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LIFE & ARTS
OPINION
Catholic education is the best! @ 7 Jon Huntsman doomed from the start @ 6
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SPORTS
Creative Corner - a new feature @ 11 Glittery Goodness! Winter Fashion @ 10
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A look inside the Super Bowl @ 13 Why Canisius should focus on hockey @ 15
THE GRIFFIN Canisius College, Buffalo, NY
New senate website disappears
By Morgan Culhane News Writer
A little less than two months ago, the Undergraduate Student Association launched its new website (www.canisiususa.com), creating a buzz across campus. The site, designed by the Chair of Marketing Tán Ho, received a great deal of positive feedback from the student senate as well as the general student population. The student senate was extremely happy with the website and the new Chair of Marketing position, according to Executive Vice President Anthony Kroese. Furthermore, Google Analytics showed that during the first week there were 150 unique visitors and about 3,000 page views to the website. Based on these statistics, the website was already well on its way to accomplishing the senate’s goal of opening up communication between USA and the student body. One of the main reasons the Chair of Marketing was created was to facilitate communication between students and the senate. The proposed solution was a unique domain name that would be easily accessed by students, rather than
searching through the maze of the College’s official website. Traditionally, students would have to use the Canisius website’s search engine to find a sparsely updated website. The new site was clean and accessible, providing quick downloads to senate meeting minutes, a place for students to leave
comments and suggestions, and news from the senate and its member organizations, including the student programming board. In effect, the new site created an avenue for students to reach their government. Open communication ceased and confusion set in, however, when
students tried to access the new site only to find it had disappeared at the beginning of 2012. Kroese and USA Adviser Brian Smith said that they were unsure of what exactly happened with the website. Ho was the only one able Continued on page 5
The Griffin
Suspect apprehended in armed robbery By Sam Scarcello Editor in Chief
On Feb. 1, a “timely notification” went out to all students on campus stating that two days prior at 5:47 p.m., an “armed robbery occurred in front of 15 Blaine Avenue.” The suspect had been described as a black male, 18-21 years old, 6’ tall, thin build and wearing a red hoody, baggy jeans and black sneakers with white soles. Following the crime, Canisius College Public Safety ramped up its presence in the corridors of Jefferson, Main and Delevan with four cars patrolling, watching everybody that walked by. They figured if the
suspect was able to walk away with a $600 phone once, “he might be back.” Sounds like their hunch may have been right too. On Feb. 2 at 12:30 p.m., Director of Public Safety Gary Everett received a call that a man, consistent with the suspect’s description, was spotted on the corner of East Delevan by a patrolling officer. Officer Becker, who usually works the night shift, came in on daytime in a special details car. He was the one who spotted the suspect and called in to Everett. Everett then radioed Buffalo police and they sent three cars to investigate. They handcuffed the suspect without incident and brought
feeling about this guy. Right now he’s a person of interest, but hopefully within the next 24 hours he’ll be arrested for this crime,” Everett stated. Everett urges all students to remain vigilant despite the identification. “They should always be aware that if someone asks to use their phone, just tell them the battery is dead.” Apparently this particular type of crime has been going on in different parts of the city for so long that “now we suggest you say that you don’t have a phone or the battery is dead. It’s unfortunate that you can’t help somebody, but you don’t want to become a victim of the crime itself.”
him in for further questioning. He was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with a Cincinnati Reds emblem on the chest and black sneakers with white soles. He is 22-years-old and lives in the area, but Everett is keeping specifics close to his chest until an arrest is made. The victim of a crime like this can only be brought in to identify a suspect within an hour or two of the incident. The student involved in the armed robbery, consequently, will be asked to choose the suspect out of a random photo array instead. The victim assured Everett that they could identify the guilty party properly. “We have a good feeling about this guy. Buffalo police has a good
OPINION
LIFE & ARTS
Friday, February 3, 2012 Volume LXXXII Number 13
Roswell Park’s “cancer vaccine” By Matthew Gorczyka Opinion Editor
Roswell Park Cancer Institute has achieved another milestone in the field of cancer research. On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Center for Immunotherapy announced a new trial vaccine that is designed to eradicate cancer cells as well as prevent cancer relapse. The NY-ESO-1 dendritic cell vaccine will be manufactured at Roswell’s Therapeutic Cell Production Facility using a unique FDA-approved process. This process makes Roswell Park the first research facility in the U.S. to use a custommade barrier isolator for vaccine cell production, as well as the first in the world to use this system in an approved, government-regulated study. Dendritic cells work as gatekeepers of the immune system, which work to defend the body against foreign invaders like viruses, bacteria and cancer. “Armed with this specialized protein, the treated cells are then given back to the patient as a vaccine designed to recruit an army of killer immune cells that seek out and destroy cancer,” explained Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D., Director of RPCI’s Center for Immunotherapy and the study’s Principal Investigator. The study is revolutionary because it is the first to test a dendritic vaccine with rapamycin, a compound used to prevent rejection of a solid-organ transplant. Based on the recent scientific discovery by Protul Shrikant, Ph.D., of the Department of Immunology at Roswell Park, that rapamycin, when used in small doses prevents the immune system from using up its cancer killing Tcells all at once. “We have shown for the first time that rapamycin has the capacity to produce immune cells that have memory attributes,” said Dr. Odunsi, who is also the Chair of RPCI’s Department of Gynecologic Oncology. “The immune cells are trained to live longer and to always Continued on page 3
SPORTS
Get down on one knee, ask the big question and put a ring on the left ring finger. There’s a small but important moment in this ever so common proposal . . .
Disgruntled Republicans saw a glimmer of hope in Herman Cain, a Washington outsider and successful entrepreneur who might have been able to out-Obama Obama . . .
A cheerleader wrote a blog post earlier this week comparing club sports with Division I sports that caused a firestorm of responses from athletes and non-athletes alike . . .
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NEWS
2
Friday, February 3, 2012
pg.
Republicans continue fighting while Romney moves forward By Jonathan Beck News Writer
After the South Carolina Republican primary, the Republican nomination for President never felt further from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He lost by over 12 percent to a fiery former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has vowed to remain in the race until the very end. But Mr. Romney came back with vengeance on Tuesday, Jan. 31, beating Mr. Gingrich by over 14 percent in the Florida primary. “A competitive primary does not divide us,” said a thrilled Romney in Florida Tuesday evening. “It prepares us. And we will win.” His sunny disposition is good news for his supporters, who will be facing a fiery Gingrich potentially until the early summer. “It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader Newt Gingrich and the Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich said in his speech Tuesday night. “I just want to reassure them tonight, we are going to contest every place and we are going to win.” Texas Representative Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum might not agree with Gingrich, who insists the race is down to Gingrich and Romney, as they continue to contend for the nomination themselves. Without any major victories for either of them (although Mr. Santorum won Iowa and Mr. Paul took second place in New Hampshire), the staying-power of their campaigns is questionable at best. Romney has regained his stature as
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front-runner, even as he faces an upward battle for the nomination. Here are some things to watch for: Rick Santorum’s departure Just days before the Florida primary, Santorum’s 3-year-old daughter Bella was admitted to a hospital with a dangerous case of pneumonia. She has a rare genetic disorder with a high mortality rate, so Santorum’s time on the trail could be limited, as it was leading up to Florida. He did return to the trail Monday, but he has moved his focus primarily to Missouri, where he is expected to place third. With only one state under his belt, a third place finish might earn him a few lines in an electoral history book, but it won’t win him the nomination. The bigger question will be, whom will Santorum endorse? Ron Paul nipping at the heels of the establishment Never has this Texan commanded more attention and respect than this year. He faces serious contention in the campaign, especially some old pamphlets bearing his name with questionable content, including some statements that seem overtly racist. But he remains a threat to the establishment, even as major media outlets skate over his campaign, sometimes not mentioning him at all. His second-place finish in New Hampshire was commendable, but he struggled in South Carolina and placed third, just ahead of Santorum, in Florida. There is a good chance that he will take the podium at the Republican National Convention, as long as he doesn’t run for a third party, which frightens traditional Republicans, who are often at the receiving end of his criticism. How many punches can Romney take from Gingrich? Gingrich’s campaign has been an inter-
esting one. Earlier in the season, he didn’t spend a lot of time on the trail. Leading up to the earliest primaries, he struck a positive note, extending criticism to his opponents for their own negative campaigning. Shortly after that, he started firing at his opponents with painful punches, questioning both their capacities as leaders and their personal lives. Gingrich beat Romney in North Carolina, which can partly be attributed to poor debate performance on Romney’s part leading up to the primary. In one memorable moment, Romney stumbled over the topic of releasing his tax returns, urged on by Gingrich, which won him some boos from the crowd. When Romney finally released his returns, however, Gingrich seemed bruised when CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked him a follow-up question in a pre-Florida debate. “This is a nonsense question,” said Gingrich. “How about if the four of us agree for the rest of the evening we’ll actually talk about issues that relate to governing America.” “Mr. Speaker, you made an issue of this this week, when you said, ‘he lives in a world of Swiss Bank and Cayman Island bank accounts,” shot back Blitzer. But Gingrich would not back down, arguing that despite bringing it up himself in interviews and in debates, the topic was inappropriate for a national debate. In the short term it seemed to hurt Romney, but Gingrich must not have been prepared for Romney’s release and lost a lot of momentum on that issue alone. The condition of the Gingrich and Romney campaigns will be up in the air largely until the Mar. 6 Super Tuesday primary, during which ten states will vote for their candidate.
NEWS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Matts’ Mission continues going strong in fight against cancer By Mary Battaglia News Writer
“Be a part of the mission. Support our cause. Help us pedal to a cure. Make a difference.” These are the words that co-founders Matt Musial and Matt Gorczyca have proudly displayed on the Facebook page of Matts’ Mission, a fundraiser to support the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Inspired by Musial’s mom, Michele, and her fight against cancer, Matts’ Mission is a cause that is working towards raising $5,000 for Roswell Park by June 2012, just in time for the annual “Ride for Roswell” event. The fundraiser was featured in The Griffin in December; and since then, Canisius students have responded to help the cause by purchasing $3 white wrist bands brand-
ed with the words, “Matts’ Mission”. Since the fundraiser’s creation, over $1,000 in donations have been raised and all proceeds go directly to Roswell Park for cancer research and treatment. “I got a lot of great feedback from students,” said Matt’s Mission co-founder and Canisius junior, Matt Gorczyca. “I think I sold a good amount of bracelets the day the article hit the stands. More students have been showing great support, and now it’s just carrying that momentum into the final few months of fundraising.” In the remaining months before June, Matt’s Mission is looking to promote more than just bracelets. They plan on selling memorial tshirts to help raise money. “For every $10 we get donated to our team page, a person can sponsor someone who has faced cancer; their name goes on our shirts, and
we will ride for those people at the Ride for Roswell. This is where we hope to tap into the more personal front for our mission, and really honor those individuals who faced the disease,” said Gorczyca. The co-founders are also planning to raise money by reaching out to other communities beyond Canisius College and doing some fundraising at local businesses and high schools in the area. They are encouraging people to visit Matts’ Mission on Facebook and Twitter (@Matts_Mission) for more information about the cause, as well as their Ride for Roswell team page. Both social media outlets are promoting upcoming events at Roswell Park, including some major accomplishments, such as the newly unveiled trial vaccine. Matts’ Mission alsowants others to share their stories of someone they know has faced battled cancer.
Vaccine: trials mark beginning of active new field of research Continued from front
remember that cancer cells are bad and should be attacked and killed.” Being able to stretch out the attack for a more extensive and durable amount of time suggests that the vaccine may be effective in preventing disease reoccurrence. The vaccine will be produced in Roswell Park’s Therapeutic Cell Production facility under the direction of Yeong “Christopher” Choi, Ph.D., who states that the facility is the first of its kind. The potential for therapeutic
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vaccines is drawing attention in the field of cancer research and treatment. Last year, the FDA approved Provenge, the first cancer vaccine used to treat men with advanced prostate cancer. Roswell Park’s Center for Immunotherapy is waiting for FDA approval to launch additional cancer vaccine trials, including one to treat malignant glioma, a type of brain tumor. “This trial will be only the beginning of a very robust program of activity in the area of using the human immune system to fight cancer,”
added Dr. Odunsi. “Our production process holds tremendous potential for applications related to stem-cell therapy and regenerative medicine, and I believe we’re uniquely positioned at RPCI to have the tools, infrastructure and multidisciplinary collaboration to capitalize on these ideas and opportunities both effectively and efficiently.” The Phase I study has secured enough participants for the vaccine as of Feb. 1, 2012 and many are hopeful for what this vaccine means for the future of cancer treatment.
Colin Gordon/The Griffin
NEWS
News Of The Weird TEXAS - “(Our critics) are absolutely right. We are professional liars,” said Everett Davis, founder of the Internetbased Reference Store, which supplies pumped-up, but false, resumes for job-seekers having trouble landing work. Davis and associates are, he told Houston’s KRIV-TV in November, ex-investigators schooled in deception and therefore good at fooling human resources personnel who follow up on the bogus work claims. Davis admitted he would even disguise a customer’s past criminal record -- but not if the job is in public safety, health care or schools. GHANA - Western nations and foundations have tried for decades to build sewage treatment plants in subSaharan Africa, with little success (since many countries lack stable governments to assess operating fees), and to this day, raw sewage is still merely collected and dumped, either in rivers or directly onto beaches, such as the notorious (and formerly beautiful) Lavender Hill in Ghana. U.S. entrepreneurs recently established Waste Enterprises in Ghana to build the first-ever fecal-sludge-tobiodiesel plant (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Feces undiluted by water, and then heated, is highly concentrated and more resembles coal than the goo that Americans associate with sewage. SCOTLAND - A 25-yearold man was rescued by fire crews in Tranent, Scotland, in December and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. According to police, four men were attempting to steal an eight-ton steamroller when the 25-yearold got his leg trapped underneath. The other three fled.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Wolf-Watching in Wyoming with Zoological Society By Amanda Gabryszak News Writer
About a month ago, I went on a trip offered by the Canisius Zoological Society to visit Yellowstone National Park. The goal of the trip was to observe and photograph wolves. As I’ve always been interested in traveling, wolves and photography, I signed up the minute I received the e-mail about the trip. Initially, my parents were not really sure how to take this decision of mine. “What if you miss Christmas?” they asked. It was a possibility, and a reasonable concern. Our flight left on Dec. 16 and we weren’t scheduled to return until Dec. 23 at elevensomething in the evening. But those wolves were calling me and eventually my parents saw how badly I wanted, and perhaps needed, to go. My excitement grew and as the date approached I was expecting the trip of a lifetime. There were 13 of us who went on the trip with Animal Biology, Ecology, and Conservation (ABEC) director, Michael Noonan, Ph.D. Noonan organizes several trips each year that members of CZS and ABEC are welcome to join. Initially, the Yellowstone Trip was supposed to occur in the spring, but plans were switched around to accomodate a CZS trip to India. There are several opportunities for travel offered each year. The trips aim to offer opportunities to apply the information you learn in class, be it about animals or life itself. This trip marked Noonan’s 73rd offcampus trip with students over the course of 32 years at Canisius College. “I love sharing wildlife experiences with students,” said Noonan.
