I tell someone that I’m not a huge fan of the “holiday,” they get all uppity and assume it’s because I’m single and unhappy about it. I have had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, and I’ve never had the urge to see our love confirmed by candy hearts that are egregiously misspelled and taste like chalk.

For some reason, every year on a cold, wet, miserable day in February the world (by which I mean Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, and CVS) proudly issues a multitude of cheesy greeting cards, various stuffed animals clutching giant hearts, and every kind of chocolate in existence. I have no idea why we associate romance with a holiday that was created in honor of a Christian priest allegedly martyred for secretly performing marriage ceremonies for Roman soldiers after Emperor Claudius II outlawed it. But basically, a few thousand years ago, some guy was murdered and Valentine’s Day was created.

My problem lies with what the day represents.

For this one day out of the year, women expect jewelry, cards, chocolates, flowers, and professions of love; if, God forbid, they don’t get exactly what they want, then it’s best to run for the hills. I knew a girl who’d been with her boyfriend for two years without ever making a big deal over Valentine’s Day. Then she noticed her friends receiving flowers and chocolates from their boyfriends, and she pitched a fit, yelling at her boyfriend for not thinking of her. She stomped around all day before she called him

long-distance to yell at him.

As she was berating him for being insensitive, there was a knock on her door. When she answered it, there was an FTD guy with an armful of roses for her. She had successfully guilted her boyfriend into spending hundreds of dollars on flowers that would die in less than a week.

Why is it just this one day? If you’re in a healthy, happy relationship, shouldn’t you be letting your significant other know you love them every day? Does this mean you’re allowed to take your partner for granted the other 364 days of the year? I guess my biggest problem with Valentine’s Day is the pressure it puts on people. Do you buy the guy you’ve only been on two dates with a gift? Should he have to buy you one? What if you’re one of those über picky girls and he buys you a gift, but it’s the wrong one?

Ladies, let’s be honest.

Most men are pretty clueless when it comes to buying gifts. So when your boyfriend chooses to say “I love you” with a stuffed hippo dancing the Macarena, you should be grateful it’s not a set of jumper cables. Shouldn’t he at least be appreciated for thinking of you? Because, really, he didn’t HAVE to get you anything.

This is the one day of the year where relationships are suddenly in jeopardy over gross candy and overlysentimental greeting cards.

Valentine’s Day is also THE most important date night. You must be picked up in a limo and taken to a four-star restaurant where the entrees are tiny and overpriced.

You must be handed flowers when he picks you up. There must be gourmet chocolates hidden under your table at the restaurant. If there is no ring, necklace, bracelet, or earrings hidden cleverly at the bottom of your $20 shot glass of crème

Jeremy Heallen • Faculty Advisor Matt Wood • Editor-in-Chief Katie Thomson • Managing Editor Bradley Basker • Business Manager David Markus • News Editor Anthony Pejerrey • Opinion Editor Michael Brannon • Features Editor Katie Thomson • Entertainment Editor Alex Croffie • Sports & Clubs Editor James Ramos • Photography Editor

Brule, there will be trouble.

Honestly, it’s just too much pressure. If I were a guy, I’d throw up my hands in defeat and run to my parents’ basement to play video games.

Who needs a girlfriend when there is Tekken and Doritos?

Remember kindergarten, when you had to decorate a shoebox for V-Day? You had to buy cards and candy for every kid in class. Yes, some kids got more, but at least everybody got something.

Kindergarten was the last time Valentine’s Day was ever fair.

When feelings are sincere and innocent, that’s when they’re meaningful. Spontaneity is far more romantic than forced sentiment.

I do like Love Pops.

You know, those giant cherry hearts with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the wrapper.

And any ridiculous stuffed animal that dances jerkily to Stevie Wonder amuses me to no end. I once saw this ugly little monster at Walgreens that kicked its stubby legs to the “Mahna mahna” song from The Muppet Show. If you happen to see one of those, dear reader, please let me know. They’re too cute.

My advice to you: If you truly care for your significant other, let them know in small ways every day. It may be just listening to them vent on a bad day, complimenting their hairstyle or outfit, or even remembering how they like their coffee. That way, when Valentine’s Day comes along, it’s just another day to let that person in your life know how special they truly are.

You never know just how enjoyable a night of Doritos and Tekken can be.

Oh, and if you happen to see a moderately offensive, vaguely racist, meringue-dancing “I Love You” gorilla, I would not be offended if you bought it for me. I think they’re at Walgreens.

Staff Writers & Photographers Natasha Alvarez • Katherine Casey Caroline Devine • Chelsea Ferramosca Laura Gonzalez • Stephanie Hernandez Anum Khan • Allyson Manno Sarah McDonnell • Brien O’Donal Matthew Ramirez • Sasha Stinner-Trimble Becky Tapia • Matthew Weatherford Editor-at-Large Rebecca Mechler Webmaster Lauren Cooper

Copy Editor Katie Jahangiri

Ad Sales Representatives Jenny Ayala • Emilio Gonzales

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Opinion

The Summa

$1,078,357.26ish Sean Kriger Staff Writer You look like a million bucks. Most of the time when you hear that, you smile and take it for the expression that it is. You don’t really think that you look like a million dollars because like most of us, you are a poor struggling student. But what if today I said to you, “you look like a million bucks” and I actually meant it. Today is your day.

As students, a large percentage of us make $7.25 an hour and work roughly 20 hours a week. It’s minimum wage at part-time, but we often feel as though it is a necessity. Finding a job that pays more is troublesome, sometimes far away, and often times seems out of reach for the simple man. But, it really isn’t. Top companies pay as much as $10 an hour for starting positions, especially those that are unionized.

