December 9, 2011

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LIFE & ARTS

OPINION

GriffBits: What’s on your Christmas list? @ 6 Overcrowding at the library @ 7

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SPORTS

The War on Saturnalia @ 9 Your guide to winter activities in Buffalo @ 8

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Griffs struggle against Holy Cross @ Back Sabres/Canisius: rink progress? @ Back

THE GRIFFIN Canisius College, Buffalo, NY

Friday, December 9, 2011 Volume LXXXII Number 11

Matts’ Mission fighting cancer, one bracelet at a time

By Dan Ludwig News Writer

As the field of cancer research continues to grow, it becomes increasingly clear that cancer is an affliction that few people can escape - a person should count him or herself among the lucky few if he or she does not personally know someone who has been affected by the disease.

With the unfortunate universality of cancer in mind, one student at Canisius College has decided to take action. Matt Gorczyca, a junior at Canisius, has started a campaign in response to the plight of his friend, Matt Musial.

In December 2010, Musial’s mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Seven months later, on July 13, 2011, Mrs. Musial lost her battle with the deadly disease.

A couple of weeks before her passing, when it became clear that, despite her strong spirit, Musial’s mother was not going to survive much longer, Gorczyca dedicated himself to helping his friend’s family in whatever way possible. He was inspired to start a campaign, Matts’ Mission, in support of the Musial family and cancer research in general.

“I saw the toll that cancer takes

Jordan Smith/ The Griffin Matt Gorczyka shows off the bracelets he and his friend are selling to raise money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute

on an entire family during her treatment,” explained Gorczyca. “I’m hoping that our campaign makes people realize how quickly cancer is rising as a killer that affects everyone.”

In September, the young men began selling white wrist bands embossed with the words “Matts’ Mission.” These bracelets, available for $3 will make up the majority of the pair’s fundraising efforts.

On top of the bracelets, the

pair plans to expand their awareness campaign by returning to their alma mater, St. Francis High School, where current Red Raider students will be given the chance to donate to the cause.

“We are not looking for massive donations from everyone,” said Gorczyca. “We want to make this a personable fundraiser to which people can relate on an intimate level.”

The campaign will culminate this summer when both Gorczyca

and Musial take part in the Ride For Roswell on June 23, 2012. Usually, Ride for Roswell teams are composed of multiple members, with each member completing a portion of the route. The two Matts plan to complete 44 miles of the 100-mile long biking marathon.

Before the June ride, the duo hopes to raise $5,000 for Buffalo’s renowned cancer institute. Gorczyca set such an ambitious fundraising goal because he recognizes the

importance of institutions such as Roswell Park, where Mrs. Musial received treatment for her colon cancer.

“I wanted to give back to Roswell for all that [the institution] does. They have accomplished so much for cancer victims, both locally and nationally,” said the junior from Lackawanna.

Matts’ Mission has been wellreceived by the Canisius community. Gorczyca explained that many students and faculty members offer with their donation a personal story about how cancer has affected them.

“People approach me with a personal anecdote about a cancer victim. They give me $5, $10, or $20 and tell me to keep it all,” said Gorczyca of the response in the Golden Griffin community. “People have been overly generous.”

With the relative success of the campaign so far, Gorczyca did not seem too worried about hitting the $5,000 mark. He did, however, seem worried for a different reason.

“I haven’t started training yet,” he said exasperatedly. “44 miles is a long ride.”

To find out how you can support this worthy cause, visit the Matts’ Mission Facebook page or follow their progress on Twitter @ Matts_Mission.

a more just society Fighting for the last spot at the library Toward Philosophical foundations of change

By Morgan Culhane News Writer

With the end of the semester a week away, just about anything seems more appealing to college students than doing their school work.

In the library, students are checking their Facebook and Twitter accounts religiously, as if something has changed from when they checked it five minutes before.

In the dorms, students actually start cleaning their rooms and doing laundry, most likely to avoid the sad reality of endless amount of final papers, projects and studying that they have piling up.

It becomes apparent that reality

has set in when the Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library has become the new hot spot on campus, so much so that students start worrying about getting a good spot.

“My biggest concern is whether I get a good spot in the library or not,” explained freshmen Kevin Daley, “because if I don’t I’m not getting anything done.”

Finding a spot in the library is a concern for students as the threefloor complex fills up during the last few weeks of the semester with students who regret blowing off their assigned reading all Fall. Other students start wondering why they have not even printed the outline for their final project they were assigned two

months ago.

“You can try to wish away your procrastination all you want, but you can’t change it,” sophomore Molly Rutter said. “All you can do is learn from it, then move forward and start sectioning off your time and prioritizing.”

Rutter’s strategy for dealing with the end of the semester is to focus on one thing at a time and pace herself. She points out that if she tries to think about everything she has to do at once, she becomes overwhelmed.

Sophomore Mary Floyd has a similar approach to Rutter’s for

By Jasmina Tacheva News Writer

“I suggest you wait till next semester,” Dr. Valone smiled at me.

“After all, that’s your first semester at Canisius and your first month in the United States. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, philosophy is a serious matter.”

This recommendation from the associate dean of the Wehle School of Business, James Valone, Ph.D., led me instead to a Calculus for Business course (insert the amount of irony to suit your preference).

Just a few months later, I attended Canisius’ Celebration of Scholarship, where I listened to Professor of Philosophy Tanya

continued on page 4

OPINION

LIFE & ARTS

Loughead, Ph.D. deliver a speech entitled, “What is the University?”

Inspired by the awakening power of her speech - drawing, for example, my attention to the corporatization of education - I did not hesitate to enroll in her introductory course the following semester.

In her course on Justice that Loughead is offering this semester, we have been reading and discussing some of the most influential philosophers that have tackled the question of how a more just society is to be achieved.

The culmination of this course, the hub where all the aspects of justice logically converge, however, is the speech Dr. Loughead delivered continued on page 3

SPORTS

Ryanair is considering adding in-flight pornographic videos in order to keep their customers pleased so that they keep coming (no pun intended) back to fly their airline . . .

With Christmas being less than twenty days away and holiday sale prices being in full effect, now is the time to finish buying the perfect gifts for everyone on your list . . .

The hit on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller by Boston Bruin Milan Lucic . . .sent shockwaves through the entire National Hockey League community . . .

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NEWS

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Friday, December 9, 2011

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‘Weihnachtsmesse’ brings holiday joy to the Chapel Annual German Mass a staple for the campus, Buffalo community

By Jonathan Beck News Editor

“Vater unser im Himmel. Geheiligt werde dein Name.”

Those words, known to Christians worldwide as the opening to the prayer given by Jesus to his followers, will make their way into Christ the King Chapel at Canisius College this Sunday as the campus and community celebrates the annual German Christmas Mass (Weihnachtsmesse).

Rev. Daniel P. Jamros, S.J., associate professor of religious studies and theology, who will read the Mass on Dec. 11, has traced the origins of this Canisius College tradition all the way back to 1968.

“I’ve looked in old yearbooks for the German club, and it seems to have started in 1968,” he said. “Not at Christmastime, it started in the Spring, but it proved popular and soon they moved it to Advent.”

When Fr. Jamros started at Canisius in 1985, then Canisius College President Rev. James M. Demske, S.J. and professor of German Rev. Eugene Finnegan, S.J. led the Mass. They had both studied at Innsbruck University in Germany.

Fr. Finnegan passed away just a year later, but the Mass continued to be led by Pres. Demske until his death in June 1994. Fr. Jamros took over that Fall, working with German

professor James McGoldrick, Ph.D. to continue the longstanding Canisius tradition.

Peter Böhm, Ph.D., associate professor of modern languages, came to Canisius in the late 1990s and at first attended but was uninvolved with the German mass. Upon McGoldrick’s retirement, Dr. Böhm took over the Mass’s organization.

Today, the annual German Christmas Mass remains a strong tradition. The liturgy is the same that Buffalo Catholics are familiar with, but is read entirely in German.

Members of the campus and community come to the Mass every year, filling the chapel.

“I am told,” explained Böhm, “that the German Mass has the larg-

est attendance of all Masses held at Christ the King Chapel.”

Böhm is responsible for providing the Mass with student readers, publicizing it every year and organizing the “Kaffee und Kuchen” reception after, during which students serve those who attended Mass coffee and tea, which they drink in addition to the many varieties of German sweets, cookies and other deserts.

“I am really appreciative,” said Böhm of the reception portion of the annual Mass, “of Roger Herle from Chartwells. Without his help, the reception would not be the success it is.”

The German Mass is popular among the German immigrants in

Jonathan Beck/ The Griffin The Chapel is already decorated inside in the spirit of Advent and Christmas

New senate website unveiled

By Sam Scarcello Editor in Chief

On Nov. 15, the Undergraduate Student Association rolled out the soft launch for its new website. Designed by the new Chair of Marketing Tan Ho, the project is another step in a new direction for USA, which is hoping to facilitate better communication with the Canisius community.

Though still in beta testing, the site features a few posts, pages for Senate board members and links to budget forms, contact information and other important Canisius-related sites, with promises of more to come.

“The primary goal of the website is to be more of a loca-

tion for students to get information and leave feedback,” Executive Vice President Anthony Kroese explained.

To give an example, one post on the Homepage, entitled “What were your thoughts on senior happy hour?” encourages students to share their thoughts on the event, what they liked and what could be improved.

Another major purpose of the site is to make it easier for clubs on campus to prepare for each semester and gain a better understanding of how USA operates.

“All the forms will be there hopefully and maybe tips on filling out your budget will be there,” Kroese said.

Still in its early state,

Kroese and the student senate are “extremely happy with [the website] and the Chair of Marketing position is better than I think anyone anticipated.”

They deserve to be happy with it too. The site’s design is beautifully streamlined. It is clean, sophisticated, functional and understated; a breath of fresh air from the seizure inducing pages that clutter most of the web.

With a new website and a dedication to maintaining an open forum with the student body, USA seems poised for a good spring semester with more surprises in store. Of the website, Kroese had one final thought: “hopefully it continues to grow.”

Buffalo as well as students of German. Today, there aren’t as many German-speaking individuals in Buffalo, but the Mass remains a staple of the Buffalo Christmas tradition.

“We still get a number of German people here, but as time goes on less and less,” explained Jamros.

“But also coming to the Mass are people who don’t know German at all and that surprises me.”

Such individuals, he explained, like to hear the Mass in another language and also enjoy the music, which has traditionally been performed by the German American Musicians Association.

“Many might think that the Mass is an event for old people,” reflected Böhm. “But really, there are

people from all generations.”

His wife, Ken-Ton School District German teacher Karen Böhm, prepares Christmas candy to give to the children attending the Mass.

Every year, she wears her Dirndl, a traditional Bavarian dress worn by women.

In addition to leading the German Mass, Fr. Jamros also leads the French Mass, which does not happen every year due to varying student interest. He began studying French in high school and college and eventually got his degree in theology in France. During his summers, he would visit Germany, which is when he first began to learn German. At Vanderbilt University he wrote his dissertation on G.W.F. Hegel, which drove him to continue to improve his German in order to read Hegel in his original language.

“We are very thankful that Fr. Jamros is taking time to read Mass every year,” said Böhm with a smile on his face. “We are lucky to have him.”

The Mass will take place this Sunday, Dec. 11 at 10:00 a.m., to be followed immediately by a reception in Grupp Fireside Lounge of the Richard E. Winter ’42 Student Center. It is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Canisius College department of modern languages at 716-888-2835.

NEWS

Friday, December 9, 2011

Tanya Loughead, Ph.D. urges passionate reform of society continued from front

Photo courtesy of Cody McCray

at the Occupy Buffalo Justice Dialogue Series two weeks ago.

As I approached Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo on that bright Saturday afternoon, I felt as if I was at the agora in the center of the Greek polis – a group of people sitting amphitheatrically were discussing the future of their city, of justice and of democracy.

“The revival of Athenian democracy”, I thought, only to be corrected by the speakers within minutes of my arrival. Hellenic democracy was far from perfect, and the occupiers were voicing its most dire drawbacks: the restrictive conditions for citizenship in Athenian democracy deprived women, soldiers and slaves from the right to vote and thus to participate in the city government. But, if they don’t want this kind of democracy, which one are they fighting for?

As the discussion progressed, it became clear that direct democracy is what the occupiers favor – a political experiment that, as they argue, has never been conducted before, not even in Athens, for all the reasons mentioned above. That, they said, shouldn’t scare us. On the contrary, as we have long ago reached the point where we don’t have anything more to lose, direct democracy can do nothing but good for society.

Dr. Loughead’s talk, called “Oppression & Justice: The Freedom-Work We Need to Do,” proved to be a natural continuation of the justice debate. She started off by proposing a reconceptualization of our lives and society. The change we need in order to achieve a more just society, according to her, means a radical change of the system and its elements – that is, the individuals it has created.

Public Safety’s annual toy drive makes a difference for needy kids and families

By Morgan Culhane News Writer

“On Christmas Day, no matter what we get or don’t get, we will be thinking about these kids,” said Canisius College’s Public Safety Director Gary Everett.

For the eleventh year in a row, Canisius College’s Public Safety Department led Canisius faculty, staff and students in collecting toys and clothing to donate to the Ladies of Charity’s holiday program. The Ladies of Charity is made up of female volunteers, ranging in age from 57 to 102, who are dedicated to serving the neediest people in Buffalo. They participate in a number of programs that aim to break the cycle of poverty in the Buffalo community.

Every Christmas, these women join together to help ensure that the neediest children in Buffalo can receive presents.

This past Wednesday, faculty, staff and students gathered together for a blessing by John Bucki, S.J., before loading up a shuttle bus with all the donations and delivering them to the Ladies of Charity.

The gathering began with Director of Public Safety Gary Everett’s remarks on the long tradition of law enforcement officers giving back to the community.

Everett and his officers are happy to serve the community in which they make their living.

“We all enter police work to help people,” he explained, “and I can’t think of a better example of helping people than our gift drive.”

This year, the Public Safety department was able to buy over $900 worth of new toys with the donations. On top of that, donations of gently used toys or clothes were added to the already large collection. Moreover, the Residence Hall Association informed Everett that they will be donating the profits from the RHA Midnight Breakfast, raising the donation total to $1,500.

Seeing the donations this year, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Matt Mulville was extremely impressed how much this program has grown over the years.