“It makes classroom lessons come alive in ways they will never forget. It inspires them with a love of nature that invariably results in a life-long commitment to wildlife conservation.” Noonan noted Yellowstone’s incredible biodiversity. “Because of the unique nature of the Yellowstone Caldera (supervolcano), the park compromises at least three distinct ecosystems: the prairie, the taiga forest, and the alpine tundra.” He added, “Because it was winter, we concentrated most of our observation time in prairie areas, where we were able to focus on bison and wolves.” It was the trip of a lifetime. We hiked through knee-deep snow, watched snow-crystals glisten in the early morning sun; we dared to swim in sulfur hot springs at sunrise, despite the sub-freezing temperatures; we tracked Big Horn Sheep and bison; and we got caught in wolf song. We spent hours on the hills of Lamar Valley watching a pack of wolves through a volunteer’s telescope, watched as the pack separated and ran across the road right before our eyes and then, like magic, we heard them-their voices rising above the cold air. One half of the pack on one side of the road howled, the other half answered, and we all stood there in between, awe-stricken. “The wolves were on both sides of us and we could see and hear them all around where we were standing,” recollected Kim Patterson, CZS president. “It was amazing to watch these natural behaviors from a distance where we were not bothering the wolves but where we still felt like we were in their world.” “The wolves howling to each other to bring the whole pack to-
gether is forever going to be my fondest memory,” agreed freshman Brittany LeBere. Freshman Rob Kloos recalled his own favorite memory: “We were snowshoeing and we turned around and we saw the wolves. It was the closest we ever got to them.” For sophomore Matthew LeFauve, it was howling to the wolves on a late-night optional hike. “I had never seen so many stars,” he recalled. “And hearing the wolves responding to us was one of the most amazing moments of my life.” “Seeing a whole pack of wolves romping and playing right in front of us was spectacular, as was seeing their response to the approach of a distant pack.” said Noonan. “The late night hike under the milky way while listening to wolves howl in the distance was a once in a lifetime experience. I still get goosebumps remembering that moment. “ The wolves were pretty magical to all of us. It is important to know that they had previously been extinct to the region. They were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1994 and had to endure many trials and tribulations. One of my favorite tales from the trip regarded the fairytale-like true story told to us by a Yellowstone Wolf Biologist. One wolf was the runt of his litter and had never won a fight, until he mated with another wolf, whose first mate had died outside of the park. That little wolf had something to stand for now. He won his first battle within seconds. Later, one of his pups became legendary to those familiar with the park. He was large, strong and lost battles with his pups for fun, defeating anybody else that dared challenge him.
It was a life-lesson that stuck out to me. Challenges we face in our own lives are very much like those animals face. We all go through something, and it reminded me that resilience pays off in the end. And of course, there were other unforgettable elements to the magic of Yellowstone. “That is my favorite kind of ecotourism,” said Patterson, “when you watch but don’t change behaviors.” It was LeBere and Kloos’s first CZS trip, as well as mine. We all agreed that it was a wonderful time. “I don’t really like to travel much,” confessed Kloos, “so for me it was like ‘oh, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.’ I’d heard there were slots open, had the opportunity, and felt like I should do it.” “The trip definitely lived up to my expectations,” said Patterson, a CZS and CAC (Canisius Ambassadors for Conservation) trip veteran. “We saw the wolves on the first and last days and had many other great experiences in between!” Patterson has traveled to the Virgin Islands, Australia, and Tanzania with the program. “All including this one were fantastic trips,” she said. “Going on the CZS trips is the experience of a lifetime. Not only does Dr. Noonan make the trips fun and educational, but he also gives you the drive to learn more about what you have seen,” said LaFauve, also a veteran. “It is a great feeling to be out in the wild, whether that be in the warm Caribbean waters, or standing knee-deep in the snow in Yellowstone National Park and seeing a behavior or an environmental pattern that you have learned about in class. Learning about it in class is cool, but seeing it in real life, that is something that you never forget.”
Courtesy of www.newsoftheweird.com Compiled by Jonathan Beck
Courtesy of Michael Noonan, Ph.D.
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NEWS
Friday, February 3, 2012
CPLD continuing support for Collegiate Link By Sam Scarcello Editor in Chief
In Sept. 2011, student clubs and organizations were removed from the undergraduate listserv in an attempt to de-clutter student inboxes. CPLD announced its new tool for club/student communication, Collegiate Link. Failure to make the service mandatory and the continued use of the listserv from other campus departments has resulted in lukewarm response from students. “I think some clubs have really
embraced it, others not so much. Typically any time there’s any sort of change there’s some resistance, which I was anticipating,” said Brian Smith, Director of Leadership Development at Canisius College. The listserv was for many students a convenient nuisance. For clubs, it offered the quickest and most direct way to reach the largest audience possible. In turn, students would have to spend the first five minutes of their day weeding through countless e-mails of little to no interest to them. Collegiate Link hoped to offer a happy medium for both sides by al-
lowing clubs to reach members and students to receive specifically tailored newsfeeds from only the clubs they are interested in. It functions as a social network of sorts, asking that students join a club’s page to receive updates on events. To some it feels like an extra step to get to the same result, much like Netflix’s failed attempt to separate its services this past summer. To access a club’s page and become a member, students can use the button on the myCanisius Homepage entitled “Join a Club.” From there students can create a profile and search for clubs that in-
terest them. It certainly helps students tailor the messages they want to see and those they would most likely have deleted in a string of emails, but there remains a gray area for students who may not know if they’re interested in something to begin with. Certain departments still have access to the listserv, but Smith states that Collegiate Link “was built specifically for clubs and organizations, not for an entire campus.” Quitting the listserv cold turkey was tough for many clubs on campus, but CPLD is working with USA to ease the transition process. Once a week,
CPLD will be offering clubs the opportunity to advertise an event in the listserv. In order to qualify, the event needs to be advertised on Collegiate Link ahead of time. Making Collegiate Link mandatory for students sounds extreme, but it may be the best way to get the service up and running at full strength. Smith is hopeful that students will understand the simplicity and effectiveness of the service. “There’s functionality to it that’s not being used by a number of clubs yet, but I think it’s user-friendly. Its easy to use and you can get your club page set up relatively easy too.”
Round two for this year’s Website moving back to Canisius servers finance committee and not USA. It did take some extensive coding to get the website the way I wanted it to look like. So, in regards to it being taken down, I was pretty upset that all of my hard work went down the drain.” Despite this, Ho respected Pustelnik’s request. When it came time to renew the website’s web hosting contract with GoDaddy. com on Dec. 29, USA did not renew. Since then, the content from Ho’s website has been transferred onto the canisius.edu site, causing more disappointment for Ho. “I was slightly insulted that whatever content I had up was simply copied and pasted onto the Canisius College website. No formatting was done at all.” Kroese explained that USA had come to an agreement with the administration not to renew the subscription and they agreed to keep the layout of the new site, adding that the latter condition has not happened. Despite his frustration, Ho noted that “Chuck was very kind and accommodating about the website being transferred over to Canisius servers. He provided some good points about why the website should be on Canisius’ servers.” In his conversation with Ho, Pustelnik explained that if the website was on Canisius servers, he could train people how to maintain the website after Ho was gone, and that the web hosting would be completely free.
Continued from front
By Jonathan Beck News Editor
At the beginning of the Spring 2011 semester, club leaders across campus were raising their fists in the air, frustrated with the budget process and looking for answers. The Undergraduate Student Association held several forums to answer questions from the student body, and tensions between executive board members of the student’s governing body became ever more public. It’s a year later and most club leaders haven’t even realized that the finance committee has discussed their budgets. On Friday, Jan. 27, club mailboxes were filled with letters from the finance committee and its chairwoman, USA Vice President of Business and Finance Molly Watson, revealing their semester budget and specific allocations. Unlike in year’s past, Watson does not expect any big surprises in regards to the budgets. “The finance committee was very reasonable this semester and year,” she explained. “We kept with our standards and policies we have followed throughout the year.” The USA executive board has
taken a quieter approach to handling student affairs this year, losing in the process the extreme attention it has received in the past. All of this serves to make this year’s board perhaps the most effective in recent years, but also the board with the littlest fanfare. Still, Watson’s conservative approach to finance is reliable as she oversees the budgeting process for over one hundred clubs. “I wish I could give every club everything that they asked for,” she explained, “however, some clubs have asked for fiscally irresponsible things. It is my duty [with the] finance committee to be the watchdog over all the clubs.” Clubs that need to appeal for more money will have the opportunity, she added, although the date has yet to be finalized. Having restored confidence to the budget allocation wing of the senate, Watson has one more goal in mind for this year. “Something that I hope to complete prior to my departure of this position is establishing easier to use forms, but that may be a huge undertaking.” And who knows, she may even have fun with it.
Spring 2012 Budget Allocations Clubs/Organizations: Accounting Society Ad (Advertising Club) Afro‐American Society Alpha Kappa Delta Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha Sigma Nu American Chemical Society American Marketing Association American Medical Student Association American Red Cross American Sign Language Amici d'Italia Amnesty International Anime Club APICS AWMC C‐Block CCTV CEO Christian Life Communities CIBA Circle K (Griffins Giving Back) Classics Club College Democrats College Republicans Colleges Against Cancer Computer Science Club Cooking Club CSA DiGamma DMA
Amount Allocated Initial Budget (Spring): $8,442 $115 $8,019 $922 $7,324 $550 $916 $5,995 $9,543 $200 $238 $790 $846 $168 $700 $2,016 $1,350 $6,555 $1,654 $2,071 $1,855 $484 $437 $510 $15,330 $7,547 $5,297 $3,166 $897 $6,662 $315 $140
Technology Allocated:
to clear up some confusion with his explanation of the chain of events. After hearing about the website’s launch on Dec. 2, 2011, Canisius College Director of Web Services Chuck Pustelnik e-mailed Mr. Smith and requested to speak with Ho about the website. According to Ho, Pustelnik explained to Ho that USA’s website should be under the Canisius College template rather than their own, because USA is such an important organization at the college and is supposed to represent the entire student body, according to Ho. However, when asked for a comment, Pustelnik wrote: “I did not ask for it to be taken down and I am not aware of anyone in the Canisius administration that asked for the site to be taken down.” Still, it was upon his urging that Ho chose not to renew the domain name. Smith reiterated Pustelnik’s views in his explanation of the current state of the USA website, saying that the College wants the USA site to be designed in the same template as the rest of the Canisius website. Initially, Ho was confused and upset by the administration’s reaction to the site. “I did not understand why other organizations, such as The Griffin, were able to have their own website
EcoFinance French Club Fusion German Honor Society Global Horizons G‐Squad Greek Life Association Habitat for Humanity History Club International Affairs Society Kappa Delta Pi Lambda Pi Eta Little Theatre Math Club OASIS Pershing Rifles Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Theta Phi Sigma Sigma Philosophy Club Physical Education & Health Majors Club Physics Club Project Conservation PRSSA Psi Chi Psychology Club Quadrangle Quidditch RHA Rifle Club SIFE Sigma Delta Pi Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Tau Delta SPHP
$708 $951 $7,179 $562 $3,373 $1,221 $5,309 $245 $484 $3,269 $854 $672 $6,805 $1,075 $1,690 $2,267 $8,601 $1,926 $3,772 $630
$365 $1,200 $2,049 $559 $1,443 $2,640 $1,330 $966 $4,500 $581 $6,097 $1,289 $7,265 $786 $625
$1,300.00
Send Submissions To: Griffin@canisius.edu
“Moving to the College’s network will also save USA money in annual hosting and maintenance fees, and the College can provide various services at no charge to USA to support their website,” Pustelnik wrote to The Griffin. Currently, Pustelnik and the rest of the office of web services are working with Ho to move the canisiususa.com site to College servers. “The USA site has been regularly maintained in the past with the assistance of the office of web services and CPLD,” explained Pustelnik, “and I am happy to continue to work with them.” No matter what the website ends up looking like, Ho is determined to serve his role and create a medium in which students can freely communicate with their student government. He explained that as things stand now, student concerns are merely spread by word of mouth, which does not guarantee that these concerns will ever reach the Senate. As he continues to re-design the website, meeting the needs of administration and the students, the driving force is creating open communication. “Once students have an efficient medium in which to express their comments, issues, or concerns, then we can make Canisius College a better place for everyone.”
Student Athlete Advisory Committee Spanish Club Students for Life Table Tennis Teachers Education Club Tri‐Beta TWLOHA Ultimate Frisbee Club United Students for Fair Trade Unity The Wire Women in Business Women in Science Women's Studies Club Zoological Society MUSIC Arts Promotion Chamber Music Ensemble Chamber Orchestra Chorale Concert Band Contemporary Music Ensemble CrescenDON'Ts Jazz Ensemble Select Choir USA Budgets USA SPB Spring Fest JUSTICE Diversity Total Allocations Including USA:
$720 $284 $617 $296 $1,410 $1,850 $301 $1,475 $411 $10,349 $918 $4,120 $222 $871 $553
$1,300.00
$928 $781 $1,200 $4,123 $715 $2,278 $567 $1,301 $1,017 $6,433 $72,208 $22,424 $3,949 $8,640 $333,444
* Clubs that receive full year budgets are not listed.
