October 3, 2012

IN SGI WE TRUST?

E-BOARD CONTINUES TO DELAY BUDGET RELEASE

PG. 3, 6 Torch photo illustration/ kristen farmer

WHAT’S INSIDE News.......................1-5 Lifestyle..............15-20 Opinion..................6-14 Sports.................21-24

Features

#DieSlow Intramural flag football team documents its rise to the top.

Lifestyle Pg. 18

Can’t get enough of the Torch?

Visit our website at: torchonline.com “Think Outside. . .”

Photo of the Week

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Managing Board XC

Directory

Michael E. Cunniff, Editor-in-Chief Nicole Valente, Managing Editor Jessica Lise, General Manager anthony o’reilly

mitchell petit-frere

kieran lynch

diamond watts-walker

News Editor

Features Editor peter long

Entertainment Editor kristen farmer

Photo Editor

Sports Editor Art Director sarah yu

Chief Copy Editor jim baumbach

Advisor

Advertising (718)-9906756 Business 990-6756 Editorial Board 990-6444

Features 990-6445 News 990-6444 Opinion 990-6445 Sports 990-6444

Special thanks to Richard Rex Thomas for assisting in the design of The Torch

Music Global Citizen Music Festival The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and Neil Young take over Central Park for the Global Citizen Music Festival

Lifestyle Pg. 17 Lifestyle Rugby Alumni Club Alumni look to revitalize University interest in the world of rugby.

Torch Photo/Anthony O’Reilly

Lifestyle Pg. 15

Sports Senior Spectacle Stefansdottir, Klement score in rout of Seton Hall.

Sports Pg. 21

Illustrator’s Corner

opinion pg. 6

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Johnny Thunderbird rappels down the side of the Harborside Financial Plaza Building on Sept. 28 to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Think Outside...

News

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Torch Still no SGI budget Briefs Financial report promised in ‘next few weeks’ Anthony O’Reilly News Editor Nicole Valente Managing Editor MICHAEL E. CUNNIFF Editor-in-Chief Student Government, Inc. on Oct. 11 announced plans to release a detailed financial report in an attempt to appease students who have requested the release of its complete 2012-13 budget.

The budget, which includes its planned expenditures for the school year, was passed by unanimous vote Sept. 10, but SGI representatives have refused the Torch’s repeated requests to make it public.

Responding to questions from Torch reporters at its floor meeting Monday at Bent Hall, SGI representatives said, instead, a financial report was being drafted by the e-board; adding that “full disclosure” would come “in the next few weeks.”

The organization has set a selfimposed deadline for first draft of the report on Oct. 4, according to Senior

Senator Nicole Mastrangelo. SGI, however, appears to still have no plans to release its full, unrefined budget, despite numerous requests, and e-board members declined a request this week to meet with The Torch editorial board under any circumstance that included access to the budget.

Speaking after the floor meeting Monday, treasurer Elaine Vasquez claimed students have requested to see the budget outside of SGI meetings and that SGI has complied with their requests. But SGI representatives have consistently refused to show its budget to the student newspaper since the start of the school year.

In addition, several e-board members have made it clear that any student is invited to come to the floor meetings and view the budget as part of the full presentation to its floor members.

According to Vasquez, SGI did not prepare a financial report for the previous academic year but said it is common practice for non-profit corporations to do so.

An email sent to SGI floor members told them to redirect any questions they might receive about the financial report to Secretary Elizabeth Sheehan, a voting member of SGI told the Torch.

During Monday’s floor meeting,

which is open to the St. John’s community to attend, the Torch was rebuffed when voicing concerns about the unpublished budget.

When the Torch asked about the budget during the treasurer’s report, SGI advisor and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, Danny Trujillo, asked if the questions were part of the general procedure of floor meetings, effectively postponing any questions in the public forum.

And after Torch reporters had taken photos of the budget that was displayed on a PowerPoint presentation during the meeting, Trujillo later asked to see the reporter’s phone.

SGI President Christian Williams told the Torch on Sept. 11 that he had “no problem” with the full budget being released, pending a meeting with Trujillo, but he has since tempered that position — only acquiescing to the release of a financial report.

From July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, SGI’s main source of revenue came from student activity fees, which for the Queens campus is $95 per student per semester according to the most recent tax returns obtained by the Torch. In the 2010/11 school year, SGI received $1.1 million in revenue, as well as close to $200,000 from “St. John’s programs.”

Self-esteem project brought to campus

Michael E. Cunniff Editor-in-Chief

Jackie and Warren Hance were thrust in the national spotlight after their three daughters were tragically killed in July 2009 in a wrong-way automobile accident on the Taconic State Parkway that became national news.

Emma, Allyson and Kate Hance, aged 8, 7 and 5 respectively, died after their aunt, who authorities later said was drunk on vodka and high on marijuana, drove more than a mile the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway before getting in a head-on collision that left eight dead, and the Hance family shattered.

As part of their efforts to move on from the tragedy, they embraced the memory of their daughters by establishing the Hance Family Foundation in September of that year, and a program called “Beautiful Me” that promoted self-esteem in children.

Four thousand inspired young girls later, the foundation has begun tailoring its message to an older crowd, which is what brought them to St. John’s on Oct. 1 to work with female campus ministry students on issues like body image and self-esteem. So how and why did they choose St. John’s?

The daughter of Dr. Pamela SheaByrnes, vice president for University ministry and University events, was one

photo courtesy of media relations

Kate Tuffy and Liz Munro, program education directors for “Beautiful Me,” spoke at St. Thomas More Church on Oct. 1.

of those 4,000 young girls to participate in “Beautiful Me.” Shea-Byrnes left with one thing in mind. “I’ve got to get ‘Beautiful Me’ to St. John’s,” she said.

The about 40 campus ministry students were the first participants in the college version of “Beautiful Me,” and participants walked away impressed.

“I thought it was an inspiring program,” said Kelly Sweeney, a senior.

“I was able to see that most girls deal with self-esteem issues, which is a huge problem.”

Kate Tuffy, one of the program’s education directors and a friend of the Hances, said Warren Hance came up with the idea of establishing a foundation just two days after the deaths of Kate, Emma and Allyson, and started with the girls’ elementary school classmates. The program is designed to include an aspect of all three girls’ personalities.

“I would ask Jackie things like, ‘how would Kate respond to auditioning a play where she didn’t think she would get the lead?” Tuffy said in describing the influence of the girls on “Beautiful Me”.

The spirit of the three girls is very much alive in the program. It began with a slide show of photos of the girls, leaving Warren Hance, who introduced the program, wiping away tears, before the women in attendance broke into groups to talk about women’s issues.

The staff and volunteers at “Beautiful Me” will be back at St. John’s on Oct. 16, this time to talk to sorority sisters and pledges about the same themes that they’ve talked about with young girls, high school students and campus ministry members.

Compiled by Anthony O’Reilly News Editor

Annual campus security report released As required by the Clery Act, the annual Security and Fire Safety Report was released to the University community through e-mail on Sept. 27. The report, avaliable on the University’s website, details the number of crimes committed on and around campus in the past three years. The report shows that a fire in DaSilva Hall, which the report says was caused by a candle in the closet, cost a little more than $300,000 in damages.

Take back the night rally The annual Take Back the Night Rally will take place Oct. 4 in front of the D’Angelo Center. The rally allows students to voice their concerns about the issue of violence towards women.

The event starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 8.

Cara Hoffman to visit campus Cara Hoffman, author of “So Much Pretty,” will be hosting several events to promote the “Take Back the Night Rally” on Oct. 4. Hoffman will present an Academic Lecture Series during common hour, following a one-on-one discussion with students following the lecture.

Online exclusives

To see stories not in the paper edition of the Torch, visit our website, torchonline. com. Stories on National Hazing Prevention Week, Career Week and Latino Heritage Month are only avaliable online.

University serves community 4

Shannon Luibrand Staff Writer

The University participated in the 11th annual University Service Day, a day in which students, alumni and faculty went to various service sites to work in community service.

The day of service is the culminating event of Founder’s Week and took place the day after the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of the University.

According to Lucy Pesce, Executive Director for Mission at the Office of Vincentian Mission, more than 1,000 students participated at the Queens campus at a little more than 100 sites around the metropolitan New York area.

Pesce said while the number of students may not have increased drastically from last year, she said the diversity of the

students did.

“This year we had a lot more freshman than usual,” she said.

Oscar Diaz, Vice President of Student Government, Inc., was sent to work with Give Kids the World Village for the day of service.

According to Diaz, the University and Give Kids the World, have a close relationship, sending different students every year to Florida, to work with terminally-ill children.

“This is a cause we strongly stand behind,” he said. “During University Service Day we made a ton of cards that will put smiles on the faces of the children and their families.”

Joseph Reis, a junior and member of the Catholic Student Community worked at the Catholic Charities Home for the day.

Reis explained he spent the day working

with high functioning mentally disabled adults through activities such as arts and crafts and games.

“Even though we got beat at Candy Land and Wii bowling,” Reis joked, “We shared in laughter and learned about how incredible each and every one of those adults are.”

Angelique Hassanein, a first time participant in University Service Day and a member of Gamma Phi Beta, worked to renovate the Catholic Charities Regina Residence in Merrick, Long Island.