“It’s events like this that enforce the mission of our school and shows that we have a spirit of service all over campus,” Mulville said.

The spirit of service is bonding for the Canisius Volleyball team as well. Head Coach Cathy Hummel and her athletes have participated in this program for the past six or seven years.

Hummel and her athletes continue to find the experience rewarding.

“This is the first thing we can do as a team,” Hummel explained, “since the season doesn’t start until the spring. Giving back is a great way to start off the season.”

President John J. Hurley commended students, faculty and staff for starting off the holiday season right, saying that their actions would directly impact people’s Christmas.

In his blessing, Fr. John Bucki summed up the essence of the Public Safety gift drive, suggesting that these donations are passing the holiday spirit forward and helping to bless others in this time of year.

Executive Associate of Residence Life Patty Grasso agrees that giving back is what the holiday season is all about.

“The excitement for me is watching the amount of toys grow,” said Grasso.

Another part of the magic is the unexpected behind-the-scenes donations. This year, one donation was so moving that Public Safety Secretary Nancy Dusza was brought to tears as a staff member walked into her office and handed her $100 out of his pocket.

As Everett said, “good actions are contagious,” so hopefully next year even more students, faculty and staff can become involved resulting in more needy children’s Christmas wishes coming true.

“It’s never enough to merely blame… some bad CEOs, some bad people, it’s not enough to blame those individuals. We also have to think about the system that has created those people,” she said.

One of the goals of her work, she explained, is to “occupy the word freedom” and “take it back from those in our society who claim that to be free means to be left alone.”

Referencing the Communist Manifesto, Dr. Loughead argued that the working class people are reduced to commodities and that “because of that they are subject to shifts in the market while the upper-class people are not.”

From Bulgarian-French philosopher Julia Kristeva’s idea about freedom as the goal of psychoanalysis, Dr. Loughead moved toward understanding freedom in general as a project which is to be achieved over time, never by one’s own self but through the assistance and solidarity of others.

The three determinants of freedom as a project, according to Dr. Loughead: Freedom is “never complete or absolute; never exists apart from others; and requires maturity and education to be attained.”

She criticized the present state of education as one in which we learn about the world we live in without having “a lot of critical examination about how we got there or whom is there with us.”

What this leads to, according to her, is the false conception of freedom as a complete independence and detachment from the “Other,” which she discussed within the context of the privatization of happiness.

“Rather than seeking fulfillment and joy in the public sphere,” she said, individuals instead “retreat into their homes, where they only seek personal fulfillment through their own house, their own kids, their own couch.”

She illustrated this with the following example: in the past, people used to go to the movies in the public realm, and now everyone wants their own home theater system.

According to her, among the deadliest consequences of this alienation is apathy toward our government. Although we often feel discontented with its course of action, seldom do we act to change that, simply because we’ve lost the hope and desire to participate in public life.

“We have low expectations of what we think we can expect from our government, our schools and our places of employment…

We need to start expecting and demanding that we be a part of the public sphere and that it be a kind of a public sphere from which we gain joy and fulfillment.”

Drawing on Aristotle’s ideas, she suggested that by constantly discussing and debating society, we live a truly human live, and that only recently have we started to connect true happiness not with the public but with the private realm.

“Not an accident”, Dr. Loughead said, “capitalism has persuaded us that we should define ourselves by what we buy; that our identity should be structured on what we buy rather than the friendships we build, the conversations we have, the people we see on the bus, the debates we engage in at work, the things that we learn in a new way every day.

Just remember, people can be different than the way they are right now and society can be different than the way that it is right now.”

“It is in our power to collectively shape what new human beings will look like and what new human societies will be like.”

NEWS

News Of The Weird LIBYA - Was Moammar Gadhafi the last of the “buffoon dictators,” asked BBC News in October. His legend was earned not merely with his now-famous, dirty-old-man scrapbook of Condoleezza Rice photos. Wrote a BBC reporter, “One day (Gadhafi) was a Motown (backup) vocalist with wet-look permed hair and tight pants. The next, a white-suited comic-operetta Latin American admiral, dripping with braid.”

Nonetheless, Gadhafi had competition, according to an October report in the journal Foreign Policy. For example, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s dictator owns, among other eccentric luxuries, a $1.4 million collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. North Korea’s Kim Jong Il owns videos of almost every game Michael Jordan ever played for the Chicago Bulls.

IOWA - In March, William Ernst, 57, owner of the QC Mart chain of Iowa convenience stores, excitedly announced a company-wide employee contest with a prize of $10 for guessing the next worker that Ernst will fire for breaking rules. “Once we fire the person, we will open all the envelopes (containing the entries), award the prize, and start the contest again.” Ernst added, “And no fair picking Mike Miller from (the Rockingham Road store).

He was fired at around 11:30 a.m. today for wearing a hat and talking on his cellphone. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!” (After firing a cashier who had complained about Ernst’s attitude, he challenged the woman’s unemployment-compensation claim, but in October, a judge ruled in her favor).

ENGLAND - An Oxford University researcher reported in August on the African crested rat, which is so ingenious that it slathers poison, from chewing the A. schimperi plant, onto an absorbent strip of fur on its back as protection against predators many times larger.

The researcher observed firsthand a dog quivering in fear after just one failed mouthful of a crested rat’s fur in his laboratory. The noxious goo is also used by African tribesmen on their hunting arrows.

LOUISIANA - An October Associated Press dispatch from New Orleans warned that “Caribbean crazy ants” are invading five Southern states by the millions, and because their death triggers distress signals to their pals for revenge attacks, up to 10 times as many might replace any population wiped out. Said a Texas exterminator, of a pesticide he once tried, “In 30 days I had 2 inches of dead ants covering (an) entire halfacre,” and still the ants kept coming, crawling across the carcasses. Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are currently the most vulnerable.

Courtesy of www.newsoftheweird.com Compiled by Jonathan Beck

Friday, December 9, 2011

Students handle end-of-the-semester stress in different ways continued from front

managing the end of the semester stress. Floyd values the strategy of coming up with a to-do list.

“Take things one at a time,” she said. “It won’t happen instantly, but if plug and chug you can get it all done.”

The to-do list is a popular stress management tactic among upperclassmen. These lists help students get organized, and from here they can prioritize and even set minideadlines for themselves. Junior Bryan Murzynowski admits that, although he naps in the RHA office and eats cookies from Tim Hortons to help him manage stress during the end of the semester, trying not to stress and breaking work into manageable chunks is what gets him through these last few weeks.

The contrast between upperclassmen’s strategies and first year

students are extremely evident.

“I manage stress by eating more, napping more, and watching way too many episodes of The Millionaire Matchmaker,” said freshmen Sam Stuff.

Stuff ’s carefree approach seems to work for her because, despite taking more time for herself, she still keeps a color-coded planner as a priority. Her approach also leaves her seeming a lot more relaxed than many students. Her biggest concern as the end of the semester approaches? Getting a new roommate next semester.

“I don’t want a random, those scare me” she said.

There’s a lot to be said for going into finals week relaxed. Looking back on how she handled stress her freshman year, senior Katie White emphasized giving yourself a break.

“I’ve learned to let the little things go and look at the big picture.

You need to have time management

skills, but you also need to take time for yourself to do stuff that’s nonschool related, whether it’s reading a book or going for a run, downtime is a must.”

Sophomore Katie Johnson struggled to remember the importance of downtime during this semester. Starting last Wednesday, Johnson stayed up for 39 hours straight because she had so much to do. She drank far too much caffeine and although she tried to sleep at 4:00 a.m., she couldn’t. Realizing that she had to wake up in three hours, she decided just to stay up. Thursday, she did not have downtime for more than ten minutes as she went to classes, work, the library and cheerleading practice.

Looking back, Johnson now realizes that staying up was a stupid decision.

“Friday and Saturday I was a zombie, I accomplished nothing. I thought staying up would help, but

I really just backtracked. It was a waste of time and energy.”

Johnson advises other students that if they ever think giving up sleep is a good idea, think again.

If she could go back, she assures that she would have cut back on the caffeine and forced herself to go to bed earlier.

No matter how much work students have or how little time they have to do it, many students and faculty emphasize that health should come first. Sleep is a necessity while caffeine is a temporary fix, which students should not rely on to get them through finals week.

Students seeking support can get assistance from the counseling center on managing stress, communicate with professors when they need more time for an assignment, or vent to a close friend about what’s stressing them out.

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NEWS

Friday, December 9, 2011

It’s Christmas time at Canisius College

By Amanda Gabryszak News Writer

Christmas time is near. Evergreen trees decorated with tinsel and ornaments are springing up everywhere. Lights line the trees out on Main St., and Elmwood Ave. has been transformed into a winter wonderland. Despite all of the cold and the rain—soon to be snow— Canisius students are preparing for the most wonderful time of the year.

“I love Christmas!” said freshman Amy Brooks, “There’s so much family, and snow, and love and happiness!”

Students are excited. Whether returning home from long distances, like foreign-exchange student Chistin Faisst, or preparing for dinner with the “fam,” anticipation is fill-

ing the student body as they await the traditions that will welcome them home from a long semester at school.

“We used to have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree,” recalled Brooks. “A thing with sticks poking out of it. It was just sad.”

Brooks said her family has since gotten a new tree.

“My parents bought a fake tree this year,” said freshman Katie Cosgrove, “so I’m kind of mad.”

On more specific traditions, Cosgrove elaborated, “I go to my dad’s on Christmas Eve, Mom’s on Christmas day. Both sides have Secret Santas.”

“I love seeing my family,” she added. “It’s my favorite part of Christmas.”

“The city I come from is very small,” explained Christin Faisst,

who is returning home to Germany in a couple of weeks. “They put Christmas lights on every tree on the streets and all of the houses.

It’s super comfy at home. I feel like Christmas is everywhere in Germany. My mom decorates everything, there’s fake snow inside the house.

You just rest with your family.”

Faisst explained that many other people in Germany follow a similar tradition.

“You go to rest and stay with your family for at least three days.

We start the celebration on Christmas Eve, go to church and exchange presents. We spend Christmas day with our immediate family, and then the next day, you visit your extended family, like your grandparents.”

She also described the traditional Christmas dinner in Germany, which consists usually of goose,

red cole—a warm red coleslaw prepared with apples in it—and potato dumplings. Occasionally, a traditional dish consisting of potato salad and sausages is served.

“Since Christmas is all about relaxing, potato salad and sausages are pretty easy to make,” Faisst explained.

She then added, “I feel like here in the U.S., everything is bigger, with more color. The traditional tree in Germany is decorated in gold, silver, and red.”

In contrast, sophomore Brett Griffin’s family has lasagna for dinner.

“It’s been lasagna for the past couple years,” said Griffin. “I have no idea why. It’s something we all like.”

“Christmas Eve we get together with my dad’s side of the family and we basically just chill, give presents,

and play a game of Steal,” explained senior Tyler Ianuzi of his family traditions.

“It’s better known as ‘Yankee Swap,’” elaborated Ianuzi. “There’s a pile of wrapped gifts in the middle of a circle of people. You take turns opening a random gift and on your turn you can either take from the wrapped pile or “steal” someone else’s thing. If someone steals your thing, you can then either steal or take another gift from the pile.”

The game ends when all the gifts have been opened and each individual is stuck with whatever they have at that time.

In a range of all different years, ages and nationalities, Christmas itself reflects the different cultures and traditions of individuals.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jonathan Beck/The Griffin

Top Political Tweets @JohnStamos I was humbled to perform for out troops in D.D. tonight- important to recognize and celebrate our heroes and sheroes

“ “ “ “ ” “ ” “ “

”

@StephenAtHome(Stephen Colbert) Romney won’t go Trump debate. Guess he’s afrad Trump will want to see his long-form manufacturer’s warranty.

”

@SteveKrak Remember when Rod Blagojevich was on “Celebrity Apprentice”? Realy clashed with Sinbad. Fired by Donald Trump.

”

@ SeanHannity Ah-- poor Alec Baldwin thinks a scrabble game is more important than FAA regulations for safaety. @KarlRove Great Christmas gift: Bush Years Sets, signed by Bush, Cheney, Roe, Rice, and Rumsfeld. @benquayle My daughter Evie is participating in #occupydc by occupying my office. @ realDonaldTrump Met @newtgingrich at Trump Tower today. He’s a big thinker.

”

”

Public Safety Blotter Petty Larceny Dec. 5th (11:00 a.m.)

A staff member reported that four potted pointsetta plants had been removed without permission from a table in the lobby of the Student Center.

Compiled by Jonathan Beck

Send Submissions To: Griffin@canisius.edu

Courtesy of Public Safety Compiled by Hannah Alt

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Any hope for gas price drop?

Gas prices have skyrocketed to a wallet-drenching high the past few years. It’s one of the many factors of our current economic state that has pushed Americans into many financial dilemmas. Not only have big problems like unemployment forced many Americans to change their lifestyles, but small commodities like gasoline have become problematic to Americans of all ages–from college students commuting to and from school and even adults navigating the workforce.

Our own community has been hit especially hard by the high gas prices. While prices in the area continue to stay well over $3.50, gas in other areas of the country is priced just over $3.00. In fact, the national

average on regular unleaded gasoline is the U.S. only imported gasoline and used $3.27. The Western New York region is its own, but now it has become a lucrative almost $0.30 higher than this n a - business. tional average.

So while the U.S. remains What is on the better side of gasoline iseven more dissues, prices still remain high heartening about and continue to hurt Amerithe gas issue is that the United States is cans’ wallets. With the rise of now exporting more oil than it imports. fuel-efficient cars and more In a report from CNN, the U.S. Energy exploration into alternative Information Administration stated that fuel resources, demand for in September, the U.S. exported more gasoline has dropped. Usuthan 430,000 barrels of gasoline a day ally, if demand drops, price more than it imported. The U.S. started drops; but high gas prices exporting gasoline in 2008 when gas prices remain an unchanging soared to a record high of $4.14 for a gallon problem for Americans of regular unleaded gasoline. Prior to that, no longer is gas afford-

Happy birthday, Mr. Disney Bridget Schaefer Everyone knows the monotonous Disney song that gets stuck in your head for days: ”It’s a small world after all…” Well, when speaking about the Disney enterprise as a whole, this song is pretty contradictory – it’s a huge world!

And we have Walt Disney to thank for that one.

