The News Record 03.10.14

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THE NEWS RECORD THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014

HEAR ME ROAR

EVENT BRINGS AUTHENTIC INDIAN CUISINE, CULTURE TO CAMPUS

TASTE OF INDIA

BLOCK BUSTERS

AFTER OSCARS, FILMS COMING TO THEATERS THIS SUMMER

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AAC CHAMPS

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UC continues efforts to improve graduation, retention rates UC could financially benefit from state changes; more work needed to catch top two performing universities RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

With the University of Cincinnati’s current UC2019 Academic Master Plan drawing closer and expected completion of the new Our Third Century Initiative in April, administrators are working hard to compile metrics and evaluate areas of need that the university must address.

But two numbers in particular are garnering a significant amount of attention: retention and graduation rates.

The numbers are increasingly important because they could net UC a larger share of the state’s higher education funds due to changes made in 2013 to the formula for funding distribution.

The change shifted emphasis from enrollment rates, which it was predominantly based on in the past, to retention and graduation rates.

Recent improvements in graduation and retention rates at UC puts the university in a “positive position,” said Bob Ambach, vice president for administration and finance.

UC currently places in the top three in graduation rates,

Survey says Millennials less attached to social constructs

64 percent, tailing only Ohio State University and Miami University. UC also ranks in the top five in terms of firstyear student retention rates, 76.7 percent in 2012.

“We want everybody to succeed,” said President Santa Ono. “It won’t be possible but as we refine what we do so that our people can succeed then we’re doing a better job.”

Excluding significant changes on the states part or any drastic decline in retention and graduation trends, the university is well poised to receive a good amount of state funding for the foreseeable future, Ambach said.

The state share of instruction for UC in 2013 was projected at $156,582, while the same number for 2014 is $159,958, a 2.2 percent increase. Part of the increase is due in part to an overall increase in funding for higher education, which took a hit in 2011 after federal stimulus dollars dried up. However, the formula change also played a part, Ambach said.

UC’s graduation and retention rates during the past 10 years have progressed; the six-year graduation rate has increased by nearly 10 percent from the 2003 cohort to the 2007 cohort. All Ohio universities use six-year cohorts, meaning that the 2007 cohort comprises students who enrolled in 2007 and graduated within six years.

Programs and initiatives emerged during the past several years aimed at improving retention and graduation rates, especially for those students most at risk.

The Gen-1 Program was started to help students who are the first in their family to attend college stay and school and get the most out of their time at UC. “I feel with being an African-American first-generation student, it played a big role in helping me be well rounded and adapt in multiple surroundings,” said Xavier Pierre, a first-year exploratory studies student in the Gen-1 Program.

Pierre said he plans on transferring to the College of Business in the fall semester to earn a degree in international business. While he said he can’t quantify how much more difficult — if at all — it would have been without Gen-1, the connections and resources he’s gained from the program are invaluable.

Although the university is positioned well in the grand scheme of things, there are significant gaps between UC and the top-two performing universities.

In graduation rates, UC trails Miami by more than 16 percent and OSU by nearly 20 percent.

“Our number one challenge is around the whole financial preparedness piece,” said Caroline Miller, vice president of enrollment management. “Helping students manage their aid as best they can and working more with our donor community around fundraising for our students with unmet needs … I would put at the top of the list of SEE GRADUATION PG 2

SAFETY AWARENESS

RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

A new report shows that millennials are veering away from the traditional paths and affiliations of previous generations.

The survey, conducted by Pew Research Center, found that millennials — the generation ranging from ages 18 to 33 — are increasingly unattached to traditional social institutions.

“The story in the survey is not reflective of accepting what previous generations would do,” said David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati.

The survey found that 50 percent of millennials consider themselves political independents, while only 39 percent of GenXs and 32 percent of baby boomers identified as independents.

Although half of millennials identify as independent they tend to vote for Democrats more than Republicans; millennials tend to be more liberal than conservative, according to the data.

“I’m not as politically informed as I should be but I’m flexible with my beliefs,” said Molly Somerville, a first-year electronic media student. “If one party says something I don’t agree with I have no problem jumping over to the other. I pick and choose.”

The lack of loyalty to a one party means that political parties and candidates are going to work hard to earn millennials’ votes.

Millennials also are less likely to identify with a specific religion; nearly 29 percent said they have no religious affiliation.

“I went to all Catholic schools throughout my life but I don’t affiliate with the religion,” said Katy Volpenhein, a thirdyear marketing student. “I don’t believe in organized religion.”

Overall, millennials are much less likely to self-identify as religious or patriotic, while they are more likely to self-identify as a supporter of gay marriage.

Millennials also are much less likely to marry by age 32 compared to previous generations — only 26 percent reported marrying while 36 percent of the previous generation married by age 32.

“It gets to this idea of what has a millennial been taught about,” Niven said.

“What’s the message? You can’t just rely on these things that carried previous generations.”

Perhaps the most telling statistic in the SEE MILLENNIALS PG 2

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER UCPD and the Cincinnati Police Department teamed up with a group of students Saturday to go door-to-door sharing information about house security during spring break.

UC community hits streets to educate residents about home, fire safety MALIA PITTS & RYAN HOFFMAN THE NEWS RECORD

University of Cincinnati students spent the weekend educating community members about the importance of fire safety and the need to secure homes as the weather warms and crime increases.

“Spring break is always a problem,” said Jeff Corcoran, interim UCPD police chief. “This is the time of year when students start leaving things in their cars and apartments are getting broke into.”

Corcoran, Cincinnati Police officers and about 30 students went door to door Saturday morning distributing safety information and tips for staying secure during the break.

“I like how the door hangers put a lot of information in the students’ hands,” said Kelsey Randolph, a first-year criminal justice student. “Whether it’s effective or not is up to them, but at least we’re helping them by making it aware that students need to be safe and that’s always a good thing.”

As they finished canvassing the uptown area around noon, a group of roughly 10 students gathered in the 100 block of McMillan Street to distribute

free smoke detectors and fire safety literature.

The joint effort between UC and the Cincinnati Fire Department was the third conducted since two UC students died from smoke inhalation after a house fire New Year’s Day 2013.

“That’s something that will always be part of our memory,” said Daniel Cummins, assistant dean of students and director of judicial affairs. “We don’t want to lose anymore Bearcats so we’re going to continue to educate.”

The two events were not coordinated in conjunction with each other, further demonstrating the importance of increased awareness in the spring season.

