10.26.2012

10.26.12 reportermag.com

FEAR EDITOR IN CHIEF Alex Rogala | eic@reportermag.com MANAGING EDITOR Amber Wilson-Daeschlein | managing.editor@reportermag.com COPY EDITOR Nathaniel Mathews | copy.editor@reportermag.com NEWS EDITOR William Hirsh | news@reportermag.com LEISURE EDITOR Patrick Ogbeide | leisure@reportermag.com FEATURES EDITOR Steven Markowitz | features@reportermag.com SPORTS EDITOR Nicole Howley | sports@reportermag.com VIEWS EDITOR Peter LoVerso | views@reportermag.com WRITERS Christina Belisle, Krista Bellardo, Kayla Emerson, Amanda Imperial, Alyssa Jackson, Peter LoVerso, Nilan Lovelace, Juan

Last week, ever-useful advice site Lifehacker hosted an “evil week.” For the duration, its content spanned from the sketchy to the unsavory, featuring how-tos on manipulation, shoplifting and blackmail. This advice was not intended to breed a new generation of criminals; rather, it attempted to show curious readers how to avoid being ensnared in some flimflammer’s web. Some of of this content — especially the bits on manipulation — revolved around fear. And, ultimately, it got me thinking.

Soon, the RIT campus will swarm with any number of haunts. However, the situation is ultimately safe; after all, those zombies certainly aren’t real. After 22 years, I’m more likely to be terrified by my job prospects than a chainsaw-wielding madman — provided he’s trapped behind my TV screen.

Balanced emotions are essential for proper mental health, and fear (in moderation) is ultimately part of the equation. One of my favorite literary scenes is from the Phillip K. Dick novella “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Set in a dystopian future, characters can control their moods with the aid of special machines. Every so often, the protagonist’s wife sets herself to a particularly low, depressed mood, a choice that baffles him. When questioned, she responds that it adds perspective and a sense of realism to her life.

Perhaps your intuition is warning you of a poor choice. Perhaps you’re simply running up against the edge of your comfort zone. If it’s the former, use judgment; for the latter, shatter that boundary for all it’s worth. Accept your fear as a valid critique, but never let it control you.

This week’s issue dishes out heaping portions of spooks and frights. Consider it a training ground for the haunts to come.

Madrid, Amy Sanderson, Cadence Schwartz, Brett Slabaugh,

ART Alex Rogala EDITOR IN CHIEF

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 10.26.12 | VOLUME 62 | ISSUE 08

Bill Moore, a fourth year Film and Animation major and Sigma Chi Fraternity brother, waits to scare groups along the Brick City Haunted Trail behind Grace Watson Hall Friday, October 19. | photograph by Jonathan Foster

22. Word on the Street

NEWS

FEATURES

4. News Desk

11. Paranormal Investigations Reporter goes ghost hunting.

If your life was a horror movie, what would the title be?

6. Games for Health

16. Enjoying Fear

23. Rings

Sprint football discussion continues.

Entertainment with a real-world benefit.

The science behind the scare.

LEISURE

SPORTS

7. At Your Leisure

18. The Running Dead

8. Review

19. RIT Hockey Dream Rink Finally Becoming a Reality

Snag sweet art on the dime.

Country star delivers another genre-defying hit.

9. Can You Caramelize It?

Several unlikely foods get a seasonal twist.

10. The Dregs of the Cauldron Spooky brews.

No more bacon.

Haloween blowout 5k.

Officials break ground on the Polisseni Center.

VIEWS

20. Passion With a Hint of Fear

Are suggestive Halloween costumes an acceptable form of self-expression?

21. Passion With a Hint of Fear Is Halloween overly sexualized?

Cover: “Halloween, more than any other holiday I’ve encountered, is notable for its ability to be interpreted in many ways.

Whether that’s expressing your love for the occult or cat costumes, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and creativity.” illustration by Ethan Thornton

4 News | 10.5.12

SG UPDATE

by Alyssa Jackson

Sprint Football Team Update At the Friday, October 19 Student Government (SG) Senate meeting, Dr. Heath Boice-Pardee, associate vice president of Student Affairs, presented on the potential addition of a sprint football team.

A student raised the motion last year, and since then SG has been gathering information. Sprint football follows all NCAA guidelines, and has a weight limit of 172 pounds.

This limit allows for smaller individuals who may not have the girth to participate in NCAA football to play football in college.

The committee created and assigned with the task of finding the pros and cons of adding a sprint football team conducted a survey of 400 students, which found 76 percent of students in favor.

The committee also looked at the budget required to create such a team. Over a two-year period, the team would cost around $640,000. This expense would be paid by student tuition. Boice-Pardee also made note of the issue of finding a space for the sport.

However, Boice-Pardee felt that there are many positive aspects to consider as well. He believes a sprint football team would enhance school spirit, create more student involvement, increase wellness among potential participants because of the weight limit, and possibly increase alumni donations.

The next step is for SG to decide if a sprint football team is in the best interest of all students on campus.

FORECAST

by Nilan Lovelace

26

Costume Well-O-Ween Dodgeball Tournament

27

Barstool’s Blackout Tour.

FRIDAY

Basketball Courts, Hale-Andrews Student Life Center (HAC, 23). 7:30 — 11 p.m.

Come compete with RIT Dodgeball in this 10 versus 10 dodgeball tournament. Teams must have at least six players with a maximum of 10. Prizes will be awarded to first place teams. Just make sure to dress in a Halloween costume in order to compete. RIT students only.

Cost: Free.

Main Street Armory, 900 E. Main St. 7 — 11:30 p.m.

SATURDAY For the first time, Rochester will be the only host for Blackout’s

Halloween Rave. Get there early, as the masquerade ends at midnight. 18+ with ID. Cost: $35.

28

60 from the ‘60s

29

Native American Heritage Month Kickoff

30

Blue Cross/Blue Shield On Campus Recruiting

31

Cayo Industrial Horror Attraction

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

George Eastman House. 900 East Ave. 11 a.m. — 5 p.m.