Many grocery stores like HEB and Rice Epicurean Market start you above minimum wage and after a few years can pay you as high as $12 an hour. Imagine making almost 40% more for your time and effort. Other companies provide college scholarships for long-time employees. UPS and even McDonalds give over $1,000 per individual depending on how many hours

you put in each week and how long you work there. I have even heard of receiving almost $10,000 total for schooling. If you do the math, a minimum wage part-time pay check is roughly $145. A $10 an hour job is $200 a week before taxes. Spread out over a year, you could make $3,250 more just by changing where you work.

It may sound good to make that extra money, but what will you do with it? Chances are, you are not starving to death right now. You probably live in adequate housing and may even have a car. For most of us, including myself, we are doing alright. If you can agree with that, then you can agree that you probably don’t need that money. In fact, if you are patient enough, that money can make you extremely rich.

Starting your investment at age twenty and retiring at age sixty-five, if you invested only half of the increase in your paycheck, you would end up with $1,078,357.26. It only takes adding the same $1,500 a year for 45 years and investing the money with a 10% return.

If you follow that simple investment plan, you could live with almost $100,000 a year when you retire for fifteen years.

Worried about what to invest in or how to make 10%?

Although the stock market

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Divided America

has been volatile in these past few years, the average long term rate of return is slightly higher than 10%. By simply investing in a large portfolio of companies, you can make that happen. It shouldn’t be a confusing game, but rather investments in companies you know and love. For example, Coca-Cola is the largest known distributor of soft drinks in the world. It is so large that the single most recognizable word throughout the world is in fact Coke. If you had bought their share in 1990, you would have paid under $9. Today, that share is worth over $60. You would be well into becoming a millionaire if you had invested in Coke twenty years ago receiving over a 600% return to date.

Don’t just sit there reading this: go figure it out personally! Whether you have the money to invest today or not, investing in your future should be on your mind. When you get a job, it is never too early to invest in retirement. If you wait until you are a little older, you are waiting until life hits you harder. When your career heats up, a family finds its way into your life, and even kids start coming into play, you will forget. Now is the best time to start becoming disciplined, create successful habits, and plan for your future.

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Chelsea Ferramosca Staff Writer On January 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and nearly 30 of her constituents gathered outside a Safeway supermarket to attend what Giffords called “Congress on Your Corner.”

The gathering was meant to be a modern-day town hall meeting, where constituents could personally meet with their representative and see democracy in action.

However, a town hall meeting was the last image that came to mind when news broadcasters described how a single gunman went on a shooting spree, wounding thirteen people, including Giffords, and killing six others, including three elderly persons, a federal judge, and a nine-year-old girl.

When I first heard about the shooting, I had the same questions as everyone else: Who did this? Why did they do it? Why did a nine-year-old girl have to die? The first question was answered quickly: the shooter was 22-year-old Jared Loughner, who had a long history of drug use and mental instability. The second question, however, seemed debatable. Loughner stated that he had two main goals for his shooting— to show his discontent of the apparently low literacy rates of Giffords’ congressional district and to promote the use of the gold standard.

These reasons, combined with his senseless ramblings on Youtube and MySpace led me and many others to the same conclusion: the guy is crazy. In my mind, there was no rhyme or reason to what he did and there was no way it could have been prevented. However, I was quick to find out that not everyone thought the way I did. I was shocked when many of my friends insisted that Loughner was a product of the republican rhetoric, with the political views of Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh,

and Glenn Beck acting as a catalyst to the shooting. I was even more shocked when the press took this theory and ran with it. Television talk shows, news stations, and radio stations accused the far right of being a source of anger for Loughner.

I am having a hard time understanding how the political landscape in America has become so polarized that in a time of tragedy, all we do is blame each other.

As far as I am concerned, there are psychotic people in this world, and Loughner is one of them. His friends and family stated that he did not watch cable news and had no political leanings other than a strong hatred for both Presidents Bush and Obama. The idea that he had a political motive was created out of the need to make sense of a senseless situation.

However, America needs to face the fact that Palin did not pick up a gun and shoot nineteen people. Neither did Limbaugh nor Beck. Jared Loughner did, and he should be held solely responsible.

I think that instead of pointing fingers, Americans should be celebrating the courage of the survivors and honoring the lives of the six killed. I still don’t understand why Christina Taylor Green had to die. She was a nineyear-old girl who saw America through the innocent eyes of a child that did not yet know the difference between the left and the right. She only knew that America is the greatest nation on earth, and that one day, she could participate in making it even greater. Maybe that is why she was killed—to remind us that we should stop every now and then and look at America the way she did.

As President Obama said, “I believe that America is full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. I believe that because that is what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed [...] I want America to be as great as she saw it.

I want this country to live up her expectations [...] to do this we must expand our moral imaginations, listen to each other more carefully, sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together. These victims were a member of our family, the American family, 300 million strong.”

The Features

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Summa

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Black Student Union raises awareness about Black History Month Anum Khan Staff Writer Remembering soldiers on Veterans’ Day, celebrating the Fourth of July with amazing fireworks, honoring former and current leaders of the country on President’s Day these annual events have become a duty to many citizens.

When each event approaches, preparations begin with much excitement. This month, Black History Month brings out the same enthusiasm in many students around campus.

Black History Month was first celebrated during the week in February 1926 that held the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass as well as Abraham Lincoln. Consequently, many people reacted with fervor; black history organizations were created, teachers appealed for teaching black history to their students, and progressive whites stepped forward to support the cause.