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Roswell Park or the Buffalo Bills? Last week Governor Cuomo made a special trip to Buffalo, where he hoped to gain support for his new budget plan. Among the usual promises of job creation and improvements to public education, many were surprised that Gov. Cuomo plans to make cuts to Roswell Park, while giving funds to the Buffalo Bills. He hopes to make Roswell Park fully independent of financial aid by the year 2014. Many believe the governor’s budget proposal is extremely controversial, especially when comparing the economic contributions of Roswell Park to the Buf-
falo Bills. Roswell Park is not only a strong cancer research and treatment center; it also stimulates the economy by acting as a business. For every $1 of funding that is given to Roswell Park, the institution manages to pump $5 back into the economy. Last week, Roswell Park unveiled its new trial vaccine that could be the answer to many prayers: a cancer cure. However, Gov. Cuomo’s cuts to Roswell could be a threat to this milestone. Therefore, many argue that now, more than ever, Roswell should receive funding. Gov. Cuomo plans to do what it takes
A foundation in immigration Morgan Rodriguez While scrolling through one of my favorite websites the other day I came across a quote that read, “Dear Americans, Old immigrants shunning new immigrants… Sincerely, Clever.” This quote holds a lot of truth. With the upcoming elections, one of the major topics of debate is border security and the proposed legislation of limiting or possibly stopping immigration to the U.S. I come from a family that immigrated to the U.S. several generations ago in search of a better life for their family. This is what our country was founded on. People came to the U.S., set up towns, and worked to make our country what it is today. They were not born here, nor did they have to go through strict testing to get here. The U.S. was founded on the backs of people who were escaping persecution and looking to start over in a new land in order to create a better life for themselves and their families. My home town is a country town. Many of my friends have lived or worked on farms for the majority of their lives. When I was younger, there was a girl who moved into our town and started going to school with us. She quickly made friends and became popular. Everyone loved her and to this day I remember how sweet she was. Suddenly, she was taken out of school. We never saw her again. A few years later I found out what happened to her: she was an illegal immigrant whose family had come to work on the farms to provide a home for her and her little brother. They were deported back to Guatemala. I still have no idea what happened to her. But I believe that it is not fair to take away the safety and security of a child and force them to go back to a place where they are in constant danger. My friend was too young to be able to help herself, but she believed that here in the U.S., she would be safe. I have yet to meet even a handful of people who can tell me that their family
has lived here since before the Americas were settled. Most of our ancestors were illegal aliens too and they stayed to claim this land as their homeland. Why should people now complain that there are still those who want to do the same? Sure, there are limited jobs and limited resources in the U.S. However, U.S. companies are still sending their work to places like India and China where they can get away with paying workers less. The U.S. is fixated on getting cheap labor for their products. The people who come here looking for jobs, whether legally or illegally, are willing to work for minimal amounts of money (often below minimum wage) because it is still better than the jobs they would have had back in the country they came from. They are willing to take the work that some Americans will not settle for because they need the money. It is unfortunate that America has become so fixated on money because people are failing to see things beyond this aspect. They say that the immigrants are taking their money. But the truth is, American citizens have so many luxuries that only the wealthiest in other countries can afford. We have it good here and we often don’t realize it. The U.S. should focus on helping out other countries not focusing on rising above all of the others to be the best. If we focused more on helping others and got away from a closedminded monetary focus we would be much better off. Immigration to the U.S. should not be stopped. The people who illegally cross our borders are doing it to better themselves or give their family a better life – isn’t that what U.S. citizens should want for others? We already have rights and typically live better off than citizens of other countries. It is our duty as a country founded “for the people” to help out those people, wherever they are from, legal or otherwise. rodrig31@canisius.edu
to keep the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium, although he has made assurances that no “blank check” will be handed over. In order to keep the Bills in Buffalo, the major plans are believed to include stadium renovations. Structural improvements to a football stadium versus the success of a leading vaccine that could put an end to one of the most fatal diseases is what seems to lie at the heart of this issue. Some argue that making Roswell Park financially independent while giving funding to the Buffalo Bills could be a great economic move for the state. But
something doesn’t quite add up. Roswell Park is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year compared to the Buffalo Bills who work four hours a week, seven weeks a year. While there are no complaints about sending funds Buffalo’s way, if having to pick Roswell Park or the Buffalo Bills, the choice is clear – no amount of money given to the Buffalo Bills can bring talent to the franchise. Therefore, give the funding to the organization that truly deserves it, lest Gov. Cuomo’s funding becomes like taking a match to money.
Jon Huntsman: Doomed from the start John Twarog Let me begin by saying that Jon Huntsman is everything I dream of in a candidate and would be my ideal choice for the White House, after Gov. Gary Johnson. Fiscally conservative, yet somewhat moderate on social issues, Huntsman is one of the few politicians of the GOP who doesn’t believe that homosexuals are evil for wanting to marry. For standing up for what so many in his party have condemned, I have incredible respect for him. Huntsman would have been a great president, and would have truly made an effort to rebuild the country with help from both political parties. Unfortunately, he was ultimately hampered not by his center-right stances, but by an inexplicably crappy campaign. To begin, Huntsman did not emphasize his fiscal conservatism enough. As Governor of Utah, he had an astounding fiscal record, and during his time in office, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Utah led all fifty states in the rate of job growth. He also removed the progressive tax system that Utah had utilized, and replaced it with a flat tax of five percent. While such consumer-friendly regulations might ruffle Warren Butthead’s feathers, having an approval rating that was consistently over 80 percent while governor of an extremely conservative state will speak for itself. Maybe it was the lack of time he got at debates. Either way, he was more concerned about pulling a “John McCain” and appealing to moderates over his own party. Additionly, Huntsman carried the unwanted label of being a member of the Obama Administration – yes, a proponent of “Hope and Change”. Being ambassador to China would seemingly give any presidential candidate an advantage in terms of foreign policy, unless you were nominated to the position by the guy who is detested by 99.9 percent of your party. This should have helped Huntsman, but he played his cards stupidly. While serving as Ambassador, he referred to Obama as “a great leader”. When you are running for the Republican nomination for the President of the United States, a statement like that is similar to praising
Casey Anthony as a compassionate babysitter. However, he was ultimately doomed by the fact that Obama had chosen him, a moderate Republican, over other candidates. Conspiracy theories and an unwillingness to acknowledge Obama’s abysmal record would ultimately derail Huntsman’s campaign. The biggest obstacle that faced Huntsman however, was the other Huntsman in the race. The other Huntsman was beaten and chewed up by the media four years ago in the GOP primaries before ultimately conceding from the race. The number one issue facing the country is the repeal of Obamacare, and Mitt Romney is the only chance Republicans have of defeating Obamacare and lobbying a full repeal of it to Congress. Huntsman lacked this knowledge of electability and voter appeal, and has not served his time in the trenches like other candidates. Although his excessive horniness is not helping him, Newt Gingrich was a former Speaker of the House and actually balanced the budget while a liberal president was in the White House. While he was not always able to keep it in his pants, he was able to keep the federal deficit at very low numbers. From a fiscal perspective, he is extremely qualified to serve as President of the United States. It is purely because of status and time served in the political world that Newt and Romney carry such high poll numbers, numbers that Huntsman’s status as a noname could not compete with. A Republican governor from Utah who left his position in its height to go serve in a liberal Democrat’s administration obviously has a lot of explaining to do when trying to secure a GOP presidential nomination. It will take time, and perhaps a position serving under the next GOP President, for Huntsman to win over the conservative Republican base. But I have high hopes for Jon Huntsman. I believe he will remain popular in the political world as a former governor with a record of successful tax reform and as one of the nation’s top experts on U.S. foreign policy with China. twarogj@canisius.edu
GRIFFBITS
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Bishoy, junior
Calie, junior
Megan, sophomore
Kerry, senior
“Barcelona.”
“Emerland Island, NC”
“Charlotte, NC.”
“London.”
OPINION
Friday, February 3, 2012
Catholic education is the best education Matt Gorczyca Opinion Editor
This week was “Catholic Schools Week,” a week that is understated on our calendar. In grammar school we used to make the most of the week with Mass, fun activities and the beloved “Why Catholic education is important” essay contest. I never won the contest. But looking back on it I have an even greater understanding why we were always called on to be appreciative of our education. When you are a young kid, you don’t want to be going to school and reading. You want to be out in the world running around and exploring new things. Even in adulthood, some people feel the same way. But now, when I look back on it, I have to say that I have an appreciation for my Catholic education that I never had before. I was always told that a kid who went to Catholic school stood out from the rest, and I have to agree. I’m not saying that those who went to public school are not as good. But I am saying that it is very rare to find a student who went to Catholic school that is lacking in, for example,good manners. Manners is what I hear about the most and I have to say, I’m a pretty well-mannered guy. I still, even in college, find myself raising my hand and not talking until I’m called on. I try not to be late, and I’ll even get out of line at Tim Horton’s if I think it will even come close. If it’s not manners that people
Say Yes to Education ZoË Morse
praise, its definitely appearance. Now I definitely have my lazy days when sweat pants make an appearance, but I always at least comb my hair. And if I’m giving a presentation, I’m dressed to perfection. After wearing a dress shirt, dress pants, dress shoes, a tie and a belt for four years of high school, it feels natural. While the small things like manners and dressing well help me stand out, it is the intangible things I got from a Catholic education that have helped me get to where I am today. I have gone to Catholic school my entire life and I’m starting to realize what a financial sacrifice it was, and still is, for my parents. It is through these sacrifices that I have had one-on-one contact with teachers, who have helped me grow and continue to grow as a person and as a professional. It is through these sacrifices that I have been able to take religion classes that have not only helped me to understand my faith, but to have an even greater understanding for the morality that has become the foundation for all of my decision making. I have to say that I think my Catholic education has been very advantageous for me as I become an adult. So if I had to reenter that beloved essay contest my response would sound something like this, “I appreciate my Catholic education for not only deepening my faith, but helping me grow as a person and a professional, which allows me to stand out and be a leader to many.” gorczycm@canisius.edu
In 1987, businessman George A. Weiss promised 112 sixth graders at Belmont Elementary School in Philadelphia that he would cover the expenses of their college tuition if they graduated from high school. This promise has evolved into the Say Yes to Education program, which seeks to increase high school and college graduation rates by offering academic and financial support to children living in poverty. Say Yes to Education provides a range of support services to at-risk, economically disadvantaged youth and families, and pledges full scholarships for a college or vocational education to children living in poverty. The organization also partners with other groups such as hospitals, health care facilities, and mental health facilities to provide services to disadvantaged students and their families. Say Yes to Education is organized around local chapters and operates in northeastern U.S. Cities that have adopted the program include Cambridge, Philadelphia, New York City and Syracuse. Syracuse’s program was the first to offer services to an entire city school district. As of November 2010, 23 private schools were promising Syracuse City School District students free college tuition. The program has recently been adopted by the Buffalo City School District. The organization has committed $15 million to partner with local providers to deliver support to the 37,000 students in the Buffalo district, including free after-school and summer programming, counseling, legal services and health care. The foundation will also provide students who graduate from a Buffalo charter or traditional school with up to 100 percent of the tuition needed to attend one of the colleges in the State University of New York system. While Say Yes to Education has noble goals, the program has numerous flaws. First of all, children from low-income families tend to have lower grades because they are not motivated to do well. They tend to be surrounded by parents, teachers and communities that do not provide enough support to help them succeed. Even if they are given a chance to go to college, they will not do so if they do not care about school or higher education. The environment that surrounds such students is what needs to be changed. If children from city schools are given full rides to college, then there is less motivation
for children from suburban schools to do well. While it is true that suburban schools tend to be of higher quality, middle class parents who cannot afford college tuition may send their children to city schools in order to afford such an investment. This program is unfair to students and their families who may work as hard, if not more, than other students who live in the city instead of the suburbs. Colleges and universities usually strive to be in good standing with their communities. They may feel pressured to support the program when in actuality they cannot afford its demanding price. Institutions of higher learning are businesses with bills to pay, just like a household. Allowing more students to attend from this program would either drive their bills up or cause them to not accept students who would otherwise be accepted. Thus, Say Yes to Education places colleges and universities in a difficult situation. Controversial as it may be, the program does have a few redeeming qualities. Ultimately, the end result is a positive one: more young people with an education. The United States is a country that supports universal education and this program seeks to ensure a quality education for everyone. If taxes are paid to support the schools and other social welfare services, then students should be equipped to excel. An educated youth will lead to a more productive future. In addition, as expensive as this program may be, not every student will receive the maximum amount of benefits possible. College tuition will be provided on a sliding scale, based on the student’s financial need and the length of time he or she has been enrolled in Buffalo schools. Some students will receive only a partial amount of what they could be given which will lower the costs for colleges, hospitals and other organizations that contribute. What is missing from the picture of a college education for everyone is informed parents that motivate their children to succeed in school. Although this is much easier said than done, providing incentives for parents to be involved in their children’s academics will help make kids excited about school. Then such a program will not be as necessary since children attending city schools would earn excellent grades and be rewarded with regular scholarships to attend college.