“Around this time of year, we have noticed that robberies are down but burglaries are up,” said Lisa Johnson, a CPD officer and community liaison for the Clifton Heights, University Heights and Fairview neighborhoods. “Records show that 40 to 50 percent of burglaries occur because students are doing simple things like leaving their doors to their vehicles and homes unlocked.”

Spring is an important time for fire safety as well because most students are searching for off-campus housing, said CFD District Fire Chief Fredrick Prather.

“Some students are aware of fire

safety, but most of them aren’t aware of all the dangers and risks,” Prather said.

“You have to know what to look for.”

Prather and Cummins are trying to get more students to use the Safe Housing Website, which allows students to have their building voluntarily inspected

by CFD, who then enters the data into a database. While the turnout for Saturday’s fire safety canvass was less than previous efforts, Cummins said he was encouraged by the commitment of those students who did show up.

“Fire safety is something that should be known by more people,” said Cory Frank, a third-year health sciences student. “It’s not really talked about or really discussed so I wanted to help get the word out.”

Corcoran and others said they were impressed with the number of students who came earlier in the day to help spread the word about safety during spring break.

“Normally it’s three other students and myself walking around hanging flyers on students’ doors, and I’m so glad that more students are coming out to participate,” said Sue Bourke, a criminal justice professor who has been involved with the event from the start. “This shows that they care about their fellow students and the safety of this community.”

Lim officially named College of Engineering & Applied Science dean Experienced administrator wants to make college ‘global destination’ BECKY BUTTS ONLINE EDITOR

FILE ART Interim dean Tiek Lim was officially named dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science Thursday.

The new dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science wants to use his experience in the college to make it a diverse global destination for students and faculty.

The university announced Tiek Lim, who served as interim dean of the college since August 2012, as the official dean Thursday after a one-year national search.

“His vision for the future of the college, his focus on excellence, his commitment to UC and his demonstrated success made him stand out from the other candidates,” said Provost Beverly Davenport.

During his time as interim dean, Lim improved the college’s finances, increased freshmen enrollment to a historical high and strengthened the college’s diversity programs.

“I want to see that we become a destination of choice for students in Ohio, and from all over the country and abroad,” Lim said.“I want CEAS to be known as a vibrant community of scholars where learning and research flourish.”

Lim strengthened the Emerging Ethnic Engineers program — known as the E3 — which strives to increase the number of ethnic students enrolled in the engineering college.

As of 2013, black students accounted for 2.8 percent of CEAS’s undergraduate population, a small decrease from the 3.1 percent of the year before. The percentages of Asian, Hispanic, American Indian and African American are all less than 3 percent of total student enrollment for CEAS. “I feel that inclusion efforts toward different races and ethnicities are continuing to improve in the college,” said Jarred Wilhite, treasurer of the UC chapter of the National Society for Black Engineers.“I hope to see Dean Lim implement a plan to recruit more underrepresented students.”

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Lim plans to continue working on diversity programs such as E3 and the Women in Science and Engineering Program (WISE). CEAS will continue to focus on initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion.

These include working with high schools to recruit female and minority students. Lim is proactively seeking female and minority candidates for upcoming faculty hiring.

“I believe the college of engineering does a very good job making women engineers feel included,” said Amber Seaman, secretary of the society for women engineers at UC. “They often stress the growing importance of women in engineering fields and from that I’ve felt personally more empowered and driven to do well in my studies and extra curriculars.”

As of 2013, 16.4 percent of CEAS students were female, a small increase from 15 percent in 2012.

Seaman hopes to see the incorporation of SEE DEAN PG 2

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MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

Ukraine leaders won’t give up territory to Russia Pro-Russian forces strengthen grip on Crimea; outside forces want to ease tensions MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

KIEV, Ukraine — Leaders of Ukraine vowed Sunday not to cede any part of their nation’s territory, even as Russia defended its virtual takeover of the disputed Crimean peninsula and signaled its willingness to act on the result of an upcoming secession vote there.

Pro-Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea by laying siege to the last military airfield under Ukrainian control there and trying to seize control of other military installations in the strategically important region, a Ukrainian defense spokesman said.

Residents proclaimed their loyalty to Ukraine or Russia in competing rallies, which produced some scuffles.

In Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, thousands of people clutching blue-and-yellow national flags poured onto the streets to mark the bicentennial of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, their country’s most famous poet and an ardent nationalist.

Laying flowers at a statue of Shevchenko, acting Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk declared that he would not give up “one centimeter of Ukrainian land.”

“Our parents and grandparents shed their blood for this land,” he said, adding: “Let Russia and its president know this.”

That would be Vladimir Putin, who for his part expressed his support for the March 16 public referendum planned by Crimea’s regional assembly on splitting from Ukraine and joining Russia.

In telephone conversations Sunday with the leaders of Britain and Germany, Putin insisted that the political events in Crimea were in line with international law, even though virtually no other nation has seconded that opinion and many, including the United States, have scoffed at it.

“The steps taken by the legitimate leadership of Crimea are based on the norms of international law and designed to cater to the legitimate interests of the peninsula’s population,” Putin said, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

A majority of the region’s residents are ethnic Russian or Russian-speakers.

The Kremlin’s statement added that there was a shared interest “in de-escalating the tension and in the soonest normalization of the situation,” which the U.S. and the European Union have demanded. Yet aggressive moves by pro-Russian forces — who Putin denies are Russian soldiers but who clearly use Russian uniforms and equipment — across the peninsula over the weekend.

PROVIDED Ukrainian soldiers were back in control of their anti-aircaft base at the city of Yevpatoria in Crimea. Ukrainian leaders have vowed not to cede any territory.

On Sunday, Russian troops backed by local militias laid siege to the airport at Novofyodorovka, the last military airstrip in Crimea in the hands of Ukrainian forces, said Alexei Mazepa, the Kiev government’s defense spokesman in the region.

The Russians demanded that Ukrainian personnel surrender their arms and leave the airport, which lies about 30 miles north of the regional capital of Simferopol.

Mazepa said in a telephone interview that Russian forces had also surrounded an antiaircraft unit in the resort city of Yevpatoria, ordering Ukrainian troops to surrender or face attack.

Such ultimatums have repeatedly been issued to Ukrainian military installations in Crimea in recent days, though none has been carried out.

Mazepa also said Russian forces had crossed into mainland Ukraine in the Kherson region, capturing a hotel in the town of Chongar and “setting up minefields across the narrow strip of land that connects Ukraine with

Crimea.”

In a further attempt to consolidate Russia’s hold on the peninsula, Vladimir Konstantinov, the speaker of the regional parliament, said Ukrainian troops in Crimea could either defect or leave after next weekend’s referendum, whose outcome Konstantinov and officials in Moscow speak of as practically a foregone conclusion.