“I think it’s important to celebrate Black History Month because it shows the progression that we have gone through,” Junior

Ronald Key, President of Black Student Union, said.

“I think it’s important to just remember that things weren’t always the way they are now and also appreciate how far we’ve come.”

Harvard-graduate historian Carter G. Woodson thought that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His efforts to raise awareness of all that African-Americans did were realized when he and his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, created the Negro History Week in 1925.

“We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice,” Woodson said on founding Negro History Week.

By the time of Woodson’s death, Negro History Week had become a principle part of African-Americans’ lives and considerable progress had been achieved in making Americans realize the

importance of this celebration.

“Black History Month gives African-Americans the opportunity to come forth with all kinds of different traditions and cultures from all over the world that some people don’t even know about,” Junior Samantha Treadwall said. “It’s an opportunity to increase awareness.”

In 1976, fifty years after the first celebration, Woodson’s association held the first official Black History Month.

At this point, the nation had come to realize the importance of the contributions of black Americans and its effect on American history overall.

“I think it’s incredible how almost every field you look into, you’ll see African Americans have played a big part,” Key said. “I feel that Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks give people, African-American or not, the courage that they stand up for what they believe in. If they had the courage, so do we.”

Assistant Director of Annual Giving and faculty advisor to the Black Student Union, Ryane Jackson, said

Obama’s election has changed many people’s perspective about African-Americans in the country. President Obama has proven himself to be a strong leader who is well educated and a good role model, according to Jackson.

“In the past there have been a lot of stereotypes with the African-American culture which started way before many of us or our grandparents were born,” Jackson said. “Just thinking that African-Americans are not intelligent and they can’t strategically or logically think was what led them to think that there’s no way that [AfricanAmericans] could lead.”

This thought process was also present in sports and athletics. At one point, AfricanAmericans were not allowed to be quarterbacks because in order to be one, one must be quick-thinking, a talent which people believed they lacked.

Black quarterbacks, simply out of typical ignorance, weren’t given the same opportunity.

Of course, this thought process has changed within the NFL. “Historically, people

didn’t think of AfricanAmericans as leaders,” Jackson said. With President Obama’s election, he has shown how far United States has progressed and also how much AfricanAmericans have achieved, according to Jackson.

It’s more important to focus on the fact that a person achieved something memorable which made a difference. That fact alone should be celebrated, regardless of race or religion.

“Some people think that everything’s changed and […] there’s 100 percent racial harmony in the United States, that’s just not true,” Jackson said. “But [Obama’s] election has made an impact in the racial relationships here.”

Civil rights activists took daring steps to help change the lives of Africans Americans and laid the foundation on which Black History Month is celebrated.

Black History Month really highlights all their hard work “Overall […] it’s a great month,” Jackson said, “It makes us take a step back and focus on our history.”

UST alumnus opens own business in troubled economic times Brien O’Donal Staff Writer When you look across Richmond Avenue from the UST campus you might notice a new bar: Jackson’s Watering Hole. Named after Andrew Jackson, with a New Orleans feel to it, Jackson’s is trying to create a local hangout for the neighborhood.

Jackson’s is especially hoping to attract students, alumni, and faculty from this university. After all, the owner Andrew Baker, or Buck as he likes to be called, is an alumnus himself. Baker graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 2004 with a BA in International Studies.

Throughout college, Baker worked as a bartender at a few local Irish pubs in our area such as McElroy’s and The Harp. After graduating, and several years in commercial real estate and commercial insurance brokerage, he found himself laid off during tough economic times. Just before the 2010 Memorial Day weekend, Baker found a way to go back to a profession he had been taught during his college years

by Max and Valerie McElroy.

“I was looking for work, I was interviewing. In fact I had just accepted a position in Charleston, South Carolina. I

Photo by Michael Brannon

Buck Baker (left), UST Alumnus and owner of Jackson’s, enjoys a drink with friends Katie Williams (middle) and Lee Holm (right).

was about to move and I drove down Richmond and saw this place for lease. I decided to call the landlord and the next morning I had the keys and the lease signed. It pretty much happened that fast,” said Baker.

On September 22, 2010 Jackson’s Watering Hole officially opened. After five months the business is growing and Baker is trying to continue expanding. One of the ways he’s growing his business is by hosting events that are important to him and are part of what the University of St. Thomas encourages all of us to do: charity. Baker has hosted

several Rodeo Committee parties, which help benefit their organization and charity.

On February 5, Baker hosted an event to benefit Dress for Success Houston, which helps supply underprivileged women with donated business attire so they have clothing for job interviews and work. On March 12, Jackson’s will host a crawfish boil in conjunction with the Ragin’ Cajun, to benefit the Wallace Family Foundation who is working towards a cure for epilepsy.

Baker is using what he has to help benefit others, but he is hoping to give back

to the university that gave him many good friends and memories. “The location and the time I spent at St. Thomas, the friends that I still have over there,” said Baker. “I’d really like [Jackson’s] to become a go to spot or destination for St. Thomas students, alumni, personnel, and faculty. I’d really like to encourage more St. Thomas students and alumni who haven’t been over there to give it a shot.

I would absolutely love to provide the bar as a host spot for any campus events.”

With his background in Irish pubs, Baker knows

a thing or two about what it means to have fun in a local bar. Throughout the week at Jackson’s, Baker offers drink specials and lively entertainment to help people cut loose. Monday’s Trivia Night and Karaoke Nights are on Wednesdays (which became so popular a second night has been added on Saturday).