Michele Binkowski Taylor Allison
Emily Smith
morsez@canisius.edu
Little white chapel no more Bridget Schaefer Get down on one knee, ask the big question and put a ring on the left ring finger. There’s a small but important moment in this ever so common proposal. It’s the moment when the bride’s switch flips on. The switch lets loose a full force of obsessions urging the bride stop at absolutely nothing in creating the perfect wedding day. I realize that many brides remain levelheaded and calm through the duration of planning their wedding, and I commend them for this self-control. But others become a different person the moment they are engaged. Today we call these alter-egos “bridezillas.” The media has created dozens of movies and reality shows glorifying this character, portraying this as normal and socially acceptable behavior for a bride-to-be. Now take a thousand of these newly engaged brides (or in most cases, bridezillas), their over bearing mothers and about one hundred vendors and you’ll get how I spent my Sunday. I worked at the Bridal Expo at the Seneca Niagara Casino, the second largest bridal show in Western New York. Insanity is a pretty accurate word to describe the expo but it opened my eyes to just how big the wedding industry has got-
ten. The various vendors that were present heavily rely on the wedding industry to support their businesses. There were hotels, jewelers, event planners, photographers, bakeries, caterers, teeth whitening services, bridal boutiques, florists, hair salons and the one that puzzled me the most…pole dancing lessons, complete with demonstrations at their excessively glittery booth. Anything and everything to do with weddings was present. The vendors paid almost $700 to have a booth in hopes of reeling in brides. Each booth topped the next with special deals, overly friendly sales people and free samples. As I walked around, eating unlimited free wedding cake, I couldn’t believe how fancy and expensive some of the services were. Consumerism has driven us to the point of needing the very best products and services for weddings. It’s become normal to spend absurd amounts of money in order to make your wedding the biggest day of your life. Industries clearly realize this and try to capitalize on it. Each vendor was introducing new ideas to make the special day even bigger and better, and brides were falling for it. I mean, how could you not have a wedding without a personal green screen photographer to photograph all of your guests on an imaginary red carpet? Or how could you not
Sam Scarcello, Editor in Chief Taylor Schupp, Copy Editor Jonathan Beck, News Editor Matt Gorczyca, Opinion Editor Alicia Greco, 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
have a candy bar? Brides today clearly take these questions seriously because weddings are more over-the-top than ever. The media is supporting this growing industry with the dozens of reality shows about competing wedding receptions and bridal tutorials. As the expo began, you could immediately tell who the bride was in any given group. Each bride to be was on a mission. Some had maps of the expo perfectly highlighted, plotting their paths of destruction; others had calendars and were booking DJ’s and venues for the big day right on the spot. Everyone had a crazed look in their eyes… not a look of love or engagement bliss, but on of, “I need to lose 25 lbs to fit into this wedding dress,” and “Move over b****, that diamond pearl necklace prize is mine.” All I’d like to know is when did the wedding business get so huge that everyone started losing sight of why we get married in the first place. The insignificant details have grown into the most important, like staring at fifty shades of purple to pick the right one for a tablecloth, or digging through photographs to decide which hairstyle will photograph the best. Last time I checked we got married because we found someone to spend the rest of our lives with, not to impress others. Little girls dream of their wedding day
their whole lives. As everyone says, “it’s your day”. I think the media took this idea and ran with it, producing movies and shows with higher and higher expectations for weddings. As consumers we are always searching for the best, and this is where all of the businesses come in that are using weddings as their top sales pitch. The bridal expo this past weekend was an adventure. I realized that weddings are changing – bigger is better. One might wonder what’s the need for all this extra stuff ? Could brides be filling the void of feeling anxious and nervous with obsessing over smaller details like flowers and cake? Again, I’m not stereotyping all weddings and implying that they are too big or extravagant and that they don’t care about what marriage really means. There’re still a ton of people who elope, go to city hall or stumble into a little white chapel in Vegas. I don’t doubt that brides, no matter how big the wedding, don’t understand marriage. I know that weddings aren’t exactly a top priority for college students, but what happens in five to 10 years when it’s our turn to get married? How big are weddings going to be by then? schaef10@canisius.edu
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February 3, 2012 Volume LXXXII Number 13 Phone: (716) 888-5364 Fax: (716) 888-5840 E-mail: griffin@canisius.edu www.thegriffincanisius.com
Unsigned editorials appearing on this page represent the opinions of The Griffin. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily representative of The Griffin’s position. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Canisius College or its student body. Articles must be typewritten and should not exceed 500 words in length. Letters to the editor must not exceed 250 words. The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. Tuesday of the week of publication. Letters must pertain to an article recently published to The Griffin. Letters must be signed and include a phone number and address. No pseudonyms are permitted. Letters are published at the discretion of the Editorial Board and are subject to editing and condensation. Letters may be sent via electronic mail to griffin@canisius.edu.
LIFE ARTS pg.8
Friday, February 3, 2012
New M83 Album Points Towards Promising Tour Matthew DiStasio Life and Arts Writer
“We didn’t need a story, we didn’t need a real world/We became the stories, we became the places/We were you before you even existed.” These eerie lines mark the entrance into the dreamy setting of M83’s latest record, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Released Oct. 18 by the French synth-pop artist, this album marks a bold turn for Anthony Gonzalez, the guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter for M83. A dual-disc
album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is a product of Gonzalez’s creative skill and investigation in the air of past double albums such as Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. As Gonzalez moves from darker electronic songs such as “Midnight City” to the feathery baroque folk sounds of others like “Soon, My Friend,” the album offers a versatile stretch of varying emotional expressions. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is equally haunting, inspiring and joyful as it explores the range of emotions experienced in life and dreams. At times when the music seems
lost, bursts of clarity often surface from the ambient obscurity. Gonzalez commented that the album is “mainly about dreams, how everyone is different, how you dream differently when you are a kid, a teenager, or an adult.” Highlights include “Reunion,” as Gonzalez cries out “You make me feel myself/You make me feel my soul” in an energetic burst from the dark, melancholy, nostalgic preceding track “Midnight City,” which echoes memories of drunken nights spent stumbling through urban chaos. Many of the tracks are melodic instrumental pieces that serve to transition between the different atmospheres explored in each song. “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” (Tell Me a Story) is a light and humorous song reflecting the surrealism of looking back to childhood and the gravity myth once held, as a little girl recounts a tale of a magical, psychedelic frog. Most of the songs are dominated by synthesizers, but the tracks also build to overwhelm the senses with a feathery blanket of perfectly placed harmonies. On the second disc, “New Map” (kin to “Midnight City”) is suggestive of a long lucid dream as Gonzalez sings, “There’s a hole in your heart begging for adventure/ On your own, can you face it?” The sound he creates completely immerses the listener while maintaining a chilling sense of distance and isolation. The guitar-dominated “Year One, One UFO” melodically builds into a feeling of awakening
that is offset by the final five tracks, which get lost in a loosely defined ambience of obscure melodies and electronic drones. “Outro” concludes the album with the lyric “I’m the king of my own land,” suggesting the control people strive to have over the ambiguous beauty of both dreams and reality. An impressive characteristic of this release is the similarity between each disc of the album. Each song on one disc has a sibling on the other, making each part unique yet oddly reminiscent of its related track, like two separate dreams with the same aesthetic impact, flowered into different defining subtleties. Every song is saturated with dense emotions reflecting the loneliness and nostalgia Gonzalez felt when first moving to Los Angeles from France before composing the album. On the second leg of their tour for Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83 will be playing at Buffalo’s Town Ballroom May 7 with similarly atmospheric Swedish indie band I Break Horses. The stylistic variety and emotion- a l twists and turns of the new album suggest M83 will put on a memorable experience that will continue to travel through the mind of the audience even after they pass out in drunken exhaustion and transition into the surrealism of sleep.
Images Courtesy of Google Images
A$AP Rocky cut things short, “Wassup”? Alicia Greco
Life and Arts Editor There was a controlled tension as two massive lines formed in front of the double doors in the Town Ballroom lobby Thursday night. Biggie's vocals emitted from the speaker system as tickets were bought and concertgoers shifted anxiously, waiting for the security guards to let them through. When the doors opened, the two lines converged on the opposite side, coming together as a massive form on the floor. The opening DJ warmed the crowd up with choppy transitions but nonetheless familiar and great hip-hop tracks. Heavy bass hits had a man nodding his head in time to the music, trill-like. His fists came up to his face and his shoulders were shrugging and leaning back rhythmically. The crowd, eager for the openers to finish, began to chant "A$AP!" Lighters sparked sporadically and puffs of smoke rose upwards, visibly disintegrating into the purple and blue lighting above. After the three opening acts finished their sets, A$AP Rocky crossed the stage and grabbed the mic. The hyphy energy of the room was long awaited. "Mind if I swig my 40?" he
asked the crowd and then grabbed a 40-ounce of malt liquor that was posted up on stage. Everyone was overjoyed as he hastily swigged the amber colored liquid. Halfway through "Bass" and unsatisfied with the audience, A$AP demanded the energy to peak and his wish was fulfilled. Starting it over, Clams Casino's perfectly mastered instrumentals put hands in the air and had girls grinding their hips the second time around. "I just wanna see you guys spread the love," he advised through the mic. After a few stage dives and curious questions about who “got lit,” A$AP led into his closing song. Clearly his most well known track, the bell-induced intro of "Peso" had voices screaming along with his recurring line, "I be that pretty mothaf****." Regardless of the fact that he has only released one mixtape, the show was a little short. Coming back out for an encore, "Peso" began, again. Whether repeating the closing track for the encore would be considered a faux pas or not, it still had me nodding along. Although I was unsatisfied that I didn't get to hear "Demons," perhaps A$AP Rocky was going for one of the rules in the music business: always leave them wanting more.
Image Courtesy of Google Images
LIFE & ARTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Salvation at the end of the world in “The Grey” Sam Scarcello Editor-In-Chief
Survival films are always tough pills to swallow. Through a bleak story, the audience is asked to settle in and wait for a dim light at a seemingly endless tunnel. “The Grey” is no different. Loosely based on Sarah Palin’s life (kidding), the film tells the story of a group of oilrig workers in Alaska. The members survive a plane crash, only to learn that they’ve landed near the den of a ferocious pack of wolves. Presented with the choices of freezing to death, becoming dog meat or salvaging supplies and having a go at survival, the group of seven goes with the latter. It’s grim stuff, but its not presented in a way that disgusts. The filmmakers explore depression, loneliness, faith, fear and what all of it means with no clear future in sight. Our hero is John Ottway, played by Liam Neeson, who’s experiencing a resurgence of his action hero status with films like “Taken” and “Clash of the Titans” and their respective sequels, each due out this year. Ottway is a flawed man. When s#*t hits the fan, he takes control, but he’s not without his own demons. We’re clued in to his story through a series of flashbacks to happier times. Although even a root canal could be considered happier than the situation he finds himself in at the moment, we see time he spent with his father as a kid and a former love interest. The rest of the bunch is a rugged hodgepodge of ex-cons and tough guys. Joe Anderson, from “Across the Uni-
verse,” provides the comic relief early on as Flannery; and although his character is a bit of an ass, he’s still missed once the wolves start picking people off. Dermot Mulroney as Talget doesn’t say much until halfway through the film, but he gives some of the more gutwrenching moments once he opens up. Frank Grillo gets to have the most fun as Diaz. Diaz is the character you love to hate. He acts tough and has a problem with everyone around, but it’s clear he’s the most frightened of all. Although the characters all play like standard archetypes, each is allowed the chance to develop, giving way to some truly memorable characters and scenes. And speaking of wolves, if you weren’t afraid of them before, you should be. “The Grey” does for plane crashes in the Alaskan Wilderness what “Jaws” did for Amity Island’s tourism business. I say that because The International Wolf Center nominated the film for the 2012 Scat Award, “a new prize to be awarded each year for the worst wolf misinformation in film.” By the way, Amity Island doesn’t have a tourism business because Amity Island isn’t real. The film depicts nature and humanity in their most raw forms and pits them against each other in more ways than one. As much as the film is about a pack of wolves systematically picking apart the intruders, it’s also about the lengths one will go to survive – and both of those stories are ugly. What is not ugly though are the technical achievements of the film. The sound design is excellent. The music builds suspense perfectly, and the sounds of an encroaching blizzard – or
worse, a wolf attack – sent shivers down my spine. Director Joe Carnahan uses his environment to great effect, offering wide vistas of the towering mountain ranges. He gets great performances out of everyone, too. At just under two hours, “The Grey” is a meaty film, but it puts its running time to good use. It moves at a brisk pace, slowing down at the right moments to allow the audience to catch its breath and reveal more about our survivors. What could have been a cheesy B-movie premiering on Syfy and starring Dolph Lundgren is elevated at every turn by great performances, strong suspense and true emotional heft. The topics at hand aren’t your typical action fare, and I enjoyed the experience that much more because of it. Hopefully we’ll see more gritty, suspenseful films like this in the future.
Touched by “Touch” By Melissa Owczarzak Life and Arts Writer
Kiefer Sutherland has performed a variety of roles ranging from the leader of a gang of teenage vampires in The Lost Boys to a federal agent fighting terrorists in 24, and he is perhaps most well known for his roles as action characters with tough personalities. However, in his new show Touch on Fox, Sutherland plays a more endearing role: that of a widower who must raise his mute child who has been diagnosed with autism. Although the first episode was aired last week, it was only a preview for the season set to begin in mid-March. Touch is focused around the lives of Martin and Jake Bohm (Sutherland and David Mazouz), a father and son dealing with the normal stresses of life in New York City. The show begins with a day in the life of Martin, an overworked father who is still dealing with the loss of his wife due to the Sept. 11 tragedy. He has to leave work early to pick up his eleven-year-old son, who has run away from school and climbed a cell phone tower – again. Jake is far from being an ordinary child. He has not once spoken in his eleven years of life, he does not let anyone (including his own father) touch him, and he has a fascination with numbers. This fascination comes from his ability to see the world in a way that many cannot. Jake can see numerical patterns and sequences that occur in nature, as well as the connections between people; with this knowledge, he is able to predict future events. Unfortunately, because of his inability to communicate with Jake, Martin did not realize his son’s true ability until after Jake arranged several collected cell phones in a pattern and set them to go off sequentially. Alongside the Bohms, several other characters make an appearance in the premiere episode of Touch; a traveling father who has lost his phone, an Arabic boy whose family needs a new oven, a singer at an Irish pub and a NYC firefighter all become connected through Jake and Martin’s help. Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is
also a crucial part of the show as the caseworker who must observe Jake. She too, sees Jake’s amazing gift as she watches his groupings of objects into different series of numbers and tries to help Martin use Jake’s ability. This show is a return to television not only for Kiefer Sutherland but also for the show’s creator, Tim Kring, who wrote and produced Heroes, the crime-filled drama Crossing Jordan and several others. Kring seems to combine crucial aspects of these two series to create this new series. It is filled with the extraordinary powers, although a bit more believable, that were featured in Heroes. It also takes the drama, relationships and the interconnecting of people, places and events from the crime solving themes of “Crossing Jordan.” Containing a lot of action, emotion, family dynamics, a fresh new story and talented actors, Touch is a must-watch series for the spring season and will premiere on Fox Monday, March 19.