The man behind all the magic would have celebrated his 110th birthday this past Monday, December 5. Walt Disney was an incredible visionary and our world wouldn’t be the same without his contributions.

Born in Chicago on December 5, 1901, Disney and his family moved to Missouri shortly after. As Walt stepped into manhood, he began a small commercial art business “Laugh-OGrams” in Kansas City. When the business went bankrupt, Walt packed his bags and headed to Hollywood. He became a recognized figure in the city of stars after his success in creating the “Alice Comedies”. Walt continued working on different animations and cartoons and finally, in 1928, the world met Mickey Mouse. This Scrawny mouse sparked ideas that would soon become a huge empire.

Mickey proved to be entertaining in his adventures as Steamboat Willie with all of those memorable friends like Donald, Daisy and of course, the lovely Minnie Mouse. The short skits were a rarity in that time for using synchronized sound. Creating a huge phenomenon, Walt continued to produce animations using the same techniques. In 1937, seven little dwarfs followed Snow White in Walt’s first feature film.

This was obviously extremely successful and Walt channeled that momentum into crafting more animated films. Soon to follow was that loveable elephant Dumbo, Pinocchio, the lying puppet, and of course, the beautiful Cinderella.

With the cartoons becoming extremely successful, Disney opened the amusement park, Disneyland, to the public. In only three short months, the booming park in California had over a million visitors. People could not get enough of everything Disney-related. Disney also kept cranking out more animated, soonto-be classics, like Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty. Television shows like the “Mickey Mouse Club” began

making a bigger impact, too. This stayed on the air for years and starred some of our own teen idols like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (come on, you all loved them).

Walt Disney sadly passed away of lung cancer on December 5, 1966, just a couple of days before opening the project of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It’s remarkable that this huge empire was created based on one man’s ideas; a man who only attended one year of high school (don’t get any ideas). Though Walt passed at such a young age, his legacy will live on forever. Personally, I know about 80 percent of my childhood was Disney related as I’m sure most of yours were as well. I owned almost every Disney movie on VHS, I pretended I was a different princess everyday of the week and every December, the only thing I asked Santa for was a trip to Disney World, the happiest place on earth. I know Walt’s legacy isn’t going anywhere because even my sisters, who are 11 years my junior, still love everything Disney. Disregarding slight differences like DVDs instead of VHS and Wii princess games instead of dress up, Disney still has an incredible impact on children around the world.

The topics to discuss about Disney are endless; every area of the enterprise has expanded.

Theme parks are now in multiple countries, movies are still being produced, there are different production companies branching out from Disney, like Pixar, and even the Disney channel and Radio Disney are huge establishments in themselves. The simple ideas that are portrayed in his films still remain life lessons for kids today. For example, “a dream is a wish your heart makes.” Yes, it’s cliché and not the most realistic advice, but sometimes we all need a little cheesiness in our lives and Walt Disney provided that.

His work has molded not only the entertainment industry but American society as a whole through his inspiring films and magical parks.

No matter how old you are, you can always relate to the “magic” of Disney. Most of us are right in the middle of finals so I’ll leave you with a magical piece of advice from Walt himself: “If you can dream it, you can do it”. Good luck everyone, and cheers, Mr. Walt Disney – Happy birthday. schaef10@canisius.edu

able for the average American family. Despite our high gas prices, the average British family is paying over the equivelant of five U.S. dollars a gallon for gasoline. Prices higher than these are plaguing other parts of Europe, too.

However, experts estimate that the oil industry can rise for the U.S. in the coming decades meaning that the tide could soon turn and make America a nation that will dominate the industry, freeing the U.S. from its strong dependence on foreign countries.

While this does sound like a huge success for the United States, the practical question on the minds of the daily commuters is when will gas prices stop burning a hole in their pockets?

Where to draw the line with child obesity Zoë Morse Recently in Cleveland, an obese eight-year-old boy was taken from his mother and placed into foster care. This is apparently a new operating procedure for the Department of Children and Family Services.

Officials claimed that the mother was not doing enough to help her son lose weight. The boy weighed more than 200 pounds and the department spokeswoman, Mary Louise Madigan, added that he also suffered from “medical neglect”.

This child reportedly caught the attention of the agency when his mother took him to the hospital last year because he was having trouble breathing. Madigan stated that her office had been working with the boy’s mother for over a year before finally deciding to remove him.

The agency claims that the boy’s unhealthy weight was caused by his home environment and that his mother’s failure to take action regarding her son’s unhealthy weight was a form of abuse.

Interference such as this from social service agencies has become more common over the past twenty years. While child obesity is a significantly large health problem in the United States, there is a lot of debate over when it is acceptable to take a child away from their parent, as well as if doing so is really the best alternative for the child.

Obviously, an eight year old doesn’t gain 200 pounds overnight.

His mother should have observed this severe weight gain earlier on his life and taken action. The agency is right that the boy’s home environment caused him to be so obese.

Something had to be done for this boy in order to restore his health.

GRIFFBITS

I agree that he should be taken out of his mother’s custody before any long lasting serious health problems develop.

At the same time, the goal was to help the boy lose weight. Putting him in foster care does not necessarily solve this issue. A hospital or some other health care facility should first examine the boy to make sure that he doesn’t have any serious health problems or issues to address. Then he should be put onto a nutrition plan to help him lose weight in a healthy manner.

Psychological well-being is a serious concern that arises when taking a child out of their parent’s custody. How is the boy going to react to being taken from his mother when he may not feel any mistreatment? His response could affect his overall health if he becomes mentally ill from the separation from his mother. Perhaps the boy could have been put into the care of another family member to account for this.

However, I do believe that if the boy or any other child is in danger because of their weight, then the psychological health needs to take a back seat. Serious health risks can result from obesity and that should be taken care of in order to save the child’s life. Yes, the boy did not ask to become obese; but if he has any hopes of being healthy later on in life, his unhealthy weight needs to be brought down.

There should be some alternatives to foster care. Facilities that treat eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia exist, but there are none that treat obesity. Perhaps there should be. People can die from the effects of eating too much just as they can die from eating too little.

morsez@canisius.edu

What’s on your Christmas wish list?

Michael, sophomore

Jacquie, junior

Katie, senior

Kayleigh, junior

“Keurig.”

“Boy Meets World DVDs.”

“Wegmans gift card.”

“iPhone 4S.”

OPINION

Friday, December 9, 2011

Pornos on a plane John Twarog With certain low-budget airlines struggling to stay afloat in a rapidly changing world of technology, Ryanair has developed an intriguing marketing scheme that they say will keep seats filled, and customers horny. No, Viagra will not be distributed as part of the in-flight snack; but you may soon be utilizing that disposable barf bag in ways you never thought possible (or legal). Ryanair is considering adding inflight pornographic videos in order to keep their customers pleased so that they keep coming (no pun intended) back to fly their airline.

While desperate times do call for desperate measures, I have mixed feelings about this new venture. For one, it will be necessary to at least triple the number of bathrooms currently offered on the plane. Ryanair is a budget airline and they lack the spacious privacy of a firstclass setting that would be necessary to obtain the full benefit of this entertainment. Also, I am certain that total flight sales will plummet unless T.V. screens are confined to the bathroom.

I guess I could understand indulging in your seat, but what happens if someone sprints to the bathroom ahead of you or if there is a long line?

Perhaps this is where the barf bag would get a lot of use. Finally, this could raise issues amidst the common fear that people who spend too much time in the bathroom as being potential terrorists. “I don’t care if you’re stupid Viagra hasn’t kicked in yet, five minutes in the bathroom is LONG ENOUGH!” However, even with these foreseeable repercussions, I still think the addition of pornographic videos to the in-flight experience is a legitimate attempt to keep a low-budget airline and their customers in the skies. The discriminatory single person limit in the bathroom rule will no longer be able to deny individuals the right to indulge themselves. Adding porn will

Do you even go here?

almost certainly cause individuals to purchase less alcohol during the flight, since consuming copious amounts of booze would prevent one from experiencing the full benefit of an in-flight porn movie. BBC News reported that a 2003 Australian medical study found regular masturbation to be beneficial for men’s health, and that “cleaning out the plumbing” is helpful in preventing prostate cancer.

I have taken it upon myself to compile a list of other “amenities” that, if introduced, could have the potential to make Ryanair the most successful airline on the planet.

The first is in-flight slot machines –Not only can you save money by flying on an airline that provides you with as much personal space as an MRI, but you can now gamble away that saved money that would have gotten you two feet of personal space. Customers get the thrill of gambling and Ryanair gets the benefit of ripping them off twice. It’s a win-win situation.

The second would be nitrous oxide masks.

Instead of letting those yellow oxygen masks gather dust, why not offer the option of receiving dosages of euphoric laughing gas? Anxious about take-off? Just breathe deeply and soon it will be just like MIA said: ”Fly like paper, get high like planes.”

Finally, hand out free deodorant in the terminal pre-flight. This doesn’t need an explanation, it should be a law. Toothbrushes wouldn’t hurt either.

In short, adding porn to the in-flight experience is a very smart business move. Whether it be the health benefits of increased exercise, the financial benefits of being able to rent instead of buy or even just the reassuring feeling of knowing that your wife or mother won’t barge in on your moment of indulgence, Ryanair is certainly taking a large step to increase customer satisfaction and memberships in the mile-high club. twarogj@canisius.edu

Alayla Henry The last week of class as well as finals week are hands down the most stressful weeks of the semester for every Canisius College student. However, some of us have spent almost every weeknight in the library since the semester began. Our daily routine has been to race around all day going to class, running errands, being productive e-board members, meeting with professors and just being busy members of the Canisius community. After all of this craziness, we come to the library with our laptops and our 50 pound backpacks, grab some Tim Horton’s, and get down to business. The library is our second home.

Then all of a sudden, the last week of classes rolls around and BAM! our beloved library is filled with people (who even knows if they are Canisius students) who I have never even seen before. Our favorite table, with the perfect outlets and people-watching potential, has been swarmed and taken over.

There is no doubt that every student at Canisius has a right to study in the library.

They are paying for it, and they should probably be here since they haven’t been all semester. However, watching people who have been paying tribute to the library all semester long walk in, look around, and then walk up to the quiet floor or down to the basement looking defeated makes me sad. I sympathize with these people, because I understand that being reduced to the miniscule circle table or the strangely divided desks in the basement just messes up your routine.

My proposal is that you should have to swipe into the library with your Canisius ID card every time you enter. The library would tally the numbers each student logs in the library throughout the semester. Then, when

finals week rolls around, those students with the most logged hours would have first choice of tables and cubicles near outlets. I know that to some people this will seem like an extreme idea, and a little discriminatory towards people who don’t choose to study in the library during the semester, but it seems fair to me.

I feel like once the doors of the “lib lounge” are open 24 hours a day, people almost feel like they have to put in their time here. No! If you work better curled up on your couch in Delevan, no one is forcing you to come to the library! If you work better at Spot downtown, that’s wonderful! I don’t know why these people feel pressured, but they need not succumb to the “college norm” of coming to the library.

On a related topic, I have a question for those people who arrive at two in the morning, do work until three, and then sleep until seven: is this really worth your time?

Wouldn’t you rather sleep in your own bed than on the table in the library after doing one hour of work? Also, to the people who come to the library to “socialize” during crunch time, who do you think you are? You are taking up valuable library real estate and some people would probably actually pay you for your table right now. I was in the library this past Monday night and there were two gentlemen on the computers next to the tables. They decided to place their backpacks and folders on the table next to them, essentially taking up two computers in addition to a four person table…

Canisius students need to realize that although you may think crunch time is all about you, it’s not. This is a friendly reminder to consider others during these last two weeks of class!

Michele Binkowski Taylor Allison

Emily Smith

henry10@canisius.edu

Solipism, social media and our culture of the self Aidan Ryan The other day, I was walking the halls of Old Main when I ran into a friend. We shared a very typical conversation, consisting of a string of words that had been used in the exact same sequence countless times before.

As I approached my friend, I said, “Sup?” – an abbreviation, for those of you not fluent in Jive, of “What’s up?”

My friend raised a hand in greeting and replied with, “Sup?” We passed each other, exchanging no more words and carried on with our day.

This social phenomenon cannot be called a conversation, any more than a man talking to his mirror. The phrase implies, if not mutual interest, at least the exchange of information or ideas. This exchange of empty words, which happens every day on campuses, subways and street corners across the nation, is little more than fluff. It is part of a series of meaningless actions in the average human encounter.

As I reflected on this, I realized something absurd. Although the exchange of words could easily have been construed as rude, and all but announced that neither of us cared anything at all about “what” was “up” with the other, our exchange was undeniably good etiquette – at least by college undergrad standards. Although our case was a bit of an extreme, other exchanges are just as bad.

For example, when someone asks, “How’s it going?” the other person’s reply will almost al-

ways be: “Great,” “Good,” “Alright,” “Ok,” or “Not bad.” The response is rarely something of this nature: “Actually, the doctors tell me I have three months to live, my wife left me for a Denny’s waitress named Bertha and I had to sell my collection of Bruce Springsteen memorabilia to meet the mortgage and pay for little Susie’s face transplant.”

If someone made this reply, the person that had made the original inquiry would be shocked and more than a little put off. In the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day lives, we hardly have time to hear such elaborate sob stories, or to give the comfort or advice that they would normally require. The first person might rightfully wonder, “Why do you think I care?” – even when they know perfectly well that their inquiry, taken literally, could be an obvious invitation for such emotional dumping.

The fact is, of course, that almost everyone has troubles. Perhaps they are not so devastating and perhaps they don’t occur all at once, but everyone has worries, anxieties, hardships and strife.

Although humans do at times share these troubles, such conversations happen rarely, and only among the most intimate of friends. Although I don’t think such conversations are appropriate to have while waiting for the bus or in line at Tim Horton’s, I do think that it would be more effective for such conversations to sound something more like this: Person 1: “I acknowledge your presence, although I care nothing for your well-being.”

Person 2: “I too acknowledge your presence, although I am uninterested in the health and humor of you or your family.”

Sam Scarcello, Editor in Chief Taylor Schupp, Copy Editor Jonathan Beck, News Editor Matt Gorczyca, Opinion Editor Andrew Coddington, Life & Arts Editor Nick Veronica, Sports Editor Jordan Smith, Layout Editor

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

2001 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14208-1098

As amusing, efficient and honest as this would be, I doubt that it will ever happen.