“If you don’t want to swear allegiance to the new authorities, we will do our best to help you leave the territory without any problems,” Konstantinov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Interfax also quoted Russian lawmaker Pavel Dorokhin as saying that Moscow stood ready to pour $1.1 billion into developing the Crimean economy and its industrial base.

Yatsenyuk, the Ukrainian prime minister, announced a hastily scheduled visit to Washington this week for highlevel talks. He is expected to meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

American passenger on missing Malaysian Air flight was from North Texas Rescue team still unable to determine location of airline, 239 passengers MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

DALLAS — One of the 239 passengers aboard the Malaysian Airlines flight that disappeared early Saturday had roots in North Texas.

Philip Wood, 50, who is believed to have worked for IBM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, previously lived in Keller, Texas. The passenger manifest for flight MH370 bound for Beijing lists a Philip Wood as one of three Americans who were on board.

His ex-wife, Elaine Wood, posted a statement about her former husband on Facebook and asked for privacy.

“Philip Wood was a wonderful man,”

she said. “Although we were no longer married, he is still family. His sons and I just want peace and quiet right now.”

An American embassy notified Philip Wood’s parents, Aubrey and Sandra, that their son was on the flight.

Reached at his home in Keller, Wood’s father, Aubrey Wood, told The New York Times that the family had little information beyond what has been reported in the media.

“We’re all sticking together,” he said.

“What can you do? What can you say?”

Philip Wood had followed in his father’s footsteps when he joined IBM, from which his father retired, the Times reported.

He previously lived in Beijing and had two sons in Texas, including one who attended Texas A&M University.

A family friend told the Dallas

Morning News that Wood was in Keller last week.

His mother, Sandra Wood, said she has a sense of peace after seeing her son recently, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.

Updates from Malaysia Airlines have been sporadic. An international search and rescue mission has so far been unsuccessful at determining the plane’s whereabouts although two large oil slicks were spotted off the southern tip of Vietnam.

It’s unclear whether the slicks were related to the flight, but the Vietnamese government said they are consistent with the kind of slick that would be produced by the jet’s two fuel tanks, the Associated Press reported.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, a partner in the oneworld alliance that includes Malaysia Airlines,

said it is willing to assist in any way. “Our thoughts are with everyone on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, their families and the employees of the airline,” the airlines said.

Spokesman Matt Miller said they are willing to do “anything and everything that is asked of us,” and added that team members in Beijing are ready to help.

Austin-based company Freescale Semiconductor confirmed that 20 of its employees were passengers on the flight.

Of the 20, 12 were from Malaysia and eight were from China.

“At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families,” said President and CEO Gregg Lowe.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.”The company will provide counselors and other professionals.

FROM GRADUATION PG 1

things we could do better.”

The need to improve rates at UC is increasingly important if the university wants to meet benchmarks set the UC2019 Academic Master Plan, which calls for increasing first-year retention rate to 90 percent and the overall six-year graduation rate to 75 percent.

Nearly every aspect of the new Third Century Initiative will either directly or indirectly impact graduation and retention, Ono said. Much of the plan is aimed at improving students’ experiences on campus.

The importance of retention and graduation has moved beyond the university’s enrollment strategy to university life as a whole, Miller said.

The efforts at UC and change to the state’s funding formula reflect a growing trend in higher education.

During the annual State of the State address in February, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said the reforms would put Ohio in position to “lead the nation” in higher education.

“Colleges and universities will not get any of these state dollars that has gone to them traditionally based on enrollment,” Kasich said. “They will only get paid if students complete courses or students get degrees. No more wandering around. This is a big deal for our students and for our schools.”

The changes in Ohio reflect a larger national movement to focus on graduating students, said KC Deane, senior associate at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Higher Education Reform, a higher education think tank based in Washington D.C. “There are numerous examples of states or institutions going to great lengths to improve retention rates, whether it requires implementing new institutional programs or partnering with outside parties to improve student services,” Deane said. “Rewarding these schools will give them the funding they need to continue or expand their efforts.”

Ono was one of the presidents who recommended that Kasich change the funding formula, and said the shift in focus addresses what he and others believe is the core responsibility in higher education.

“Our job is not simply to get people here, but to really transform their lives and help them lead productive lives and benefit from their college degree,” Ono said.

But some are concerned that tying funding to graduation could lead universities to ease education standards in order to attain more funding.

“Institutions might graduate students without ample proof that they’ve learned what they need to learn, just so

FROM MILLENNIALS PG 1

study, Niven said, is millennials’ feelings about Social Security.

Millennials overwhelmingly said the benefits they receive when they retire won’t be nearly as much as the benefits current retires receive. At the same time, 61 percent of millennials said they oppose cuts as a way to address long-term funding

that they can reach those benchmarks,” Deane said.

Ono said he will not allow grade inflation at UC. “That’s not going to be the tone that’s set by myself or the provost or the deans,” Ono said. “We don’t want to devalue the meaning of our degree by graduating people who haven’t mastered subjects. We want to increase retention and graduation by making their experiences here better and by supporting their education better.

That’s the only kind of mechanism or approach that I will support as president.”

UC is in the process of creating a plan — required of all universities by the state — to set real and measurable metrics for it plans to improve retention and graduation rates, Miller said.

problems for the system.

“Millennials don’t think Social Security is going to be there for them in the way that it exists now, but they still support the program,” Niven said. “I think that just fits the entire theme that they don’t have great faith in traditional institutions or structures, but they still don’t want to be on the outside of them.”

Pew surveyed 1,821 adults via phone

The plan, which the Board of Trustees must endorse before it can be sent to the state by the June deadline, deals with helping students with gateway courses — basic courses required for a student’s major — and funding issues for needy students.

Other initiatives call for improved advising to help students have a clear path to graduation, as well as expanding the university’s experimental learning programs, such as co-ops.

“The fact that over the years we’re actually retaining more and more students, and graduating more and more students, and the academic profile of out incoming class is getting stronger and stronger,” Ono said. “It all bodes for a very bright future for the University of Cincinnati.”

from Feb. 14 to Feb. 23. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.6 percent.

FROM DEAN PG 1

more male and female interaction in the freshman year courses.

The class is currently designed to separate students into gender-based

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groups. Separating students by gender is a disservice for female students who will mostly work with men in their professional careers, Seaman said.

“I want to have an engineering and applied science curriculum that embraces entrepreneurship and commercialization concepts,” Lim said.“I want to see us to become a top 50 engineering and applied science college in the world.”