Come see work from 10 classic 1960s photographers, including Harry Callahan, Betty Hahn and Arnold Newman.

Cost: $5 for students; $12 for adults; free for members and children.

Fireside Lounge, SAU. 12 — 2 p.m.

Native American Heritage Month begins with Iroquois Social Dancing; storytelling and singing by Onondaga and Oneida performers; and native foods and artwork by RIT alumni. The event also features drum group performances, including one by graduate student Ben Parker.

Cost: Free.

Bausch & Lomb Center (BLC, 77). All Day. Blue Cross/Blue Shield will be holding on-campus interviews. To be considered eligible, students must register at Job Zone.

Cost: Free.

1290 University Ave. 7 — 11 p.m.

WEDNESDAY If the ordinary haunted house doesn’t provide you with the horror

you desire, Cayo is bringing its “Warehouse of Biowar” to Rochester.

Cost: $10.

01

THURSDAY

CAB Thursday Night Cinema Presents: “Dirty Dancing” Ingle Auditorium, SAU. 10 — 11:45 p.m.

Come see the 1987 hit, Dirty Dancing featuring Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze. Watch as the affluent “Baby” is introduced to dirty dancing by her working-class love interest, Johnny Castle.

Cost: Free.

GAMES FOR HEALTH C

by Christina Belisle | illustration by Emily Gage

hildren go through the usual gauntlet of challenges: moving, making new friends, encountering bullies at school. Extra stress is added to their lives when they have conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders or autism spectrum disorder. Going to therapy to learn how to handle stress can be boring or the concepts too complex for young children, so how do therapists help children adapt?

Enter Stephen Jacobs, associate professor of RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media. He and a slew of students on co-op are creating a therapeutic video game called MindGamers in School (MG), the main project of the Games for Health Rochester chapter. The project started in the summer of 2011, with Kenneth Stewart II, Ivy Ngo and Jack McDonald coordinating with Dr. Robert Rice, assistant professor at St. John Fisher College, and Dr. Laurence Sugarman, director of the Center for Applied Psychophysiology and Self-regulation at RIT, to fully understand the medical and psychological scope of their game. Established in 2011, Games for Health Rochester strives to use video games and related technology to improve health and health care of people.

Fourth year Game Design and Development major Bryan Gawinski loves that he’s part of a project that helps so many. He had worked with children with autism before in soccer games, so he was aware of the challenges they face. “It’s nice to [create] a game that’s more than pure fun,” Gawinski said.

McDonald, a fifth year game design and development major who has since moved on from the project, shares the same sentiment. “You usually don’t get to work with the technology and games,” he said. “We’re trying to take a therapeutic practice and deliver it in a way that’s interesting for them.”

Students Mark Zimmerman, Megan Kushner and Steve Oyarijivbie have also worked on the project since 2011, along with Stewart, Ngo, McDonald and Gawinski. They worked on the project as full-time co-op students, while Jacobs took a more “hands-off” approach, to allow the cooperation between the student developers and Rice and Sugarman to form naturally.

Using games to heal is not a new concept. “People have been doing experiments with games and game-like environments for over 15 years,” Jacobs said in a phone interview. “It gained traction in the last five to six.” Virtual reality has been used to confront players with stressors such as spiders or heights, and pharmaceutical company Bayer released Didget, a blood glucose monitor that can be attached to a Nintendo DS and rewards the player for consistently testing and managing their diabetes.

6 News | 10.5.12

In MG, the child plays with their therapist in the office. The child is hooked up to a NeXus-10 biofeedback sensor, using probes on the skin to measure breathing rate, skin temperature, skin conductance and heart rate; each value changes as the player becomes stressed. The player starts the game by creating three avatars. The first represents the player, while the second and third are paradigms. One is a goal-directed imp, or Inner Motivational Projection, decked out in armor and equipped with weapons on a utility belt, with names such as “Sword of Sharp Intellect” or “Pocket Watch of Slo Mo.” The other imp is problembased, causing the player to get in trouble.

B ot h i mps fol low t he player a rou nd and come into play when they encounter something that causes stress in a school environment; the exact stressors are selected at character creation. The problem imp tries to get the player to perform the negative behavior, such as being late to class. The goal imp will distract the problem imp when the NeXus-10 reads that the player has a sufficiently low level on their Stressmeter, which is a single number representing the measured values of stress. The goal imp’s equipment represents tools the player can use to handle stress, such as stopping to count to five before acting. The therapist helps the player remember their tools to calm themselves, allowing the player to progress in the game.

Once MG is released, Jacobs hopes to continue working on the concept, creating other versions, such as MindGamers at Home, which would allow the player to practice the concepts learned in therapy . This would allow the therapist to get a better understanding of their progress over self-reported progress at their meetings. Currently, Jacobs is working on finding grants and donors to grow the project, including looking for full-time developers instead of relying on the more transient co-op students.

AYL

10.26.12

by Patrick Ogbeide

QUOTE You should always go to other people’s funerals.

Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.

-Yogi Bera

WORD OF THE DAY Nullifidian n. – A person having no faith or religious belief.

The loss of his father turned Robert into a nullifidian.

Definition taken from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD Jay Electronica “Victory Is in My Clutches” From his “What the F*CK is a Jay Electronica” mixtape... Actually, what is a Jay Electronica?

Favorite Lyric: “I tumble like the dice do / Stay on the humble like Christ do / Piss stanzas and shit haikus / Since I was a young tyke who / Tried to moonwalk like Michael.”

REPORTER RECOMMENDS

STREAM OF FACTS

20x200

WWE wrestler Ric Flair’ entrance theme SONG is “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss, which is also known for its use in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Greatest man alive.

Bing Crosby’s SONG “White CHRISTMAS” is the best selling physical single of all time, selling more than 100 million copies.

In 2007, France received the most CHRISTMAS let ters add ressed to Sa nta Claus, w it h over one million letters coming from 126 different COUNTRIES. On t he l i st of sma l le st COUNTRIES i n t he world , VATICAN Cit y comes out on top, covering approximately a fifth of a square mile.