Some might consider this innocuous – these are merely the realities of etiquette, and etiquette is the art of appearances – it doesn’t matter any more than the placement of silverware at the dinner table. However, I find it to be very revealing of where our priorities lie as a culture.

This trend is not contained to face-to-face communication. After all, cell phones and the internet have allowed us to take our interactions into the digital realm; why shouldn’t our hypocrisies follow?

Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, although they allow for communications and near-constant contact, are also largely solipsistic. By that I mean that when we Tweet, we do so under the rather narcissistic assumption that other people actually care about the minutiae of our daily lives; or of that funny quip (under 140 characters) that we thought of while taking a shower and needed to impart to an audience; or that cute picture of our cat playing N64. Likewise, when we upload a picture or update a status on Facebook, we do so hoping that many of our friends will “like” it.

For all the potential benefits, social media outlets exist largely for the individual; just look at the original social media site, MySpace. It says it all in the name.

The worst, of course, is Tumblr, consisting entirely of blatant emotional diarrhea and the shameless regurgitation of pointless babble or high-def .gif’s and .jpg’s.

While this hypocrisy of intent is largely

limited to social interaction, both in the physical world and online, the trend can also be seen in self-correcting Pandora stations that track your preferences; in Amazon wish list suggestions based on previous browsing history; in Facebook ads targeted by your “likes”; and in Google, which can now customize searches based on past searches and clicks. Because of these subtleties of programming, we now see what we want to see: we see ourselves.

Although the internet is close to containing the mass sum of all human knowledge, it is slowly becoming a giant mirror, rather than a miracle of information and connectivity.

There is no solution to this problem. Technology is marching forward, and these advances all come with a price; for many, the price will be small compared to the benefit. So too is it impractical to ask people to divulge every misfortune in their lives to all the unfortunate friends or strangers that pass them on the way to class; nor do I actually think we should advertise our indifference on neon signs flashing across our foreheads: we value our illusions too highly; they make us feel better about ourselves and others.

However, I will ask (and I have no illusions here – I’ll probably be the first to fail in this request) that every now and then, when we inquire about our friends’ (or maybe even strangers’) lives, we mean it. Everyone has a story; if we take the time to hear them, we’ll be better off as a culture.

Julie Zirnheld, Webmaster Morgan Culhane, Layout Editor Courtney Helinski, Web Video Editor Kristen Victor, Layout Editor Kimberly Nowicki, Advertising Director Steve Brown, Layout Editor Thomas Ippolito, Business Manager Daniel Ludwig, Copy Reader Mary Battaglia, Copy Reader Mike Carrig, Distribution Manager Colin Gordon, Photography Director Leah Mosher, Copy Reader Robert Kaiser, Adviser Rich Lunghino, Copy Reader

ryan70@canisius.edu December 9, 2011 Volume LXXXII Number 11 Phone: (716) 888-5364 Fax: (716) 888-5840 E-mail: griffin@canisius.edu www.thegriffincanisius.com

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LIFE ARTS pg.8

Friday, December 9, 2011

The wonders of winter in Buffalo

By Leah Mosher

Life and Arts Writer

As the end of the semester quickly approaches, so does the Buffalo winter; the snow flurries and frigid temperatures of the holiday season are just around the corner. Although it may be tempting to hibernate indoors for the three to four months of winter, Buffalo has a lot to offer for those willing to step outside their doors. In addition to participating in the many outdoor activities the city has to offer, students can take advantage of some indoor attractions they might overlook during the warm and sunny summer months. Read on for some tips on inexpensive ways to have fun this winter.

Many people are surprised to find out that the Buffalo Zoo is open year round, and yet the country’s third oldest zoo offers unique experiences in the winter. Some of the animals, such as the polar bears, snow leopards, Amur tigers and bighorn sheep, are naturally inclined to enjoy the low temperatures and tend to be more active in the winter months. For visitors less tolerant of the cold, the Zoo offers plenty of fascinating indoor exhibits. Step inside the M&T Rainforest Falls exhibit to warm up as you view giant anteaters, howler monkeys, scarlet ibises and red-footed tortoises in a tropical environment. Guests can also stay warm inside the gorilla habitat building, the Reptile House and the EcoStation. College students can take advantage of the lack of crowds during the winter; without scores of children and strollers crowding the rails and windows, adult visitors can enjoy the pleasures of the Zoo in peace. Admission for full-

time students costs $8.

Although people often complain about Buffalo’s cold weather, the freezing temperatures do have their benefits, such as the opportunity for outdoor ice-skating in the beautiful Fountain Plaza downtown. Residents can take advantage of the cold and enjoy an afternoon gliding gracefully (or flailing clumsily) across the ice with a group of friends. Once you’ve worn yourself out on the ice, warm up with a cup of hot chocolate from the concession stand.

The rotary rink is free to use and offers skate rentals for $3, making it an affordable excursion for cash-strapped students.

If outdoor excursions are not your cup of tea, consider visiting the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, one of Buffalo’s indoor gems. Overlooking the beautiful Hoyt Lake, the gallery has an impressive collection that features art representing a wide range of countries, centuries and styles. The collection boasts Abstract Expressionist and Pop art works by the likes of Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Arshile Gorky; nineteenth-century Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings by Vincent van Goh and Paul Gaugin; and 1920s and ‘30s Cubist, Surrealist and Constructivist works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro. Although walking leisurely through the halls of the gallery and taking in the beautiful paintings, sculptures and installations is enjoyable no matter what your level of knowledge of art is, those who wish to learn more about the pieces can take part in one of the Albright-Knox’s public tours, which are free with Gallery admission and are offered Thursday through Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Students with limited funds can take advantage of the gallery’s M&T First Fridays, which offer free admission on the first Friday of each month.

Another wonderful cultural advantage of Buffalo is its

many theatres. Students can get out of the cold and enjoy a production of nearly any genre either in one of the charming theatres in Buffalo’s beautiful and historic theatre district or in one of the numerous playhouses outside the city. Although tickets can be pricey, especially at larger theatres like Shea’s Performing Arts Center, many theatres offer very affordable student tickets. For those who wish to celebrate the holiday season, multiple Buffalo theatres offer Christmas plays with student tickets costing less then $20. Check out “A Christmas Carol” at the Alleyway Theatre downtown, “A Christmas Story” at the Lancaster Opera House or “Once Upon A Celtic Christmas” at the ECC North Campus.

For those who prefer the drama of sports to the drama of theatre, watching Sabres games at the First Niagara Center is vital to the winter-in-Buffalo experience. What better way is there to show your Queen City pride than to shout your lungs out, have a cold beer and support your local hockey team? Watching a home game is sure to be a thrilling experience, regardless of whether you are a die-hard fan or just want to see some guys get into a fight. Don’t be dissuaded by the high price of tickets: Canisius College Campus Programming offers discounted tickets to many Sabres games to help students experience the Best of Buffalo Series. For the current season, Canisius College is offering tickets ranging from $30 to $35 for six upcoming home games. The event schedule can be viewed at the Best of Buffalo page on the college’s website and tickets can be purchased one week prior to the game.

No matter where your interests lie, Buffalo offers something for everyone during the winter. Now get out and enjoy everything your city has to offer!

Your holiday gift giving guide

By Melissa Owczarzak Life and Arts Writer

With Christmas being less than twenty days away and holiday sale prices being in full effect, now is the time to finish buying the perfect gifts for everyone on your list. Although some people may not like writing out actual lists on paper, this is one set of people and things that you do not want to forget. So, before you actually make the trip to the mall, a department store or a street with little shops filled with homemade crafts, it is a good idea to write down a list of all the people you want to buy gifts for, possible ideas and even an estimated budget so you do not spend way more than you should.

So who exactly should be on your list?

Hopefully this isn’t a hard question, but just to make sure you don’t forget anyone: parents, stepparents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends, roommates, coworkers, bosses, significant others and the parents of a significant other should all be considered. When planning a budget, sometimes it’s best to try and break it down by each person. Although homemade things and gifts from the heart are great, you don’t want your gifts to seem cheap either, so consider how long you have known someone, how much he or she means to you and how much you think the recipient will spend on their present for you. Sometimes it’s good to just write down the gifts you are sure you want to get on the list first. If you can’t think of things to get for some of the others on your list, leave them blank and hopefully you will find something you didn’t think of for them while you shop for other gifts. Clothes are always an option, but they are probably the least exciting and most likely to be returned, because the garment could not fit or the person doesn’t like it. Gift cards should also be considered a last minute option, unless specifically asked for. If you are having trouble thinking of gifts for some people on your list, here are some helpful suggestions to point you in the right direction: Dad – Most dads have a strong interest in sports, television, music, books or technology. If your dad falls into one of these categories, this offers you thousands of possible gift options. If he has a man cave with sports memorabilia in it, try

to find a cool sports poster, a signed picture or a new addition to the room. If he really enjoys watching television or movies, there are a lot of great sales on movies and television series. Whether it’s a show he used to love or one he wanted to watch last season but missed, getting Dad an entertaining season of a TV show is a great idea. The same goes for books: if your dad loves to read, get him a new book that sounds interesting or one you know he has been itching to read. For those dads who enjoy technology, a new computer program he’s been talking about, a video game, cool headphones or a Kindle – which could also be great for dads who love to read – all qualify as great gifts.

Mom – One gift that is great for Mom is a new purse.

Even if your mom is not super girly, women always need new purses since old ones get worn out and women like to change their purse each season. Books, music and movies are also good choices for Mom (they are pretty much a safe choice for almost everyone on your list), especially if she has been talking about wanting to see, listen to or read something. There are also a lot of great new products that can be created using family photos. Blankets, ornaments, mugs, calendars, posters and mouse pads can all be made using one or many pictures. Most stores with a photo developing department have the option to make these products both in stores and online. Lotions, spa gift certificates, jewelry, scarves and other accessories will also be greatly appreciated.

Small children – For little kids, the best part of opening presents on Christmas is trying to guess what toys they are going to get. So if you have little brothers, sisters or cousins, do not give them anything except toys and things to play with. You can stick with the traditional gifts of giving boys cars and girls dolls, but there are also a lot of other fun new toys. Crayola always comes up with new ways to market crayons, markers and paints. This season they introduced the Crayon Maker, which melts different crayon colors together to form a tie-die crayon with the chosen colors. Board and video games can also be awesome gifts depending on the kids’ ages.

Teenagers/young people – Books, movies, television shows, gift cards, video games, jewelry, cameras, a GPS systems, gas gift cards and money will be greatly appreciated by a teenager. Gifts for teenagers, whether brothers, sisters, cousins or friends, are usually a bit easier to choose if you are close to their age. Not only will you understand what people their age like, but teenagers are more likely to come up with a list for their families or frequently mention what they want.

Grandparents/aunts and uncles – The photo collage

gifts that are good for Mom are also great for grandparents. Unless they ask for something specific, grandparents, aunts and uncles usually have everything they need and a lot of extra stuff they really don’t need. This is when practical gifts will actually be appreciated. Gift baskets filled with simple things like stamps, envelopes, grocery store gift cards, restaurant gift cards, movie gift cards or a “coupon” for a dinner out with you. These are things they will not only use and enjoy, but appreciate the usefulness of.

Boss – Usually around Christmas time someone you work with will start up a small collection to buy a group gift for the boss. As long as you are not in charge of it, just sign the card and contribute whatever they ask of you. It’s good to do a group gift, but if no one else initiates the idea, it might be up to you. Either decide on a gift and split the price equally or see how much you can collect and decide on the gift after. This is one time when it’s definitely okay to get a gift card, especially the Visa gift cards that can be used anywhere. If you would prefer to give a gift though, a nice basket with a bottle of wine, crackers and cheeses are also nice.

Boyfriend/girlfriend – The hardest part about getting a gift for a significant other is not deciding what he or she would like (because hopefully you know his or her interests), but deciding how much to spend or what is appropriate for the amount of time you have been dating. Obviously, every relationship is different, but if you have been dating for half a year or less, try not to go over $50 and do not get anything that will make you seem too clingy. The longer that you have been dating, the nicer and more romantic your gifts should be to show your boyfriend or girlfriend how much they mean to you.

A framed picture, a mix CD with special songs,or specially baked Christmas cookies are always a nice addition to any gift for that special someone. Jewelry and perfume are usually a good choice for girls and tech stuff is a good choice for guys. It could also be a good idea to have a theme to your gifts. Get your boyfriend a new movie, some comfy pajama pants and his favorite candy or snack for a cozy movie night. Or, get your girlfriend some perfume, lotions and chocolate for a relaxing at-home spa day.

Of course everyone is different and these gifts may not be right for everyone on your list, but hopefully some of these suggestions will make your holiday shopping a little less stressful.

LIFE & ARTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

NERVO: Factory Nightlife brings female DJ duo

By Alicia Greco

Life and Arts Writer Stepping into PURE Nightclub last Saturday night, one could observe that hands were in the air and the energy was passionate. On stage, two beautiful, blonde women formed their hands into the shape of a heart, smiling at the crowd. One of the girls, clad in a blue puffy vest and vertical black-and-white striped leggings, brought the headphones to her ear and prepared to mix in the next track.

NERVO, a female DJ duo, brought a very different kind of night to Buffalo. Their feminine energy not only gained them respect from the audience but also proved that the DJ scene is not limited to “a man’s world.”

Miriam and Olivia Nervo, otherwise known as Mim and Liv, are the Australian twin sisters that form the duo. Models at an early age, they soon delved into the world of music. Both producers and performers, these ladies are not only growing in their success in popular music culture, but are also much respected in the upper tier of electronica.

This past June, Mim and Liv toured with female music icons Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj for the 2011 Femme Fatale tour. The

girls have worked closely with David Guetta, a well-known French DJ. They helped to coproduce many tracks, including, “When Love Takes Over.” With vocals by Kelly Rowland and an ultra dancey sound, this Grammy award winning track hit #1 on Billboard’s “Hot Dance Club Songs” chart in 2009. In addition to this great success, NERVO has also helped to produce a number of Ke$ha tracks.

In most recent years, Afrojack, Steve Aoki and Armin Van Buuren have also worked closely with the NERVO twins. These men are well-established and highly respected European DJs and producers. “We’re All No One” was released this year, by Steve Aoki and Afrojack. Vocals were provided by the girls themselves. It is refreshing to see two hardworking women making huge moves in such a competitive area of musical genres.