Hassanein said she felt the service had a positive impact, not only on the people they were serving, but on herself as well.

“It was enjoyable to do something good for others and at the same time I had this amazing rewarding feeling,” she said.

Torch photo/ diana colapietro

More than 1,000 people participated in the eleventh annual University Service Day on Sept. 28.

‘Street Fight’ comes to Law School Jarrod Jenkins Staff Writer The University held a showing and discussion of the Grammy-nominated documentary “Street Fight” in the Law school on Oct 1. Following the screening, the director of the film, Marshall Curry, answered questions from students.

Street Fight is a documentary film, showing the street level politics and tactics during the 2002 mayoral race in Newark.

Immediately following the film was a question and answer with Curry and award winning investigative journalist of WNYC Bob Hennelly, who discussed the deeper socio-political issues concerning race, ethics and campaigning in modern urban politics.

Curry said modern media covers politics by making both sides look equally corrupt to avoid seeming biased, when they should solely call out only the party involved in the wrongdoing.

“One the of the things that really frustrated me during the campaign and frankly about the way the media covers campaigns in general is the way they always try to make both sides be equivalent,” he said.

“It actually gives you a distorted

view because it would be extraordinary if in every debate the Democrats and Republicans exaggerated or lied the same amount of times.”

Senior Mike Biacchi said he felt the movie and Q&A discussion were informative and exposed the reality of both politics and media.

“The movie was really good. It showed a lot of things that happen in everyday politics,” he said. “I guess you would say the darker side of politics.”

“It shows the power of incumbency

that we have, that if someone has been in office for a very long time you just get used to them.”

Curry said the film was not only an insightful way for him to start his filmmaking career, but that the race was also a historical part of American history.

“I thought it was a very interesting time in African-American contemporary history where for the first time you have lots of young black people running for office who were born after the civil rights movement take on incumbency.”

Photo courtesy of media relations

Filmmaker Marshall Curry hosted a Q&A about his film, “Street Fight.”

Johnny Thunderbird flies Anthony O’Reilly News Editor

Despite the challenge of a windy and rainy day, Johnny Thunderbird, along with several other celebrities and VIPs, successfully rappelled down a 470-foot building for an event that raised more than $250,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society, on Sept. 27.

Over the Edge, the name of the fundraiser, is an annual event held in different cities across the country by the ACS to help raise awareness and donations for cancer research.

According to Division Director of Coaches vs. Cancer, Anthony Marino, this was the first year Over the Edge took place in this location.

Marino, in an interview with the Torch, said he was glad that the University was continuing their partnership with Coaches vs. Cancer in new and exciting ways.

“St. John’s has been such a great supporter of Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society,” he said.

“We spoke with Mark Fratto [Director of Athletics Communication] and he said ‘What about having Johnny Thunderbird go down’ and we thought that would be something fun and unique.”

The man in the suit, Clint Wolfrom, admitted to having doubts about doing the stunt once he saw the challenge ahead of him.

“At first, I was really confident and pumped up to do it,” he said.

“Once I got up on the roof I immediately regretted doing it. I said to myself ‘I’m not sure about this’” Johnny joined celebrities such as Greg T. from the “Elvis Duran and Morning Show”, FDNY Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano, Tina Cervasio from the MSG Network and Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice for the stunt.

After a delay due to heavy rain and wind, the participants were equipped with full rappelling gear and sent to the roof of the building where they received a quick training session, learning the mechanics of rappelling.

While preparing for the near 500-foot stunt, Wolfrom lost his footing at the edge of the roof. “My first instinct was to fly to safety,” he said. “I was worried I couldn’t get back to the correct form.”

Wolfrom eventually regained his footing and started to rappel down the building, a journey that would last about ten minutes. Wolfrom said however the process was not as easy as he would’ve liked it to be.

“I lost the strength in my forearm about halfway down,” he said. “I was afraid that I was going to be stuck there.”

Once he reached the bottom, Wolfrom celebrated his accomplishment by dancing for the crowd at the bottom, the energy to do so, he said, came out of nowhere.

“I was so relieved to hit the bottom,” he said. “I could barely stand up but I felt like I should’ve put on a show.”

When asked if he would rather had a professional down in the suit, Wolfrom simply said, “No.” “Johnny Thunderbird does his own stunts. I’d still do it again.”

Think Outside...

Politics

Pa. judge blocks part of ID law

A Pennsylvania state judge on Oct. 2 dealt a blow to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney a blow when he delayed the implementation of a major part of the state’s controversial new voter identification law from until after the election.

The judge, Robert Simpson, had previously upheld the law, which would require prospective voters to show ID in order to vote. Now, the judge ruled that because of the slow pace of issuing IDs to those who need them, voters would not be required to show identification to vote, although poll workers can still ask for it.

“I expected more photo IDs to have been issued by this time,” he wrote in his decision.

“Under these circumstances, I am obliged to enter a preliminary injunction.”

The ruling is thought to benefit President Obama and the Democrats, as critics of the law argued that the law would disproportionately affect minority and lowincome voters, who are less likely to have IDs. “We are very glad voters will not be turned away from the polls this November if they do have an ID,” Judith Browne, codirector of Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, said in a statement. “The evidence made it clear to the judge that this law would indeed disenfranchise voters and that the Commonwealth was not equipped to implement it fairly.”

The bill was passed in the spring by Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled legislature, and is one of 11 similar bills that Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia have been passed in Republican-controlled Pennsylvania voters will not be required to show photo ID to vote. states in advance of the 2012 election season. Critics of the laws say that they are Other forms of voter ID laws have been designed for political purposes — to boost Policy Research, a conservative think tank.

In Pennsylvania, the state admitted in overturned in state courts in Wisconsin, the chances of the GOP, but supporters of the law insist that they are simply trying to court depositions that was not aware of a Texas and Ohio but upheld in New single case of in-person voter fraud, and Hampshire. Indiana’s voter ID law, passed protect the integrity of the voting process.

“Judge Simpson should have held strong Pennsylvania House Majority leader Mike before the 2008 election, was upheld by the to his prior convictions and the rule of law, Turzai, a Republican, told supporters at a U.S. Supreme Court.

(Torch Staff) rather than bending to the race baiters and fundraiser in June, “Voter ID, which is going fraud enablers,” said Justin Danhof, general to allow Governor Romney to win the state counsel of the National Center for Public of Pennsylvania - done.”

Know the Vote: Immigration The story has been told over and over again: America was founded and built by immigrants. In the past few years however, immigration has become one of the most controversial issues, not only in politics, but in society as well. Immigration has sparked debates about equality and racism, mostly in states bordering Mexico but has found its way into the national discussion.

DEMOCRATS BELIEVE According to the 2012 DNC platform, the Democrats are looking for a compromise between economic stability, while working to still allow future immigrants into the country. “The story of the United States would not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have strengthened our country and contributed to our economy. Our prosperity depends on an immigration system that reflects our values and meets America’s needs. But Americans know that today, our immigration system is badly broken – separating families, undermining honest employers and workers, burdening law enforcement, and leaving millions of people working and living in the shadows.”

REPUBLICANS BELIEVE

The Republicans, in their platform, put a strict emphasis on immigrants coming into the country to work must do so in a lawful manner. “We recognize that for most of those seeking entry into this country, the lack of respect for the rule of law in their homelands has meant economic exploitation and political oppression by corrupt elites. In this country, the rule of law guarantees equal treatment to every individual, including more than one

million immigrants to whom we grant permanent residence every year. That is why we oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by intentionally violating the law, disadvantage those who have obeyed it. Granting amnesty only rewards and encourages more law breaking.”

(Torch Staff) In advance of the 2012 Elections, The Torch will be running summaries of the two major parties’ positions on key issues in the presidential campaign.

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Latest Polls Rasmussen Polls - as of 9/2910/1 Barack Obama: 48% Mitt Romney: 47%

Gallup Polls - as of 9/25-10/1 Barack Obama: 50% Mitt Romney: 44%

CNN/ORC International - as of 9/28-30 Barack Obama: 50% Mitt Romney: 47%

ABC News/Washington Post - as of 9/26-29 Barack Obama: 49% Mitt Romney: 47%

Real Clear Politics Average - as of 9/24-10/1 Barack Obama: 49% Mitt Romney: 45.7%

“Seventy percent of Americans want the American dream.

They believe in the American idea. Only 30 percent want the welfare state...Before too long, we could become a society where the net majority of Americans are takers, not makers.”

- Republican nominee for Vice President, Paul Ryan.

The U.S.-Mexico border.

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia

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Editorial Board XC

MICHAEL E. CUNNIFF Editor-in-Chief

Illustrator’s Corner

NICOLE VALENTE Managing Editor JESSICA LISE General Manager ANTHONY O’REILLY News Editor

FLAMES OF THE TORCH

Transparency in SGI, part III

Three weeks after the Student Government, Inc. budget for the 2012/13 school year was voted on and approved in a public floor meeting, the Torch is still waiting to see it.

We originally took the e-board at its word when President Christian Williams promised transparency. However, it appears as if the status quo of keeping the inner workings of its operations private is really what they want, or perhaps are too disorganized to decide how to handle this request. Which is worse, we don’t know.