Image Courtesy of Google Imagess
Images Courtesy of Google Images
LIFE & ARTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Caricaturist... Aidan Ryan
Life and Arts Writer Disgruntled Republicans saw a glimmer of hope in Herman Cain, a Washington outsider and successful entrepreneur who might have been able to out-Obama Obama. Unfortunately, the godfather of pizza turned out to be a bit too saucy for mainstream conservatives, and his star winked out. More recently, all of America gasped in surprise when Rick Santorum squeezed out a narrow first place in the Iowa caucuses. We then breathed a collective sigh of relief as his short-lived lead vanished and he resumed his place at the fringes. A more jubilant hurrah was raised when Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman took second and third place in the New Hampshire primaries. However, the added attention gave the duo enough time to prove their snobbish elitism. The use of words with more syllables than “democracy” or “capitalist” (even “capitalism” being a bit too verbose) on national television is essentially political suicide. Burdened by their unforgiveable levels of education and all-around know-how, Paul and Huntsman have committed synchronous seppuku. Of course, Romney won in New Hampshire, but the fact that The-ManWho-Is-Not-Obama (But-Is-Actually-StillA-Lot-Like-Obama) will most likely be the Republican candidate once the primaries are over is not something that most GOP-ers are quite ready to face. As such, we will continue to ignore him and hitch our wagon to the next rising star… No, not Michele Bachmann. If the 2012 Republican field was a modern-day little league baseball team, Michele Bachmann would get the trophy for Most Consistently Showing Up to Practice. Rather, I’m referring to the Eye of the Tiger, the self-professed “army brat,” the (other) white-haired maverick and the thrice-married zombie risen from a shallow grave of irrelevance: none other than the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. And why do I believe that Gingrich, who until now has been
noteworthy for nothing more than taking uncomfortably cheerful photo shoots outside of Auschwitz, is more a phoenix than a chickenhawk? Because he promised me a colony on the moon. While some people might criticize the plan as absurd, irrational, out of touch or just plain crazy, a closer examination of Gringrich’s carefully nuanced and well thoughtout plan reveals that a moon colony will actually solve each and every one of the many problems that plague America today. First off, the economy, the single most important factor in the upcoming election. Gingrich’s novel idea of partnering business with government to commercialize space would create jobs and capital by essentially founding an entirely new All-American industry. Can any other candidate make such a claim? Of course, Ron Paul would likely legalize marijuana, bringing a billion-dollar industry off the streets and making it subject to regulation and taxation, but doing so would result in the eternal damnation of every man, woman and child in the New World, as inevitably each and every American would suc-
cumb to the siren song of the Devil’s herb. At least with Gingrich’s new industry we would be able to save our souls. Space travel, space tourism and space real estate would rejuvenate the old, comatose ideal of Manifest Destiny, while simultaneously creating a demand for an educated work force. With a commercial space industry, the malcontents (living in tents) across America might actually be able to put their overpriced educations to good use. Unfortunately, humanities majors wouldn’t be of much use on the moon, and as such would most likely remain homeless and jobless. However, they all knew what they were getting into. This brings me to my second issue: the disproportionate distribution of wealth. While the pinkos and the Neo-Marxists call for the slaughter and cannibalization of legitimate Wall Street businessmen for the simple “crime” of being too successful, no sane Republican candidate would ever cater to these radical views. However, Gingrich, that sly fox, has crafted a plan to redistribute wealth without offending traditional conservatives. In our current economy, no one but the super-
Leather
&
wealthy would be able to afford space travel or tourism, so the booming business that Gingrich assures us will be attracted to his “awards” will in effect consensually steal from the upper-upper class to give to the uppermiddle class families that will no doubt staff the new corporations of Space Coast. Once the giant profits from the new space industry have offset the billions of government subsidies and tax breaks used to start it, Newt “Star Child” Gingrich’s space baby should continue to generate enough capital to raise our floundering economy out of its current Earthly morass to new and celestial heights. Could this possibly fail? Could Gingrich perhaps be placing too much faith in the interest and financial feasibility of space industries? I think not. As the man himself said in his 1995 book To Renew America, “honeymoons in space will be the vogue in 2020.” Of course, the economy won’t be the only thing to benefit from Gingrich’s bold vision. Education? American school children would learn much more about space if they could actually take a field trip to the dark side of the moon. And dependence on foreign oil? If federal grants were offered to scientists to somehow turn cheese into a form of fuel, the moon could be harvested for its untapped reserves of lactose power. And what about gays and their insatiable desire to “marry?” Gingrich is a clever man, and as he once compared gay marriage to paganism, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that his moon plan contained a solution to “the gay problem.” Yes, we know you’re here and you’re queer, but if you did it on the moon, I think everyone here on earth would be much more comfortable. It’s clear that a vote for Newt Gingrich is a vote for democracy. And freedom. And America. And veterans. And fun. On the moon. That’s why I’m endorsing everyone’s favorite amphibian for president in 2012. And so I’ll close with a few words from David Bowie, which I think are particularly appropriate in this most crucial election year: “There’s a Star Man/Waiting in the sky/ He’d like to come and meet us/But he thinks he’d blow our minds.”
lace
Winter is S#!77Y. Wear Glitter. Staying Stylish in the Winter Months
Marissa Klein
Life and Arts Writer Buffalo winters suck. I look forward to the first snow every year because it’s always sparkly and beautiful; but by the second snow I’m ready for spring. Everything starts to look dirty and the weather gets way too cold. By midwinter it’s usually too difficult to wear anything other than sweatpants and big, baggy sweatshirts because, let’s face it, who wants to get out of their warm bed before an early morning class and pick out something that’s just going to leave you freezing your a** off? Now that winter is really here to stay, we all need something to make the upcoming dreary months a little more bearable. The answer, I think, is glitter. Glitter is something that reflects the winter season and is far more acceptable to wear during the holidays than in the warmer months, when it can leave you looking like Snooki drunkenly doing cartwheels in the streets of Italy. It’s not just for little kids, and anyone can wear it in moderation – or in excess if you want to look like Liberace’s disco ball. It’s such an easy way
to make every day feel like a special occasion. The most wearable way to ease yourself into this look is with accessories. Start with a really sparkly cocktail ring from Forever 21 or a big shiny necklace. Get a glittery clutch for nights out at the bars. Glitter nail polish is an essential. Paint it over a neutral color for a classy look, or even
try painting it on just your ring finger for a funky but subtle touch. Glitter makeup can also be an awesome way to look festive. Try glitter eye shadow or eyeliner, or even glitter mascara, for a night out or for a way to spice things up for class. I promise you’ll feel fabulous. Hard Candy, sold at WalMart, has really great, inexpensive glitter makeup. Urban
Image Courtesy of Google Images
Decay also makes awesome glitter eyeliner; use it to line your bottom lashes to make your eyes pop. Another great, subtle way to incorporate glitter is using a glitter body powder. There are many different brands, but I strongly recommend Lush’s dusting powder. It smells like a rose garden, which is obviously an added bonus. Glittery clothes are a lot trickier, but I promise it can be done. Flats that sparkle are everywhere right now and can make even a simple outfit of a t-shirt and jeans look chic. Adding a scarf with specks of glitter, from somewhere like Express, is also a really simple way to make an outfit look fancy without being over the top (pun unintended). Leggings specked with glitter or a neutral-colored sparkly skirt can be great for a night out as well. If you’re feeling extra saucy, I’ve seen glittery bras out there in the fashion world. Just find something you dig and go crazy with it! Glitter is kind of like animal print. It can be really tricky and should never be overdone, but when it’s done right it looks absolutely amazing. Try it out and have a blast with it. You’ll get a lot of compliments, I promise.
LIFE & ARTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Culinary Beat
Buffalo event brings “A Big Fuss” for local support Lisa Stachura
Life and Arts Writer Over the past couple of semesters, students have started demanding healthier options on the dining menu. The dining hall staff worked incredibly hard to ensure that they meet student needs, including new gluten-free options that are now available. However, students will still seek other healthier options off campus. A Big Fuss, a new annual event, is designed to raise funds for a local farmer in need. On Feb. 8, at Artisans Kitchens and Baths, people from across Western New York will come together over good food and drinks to celebrate and support those responsible for supplying a “beautiful bounty.”
Seven local restaurant chefs, including Jim Guarino, chef/owner of Shango Bistro; Kate Ellicot, executive chef of Merge; and Chris and Pete from Lloyd’s Taco truck will cook delicious food for attendees to enjoy. Nickel City Cheese and Mercantile and also Tuscany on Main are participants, and more donations from Promise Land, CSA/Oles, Family Farm, Unfinished Farm, Painted Meadows and T-Meadow Farm will be featured. Buffalo chefs have donated their efforts to a variety of causes connected to Buffalo’s growing culinary scene. However, they also find it important to lend aid to a small farm that supplies them. As evidenced by WNY’s two local restaurant weeks held each year, it is clear that food is part of Buffalo’s culture, and there are many companies dedicated to enriching our culinary
atmosphere. Feed Your Soul, the event sponsor, is devoted to “developing and executing both private and public events.” They primarily focus on the food and agriculture of the area and believe that “agritourism and culinary tourism should not only be a major aspect of living and traveling in WNY but are a fundamental component to Buffalo’s renaissance.” All proceeds from the cash bar and auction will go towards assisting a local farmer. Tickets are $30 and you must be 21 years or older (I.D. required) for this event. As with most Feed Your Soul events, this is one of a kind and seating is extremely limited, so making reservations promptly is important. It will be held at Artisan Kitchens and Baths, which is located at 200 Amherst Street. For more details on the event, visit EatLocalBuffalo.com. “Support WNY’s Small Farms, One at a Time!”
Image Courtesy of Google Images
Put That Record On weekly album reviews by Timothy Gaughan
Grimes- “Visions”
Machinedrum- “Room(s)"
Singer Claire Boucher brings to mind fellow Canadian electronica indie songstress Alice Glass, except here the influence isn’t so much JD, but more Jpop. The tuneful, glitchy, electronic pop explores interesting tempos and time signatures by way of The Postal Service. If only she didn’t go all avant-garde on us at the end.
There’s something to be said about aural richness. On “Room(s),” Travis Stewart created a record that was able to assert technical and textural greatness, all while remaining poporiented. Released on Planet Mu, the album is categorized as footwork, but is really a blending of numerous styles. What I mean is that it isn’t an ambient sleep-inducing album, but you’ll need good headphones.
B
[To be released Feb. 12, 2012 on 4ad]
The Weeknd- “The Trilogy”
A-
[Released Aug. 29, 2011 on Planet Mu]
Consisting of 3 mixtapes released in 2011, “The Trilogy,” as it’s referred to, chronicles the vapid noir drama of nightlife. Backed by narcotic-laden beats and samples (Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees among others), Abel Tesfaye emits a talented pop voice, the likes of which we haven’t heard since Michael Jackson (at least according to former MTV staple John Norris). A bit less introspective than Frank Ocean and far less rich than Drake, The Weeknd appears to be the R&B savior with the most raw talent. What is most impressive about these releases is their subsequent improvement. All excellent in their own regard, from “House of Balloons” through “Thursday” and “Echos of Silence,” the songs became far more conceptually established and less pop-oriented. While initially shrouded in mystery, Abel Tesfaye’s sound and image have taken on a new form: smart and honest lyrics, a pop star worthy voice and the accompaniment of tight, excellent production.
A+
[Released 2011]
Creative Corner The Song of the Cherry Tree By A.C. LaFlore In bonds of trust we’ll embrace, in this unjust world only you and I matter in our bliss, ignorant, of the devils clatter, these demons we must outrace we’ll leave them and their despair behind, as long as you hold me tight my wings will beat with might, we’ll fly to the ninth circle just you and me if you’ll be my Cherry I’ll be your tree, we’ll defeat these tribulations and live on together in sweet delight.
Images Courtesy of Google Images
LIFE & ARTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Market Arcade film & arts center
Best-Seller List Paperback Non-Fiction – Top 5
WOMAN IN BLACK (PG-13) DAILY (4:05) 7:05, 9:35 SAT/SUN (1:35, 4:05,) 7:05, 9:35
CHRONICLE (PG-13) DAILY (5:25) 7:25, 9:25 SAT/SUN (1:30, 3:30, 5:25) 7:25, 9:25
THE GREY (R) DAILY (4:15) 7:15, 9:45 SAT/SUN (1:45, 4:15) 7:15, 9:45
1. HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent 2. BOSSYPANTS, by Tina Fey 3. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot 4. _____ FINISH FIRST, by Tucker Max 5. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell
1. AMERITOPIA, by Mark R. Levin 2. AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice 3. STEVE JOBS, by Walter Isaacson 4. KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 5. THROUGH MY EYES, by Tim Tebow with Nathan
Paperback Trade Fiction – Top 5
Hardcover Fiction – Top 5
1. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett 2. EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE, by Jonathan Safran Foer 3. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson 4. THE TIGER’S WIFE, by Téa Obreht 5. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson
1. PRIVATE: #1 SUSPECT, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 2. DEATH OF KINGS, by Bernard Cornwell 3. BELIEVING THE LIE, by Elizabeth George 4. DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY, by P. D. James 5. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson
friday Buffalo City Hall noon: City Hall Tour. Buffalo ComedySportz Arena 8:00pm: Improvisational Comedy.
ONE FOR THE MONEY (PG-13) DAILY (5:10) 7:20, 9:30 SAT/SUN (12:50, 3:00, 5:10) 7:20, 9:30
Hardcover Non-Fiction – Top 5
saturday
sunday
Borders 11:00am: Borders’ Kids’ Corner. Storytime every Saturday
Beaver Meadow Audubon Center 2:00pm: Sunday Family Walks & Talks
Brennan’s Bowery Bar & Restaurant 6:00pm - 9:00pm: Tableside magic w/ Mike Seege
Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society 2:00pm: African American Storytelling w/ Sharon Holly
Church of Scientology 7:00pm: Clear Body, Clear Mind
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library 1:00pm - 3:00pm: Gaming. Wii, Gamecube, & board games.