According to an Associated Press article, The VATICAN granted sainthood to 17th century Native American Kateri Tekakwitha when a young man who mysteriously recovered from flesh-eating BACTERIA owed his recovery to Kateri.

The first obser vation of BACTERIA ever recorded was by Antony van Leeuwenhoek in 1683.

Art is awesome. I may not be an artist, but my stick figure drawings are epic and I’m lef t-handed and lef t-handed people are supposedly really artistic. I can appreciate art enough to know when it should be a part of your home. However, some fine art and photography pieces are beyond my very small college budget.

20x200 solves my problem by offering a large variety of paintings, drawings and photos for reasonable prices. Every week, new pieces are added to the already enormous collection, and all of them are exceptional. The best part is that all the art is artist submitted. Each piece of art has a small blurb about the artist, making every buy worth it. If your wall is looking a bit gloomy and needs some color, visit 20x200 and start browsing.

Check out 20x200 at http://20x200.com

OVERSEEN AND OVERHEARD It was like I used the grand summoning spell

‘Bring Her To My Apartment.’

-Male student to friend

COMIC by Emily DeVault

HAIKU Two rules to this life: Do not forget to smile, And drink more liquor.

7

REVIEW

by Krista Bellardo

Jason Aldean – “Night Train” Album | Country | 51 mins.

8 Leisure | 10.19.12

Jason Aldean’s recently released fifth studio album, “Night Train,” features a sound similar to his first four albums, mixing rock tempos with country music themes and, occasionally, rapped lyrics.

Night Train opens with “This Nothin’ Town,” a mid-tempo song about the workings of a town followed by another mid-tempo track “When She Says Baby.” Ballads like “I Don’t Do Lonely Well,” “Black Tears” and “Staring at the Sun” all add depth to the album. Whether they are about being on your own, a ballad about being a stripper that makes references to drug use or about being in love, these ballads add a diverse sound to “Night Train.”

Though the single “Take a Little Ride” may have been a better fit on Aldean’s 2010 release “My Kinda Party,” it still seems to fit well into the album. “Night Train” is home to all types of musical stylings, most

notably the hip hop feel of “1994,” which also doubles as a Joe Diffie tribute. Fellow country stars Luke Bryan and Eric Church provide assistance on “The Only Way I Know,” the album’s only collaboration. The track becomes a combination of hip-hop and country, filled with rapped verses and a country style chorus.

While “Night Train” was not a big change in comparison to Aldean’s previous albums, it’s still definitely worth the listen. Armed with great balance, catchy lyrics and strong melodies, you are likely to keep these songs in your head for days.

CAN YOU CARAMELIZE IT?

by Patrick Ogbeide | photograph by Juan Madrid

On Halloween, a normal October day is transformed into a time where we celebrate the spooky, creepy, and downright eerie. Kids, students and even some adults dress up in their favorite costume and roam through the night, collecting bags full of candy and joyful memories.

However, there’s another treat to enjoy on Halloween — the caramel apple. This delightful treat embraces both fall and Halloween, by combining the sweetness of caramel and the great flavor of apples. After eating one caramel apple, it’s easy to understand why the combination works so well, but have you ever thought of using an alternative?

If you have, you’re lucky because Reporter is a curious entity, and decided to test other items dipped in melted caramel and see if any could match the flavoring and sheer goodness that is caramel apples.

Some items are somewhat predicable, while others completely insane, but it’s all for the sake of introducing a new Halloween treat for you and your friends.

If you have an open mind and fortified stomach and want to try this on your own, be wary of temperature of the caramel. Once you melt the caramel, make sure to keep it warm. If allowed to cool, the caramel will harden and the item won’t taste the same. Next time you’re bored on a Saturday afternoon and want to do something interesting, snag a couple pounds worth of caramel candy, grab a double boiler or a microwave, melt some caramel and let your imagination go to work.

BACON

1 1 1

4.0

TASTE

3.2 UNIQUENESS 3.3 TEXTURE

The saltiness of the chips complimented the sweetness of the caramel very well, making it taste great.

1

OVERALL

3.5

1 1 1

4.8

TASTE TEXTURE UNIQUENESS

3.8 4.3

COMMENTS: It’s bacon. That is all.

1

OVERALL

4.3

MANGO

1 1 1 1

TASTE TEXTURE

COMMENTS: The most unique item of the bunch, but the taste varied from too sweet to indescribable, and not in a good way.

2.8 2.8 5.0

UNIQUENESS

OVERALL

3.3

GRAHAM CRACKERS

CARROTS

1 1 1

1 1 1

TASTE TEXTURE UNIQUENESS

3.5 3.5 2.0

TASTE TEXTURE

2.0 2.2

UNIQUENESS

3.8

COMMENTS: The idea of dipping graham crackers in caramel didin’t seem very original, nor was the taste very exciting. It was good, but it was not great.

COMMENTS: With enough caramel, the carrots could be pretty good, but if you’re not dipping the entire carrot in caramel, then consider this best served without.

1

1

OVERALL

3.3

OVERALL

3.3 9

THE DREGS OF THE CAULDRON

by Juan Madrid illustration by Erica Landers

I n t he mo o d to add a l it t le excitement to your usua l Halloween mischief? It just so happens that Reporter has a few beverages for you r g hou l ish cravings. Give these drinks a try, and you could find yourself with a treat — or perhaps a few tricks — by the end of the night.

LICORICE SKOL Approx. price per batch: $13 Ingredients: Handle of Skol, black or red licorice

Soak about $3-4 worth of licorice from Wegmans in a liter of Skol for at least four or f ive days, straining it afterwards.

It’s still Skol, but a little sweeter just for t he holiday. And it’s cheap. Unsurprisingly, this is still more of a trick than a treat.

PUMPKIN PIE Approx. price per batch: $21 Ingredients: Vanilla vodka, pumpkin pie soda

One part vodka, two parts soda.

