THIS DATE IN HISTORY
BORN ON THIS DATE
1890
On this day in 1890, an act of Congress creates Yosemite National Park, home of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the giant sequoia trees.
www.dailycampus.com
Jimmy Carter – 1923 Richard Harris – 1932 Julie Andrews – 1935 Mark McGwire – 1963
Page 7
Friday, October 1, 2010
Lip Sync rocks Gampel Pavillion Sweet teas are made of leaves
By Amy Schellenbaum Associate Managing Editor
Having spent my entire pre-UConn life in southern California, rain was elusive and extraordinary, a blessed rarity that I cherished in some hidden soggy spot of my heart. The air was warm (as it was almost every day) and the way the clouds darkened and the sky crumpled and growled – I was always enchanted. It was prime frolicking hour when it rained. My neighbor and I would get completely soaked and would run around the driveway singing songs and searching for puddles to make our sneakers all sodden and mushy. We were always surprised to come inside and be chastised by my friend’s mom. Didn’t she understand how much fun it was? Obviously not. We’d then get towels and sit in my friend’s garage and wait for the inevitable steaming cups of tea or hot cocoa her mom would bring us, still humming the phrases we had chanted in the downpour. Our buzzing, hyperactive minds and bodies quieted while we drank. Often I would go home shortly after and fall asleep. As I quickly learned and realized (as in the day I arrived), Connecticut rain is not gentle, nor very fun. It was inconvenient and brutal and forced our welcome barbecue inside. It made walks to the Chem Building unbearably long. The assaulting wind tore unforgivingly at my little collapsible umbrella. I felt attacked. The rain wasn’t with me, it was most definitely against me.
“Since moving to Connecticut I have become hooked on tea, not only because it keeps me warm, but also because I am always hearing about its benefits.”
But one thing stayed the same. When I did get back to the warmth of my dorm, I wrapped a towel around myself and microwaved a cup of hot water for a much-needed warm drink. Since moving to Connecticut I have become hooked on tea, not only because it keeps me warm and snuggly, but also because I am always hearing about its health benefits. Black, green, white and oolong teas all come from the same plant and all have antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants, the stuff that lets us say that chocolate and red wine are good for us, basically halt damaging free radicals that hurt our cells. Free radicals are the nasties thought to play a role in cancer, physical and mental signs of aging and general inflammation that may cause arthritis and even artery blockages, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center website. In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine (which I have found myself infatuated with thanks to my Medical Anthropology class), tea is used to help slow bleeding from wounds and moderate blood sugar and body temperature. So basically tea is a superhero. Like the Powerpuff Girls. Or Batman.
» TIPS, page 8
JESS CONDON/The Daily Campus
The Asian American Cultural Center performs at Lip Sync with their Finding Nemo-themed performance.
UConn tradition brings fairytales to life By Jordanna Packtor Campus Correspondent The lights in the Gampel Pavilion are dimmed, the air heavy. Anticipation rises off the tiered audience in the form of excited whisperings, the occasional cheer. More than 7,000 people are trying to be quiet — the effect is a dull roar. An emcee from SUBOG steps into the center arena, bathed in spotlight. Outside Gampel, the line of students still extends as far as the Jorgenson Theater. But despite their patience, they are already too late. “Welcome to Lip Sync 2010!” The crowd erupts, stamping their feet, jumping out of their seats. The show has begun. The 24th annual Campus-Wide Lip Sync, the biggest event of UConn’s homecoming week. Any registered Greek organization, feefunded organization, area council or student club is eligible to participate, competing against one another for the title of Lip Sync Champion. Within minutes, the arena is filled with students from the Global House, all in costume, belly dancing, pop locking and waltzing to popular, catchy beats. They mouth along to the dialogue, to the song, and most of the crowd sings with them. Other groups — from the Asian American Cultural Center to the UConn marching band to fraternities and sororities — wait
along the stage for their turn. Groups are judged on the basis of originality/theme representation, routine, professionalism and lip syncing by a panel of assorted faculty and staff. This year’s theme, “Remember the Magic,” is a nostalgic title that serves as an excuse for students to write and perform storylines based on their childhood Disney movies. The winners weren’t announced until 11 p.m., almost three hours after the event began. Eighteen groups competed, making 2010 the largest lip sync in UConn history. The winners comprise three different categories: Greek, Non-Fee Funded and Fee-Funded/Cultural Center. In the Greek Category, Zeta Beta Tau, Alpha Epsilon Phi and Phi Sigma Rho placed first for “Aladdin” — complete with magic carpet and genie. In the Non-Fee Funded Category, The Celtic American Cultural Society wins with their performance of “101 Dalmatians,” which included Irish Dance put to well-known classics. And in the Fee-Funded and Cultural Center Category, the Rainbow Center takes home the gold with a sassy and colorful “Snow White.” Classics like “Snow White,” “Lion King” and “The Jungle Book” – along with newer favorites such as “The Princess and the Frog” and “Up” – were played out on stage, mixed with the tunes of
Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. When an original Disney song was played, people cheered. Groups must also incorporate school pride, elements of UConn life and a particular aspect of their organization into a cohesive, prerecorded storyline that, at random intervals, breaks into dance. Aided by characters from the various Disney films, these personifications of UConn spirit must overcome the villainous Vanderbilts — which of course, they always do. In Delta Gamma and Sigma Pi’s “Toy Story,” the Vanderbilt team takes the guise of Sid’s broken toys — which are promptly defeated by gyrating cowgirls and break-dancing army men. At the end, all bitter rivalry is left behind as the villains and heroes join together for the final dance numbers. “It makes me proud to go to UConn,” said Abby Larkin a 3rdsemester English major. “The best part is the storyline, when they integrate into UConn versus Vanderbilt. This is so much better than a pep rally.” It demands more effort than a pep rally, too. Groups register within the first week of September, and are required to participate in at least two Homecoming events. Students choose their own song list, invent their own choreography, and create a storyline — all of which must fit into eight minutes of stage time, including set up and break down. No sound checks are provided
JESS CONDON/The Daily Campus
Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center performs Mulan.