Baker has high hopes of making Jackson’s a go-to spot for his former university, its current students, alumni, and faculty to feel welcome.

“I’m trying to work on an incentive to get more folks who wouldn’t otherwise come over here. Perhaps they might not be familiar with the place or often times; as a college student, price is a factor. They might say ‘I can’t afford a $5 Jack and Coke.’ That’s why we have specials on certain nights. Come on over, have a well drink or a beer when they’re specials. I’d really like to encourage any campus groups or organizations to come over and check the place out,” said Baker.

Baker is an example of a UST alumnus who is gaining success through entrepreneurship while still finding ways to be charitable.

For more information, look up Jackson’s Watering Hole on Facebook and Twitter.

6

Features

The Summa

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dr. Wilbratte retires after four decades of business and economics Michael Brannon Features Editor Forty years ago, the Vietnam War was still raging on the other side of the world, the lunar space program was flourishing, Led Zeppelin was as successful as ever, and Dr. Barry Wilbratte was beginning his career at the University of St. Thomas.

For some, it is difficult to understand how a person can remain enthusiastic about a position for so long.

For Dr. Wilbratte, his call to become a professor came during his college career. He came to St. Thomas shortly after and has been here ever since.

“I began as an accounting major,” said Wilbratte. “Then, somewhere in my third year I realized that what I wanted to do was teach college. I knew I didn’t want to teach accounting, so then the question was what would be interesting to me in the business field.”

In order to finish in a reasonable amount of time Wilbratte had to remain in the business field. He claimed that it came down to accounting or economics, and that economics seemed like the more interesting choice. He began to teach, before he was out of school, at Tulane University, where he would later get his Ph.D. in economics.

Once he had completed his work, he joined the University of St. Thomas.

“I taught one year as an instructor [at Tulane] while I was working on my Ph.D., and from there I came directly

Photo by Michael Brannon

Dr. Barry Wilbratte to the University of St. Thomas,” said Wilbratte. During his forty year stint here at the University, Wilbratte helped Dr. Hall found the Cameron School of Business. Additionally, he taught the first Master in Bachelor Arts course ever offered on the St. Thomas campus.

Teaching, however, wasn’t all Wilbratte was interested in. During his last year of high school, as well as his first year of college, the now Associate Dean of the Cameron School of Business, was a boxer. He started boxing at a local gym in New Orleans and went on to fight, and in

one case defeat, two state champions.

Unfortunately the fights he won were not title fights, but rater unofficial fights.

“There was a gym not far from my house and the coach was a really good guy,” said Wilbratte. “I fought two state champions and one guy who went to the National Quarter Finals.”

With his boxing days, and soon his teaching days, behind him, Wilbratte isn’t nearly finished with everything he wants to do in life. He has plans to see more of the world (a good bit of which he has already seen), participate in volunteer work, play

more chess, catch up on books he has wanted to read, and even take Tai Chi. “I just decided [forty years] was enough,” said Wilbratte. “I want to be able to travel. I want to be able to do a lot of things that I can’t really do while I’m teaching.”

Professor Wilbratte will be finishing up the 2011 Spring semester here at the University of St. Thomas, but after that he is off to explore the world. Be sure to congratulate him on his retirement, something he is undoubtedly looking forward to after such a long career at UST.

An Ideal Husband comes to UST

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Becky Tapia Staff Writer It’s 1895, and everybody who is anybody is headed to the party in luxurious Grosvenor Square at the Chiltern’s house. Sir Robert Chiltern, Senior Travis Koneschik, and his wife Gertrude, MLA English student Tyrrell Woolbert, are one of London’s most respected couples. Some people attend their parties because it is fashionable, some go to be seen by London’s finest.

Mrs. Marchmont, Senior Adrienne Shearer, goes “to be educated.”

There is a surprise guest at tonight’s party. The town gossip, Lady Markby, Junior Megan Greer, has brought along her friend Mrs. Laura Cheveley, Senior Skylei Henderson.

It seems that Mrs. Cheveley’s late husband gave the honorable Sir Chiltern his start in business. The investment was a tad unscrupulous. Since then, Sir Chiltern’s career has been built upon honesty and excellent business skills.

Mrs. Cheveley intends to blackmail Sir Chiltern into supporting a fraudulent business that she has invested greatly in. Although the company represents everything that Sir Chiltern hates, he understands he must protect his name.

You see, Gertrude and Laura were once classmates. They were not fond of each other even then; Laura found Gertrude to be a prim perfectionist, and Gertrude found Laura to be dishonest and mean.

Gertrude now has a successful, loving marriage with Sir Chiltern. Sir Chiltern is wealthy, distinguished, well-dressed, and has a respectable profession. He is an ideal husband.

Will the new information about her husband destroy Gertrude’s affection for him? Can their marriage, and Sir Chiltern’s career survive the scandal?

Meanwhile, Sir Chiltern’s younger sister, Mabel, Freshman Laura Smith, has been seen flirting with notorious bachelor Lord Arthur Goring, returning student Jeremy Moon. Goring is wealthy and immensely successful.

He is always dressed to impress, and his house is furnished with the most expensive and modern décor available.

Lately, Lord Goring’s father, the Earl of Caversham, Senior Robert Cope, has been pressuring him to get married.

Unbeknownst to Mabel, Lord Goring and Mrs. Cheveley were once involved.

What about the suspicious letter Mrs. Cheveley found at Lord Goring’s addressed to him from Lady Gertrude Chiltern? Will the Chiltern’s marriage survive? Will Gertrude ever be able to trust her husband? Can Lord Goring stop Mrs. Cheveley from destroying his friends’ business career and marriage?