But SGI’s opacity goes beyond its refusal to detail the contents of its budget — this saga has exposed the organization for what it really is and considers itself — a corporation first, not a democratically elected government.

If you Google “federal budget,” you can quickly access the United States outlays in raw form on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet — detailing everything from defense spending to Senate barber shop expenses. If you try to take a photo of the SGI budget, a St. John’s administrator asks to see your phone, as SGI advisor Danny Trujillo did to one of our editors.

SGI doesn’t operate like the U.S. government because they don’t consider themselves to be a government at all. In our (at times contentious) dealings with SGI, e-board members have made it perfectly clear that they consider themselves to be running a corporation. In other words, the Inc. in Student Government, Inc. is the most important word (or abbreviation).

At one point, Treasurer Elaine Vazquez asked if we knew how a business works. Our answer is twofold. First, yes, we do (the Torch handles all its own finances like SGI, and unlike SGI, raises all its own money from advertisers, not unwitting St. John’s students). Second-

ly, we didn’t realize that SGI conducted itself like a business. We had (in hindsight, foolishly) assumed that it operated like a government, which, in America at least, includes transparent and unedited budget releases in addition to the “financial reports,” that are spun to make the organization look good. SGI, unsurprisingly, plans to only do the latter, and seems to think they’re doing us a favor by doing that.

What students should be most upset about, however, has been how much better and smarter the e-board thinks they are than the rest of us. Implicit in all of its rationalizing the delay of the publication of its finances is the idea that if the average student were to look at the budget without the patient explanation from its elected leaders, he or she would unable to understand the contents. Have some more respect for your fellow students. After all, don’t we all attend the same University? We’re your peers, and SGI should start treating us that way.

The shining star of this e-board has been Senior Senator Nicole Mastrangelo. She has been every bit of the professional representative. She has not shied away from speaking to the Torch and has been very clear in her answers.

We have no doubt that if the rest of the board conducted themselves as she has, this would have ceased to be an issue weeks ago.

We’d like to remind the members of SGI’s e-board that they are spending our money. Our money paid the $12,000 to house Williams and Vazquez over the summer, and our money pays for the t-shirts that Vice President Oscar Diaz distributes to his flag football team.

It’s our money. Show us how you’re spending it — without spin. Let us come to our own conclusions about the job you’re doing

TORCH ILLUSTRATION/ DANIELA CASTILLO

STUDENTSPARKS: ARE YOU WATCHING THE DEBATE?

Katie Pruneda Freshman

Connor Quinn Junior

“I’m probably going to go to the gym instead.”

“I’m going to be in class, but I’ll definitely check out the highlights afterward.”

Nicole Oliver Junior

Marc Speed Junior

EDITORIAL POLICY

Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The TORCH. Columns are the opinions of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of The TORCH. Opin-

ions expressed in editorials, columns, letters or cartoons are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty or administrations of St. John’s University.

TO CONTRIBUTE Mail letters to: The TORCH, St. John’s University 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 Submit letters via e-mail at: torcheic@gmail.com

Please include your full name, year, and college (or department). Letters have a limit of 500 words and may be edited for content, grammar, or space. Unverifiable or anonymous letters will not be published.

All letters are subject to the approval of the Editorial Board of The TORCH.

“I’ll watch it. It’s going to be cool to see how arguments ... play out. I think Mitt Romney’s going to get grilled.”

“I’m going to be watching it in the Org Lounge with Alpha Phi Alpha. Afterward we’re going to have a debate about the issues, about the different

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In search of a 2012 Richard Nixon Question: Which party platform for an incumbent president brags about ending a seemingly endless war, signing treaties to limit nuclear weapons, cutting defense spending and raising taxes.

Barack Obama and the Democrats in 2012? No, the correct answer is Richard Nixon and the Republicans in 1972.

A million things can happen in the next 34 days, but it looks like President Obama is going to be reelected.

Regardless of who wins this election battle, however, it doesn’t matter — the farright is winning the war, and it’s not close.

Since the days of Nixon, the playing field in which political battles are waged has tilted so far to the right that the Democrats are now to the right of where Republicans used to be.

Don’t believe me? Try this. Far from calling a universal health care law a socialist, unconstitutional government overreach, like 2012 Republicans do, the 1972 Republican platform says the reason universal health care has not been passed is because the Democrats dragged their feet on the issue. And the 40-year-old Republican plan proposes federal subsidies to build on the current private insurance

structure and insure all Americans.

Sound familiar? It should — it’s the basic framework of the 2009 Affordable Care Act that got passed into law and cemented Obama’s reputation as a Commie in disguise.

And what about on social issues? Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee has promised to “get rid of that” in regards to funding for Planned Parenthood. Forty years ago, Republicans boasted about increasing funding for family planning services threefold.

I could go on, but the point is this — Republicans in 1972 were broadly at a similar point in the political spectrum as Democrats are today.

Actually, that’s not even accurate.

When factoring in the wage and price controls Nixon instituted in his first term, a government intervention into the economy Obama would never dream of, 1972 Republicans may well have been to the left of today’s Democrats. So what happened?

Well, to boil it down, Ronald Reagan happened. The Gipper cobbled together an unlikely coalition of the religious right, social conservatives and the business community to win the White House, and the party has never looked back. Today, nearly every Republican i n Congress has signed a pledge that promises that Republicans and tax increases are never, ever, ever getting back together, not even if the tax increases are really nice and tell them how much they love them and that they’re actual going to lower rates and close loopholes to make the tax system more equitable.

And Romney, he of the “get rid of that”

attitude toward federally funded family planning, is distrusted by the most ardent social conservatives in his party for not being solid enough on the issue. You really can’t make this stuff up.

As for the Democrats, instead of standing their ground, they’ve become “Republican-lite,” moving right on issues like gun control, taxes and health care. They gave up compelling arguments for the merits of a single-payer health care system, a more progressive tax code and, until Rep. Todd Akin made his “legitimate rape” comment, a woman’s right to control her body.

Liberals have found themselves with no party that really represents them, and a president that ignores them whenever convenient.

And it appears as if the media, and others who follow politics, have largely failed to notice this trend — which is why a moderate like Obama or Bill Clinton gets tarred as a socialist, while Actual Socialists like Michael Moore throw up their hands and ask, “what about us?”

If Obama wins reelection, real liberals’ celebrations will be more like sighs of relief — he’ll never really fight for the progressive causes, but he won’t undermine them either, except when he does (like, in the absence of real immigration reform, deporting more undocumented immigrants than any president ever).

Of course, Obama couldn’t have passed most policies preferred by liberals anyway — not with Republican intransigence in Congress at an all-time high (I’m not just saying that either; it’s

been widely documented).

But, if he was really a socialist, or even a real liberal, the least he would have done is fought for them. It may have made his reelection prospects a little more difficult, but long-term, it could have helped begin the process of reestablishing the Democrats as the party of liberals, not just the party that’s not Republicans.

If this narrative sounds depressing for liberals, well, maybe we’re at a tipping point. The electorate has (so far) rightly rejected Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s budget plan, which would voucherize Medicare for most and slash tax rates on the rich while cutting federal programs to historic lows, as too radical, and Romney’s “47 percent” comments may have doomed his election chances.

Maybe this election will mark the year that the field began to tilt the other way — when our politics started moving leftward for the first time in nearly half a century and when we reject, once and for all, the social Darwinism that the Republicans espouse.

I never thought I’d say this, but for the good of the country, Republicans need to channel their collective inner-Richard Nixons.

Michael E. Cunniff is a senior journalism major who is forgetting the rules of grammar because TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3, MANCHESTER UNITED 2. He can be reached at: torcheic@gmail.com

Voter ID laws the real fraud here KIERAN LYNCH Features Editor

We as Americans often hear about “wars” that take place domestically.

Media pundits often spin these ideas of people’s rights and beliefs as being trampled in order to help create a sense of outrage.

People will put war in front of anything in hopes of drumming up awareness for their cause. The “War on Christmas” comes to mind as one example. This is where people claim that because the government makes an effort to maintain the idea of separation of Church and State, members of the said government are actually out to destroy Christmas.

While most of these “wars” are a way to get people to erroneously believe that they are being attacked, there is an actual “war” taking place against a group of people in this country who are low-income earners and hope to vote this November.

Republicans across the country have chosen to take up this battle by attempting to pass voter identification laws, which require citizens to produce valid, state issued I.D. when they show up to vote.

That doesn’t sound controversial until you realize this battle against voter fraud has no opponent. A recent study found that out of 600 million votes cast in an election, there were 2,068 cases of alleged “election fraud.” Of that 2,068, only ten, ten cases of fraud were in-person voter fraud.

Confusing, isn’t it?

Rather than preventing voter fraud,

these laws affect a disproportionate amount of minority voters. These voters, coincidentally enough, are much more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate than the Republican one.

According to the non-partisan Brennan Center, at least five million voters will be disenfranchised because of they lack the newly required identification.

Of that five million, around one million will be young (30 and under) minorities, a key demographic for Democrats.

All of this is added onto a process where one would be delusional to think making yourself heard wasn’t difficult enough. As if your vote wasn’t going up against lobbyists and the corporations behind them. Now, they’re trying to take away the one small say you have in your governmental process.