There is a masculine hold on the dance music scene in our very own city. From Chippewa to Soundlab and even at Town Ballroom, men run the turntables. Rarely in Buffalo do we see female DJs ranked with equally high success. NERVO’s performance was breathtaking. A number of my close friends are from Buffalo’s very own Queen City Cartel. My love for these guys is through the roof, but these ladies stole a bit of my heart that

night.

My personal thanks goes to Brian Nelson, the head honcho at Factory Nightlife, for bringing such an amazing booking. He also set me up with the wonderful opportunity of a personal interview with Mim and Liv. Since this semester is at an end and their schedule is busy, keep an eye out for the personal interview when Canisius College is back in session.

As a writer and devotee of electronic music, the NERVO girls were truly inspirational.

There was a feminine feel that night, which was welcomed with open hearts and bouncing bodies. For Buffalo, NERVO brought a new regard for the female DJs. The crowd sang along to their track, “We’re All No One, ‘Til Someone Thinks That You’re Someone, ‘Til Then You’re No One.” These girls are most definitely someone.

Check out NERVO on Twitter and Facebook: http://twitter.com/#!/Nervomusic http://www.facebook.com/NERVOmusic Also, keep an eye on upcoming Factory Nightlife events at http://www.facebook. com/factorynightlifebuffalo

Factory Nightlife

Factory Nightlife

Factory Nightlife

Phenomenon

By Alicia Greco

Life and Arts Writer “Phenomenon,” a weekly Thursday night event at NOIR Ultra Lounge, held its one-year anniversary on December 1. This event was particularly different from most Chippewa events. Headline DJs and brothers Chris and Pat Williams, otherwise known as Roboroc, decided to waive admission to the event for guests who brought a non-perishable food item.

Attendees helped bring in an outstanding 500 pounds of food for the WBNY Food Bank. The holiday spirit was effervescent.

DJ Parliament (Lucas Honig) opened the night, followed by DJ Brother Bear (Jake Broffman). Before the usual dubstep ensued, Brother Bear began his set with some house tracks. After watching his set for a while, I turned around to see that the place was suddenly packed with party-goers. Roboroc incorporated live drums into their set, a new experience for most. Apparently a successful addition, they will continue the live drum set accompaniment for future shows.

“Phenomenon” is held every Thursday and features Roboroc, Sunglasses Mike and SwaggleRock. Guests must be 18 years or older.

Factory Nightlife

The Caricaturist...

The War on Saturnalia

By Andrew Coddington Life and Arts Editor

With the coming of winter, so comes Saturnalia. Nowadays, one can hardly move through the forum to purchase festively festooned sword sheathes without bumping into a malcontent. You may recall from last year that nuisances against Saturn primarily came from without, on the fringes of the empire, from the barbaric Germans.

But whenever a report of some heathenish bar-bar-hoop-hoop-haloo Yule log nonsense and affronts to God reached Rome, they were always followed by decimation at the hands of our troops – other wholesome gladius magnus sheathing, if you catch my drift... But this year, a new front has been opened in the War on Saturnalia; new militants deploying under a new banner; new ironwrought piercings minting new casualties; new flaming fireballs flinging wide the bowels of citizens on this, our most holy... one of our holidays, but this time from within our very forum. Who’s to blame?

Christians.

These rebel rousers are, purely and simply, terrorists. Reports of their “religious” rituals coming from disguised reporters tell of the most horrible, sacrilegious practices: Christians eat bodies and drink blood – presumably of babies – like zombies and vampires, respectively. Zampiries. Vompies.

Zombires. Christians. But with babies. Babies of wealthy senators. Though no reports of senator babies being eaten have surfaced, it’s only reasonable to believe it’s happening.

These terrorists are pressuring our leaders into silence. Indeed, thousands of senators are not coming forward to authorities with evidence that their children were consumed

by Christians. Poor souls, living in fear of their zompirific, heathen slave masters. That isn’t right, the way they turn things upsidedown.

However, it is during this time that they are most hard at work sapping our joy and undermining our traditions. The issue came to a head on the Ides of December, when an overly boisterous Christian, Steve, was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace; treason; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, assassination and graffiti. The case was immediately decided when a piece of charcoal (presumably the weapon he would use to commit his murder) was found on his person. He was sentenced to crucifixion, but the sentence was reasonably commuted: we don’t need to give these wingnuts another martyr to celebrate. But the case of Steve v.

SPQR set a powerful precedent. Christians ought not have any say in public discourse, especially during Saturnalia. These off-thewall Puritans are only out to ruin our fun with their sobriety. There’s frankly no need to remind us of one Jew we killed hundreds of years ago. We used to crucify hundreds of people a week! What makes one little political pissant so important? We’ll never know, because it’s stupid to listen to a Christian.

Just the other day, visitors to the forum were utterly shocked to see our pleasant holiday decorations besmirched with Christian graffiti: horrible little fish speckled our thirty-foot holiday phallus. Have these monsters any propriety? The answer is no. It is clear that, purely and simply, they will not stop until Saturnalia is destroyed, all phalli torn down and all babies eaten.

However, we must not compromise in the face of these Puritanical, hippie terrorists.

They are not a religion. We must continue to throw our fancifully decorated swords in their faces and waggle them around for good measure. It’s the only way to win this War on Saturnalia.

LIFE & ARTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

Nightwish’s “Imaginaerum”: an epic journey

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By Tyler Ianuzi

Life and Arts Writer It’s been four years since the release of “Dark Passion Play,” the sixth studio album of Finland’s most famous symphonic metal act, Nightwish. That album, the first with new lead singer Anette Olzon, marked the beginning of a new era and style for the band. “Imaginaerum,” their newest album released recently in Finland, takes that even further.

From the first track, “Taikatalvi” (magic winter), fans will know they’re in for something fantastic. The album is a journey into our very dreams and emotions, and even back into our own childhoods. Bassist and co-singer Marco Hietala sings alone in his native Finnish tongue on the mostly instrumental opening track. The vocal style is softer than fans are used to, as he guides us on a flight through a dark winter sky. Suddenly we land and enter “Storytime”, the heavy riffs and drums battling against the backing orchestra that Nightwish has made its trademark. Lead singer Olzon – whose magical vocals I would describe as “motherly” – welcomes us into a world where our favorite stories and fantasies are real, singing: “I am the voice of Never-Never-Land/ The innocence, the dreams of every man/I am the empty crib of Peter Pan”.

The sinister and thundering sound of “Ghost River” introduces the listener to the theatricality of this unique album in what

keyboardist and band maestro Tuomas Holopainen describes as “a duel between the Devil and Mother Gaia”. Taking on these roles are Hietala and Olzon, respectively.

As Olzon guides us down a frightening river ride, Hietala’s roaring Devil erupts onto the scene, snarling the words: “He will go down, he will drown, drown, deeper down/ The river wild will take your only child”. In “Slow, Love, Slow”, the band introduces a smooth jazz style to their already impressive resume of genre crossing, taking the listener into a smoky nightclub straight out of a film noir. The slower song ends with a mysterious ticking clock which leads us right into “I Want My Tears Back”, a fast and heavy song featuring frequent Nightwish collaborator Troy Donockley on the Uillean pipes.

“Where is the wonder, where’s the awe/ Where’s dear Alice knocking on the door/ Where’s the trapdoor that takes me there/ Where the real is shattered by a Mad March Hare”, Olzon asks, accompanied again majestically by Hietala. The song leaves us longing again for our own childhood innocence before its final notes.

“Scaretale” tears us from that innocence, however, and drops us into a circus where our darkest nightmares are the main acts. Olzon, manipulating her voice into a witch-like sound, describes to us scenes of horror and creatures in the dark reaching out for us with their claws. Hietala, in the role of the ring leader, invites us into his carnival of horrors: “Ladies and gentlemen/ Be heartlessly welcome!/To Cirque De

Morgue/And what a show we have for you tonight!” These seven minutes of terror are followed by the album’s intermission piece, “Arabesque”, a self-described instrumental performed solely by the orchestra.

“Turn Loose the Mermaids” reintroduces the slower, softer side of the band in a restful ballad with a bridge reminiscent of the whistling spaghetti western scores of Ennio Morricone. Afterwards, the listener should make sure he or she is sitting down for “Rest Calm”. In this song a man thinks back on his life, searching desperately for memories he thinks are lost: “Within there’s every little memory resting calm with me/ Resting in a dream/Smiling back at me/The faces of the past keep calling me to come back home/Rest calm and remember me”. It is a heavier song that manages to touch our very soul, and makes us long to remember times now gone.

The Hietala-composed “The Crow, The Owl, And The Dove” brings an acoustic tone to the album, where he and Olzon tell the tale of a man visited by these three birds, and finally a swan. The man has no use for the gifts of these creatures and sends them away: “Don’t give me love/I’ve had my share/Beauty nor rest/Give me truth instead”. Now near the end of the album, this magical theme park of life is approaching its closing hours, and the listener climbs aboard the “Last Ride Of The Day”, a roller coaster of a song that takes you through life at 100 miles per hour. Every memory and dream speeds by alongside you and if you don’t

look quickly you’ll miss it: “Riding the day, every day into sunset/Finding the way back home”.

The penultimate epic 13 minute piece “Song Of Myself ”, inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman, takes the listener through the mind of a dying man, his final thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. “A song of me, a song in need/Of a courageous symphony/A verse of me, a verse in need/Of a pure-heart singing me to peace”, Olzon sings passionately for the first half of the song’s epic length. The second is made up entirely of a poem read by multiple voices, the characters we have met throughout this journey. Nightwish has pulled off some unlikely things, but I never thought they could make a song featuring a six minute spoken poem work; a poem that, if you listen intently, may turn over your entire outlook on life. After the last line is read, “Imaginaerum”, a orchestral medley of the songs we have just heard, plays us out into this journey’s end.

“Imaginaerum” is everything I hoped it would be and more. While not a concept album in the traditional sense, the feelings and emotions the songs bring out liken the album’s ending to closing a finished book.

With a film based on the album due out next spring in Europe, I am doubly excited for this recent release. For fans of metal, film score, epic fantasy or anyone looking to hear something never heard before and maybe never again, I highly recommend what I believe is the band’s magnum opus when it hits U.S. stores January 10th this winter.

LIFE & ARTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

A very Christmas essay

By Lisa Stachura

Life and Arts Writer It was a cold and snowy Saturday in December when I ventured back inside after playing in the snow. The blue and teal snowsuit I wore was soaked. As my mom helped dry me off, a delicious smell filled my nose. The misery of being freezing cold disappeared due to an incredible aroma filling my house by the minute. After being freed from the suit, I ran to the kitchen and, sliding on the wood floor as if I was Tom Cruise in Risky Business, I saw my dad standing by the counter, shaking off pale, cream-colored cookies in the shapes of Christmas trees. I knew what I was doing that night! Cookies, frosting, sprinkles and being surrounded by my family was the perfect combination for a great night. As I peeked over the counter to smell the cookies up close, my eyes widened because I knew the Christmas season had arrived! At this time, I was only five.

Now, after growing up and being a senior in college, I cannot explain how eager I am to be home to see cookies sitting on the counter ready to be decorated. Over the years, my family introduced traditions to celebrate each holiday throughout the year, but nothing beats the traditions set during the Christmas season. To me, traditions are activities families and/or friends share time after time and possible hand down to their children. It could be as small as baking and decorating cookies as a family or as big as large family dinners. These festivities are what I live for, and I hold the traditions involving Christmas very close to my

heart.

Christmas is the time of year where I feel the most connected with my family. It is because of specific traditions my parents started when I was young. As my brothers and I grew up, some traditions have faded away. Finding overlapping time to simply decorate the Christmas tree is difficult now that we have separate lives. With colliding work schedules, there is never a perfect time, but we always find a way to make it work and come together.

Knowing that this is just one of many faded traditions my family encounters during the season, there is one tradition I will never let slide. Decorating Christmas cookies. Since I can remember, every Christmas season, my mom or dad – mostly my dad – baked cutout cookies. These were not just ordinary cutout cookies; it was my dad’s recipe. Although his method is unknown, the cookies, no matter how long they stay out on the counter, always tasted fresh, and very few crumbs would fall after taking a bite. He perfected these cookies over time, so now I can appreciate them even more! Yum! Although the cookie is soft and chewy, the best part is the decorating process. The frosting is not Pillsbury, not Buttercream, not anything sold in stores. It’s a simple recipe and when I feel like dunking my cookie into pure sugar, I whip it up. Combine powdered sugar with milk or water and it will create a paste like texture to smooth over the cookies.

To be completely honest, it took me a couple of years to master the measurements. Each year my dad hears the same question, “How much milk do I need, Dad?” And each year he

tells me the same thing: “Trial and error.” You know how much powdered sugar I have probably wasted over the past 10 years? Enough.

Knowing how delicious the frosting is, I dip my finger in to have a taste. Just that little bit gives me an instant sugar rush. At 21 years old, I feel like a kid again. As cookie sheets are set at each place on the table, the frostingfilled coffee cups are placed beside them with a small butter knife. An assortment of colored sprinkles creates a centerpiece for the table and, with that done, it’s time to begin my favorite part: decorating. Obviously, when decorating creativity is key. As many people know, Christmas trees are normally green in real life. Not my cookie; this Christmas tree has stripes of red and green, with a cinnamon ball placed at the tip replacing a yellow star. Santa is known for his red suit and his boots that are black as coal. Not mine. Santa is pink with a letter ‘S’ spelled in thick green sprinkles, and his boots are yellow and outlined in orange.

This tradition allows me to act like a little kid again, knowing that the only decision of importance that I need to make is what design I am going to make now, on the star cookie.

After all the decorating is complete, it is time to admire our artwork. By admire, I mean devour. Although some hard work was put into the decorations, they taste even better. These little traditions and little things are what I miss the most as I grow up. As I started working more and more, the traditions faded.

However, decorating the cookies, in my eyes, will never fade and I strive to keep this a tradition because everyone has to act like a little kid once and a while.

Graduation anxiety

By Lisa Stachura

Life and Arts Writer Have you ever had the feeling that you are just over something? You hear about it and think to your self, “I don’t care anymore. I just want it to be over with.” Well, that’s where I am now – a senior in college with less than 200 days until graduation.