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MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

Vagina The

Monologues

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Vagina Monologues, open to all female-identifying students, faculty, staff and community members, features depictions of interviews originally conducted by playwright Eve Ensler.

Performances encompass feminine empowerment

University of Cincinnati women present powerful play on feminine experience FERNANDA CRESCENTE CONTRIBUTOR

A towering vagina formed a striking entryway into Zimmer auditorium Friday and Saturday evening.

The excited audience members filtered through the fabric vagina.

Students were eager to support and express female

empowerment during the Vagina Monologues at the University of Cincinnati.

“I just think it gives girls the empowerment of knowing that vaginas are OK to have,” said Morgan McManus, a first-year student.

The Vagina Monologues, a collection of monologues based on interviews conducted by playwright Eve Ensler, has been hosted by the UC Women’s Center for the last four years. The cast is open to all femaleidentifying students, staff and faculty as well as members of the community.

Saturday’s performance fell on International Women’s Day, which celebrates women’s equality and emancipation.

“I am excited to participate because as a woman who has undergone various chapters of

development in life, this event ... really culminates those experiences and really speaks to what we go through as women,” said Patrice Barnes, Ethnic Programs and Services program coordinator and Vagina Monologues performer. “We can come together and share our commonalities of existing, of celebrating, of trying again after failure, and I think that is beautiful.”

The audience went from laughing uncontrollably to remaining silent. The problems women have to face on a daily basis were prevalent topics, as well as stories of rape and abuse.

“Even if something isn’t said during the presentation, the real importance is afterwards,” said Holly Gale, a third-year communications student and Vagina Monologues performer.

“The conversations that happen after, with people that might not know a lot about women’s issues.

It is great to open eyes and open conversations up.”

A highlight of the show was a depiction of a New Yorker who, due to shame, learned to never speak of her

vagina until a very old age.

Some even portrayed women that were angry about the way their vaginas were repressed.

Many portrayals incorporated humor.

One act described a lawyer who abandoned her job and decided to dedicate herself to pleasing women, which led to a lesson on orgasms.

The performance was comical, but was also successful in bringing to light serious topics. The issues included mutilation, rape, repression and women’s insecurities.

“My favorite aspect of the show is how it really talks about issues that aren’t talked about on a daily basis,” said Katie Ratajczak, a women’s gender and sexuality studies graduate student. “We hear a lot of criticism as to why we need to talk about this, why it has to be called the Vagina Monologues, and it’s because those are things that aren’t talked about.”

Saturday’s performance concluded on a hopeful note; the audience applauded as performers stood – a visual representation of the empowerment felt throughout the evening.

“These are real stories, real experiences, and things that need to be understood.

Things that need to be shared, and they are not commonly shared,” Ratajczak said.

Talk show host examines ethics, debunks dysfunction Local celebrity Jerry Springer describes tumultuous career from academia to The Jerry Springer Show A.J. KMETZ STAFF REPORTER

A former Cincinnati mayor and talk show host spoke to an audience that for once wasn’t chanting his name for intervention. Instead, University of Cincinnati students listened to the speaker’s perspective on ethics and his irregular career path.

Jerry Springer fielded questions at an event Wednesday at Mary Emery Hall.

Norma Rashid, adjunct professor and former WLWT co-anchor, hosted the event and touted Springer’s ambitious past. She said if Springer had been born in the U.S., she might be referring to him as “President Springer.”

Springer focused on the role ethics played through his many careers. In every profession there will be ethical questions, he said.

New communication technology has made the ethical decisions of everyday people more complicated.

Progress in communication technology allowed people to gain freedom, Springer said. He cited the Arab Spring as an example of a situation that utilized technology in the pursuit of independence.

Tess White, a fourth-year international business and electronic media student, said Springer was insightful when it came to emerging technology.

Despite technology growth, “human nature remains the same,” he said.

Although Springer’s career did not begin in media, he was exposed to it often. He was born in the early ’40s in England to Jewish refugees from World War II. After the war, his family moved to the U.S. He graduated from Tulane University with a political science degree and attended Northwestern University School of Law. Later, he served as a political adviser to Robert F. Kennedy and worked as a lawyer at a Cincinnati law firm.

Springer began his political career by winning a seat on the Cincinnati City Council. He resigned a few years later after his exposed involvement in a prostitution ring, but won it back the following year.

In 1977, he served as Cincinnati mayor for one year.

This, he said, was “the purest thing” he ever did in life, besides becoming a father.

Springer shifted his career from politics to broadcast in the 1980s, becoming an anchor at WLWT. After a few years as an anchor, he started a talk show with the station’s parent company.

“For the first five years, the talk show was serious. [It was] boring, but important,” Springer said.

Viewership and ratings fell due to stiff competition.

Springer and his producers decided to pursue a younger audience, which was unheard of at the time.

Springer described his guests as “outrageous.”

They give the program its reputation and put it in the spotlight.

Eventually, Universal purchased the show. The new producers made inappropriate, dysfunctional behavior the focus of the show. Springer could “only do crazy,” they said.

He doesn’t know who his guests are before the show, and is only given a card with the guests’ names.

“If I already knew what the show was about, I wouldn’t come in,” Springer said.

Frank Epitropoulos, a fourth-year marketing student, said Springer never exploits his guests.

“He gives people an open forum and does his best not to judge them,” Epitropoulos said. “He brings more to the culture than the Kardashians.”

As for the ethics of hosting this kind of show, Springer said it is pure fun. The Springer show guests are just simple people with magnified problems. They are more real than those found on reality shows.

Despite the reputation of The Jerry Springer Show, students can learn many lessons from his career and insight.

“There is a method to his madness,” Epitropoulos said.

WorldFest event provides literal, figurative Taste of India Association for India’s Development hosts eclectic event showcasing culture, tradition, art EMILY BEGLEY COLLEGE LIFE EDITOR

A woman carefully fashioned a display of colorful earrings and necklaces Sunday as she prepared for a day of cultural celebration.

Ila Gupta proudly explained that all of her jewelry is handcrafted, gesturing to the rows of sparkling accessories that were sold at the University of Cincinnati’s Taste of India in Tangeman University Center.

The event, organized by the Association for India’s Development, aims to provide students a glimpse into Indian culture.

“It’s an event for India, but people here are from all over,” Gupta said. Her company, Satrangi Handcrafted Jewelry, was one of many organizations represented at the event.

Traditional Indian clothing, purses and scarves were draped over the edges of eclectic booths in TUC’s Great

Hall. Students drawn to the items mingled with sellers, who explained their merchandise.