We’re now in a time where you have to fight the elected representatives (that you elected) for the right to vote for their replacements.

A point was reached in America – the point where your gender, your race, or your income didn’t affect whether or not you would be permitted to have a say in the government. That was 48 years ago when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. This put an end to the Jim Crow laws present in the south that made it basically impossible for poor blacks to vote due to poll taxes and literacy tests that were instituted following the passage of the 15th Amendment, which was supposed to give everyone that fundamental right.

What has begun to happen with the voting laws that have been passed in the past decade is an attempt to put

in place a modern-day version of those poll taxes.

A certain amount of citizens, mainly the ones who would have had the right to vote since the beginning of the republic (wealthy, white and male) want to turn back the clock. They don’t want 100 percent of this country to have a say because when everyone has a say, they (the right wing) lose.

The issue here is multi-leveled. On the first level, millions of qualified voters in November will be denied the right to vote because of fairy tales. What this means, is that the right is taking an issue that doesn’t exist, limiting people’s rights to fight this imaginary problem and as a result, are attempting to eliminate opposition to their side of the fight.

The issue doesn’t stop there, however, as egregious as that first problem sounds.

On top of all of this Republican enforced “regulation,” widespread fraud has been uncovered around the nation and most notably in Florida, dealing with very same Republican Party.

A consulting firm that had been hired by the Republican National Committee to deal with registering voters in not only Florida, but other swing-states as well, has been dropped by the Committee due to issues with voter registration voting forms in up to 11 counties in the state.

This company, which goes by the name of Strategic Allied Consulting, was also investigated for fraud during the 2004 election cycle.

So now, not only is the Republican Party trying to eliminate voters through “legal means” of legislation, they’re also committing the same fraud that they rail against as preventing a free

and honest election.

From the claims of fraud, to the actual fraud to taking place, it all amounts to voter intimidation. There’s a very clear agenda at work here. If you are a low-income individual, there is a high chance you are voting for the Democratic Party this November. In addition, if you are a low-income, inner city individual, there is a high chance you don’t have possession of and don’t really have use for an I.D. The Republican Party, a party who lately, is notorious for distorting the facts, is trying to rig another election.

The question is, will this country bother enough to fully fight back (which we are seeing the beginning of thanks to level-headed judges in Ohio and Pennsylvania) or could we end up dealing with the results of larger version of past election scandals.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear if the decision is in the hands of the American people, or scarily enough, it might not be at all.

Kieran Lynch is a junior journalism major who had a 10-minute conversation with some very nice woman from the Mets.

At the end of it, she asked him if he wanted a tour of Citi Field. He said yes, because there’s nothing better than Citi Field in October, and he probably won’t be able to see a game at that time for several years.

He can be reached at: torchfeatures@gmail.com

8

Bex in the City: Trip to Tiffany’s REBECCA BROWN Contributing Writer

E

very little girl wants to be a princess with the nicest jewels and the nicest clothes.

I subscribed to British Vogue for a couple of years and had always seen the double-page adverts for all the big names in fashion. But the advert always carried sadness.

The outlets’ stores were in New York.

But I’m here now. I’m in New York City, fashion capital of the world. So when I was asked if I wanted to go and check out 5th Avenue, I couldn’t help but say yes. It would be crazy to be here and live the dream.

The one thing I’ve learnt in this city is that you can do anything your heart desires; it’s only a short ride away. We got on the subway and soon were thrown into the hustle and bustle of the Fashion District. I only had one place

on my mind. The one place I had dreamed of going since I bought my first issue of Vogue; Tiffany’s.

Getting dressed up to the nines and parading down 5th Avenue sure enough made me feel like I was one of those girls in the magazines, even if it was just pretend.

Walking up, I stared in awe through the shop windows. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, Gucci; they were all here in front of me, just like it said in they would be.

Now, seeing them right in front of me was like a dream come true, they were suddenly accessible and within

“

my reach. They were real. They were beautiful. They were expensive! But, like I said, today was for pretending. So I forgot my meager student bank account and made my way down to Tiffany’s.

Of course, no trip to Tiffany’s would be complete without the typical tourist ritual of doing a Holly Golightly! So I stared through the right side window on Fifth Avenue and pretended I was Audrey Hepburn, all glamorous and chic.

Admiring the beautiful pieces of jewelry in the window, I felt I had tapped into a piece of New York that was greatly overlooked.

No matter who you are, or where you

Today I was the little girl living the dream that I had formed flicking through the pages of a magazine all those years ago.

”

come from, in this city you can be anyone you want.

Today I was the little girl living the dream that I had formed flicking through the pages of a magazine all those years ago.

The beauty of it is that you can become lost in the hustle and bustle and play pretend right on the streets, and no one cares because they’re busy making their own lives. In the city, you can be who you want to be, and change it every day. So that’s what I did. Just for one day, I was living my dream, and the next day I could go back to being plain old Becks.

Rebecca Brown is an international student from Derby, England.

College Dems and Reps debate

Election 2012: Abortion rights – which side is your party on?

MAIREAD CARR Special to the Torch

The Democratic Party official platform believes in a woman’s right to have access to a safe and legal abortion. The Party also defends the Supreme Court’s decision for a woman’s right to have an abortion in Roe v. Wade. Nevertheless, their platform also holds that educating both women and men will help decrease the number of abortions performed.

In the end, the reasoning is simple: the right to have an abortion is a fundamental right of women. Democrats recognize in the platform that the choice is a difficult and trying choice “between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy” but it is a choice that each individual woman has the right to make. No woman enters an unwanted or unhealthy pregnancy purposefully, but if she is unable to care for the

“

Democrats recognize ... that the choice is a difficult and trying choice “between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy” but it is a choice that each individual woman has the right to make.

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child mentally, financially, or medically, she can decide which choice is best for her and the unborn child. Let it be known that there is no section on “abortions” in

the party platform; the section is titled “Protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose” and also emphasizes “we strongly and unequivocally support a woman’s decision to have a child by providing affordable health care and ensuring the availability of and access to programs that help women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including caring adoption programs”. Additionally, this section is only four sentences of the democratic campaign to protect all rights and freedoms.

Often what is lost in this discussion is a woman’s right to express herself sexually, just as a man has the right to do. It is medically impossible for the man to become pregnant, whereas it is quite possible for the woman to become pregnant, no matter what precautions are taken. Therefore, her ability to live her life both sexually and in relationships is more restricted than a man’s if the right to have an abortion is not available. This means that a much larger issue is at stake: equality. If this right is taken away, her options are limiting. A woman must make a conscious decision whether or not she is going to have sex for fear of pregnancy. Whether she is married or single, she will not be able to make the proper decisions for her sexual preferences unless the right to an abortion is available, especially if she does not wish to become a parent.

While the man in the relationship may be just as concerned about her pregnancy, he does not need to consciously make that decision because his risk assessment is different. It will never be his body or his immediate health that is at risk. It will only ever be the woman’s.

Women deserve to live as equals in society. While many agree that the right to have an abortion should be allowed in cases of incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother, she also has the right to choose based on all factors she deems as appropriate. As a result, her right to an abortion will endure as Roe v. Wade states it should.

This ensures both her safety and equality for all.

GREGORY MITCHELL Special to the Torch

During the Republican National Convention every four years, the delegates of the party from each state vote on the party’s platform for the issues. This platform outlines the party’s stance on all the issues.

These include taxes, foreign policy, same sex marriage and many other issues. Abortion is one of those issues that are included in the platform which is voted on by the delegates. During this year’s Republican National Convention, the party voted and approved the 2012 GOP Platform. In regards to abortion, it says, “Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life.”

This means that the party platform of the Republican Party is that human life is sacred and that all life, born and unborn, have the fundamental right to life. This is the platform and stance for the Republican Party and its presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney.

Not all people agree on abortion. Even within the same party, people don’t agree on abortion. This is a very heated debate in society as this issue plays a part in the rights of a person and the rights of a life.

Generally Republicans are pro-life, though many would disagree with the party. However, the official party platform takes a firm stance on the issue and that is the official view of the party.

The GOP supports an amendment to the US Constitution regarding abortion.

They support an amendment called a ‘human life amendment’. This would be an amendment added to the Constitution that would prohibit abortions and protect all human life. The party also endorses legislation to make clear and clarify that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

Romney, our nominee, is pro-life. He has taken criticism from many calling him a “flip-flopper” on abortion. Democrats claim he was pro-choice then became prolife to run for president as a Republican.

They call him a flip-flopper as in he goes back and forth on his beliefs. In reality, Mitt Romney is and has always been prolife.

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In reality, Mitt Romney is and has always been pro-life. He is a Mormon which is a religion like Cathlolicism, that believes in the sanctity of life and that it should be protected.

”

He is a Mormon which is a religion, like Catholicism, that believes in the sanctity of life and that it should be protected. When he was the governor of Massachusetts, there was sentiment in the people and in the Democrat controlled government to allow abortion. However, when he was Governor, he always governed pro-life. He governed to protect life and to protect its sacredness. He is still pro-life now as he runs for president. His running mate, US Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, is also unapologetically pro-life.