A simple and easy-to-drink beverage. It’s far from exciting, and depending on the drinker, t he soda-to-liquor ratio may need tweaking. This is a drink that could use another ingredient of your choice to give it a little more character and a bit more of a surprise in its f lavor. It’s got holiday spirit in droves. The biggest drawback is the sweetness: this is not a drink-it-all-nightlong drink, but more of a beverage you have one or two glasses of before moving on.

BOBBING FOR THE MEXICAN SCARECROW KRAKEN

Approx. price per batch: $23 Ingredients: Tequila, Corona, nutmeg

Mostly tequila and corona, a dash of nutmeg.

Approx. price per batch: $25 Ingredients: Kraken spiced rum, apple cider, ginger beer

One part Kraken, four parts cider, ginger beer to taste.

A s e em i ng ly si mple d r i n k at f i rst g la nce, B obbi ng for Kraken’s taste is pretty simple as well, with a nice kick to it. It could be likened to a spicier but slightly different Woodchuck Hard Cider. Its holiday spirit ranks at about a medium, as the cider is reminiscent of autumn, but nothing really pushed it into the veil of a Halloween drink.

Overall, a tasty but unspectacular drink t hat’s wor t h a tr y and tinkering with.

10 Leisure | 10.26.12

This concoction was born of a misguided attempt at making a tequila-based Halloween drink. Sure, the nutmeg adds a seasonal flavor. It also sticks to your mouth and dries it out simultaneously, thus forcing you to drink more of the tequila and Corona mix, which was actually quite drinkable. If the nutmeg could be better incorporated, this drink would be more viable. While it gets points for creativity, it loses some in holiday spirit and its sediment-filled appearance. Have you ever seen the water in Tijuana? It looks healthier than this drink.

THE HORROR

Approx. price per batch: It will cost you dearly Ingredients: Whatever you’ve got left in your cabinet

This is a mélange straight from hell. The particular batch brewed for this article contained gin, vanilla vodka, Kraken and tequila. This drink has a horrible smell and a deceiving look. It appears to be a normal mixed drink, but one taste and you’ll quickly realize you’re in for a rough night. The taste testers involved ended up listening to Sarah McLaughlin’s “In the Arms of an Angel” because it was less depressing than having consumed this drink. So, this drink gets an “A” in the holiday spirit category for the worst possible reason: It’ll make you feel like a ghost.

Editor’s Note: Please drink responsibly. Reporter does not condone binge drinking or underage drinking.

Rich Eider (left) and Adam Bestram, both members of Monroe County Paranormal Investigations, take photographs with an infrared camera in Ellison Park in Penfield, N.Y. as they conduct an investigation, hoping to experience paranormal phenomena as they stated they had in the past.

11

PARANORMAL I N V E S T I G A T I O N S

by Steven Markowitz and Peter LoVerso photographs by Matthew Burkhartt

It was unmistakable. Listening back to the recording several hours later, the words were clear as day. Standing in Penfield, N.Y.’s Ellison Park deep into the night, the PX machine, commonly used to attempt communication with spirits, could be heard spitting out fragments that told stories of officers in a fort which stood on those grounds centuries ago or a death on a nearby highway.

Steven Markowitz, Peter LoVerso and Matt Burkhartt were standing among the team at Monroe County Paranormal Investigations (MCPI) when the PX said the word “Matt.” Not more than a few seconds later, it said “Matt driver.” It had never mentioned that name before and would not again. But it was enough. Burkhartt had driven the three of us to the park that very night. Not more than two minutes later, Rob Pistilli, founder of MCPI, gets a phone call that the art director from City Newspaper had just driven up to the park entrance. His name is Matt DeTurck too. If there truly was a spirit in our presence, it knew who we were.

Those events took place on Saturday, October 20 in the late hours of the night, as the team at Reporter joined MCPI on a practice investigation.

The goal for Pistilli, as well as Adam Bestram, the technological manager, and Rich Eider, the head of research and development, was to attempt to recreate the results they achieved when they investigated the park two years ago. Paranormal hunting equipment and flashlights in hand, the six of us headed across the swampy landscape in search of evidence for what lies beyond death.

13

P

THE GHOSTS OF OUR PAST

istilli began investigating the paranormal in 2002, after a serious illness left him clinically dead for 20 minutes. “When it happened, I didn’t have the white light, there was no tunnel, there was no near death experience and honestly I got pissed off,” says Pistilli. After the incident he began researching into why some people have near death experiences while other do not, and that lead him to discovering groups that explore the paranormal.

From there he worked with one group for two years yet, unhappy with their management, left and founded MCPI in 2004. In the ten years Pistilli has been in the business, he has been on more than 350 investigations.

There are currently 11 members of MCPI. In addition to the three that were at the park that night, there are two case managers who select cases and do preliminary interviews with clients, one lead investigator, and five regular investigators. The group volunteers their services, working mostly in private residences.

“MCPI is around in business for one reason and one reason only: To help people,” says Pistilli.

It is this goal that has kept the group from going commercial; they want to keep their work about giving people security and closure as opposed to trying to be the next television group. As of now they have been approached by the television shows “Paranormal Witness,” “Paranormal Collector” and “My Ghost Story” to be consultants, but have turned them down, stating that if their paths cross and they can still help people, they would do it.

In a typical investigation, after a case manager has determined what types of experiences are haunting the client, they determine how many people and what technologies are necessary.

After some research, the team stays for an entire night and performs their investigation, seeking out the paranormal and trying to determine the root cause of the disturbances. Once the investigation is complete, the team pours through all their data and Pistilli personally contacts the client for a follow up meeting, explaining what they found and what their opinions are.

In order to help people, Pistilli has studied Christianity, Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Native American faiths and even pseudosciences such as crystal powers. Pistilli, who has been involved in sage cleansings, demonic cases and exorcisms, and performs their rituals himself, believes that “It helps me to have a firm belief and an understanding of faith … I trust my faith. If you don’t understand it, how can you trust it?”

To date, MCPI has investigated all around the country. From an 18 person investigation of the U.S.S. Sullivans destroyer and the U.S.S. Little Rock cruiser in Buffalo, N.Y. to the Geva and Auditorium Theatres here in Rochester, the team has traveled far in the name of the paranormal.