I am at the point where I want to skip my last semester of college and just start working.

The graduation scare that frightens all seniors around this time of the year has yet to faze me.

I have yet to be overwhelmed with the notion of entering the real world. However, questions run through my mind of how I will get by.

My aunt told me when I started college that the four years will fly by. I didn’t believe it then, but I’m a believer now. I can honestly say that going through college has been difficult.

It wasn’t high school – not even close. There was no one guiding me through life except my advisor, who gave me excellent advice for classes. Other than that, no one calls your parents when you don’t attend class, and teachers (wait, I mean professors, not teachers) don’t send letters home to your parents to tell them how you are doing. College is about responsibility, which is why I feel prepared to enter the real world at this very moment.

College isn’t as bad as I am making it out to be. It is a fun and enjoyable process. However, as they always say, college is not for everyone. This is true. Some people enter college

knowing what they want to do with their life, like me. I have taken steps in my degree program to get where I am today, and that puts me onto a path for the future. I had many enjoyable opportunities to go places and do things, but it doesn’t matter anymore. After four years, the idea of working for a living is something I want to experience. As of now, that is what life is; it’s made up of experiences. This is why I want to get out. I want to travel and learn more. I want to write and I want to take pictures. All this is something that is possible, especially with my knowledge of writing and journalism.

Graduating college is a big change, just as graduating high school was. It starts another chapter in your life. All you can do is accept it because no one person is alone. It’s up to that person to adapt, to change and to realize that certain things in life are dreams and that goals could turn into reality. Being overwhelmed with different things in life hits each senior at different times. It hit me already. It’s hitting my cousin now. We both are graduating in May with degrees on completely different spectrums of education.

Although I get overwhelmed with school constantly, I am actually more excited to finish college. Over the past couple of months, I have realized that worrying about the future and dwelling on how you will be able to afford things in life will only make you crazier than you already are. Obviously, money is an important aspect in one’s life, and affording things you’d like is difficult. However, it can

be done. Personally, I feel that for the things I want to accomplish in my life, like traveling, I can do without school. I want to start working. I want a job in my field and I know that my degree will only make me a better candidate for the job I seek.

It’s weird to say it, but I am ready. I am ready to get out and start that next chapter.

Obviously, I want to finish school because I have come this far already – why stop now?

Why screw up what I have worked so hard to accomplish? My worries about paying student loans, finding a job and pretty much introducing myself to the real world fazed me last summer. Going into my final fall semester, I was hit with many questions: How will I pay my student loans? Will I find a job after college?

Where am I going to get the money to afford to live on my own? Although these questions run through my mind like a continuous daily slideshow, they do not faze me that often anymore.

I have now come to grips with the idea that trying to plan out my life is not good and will only make me go crazy. I set goals and I know that as long as I keep those goals in mind, I can achieve anything. As a firm believer of the saying “everything happens for a reason,” I feel that you cannot expect or push things in order to achieve what you want. There are many things that run through my head on a daily basis, but keeping my mind focused on the present and what I am doing now, in this moment, allows me to not go crazy. Good luck on exams everyone!

Poet Emanuel Xavier captivates Canisius

By Milano Rodriguz Life and Arts Writer

Because poetry has received the reputation of a somewhat defunct art form in the United States, it was unique and refreshing to witness the spoken-word performance of Emanuel Xavier last Tuesday night.

The evening began with an open mic session, during which several Canisius students came forward and with admirable bravery, read their original works for the assembled group. After hearing many remarkable student compositions, Emanuel, or “Manny” took the stage and read poems aloud: some unpublished and some from his collection

entitled “If Jesus Were Gay.” His poems were heart -wrenching, deep and moving as they reflected on his childhood of rejection, prostitution, drugs and familial issues. A soft-spoken, almost shy man, Manny kept apologizing for the heavy nature of some of his poems and made sure to pepper the darkness with lighter compositions about the nature of his Latino identity and sense of belonging in the United States.

After confessing that he wasn’t sure if the audience would receive one work favorably, he proceeded to read his title poem “If Jesus Were Gay” to an amazingly open and appreciative audience – a trademark of Canisius College.

As his performance took place on World AIDS Day, he recited a beautiful poem dedicated to

his friends who were and are living with AIDS. After attending Xavier’s performance, I am discouraged by the general lack of emphasis on poetry in this country. Xavier uses it as not only an art form, but as a true expression of the soul; he and anyone else who stands in front of an audience to recite original poems should be commended and appreciated, as it is an incredibly personal thing to share with others.

The event was well attended by members of the LGBT community, African Americans, the honors class Latinos in the US and the Canisius community. I would highly encourage everyone to check out Emanuel’s book “If Jesus Were Gay” or his other novels and poetry collections.

Timothy Gaughan’s Best Albums of 2011 Destroyer – ‘Kaputt’ Kaputt’s production is the first thing you notice about this record. Indie soft rock would be a good term for it; the saxophones, numerous synths and smooth bass evoke the 1980s in a very good way. What I like most about this album are the lyrics. Singing, “Wasting your days chasing some girls, alright/Chasing cocaine through the backrooms of the world all night”, Dan Bejar sounds like a cool seasoned veteran (not that I am glamorizing cocaine use).

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Andy Stott – ‘Passed Me By/We Stay Together’ Within the context of the electronic music world, Andy Stott’s music seems to be difficult to grasp. The two releases from Stott this year are technically techno records, but the slow chugging beats that run amuck over a dark ambiance seem to be a bit more than bleeps ‘n shit that sound cool. Since it’s inception there has been a culture around electronic music, and you can go on forever about it’s history, multiple sub-genres, etc. – and Stott, who is well into his 30s, is actually old to enough to have been around for a good portion of it.

These two releases represent something cold and alienated from techno, and they’re all the better for it.

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James Blake – ‘James Blake’ There are two different camps when it comes to dubstep. One end of the spectrum is referred to as post dubstep or future garage, and the other known as brostep. James Blake represents the former, a more thoughtful side than the Americanized brostep. On early releases, Blake’s music was more mysterious. The brilliant “CMYK” has a full minute of build-up before there is an explosion of bass, and a flush of ghostly vocals bleeds out of your speakers.

His self-titled debut album shows off Blake’s hidden talent as a singer: not exactly amazingly proficient, but more interesting and dynamic than the “guy behind DJ equipment” shtick that we always see. “Never Learnt to Share” shows off a good mix of his soul-influenced vocals as well as his knack for a good build-up and release, while “Lindesfarne” successfully does the tender acoustic bit. Album center piece and Feist cover “Limit to Your Love” is the perfect candidate for a dubstep reworking, starting with just piano until it unfolds into a huge bass send off. Blake is certainly a talent and I will be looking forward to his future releases, even if they may be dubstep for Starbucks.

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LIFE & ARTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

Market Arcade film & arts center

Best-Seller List Paperback Non-Fiction – Top 5

Arthur Christmas (PG) Daily 4:50, 7:05, 9:15 SAT/SUN 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7:05, 9:15

Immortals (R) Daily 4:15, 7:00, 9:25 SAT/SUN 1:45, 4:15, 7:00, 9:25

New Year’s Eve (pg-13) DAILY 4:30, 7:15, 9:45 SAT/SUN 2:00, 4:30, 7:15, 9:45

1. HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent 2. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot 3. UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS, by Jennifer S. Holland 4. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell 5. THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE, by Max Brooks

friday

1. EXPLOSIVE EIGHTEEN, by Janet Evanovich 2. 11/22/63, by Stephen King 3. KILL ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson 4. THE LITIGATORS, by John Grisham 5. V IS FOR VENGEANCE, by Sue Grafton

Allen Street Hardware Cafe

11:00pm: DJ Daringer and Scott Down

Blue Lantern

10:00pm: Caitlin and The Jamie Moses Band

10:00pm: Chris Maloney

Clarence Center Coffee Co.

Goodrich Coffee and Tea

7:30pm - 10:30pm: Sara Elizabeth

7:00pm: Erin Sydney

sunday Left Bank

11:30am - 1:30pm: Jazz Brunch with Wayne Moose and Walt Sopicki

Mohawk Place

6:00pm: H20 with Pentimento and Wolf Tickets

Hard Rock Cafe

Club 101 Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel

Riviera Theatre

9:30pm: Harvey & the Hurricanes

7:30pm: American Legion Band of the Tonawandas

Kleinhans Music Hall

Lebro's

The Bend

Mohawk Place

M&T Bank

UB Center for the Arts

8:00pm: Boogie Monsters 10:30am: Debby Boone

8:30pm - 11:30pm: Dave Schivone

9:00pm: Steak and Cake Holiday Showcase with Johnny Nobody, Sea vs Snake, and more

Riviera Theatre

8:00pm: 4th Annual Make the Yuletide Gay. Music by the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus

Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College

1:00pm: Free Holiday Concert conducted by Paul Ferington featuring Diane Dick, handbells and Jennifer Stafford

8:00pm: Industry Night with Brandi M 7:30pm: MercyMe with Bebo Norman

Mohawk Place

8:00pm: Hurricane Bells and Wildlife with The Demos

8:00pm: A Peter White Christmas featuring Mindi Abair and Kirk Whalum

Riviera Theatre

Tralf Music Hall

Soundlab

7:00pm: Elew

Twilight: Breaking dawn: part 1 (pg-13) DAILY 4:00, 7:00, 9:50 SAT/SUN 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:50

Hardcover Fiction – Top 5

saturday

French Pub

tower Heist (pg-13) DAILY 4:00, 7:05, 9:35 SAT/SUN 7:05, 9:35

and Kevin Balfe 4. UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand 5. JACK KENNEDY, by Chris Matthews

1. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett 2. LONGING, by Karen Kingsbury 3. THE NEXT ALWAYS, by Nora Roberts 4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson 5. SING YOU HOME, by Jodi Picoult

7:30pm - 10:30pm: Kathy Moriarty & Carlos Day

The Sitter (R) DAILY 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 SAT/SUN 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30

1. STEVE JOBS, by Walter Isaacson 2. KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 3. BEING GEORGE WASHINGTON, by Glenn Beck

Paperback Trade Fiction – Top 5

Clarence Center Coffee Co.

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SPORTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

Men’s basketball

Griffs open home schedule with 3 straight losses Canisius just 1-5 overall, 0-2 in MAAC after playing league’s top competition

By Jourdon LaBarber Sports Writer

The Canisius College basketball team ended their three-game home stand with yet another loss, when the Griffs fell 67-55 against South Dakota at the Koessler Athletic Center last night.

Junior Alshwan Hymes contributed 18 points for Blue and Gold, while sophomore captain Chris Manhertz led with a gamehigh ten rebounds. With the loss, Canisius fell to 1-6 on the year.

“We couldn’t make a shot, it seems like every shot they took went in,” head coach Tom Parrotta said after his fifth straight loss. “I think not making shots gets you hesitant. I thought we had driving lanes and we really didn’t take advantage of them.”

Canisius struggled to find a consistent offensive game, shooting only 31.7 percent from the field. The lack of scoring led Canisius to a 4836 deficit with only 10:23 remaining to play. The Griffs nearly were able to come back however, as they used an 8-2 run to make the score 50-44, capped off by a bucket by sophomore guard David Santiago, who saw a season-high eighteen minutes of action.

South Dakota would use the three ball – as they had for most of the game – to put the Griffs away, however, shooting 55.6 percent from three-point territory in the second half. The Coyotes, who came into the game shooting only .263 percent from three this season, made ten of their 18 3-pointers in the contest.

Senior guard Charlie Westbrook had 18 points for South Dakota, while fellow senior Louie Krogman nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Of his six field goals, five were three-point shots.

with the fact that his “Luckily today I team was able to hold was able to get some the NCAA’s most prolific open looks and let my scoring offense to under teammates get me the 89 points for the first time ball and I was fortunate all season while also limitenough to knock them ing two of the conference’s down,” Krogman said most dynamic players – of his shooting success Machado and fellow senior after the win.

Mike Glover – to eight and The loss of junior six points, respectively.

Gaby Belardo, who was “When you get a inactive with a back team that is first in the nainjury, can be credited tion and as high powered for much of the trouble as they are and you get on that Canisius has found your home court and you on offense. got them where you want “Gaby [not being them, you have to finish there] really hurts. He the job…were moving tois a guy who can get wards that, quite honestly,” into the lane, stretch deParrotta said. fense, and make shots Sophomore guard and it puts a lot of presReggie Groves contributsure on these guys,” Pared a good shooting perforrotta said. “They have mance in place of Belardo, been together with the who missed the game with starting group since day a back injury, hitting 3 of one…all of a sudden 4 shots from beyond the you pull somebody out arc. Belardo’s absence was of that and now there is felt heavily however in the adjustments that have Griffs’ most prominent to be made and now statistic: turnovers. Parwere searching for that rotta even offered that Befifth guy.”

Sam Stuff/ The Griffin Last Friday night, Alshwan Hymes crossed over South Dakota for 18 points Thursday. lardo, had he been healthy, may have even “cut the the team committed 21 turnovers and opened up their con- offense for much of the game, com- turnovers in half.”

Belardo was cleared for limited ference schedule with a 69-57 loss ing into half-time trailing by only at the hands of Iona in their home one point at 33-32. Canisius kept it time, two days later when the Griffs opener at the KAC. Junior guard close through much of the second lost to fellow Metro Atlantic AthHarold Washington led all scorers half, trailing by only two points with letic Conference opponent Fairfield with 22 points for the Griffs while 11:06 remaining before the Gaels by a score of 68-59 at the KAC on Sunday evening.

Manhertz added a career high 10 used a 10-1 run to finally pull away.

Harold Washington again led Junior forward Taaj Ridley rebounds.

“Ultimately what it came down went 6-for-6 from the field for Iona, all players in scoring, with 24 points, to was we turned the ball over too and fellow junior LaMont “MoMo” while Chris Manhertz tallied his many times against a team like that Jones added 12 points and four first career double-double as he had and I thought that was the difference assists. Senior point guard Scott 13 points along with 12 rebounds; in the game,” Parrotta said after the Machado also contributed a game- which surpassed his career high he set in the previous game. high seven assists in the victory. game.

The game featured a story-line Despite the outcome of the The Griffs were able to play with the nation’s leading scoring game, coach Parrotta was pleased very similar to that of the Griffs’ precommentary

Old-fashioned rivalry highlights Griffin Spirit Week

By Sam Scarcello Editor in Chief

The rivalry is one of the oldest traditions in collegiate level sports.