Abortion is a huge issue in elections today. Many people decide who they will vote for based on what their views are on abortion. Republicans are pro-life.

Representatives from the College Democrats and Republicans will be weighing in on important campaign issues in the weeks leading up to the election.

STJ Sustainability: Making a difference PETER BARKER Contributing Writer

The sustainability organization I work at donated food to 131 families in need from its gardens in one month. It takes scraps like the inedible parts of pineapples and turns it into compost. It donated each weekday, for 6 weeks this summer, between five and six large contractor-size garbage bags filled with 20-50 pounds of food to the city’s s food pantry, City Harvest.

Where is this organization from? You might be surprised, but it’s right here at St. John’s.

Over the course of this summer I had the pleasure of being a student worker in the Office of Sustainability. The things we were able to accomplish with the basic tools of student-power and leadership were really eye opening to me.

Specifically, the work I did with food recovery and distribution is what I am most proud of.

Sometimes the student-driven initiatives on campus can really surprise you; a lot can be accomplished with a little heart, elbow grease and stick-to-it-iveness. These initiatives can also make you realize how easy it is to make a difference and how each of us should be doing a little more to help build a more sustainable future.

Mentioned above are three programs

that have now becoming permanent fixtures in St. John’s environmental and charitable consciousness: recycling unused lunches, the organic garden and composting.

So the next time you see students walking around with those big and goofy blue barrels filled with food scraps from the dining hall campus kitchens mixed with some wood chips and spent coffee grinds, remember that those food scraps are being turned into compost and then spread on selected grassy areas on campus that need a nutrient boost.

Next time you walk by Student Community Organic Garden, know that all of those peppers and cherry tomatoes have gone to St. John’s Bread and Life soup kitchen in Brooklyn. They take whatever food St. Johns gives them and incorporate it into the produce in the food pantry that feeds the hungry during that week.

There is a somewhat of a proverb that we like to throw around the office, “think globally, act locally.” I wholeheartedly believe that the initiatives I worked on this summer embody this message.

There will always be more that can be done and many of the other offices on campus are involved with so many great programs, but I think that as a university where minds are molded and motivation is high, we should always keep the question in the back of our minds, how can we make a difference?

14

Cheating: deal-breaker or moving forward?

JACK

Special to the Torch If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that very few people are trustworthy. And if there’s one other thing I’ve learned, it’s never to say never.

If those two axioms combine in the worst way, and I find out that you’ve cheated on me, I’ll probably channel my inner T-Swift and say that “WeeEEE are never, ever, ever getting back together” (complete with raising the inflection of my voice to show how serious I am).

My resolve will hold for awhile, but there’s a decent chance that I’ll relent.

Why? Because we’re all human, we all make mistakes, and in college, there is so much opportunity to fall astray in a relationship.

Cheating in a committed relationship is awful, unforgivable and should not be tolerated. But let’s take a step back here.

We’re not married, and unless we’ve talked about the prospect, the seriousness of whatever we have here is very much up for debate.

I’m not saying that it makes it okay to be unfaithful — I’m just saying it makes it okay for me to forgive you if the situation arises.

Of course, a relationship is never the same afterward — either for better or worse. You could realize how much better’n everyone else I am, and how we’re perfect for each other, or the bonds of trust could dissolve completely and forever, dooming us to late-night screaming matches and teardrops on our prover-

bial guitars (two Taylor references — also, cheating with Taylor Swift is always okay, for either party).

But what I can’t agree with is the “once a cheater, always a cheater” cliché that has somehow become an unchallenged fact. For one thing — not all cheating is created equal. A drunken kiss at a bar is not the same as a drawn-out affair with coded text messages and secret meeting places.

Secondly, I can’t honestly say that I’ve never looked at another woman with wandering eyes, wondering what it’d be like. I don’t think I’ll ever act on those impulses, but I don’t want to hold you to a standard that I’m not sure I can match myself. I’ll forgive you, because I’d want you to do the same if I strayed.

Another thing that makes no sense is that if someone apologizes when caught being unfaithful, they’re “only sorry because they got caught.” Or, more likely, they felt so awful that they couldn’t bring themselves to admit to their wrongdoing because they didn’t want to ruin a good thing. I’m not saying that makes it okay — I’m just saying relationships are more complex than simple catchphrases.

All of this assumes, of course, that the cheating party shows sincere contrition when their infidelities are revealed. And when I say sincere, “sorry, babe” doesn’t cut it. I want flowers when I get home (I don’t even like flowers, but still), my favorite dinner for three nights straight and my online homework to be magically completed when I log on.

If not, then we really are never, ever, ever getting back together.

JILL

Special to the Torch I love you, but not enough to let you play with my emotions. What we have is real, well at least I believe so.

If you found out I cheated on you, I’m pretty sure you would throw it in my face and get back at me. I’m not stupid and I would never cheat and give you a reason to make me look that way.

With the semester coming up to midterms, I have no time to think of the possibility of you being unfaithful.

Trust me when I say that I trust you, but a girl needs to stand up for herself.

I have too much going on right now between classes, internships and work, for me to stress over whether or not my boyfriend, who I love dearly, is being loyal to me. There is no way I’d be okay knowing you were ever with another girl.

“Once a cheater, always a cheater!” is what I have heard from anyone I talk to. I’m not too sure if I totally believe that statement, because I like to believe that some people do change, but I can’t see myself taking any chances.

I don’t think I have it in me to sit there and listen to you say sorry over and over again until I eventually relent and we kiss and make up. How would I know you were serious and not only sorry that you got caught!

Is there really a difference between catching you cheating and you telling me you cheated? No! Not in

my book.

At the end of the day, you were unfaithful. Cheating is cheating. It is black and white, no room for any gray. Why should I allow you back in my life when I have so much more to think about?

Sure, at times I feel like I need you.

I wouldn’t be dating you if I didn’t. You make me a better person. But at the end of the day, I need myself more. I need to love myself more than I love you and that means respecting myself even when you didn’t.

You’d really mess up my self-esteem, making it hard for me to get even the easy things done. I need to focus on me first. If you cheated on me and I let you back in my life, it would just create more unnecessary stress in my life. Of course it would be hard to jump back into the loop after finding out you’ve cheated, but I would rather that than have to worry about you cheating again.

You know the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” I’m not letting that happen. If I gave you another chance, I would just be creating the possibility of being hurt again.

And trust me, the second time is always worse. If you truly loved me and respected me, cheating wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion.

Don’t forget to check out the new and improved Torch website:

torchonline.com

Let Jack and JIll know what you think they should discuss in the next issue!

Tweet @STJTorch or use #TorchJnJ.

Think Outside...

And the trilogy begins

Lifestyle Rugby near campus LOCAL CLUB STARTED AT ST. JOHN’S CONTINUES

15

Las Vegas’ finest are back at it

KORI WILLIAMS

AMBER REILLY

Staff Writer

Contributing Writer

GREEN DAY

THE KILLERS

¡Uno!

Battle Born

OUT OF 5 STARS

OUT OF 5 STARS

Green Day has toured all over the world and have released nine albums thus far in their 20 year career. So after a while it makes sense to try something new. The band has unleashed their first ever album trilogy ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré! marked by the release of the first album ¡Uno! on Sept. 25th.

Before ¡Uno!’s release, in an article was published by Britain’s The Sun, Green Day stated that this album would be like classic Green Day but “done with a new sound” and the band stayed true to their word.

Fans of the band’s classic albums from the 90’s such as Dookie and Nimrod might hear the pangs of nostalgia through their speakers when they play this record. As always is the case with Green Day, this album isn’t for anyone with sensitive ears due to the excitingly high volume and expletives galore.

“Oh Love” is a perfect introduction for the entire trilogy while both “Kill the DJ” and “Let Yourself Go” gave the album a slightly different feel. “Kill the DJ” sounds like a song from the early 90’s, vintage Green Day, while “Let Yourself Go” takes a different spin with a sound that relates to today’s alternative rock/ pop punk sound. The sound of contemporary Green Day was represented with “Nuclear Family” which sounds similar to “Christian’s Inferno” from the band’s previous album 21st Century Breakdown.

Despite the quality of songs, there isn’t much variation between songs at all. This could have been done on purpose, as 1990’s Green Day albums also lacked variation and the band may have wanted to stay as true as possible to their original sound.

Fortunately, the songs aren’t so similar that the album sounds like one continuous track. Some songs stay on track and go together cohesively and some just go off the track. ¡Uno!, being the first album in the trilogy, does a good job of opening the door for the other records that are scheduled to follow.

Its upbeat sound is welcoming and if anything, will get fans curious as to what to expect next. ¡Uno! sounds as if it was ripped from Green Day’s recording sessions in 1993 during the band’s heyday. Even though at some points the album sounds derailed, it’s a solid opener to what should be an interesting trilogy.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLAGE LIONS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB FACEBOOK

A Lions player leaps for the ball during a contest on Randall’s Island. referee fees and registration dues.

ANTHONY O’REILLY During the time that the Lions played News Editor on campus, the group, according to Whelan, was largely self-sustaining, paying for In college life, the world of sports is just their own travel expenses through the efas big, if not bigger, than the academic life forts of a band that traveled with them on campus. From intramural flag football called The Rocks.