Will he and Mable ever work it out?

These questions will be answered when Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband opens at Jones Theatre! The show runs Thursday through Saturday from March 31 to April 15. Be sure to get your tickets early; this one’s sure to be popular!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

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The Summa

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The Entertainment

The Summa

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Cage The Elephant releases nearly perfect album with few flaws exactly the same as their most popular hits from their Features Editor previous album. This method Cage the Elephant may of production often leads very well be one of the most to a boring product that’s underrated rock bands in reminiscent of, but never today’s music world. The grants the same level of combination of thought- satisfaction.

Thank You, Happy provoking lyrics, moving guitar tracks, and amazing Birthday has surpassed Cage melodies produces songs that the Elephant’s self-titled can be put on repeat for days. debut album by light years.

With their new album Thank They have proceeded with You, Happy Birthday, the their style by attempting to UK-based band has given the convey a powerful message in world 12 more mind blowing each song, while still keeping tracks, each of which grows on things interesting; there are twelve entirely new songs, their previous success.

Countless attempts are each of which can cater to a made every year by artists different listener. Just as with to reproduce an album with every other Cage the Elephant the same amount of, or more, song, the tracks don’t come off success the previous album as appealing at first, but after showcased.

Unfortunately, a couple of plays, the album most artists do this by simply really begins to grow into creating 10 songs that sound something beautiful.

Michael Brannon

Much like their acclaimed song “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” their newest album boasts songs with incredible messages, something scarce in the music world today. Often it seems that lyrics are put together to match music or just for the sake of giving the artist something to say. Lead singer Matthew Shultz makes no compromises with his lyrics, often tackling heavy issues in four minutes or less. This style of writing is completed by the genius guitar melodies, which seems to back off at exactly the perfect time, only to explode again at the chorus.

Despite all the glory that this album is, there were two tracks that fell short. However, I can’t judge them too harshly with my high standards, largely because there has not been an album I enjoyed

every song on since Blink182’s Enema of the State.

Naturally, most albums have a few blemishes, and Thank You, Happy Birthday, proved to be no exception. “Indy Kidz” and “Sell Yourself” are the only songs I cannot stand by. They do not contribute to the overall sound of the album, and if anything, stick out like two sore thumbs. The message is definitely still present in both songs, but at the cost of the musicality. They almost appear to be satirical: Shultz attempted to use the music to complement the message, but instead, ended up with choppy lyrics that were almost screaming vocals. Combined with a highly distorted bass line and guitar track, these songs didn’t seem to work cohesively with the album in its entirety at all.

On that note, it would have been a great pleasure to give this album five stars and call it a day. There are more than enough amazing tracks to make up for the two of less than stellar quality. However, taking into consideration the question: should songs on an album have to make up for the others, or should a five star album shine bright through every track? I will award the album four stars for the amazing quality of production; however, it just does not meet that five golden stars standard that has been set by artists in the past. Maybe with the next album they will truly nail it.

In the mean time, go out and purchase Thank You, Happy Birthday. Then just sit back and enjoy the wonderful songs that follow.

TV Tracker (BBC Edition) Rebecca Mechler Dr. Who (BBC)

Law & Order: UK (BBC)

East Enders (PBS)

Photo Courtesy BBC

Photo Courtesy BBC

Photo Courtesy PBS

What About It: The enigmatic Doctor travels space and time in his blue police-box shaped time machine, the TARDIS, with his companions saving the universe from destruction.

Why You Should Be Watching: While the premise seems rather silly, this BBC staple has been running since the 1960s with different actors taking the part of the Doctor. The current Doctor, Matt Smith, brings a youthful energy to the iconic series that makes the programme seem brand new.

What About It: Just like its American counterpart, police detectives investigate crimes and prosecutors insure that the criminals pay.

Why You Should Be Watching: It may appear to be yet another incarnation of a series that never dies, but the British legal system has its own little quirks and unique twists that truly differentiate it from America’s versions of the television series.

Also, the lawyers wear wigs in court! It’s quite classy.

What About It: This is one of the most watched shows in Britain that follows the personal and professional lives of the inhabitants of Albert Square.

Why You Should Be Watching: EastEnders is the show of London. Running since 1985, it’s Britain’s longest running soap, airing every evening.

For all of us without cable, it is also the easiest Brit show to get a hold of as it plays on PBS late on Saturday nights.

Top Gear (History)

Being Human (SyFy)

Skins (MTV)

Photo Courtesy History

What About It: Cars!

Why You Should Be Watching: Ok, it’s more than just cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Both the British and United States versions of this television series bring surprising amounts of fun and humor that will please and excite many kinds of vehicle lovers and those who know nothing about them who are just looking to learn a little, especially the segments featuring celebrities we all recognize racing “reasonably priced cars” that are well out of everyone else’s budgets.

Photo Courtesy SyFy

Photo Courtesy MTV

What About It: A werewolf, a ghost and a vampire share a flat together as they all come to terms with their humanity, or lack thereof.

Why You Should Be Watching: It may sound like some kind of a joke, but the program explores what make us human with humor, drama, and lots of scary moments. Both the UK and American versions of this show are spectacular. The United States version has just kicked off if you want to start at the beginning; the UK version is just starting off in its third season.

What About It: A group of teens tries to grow up and learn about love and life with little adult supervision and lots of partying.

Why You Should Be Watching: You shouldn’t. If the morally questionable storylines aren’t enough to deter you, the abysmal acting and scripts should. If you do insist on watching, try the original British version instead; at least that one was somewhat well made. This show has especially stirred up controversy while airing in the US. It’s outrageous!