Yet while it may seem glamorous, their job is psychologically difficult and sometimes dangerous.

On one investigation, Pistilli was allegedly choked to the ground by an unseen spirit and had to be carried out of the house. The next morning, he had finger marks along his neck and a black eye. Eider one night had the feeling that a knife was being driven into his back. The two have woken up with scratch marks along their bodies.

Two months ago, the team investigated a case that left them sleepless for a week. In that house, a seven year old boy watched his mother repeatedly stabbed in the chest and face, dying a short while afterwards from the injuries, then witnessed the killer stab himself, although he lived and was convicted for murder.

“That particular night, I was completely taken over by a murderer,” says Pistilli.

According to Stacie Barry, a case manager, there are allegedly photographs of Pistilli’s face and eye color changed, and he acted with incredible hatred and yet an unmatchable “high on life” feeling. He explains it as w inning t he lottery, having sex with a celebrity and scoring the winning point in the championship all at once, and at the same time knowing he was going to kill someone, knife in hand. Anticipation and thrill collided in a single terrifying moment of full-on possession.

After that incident, with its lack of closure, the team tracked down the grave of the mother. They said prayers and left crystals for her, hoping to help her pass on and allowing them to sleep again at night.

When we joined up with MCPI, we were investigating Ellison Park, which is about 20 minutes away from RIT. According to Pistilli, the park was founded in the 1600s and served as trading ground between the early settlers and the Native Americans. Somewhere in the park there was once a fort and a graveyard, but the tombstones have been moved and the location of the graves are now unknown.

For t he tea m, wa s a per fec t place to document the existence of ghosts.

“That particular night, I was completely taken over by a murderer.”

14 Features | 10.26.12

THE INVESTIGATION

W

e arrived at Ellison Park at about 7:20 p.m. Pistilli, Eider and Bestram were already there waiting for us, getting their equipment ready. As they prepared, the group explained their equipment, priming us for what we might expect to see that night.

Some of the equipment was fairly sophisticated and expensive, such as an infrared camera and voice recorder, as well as specialized devices such as the PX and an MEL Meter. A PX Device is a handheld which has a built-in dictionary of over 2,000 recorded words, and which will detect f luctuations in localized electromagnetic fields (EMF), translating them into phonetic words or sentences which it will play on a speaker.

According to the group, spirits give off electromagnetic fields, and use energy to interact with diodes in the PX. The PX also generates a lot of gibberish, leaving the group to determine the meaningful terms and divine the clues into a constructive story. This is used to listen to any nearby spirits which wish to communicate with the investigators. The MEL Meter is a combination of an ambient thermometer and an EMF detector, allowing the user to purportedly detect the presence and pinpoint the location of a spirit. Pistilli explained that everything they use and do is based on theory.

Pistilli described the group’s previous experience in the park, where they were contacted via the PX. It directed them to walk forward by issuing a series of numbers, corresponding roughly to how far they walked. The PX then said the word “hunt,” as a pair of rabbits ran across the trail in front of them. They wanted to bring us to the same spot, and attempt t o m a k e c ont a c t w it h the spirit again, so that t he y c ou ld d e t e r m i ne for cer ta in if t hey had made meaningful contact during their last visit. Says Pistilli, “Scientifically, if it doesn’t happen again, then it’s just coincidence.”

We set off into the park, which was unlit; the group was kind enough to loan us f lashlights. We walked about a quarter mile to the edge of a large swampy area, where they said they had seen something on the previous excursion.

Unfortunately, the PX gave not a peep, and the swamp was too wet for us to venture further into. Eider spotted a light occasionally flashing through some trees; after a few minutes of closer observation, though, this turned out to be headlights flashing from a far-off road.

We then abandoned the swampy area, and continued down a trail towards where they had the best results on their previous excursion. As we walked there, there were a number of possibly supernatural events. Pistilli thought he saw a shadowy figure standing in a field; but as he ran towards it, it was revealed to be a tree. In addition, several people reported transiently smelling burning wood, and

Rob Pistilli, founder of Monroe County Paranormal Investigations, listens to the PX device while conducting an investigation at Ellison Park in Penfield, N.Y., hoping to experience paranormal phenomena as he stated they had in the past.

at one point two people said they heard drumbeats issuing from a nearby hilltop; however, none of these phenomena were experienced by everyone in the group.

Reaching the bridge where the PX began speaking on the last excursion, Pistilli mentioned that he heard church bells; several others agreed that they had heard them too. There is no church near Ellison Park and it was 8:25 p.m.: an unusual time for church bells to ring.

As we crossed the bridge, the PX began to speak, issuing several unconnected words, and then as it continued it began a pattern of output. Several words were repeated, including “fort,” “highway,” “mercury” and “infantry.” MCPI immediately began stitching the fragments of words together into something of a coherent story.

Standing in a field, the PX repeating patterns of words, it was easy to see shadows moving in the trees. Pistilli reported seeing a figure at the base of the woods and ran directly towards. No one else in the group saw the apparition, but Pistilli swears he saw a full shadowy figure. Several members of the group also reported hearing footsteps, yet we could not find a source with our flashlights, which were fairly low powered. “We are not alone, I know that,” remarked Pistilli.

Eventually, as more words were spoken, they decided that two separate stories were being told through the PX, likely by two different spirits. One tale spoke of an infantry officer, while the other spoke of a car crash between a Saturn and a Mercury car on a nearby highway, possibly involving a teacher or a police officer. Several verbal appeals to the spirits for clarifications on several points went largely unanswered.

The one time the spirit responded was when Bestram and the three of us were alone standing next to the creek, the PX constantly repeating words. In playful anger, Bestram yelled at the spirit that it was talking a lot of gibberish and to talk slower. A few seconds passed, and the stream of words did in fact slow down. The same thing happened again about ten minutes later.

The MEL Meter was then used to attempt to find the spirit. The thermometer showed that as we crossed the bridge over the river, the temperature dropped about four degrees Fahrenheit, in a large mass of cold air. Several other lights were also reported by some group members on a nearby hill, which was far away from any roads or trails.