“We paid for all our own travel expensto NFL games being screened every weekend and our very own Red Storm athletic es from revenues earned from the band,” teams, it’s impossible to escape the world he said. “The rugby club got a dollar per person for every student who showed up at of sports.

One sport that you might not see at the gigs with an SJU student ID card. We St. John’s though, is the game of rugby. often made three and four hundred bucks However, back in the 1970’s the sport was on a gig.”

The Lions became so prominent that extremely popular on campus, according to Alan Whelan, the founder of an under- they drew the attention of several clubs in graduate rugby club during his time as a St. Europe.

“Because we were great hosts and the John’s student.

“During my time at SJU, the interest dominant college side on the East Coast, was phenomenal,” he said. “We were the we were offered fixtures against every European college side that came through largest club on campus.”

The club eventually grew into what is NY.” Whelan said the Lions played European now the Village Lions, teams such as Manchester U, Nottingham playing in the first diU and Paris U and acvision of the NY Met cused the administraRugby Union. tion of not welcoming I don’t want “The Lions are the touring sides to without doubt the our present campus. greatest social rugby “Not a single memundergraduates club in NYC,” he said. ber of the SJU admin“They draw players to feel we have istration ever came from rugby playing down and personally abandoned them. colleges across the welcomed any of the country and from all Alan Whelan dignitaries that travover the world.” eled with these tourWhelan told the Torch that although the club was popular ing sides.”

Whelan said that in 1985, the adminisamong the students on campus, the admintration at the time made the choice to ban istration was not fond of the sport.

“SJU never gave us any assistance in re- the group from the University. cruiting new members period,” he said, except for the $2,500 the club received from (Continued on P. 18) the school, which he said went to coaching,

“

”

The Killers are ready for battle with their new release Battle Born, which came out on Sept. 17. While The Killers are classified as rock, their music could be described as alternative, new wave and indie among other genres. Its fans have waited four years for this album to come out and many would say that it was definitely worth the wait.

Lead singer Brandon Flowers has recently admitted to that he took voice lessons to prepare for the recording of Battle Born. He has also proclaimed that this new album is a “celebration of music.”

This statement certainly shows to be true through the first single off the album, “Runaways,” which is the most epic and powerful song on the record. Flowers has stated that Bruce Springsteen was one of his main influences and “Runaways” is a perfect example of that sentiment.

The verses have meaningful lyrics of Flowers analyzing his relationship with his wife and in the pre-chorus, his voice soars. Upon first listen, one would get the chills and feel inspired from his top ten single.

“Flesh and Bone” comes rushing in with powerful 80’s synth sounds and drums. Another standout track is “Miss Atomic Bomb,” which has powerful instrumentation and tells a vivid story of a new kid in town who is romanticized by the local girl. One of the best tracks on the album is the title track “Battle Born,” which gives the record a triumphant ending. The lyrics, Flowers’ soaring voice and the instrumentation are inspiring and have a very hopeful tone.

While the lyrical content of this album is powerful, it is sometimes overdone and could be translated as cheesy. Probably the cheesiest and silliest lyric on the album will be the line, “don’t want your picture on my cell phone” from the ballad “Here With Me.” There is also a desire for more anthems on the album in the same vain as their breakthrough single “Mr. Brightside.” Besides these faults though, the positive aspects of the album clearly outshine the negative.

In all, Battle Born is just another album that will be added to the resume of success that The Killers have had. They have stuck to their niche and have not changed, which is critical in the ever changing music landscape. They have clearly won this battle.

16

Black Keys, Foo Fighters rock Central Park QUINN ROCHFORD Contributing Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF MSNBC.MEDIA.COM

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys performed at the Global Citizen Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 29, alongside Foo Fighters and Neil Young.

When you get your hands on free tickets to a live show, the headliner is probably an unknown or unpopular performer. A lucky circumstance would place you in a cramped, suburban venue seeing an up-and-coming indie band.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the names were more acclaimed. The crowd was larger.

The voices were louder. And, somehow, the density of our wallets remained the same.

A collection from the world’s best rock bands congregated in Manhattan on Saturday at the Global Citizen Music Festival. An estimated 60,000 crazed fans filled Central Park’s Great Lawn to see the Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Band of Horses and K’Naan perform in contribution to the eradication of worldwide poverty.

To obtain a free ticket to the festival, fans had to register on Global Citizen’s website and choose from a variety of ways to raise awareness about fighting poverty.

After short sets by Somali instrumentalist and rapper K’Naan and Band of Horses, musician John Legend made a surprise appearance on stage. He shared his own opinions and advocated for action to fight extreme poverty, while capping off with a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Shortly after, the Black Keys took the stage.

In the midst of their tour promoting last winter’s album El Camino, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney serenaded New York with a combination of old favorites and

new tunes.

Auerbach and Carney performed the expected hits. “Lonely Boy” and “Gold on the Ceiling,” along with a few cuts from its superb 2010 album Brothers. While the Keys did break out three tracks from Attack & Release, they didn’t play anything from their first four studio albums.

Led by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters followed the Keys with a career-spanning set of greatest hits and newly-released songs.

Grohl began by himself with an acoustic guitar, singing the 10-yearold, yet ever-catchy, “Times Like These.”

Once the rest of the band hit the stage, the screeching and long-haired Grohl was let of out his cage.

After three consecutive cuts from Wasting Light, surprisingly including “Arlandria” and leaving out “Rope” and “Dear Rosemary,” Grohl’s group rocked Central Park by concluding with the widely popular “Best of You” and “Everlong.”

A few minutes before 9:00 pm, about four hours after K’Naan kicked off the festival, the headlining act stepped under the lights. Neil Young reunited with Crazy Horse, a band that he had made albums with in the 1960’s and again in the 90’s.

Young and Crazy Horse provided the crowd with over an hour of the familiar and long-lasting guitar riffs that have defined their heralded careers that have endured almost half a century.

The end of the show saw Auerbach and Grohl joining Young on stage to perform Young’s 1989 hit “Rockin’ in the Free World,” symbolizing the need to come together to end poverty.

And by the end of the show, that goal seemed closer than ever.

Latest Mountain Goats a ‘hidden treasure’ ANTHONY O’REILLY News Editor MOUNTAIN GOATS

Transcendental Youth

OUT OF 5 STARS

Odds are that you, or most of your friends for that matter, have not heard of The Mountain Goats despite the fact they just released their fourteenth studio album, Transcendental Youth. The indierock group is a hidden treasure based out of North Carolina, that have amassed a dedicated cult following around the world, including celebrities such as Stephen Colbert and New York Times bestselling author John Green.

If you want an introduction to the Goats, look no further then the title of the album. Seriously, who uses the word ‘transcendental?’ But that’s exactly what gives the Goats’ their identity in the music world. Lead vocalist John Darnielle, the only surviving original member of the band, mixes a sophisticated vocabulary with dark themes such as regret, alcoholism and domestic disputes at home.

In contrast, the music behind the words is simple. The guitars, drums and bass are all balanced with Darnielle’s voice.

None of the components over power the

other thus making it an enjoyable listening experience. The album, according to Darnielle in several interviews, is the “Satan record.” The lyrics deal with social and religious outcasts in society. “The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you’re never going to see again.”

In Transcendental Youth, the Goat’s have stayed true to the sound they have come to perfect over the past twenty-one years. Whether it’s one of their faster paced songs, like “Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1,” or “Harlem Roulette,” or their more acoustic based tracks such as “White Cedar” or “Until I Am Whole,” their music is entertaining yet genuine.

One of the newer elements not seen in the Goat’s previous albums are the horn arrangements found in “Cry for Judas” and “Transcendental Youth.” This could’ve gone really bad and spoiled the album, but in the end it was successful and gave the tracks a jazzy tune that’s both fresh and fun to listen to. A more somber horn arrangement can be heard in “White Cedar” and continues to work well in giving the Goat’s a new sound to work with in future albums.

The only track not fitting in with the rest of the album is “The Diaz Brothers,” which sounds like it was recorded in the 1960’s. Not that it’s a bad song; it just doesn’t work when put together with everything else.

It’s only been a year and a half since the release of the Mountain Goat’s previous album, All Eternals Deck. Despite this fact, the album doesn’t seem rushed and gives the old fans the sound that keeps them coming back.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEKEY.XPN.ORG

The Mountain Goats realeased their 14th studio album yesterday, Oct. 1.

17

Student Spotlight: #Dieslow

INTRAMURAL FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM CREATES THEIR OWN VERSION OF ‘HARD KNOCKS’ “We have the segment that features player pep talks,” Inman said. “It’s a great Features Editor look inside what goes on between team members besides the action on the field and the jokes.”

Things get more personal than most There are many things that are synonypeople might expect with a college-aged mous with the autumn season at St. John’s. intramural team. Lapin said he is driven, Among them are cooler temperatures, a in part, by his childhood desire to particinew college basketball season and the repate in the Little League World Series that turn of the intramural flag football league. never came to fruiFor one of the teams in tion. the league, it isn’t enough “I think it’s injust to win; they want to credible that at 20 record it for posterity. years old, on a stupid The #Dieslow footflag football team, we ball team has commishave an opportunity sioned its own “Hard to go somewhere and Knocks” style series to play football with a document the team’s bunch of random peorun in its Sunday night ple we’ve never met league, where it currentin our lives and just ly sits in first place. The experience that dream idea was first hatched of mine in a different when members of the sense,” Lapin said, team, including quarterreferring to the Maryback Jason Lapin, spent land aspirations. time studying in Europe.