Entertainment

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Summa

9

James Blake’s self-titled album gives unending sense of promise

Matthew Ramirez

Staff Writer James Blake’s self-titled debut album sounds both completely original yet welltread at the same time. It’s easy to let its eleven songs pleasantly wash over you, but it’s more rewarding to surrender to them and let them dominate your consciousness for forty minutes.

Blake’s record arrives after three justifiably well-received EPs from last year, and is a clear progression as well as a mastery of his past achievements. Blake is to dubstep as Dylan was to folk, or the Stones to blues— an artist that uses a genre as a canvas to paint something new.

Every song feels like Blake wanted to go into a different direction but nonetheless the album is cohesive. Blake uses dubstep as a starting point, but borrows liberally from other genres.

“The Wilhelm Scream” is a

breathtaking track, leaping across dubstep, R&B, and singer-songwriter confessional lyricism in less than five minutes. Blake resists the label of “singer-songwriter” the same way he resists the label of “DJ” or “producer,” even though he does all of those things well. In the best manner, the album feels like a Frankenstein-esque amalgam of a wide swath of influences assembled in a fascinating way. Only a gifted writer could whittle a line as seemingly melodramatic as “I don’t know about my love, I don’t know about loving anymore, all that I know is I’m falling, falling, falling” into something genuinely moving, and only a gifted singer could deliver the line so it’s affecting, instead of trite. And only a gifted producer could produce that sexy click-track that bounces along like a lost Aaliyah song, before it gets washed away in a sea of reverb and distortion in its last minute. The song is a

perfect example of everything that works well on the album, and is a moment of complete artistic clarity.

“I Never Learnt to Share” wrings maximum pathos out of its one lyric (“My brother and my sister don’t speak to me, but I don’t blame them”) for five minutes, each repetition highlighting every nuance of the phrase in a different way, as if shining multi-angled lights on the line, as Blake layers his vocals one on top of the other, Auto-Tuned to high heaven, so by the half-way point there’s this impenetrable wall of vocals that sounds both like nothing else I’ve heard before, yet a perfection of some past-mined ground (see Bon Iver, Antony).

Then the voices fall off and this thick, fuzzy synth line scales up and down in different squeals, one of the most showy pieces on an album full of small and giant moments stitched together.

“Limit to Your Love” is

the album’s centerpiece—it’s Blake not merely covering the Feist tune, but reworking it from the ground up; it’s his song now. His voice remains a gorgeous source of power without being overpowering; the way it trills during the line “there’s a limit to your love like a waterfall in slow motion” sounds like falling water, subtly turning a great lyric into a heartbreaking mantra. And the propulsive beat that stutters in-between verses is amazing every single time. Perhaps the best thing about the record is that

it feels at once complete and incomplete; its use of blank space is incredible, perfecting minimalism to a point way past the xx. It’s what gives the record staying power, no matter what he does next— and as Blake shuffles among the many hats he wears, he never completely settles into one. It’s this unending sense of promise, or suspense, that makes the album transcendent, like a horror movie that never shows the monster. The beauty is in your head, as intuitive as breathing.

were a few celebrities that had a hit and miss with this trend, not quite looking their best at this year’s musical event.

Snooki, the reality star, looked improved from her previous appearances, but still missed the Grammy’s expectations with a loud metallic dress paired with over dramatic accessories, hair, and shoes.

One starlet that was not expected to be on this list was Miley Cyrus, not quite making that metallic shine statement she was aiming for. Miley’s Roberto Cavalli metallic gown was clearly a look too mature for her and over done with too many accessories and an extravagant print.

Another celeb that has a shocking metallic look was singer Ricky Martin, whose tight silver pants didn’t work with his black blazer and tie.

From popular trends to making

new trends on the carpet, some stars made unforgettable fashion statements. The first person to be mentioned is the one and only Lady Gaga, whose red carpet look will be one that will forever be remembered.

She arrived in an egg or incubator, carried by some of her dancers; in which she was hidden until her performance.

She ascended out of her womb creation wearing a Hussein Chalayan three piece rubber outfit accompanied by a hat.

This was interesting-looking having high shoulders and showing off her great body.

After her performance, she changed into a leather outfit by Thierry Mugler. She definitely showed her commitment to her extreme sense of style and did not let anyone down this year. Another musical and fashion genus is Nicki Minaj with her off the runway,

head to toe leopard Givenchy Haute Couture outfit. This is something that is different, fun, and very Nicki. Her bride of Frankenstein hairdo with leopard dye completed this fashion forward and fabulous Grammy look. Another great trendsetter is the legendary Cindy Lauper, who didn’t let her style down with a crazy leather dress and even crazier hair. Another star whose look was much anticipated was Rihanna, who left many speechless with her Jean Paul Gaultier gown. This looked may not be her best, but it definitely made a statement with a see through base and white fringe horizontal stripes covering the dress.

Her performance outfit was on the other extreme, with an abundant amount of fabric but a more appropriate look for the Grammys. Katy Perry is

one that also did not look her best. This fashionista’s look was a little too much fantasy with her Armani Prive crystal bustier and very expensive fabric draping from it. The addition of the wings could have been more dramatic to make a bigger statement or been removed.

Stars that lit up the night with their impeccable style included Keri Hilson with her Basil Soda blue strapless mini and Jennifer Hudson with her navy blue Versace gown. Both celebrities managed to have complete looks with minimal accents and gorgeous colors.