“There’s a lot of people who are interested in Indian tradition and Indian culture. They wonder why it’s so different,” said Mahesh Bhupalam, a UC alumnus.

Bhupalam and his wife worked a booth specializing in eyebrow threading, an alternative to waxing that utilizes natural products.

Performers wearing red and gold gowns were interspersed in the crowd, weaving through booths before taking the stage.

Taste of India featured more than 20 presentations, which encompassed a combination of song, classical art and dance, including a Bollywood dance mix.

Many students came to the event because of the performances.

Rachel Peters, a second-year violin performance student, was intrigued by the Indian music. She had previously performed with the Shanti choir, which specializes in Indian choral music.

“I really enjoyed performing Indian music, and I don’t get to hear it a lot,” Peters said.

Attendees sampled Indian food during performances

and mingled with friends. The casual environment provided a window into Indian culture.

“This is the one place you can learn a lot about India,” Bhupalam said.

LAUREN KREMER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The Madhurashticam Dance Group poses after their performance at UC’s Taste of India event organized by Association for India’s Development.

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MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

‘BraveHeart’ better when Mel Gibson made it After six year hiatus, Ashanti returns with new mediocre album AILISH MASTERSON STAFF REPORTER

Six years after her last album release, Ashanti is back with “BraveHeart.”

The R&B singer had great success in the early 2000s with her songs topping the Billboard Hot 100 and a Grammy win.

In 2005, Ashanti began her acting career and after her fourth album in 2008, singing took a backseat.

She starred in a few movies and TV shows including “John Tucker Must Die” and “Army Wives.”

She also had a role as Dorothy in the theatre production, “The Wiz.” When she was dropped from her label some thought she was finished with music for good — until now.

Ashanti started her own label, Written Entertainment, in 2011 and she began work on her next album.

Three years later and “BraveHeart” has finally been released.

The album opens with a strange intro that is meant to mimic the battle and feeling of the Mel Gibson film “BraveHeart.”

It also seems to be related to her record

company dropping her and her breakup with on-again, off-again boyfriend, Nelly.

The song has a nice meaning, but the mix of beats and sound edits are all over the place and overwhelming.

Things start out pretty somber, but eventually pick up with “Count.”

This song is fit for the club and makes you want to dance on a night out with the girls when you all have the “we don’t need a man” mentality.

Ashanti bares her sensual side in “Early in the Morning,” which features French Montana.

Her vocals can’t be denied as she croons her way through the song and hits every high note.

The auto tune on French Montana surprisingly is a nice match with Ashanti’s soft voice, but unfortunately it feels like she was the feature on this song.

She continues to deliver classic R&B, baby-making songs with “3 Words and Love Games” and then takes the role of a woman scorned with “Scars.”

The song is about moving on from a relationship and you can feel the anger in her voice.

Ashanti changes things up and sings of the pain and hurt that comes with a breakup with the sentimental “Never

Should Have.”

This song again shows off her impressive vocal range as she belts out at the end of the song.

“I Got It” showcases Ashanti as an independent woman who doesn’t need a man to provide for her, which seems to be a running theme of the album.

Rick Ross lends his vocals to this song, but this collaboration isn’t as successful as others on the album.

Their two voices just don’t seem to fit together as well as they should have.

It almost felt like Ashanti just wanted big names on her album so she got anyone she could.

These big names almost send the opposite message of what she haphazardly tried to convey with her album.

If she wanted to empower women, why put Rick Ross, an artist known for belittling women, on the album.

To close the album, she brings in reggae singer, Beenie Man with a song that definitely should have been left on the cutting room floor.

“First Real Love” doesn’t fit in with the other songs in any way.

As Ashanti’s first album in six years, the breakup album wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t that good either. No one can deny

PROVIDED

her musical talent and the beats of all the songs were easy to listen to so all the diehard Ashanti fans should be pleased.

Ashanti failed at making a cohesive album.

These hodgepodge albums may have led to platinum records in the early millennia, but music has grown up and so should Ashanti.

She’s 33 years old, and needs to get it together. Why is she still writing breakup albums?

What’s on Blockbusters roll in after Oscar films stage in Cincinnati With summer comes big budget productions filled with explosions MONROE TROMBLY STAFF REPORTER

HEATHER KING STAFF REPORTER

Henry IV: Part 1 and 2 The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will perform productions of “Henry IV: Part 1 and 2” by William Shakespeare March 28 to April 19. Shows are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

CSC’s rendition of the thrilling play tells a gripping story about a struggle for power and control over a country riddled with turmoil. After seizing the throne from King Richard II, King Henry realizes that he has taken over a country in disorder. There are rebellions surfacing everywhere. The King must tread lightly to keep the country from plummeting into more chaos. To make things worse, the King’s son has taken up with a well-know prankster.

Pride and Prejudice The Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park is hosting Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” now until April 5 with performance by the Marx Theatre. The novel was adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan.

“Pride and Prejudice” is Austen’s most popular novel, and has been called one of the most compelling romance stories of all time. The Marx Theatre brings this classic love story to life in a full-length extravagant rendition. The crowd is sure to fall in love once more with determined Elizabeth Bennet and the haughty but admirable Mr. Darcy. The characters attempt to traverse the tumultuous path of proper etiquette and getting married.

Brit Floyd Discovery The Taft Theatre will be host to the Brit Floyd Discovery at 8 p.m. March 15 with the doors opening at 7 p.m. The band is named after Pink Floyd’s most recent box set of the same name.

LED light shows coupled with psychedelic ’60s tunes, the Brit Floyd Discovery captures the era with perfect detail. Dubbed the world’s greatest Pink Floyd show, the band performs a three-hour musical journey through the chronological music history of the original band. The performance features Pink Floyd’s classic arch and circle light show, and amazing original video and brand new animation, inspired by the eternally gifted artwork designs of longtime Pink Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson.

The group replicates every trace of Pink Floyd’s visual and musical distinctions.

The band’s performance puts a fresh light on the Floyd classics. The amazing experience will dazzle seasoned and new fans alike.

Wicked The popular “Wicked” is at the Aronoff Center from now until March 23.

This is the story about how two different girls — one misunderstood girl with emerald green skin and a beautiful and popular girl — grew to become The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Long before Dorothy finds herself in Munchkinland, the two girls meet in the Land of Oz.