The final goal for “We started talkthe series is to have ing about [flag football] 10 episodes availwhile we were abroad,” able online, includLapin said. “I felt like ing what they hope to kind of a jerk because I be that run to Marywas taking it so seriously land.

Meanwhile, and I was like, ‘The only #Dieslow’s plans for way to make it funny the future remain unwould be for us to make clear. While the team a show about it instead is only organized of being that way too sefor flag football, the rious guy.” players are open to From there, the the possibility of exwheels started turning panding to the socon the project. Lapin cer league. There is turned to student filmno word if softball maker Alan Garcia to has been discussed as film the first episode at well. the beginning of the seaThe series can son and another student be found on Youtube filmmaker, Patricia Holiby searching “Hard day, in week two. In the Knocks #Dieslow.” first episode, the team “The whole [seintroduced its new Head ries] embodies the fun Coach, Steve Inman. of intramural sports,” “We want to make Lapin said. the viewer laugh,” InInman added, PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE INMAN man said. “The goal is to “We’re just trying to get people to keep watch- Steve Inman and Jason Lapin sit with team mascot, “Chewy,” during filming of “Hard Knocks.” win, have a ton of fun ing these videos. We’re and create some laughs 5-1 and we don’t have too many fans.” turned out to be,” Inman added.

While the majority of it is meant to be along the way.”

In the first episode, the players go As episodes two and three are be- humorous, Inman plays his part as the cliaround campus and the community askCan’t get enough of the Torch? ing produced, the attention turns to field, ché spewing coach, including a segment ing people about what they think of the Visit our Web site where according to players, is holding onto of the show known as “Coach to Player,” team, which they dub “New York’s footfor online exclusives. the number one seed with its 5-1 record. where he takes a different player under his ball team.” The responses vary from the torchonline.com Their ultimate goal is to win the league, wing every week.

KIERAN LYNCH

mundane, “Who’s that?” to the ridiculous, including Lapin hyping up the team at a local Modell’s Sporting Goods store.

“I think they thought it wasn’t going to be funny,” Lapin said referring to his teammates’ incredulousness. “I don’t think they trusted how funny I am, but we pulled it off.”

“They thought it would be more of a documentary, not like the funny video it

which results in a trip to Maryland for the regional championship. With that comes more time for footage for a show that is trying to keep the laughs coming.

“During the week we can think of stupid stuff we can say,” Lapin said. “Basically no one knows about it, so if you just take a camera and ask them questions like they know, it’s hilarious because they’re like ‘Uhh what the hell?”

This week in showbiz: Biebs hurls, Foos hiatus?

McFarlane tapped as Oscars Host

Bieber vomits during Arizona performance

Adele set to debut new Bond theme song

Grohl, Foos say ‘this is it’ for now

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on, Oct. 1, that Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane will be hosting the 85th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24, according to a statement released by the Academy. MacFarlane just came off a successful summer where he hosted the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” and his first feature film Ted garnered $434 million worldwide.

In the middle of one of his performances in Glendale, Ariz. this past weekend, pop superstar Justin Bieber vomited twice on stage but went on with the show. In a report by ABC News, the “Baby” singer was about to begin his song “Out of Town Girl” when he turned his back on the audience, hunched over, and puked on stage before a capacity crowd. Bieber went to Twitter after the show saying “Great show. Getting better for tomorrow’s show!!! Love u.”

Bieber is in the middle of his 45 date tour in support of his latest full-length, Believe.

British songstress Adele will premiere the theme song for Skyfall, the latest installment of the James Bond saga, according to her website and Rolling Stone. Adele was quoted as saying that the song was “one of the proudest moments” of her life.

Paul Epworth, co-writer of Adele’s smash hit “Rolling in the Deep,” teamed up with Grammy winner once again to pen the theme. Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, will be released in American theaters in Nov. 9.

During the Foo Fighter’s headlining set at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on Saturday, frontman Dave Grohl told the capacity crowd that “this is it,” according to Billboard. Grohl and the rest of the Foos are coming off an extensive tour in support of their seventh studio album Wasting Light. This past summer, Grohl first hinted at the Reading festival that the band would be taking an extensive break, saying this would be its “last show for a long time.”

18

‘Homeland’ claims four awards at the 64th Emmy’s

KENYA AUSTIN Contributing Writer

The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on Sept. 23rd at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, Calif. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show “Jimmy Kimmel Live was nominated for Best Late-Night” Talk Show, hosted the show that awards TV’s best in comedy, drama, reality, variety and television movies and mini-series.

The television shows with the most nominations were FX’s “American Horror Story” and AMC’s “Mad Men.” The television network with the most nominations went to HBO, who churned out successful shows such as “Boardwalk Empire,” “Game of Thrones” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Showtime’s “Homeland” was the surprise winner of the night as they took home four awards from the major categories including Outstanding Drama Series. The other surprise of the evening was that this year’s Emmy’s was the first time that none of the four major American broadcasting networks were nominated in Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor in a Drama Series or Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

With “Homeland’s” big night came the end of “Mad Men’s” Emmy reign in the drama category. “Mad Men” had won Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row before “Homeland” snatched the award from its grasp this year. The other winners were “Modern Family” (Outstanding Comedy Series), “Game Change” (Outstanding Miniseries or Movie), “The Daily Show with Jon

Stewart” (Outstanding Variety Series), and “The Amazing Race” (Outstanding Reality Series).

‘Real Hair’ group gets going at St. John’s

And the winner is...

Outstanding Drama Series “Homeland” (Showtime) Outstanding Comedy Series “Modern Family” (ABC) Leading Actress in a Drama Series Claire Danes (“Homeland”) Leading Actor in a Drama Series Damian Lewis (“Homeland”) Leading Actress in a Comedy Series Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“VEEP”) Leading Actor in a Comedy Series Jon Cryer (“Two and a Half Men”) Outstanding Variety Series “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” Outstanding Reality Series “The Amazing Race”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTOINETTE STEWART

Crown & Glory’s logo for the hopeful organization.

OLABISI THOMPSON Contributing Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF OKMAGAZINE.COM

Claire Danes takes home one of many Emmy’s for Showtime’s hit series Homeland.

When it comes to popular topics of discussion, most wouldn’t include hair too high on their list. Antoinette Stewart, a junior from Southern California, finds it an important subject. She hopes to establish an organization on campus dedicated to leading a healthy lifestyle and maintaining healthy hair.

The organization, Crown and Glory, is currently going through the process of becoming a Student Government, Inc. approved organization. They will go before SGI this month in the hopes of continuing their goal of becoming a full-fledged organization in the Spring Semester.

Growing up, Stewart said her curly hair was a pain. She felt that it was “rough, coarse, and thick” and sometimes unmanageable. Through the years, she sought different methods to “make it work.” Up until her sophomore year at St. John’s, she maintained a relaxer in her hair. The chemicals in a relaxer loosen the curls in the hair until the strands are almost straight. While the method allows for one to wear straight hairstyles more easily, it can also damage the hair.

Eventually, Stewart became concerned with the health of her chemically treated hair, and in February 2011, she decided to do a “big chop.” With the help of her roommate and a pair of clippers, She shaved her head until only half an inch of hair was left.

“I’ve always been into afros; always been into big curly hair, and I wanted to see what my hair would be like,” she said.

In the aftermath, she said her hair grew rapidly. She felt that her hair was healthy and it inspired her to change her lifestyle to be healthier overall.

“At the end of the day, hair is just hair,”

Stewart said. “But it is [also] a reflection of your health and well being.”

It was another personal experience that inspired Stewart to a health and hair club at St. John’s.

“I was tired of the negative expressions women of color were giving to each other on campus,” she said. “When I first cut my hair I heard people in Montgoris saying ‘not everybody should go natural’ - I knew it was targeted towards me. It didn’t make me second guess my decision because I was so adamant about what I was doing and knew that it was something I was doing just for me.”

This April, Stewart started a Facebook group for people interested in topics concerning their hair.

“Its purpose is much more than hair,” she wrote in the group’s description, “We come together to educate, raise each other up, share stories and smiles. “Our mission is to provide information on textured hair, unlock its mysteries, and raise self esteem in others who hide it.”

The group’s page has more than 200 members when this story went to print.

Krystalee Blanco, Julie King and Catherine Sims were members of the Facebook group who decided to join Stewart on the E-board for the Crown & Glory Society.

“As a member (of the Facebook group), I have been so uplifted,” Sims said. “It’s beautiful to see people of all different colors, shapes, and sizes see the natural beauty in one another.”

Stewart has big plans for Crown & Glory; beauty expos, tutorials, social meet-ups and information sessions on maintaining healthy hair and well being. She also spoke of conducting self-esteem workshops at middle schools targeted at young girls.

“I want them to see what we have to offer is here to stay,” she said. “Natural hair is not just a fad.”