Two schools that meet year after year to duke it out for the title and more importantly, bragging rights.

They exist across the country, including Boston College vs. Notre Dame, Indiana vs. Perdue, Michigan vs. Ohio State and Yale vs. Harvard, to name a few. Believe it or not Canisius is involved in a rivalry of its very own. That’s right, the Golden Griffins have been clashing with the Niagara Purple Eagles for over a century.

School records show that in 1904, Canisius’ and Niagara’s basketball teams squared off for the first time. Today, the schools meet competitively in baseball, basketball, ice hockey, softball and soccer among others. The schools have taken the rivalry a bit farther than most though.

In 2006, the Battle of the Bridge was created. Hoping to further develop the rivalry, the Battle is an all-sports competition in which points are awarded to the winner of regular-season contests when the schools meet for contest. The name is derived from the Grand Island Bridge, which both teams are required to cross when traveling to

the other school. The point system is broken down into a number of categories: Men’s and women’s Basketball 2 points per win.

Hockey 1 point per win, ½ point to each team in the result of a tie.

Baseball 2 points to the winner of the threegame series.

Cross country, golf, swimming and diving 2 points per win.

Men’s and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse 2 points per win.

Volleyball 1 point per win.

Softball 2 points for winner of the doubleheader, 1 point per win.

On top of supreme bragging rights within the rivalry, the schools are competing for the Canal Cup. The trophy receives its name from the Erie Canal, which is significant to both regions, much like the Grand Island Bridges. The Canal intersects both Niagara and Erie counties, where each respective school is located. A tie in total points results in the current cup holder retaining the title, but in five years of recording and awarding points that has yet to happen.

For example a breakdown of last years Battle shows that across 18 match-ups and a total of 33 points awarded, Canisius reined victorious, 20-13. (A full breakdown is available for all Battles, since the Cup’s inception in 2006. Scan the QR code below to check out the Battles.)

When school resumes on Jan. 17, we jump right into the Griffin Spirit Week festivities. Canisius men’s and women’s basketball teams face-off against Niagara in the Koessler Athletic Center on Thursday the 19th. Basketball is where the rivalry began all the way back in 1904 and it remains the pinnacle of their matchups today. C-Block is hoping students will turn out in droves for the game to cheer on the Golden Griffs as they take the wind out from underneath the Purple Eagles.

vious match against Iona: Canisius competed for the majority of the game before falling off at the end.

The Griffs once again went into the half trailing by only four points, but allowed the Stags to use a 12-6 run to extend their lead to ten to begin the second half, six of which points were scored by senior Rakim Sanders. The Griffs were able to make it close again, however, when Washington scored five straight points in a 21 second span and brought the score to 46-41.

Canisius played up-and-down for much of the second half, as their deficit went from five points to nine, nine to three and three back to eight all in the first twelve minutes.

Thanks to scores from both Belardo and Groves, the Griffs were once again able to fight their way back to a three-point deficit with only 7:41 left to play.

The Griffs would not be able to complete the climb however, as nine straight Fairfield points would lead to the eventual victory. Sanders and junior Derrick Needham each scored 19 points for the Stags, who improved to 5-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.

“The good news is that we are playing some pretty good basketball against some pretty good teams we just don’t have the wins to show for it right now and that are the downside of it. The other downside is that we are 0-2 in the league and we had the top two teams come into our home court and we had chances to beat them,” Parrotta said.

Belardo (day-to-day) will also be shelved on Saturday as Canisius begins its three-game road-trip this weekend against rival St. Bonaventure. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Olean. labarbej@canisius.edu

Standings Atlantic Hockey Standings Team Air Force Mercyhurst RIT Robert Morris Holy Cross Niagara Bentley Canisius Connecticut Army American Int’l Sacred Heart

GP 11 9 10 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 11 11

Conf.

8-2-1 6-1-2 5-3-2 5-2-1 5-4-0 3-2-4 4-3-2 4-3-2 4-5-1 1-5-4 2-7-2 0-10-1

Pts. 17 14 12 11 10 10 10 10 9 6 6 1

MAAC Men’s Basketball Standings Team Iona Loyola Fairfield Manhattan Marist St. Peter’s Niagara Siena Canisius Rider

GP 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Conf.

2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-2 0-2

Pct. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 .500 .500 .000 .000 .000 .000

MAAC Women’s Basketball Standings Conference matches begin after the New Year.

scarcels@canisius.edu

Ovr. 9-4-2 7-7-2 6-5-2 7-6-1 7-7-0 4-5-5 4-8-3 4-8-3 5-8-2 1-7-6 3-12-2 1-14-1

Ovr. 7-1 7-1 6-4 5-4 4-5 2-5 3-5 3-6 1-6 1-8

SPORTS

Friday, December 9, 2011 Women’s basketball

On The Wing: Hoohuli recognized as Griffs Light at the end of come up short against rivals the tunnel?

By Ed Lupien Sports Writer

By Nathan Barillari Sports Writer

One Griffin writer sees hope for the Bills For a person who has been an avid Buffalo Bills fan since I was old enough to comprehend the game of football, I have seen plenty of hard times fall upon this team. Since the 2005 season, I have seen four head coaches and three general managers (four if you count Russ Brandon).

Longtime owner Ralph Wilson Jr. has struggled to find the right “football guys” to take this team to the next level.

After the Dick Jauron era in Buffalo, the Bills finally have their guys.

Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix, referred to by some Bills fans as “Chix,” have the football instincts that guys like Jauron lacked.

Last season, the Bills started 0-8, but showed signs of life in the last eight games as they went 4-4. Thinking back to about a year ago, the Bills were just starting to find their identity as a team. Core players such as Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick were starting to emerge, while players from the previous tenure such as Lee Evans, Trent Edwards and Aaron Maybin were finding their way out.

One thing that stands out is how the “Chix” era has been about finding “their guys.” Players such as Kyle Williams, Jairus Byrd and Andy Levitre are hold-overs from the previous regime. The majority of the players on this team now are due to the combination of Nix and Gailey trying to create a team that is theirs.

Nobody had high hopes for the Bills this season as many sports analysts declared that they were at least another year away from being legitimate playoff contenders. It would be a building year, just as the year before was. They started the season 5-2 before losing five games in a row, and despite the fact that they were only a few plays away from victory in their last two contests, they are again, to many critics, the “same old Bills.”

But these aren’t the Bills we’ve known. This is a team that has finally found its direction and will continue to find its identity as the season goes on.

A big reason why the Bills have had some success has been the play at the quarterback position. While not perfect, Fitzpatrick has proven to be a gamer for the Bills this season and gives them and the fans the most security at the position since the days of Doug Flutie. He is in the Pro Bowl discussion. That alone is something impressive considering all of the quarterbacks the Bills have had under center since the Rob Johnson era.

Fitz is doing many things that our quarterbacks of the past decade could not. For example, according to buffalobills.com, this past week Fitzpatrick completed passes to 10 different receivers – a feat that has not been accomplished by a Bill since 1985 when Vince Ferragamo did the same. The fact that he’s one of the smartest players in professional sports doesn’t hurt either: Fitzpatrick graduated from Harvard and scored a remarkable 48 out of 50 in only nine minutes on the NFL Wonderlic Test.

Stevie Johnson is the best receiver that Bills fans have had since Eric Moulds. He can beat double-coverage, plays hurt and (as proven two Sundays ago against the Jets and All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis) can go head-to-head with some of the league’s best cornerbacks. Many blame the second Jets loss on Johnson and although I was pretty furious myself, the fact is that we have seen many star wide receivers labeled as “divas” – it’s what gives them their confidence – and as football fans we have seen much worse (i.e. Terrell Owens). Besides, given Johnson’s antics, or lack thereof, this past weekend (he handed the ball to the official after scoring instead of celebrating) I think that, assuming he re-signs this offseason, we won’t have to worry about seeing Stevie’s diva side for a long time.

The injury bug has bitten the Bills hard this season. They lost Kyle Williams, Shawne Merriman, Marcus Easley, Terrance McGee, Eric Wood, Roscoe Parrish, Donald Jones and most importantly, Jackson to injuries, and it could get worse before season’s end.

With the healthy return of these key players, along with some more players added in the offseason, Bills fans will have something to cheer for in 2012. Chan Gailey is a good football coach, who respects his players and gets the same respect in return. Buddy Nix is a strong evaluator of talent and will do what he can to give Gailey players that will add more pieces to make this team a winner. Take a look at some of the players who flew under the radar of other teams and have made key contributions for the Bills: tight end Scott Chandler, right tackle Erik Pears, linebacker Nick Barnett, guard/center Kraig Urbik, and of course, the “Goon Squad” – undrafted wide receivers Jones, David Nelson and Naaman Roosevelt.

Most importantly, this is a team that is finally learning how to win.

Even as it loses close games or is the victim of a blowout, the players are learning. Watching each Bills game this year, I have a much better feeling about this group than I have had before and it gives Bills fans a good feeling knowing that they don’t have to start over again. One thing that fans have to realize is that Nix is building a team that will be good in the long haul rather than building a “quick fix” winner – a reason why you don’t see many big signings or trades coming from the Bills front office.

In the offseason, if somebody said that the Bills would be in the playoff hunt, Fred Jackson and Ryan Fitzpatrick would be MVP candidates and the Bills would finally beat the New England Patriots, you would call that a pretty good season, one that certainly exceeded expectations.

The moral of this story is: be patient, Bills fans! I am confident that this regime knows what they are doing and come 2012, the players on this team will be even hungrier to make the playoffs. This team is just a few players shy of being a legitimate playoff threat and, with a good offseason, that is exactly what I expect to see from the 2012 Buffalo Bills. barilla1@canisius.edu

During a week in which guard Kayla Hoohuli was named MAAC Rookie of the Week for her careerhigh 18 point, nine rebound performance in Sunday’s 63-42 win over Colgate, the women’s basketball team fell to cross-town rival Buffalo Wednesday night in Amherst 62-57.

Hoohuli led the Griffs to their first home win of the season Sunday afternoon as they limited an 0-10 Red Raider team to 23.9 shooting from the floor. Hoohuli’s effort included four 3-pointers while sophomore guard Jen Morabito and junior forward Ashley Wilkes contributed with 10 points each in a game in which the Griffs never trailed after answering Colgate’s first basket of the contest with a 7-0 scoring run early in the first half.

“Once we saw Kayla play in high school we knew that she can do a lot of things with her athleticism,” head coach Terry Zeh said of Hoohuli.

“Up to this game she wasn’t shooting a great 3-point percentage but we were not concerned by that. Plus she got to the basket and made many la-

yups and and-ones in previous games for us. It does not surprise me to see what she did tonight but it was fun to watch.”

After leading by seven at halftime, the Griffs used a 10-0 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by junior guard Allison Braun and Hoohuli to increase their lead by 18 near the midway point of the second half.

Canisius would never allow the Red Raiders to cut its advantage to single digits during the rest of the contest.

“Watching the film prior to the game I thought Colgate was a lot better team than their record,” Zeh said. “They are literally four possessions away from being a 4-5 team. I knew they were a pretty good team. I thought we defended really well but we didn’t quite complete the possessions that we wanted to complete. I also thought that their poor shooting was probably due to the fact that they’ve had a horrific schedule travel-wise up to this point.”

Any elation that stemmed from earning their biggest win of the season in terms of point margin would be short-lived for the Griffs, as a trip to Amherst Wednesday night led to Canisius being stymied by a Buffalo team that grabbed 54 rebounds in

the five-point victory.

Sophomore forward Jamie Ruttle scored a career-high 20 points, including a 4-for-6 effort from beyond the arc, but was ultimately outshone by the Bulls’ Brittany Hedderson who notched 31 points. It was the first time that the Griffs had allowed an opposing player to score 30 or more points since 2005.

The Griffs kept the score close throughout the entire contest and held a three-point lead 28-25 at halftime before the Bulls came blazing out of the gates to retake the lead in the opening minutes of the second half.

Spending much of the half clawing back, the Griffs momentarily earned a 54-53 advantage on a jumper by sophomore forward Jen Lennox in the final minutes of the contest before Hedderson scored on consecutive possessions for the Bulls to ultimately put the game out of reach for Canisius.

The team (3-4) will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face its first ranked opponent of the season on Saturday as it visits No. 13 Ohio State. Game time is set for noon. lupiene@canisius.edu

Sabres

Sabres: Miller backed up in Nashville Continued from Page 15

the Bruins met on the ice, Sabres fans were still feeling the anger and resentment from their previous meeting, especially because their starting goaltender was still out with the injuries he sustained from the now infamous collision. It was no secret that the Sabres wanted some sort of revenge for their fallen goalie, so it came as no surprise when Paul Gaustad squared up with Lucic on Wednesday, Nov. 23 in Buffalo. Fans were less than impressed with Gaustad’s sparring ability, as Lucic clearly won the fight, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

The Sabres clearly struggled without Miller, only winning three games out of the eight that he did not play in. On Saturday, Dec. 3, Sabres fans everywhere rejoiced when it was announced that Miller would once again be starting in net for Buffalo.

The team was in Nashville, ready to take on the Predators.

At 15:54 in the second period of the game, Nashville forward Jordin Tootoo drove into the crease and charged Ryan Miller in his first game back since his injury. Once again, Sabres fans everywhere are infuriated.

The team was too, as almost every player out on the ice rushed over to defend Miller and attempt to make sure he was alright. It’s safe to say the team learned its lesson and attempted to protect the goaltender this time around.

During the game, Tootoo received a charging major and game misconduct on the play. Once again, the Sabres, their fans and NHL fans alike were wondering what additional charges would be called on Tootoo.

This past Tuesday, the NHL Player Safety department held a hearing in which they reconsidered the penalty and decided what the appropriate actions to take were.

In a video released on the official NHL website, Shanahan analyzed the hit and explained the po-

sitions of the Department of Player Safety. It was decided that “the call on the ice was suitable to the offense” in regards to the two charges Tootoo received during the game. Additionally, Tootoo was suspended for two games.

“This was an illegal charge to a goaltender stationed in his crease,” Shanahan said in the video. “It is the attacking player’s responsibility to make a better effort not to crash into the opposing goaltender … the goaltender must feel protected in his crease.”