Fairgrounds Gaming and Raceway Clubhouse 9:00am - 9:00pm: West Herr Auto Sale
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library 3:00pm: Celebrate Black History Month w/ Storyteller Sharon Holley
Fairgrounds Gaming and Raceway Clubhouse 9:00am - 3:00pm: Automotive Swap Meet.
Sole Restaurant 7:00pm - 9:00pm: The Magic of Todd Nelson
Buffalo ComedySportz Arena 7:00pm: Improvisational Comedy.
Buffalo Tours 10:00am: Queen City Downtown Tour.
UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING (R) NO PASS MOVIE DAILY ( 3:50, 5:50) 7:50, 9:50 SAT/SUN (1:50, 3:50, 5:50) 7:50, 9:50
Darwin Martin House 1:00pm - 4:00pm: Exploring Japanese Influences on Frank Lloyd Wright using mixed media. Evangola State Park 10:00am - noon: Ice Volcanoes of Lake Erie. Guided walk. Niagara Falls State Park 2:00pm - 4:00pm: Ice Bridges.
RED TAILS (PG-13) DAILY (4:00) 7:00, 9:40 SAT/SUN (1:20, 4:00) 7:00, 9:40
HAYWIRE (R) DAILY (5:30) 7:40, 9:55 SAT/SUN (1:10, 3:20, 5:30) 7:40, 9:55 NO SHOWS TUESDAY
Feb. 7-14
Indigo Art 2:00pm: Poetry Reading by Al Felix: Jackie Remembered. Martin Luther King Jr. Park 1:00pm - 3:00pm: 2nd Annual BlueCross BlueShield Snowman Making Challenge. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site 12:30pm - 7:00pm: Tours every hour on the hour. WNED Horizons Gallery (no time): 6th WNED Kid Fest: Pets & Animals. Indoor carnival.
UPCOMING CD RELEASES Air Ben Kweller Big Sir Dierks Bentley Dr. Dog Liam The Younger Mark Lanegan Band Of Montreal Patrice O’Neal Paul McCartney Rita Wilson Robert Deebie Silverstein Th Fray Van Halen
Le Voyage Dan La Lune Go Fly A Kite Before Gardens After Gardens Home Be The Void After The Graveyard Blues Funeral Paralytic Stalks Mr. P (Comedy Album) Kisses On The Bottom AM/FM Heart Like Feathers Short Songs Scars & Stories A Different Kind Of Truth
SPORTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Super bowl XLVI
Run it back: Super Bowl rematch for the ages in Indy By Brady Phelps Sports Writer
The New York Giants and New England Patriots emerged from their respective conferences and earned the right to a rematch in Super Bowl XLVI, which takes place in Indianapolis Sunday evening. The game pits the same opponents together as Super Bowl XLII, when the underdog Giants took down the undefeated Patriots. The pursuit of perfection was shattered when, on a third down on the Giants 44-yard line, Eli Manning evaded the pass rush and heaved a bomb to David Tyree. Pinning the ball up against his helmet while fighting off Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, Tyree held on for one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history. Manning then hit Plaxico Burress for a touchdown that put New York up 17-14 and sealed an improbable upset. But that was 2008. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Storylines run deep for this year’s highly anticipated matchup. On one side you have Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the masterminds behind an offense that seems to work no matter who is involved. New England has proved time and time again that they can take players that other teams see no value in, plug them into this dynamic system and make winners out of them. Rob Gronkowski, the former Williamsville North and Arizona standout, has taken the league by storm, setting records for tight ends in touchdowns and receiving yards. With Gronk lined up on one side (assuming he’ll play) and the equally versatile Aaron Hernandez on the other, Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell (a former Bills coach) must be having nightmares trying to figure out how to cover these two guys. They are faster than linebackers, but far more physical than any corner or safety. If the tight ends weren’t enough,
Hockey
NEW YORK GIANTS The New York Giants are a team that turned it on when they needed to and have been red hot down the stretch. Embattled head coach Tom Coughlin has a very well-balanced attack led by signal-caller Eli Manning. While his older brother Peyton has taken the year off due to neck surgery, Eli has proved this year that he is truly an elite quarterback – effective on third down and clutch in the fourth quarter. Wideouts Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Ma-
Shots on Goal—Air Force 1110-10-2—33. Canisius 5-3-6-1—15.
Jan. 30, 2012 At Buffalo, N. Y. Air Force 1, Canisius 1 (OT) Air Force Canisius
the Pats also have scoring threats in players like Wes Welker and running backs BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Stevan Ridley and even Kevin Faulk must also be accounted for. The Patriots also have an incredibly reliable offensive line, anchored by Dan Connelly, first-round draft pick Nate Solder, Matt Light, Logan Mankins and Brian Waters. It is no secret that the Patriots’ weaknesses seem to be on the defensive side of the ball. New England surrendered an average of 21 points per game in the regular season, but has given up only 30 points total in their two playoff games. Cornerbacks Kyle Arrington, Devin McCourty and Sterling Moore are backed up by safeties Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown. Julian Edelman, a natural wide receiver, has even lined up on defense when offenses tried to spread the field, and he has done a serviceable job. The Pats gave up a league-high 10 300-yard passing games in the regular season but have not surrendered one since. Linebackers Brandon Spikes, Jerrod Mayo and Rob Ninkovich are all capable of stuffing the run and defending the pass. Nosetackle Vince Wilfork can eat up doubleteams with his 325 pound frame and is a player not many are accounting for. Watch for him to make a big impact. Even if something goes wrong, this defense seems to get bailed out a lot of the time by New England’s ability to outscore just about anybody.
0 1 0 0—1 1 0 0 0—1
First Period—1, Canisius, Rigney 2 (Freeman, Danford), 10:41. Penalties—Grazen, Can (cross-checking), 14:00; Gunner, AF (cross-checking), 15:15; Law, Can (roughing), 15:15. Second Period—2, AF, Kirby 9 (Demers, Kruse), 15:53. Penalties—Carew, AF (roughing), 3:09; Bohrer, Can (hooking), 6:58; Barrea, Can (tripping), 8:17; Weisgarber, AF (slashing), 8:51; Parker, Can (roughing), 8:51; AF Bench, served by Holm (too many men), 11:15; McCrank, Can (holding), 18:20. Third Period—None. Penalties—McCrank, Can (holding), 9:41; Barrea, Can (tripping), 16:49. Overtime—None. Penalty— Gibbons, Can (high-sticking), 1:35.
Power-play opportunities—Air Force 0 of 7; Canisius 0 of 2. Goalies—Air Force, Torf 1-2-1 (15 shots-14 saves). Canisius, Morrison 4-8-2 (33-32). Attendance—418 (1,800). Time—2:05. Referees—Peter Feola, Derek Sylvester. Linesmen—Joseph Adam Bell.
Baudo,
Women’s Basketball Feb. 2, 2012 At Baltimore, Md. LOYOLA 70, CANISIUS 62 CANISIUS (10-12, 4-7 MAAC) Wilkes 0-4 0-0 0, Ruttle 10-12 4-5 24, Morabito 4-6 4-4 16, Hoohuli 1-2 0-0 3, Durham 3-8 6-6 13, Angelos 0-1 0-0 0, Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Lennox 2-4 0-0 4, VandeBovenkamp 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 21-42 14-15 62. LOYOLA (9-13, 5-6 MAAC)
rio Manningham are deep threats whenever they step on the field, and the Giants hope to take some shots beating the New England safeties on Sunday. The Giants running game, though less talked about, is also something to be feared. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs are two mad men who platoon in the New York backfield. Bradshaw, the 5-foot-10, 214 pound running back, is quick and slashes through holes but is not afraid to lower his shoulders. On the other end of the spectrum is Jacobs, who stands at 6-foot4 and weighs in at 265 pounds – bigger than some linebackers in the NFL. The Patriots front seven will have their hands full trying to take him down on first contact. The Giants offensive line has given up eight sacks in the postseason, but they have made up for it in their run blocking. Left tackle David Diehl will be rushed early and often as his job is to protect Eli Manning’s blindside. Center David Baas, as well as guards Kevin Boothe and Chris Snee will all be counted on for veteran leadership and smart blocking come Sunday evening. The Giants defense undoubtedly holds the key to winning this Super Bowl. The Giants pass rush can blow up plays at any time with three physical specimens in Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul. With a rotation like that rushing the edge, Tom Brady needs to be wary of how long he is sitting in the pocket for. With such an impressive D-line, the Giants rarely need to blitz because the quarterback is pressured without any additional help. At linebacker, Chase Blackburn went from a guy on the street to holding down a steady spot at middle linebacker. Michael Boley brings a veteran’s knowledge to the game and Mathias Kiwanuka is a Boston College product that can shoot a gap at any time. Corey Webster and Aaron Ross are both reliable corners, and with safeties Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips behind them, this secondary is going to play a sig-
nificant role in the outcome of this game.
STAFF PREDICTIONS
ANALYSIS
Giants 24 - 21. Pats D is sub-par to say the least. - Rich L.
Tom Brady is as vindictive as they come for an NFL quarterback and he sees this game as his chance to prove he’s still the best. He and Belichick have created a dynasty together but they aren’t reveling in it. They know how hard it is to reach this point and know they might never be back. The Patriots are a different team than they were when they last won it all in 2007, as few pieces are still intact from that team. Owner Robert Kraft must see this Super Bowl as nostalgic following the death of his wife, Myra, before the season began. After losing the way they did to the Giants in 2008, ruining their perfect season, the Pats have to be hungry for this win. On the other hand, Coughlin is a coach who was on the hot seat not too long ago, worried about job security. Now some in the media are saying that with another championship he may be a Hall of Fame candidate. Eli Manning has a chip on his shoulder and a win on Sunday will give him one more ring than his older brother has. The Giants got their act together at the perfect time and has made this run based on a teamfirst mentality. Their remarkable balance and third-down efficiency have them aimed towards another Vince Lombardi Trophy. The oddsmakers in Vegas have the Patriots at 2.5 point favorites in this game, dropping half a point from the 3-point spread earlier in the week. Will it be a close game? I believe it will – for the first half. I see the Patriots offense taking over this game with the help of timely turnovers. The Patriots have a young defense ready to make a name for themselves on the grand stage. My prediction: Patriots win, 27-17. New England has too much riding on this game to let it slip away to the Giants again. phelpsb@canisius.edu
Box Scores & Standings Sutherland 3-11 0-2 6, Offodile 4-11 2-2 10, Marshall 2-11 10-10 15, Sheahin 5-9 5-7 17, McKenzie 8-15 5-7 22, Excellent 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Krusen 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 22-28 70. Halftime: Loyola 33-21. 3-Point Goals: Canisius 6-19 (Wilkes 0-1, Ruttle 0-2, Morabito 4-6, Hoohuli 1-2, Durham 1-6, VandeBovenkamp 0-2), Iona 4-20 (Sutherland 0-3, Marshall 1-7, Sheahin 2-6, McKenzie 1-2). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Canisius 26 (Ruttle 8), Loyola 36 (McKenzie 9). Assists: Canisius 15 (Morabito, Hoohuli 3), Loyola 15 (Sutherland, Marshall 4). Total Fouls: Canisius 20, Loyola 16. Attendance: 378
Men’s Basketball Feb. 2, 2012 At New Rochelle, N. Y. IONA 105, CANISIUS 86
CANISIUS (4-18, 1-11 MAAC) Hymes 8-16 3-4 23, Heath 4-6 4-5 12, Milian 2-3 0-0 4, Manhertz 1-4 3-4 5, Washington 5-9 3-4 13, Belardo 10-18 1-2 27, Santiago 1-3 0-0 2, Bleeker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 14-19 86. IONA (18-5, 10-2 MAAC) Dezouvre 1-7 0-0 2, Glover 5-10 2-8 12, Machado 5-8 3-3 14, Smyth 3-7 1-2 7, Jones 16-23 4-5 43, Fields 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 2-3 0-0 6, Armand 3-7 0-0 8, Gomez 0-0 0-0 0, James 2-3 0-0 5, Ridley 3-3 2-3 8. Totals 40-71 12-21 105. Halftime: Iona 51-47. 3-Point Goals: Canisius 10-21 (Hymes 4-8, Milian 0-1, Belardo 6-11, Santiago 0-1), Iona 13-25 (Machado 1-3, Smyth 0-3, Jones 7-12, Jenkins 2-2, Armand 2-4, James 1-1). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Canisius 27 (Heath 8), Iona 32 (Glover 11). Assists: Canisius 10 (Washington 3), Iona 25 (Machado 14). Total Fouls: Canisius 21, Iona 17.
Atlantic Hockey Standings Team GP RIT 19 Mercyhurst 19 Air Force 19 Niagara 19 Robert Morris 19 Connecticut 20 Bentley 19 Holy Cross 19 Canisius 19 American Int’l 19 Army 20 Sacred Heart 19
I don’t watch football and have no interest in it. After exclusive research, I’ve come to the difficult decision that Tom Brady is in fact cuter than Eli Manning. Therefore, I think the New England Patriots will win the superbowl 31 - 25. (That was last year’s score.) - Hayden R. Giants 28 - 27. Gostowski is going to miss the game-winning field goal with no time left. - Steve B. The Giants have had the Patriots number the last two times they’ve played and I predict that trend to continue in the superbowl this weekend. Tom Brady will make it a close game but the Giants pass rush and Eli Manning’s outstanding play will prove to be too much to match. 24 - 20 Giants. - Nathan B. Patriots 31-27. I can’t bet against Tom Brady in the big game. Plus I’m the oldest of four brothers and I can’t make a pick that would give little bro Eli more career accomplishments than older brother Peyton. - Nick V. The Giants for the win. I rented a room at the Hyatt downtown. Hopefully the crappy cable service doesn’t short out. I swear if my caviar is warm before it gets to my room... -Sam S. Giants. Because Tom Brady hates Buffalo. -Jon B. Giants 34-31. Tom Brady wearing men’s Uggs will make him lose. -Taylor S.