before the competition. “We spent a lot of time practicing,” said Jen Barney, 3rd-semester human development and family studies and psychology double major. “It was two or three days a week, about three hours a day for two weeks,” said Marassa Levy, a 1st-semester music major. “It was fun though.” Their organization — the marching band, along with various Greek associations — had just finished performing “The Incredibles,”
complete with baton twirling. “It was an amazing experience,” said Sharon Chung, a 3rd-semester undecided major, who performed with the Asian American Cultural Center. “This is my second year in it, and it’s awesome but everyone comes to know each other so well. All we had was one month, but we were able to pull it off and come together.”
Jordanna.Packtor@UConn.edu
» OBITUARIES
Defiance, resilience marked career of Tony Curtis
(AP) - From dressing in drag to posing nude for his 80th birthday, Tony Curtis truly was a defiant one. He overcame early typecasting as a lightweight pretty boy to become a serious actor in such films as “Sweet Smell of Success,” ‘’Spartacus” and “The Defiant Ones,” the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination. He resisted obsolescence, continually reshaping himself and taking lesser roles to find steady work in a business that prizes youth. He subdued alcohol and drug addictions, lived through six marriages and five divorces, and found peace with a new art as a painter. Curtis, whose wildly undefinable cast of characters ranged from a Roman slave leading the rebellious cry of “I’m Spartacus” to a jazz age musician wooing Marilyn Monroe while disguised as a woman in “Some Like It Hot,” died Wednesday night.
The 85-year-old actor suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Henderson, Nev., near Las Vegas, the coroner said Thursday. “My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages,” Jamie Lee Curtis — his daughter with first wife Janet Leigh, co-star of “Psycho” — said in a statement. “He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world.” Starting his career in the late 1940s and early 1950s with bit parts as a juvenile delinquent or in such forgettable movies as the talking-mule comedy “Francis,” Curtis rose to stardom as a swashbuckling heartthrob, mixing in somewhat heftier work such as the boxing drama “Flesh and Fury” and the title role in the film biography “Houdini.” Hindered early on by a
AP
Curtis died Wednesday Sept. 29 at his Las Vegas area home of a cardiac arrest at 85 according to the Clark County, Nev. coroner.
Bronx accent that drew laughs in Westerns and other period adventures, Curtis smoothed out his rough edges and silenced detractors with 1957’s “Sweet Smell of Success,” in which he played a sleazy press agent who
becomes the fawning pawn of a ruthless newspaper columnist (Burt Lancaster). “Curtis grew up into an actor and gave the best performance of his career,” critic Pauline Kael wrote in her book “Kiss
Kiss Bang Bang.” Yet it was sheer stardom, not critical acclaim, that drove Curtis, said his sixth wife, Jill Curtis. “All Tony ever wanted to be was a movie star. He didn’t want to be the most dramatic actor,” Jill Curtis said. “He wanted to be a movie star, ever since he was a little kid.” A year after “Sweet Smell of Success,” Curtis was nominated for a best-actor Oscar in “The Defiant Ones” as a white escaped prisoner forced to set aside his racism to work with the black inmate (Sidney Poitier) to whom he is handcuffed. “He’s one of those actors who in the ‘50s was a beautiful, charismatic leading man, who became sort of iconic as a sex symbol. Not somebody who you originally thought had a lot of depth. He was just charming and funny and yet he revealed himself to be quite complex and gave some great performances,” said actor and director Tony
» HEADLINE, page 15