It was around then that the PX, very clearly, said “Matt driver,” and we caught it on the voice recorder.

At this point, we were informed by a park ranger that the park would be closing shortly, and that we had to leave. MCPI switched off their equipment, and we all drove off, to think and talk about the events that had transpired that night.

“We are not alone...”

15

ENJOYING

FEAR

by Amanda Imperial | illustration by Ethan Thornton

ecently, there has been much talk about the fictional persona known as Slenderman, an urban legend that started on the internet and has grown tremendously popular.

According to the story, someone or something is leaving notes on trees in the woods, as to resemble the currently popular game, “Slender.” Similar horror games have become popular like “Containment Breach,” in which the player must continue moving without letting the main enemy — a doll-like, concrete creature — see him. The only way to stop the enemy is to stare directly at it. Yet with a blink meter and a method of escape to consider, the game literally forces players to look directly into their greatest fears and not look away.

There is a sense of adrenaline that surges through the human body when danger is afoot, pushing one to sit on the edge of the seat without realizing it, as if to get closer to the fictional experience. What is it that is so enjoyable about being afraid? There are a few theories going as far back as Aristotle that speculate as to why this might be.

In an article for Psychology Today, psychologist Dr. Norman Holland states that Aristotle believed that the cognitive payoff of the experience makes the negative emotions more than worth it. Learning as a reward is also a mentioned theory of Aristotle’s: We as humans learn from all avenues, even from seeing painful things.

Evolution also suggests that both fear and disgust are common signals of danger and that for the sake of survival it is best to know the signs. However, Holland writes that this theory does not explain why people seek out horror experiences.

The immense satisfaction of relief, on the other hand, is an argument for those who seek the fear. Watching someone run from a man with a knife is only enjoyable once he is either free from harm or taken care of, and we can experience relief from the situation, according to a Daily Beast column by Reuters health and science correspondent Sharon Begley.

Just knowing that no matter what happens, regardless of whether it is a film or a haunted house, soon the experience will end and one will walk away unharmed, brings a sensational thrill. “We know before we enter the movie theater that we will feel fear during the movie or the story, but we also know that we will feel pleasure … because we know we won’t have to do anything about it,” writes Holland.

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16 Feature | 10.19.12

Predictability also contributes to this safe feeling, when similar horrific elements are patterned in other movies or experiences, some may get satisfaction and relief by just knowing they were right about who was going to die first. Begley writes that the horror genre often follows a Victorian moral code: The good and chaste will be rewarded — and evil punished — in the end, making it a harmless form of escapism.

Thrill-seeking is a contender with many theorists, such as Richard Trubo. In an article for WebMD, he states there are specific types of people that enjoy horror movies whether they seek thrill due to uneventful, closed-off lives or they enjoy the adrenaline rush and hard-beating hearts that result from being terrified. The concept is similar for people who enjoy roller coasters and skydiving.

Some people enjoy horrific movies due to the weird and foreign context presented within them. Specific kinds of viewers tend to enjoy the bizarre creatures or environments in which horror experiences take place. So their sense of curiosity and desire to understand that which is unknown fascinates these curious terror-seeking viewers.

Another theory, dubbed the “snuggle theory of horror enjoyment,” is based on the idea of the typical horror movie date, in which a girl clings to her boyfriend. In an Ignite presentation, PhD student Mike Battista states that this theory describes that in this situation males normally exaggerate positive reactions whereas females usually exaggerate negative reactions. Battista says that people enjoy horror films because they bring people together.

...Adrenaline surges through the human body when danger is afoot, pushing one to sit on the edge of the seat without realizing it, as if to get closer to the fictional experience.

There are a plethora of theories about the nature of the desire for unnatural fear.

Rega rd less of i nferences a nd t heor ies, what many people do not know is that the vulnerability that arises when faced with fictional fears deteriorates as people get older.

“Older adults tend not to seek out experiences that make their hearts race. They feel that real

life is scary enough,” says Begley. She says that the everyday challenges adults must deal with, like divorce or debt, are much scarier than anything fictional that might come from a movie or video game, and these artificial horrifying events become uninteresting.

For college students, Begley refers to a clinical psychologist Glenn Walters in his theory that horror movies appeal greatly to younger audiences as they use them as tools to cope with greater fears. “They can either succumb [to frightening images] or learn to manage,” says Walters. “By learning to suppress feelings and display mastery or cling to others in a dependent ploy for protection, a person learns to cope with another aspect of his or her environment, a skill that may be useful in dealing with more than just horror pictures.”

17

The Running Dead: The Halloween Blowout 5k

by Krista Bellardo | illustration by Katherine Dayton

Have you ever considered what it would be like to run from a zombie attack. How would you make it out alive? Could you successfully run for your life?

Now, RIT has yet another event to help answer this question. At the Halloween Blowout 5k: Run for Your Life on Saturday, October 27, runners can test their ability to stay alive while running from volunteer zombies.

Global Union (GU) President and fourth year Environmental Science major Harshita Sood said that the organization is excited about working with other Major Student Organizations (MSOs) to bring this brand new event to the RIT campus. RIT’s prevalent zombie culture, including multiple Humans versus Zombies games each year, suggests that this event could be just as successful. That’s why, instead of their traditional Halloween party, GU decided to try hosting this new event instead. “I don’t see this happening at every school,” said Sood. But one of their goals for the event still remains the same: to introduce international students to the American Halloween culture.

The run will begin at the field behind Nathaniel Rochester Hall (NRH, 43). Participants will run all the way to Greek Lawn on a zombie-infested track while trying to make it out alive. The rules are a bit like flag football.

Each participant will be given two flags at the beginning of the race, which represent their health. When both of your flags are gone, you have been infected.

18 Sports | 10.19.12

Volunteers from OUTspoken, WITR, Student Government and the honors program will be playing zombies, fully clad in gear and face makeup as they try to infect runners along he path. Don’t be fooled by the fact that most of the zombies are fellow students. They have been trained, so you better bring your “A” game if you want to make it out alive, especially since Nerf guns are not allowed. According to Sood, the runners won’t be able to kill these zombies. Their only defense is speed.