The Sabres Organization and Buffalo fans alike feel as though justice has been served. Miller is one of the best goalies in the league, but it was discouraging to see seemingly constant foul plays against him go unpunished. Sabres fans can feel confident in the Department of Player Safety’s decisions and continue to, or at least try to, trust their judgment. ristevsf@canisius.edu

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SPORTS

Friday, December 9, 2011

Canisius Hockey Notebook

Sabres

Concussions and Christmas

By Rich Lunghino Sports Copy Editor

There seems to be a heightened awareness of concussions in the hockey world recently; most notably the one suffered by Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Sidney Crosby, who returned to game action on Nov. 21 after sitting out since Jan. 5.

Locally, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and forwards Cody McCormick and Jochen Hecht have dealt with concussion symptoms.

Miller and Hecht have both returned to the Sabres’ lineup while McCormick should return to play within the next week.

As for the Griffs, defenseman Jordan Mustard is currently dealing with concussion symptoms that will keep him out for the entire season after getting injured on Jan. 8. Canisius head coach Dave Smith says that things have changed a lot in terms of dealing with concussions over the last ten years.

“We’re learning more and more everyday about concussions and what a brain bruise does and what it does to your brain and how many negative side-effects it can have. I don’t know that we had all this information ten years ago and now that we have it, we maybe don’t know what to do with it, so there is a lot of questions, a lot of different opinions and unknowns. It’s obviously a very important piece of who we are,” Smith said.

Recently a report came out that announced that former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard, who passed away on May 13, had chronic

traumatic encephalopathy, a disease linked to repeated brain trauma. Researchers have also found cases of CTE in three other deceased NHL players: Reggie Fleming, Bob Probert and former Sabres great, Rick Martin.

One can only hope that heightened awareness and more information will lead to better player safety in the sport of hockey.

Canisius College Golden Griffins (4-8-3, 4-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) Power play (AHA): 4-37 (10.8%, 9th in AHA) Penalty-killing (AHA): 36-44 (81.8%, 7th in AHA)

…

Players and coaches alike are looking forward to the Christmas break, which is only a week long for the team since they are scheduled to take on Colgate on Dec. 30. In his “Campus Chronicles” on Tuesday, senior captain Scott Moser has a list of Christmas wishes from some of his teammates. Here are some selected “wishes”: Torrey Lindsay—$100 worth of hair wax.

Tyler Wiseman—A Christmas full of Facebook friend requests.

Dan Morrison—A year’s supply of Diet Coke, his game day beverage.

You can read it online at GoGriffs.com.

The tree is already up at the house of head coach Dave Smith.

Receiving some slippers as a gift recently, Smith had to change his Christmas gift wishes, but would like things this year that would keep him “comfortable around the home.”

Any players vying for ice time should give it a look.

No. P. Player

3 D Doug Jessey

4 D Ben Parker

8 C Mitch McCrank 9 F Taylor Law

10 F Torrey Lindsay 12 F Ryan Bohrer

14 C Preston Shupe 15 F Kyle Gibbons 16 D Ben Danford

20 F Cody Freeman

21 D Duncan McKellar 24 F Scott Moser

25 D Mackenzie Scott 26 F Patrick Sullivan 27 D Logan Roe

29 D Stephen Farrell 40 F Doug Beck

44 D Chris Barrea 49 F Tyler Wiseman 61 F Braeden Rigney 89 F Brian McGinty 91 C Carl Larsson 94 C Matthew Grazen

GP G A Pts 13 0 1 1 11 0 0 0 13 1 2 3 14 4 5 9 15 3 2 5 14 0 3 3 12 2 3 5 15 5 6 11 15 1 5 6 9 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 15 3 1 4 10 0 0 0 13 1 2 3 14 0 0 0 12 0 1 1 13 1 2 3 13 0 2 2 9 1 0 1 11 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 0 2 2 14 1 1 2

No. Goaltender 30 Dan Morrison 31 Tony Capobianco 33 Keegan Asmundson

GP 8 7 0

W 2 2 0

L 5 3 0

T 1 2 0

PIM +/14 -4 4 -4 10 -2 25 +4 6 +2 2 +1 4 -5 18 +4 6 +2 2 -4 2 -1 10 -5 2 +1 10 +4 12 -1 6 -2 6 -6 24 0 0 0 6 -6 0 0 4 -1 10 0

GAA 2.74 2.39 0.00

Sv.% .915 .938 .000

Head coach: Dave Smith Assistant coaches: B.J. Adams, John Daigneau, David Smith Undergraduate student coach: Jordan Mustard Equipment manager: Taylor Anderson Athletic trainer: Koki Takano

lunghinr@canisius.edu

Hockey

Hockey faces Mercyhurst Lakers tonight at Buff State Continued from Back

that rather than having it go the other way,” Smith said. “I think we need to find a way to continue to believe in what we are doing. Even though we get down a goal, that’s okay.

You’re just a bounce away, you’re one good shot away, one good scoring chance away from tying it or taking the lead.”

It will be a tough task for the Griffs to gain an offensive rhythm tonight against the Mercyhurst Lakers at Buffalo State Ice Arena, who are the stingiest team in Atlantic Hockey, allowing only 1.67 goals per game in conference play. Their goal-

tender, Max Strang, boasts the best save percentage (.957) and winning percentage (.778, 6-1-2) in the AHA in conference games. Smith, however, believes that the players will find their scoring touch.

“I think our guys maybe have some questions on where the goals are going to come from, but we have some offensive guys that I believe in that we can put together some offensive numbers,” Smith said.

Gibbons and Law have carrued the bulk of the offense this season for the Griffs. Gibbons leads the team in goals, assists and points (5G, 6A, 11Pts) while Law is right behind with nine points (4G, 5A).

Six of Law’s nine points have come in the past five games.

The Griffs were 2-1 against the second-place Lakers last year, who don’t seem to have lost much after graduating seven seniors last season.

Smith believes that it will be a very tight contest, but there will be opportunities to score.

“There’s mistakes on both teams. It’s just who has the players to capitalize on them, who has the goaltending to cover up some mistakes,” Smith said. “We want to roll out the same formula: good team defense and opportunistic scoring off face-offs, power plays and off the rush. It’s going to come down to

who can execute better together.”

Conference action for the Griffs this weekend will continue on Sunday against the Robert Morris Colonials, who are currently the fourth place team in Atlantic Hockey and who are scoring at a torrid pace in conference play at almost four goals per game.

Puck drop tonight at Buff State is at 7:05 p.m. while the tilt against Robert Morris is on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa. The first 300 fans through the doors tonight will receive Fr. Dugan bobbleheads. lunghinr@canisius.edu

Justice is finally served for Miller

By Hayden Ristevski Sports Writer

The hit on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller by Boston Bruin Milan Lucic on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Boston sent shockwaves through the entire National Hockey League community. The hit was so hard it knocked off Miller’s mask, and as a result, arguably one of the best goalies in the league suffered a head/ neck injury as well as a concussion, causing him to miss a total of eight games.

The fans were in an uproar, myself included. My first reaction while watching the game was, “Woah, that was insane!” and then I replayed the hit numerous times to see its true magnitude. I was shocked. Then, I noticed something. I realized that barely any of Miller’s teammates were doing anything to stick up for their goaltender. Sabres fans everywhere were obviously enraged at Lucic, but perhaps equally upset and disappointed in their own team for not backing Miller up.

Most people assumed that Lucic would be severely punished for such a shocking and devastating hit. But fans were once again outraged when Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s Senior Vice President of Player Safety, announced that Lucic would not be punished any further than the two-minute minor penalty for charging he received during the game.

The Department of Player Safety chose not to discipline Lucic any further because they believed it was not his intent to charge into Miller.

Also, Miller was outside of the crease, which by NHL rules makes him fair game. Personally, I believe Lucic should have been suspended for at least a few games. Any hit that completely bowls over a goaltender, causing him to lose his mask and giving him a concussion should be punished with more than just a minor penalty.

The next time the Sabres and See Sabres, Page 14

Sports

A look inside the Canisius-Niagara rivalry

@13

@13 MBB falls to 1-5 on homestand; Bona up

Friday, December 9, 2011

Volume lxxxii Number 11

Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. hockey

Holy Cross continues to give Griffs fits Face No. 1 defensive and offensive teams in AHA this weekend

By Rich Lunghino Sports Copy Editor

Looking for revenge against the team that eliminated them in the playoffs last year, the Canisius College hockey team instead fell twice to Holy Cross last weekend in Worcester, Mass. The offense continues to struggle, scoring only two goals in the two games against the Crusaders and now ranks last in Atlantic Hockey with 1.78 goals per game.

After a close 3-2 loss to the Crusaders last Friday, the home team dominated the next day in a 4-0 win, outshooting the Griffs 33-14 in the game and 14-2 in the second period, where they scored two of their goals. Freshman Carl Larsson led Canisius in shots with four, but there was little to find positive about the game. The Crusaders scored twice on the power play in six tries while the Griffs were unable to capitalize on five opportunities with the man-advantage. Canisius also lost the faceoff battle by a 3818 margin. Senior goaltender Dan Morrison made 29 saves in his fifth loss of the season.

A weekend without any points made a big difference in the conference standings for the Griffs. Before the games against Holy Cross, Canisius was all alone in third place in the AHA with a game in hand on RIT. Now they are in a four-way tie for fifth with Holy Cross, Niagara

Nick Veronica/ The Griffin

With two conference games this weekend, the hockey team will look to move up in the standings before winter break.

and Bentley.

In the 3-2 loss on Dec. 2, the Crusaders got on the board first with 6:39 elapsed in the first period.

Taylor Law and freshman Mitch McCrank picked up assists on the goal.

A little over two minutes later, Holy Cross answered on the power play

Three minutes and 20 seconds later, sophomore Kyle Gibbons scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1. Sophomore

to take a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

The second period was a tighter-played period from the Griffs as they were able to find the equalizer a little over halfway through the period on the power play off the stick of senior captain Scott Moser.

Moser’s third goal of the 2011-2012 campaign was assisted by Law and Gibbons.

The two teams were tied at 2-2 for most of the third period, but at the 16:43 mark of the frame, freshman Braeden Rigney was sent to the box for cross-checking, giving Holy Cross a chance to take the lead on the power play. The Griffs’ penalty kill, which has been stellar for much of the season (coming up with big kills late in games), saw the Crusaders score the go-ahead goal one minute later as Andrew Cox scored his second goal of the game to give his team a 3-2 lead.

Canisius was unable to get sophomore goaltender Tony Capobianco out of the net for the extra skater to attempt to tie the game.

Capobianco made 31 saves for his third loss of the season.

Head coach Dave Smith says that his team needs to stay the course and not be discouraged, especially coming off the frustrating 3-2 loss against the Crusaders.

“It was a game that Holy Cross played a little bit better than us but we were still right there for a lot of the game and we need to build on See Hockey, Page 15

Hockey Rink

No progress on rink discussions this semester

By Nick Veronica Sports Editor

It has been nearly five months since The Griffin first reported in July that the Canisius athletic department was having discussions with the Buffalo Sabres about potentially partnering to build an ice rink on campus. As a full semester goes by with no new developments in the talks, The Griffin looks for answers.

Athletic Director Bill Maher sits at a table in his office. He’s slightly on edge, but well within reasonable expectations of someone discussing a potential project he previously said would cost over $20 million.

“There’s not much to report there,” he says. “The Sabres continue to look at a number of options.

We’ve continued to have discussions with them, but at this time, there’s really been no change and no meetings with the Sabres organization.”

The sides last met early in the

fall and haven’t talked since. There have been several meetings since last spring but discussions seem to be cooling off.

“I’d love to be able to make an announcement and tell you [things have changed], but they really haven’t,” Maher said.

“I don’t think we’re any closer, I don’t think we’re any further apart.”

Though Sabres owner Terry Pegula has not been involved in any negotiations, he caused quite a stir last week when he and his wife Kim donated $12 million for athletic facilities to Houghton College (Kim’s alma mater). Maher thought it was a generous gift but said he isn’t concerned the owner of a business he is working with just gave eight figures to a different college for a similar project.

“I don’t look at it that way,” he said.

The discussions are yet to reach a point where the sides are hammering out individual issues -- right now, they’re still talking “opportunities.”

Maher remains optimistic that Ca-

nisius College will someday house its own rink, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

“When there’s the next opportunity to talk, they’ll come to us and we’ll certainly have that dialogue,” Maher said. “I don’t think there’s anything more we can do at this point in time. We can continue to make ourselves available ... and from there, we’ll see.”

The ball may be in the Sabres’ court, but they aren’t talking. A team spokesperson declined to give any additional information this week.

There have been discussions, but nothing new has happened. A practice facility is something the Sabres would like to have, but it’s just another item on the laundry list of improvements the team would like to make.

Without a partnership with the Sabres, it’s unlikely the school would get a rink in the near future, Maher said, a reminder that Science Hall is the school’s top priority.

C-Block Vice President James Millard was excited when he first

read about the possibility of Canisius getting its own rink, but he isn’t upset that nothing has developed over the course of the semester. However, he hopes talks don’t die out completely.

“I think it would be good for the school to have our own rink on campus for two reasons,” Millard said. “One, fan attendance would skyrocket. Driving 5-10 minutes to Buff State may not seem like a big deal, [but] people would walk over just for the fun.”

Secondly, and more importantly: “You would attract a much larger audience when scouting. I ate lunch with head coach Dave Smith a couple weeks ago and he said that’s one of the main reasons people turn Canisius down when they’re looking at schools, because we don’t have our own rink.”

Until the ice freezes inside a new arena, the Griffs will continue to use Buffalo State for every practice and every home game, and administration will continue handing out money from its athletic budget

to another college. Someday, local schools and youth organizations may dream of playing in the city’s only Division I facility, but until then, Canisius will travel to play its home games at D-III Buff State, home of the Bengals. ...

Getting a rink on campus was thought to be something Canisius had to achieve if it were to change conferences. The Griffs may not have left Atlantic Hockey even with a rink, but without one, the team will not move conferences.

“Not right now, for sure,” Maher said. “Atlantic Hockey has always been a good option for us … in the end [moving] wasn’t a better option that what Atlantic Hockey provides us right now.

“There were discussions in the summer; those discussions have closed. We’re a member of Atlantic Hockey and that’s where things stand.” veronicn@canisius.edu

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