Some other stars that looked amazing that night were Nicole Kidman, Florence Welch, Bruno Mars, and Adam Lambert. Nicole Kidman accompanied her husband Keith Urban in a Jean Paul Gaultier flower embroidered dress that made her look like the movie star she is. Florence Welch did not fall behind with her intricate Givenchy gown straight off the runway.

Bruno Mars showed off his clean cut, well-put-together look with his black and white suit. Another note-worthy artist is Adam Lambert, who impressed all with his rock and roll look. The list of fabulous stars can go on as long as the list of celebrities who did not impress at these 2011 Grammy Awards. The musical performances were breathtaking, but the fashion was out of this world.

Photo Courtesy James Blake

Grammys 2011: hottest trends on the Red Carpet for stars

Natasha Alvarez Staff Writer It is music’s big night in the 53rd annual Grammy Awards. Maybe music is the main star, but fashion is also an important component of completing this thrilling night.

This is the music event in which artists have the opportunity to blow away their fans with impeccable fashion, or have their name placed on the worst dress list. The red carpet can be considered as important as the award ceremony itself. Hot trends and classic looks are spotted throughout the music legends and rising stars.

One of the most popular trends has to do with everything glittery, sparkly, and shimmery. There is nothing more in style than a metallic, glistening long-sleeved mini as the “Emilio Pucci” Jennifer Lopez looked stunning in. Also looking amazing in this hot trend was Leann Rimes, with a Reem Acra draped metallic maxi and perfect accessories.

Selena Gomez was a complete bombshell with her J. Mandel shimmery gold gown that made her look mature, sophisticated, and sexy. Heidi Klum in a Julien Macdonald metallic gown, Miranda Lambert in a one shoulder Georges Chakra gown, and Kim Kardashian in a gorgeous gold Kaufman Franco draped gown were other A-listers to dazzle the night away with this shimmery trend. There

Photo Courtesy Christina Aguilera

Photo Courtesy Nicki Minaj

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The Summa

Entertainment

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Eagle: great story, decent acting, but not the next Gladiator Matt Wood Editor-in-Chief My first look at a promotional poster for The Eagle harkened me back to recent movies set in ancient Greece and Rome like Gladiator, Troy, and 300.

While these movies certainly have varying degrees of authenticity, each of these movies was not only very successful but also hinged upon the great performances delivered by impressive lead actors with rock hard bodies.

Yet, it was hard for me to take The Eagle as seriously as the likes of Gladiator with Channing Tatum front and center. (The fact that I keep hearing Zach Braff delightfully screaming “Eagle!” every time I think of the title didn’t help much either.)

While Tatum’s chiseled physique is perfect for the part, The Eagle is a big leap from Tatum’s more relaxed roles in movies like GI Joe or The Dilemma. Unlike most

of his other movies where Tatum is supported by one or more other notable actors, The Eagle would be entirely dependent upon him alone.

Still, I wanted Tatum to prove that he could actually hold up a movie on his own and make it a great success, and though I don’t think Tatum makes it all the way there, The Eagle is definitely a step in the right direction.

The story begins around the year 140 AD when Marcus Aquila (I believe no relation to UST’s Aquilas), a young Centurion, arrives at his first command in Romancontrolled Britain. Rumors and doubts spread about Marcus who is haunted by the memory of his father, who led the Ninth Legion into northern Britain and disappeared along with his 5,000 men and the Legion’s prized battle standard, the Eagle.

The loss of the Ninth Legion prompted the erection of a great wall which cut off the northern part of Britain and

Sudoku

marked the end of the known world. Marcus is determined to eclipse the disgrace of his father’s disappearance with his own glory. When Marcus hears of a rumor that the Eagle of the Ninth has been spotted north of the wall, he seeks to restore his family’s honor and find closure in his father’s disappearance by travelling into the untamed land alone with his slave to recover the lost Eagle.

At a University that focuses a great deal on ancient Greece and Rome, it may be prudent to note that a great deal of historical liberty has been taken in this movie.

While Hadrian’s Wall, the decline of the Ninth Legion, and the golden eagle are all historical, these things were fictitiously linked in The Eagle of the Ninth, the Rosemary Sutcliff novel upon which the movie is based.

If one were to try to take notes from The Eagle to an ancient history test one could expect to do as well as

if one tried to do the same with movies like The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure.

For those students particularly interested in classical history, this may prove to be slightly irksome.

The first part of the movie is held up entirely by Tatum and as such tends to suffer from his typical, and at times awkward, lack of emotion.

While it appears that great lengths were taken to twist Tatum’s stone-faced demeanor as the aloofness of a young commander with a huge chip on his shoulder, this method tends to fall apart in some of the more intimate scenes.

The movie benefits greatly from the arrival of the much more personable Donald Sutherland, who plays Marcus’s uncle, as well as Jamie Bell, who plays a Briton slave named Esca whose life is saved from the hands of a gladiator by Marcus. After the two depart past the wall, the plot begins to rise and fall on the actions of Esca who is torn

Puzzles Corner February Crossword

between his debt to Marcus and his loyalty to Britain as he attempts to lead the pair undetected through the last Briton controlled territory. As the weight of the film moves from Tatum to Bell the movie becomes predictably more interesting.

That is not to say that Tatum’s performance is entirely unbearable in the movie, but this is certainly not his break-out role. Tatum does about as well as one might expect given his previous work.

The film has enough action and drama to satisfy the average movie-goer. Still, it is hard not to think that this movie could have been better with a different lead actor. For those who have been dying to see this movie or just love Channing Tatum, go see it.

I’m not unhappy that I saw it.