Conf. Pts. Ovr. 12-4-3 27 15-8-3 11-4-4 26 14-10-4 10-4-5 25 12-7-6 10-4-5 25 11-8-7 10-6-3 23 12-11-3 11-8-1 23 12-13-2 8-6-5 21 8-12-6 8-8-3 19 10-13-3 8-8-3 19 8-14-4 4-13-2 10 5-19-2 2-13-5 9 3-15-7 1-17-1 3 2-23-1
MAAC Men’s Basketball Standings Team GP Conf. Pct. Ovr. Iona 12 10-2 .833 18-5 Manhattan 12 10-2 .833 17-7 Loyola 11 9-2 .818 16-5 Fairfield 10 6-4 .600 11-10 Rider 11 6-5 .545 9-14 Siena 11 5-6 .455 10-11 Niagara 11 4-7 .364 9-14 St. Peter’s 11 3-8 .273 4-18 Marist 11 2-9 .182 7-15 Canisius 12 1-11 .083 4-18 MAAC Women’s Basketball Standings Team GP Conf. Pct. Ovr. Marist 10 10-0 1.000 15-6 Fairfield 11 10-1 .909 17-5 Iona 10 6-4 .600 10-11 Manhattan 10 5-5 .500 11-11 Loyola 11 5-6 .455 9-13 Niagara 10 5-6 .400 7-15 Canisius 11 4-7 .364 10-12 Siena 11 4-7 .364 6-14 St. Peter’s 9 2-7 .222 2-18 Rider 11 2-9 .182 10-12
SPORTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
On The Wing:
Vent against athletes shows power of social media
By Nick Veronica Sports Editor
A cheerleader wrote a blog post earlier this week comparing club sports with Division I sports that caused a firestorm of responses from athletes and non-athletes alike. Things like this are a big deal at a school like Canisius where everybody pretty much knows everybody. If you aren’t familiar with the post, the author vented her frustrations with the way athletes carry themselves, writing, “Sometimes I look at these D1 athletes and I wonder if they even love their sport or they’re just doing it for the free ride.” You can check out the full posts (and subsequent comments) at cheerdummy.wordpress.com if you want to find out more. Hold your jokes about the redundancy of that title while we consider the facts. One phenomenon of social media is that it gives people an outlet to share their inner-most selves, unfiltered and more honest than they could ever be in person. It’s
interesting how something about the fact that the person your tweet, status or blog post is directed at won’t know it’s about them, won’t see it, probably won’t see it, or at least won’t be able to say something back to your face about it gives people the confidence to publish thoughts they would normally keep to themselves. That’s not to say the author of the post published it there to hide behind a computer screen. That’s not the case at all. As she later noted, she’s run the blog for months and never had more than 70 hits in a day. It was just a place to get a few feelings out and maybe hit a few requirements for a class along the way. You can’t fault somebody for publishing an opinion – this is America, after all – and the underlying frustrations with Division I athletes on campus aren’t limited to club sport participants. A lot of people resent athletes for their scholarships, their wardrobe of Griff logo clothes and any of the other perks associated with playing a D-I sport. But forget for a second that player apparel packs cost money and there are players who don’t get a dime from athletics toward tuition. Even if every single student-athlete were here all-expenses-paid, what would be wrong with that? They are good at what they do and they got a coach to offer them a free ride. That’s a great opportunity that they’d be foolish not to take. Don’t direct your anger at the athletes when you’re really mad at the system. I get both sides of the argument.
I play club hockey here and I know firsthand what it’s like to be treated differently by people when they realize you’re not on the “real” team. I was choking down vending machine PopTarts on a road trip when I saw pictures of the buffet the basketball team had in Las Vegas. And I definitely wish a medical staff and training facilities had been available to me right on campus after I broke my leg representing the Blue and Gold during a game in December. You give it everything you have whether it’s intramurals, club sports or the MAAC Championship, but the school only cares about you if you’re competing for the latter. That’s a hard pill to swallow when you first come to college. But being the sports editor of the paper, I’ve gotten to know the faces behind the stat sheets and I now know most of athletes on campus (if we haven’t met, feel free to introduce yourself). I spend far more time watching their games and researching their stats than I do on my schoolwork, but I’m also the only kid on campus who gets paid to care about their teams and understand their problems. (Granted, it works out to like $1 an hour, but it’s something.) If you’re still not convinced, look at the top of this page. It says SPORTS in big letters. There’s no NARP section of the paper. Just sports. (NARP, of course, is an acronym for “non-athlete regular person” athletes use to describe the mortals on campus.) One quarter of this
publication is devoted to coverage of our athletes and their endeavors and I spend hours a day making sure we do it well. So where to go from here? If you wanted to attack the “regular people” out there, you’d tell them to get over themselves and just accept the fact that there are people in the world who are going to be better than them at things and they get perks that everyone else doesn’t. College athletics are a billion-dollar industry nationally, and even at a low mid-major school like Canisius where athletes are closer to Joe Average, college student than Joe Moneybags, professional athlete or even Joe Randle, Big 12 running back, they get treated differently and no amount of complaining will ever change that. If you wanted to attack the athletes, you could just go around with a big sign that says “WE GET IT,” because everyone knows who the athletes are long before they walk into class dressed head-to-toe in Griff gear. That’s not to clump every athlete into one group, but for the most part, it aggravates classmates (and faculty – they talk too) that athletes wear sweats/warm-up suits/hoodies every day and that they never go anywhere without their posse and that a sense of entitlement seems to be something they put on every day after deodorant. Disgruntled athletes might say that maybe if NARPs spent as much time lifting weights or practicing as they did complaining about everything, maybe they’d be the ones with
the scholarships. Annoyed nonathletes might say maybe if athletes spent more time worrying about athletics instead of commenting on blogs, maybe they’d actually win something once in a while. Maybe that’s where they went after they bailed on the men’s basketball game last Friday, to surf the blogosphere, because Lord knows they might miss something important if they stayed to cheer on a Canisius team any longer than the Athletes-forAthletes event required. So here’s what it comes down to: Regular people, suck it up and deal with it. Life’s not fair. Athletes are athletes and a lot of the resentment you have comes from wishing you were a little bit more like them. You’re here for the education; worry about yourself. If you really need something to get you through the day, think back to your high school graduation and remember the speech your valedictorian probably gave about being the boss someday. And athletes, chill out. Cory Conacher was way better at sports than anybody still here and he never acted for a second like he was better than anyone; even though we all knew that he was. For a collective group of people who are supposed to be above it all, you sure care an awful lot about what one person said about you. Leave the girl alone and focus on your upcoming season. There’s plenty there to keep you busy. veronicn@canisius.edu
NHL commentary
NHL All-Star Draft: Too much favoritism? By Nathan Barillari Sports Writer
For many sports fans, an AllStar Game is something to look forward to, a chance to see the stars of their respective sport align once a year. For many, however, these games have become pointless. While some leagues do it better than others and try to make the game meaningful – like the home field advantage in the World Series given to the winning league of the MLB All-Star Game – these games are really just for fun, at least for the athletes. The fans are a different story. It is possible that many fans don’t tune in to these contests because they know that the participants won’t be giving it their all. Look at the games
this past weekend for example: The AFC beat the NFC 59-41 in the Pro Bowl and Team Chara outscored Team Alfredsson 12-9 in hockey’s ASG – not exactly what one could call tight defense. As a fan, I have to respect that the National Hockey League is doing what it can to try to give fans a different experience in place of the traditional conference vs. conference contest. For those who aren’t familiar with the process, two captains were voted in by their fellow players and then the captains picked teams from the collective pool of all-stars, voted to the game by fans. Naturally, the captains selected players that were close to them, with Alfredsson selecting teammates Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza with his first two picks and Chara selecting
teammate Tim Thomas with his second pick (Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk was the first). Just like managers in the MLB ASG, there was definitely some favoritism for “their guys” but unfortunately, it comes at the expense of other players. With Buffalo’s Jason Pominville
being selected in the 18th round (the second last round in the draft) by Team Alfredsson, it makes me think that there might be a flaw in the system. Of the four captains and assistant captains in the event, three are Sabres rivals, and that puts players like Pominville at a disadvantage under the current system. Were there better players at this year’s game than Pominville? Absolutely. One can make the argument that he would have gotten picked in the same spot if a Western Conference player was a captain rather than Alfredsson or Chara, but I can’t help but think that rivalries played a role in Pominville being taken so low in the draft. I like the idea of the fantasy draft and anybody who has ever played fantasy sports would agree with me,
so that part can stay. My suggestion is that rather than the players selecting the captains, the captains of the NHL Stanley Cup teams from the following year should be selected as the all-star game captains and the assistant captains would be voted on by the players. The fans would then play a bigger role in the selection process, voting for a total of 12 players (captains and assistant captains excluded) as locks for the game. The rest of the players are then selected by a vote done by players and coaches. Next year’s game is set to take place in Columbus, Ohio and it will be interesting to see if the NHL makes any more tweaks to the already unique format of the game. barilla1@canisius.edu
Women’s Basketball
Griffs get on the right track in the MAAC standings Greyhounds of Loyola Friday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. Sports Writer “Offensively, I thought Wilkes was big for us,” head coach Terry Zeh Avenging a four-game losing said. “They came out and double streak, the Canisius College wom- teamed Jamie [Ruttle] and we got en’s basketball team picked up a pair some high-low looks to Ashley and of home wins over the weekend, de- she finished those and helped us get feating Loyola and Rider 65-55 and a long run in the second half.” 60-54, respectively, before losing on After allowing Loyola to bethe road Thursday night to the same gin the contest with a 13-4 run, the Loyola Greyhound team it had up- Griffs slowly began to gain momenended six days earlier. tum which culminated in the referNot having tasted victory in enced 15-0 run that spanned both over two and a half weeks, the Griffs halves. Canisius never allowed the were led by hot-handed junior for- visitors to come within eight points ward Ashley Wilkes who shot 9-for- of its lead in the second half with the 15, garnering a career-high 19 points Greyhounds shooting 31.1 percent in 23 minutes of play against the in the contest.
By Ed Lupien
The 1982-83 Golden Griffin women’s basketball team was among the six inductees that went into the Canisius Athletics Hall of Fame during halftime of Sunday’s contest with the MAAC’s cellar dweller, Rider. The current Griffin squad unleashed a scoring attack that had rarely been seen this season with five players notching double-figure point totals and the team as a whole registering ten three-pointers against the Broncos. Sophomore forward Jamie Ruttle and freshman guard Kayla Hoohuli led the Griffs with 13 points each with Hoohuli accounting for four of the team’s three-pointers. Rider stood within a field goal
of the Griffs’ lead with 1:04 remaining in the second half but Canisius sealed the six-point victory by making four of four free throws in the final seconds of play. Traveling down to Baltimore in the middle of the week, the Griffs had thoughts of improving their season record against the Greyhounds to 2-0 in less than a week’s time. Canisius shot 50 percent from the field in the game but ultimately could not recover from a 12-point deficit that stood at halftime. Playing catch-up for much of the contest, the Griffs were able to cut Loyola’s lead to five with 2:20 remaining, but the win slowly drifted out of reach as Loyola shot 11-for-11 from the line
in the second half. Ruttle led the Griffs scoring efforts, making 10 of 12 field goals she attempted while registering 24 points while sophomore guard Jen Morabito contributed with 16 points and a 4-for-6 effort from beyond the arc. Canisius (10-12, 4-7 MAAC) has now won seven of its last eight home games and will travel to Lewiston Saturday evening to face a Niagara team that defeated the Griffs on national television two weeks ago. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. lupiene@canisius.edu
SPORTS
Friday, February 3, 2012
Morrison: Hobey Baker nominee Continued from Back Cover
short handed. Morrison pointed out their success to getting in shot lanes and blocking shots, as well as contributions in the faceoff circle. “Hats off to Braeden Rigney, he won every single draw,” Morrison said. “It’s hard to generate anything when we keep winning the draws so kudos to our PK and we’ll try to build off of that.” In addition to scoring Canisius’ lone goal, Rigney was dominant in the circle, going 18-7, winning 72 percent. “It’s been fun to watch him grow as a hockey player,” head coach Dave Smith said of Rigney. “He’s got terrific mobility and terrific understanding of what’s going on out there defensively and really takes pride in the faceoff circle and it’s a big part of the game. I would say he’s as good as anybody in the league in the faceoff circle.” Smith called the effort “the best penalty kill we’ve had all year.” The kill bounced back from a rough outing in the first game against the Falcons, where the visitors scored twice on four opportunities on their way to a 3-0 win. Both of the power play goals were scored in the second period where the Falcons registered only three shots on the Canisius net. Capobianco made 24 saves in the loss. Another factor in the 1-1 tie was a different lineup where freshman Carl Larsson, sophomore Duncan McKellar and junior captain Preston Shupe were scratched in favor of freshmen Matthew Grazen, Tyler Wiseman and Stephen Farrell. “The freshmen need to play to develop,” Smith said. “There’s a sense of urgency and a pressure to perform. Sometimes if a guy doesn’t play well and there’s healthy guys waiting, we’re just looking to get the guys with a lot of energy [into the game]. There were a lot of battles and a lot of energy spent in both games. To have those fresher guys made a difference.” Two of the Griffs’ three games against Air Force have ended in ties, which, according to Morrison, says a lot about how well Canisius (8-14-4, 8-8-3 AHA) can play against the top teams. “Obviously we want that win, but with a tie we can at least show everyone in the league that we are for real and hopefully we go into next weekend playing another good team in Robert Morris and take four points out of that weekend.” The first game against the Colonials will take place tonight in Pittsburgh, Pa. and the second tomorrow night at Buffalo State Ice Arena. Both games will take place at 7:05 p.m. and the first 150 fans attending
Hockey should be school’s focus, not basketball By Alexander Vilardo Sports Writer
Nick Veronica/ The Griffin
Senior goaltender Dan Morrison is nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award.
the game at Buff State will get a free Golden Griffin hat.