If you make it out alive, or with at least one flag remaining, you may also win a prize. First place finishers in both the men’s and women’s divisions will receive a $100 gift card. Second place finishers in each division will receive a $50 gift card. Even if you don’t end up surviving, the finish line will have free food provided by the English Language Center.

While the run is not a full 5k, it is still a little over two miles. The organizers decided to end the race at Greek Lawn so that participants could attend the men’s soccer game directly following the run.

Participants can pre-register at either the Residence Halls Association (RHA) or GU offices for $3, or they can register the day of the event for $5. Money raised from the run will go to a collective fund that will help MSOs plan future events. Check in starts at 10 a.m. on the day of the race with the race itself starting at 11:15 a.m. and ending around 12:15 p.m. Be sure to get there early to be a part of the pre-race games, entertainment and for a refresher on the rules.

RIT Hockey Dream Rink Finally Becoming a Reality

by Kayla Emerson photograph by Max Hautaniemi

“I thought I was going to a groundbreaking, and a pep rally broke out here: this is awesome,” said RIT Men’s Hockey Head Coach Wayne Wilson at the podium. A small marquee tent in U-lot was filled with excitement during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gene Polisseni Center. Cowbells given out before the ceremony rang along with applause after each address. The tent was filled with attendees, including the RIT Women and Men’s Hockey teams, a local youth team, the Rochester Monarchs, RIT leadership, and distinguished donors, supporters, and builders of the Center. Corner Crew and Pep Band kept the energy up before and during the ceremony.

RIT hockey announcer Rocky Perrotta kicked off the proceedings in his usual robust style: “Here’s the starting lineup for today’s groundbreaking ceremony. For your RIT Tigers, starting at President, Dr. Bill Destler!”

Cue cowbells and Corner Crew’s rendition of “Hail To The Chief.” Each honored guest that Rocky announced ran through the entry tunnel formed by the Monarchs’ raised sticks.

The first address was given by Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Mary-Beth Cooper. “This is a day that we’ve been thinking about for awhile,” she said “In particular, we’ve been thinking about it since 2004,

when we made the decision to take our men’s team to Division I.” Now that the women’s team is also Division I, a bigger arena is even more urgent. The Tigers need ice size big enough for tournament play in their new leagues, as well as more seating. According to Coach Wilson, the new arena will hold 4,500 people and be ticketed by seat, whereas Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena holds 2,100 and is ticketed as general admission.

According to the Tiger Power Play website, the official fundraising campaign for the Gene Polisseni Center, the new arena will cost $30 million. The Institute is planning to raise half the cost through Tiger Power Play; according to Destler, we’re already two-thirds of the way there. The other $15 million will be raised through revenues from the arena itself, according to the Tiger Power Play website. The rink will be placed in U-lot, and is scheduled to be completed in time to host the Tigers’ 2014 hockey season.

Destler spoke enthusiastically about the benefits the campus and community will reap because of the new center: First, hockey will continue to be an important contributor to school spirit and pride, as it is now. For those who find out about RIT through watching college hockey, “They will see a facility that makes them want to learn more about a school that produces such a fantastic fan experience to go along with the world’s best educational programs and two amazing teams.” The word about RIT will spread. Those who have contributed their time and money to this arena will benefit thousands of individuals, including students, alumni, and Tiger fans everywhere, said Destler.

The tent was overflowing with gratitude towards the donors, not the least of which were Tom Golisano and the Polisseni Foundation, who together decided the name of the new Gene Polisseni Center.

But Greg Polisseni, Gene Polisseni’s son, thanked RIT: “My father, he was hockey, he lived hockey, he breathed hockey…and RIT is hockey. My father would travel the world to find a good game, and that’s what we have here.” Gene Polisseni was intimately involved in hockey in the Rochester community. Because of this, Greg Polisseni thanked RIT for the opportunity to be part of this campus in honor of his father’s memory.

For more information on the Tiger Power Play and the Gene Polisseni Center, visit www.rit.edu/powerplay.

Steve Schultz, 1989 RIT graduate, throws a stick full of dirt at the corner crew after they harass him during the ground break ceremony for the new Gene Polisseni Center Friday, October 19.

19

Passion with a Hint of Fear Sexy Halloween costumes? Is this really something we debate about now? The entire concept is ridiculous. Halloween is an adult holiday, and yet there is suddenly a controversy over the way we choose to celebrate it. Not only is sexuality a natural part of celebrations, but sexy Halloween costumes are actually beneficial to society.

Adults celebrate holidays differently than children, which is to be expected. This is due to different factors such as maturity, different social culture (drinking culture,

20 Views | 10.26.12

by Cadence Schwartz | illustration by Emily Gage for example) and of course hormones and an interest in sexuality. This can be seen in many different holidays, not just Halloween. Children like Valentine’s Day for the cards while adults like it for the romance and sex. Kids like St. Patrick’s Day for the parades, while adults like it for the partying and sex.

Why, then, is it such a surprise that while kids like Halloween for the candy and princess costumes, adults like it for the horror and sex? You don’t even have to leave campus to see couples going on haunted trails. The image of a significant other hanging off the guy’s arm, terrified, and him putting on a grand show of being macho and protecting them, making it clear he hopes it leads to a sexual advance.

You can’t separate humans from their sexuality, and because of that, you can’t separate it from human celebrations either.

Sexuality is often repressed in our culture. Unfortunately, individuals who try and express it are often publicly shamed and ostracized with words such as “slut” and “hussy” almost as though they are less than human just because of the way they dress. As a society, we normally hide our sexuality and pretend that it does not even exist. After all, it was not long ago the sight of ankles was considered scandalous and students were taught that women did not masturbate.

The truth is, it feels good to be appreciated for your body by attractive individuals and to check them out and appreciate in turn.