Just don’t expect it to be the next Gladiator. For those who are on the fence, it might be a good idea to wait for the DVD.

Created By Katie Thomson

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14

Joke of the Month: Q: What’s brown and sticky?

A: A stick

ACROSS 1. Emerald City 3. Sacha Baron Cohen character 5. Mythical goat-man 6. Button that starts things over 8. 180 degrees from WSW 10. Soaring symbol of America 12. Fabled tortoise’s rival 14. Harry Potter series villain ___ Malfoy

16. Cleveland’s NBAers, for short 17. Where trained dogs walk DOWN 1. R.E.M. singer Michael ___ 2. Chinese leader Zhou ___ 3. Blues street in Memphis 4. “___-haw!” (rodeo cry) 7. The latest in fashion

9. Hoops or studs, for example 11. Words before “carte” or “mode.”

12. Web site that streams free TV 13. Baseball clubs 15. Mandolin kin Answers at www.ust-summa.com

The Sports & Clubs

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Upcoming Events Saturday, February 19

Alumni Tailgate for UST Men’s Basketball Behind Jerabeck 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Rock Climbing Recreational Trip Texas Rock Gym 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

UST Men’s Basketball vs. Arlington Baptist Jerabeck Gymnasium 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 24 Intramural Doubles Tennis Jerabeck Gymnasium 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 2

Intramural Billiards Tournament Guinan Lobby 10:00 p.m.

Celts move to 11-10

The Summa

11

Rec sports to go on rock climbing trip Alex Croffie Sports and Clubs Editor The office of recreational sports will be sponsoring a rock climbing trip this Saturday, February 19, at the Texas Rock Gym located here in Houston.

For only $10, people from around the University of St. Thomas community will get a unique experience by learning how to rock climb from a professional, as well as some other incentives.

“It includes transportation to the Texas Rock Gym, all of the climbing gear, the three hours of climbing, and lunch,” said Jessica Domann, Director of Recreational Sports.

This year will be the third year that the Office of Recreational Sports has sponsored a rock climbing trip as one of their recreational sports trip.

Domann hopes to continue to sponsor a rock climbing trip for years to

come.

“It has been very well received by people,” Domann said.

“They have really enjoyed it. So I’m trying to make it a tradition that rock climbing takes place once every school year.”

With a handful of people signed up so far, Domann hopes to increase the number of people who will be participating in the trip this weekend.

“I have space for ten to twenty [people],” Domann said. “Usually it’s the trend that people sign up pretty late, so I take sign-ups until Friday, [February 18] before 5 p.m. when I leave my office.”

With the past popularity of the rock climbing trip, space is sure to fill up fast.

The sooner you sign up for the trip, the better.

Rock climbing, however, isn’t the only recreational sports trip Domann has in store for the UST community this semester.

Domann plans on having

a little fun in the sun on the beach with the community later on in the school year.

“I have horseback riding and fishing in Galveston [planned] on April 2nd,” Domann said. “We’re going to drive down to Galveston; we will go in shifts where people will have time on the horses so they come back they can either hang out on the private beach or go fishing.”

The cost of that trip will also be $10 if you sign up before Tuesday March 29, and $15 afterwards.

This cost includes at least one hour of horseback riding, fishing in a private pond (fishing equipment not included) time on a private beach, and transportation to and from the event.

With space and time starting to run out, it’s not too late to sign up for the rock climbing trip as well as the Galveston trip.

To sign up, visit the office of recreational sports located in Jerabeck Gymnasium.

NIRSA Fitness Day Celebrate National Intramural-Recreational Sports & Fitness Day hosted by the Office of Recreational Sports on

Tuesday, February 22nd

on the Campus Life Mall and Jerabeck Pool Enjoy the events of the day and get some exercise too.

Photo by Troy Bassiri

Katie Jahangiri Copy Editor The UST men’s basketball team has had two successful wins over a four day period.

On February 8, 2011 the Celts put an end to the University of New Orleans Privateers’ seven game winning streak, beating the Privateers by a score of 5955. Junior guard Jeremy Lewis led the Celts to victory with 22 points, while senior guard Anthony Medina finished with 12 points on the night.

The Celts then traveled to Dallas to play the University of Dallas Crusaders, where they again dominated, winning 67-47. Great team play led to a good distribution of points.

Bryan Kaase led the team scoring 19 points and bringing down 9 rebounds.

The Celts will have two

more games before a three game road trip to end the regular season.

On February 17, the Celts will end their road trip with a game against Southwestern Assemblies of God in North Texas before coming home for their final home game of the regular season. The final home game will be held on Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 PM. The Celts will round out their season playing the University of New Orleans Privateers and Xavier University in New Orleans on February 21 and 22, respectively.

Don’t forget to come out right before the final home game for the alumni tailgate which will be held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM behind Jerabeck.

12:30 PM Fitness Walk Meet at the Crooker Patio for the half-mile walk around campus. The first 30 to sign up for the walk will receive a NIRSA Fitness Day t-shirt.

12:30 PM on the Campus Life Mall Rock Wall Bungee Trampoline Miniature Golf Bungee Run 2:00 PM Polar Bear Plunge in the Jerabeck Pool The first 20 people to take the chilly plunge into the pool will receive a NIRSA Fitness Day t-shirt.

104.1 KRBE will be on campus celebrating the day with UST. There will be drawings to win a Houston Dynamo gift pack, Houston Rockets tickets, Nintendo Wii, autographed Carlos Lee baseball and much more.

Stop by for free food, fun and exercise. *Sponsored by CPC

12

The Summa

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

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