Canisius hockey notebook Every year after the college hockey season, the Hobey Baker Award is issued to the player deemed to be the best in NCAA Division I hockey. Past winners include current Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller and Jordan Leopold. The award has been issued since 1981 and 26 of the 31 winners have gone on to play in the National Hockey League. This year, senior goaltender Dan Morrison has been nominated for the prestigious award. “It’s obviously a nice honor to be recognized in the league and I try not to let it dictate the way I play or practice or how I am with the guys,” Morrison said. “It’s a nice honor and it’s nice to be recognized but that’s the extent of it.” In his four year career at Canisius, Morrison has a record of 32-45-11 with a 3.18 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. He is also 60 saves from tying Bryan Worosz’s school record. “If Dan wins the Hobey Baker,
I’ll be the first one to congratulate him,” head coach Dave Smith said. “He’s had a terrific senior year, he’s had a terrific four years here and to be recognized with that group of athletes is something he is going to remember and look back on as a fan. I’m proud of Dan and his accomplishments and I’m happy that he’s getting recognized in that capacity.” The news of Morrison’s nomination was further circulated by San Jose Sharks center and NHL All-Star Logan Couture to his almost 88,000 followers over Twitter: “Make sure you vote for my buddy Dan Morrison @morriso3 for the Hobey Baker.” Both Couture and Morrison grew up in London, Ontario. “We grew up playing hockey together,” Morrison said. “London, Ontario is a hot spot for hockey players and I have a couple friends that play some good hockey. I was fortunate enough that Logan threw a tweet my way.” The fan voting portion of the award lasts until March 4. You can cast your vote at hobeybakeraward. com on the “Vote for Hobey” page. lunghinr@canisius.edu
SYNCHRONIZED swimming
Synchro claims first at Boston U By Jourdon LaBarber Sports Writer
The Canisius College synchronized swimming team opened their 2012 campaign on a powerful note last weekend, claiming first place in the Boston University Invitational at the Case Athletic Center in Boston, Mass. The team recorded 100 points en route to the victory. “It was a lot of fun, it was a great atmosphere,” junior Victoria Mintz said. “We trained really hard, over Christmas break especially, so it was good to see that our results paid off. We put everything in the pool, and we went for it.” A pair of Griffs captured first
and second place finishes in the solo event, with sophomore Svetlana Ponkratova’s score of 84.250 leading the way and ultimately earning the top spot. Senior Jessica Grogan followed suit in the event with a score of 78.500. In the duet and trio events, the Griffs would also lead the way with first place finishes. The duo of Mintz and Ponkratova tallied a score of 82.500 for the doubles victory, before the two teamed up with freshman Viktoria Miranova to capture first in the trio. Despite a strong start to the season, the Griffs are far from content as they have their sights set on their constant goal of winning nationals.
“It’s obviously really nice, but for us, I think we look at it as just a stepping stone for where we want to be for nationals…it was nice, it gave us a confidence boost, but we know there’s still a lot more we can work on to be able to be that much better,” Mintz said. The Griffs will have an opportunity to swim in their home pool this weekend, as they will host Lindenwood and Wheaton during the Canisius Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Koessler Athletic Center. Friday’s event will begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s is slated to begin at 12 p.m. labarbej@canisius.edu
Let’s face it. The days of Tony Masiello and Hank Nowak are long gone. So are the days of Micheal Meeks and Darrell Barley. Basketball hasn’t been relevant on this campus for a long time now, and fans – both students and alumni – are becoming either angry or apathetic. Something must be done. The 2000-2001 season was the last time the Griffs finished with a winning record. I was eight years old then. I am now 19. That’s a lot of years spent weighing down the loss column. That same winning season was the last season Canisius made it to the MAAC Tournament Championship. The Griffs haven’t won the tournament since the 1995-1996 season. But let’s get a little more depressed, shall we? Including this season, the Griffs have gone 11 years without a winning record. In those 11 years, there has been only one .500 season. That’s 10 of the last 11 years with losing records. From the 2001-2002 season to the 20102011 season, the Griffs have averaged 11 wins and roughly 19 losses overall, with an average conference record of about 6-12. Who wants to watch a program that’s content with being consistently bad? It’s boring, it’s stale and it’s not fun. But the college’s sports administrators shouldn’t try to change the basketball program. They should leave it as it is. They’ve already shown that they are content with the status quo. Instead, they should change the focus to the hockey program. That’s right. The college’s sports administrators should make hockey the biggest sport on campus. They should put more money into the hockey program. And they don’t need to find more money – they can take some from basketball. Heaven knows it’s not doing any good there. Why shouldn’t hockey be the biggest sport on campus? Buffalo isn’t a basketball town. It’s a hockey town and it could use a top-notch college hockey program. Both our proximity to Canada and the quality of youth and high school hockey in the Greater Buffalo area make for awesome recruiting. The college’s sports administrators should go find a few more Cory Conachers. They should steal a Tim Kennedy or a Chris Mueller from Michigan State. Yes, I know, the hockey team’s average record of about 12-18-5 since the 2001-2002 season is basically the same as the basketball team’s during that time. That’s not good by any standard.
But the college hasn’t made the push for hockey the way it has for basketball. Basketball clearly is the top sport on campus. The basketball team has its own gym, while the hockey team plays at Buff State’s arena. The basketball team was the main focus of the bonfire pep rally at the beginning of September, as coach Parrotta led cheers into a microphone and tossed t-shirts to students. But the hockey team program at least shows hope. It’s beaten good programs in recent years. Just this year, the Griffs tied Lake Superior State, a program in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association – otherwise known as the conference of powerhouses like Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame (at least until realignment kicks in). Last year, the Griffs took Wisconsin to overtime and defeated a tough Robert Morris team that beat Colgate and Ohio State on its way to 18 wins. In the 2009-2010 season, the Griffs beat Ferris State, a team that finished 21-13-6 and made it to the CCHA Semifinals. Canisius doesn’t need to look any further than the Rochester Institute of Technology to see that a big change can happen quickly in college hockey – certainly much more quickly than in college basketball. After all, there are about five times as many NCAA basketball teams as there are NCAA hockey programs. RIT made it to the Frozen Four in 2010, just five years after it joined Division I. It has been dead serious about its program and RIT students and alumni now go to games expecting to win. That can be Canisius. The hockey team has proven that it can keep up with some of the best programs. The sports administrators clearly know that, as this summer, Canisius was rumored to be interested in joining the CCHA. At this point, it doesn’t seem like anything is going to happen; but Canisius’ sports administrators shouldn’t close the door on this one. Sure, the CCHA soon will unfold, with many of its current teams leaving to join other conferences, but I still believe it would be better than the Atlantic Hockey Association. If Canisius wants to, it can get serious about hockey. A consistently strong and winning hockey program would make students and alumni happy, and it would make Canisius a more recognizable name. The basketball program certainly isn’t doing either of those things.
vilardo2@canisius.edu
sports
Synchro begins quest for national title
@15
@14 Blog post stirs athletic debate Volume lxxxii Number 13
Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Hockey
Men’s Basketball
Iona drops 100 on Griffs; MoMo has 43 Hockey draws AF, take 2 taken a dive with the team’s record. He also usually mentions the team’s lack of depth, which took an even bigger hit last weekend when it was announced that Parrotta had suspended Reggie Groves. Parrotta spoke about Groves for the first 5 ½ minutes of his 11-minute press conference after Canisius’ 78-66 loss to Manhattan Friday night, saying that he chose to suspend his sophomore guard indefinitely for academic reasons, though he is not ineligible by NCAA standards. “If I was to say if it was a major thing or minor thing, it’s minor. Things are nipped here when they’re minor so they don’t turn into major,” Parrotta said. “This is the time [during a struggling season] to step up and make sure the conditions for your program are very much adhered to.” Parrotta did not say when Groves would be able to return to action, only that he “want[s] to get some favorable response back from some academic folks to be able to have that conversation to move forward.” Groves was averaging 6.0 points and 2.6 assists in nearly 30 minutes per game. The Griffs (4-18, 1-11 MAAC) have a shot to improve their conference record on Saturday with a game at Marist, the only MAAC team they have beaten this season.
By Nick Veronica Sports Editor
The Iona Gaels aren’t known for defense. When they get on the court, they simply try to score as many points as humanly possible. It’s been working for them so far this season. Iona took its home court last night for a nationally televised game against Canisius averaging 82.2 points per game while compiling an 18-5 record. Both of those numbers will improve after last night’s 105-86 pounding of Canisius in New Rochelle, N.Y. Lamont “Momo” Jones seemed determined to single-handedly test the limits of how many points a player and a team can actually score, as his 43 points set a record for the most any player has ever scored in Iona’s Hynes Athletics Center (built 1974) and led the nation’s fifthranked offense to its highest output of the season. Gaby Belardo didn’t participate in the team’s pregame walk-through and almost didn’t play because of his back injury, which wasn’t helped by the flight down to the game. He didn’t start the game but gave off the bench for a season-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Alshwan Hymes added 23 points and Josiah Heath pulled down eight rebounds, but nobody could stop the duo of Jones and NBA prospect Scott Machado, who had 14 assists.
Colin Gordon/The Griffin
Harold Washington attacks the hoop against Loyola on Sunday.
The game gave Canisius followers a sense of déjà vu, as all three games over the past seven days have followed a similar storyline: a strong first half in which the Griffs either have the lead or are within striking distance; followed by a second half where the lack of depth sets in and the players get tired, resulting in a lopsided score. The Griffs have been outscored 141-100 in the second half of the last three games, but that’s not indicative of how the full contests went. Ca-
nisius led 35-33 at halftime last Friday against Manhattan and trailed by only two possessions on Sunday versus Loyola and last night at Iona. All three starts were respectable efforts from the MAAC’s last-place team, going up against the conference’s three best teams. But the Griffs simply don’t have the manpower to stay in games. Head coach Tom Parrotta said on Sunday that he continues to be proud of his players’ effort and that the morale in the locker room hasn’t
veronicn@canisuis.edu
Conacher shines in 2012 AHL All-Star Classic By Hayden Ristevski Sports Writer
After a standout first half of his rookie season for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, former Griff Cory Conacher was named to the Eastern Conference AllStar roster. The AHL All-Star events were held last weekend in Atlantic City, N.J. Conacher competed as a starting forward for the East and continued to shine by adding two goals and an assist during the game. Conacher also took part in the Sher-Wood Puck Control Relay and the Reebok Fastest Skater events in the All-Star skills competition. Conacher’s performances in both competitions allowed the East to gain points. The Western Conference swept both days of competition, defeating the East 18-10 in the Skills Competition and 8-7 in shootout victory during the All-Star game. “The experience was absolutely
unbelievable,” Conacher said over the phone this week. “I got the chance to play alongside some of the best players in the league and the chance to make friendships with those who are my enemies. The league put on a great event and I had a lot of fun with it.” Anyone who knows Conacher knows how important his friends and family are to him, as he often attributes much of his success to the key people in his life. Conacher’s favorite part of the All-Star experience was being able to have his family and friends there with him. “They got the chance to experience everything that I got to experience,” Conacher said. The starters in the game were determined by a fan vote and Cory was given, as he put it, the “great honor” of being chosen as one of three starting forwards for the East. He once again gave thanks to those key people in his life. “I have to give so much credit to my family, friends, the Norfolk Admiral fans and especially the Canisius
College Golden Griffin fans that voted!” Conacher said excitedly. When asked if he had anything he wanted to say to his faithful fans back at Canisius, Conacher showed nothing but thanks and gratitude. He thanked his dear friend Christina ‘Smiles’ Gullo and others for the efforts in rallying people to vote for him to be an All-Star starter. Furthermore, Conacher thanked the rest of the Canisius alumni, all of his teammates from Canisius, and lastly the coaches at Canisius, noting, “Without them this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible.” Conacher also wanted his fellow Griffs to know that he misses them and hopes to see them soon, and that he plans to make a trip to Buffalo to visit after his season ends. They say good things happen to good people and Conacher is certainly no exception.
ristevsf@canisius.edu
By Rich Lunghino Sports Copy Editor
A week after facing the lastplace team in Atlantic Hockey, the Canisius College hockey team faced the defending league champions to close out their six-game homestand last Sunday and Monday. After losing the first game against the Falcons on Sunday 3-0, the Griffs, led by the goaltending of senior Dan Morrison, bounced back with a gritty effort that ended up in a 1-1 tie the next night. Morrison got the start in net for Canisius in the rematch Monday night after backing up sophomore Tony Capobianco for the previous three games. The time off from between the pipes did not make Morrison rusty as he looked like his usual self, making key saves to keep his team in the game. He got a little help as Canisius got on the board first. After receiving a pass from junior Torrey Lindsay, sophomore Ben Danford skated the puck around the Air Force zone, patiently hanging on to it before passing it to freshman Cody Freeman. After Freeman’s attempt was blocked, freshman Braeden Rigney took the rebound and put it into the net for his second goal of the season. Canisius would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission despite being outshot 11-5 in the period, with six of those 11 Air Force shots coming on the power play. The penalty kill was strong throughout the game and was able to stave off a 5-on-3 Air Force power play in the middle of the second period. However, the Falcons were able to find the equalizer as a wrist shot from the point beat a screened Morrison. The Griffs were only able to muster three shots in the period. The pace of the game really picked up in the third period, with both teams having great chances to take the lead. Less than four minutes into the period, Danford was stopped point blank by Air Force goaltender Jason Torf. Sophomores Kyle Gibbons and Patrick Sullivan were also foiled on their respective attempts. Air Force got three opportunities with the power play in the period, including a late power play with about three and a half minutes to go. But once again, Morrison and the penalty kill were able to shut the door. Just like the first meeting between the teams on Oct. 29, the game headed to overtime. Only a minute and a half into the extra period, Air Force once again was awarded with a power play, but couldn’t get a shot on Morrison, who finished with 32 saves. The old adage goes that a team’s best penalty-killer is the goaltender, and Morrison was no exception, making 14 saves while his team was See Morrison page 15
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