PROVIDED

Now that Oscars season is once again behind us, the attention shifts towards the summer, as studios start to churn out their big-budget bonanzas and blockbusters. The summer is a time of high investment, optimistic payoff and high profit as studios sink millions on millions of dollars into elaborate, explosion-filled, special effects-driven spectacles, hoping to recreate the successes and profits of last summer’s blockbusters. While the fall and winter seasons of the year are filled with a multitude of films that demonstrate creative, artistic ingenuity, the summer blockbuster season is infamous in the sheer number of sequels, reboots, rehashes, do-overs Hollywood churns out to try and make the big-bucks. Here is a look at some of the up and coming blockbusters of Summer 2014.

-CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER: As the ninth

installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series, ‘The Winter Soldier” is the sequel to 2011’s ‘The First Avenger,” starring Chris Evans as the titular character. Marvel Comics and Disney are simply raking in the dough with the Marvel Series, as each summer brings usually one or two more movies to add to the shared universe of stories, all starting with 2008’s “Iron Man.”These are the blockbusters that are crowd-pleasers all around, critic and audience alike.

Although not technically to be released in the summer, the Marvel blockbuster series can’t be left out of the 2014 blockbuster preview with a release date of April 4th.

-TRANSCENDENCE: Working as the cinematographer on films such as “Memento,”“Batman Begins,”‘The Dark Knight,”“Moneyball” and “Inception,” Wally Pfister has been a long-time friend and collaborator of the great Christopher Nolan, and he makes his directorial debut with “Transcendence.”

Starring Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany and Kate Mara, the movie pitches itself as dealing with the familiar film trope of Artificial Intelligence gone berserk. But this time, its AI paired with human consciousness and thus, singularity. The film hoped to address and explore the moral and ethical dilemmas of what exactly makes us human, and what it may mean if Artificial Intelligence develops sentience, which is emotional and collective feeling.

The release date is set for April 18th.

-THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2:

Andrew Garfield is back to play Spider-

Man in the most recent Spider-man reboot, alongside Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx. Marc Webb, directing the prequel and surprisingly “(500) Days of Summer,” is back again to direct as Peter Parker begins to explore the roots of OsCorp, and the story of his father. Dane DeHaan of “Chronicle” and “Kill Your Darlings,” joins the cast to play Harry Osborn, and of course, the Green Goblin. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is set to release May 2nd.

-X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST: As semi-colons become more

and more synonymous with movies and their sequels, “Days of Future Past” joins the group as yet another installment of the X-Men film series, the seventh of the plethora. What makes this particular “X-Men” a bit more promising than “X-Men: The Last Stand,”“X-Men Origins: Wolverine,”‘X-Men: First Class,” and “X-Men: Wolverine,” is that the director of the first X-Men movies, “X-Men,” and “X2” (and the best) is Bryan Singer. He is back to direct “Days of Future Past,” suggesting a studio decision to try and infuse a bit more quality into the series as opposed to the fluff that’s occupied theaters over the recent years. Believe it or not, the first two films of the series opened in 2000 and 2003, marking it a decade that Hugh Jackman has had to keep playing Wolverine, over and over and over again.

“Days of Future Past” will be released on May 23rd.

-MALEFICENT: A re-imagining of the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty,” the film re-tells the story from the other side of the conflict, from the perspective of the film’s villain, Maleficent. Disney has had a field day of marketing for the movie so far, exciting the soonto-be audiences for the summer with promotional pictures and trailers of Angelina Jolie dolled out in horns and frightening contact lenses. “Maleficent,” could be considered a reboot and a rehash of the familiar, but the compelling storyline of “Sleeping Beauty” warrants a revisiting and fresh look at the classic Disney tale. “Maleficent is slated to come out May 30th.

-EDGE OF TOMORROW: One of

the more expensive blockbusters of the season with an estimated budget of $150 million, “Edge of Tomorrow” stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in a near-future war spurned on by an unbeatable alien invasion. Cruise’s character experiences a time loop, meaning as he dies he wakes to repeat the death-filled battle all over again. Another film that looks to deal with the pairing of machines with humans, “Edge of Tomorrow” is based on a Japanese novel named “All You Need is Kill.” Helmed by Doug Liman, director of “The Bourne Identity,”“Edge of Tomorrow”could be another example of a

failed Hollywood reboot, or a boundarypushing exploration of the future of war.

The release date is set to be June 6th.

-22 JUMP STREET: A sequel to 2012’s hilarious “21 Jump Street,” Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star once again as Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, going undercover to college to crack a fraternal crime ring. Directed once again

by Phil Lord and Chris Miller also of “The Lego Movie,” and written by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and “Project X,”“22 Jump Street” looks promising and extremely entertaining. Release date is set for June 13th.

-TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION: Featuring an all-new

cast with the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, and Stanley Tucci, “Age of Extinction” is the 4th of the Transformers series, introducing a new line of robots, known as the Dinobots. Taking four years after the invasion of Chicago, the trailer is all but clear as to who’s fighting against who, as Wahlberg’s family discovers the infamous Optimus Prime in a run-down semi-truck, triggering an onslaught of indiscernible chaos and destruction. Directed once again by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg, the “Transformers” series just seems to be coming back every summer again and again, searching for any sort of un-milked profit whatsoever. June 27th marks the date.

-DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: Sequel to 2011’s reboot,

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,”“Dawn” looks to continue playing on our fears of monkeys gaining higher-intelligence and seeking revenge for the destruction humans have wrecked on the Earth.

Starring Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke and Keri Russell, the film will continue the saga and war of apes against humans, as the eight film of the franchise. It looks to come out on July 11th.

-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: As the tenth installment of the

Marvel Cinematic Universe,“Guardians of the Galaxy” will introduce all new characters to the fold, based on the famous Marvel comic book of the same name. Chris Pratt starts as Quill, aka Star-Lord, who pairs up with a group of misfits after stealing an orb belonging to the villain, Ronan. Ronan was first introduced as the Collector, during the credits after “Thor: The Dark World.”

Featuring an ensemble cast of Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro, is sure to be full of Marvel’s signature ensemble wit, action, and thrilling special effects. The last of our summer preview, it is to be released on Aug. 1st.

Real Estate writes score for everyday life ‘Atlas’ concerns itself with nostalgia while moving indie band into future ZAK HATFIELD CONTRIBUTOR

The lyrics on New Jersey based indie group Real Estate’s third album are personal and sophisticated, focusing on mortality, loneliness and the feeling that time is escaping.

This complex subject matter is blended effortlessly with mellow rhythms and ethereal guitar solos, creating a mosaic of indie serenity that seems to ease the pain and stress in life.

“I cannot come back to this neighborhood/without feeling my own age,” lead vocalist Martin Courtney sings in “Past Lives.”