Holidays such as Halloween give people an excuse to dress and act in a “sexual” manner without the social backlash that it would give them on any other day. Yes, some individuals go beyond what might be sightly, but there will always be “that guy” in any group of people. Also, exposure to more “sexy” outfits, even if it is only for holidays, leads to more social acceptance of that type of dress and sexuality in general.

After all, if you see the same thing over and over again, it is no longer novel.

Even in the face of all this, there are some people who claim that Halloween is a children’s holiday and should not be ruined by adult celebrations. According to a report from the University of Albany, however, Halloween originated as the Celtic holiday Samhain (meaning “summer’s end”), which was both a celebration and a way of warding off evil spirits.

The holiday, which was described as a “great fire festival,” included events such as dancing around bonfires, burning crops, and sacrificing animals.

Samhain was not the sugar-filled fairy-fest children celebrate today. In fact, the whole concept of “trick or treating” was not introduced until Samhain had been revised several times and moved to America. Even then, “trick or treating” was done by adults and was only rebranded towards children in the 1950s to limit the amount of vandalism done during the “tricking” aspect. Halloween is traditionally an adult holiday, so why should it come as a surprise that adults want to celebrate it?

W

hatever happened to Halloween being scary? The days of running around the neighborhood decked out in Halloween gear clutching huge pillowcases that were half your weight in sweets are long gone.

Indeed, the only thing frightening about stepping into a college Halloween party is the danger of catching a glance of someone’s junk.

Halloween was great fun as a kid. Running between houses with your friends as fast as possible to fuel a future candy habit made it one of the best nights of the year. Costumes, too, made for a memorable experience. There were always those generic princess, witch and superhero costumes, but besides those there was a huge variety. Kids that dressed up as animals were actually animals. Unfortunately as we all got older, the costumes got a lot less interesting. Halloween went from an innocent, exciting pastime to a festival of scantily clad women and men.

In school, many of us were taught that Halloween began as a superstitious holiday, a night where ghosts were believed to come back to earth and caused mischief. People even wore masks to hide their identities from the ghosts that came back, but it’s doubtful the people of that time ran around in their underwear with bunny ears on. Nobody seems to know much about when or where revealing Halloween costumes came from, but many people do enjoy watching and interacting with hordes of barely clothed, inebriated women.

As the film “Mean Girls” states, “Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” But what is the point? Halloween is rather degrading to women, as it creates a culture that portrays women as completely sexualized entities. In addition to not wearing clothes, people often have a little too much drink. Having participated in such festivities before, it is never enjoyable to watch, or be, “Little Bo Peep Show” puking into the bushes behind the apartments or “Sexy Tinkerbell” falling down the stairs.

People sometimes claim that Halloween is a time to express yourself and that this practice is not at all demeaning to women.

But when girls wear highly revealing Halloween costumes, what are they actually expressing? These revealing costumes really just convey the message that you are out for coitus, even if you are not. I don’t understand how people find it fun to be dressed in minimal clothing during the fall. It’s not exactly logical to be shivering just for the purpose of dressing like a hussy for the night. It’s actually difficult to buy a normal Halloween costume; most of the costumes available are along the lines of “Sexy Border Patrol,” “Sexy Fireman” and “Sexy Nemo” outfits. Nemo is not even sexy; he is a fish. Somehow retailers have turned him into a skimpy outfit as well.

Not only is dressing in as little clothing as possible illogical during the fall, it is generic and boring. There is little point in dressing like a strumpet, even if it is just once a year. If you’re going to dress up this Halloween, be creative. The slutty outfits are overdone; maybe it’s time to try something new. Maybe then Halloween will be interesting again, and everyone can have fun without accidentally flashing someone.

The Candy Has Already Been Unwrapped

by Amy Sanderson | illustration by Emily Gage

21

your life was a horror movie, WORDONTHESTREET: Ifwhat would the title be? photographs by Will Palmer

1

2

3

4

1 Bavik Ghaghada, Graduate Electrical Engineering

“The Dancing Ghost” 2 Kelly Rodgers, Second year Woodworking

“Something Unnecessarily Gory” 3 Peter Cayer, Third year Film and Animation

“Sh*t man, I don’t know…”

4 Robert Carroll, Visitor (Dates a student.)

“Attack of the Wild Roses.”

MONDAY (txt) 3:07 p.m.

WEDNESDAY (txt) 2:02 p.m.

WEDNESDAY (txt) 1:18 p.m.

THURSDAY (txt) 12:21 p.m.

Can we please get more variety in RINGS? The quality has gone down in recent years; now it’s full of cliche nerd jokes and misogyny.

Dear royal bacon bits at Brick City, I will cherish your memory forever. Goodbye.

RINGS 585.672.4840 All calls subject to editing and truncation.

Not all calls will be run. Reporter reserves the right to publish all calls in any format.

I’m pretty sure I’m giving a giant “[frap] you” to Java Wally’s by drinking Artesano’s at the library.

Dear Neighbors: I know it’s midterms week and you are really stressed out pulling an all-nighter with your study group, but that’s not an excuse to have a kareoke session of all Flo Rida songs.

FRIDAY (txt) 8:39 p.m.

That awkward moment as an RA when you stand behind your resident who happens to be buying tissues and lube.

SUNDAY (txt) 10:03 p.m.

I’ve got a question. If the folks across the hall start blasting generically vulgar music, is it alright to fight back by blaring songs about calulus?

compiled by Brett Slabaugh

WEDNESDAY (txt) 2:59 p.m.

RINGS, I just saw a wasp the size of my [buzzing] thumb out in the Kodak Quad.

Mutant or trackerjacker?

MONDAY (txt) 7:13 p.m.

Why the [nelly] does RIT send us emails with images of URLs?!

We’re supposed to be an institute of Technology, but the folks at Message Center can’t use email.

THURSDAY (txt) 2:50 p.m.

The violin kid outside 7B makes my 10-minute break far more whimsical.

23

R R FO E T N E CE H T D BY E R NSO SPO

LIFE S U P CAM

OCTOBER 31 FIRESIDE LO UNGE 12:00 - 2:00 PM Bringing students and faculty together for a haunted house and spooktacular activities!

Costumes are encouraged!