The album’s lyrics refer to the past, straddling the realm of nostalgia and the possibility of moving on from life’s problems.

During their sophomore album “Days,” their first release with Domino Records, Real Estate recruited keyboardist Matt Kallman and drummer Jackson Pollis.

This addition added maturity and texture to the band’s signature sound, creating a soulful synth landscape in which delicate

melodies and Ringo-esque drumbeats interact.

The music itself in “Atlas” is straightforward and polished, the subtleties of skillful musicianship found in tracks like “Primitive” or “Horizon,” where haunting guitar solos fed through an echo-effects pedal pay homage to 1960s jangle-pop and the lo-fi bands of the ’90s.

Indeed, Real Estate sounds a bit like Pavement glossed over with one of the more cheerful Instagram filters.

Yet with an obvious debt to the indiepop bands before them, Real Estate’s sound is refreshing and unique.

The highlight of the album is “April’s Song,” a four-minute instrumental, which encapsulates Real Estate’s carefree, profound spirit.

Without words, the song summons images of childhood and lazy summers with chord progressions reminiscent of surf-rock bands like The Ventures and the Del-Tones.

The goal of Real Estate is not to impress listeners with unbelievable virtuosity, but rather to provide them with a relatable soundtrack to their lives.

“Atlas” definitely reiterates this purpose,

PROVIDED

mapping out the journey from youth to adulthood, one catchy indie-pop song at a time.

“I stare at the hands on the clock/I’m waiting for them to stop,” Courtney sings on the last track, “Navigator.”

With this album, they put everyone’s world on their shoulders and holds it up for us all to marvel at, yearn for and overall appreciate.

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6 / SPORTS UC wins American Athletic Conference Championship MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 / NEWSRECORD.ORG

Kilpatrick scores 24 points as Bearcats win first conference title since 2004 JOSHUA MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

For the 27th time in school history and the first in a decade, the University of Cincinnati will hang a men’s basketball conference championship banner in the rafters of Fifth Third Arena.

With a 70-66 victory against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in front of 6,650 fans at the Rutgers Athletic Center Saturday afternoon, the Bearcats clinched at least a share of the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship.

“In my mind we won the championship,” said head coach Mick Cronin. “Whether it’s shared or not it doesn’t matter.”

A few hours after UC’s victory, No.11 Louisville destroyed No. 19 Connecticut 81-48, ensuring the Bearcats’ conference championship would indeed be shared.

But sharing with the defending national champions is good enough for Cronin, as his team accomplished exactly what he thought they’d had to in order to win the conference.

“We have five teams in the top 20. We have good coaches. I am really proud of the guys,” Cronin said. “To be able to grind out a regular-season championship, 15-3 in this league is pretty strong. With Louisville in our league and with Russ and Luke being seniors, I thought that 15 and three would be the mark.”

The 15th win was just as tough of a battle as any of the 14 before it, as the Bearcats had to travel to Rutgers on just one day’s rest after their emotional senior-night win against Memphis Thursday.

UC’s seniors combined to score 71 of the team’s 97 points Thursday, but Cronin knew they wouldn’t be able to bear such a load again Saturday.

“Our guys were so tired and emotionally drained with everything that happened at home,” he said. “I told Kevin Johnson to get ready to play. I told him, Jermaine and Dave Nyarsuk, who I didn’t get a chance to get in the game, that our seniors weren’t going to be able to carry

LAUREN KREMER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

UC senior Titus Rubles celebrates after scoring a career-high 24 points in his final game at Fifth Third Arena, a 97-84 victory against Memphis.

us today after what happened the other night and the quick turn around.”

Led by Kevin Johnson (eight points) and Troy Caupain (seven points and four assists) the UC bench contributed an uncharacteristically high 25 points to help the Bearcats keep pace Saturday.

But, as they have seemingly all season, Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson carried the Bearcats late.

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, Rutgers (11-20, 5-13) stormed back to take a 64-63 lead with three minutes and 17 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Jackson, who finished with a double-double on 10 points and 11 rebounds, followed his

own miss with a reverse layup to put the Bearcats up 65-64 and they outscored Rutgers 7-2 to close out the game.

“We have a couple of tremendous closers in Justin and S.K.,” Cronin said.

“Justin’s putback was sheer will. He was just not going to be denied.”

Kilpatrick more or less secured the victory for UC, slicing through the Rutgers defense to beat the shot clock with a contested layup that gave the Bearcats their final 70-66 lead with 16.9 seconds remaining.

“I saw the [shot] clock going down and there was like six seconds left and I said, `You know what? If I get fouled, I get fouled, and then coach isn’t going to be

mad,”’ Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick led all scorers with 24 points. Titus Rubles, who scored a career-high 24 points against Memphis Thursday, scored only four points but led UC with 11 rebounds. Rutgers was led by J.J. Moore (19 points) and Kadeem Jack (15).

By virtue of a coin flip, the Bearcats will be the No. 1 seed in the inaugural AAC Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday at The FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.

UC has a first-round bye and will face the winner of the University of Central Florida and Temple University on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Huskies bounce UC from AAC tournament Disappointing season comes to end for UC women’s basketball team CHARLES GROVE STAFF REPORTER

LAUREN KREMER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Sean Kilpatrick and Mick Cronin embrace on senior night.

UC seniors saved best for last JOSHUA MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

It’s not very often that a storybook ending goes according to script, but everything did Thursday.

Hopefully — not lost amid the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team clinching a share of the American Athletic Conference title Saturday at Rutgers or the theoretical glory that could await in the coming weeks — the performance of its three senior leaders Thursday night, senior night, their night, will be remembered as harrowing goodbye for three individuals that have gone a long way in restoring this program.

Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson sobbed at midcourt before the game, and, although I don’t think UC head coach Mick Cronin can cry, they certainly pushed him as close to the edge as possible.

“When they announced us and Jack went before me, then I came out and we all hugged each other, we all whispered in each other’s ear, ‘It’s time to go,’” Kilpatrick said.

Then — after the pictures, the pomp, the circumstances, the exchanging of flowers and kissing of cheeks — UC, a team with the propensity for offensive ineptitude, dropped 97 points on a ranked Memphis team.

The senior trio of Jackson, Kilpatrick and Titus Rubles scored 71 of UC’s 97 points in what was, for all three, one of the best performances of their careers.

Kilpatrick was brilliant in all of the ways he always is, scoring in such a plethora of ways. Jackson, at his best despite a nagging shoulder issue, played a hand in every possession. And then there’s Rubles, who — with his mother in attendance for the first time in his UC career — played the game of his life, scoring a career-high 24 points.

“It seemed like all their players were shooting well today,” said Memphis’ Austin Nihols, who was defensively abused by Rubles the entire night. “I know Rubles won’t do that most of the time, Kilpatrick can do it but it was just Rubles night tonight.”

And he’s right. It was Rubles’ night, it was all of their nights, and it was well deserved.

Bearcat fans should openly wish the best for Kilpatrick, Jackson and Rubles — all three of which have over-achieved in their time here, and all three of which have been nothing but great to work with.

The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team’s season ended Saturday with a disappointing 72-42 loss in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament to the undefeated Connecticut Huskies.

After winning the night before in the first round of the tournament against the University of Central Florida, 54-52, UC came out looking rested, and gave UConn a run for their money the first 10 minutes of the contest.

The Bearcats kept the game within single digits in the early going and trimmed the lead down to four after a Jeanise Randolph layup. The senior would go on to lead UC with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

“We gave them a good 12 minutes I think to start the first half,” Elliott said.

“I thought we started the game off

extremely well. We had some really good stops, we made every shot for them tough.

In the first half they had to make more than 1 or 2 passes to score. I thought we did a really good job taking their transition offense away getting four or five guys back every possession.”

The Huskies had four players finish in double figures with sophomore Breanna Stewart leading all scorers with 22 points.

Seniors Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson scored 17 and 10 respectively while junior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis tallied 12.

The vision and passing abilities of UConn’s starting-five was too much for the Bearcats to handle.

“They’re extremely good passers, they can pass the ball extremely well one through five,” Elliott said. “The key is to try to disrupt them as much as possible and we weren’t’ able to do that for long stretches tonight. Obviously they’re the number one team in the country for a reason.”

Solid passing led to an efficient UConn offense that shot 47 percent from the field while also making good use of the freethrow line. The Huskies knocked down

16-of-17 free throws and Stewart was a perfect 9-of-9 from the stripe.

The Bearcats were only able to muster up a 16-for-50 shooting performance on the evening, good for 32 percent. Junior Alyesha Lovett, who has been a catalyst for the Bearcats down the stretch this conference season was held in check all game finishing with only seven points on 2-of-13 shooting while playing all 40 minutes.

Elliott praised Lovett for her performance this season saying that she expects Lovett to continue playing with confidence next season.

“Something really clicked with Alyesha Lovett towards the second half of our conference play,” Elliott said. “As a junior, to play the last end of your season with the confidence and the production she did I think she’s going to be going into her senior year with a lot of confidence.”

The loss marked the final game in the careers of seniors Kayla Cook, Tiffany Turner and Randolph.

UC posted a 13-18 record this season, a slight improvement on the 12-18 campaign a season ago.

Bearcats take two of three over weekend UC narrowly misses perfect homestand after stranding 13 runners on base EMILY WITT STAFF REPORTER

The University of Cincinnati baseball team opened its first home series of the 2014 season, taking two victories against Youngstown State University Friday and Saturday but falling to Eastern Michigan University Sunday.

The bats came alive for the opener Friday, as the Bearcats drove in season-high twelve runs and collected season-high nineteen hits, outgunning the Penguins 12-9. With the victory, UC is now 5-0 in home openers in the past five seasons.

“We pounded out 19 hits,” said UC head coach Ty Neal.“We asked a couple of our younger guys to get us through the game with a comfortable lead. We felt like we didn’t have to be quite as good on the mound.”

Senior Matt Williams and redshirt sophomore Will Drake collected four hits, Williams tying his career-high and Drake making new career marks with four hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Sophomore Ian Happ also tied his career-high with three hits. Williams and sophomore Woody Wallace drove in three runs, while Williams, Drake and Jake Richmond all scored twice.

Due to Friday’s high score, Neal was able to utilize the majority of UC’s freshman players in their first experiences in a collegiate game.

“I thought they did well,” said senior Matt Williams.“I think it’s good to get freshman’s feet wet and get them in there for an at-bat or just to get them on the bases to get the Division I college experience.”

Starting RHP Ryan Atkinson earned his first win of the season, throwing 6.0 innings while only giving up five hits and one run and striking out four.

Saturday’s 1-0 victory against the Youngstown Penguins proved to be a defensive battle as RHP Andrew Zellner gained his first career win. The freshman pitched 7.1 innings, giving up only three hits

MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

The University of Cincinnati baseball team fell 5-4 against Eastern Michigan University Sunday at Marge Schott Stadium.

and two walks while collecting career-high four strikeouts.

“When he’s in the zone, pitching to contact and feeling good about himself, his stuff is pretty good,” Neal said.

RHP Bryan Chenoweth entered in the seventh, greeted with two runners on base and one out. After issuing a walk, he struck out catcher Josh White. Phil Lipardi grounded out to first, andYoungstown failed to capitalize, giving the Bearcats their second shutout of the season.

“It felt great,” Chenoweth said.“Not going to lie, I was kind of nervous going in there but I trusted my stuff and threw strikes. It felt great to get out of it.”

After a late-night switch in opponents, UC battled the Eastern Michigan University Eagles on Sunday and fell 4-5. Junior RHP Grant Walker pitched 5.1 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits, with redshirt sophomore Connor Walsh entering in the sixth in relief. Walsh pitched 3.2 innings and gave up two hits.

The Bearcats notched 12 hits but left 13 runners on base in the game. Hawk, Happ and Russell Clark all record two hits for the Bearcats and Williams, Ryan Quinn and

Connor McVey all knocked in one RBI. “I guess it’s a decent offensive day when you have 12 hits over nine innings,” Neal said.

“But we had opportunities to score a lot of runs that game. We gave ourselves a chance to win on the mound, but it’s just one of those days where the hits came at the wrong time.”

Happ tripled in the ninth and could’ve tied the game above the Eagles. But after a single by sophomore Devin Wenzel, Happ was thrown out at home on a forced contact play.

“We had a contact play,” Happ said.“I was taking off as soon as the ball was hit, tried to get a run down to get Devin (Wenzel) to second, but it didn’t work out the way we planned.”

Despite the loss UC left the weekend somewhat satisfied, especially after a disappointing series against Virginia Tech last weekend.

“The guys are excited to be home, they’re excited to be playing in good weather to pretty good crowds,” Neal said.“In the Virginia Tech series, we put a focus on an offensive lineup. We didn’t score many runs, where now we’re putting all of our focus on pitching and defense and trying to get some timely hitting, which is what we got this weekend.”