19

Rugby There’s more than Manhattan club near campus INTERNATIONAL STUDENT REFLECTS ON THE ‘OTHER’ NYC BOROUGHS

HARRY SAUNDERS Staff Writer

(Continued from P. 15) “They accused the rugby club of ‘Over Indulgence,’” he said.

The Village Lions became the first college club to make it to the aforementioned NY Met Rugby Union, when they outgrew their own league.

“In 1975 I asked the NY Met Rugby Union to allow us to leave the college division and join the Men’s senior division because we could find no worthy opposition among the colleges in our league,” he said.

The Lions found immense success in the league, winning Divisions Two and Three and they made it to the first division in 1979.

Currently, the Lions field three men’s teams and two women’s team each week in the first division on their home pitch in Randall’s Island and travel up and down the east coast and often tour overseas.

Senior Mark Eberle, a fan of the sport of rugby, said he wished he knew of the presence of an alumni rugby club, saying that it could help promote interest in the sport and bring people together.

“It’s not a super-popular sport so it’d be really cool if we could get together and talk to guys, watch some games, and play a little bit,” he said. “It doesn’t even have to be super competitive, just enough to grow the sport.”

Whelan also said that he wanted those interested in rugby to know that the Lions have never forgotten their alma mater, despite the rough relations with the administration in the past.

“I don’t want our present undergraduates to feel we have abandoned them,” he said. “We welcome them with open arms and will run rugby practice for them at Cunningham Park, close to the campus so they can learn the game and enjoy playing during their precious college years.”

The Lions will host their Friends and Family Homecoming game on Oct. 20.

Whelan extended the invitation to the game to all current undergraduates.

Whelan can be contacted for more information at rugbyreply@yahoo.com or you can visit villagelions.org.

Online Exclusives To see stories not in the print edition of The Torch, visit our website at torchonline.com.

In Features, read about: The Bayside Senior Friendly Visiting Program.

- For information: contact Chris

Schneider at 516-641-7541 Entertainment stories include: Jay-Z’s return to Brooklyn.

The Torch reviews Resident Evil.

More fall TV coverage.

It is an undeniable truth that, in terms of a global perspective on the city, New York is Manhattan-centered. The historical significance and traditional pop culture domination of Manhattan means that for those of us who live outside of the U.S., and even New York City itself, to think beyond Manhattan in our perception of New York is a fairly abstract concept. After all, why would you need to? The bright lights of Broadway, the renowned thoroughfare of Fifth Avenue and the leafy sprawl of Central Park make it seem as if everything you could ever want or need is neatly contained within New York’s smallest and yet most celebrated borough.

In reality, New York as a whole has

developed to such a stage that the rest of the city, so often looked upon as an afterthought, has developed its own appeal as a genuine hotspot. With the progression of the 20th century, parts of Queens and Brooklyn have become stylish in their own right, with real estate in certain areas commanding comparable prices to that of Midtown Manhattan.

Williamsburg, particularly, has become a center for New York’s art and music communities, and a veritable hotbed of ‘hipster’ culture.

Boasting destinations such as the Music Hall of Williamsburg and the Front Room Gallery, a strong case can be made for Williamsburg’s credibility as a major part of New York City and on my visit this past week that point was only reinforced. It truly is one of those places where you have to take in the atmosphere, as the relaxed vibe that people have really informs

the culture and ethos of it. The eclectic architecture and plurality of different communities is really refreshing. Simply flicking through old vinyl in an independent record store, or passing the afternoon in some of New York’s best coffee shops is a liberating experience, a peaceful interlude within a city normally famed for its pace and commotion.

However, Williamsburg is by no means the be-all and end-all of New York beyond Manhattan. Areas in Queens, such as Astoria have a very similar appeal and provide an alternative edge to the oft-overlooked borough. Beyond the areas that most explicitly appeal to youth culture, there are places such as Park Slope, which is widely considered to be a great place to raise a family.

However, the main idea here is not to rail against the centrality of Manhattan. The borough still holds the key to a huge part of New York City’s cultural heritage, and has many of the attractions that make it one of the most famous, and most-visited in the world.

My genuine outlook is that those who see New York City and Manhattan as one and the same are missing out on some of the magnificent parts of a great city, parts that offer so much more than they may think. My suggestion would be that, should you get the opportunity to visit any part of New York City’s, perhaps unreasonably, overlooked neighborhoods during your time at St John’s, take it.

Judging by my very first trip into Brooklyn, you certainly wont be disappointed.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

Harry Saunders is an international student from London, England.

The Williamsburg Bridge connects Brooklyn with Manhattan over the East River.

What’s new with iPhone 5

DESTINY DEJESUS Staff Writer

Apple’s newest product, the iPhone 5, is said to be the thinnest, lightest and fastest iPhone ever, but many are skeptical as to if it is worth buying.

They are left asking if whether or not the upgrades and differences are worth leaving their older models or if they should stick with what they have for now.

“The iPhone 5 has not changed enough for me to go get it,” senior Astrid Cabanillas said. “A lot of people that I know, have it, but never had an iPhone before.”

People began preordering the iPhone 5 on Sept. 14 and when the phone hit the shelves on Sept. 21, consumers were ready to spend. IPhone 5 hit the market in eight other countries and as usual, the cost is around $199 for a 16GB version and $399 for a 64GB version with a wireless contract. When customers sign up for new contracts, the “outdated” iPhone 4 is given away for free to people willing to accept a lower model.

Never before has Apple changed the size of their screen. It may come as a shock to some people that each and every one of the previous iPhones only had a 3.5-inch screen, where as many Androids on the market have displays that are up to an inch larger. The iPhone 5 is now four inches, but the screen quality has remained the same. Apple stated that

there are no more delays when taking pictures The rear camera now takes quicker photos and shoots better quality videos in dim lighting.

Another new addition is the ability to take panorama pictures, which string together multiple “shots” into one elongated

TORCH PHOTO/ANTHONY O’REILLY

image. This may render the popular apps, such as Instagram, slightly less necessary even with its useful filters.

Now, what’s the big hype? Every other iPhone’s exterior looked the same. In fact, there were very few differences with the systems. From afar, the iPhone 5 looks like the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4, but when looked at more closely, one will notice that it is coated in aluminum.

Unfortunately, for those who are clumsy, this new exterior is more susceptible to scratching.

Those who recently joined the iPhone epidemic are bound to think the iPhone 5 is the best thing yet.

Ashley Ramsumair, a Health and Human Services major, patiently waited for her pre-ordered iPhone 5 and is now satisfied with all of its features.

“I used to have an Android and hated my phone,” she said. “Now that I have the iPhone 5, I think it’s exactly the same as the other iPhones, it’s just lighter.”

Though you won’t find much innovation on the iPhone 5, consumers preordered the new gadget weeks in advanced. For others, there is little doubt that Apple will come out with a “new” iPhone sooner rather than later.

“Apple always comes out with new products so it’s a good thing for them,” junior Jon Perez said.

Those with “outdated” iPhones, especially 4S users, aren’t getting left with nothing. They can opt to update their operating system to the new iOS 6, giving them many of the same features available on the iPhone 5. For them, they may find it useful to wait one more “phone selling cycle” before making the jump to a new model.

Can’t get enough of the Torch?

Visit our Web site for online exclusives. torchonline.com

20

Shakespeare-influenced Island triumphs

the attention of young audience. Not a fan of Shakespeare? No problem. The Contributing Writer Shakespearean themes are woven into What would happen if the past and the script seamlessly so they won’t present collided? If two complete different disappoint those who dreaded reading the worlds were forced to coexist, what kind plays in high school. On the other hand, of chaos would ensue? Island answers these those who enjoy Shakespeare will be questions by presenting a Shakespearean pleasantly surprised as they notice refer-style play with a modern twist. Written ences to the playwright’s various works.

Although unaccompanied by a

by Kevin Brewer and directed by Ross musical score, muWilliams, Island is the sic was used as a latest production from transition device bethe New York Shaketween scenes. The speare Exchange, Island blends costumes were apa theater company propriate for the time who discovers what Shakespearean period that was behappens when present elements with ing portrayed and day culture is mixed with added depth to the Shakespearean topics and contemporary ideas, performance. The set poetry. Their goal is to a brilliant never changed in a connect with today’s major way, but differaudiences while also givcombination. ent props were used ing them a newfound apto convey a change of preciation for the work location. The play is of Shakespeare.

Island revolves around K (Evelyn roughly two hours long with a short interSpahr) and Julia (Katelin Wilcox), two mission. However, there is no food or drink girls who have become shipwrecked on allowed in the theater, so you should grab an island with nothing but a chest full of something to eat beforehand.

As someone who hadnevclothes. Soon enough they meet King John play written by ShakeII (Eric Percival) a monarch who has been er seen a exiled to the island with his servants and speare before, I found Island to be family. The girls slowly but surely grow entertaining. Although the play was accustomed to the ways of the island pretty long, the story was engaging and I and start to blend in perfectly. The plot became interested in the development of the thickens when love blossoms and revenge is characters.

The play is being performed at the plotted. The play also has its fair share of comedy, which at some times is rather Connelly Theater, a cozy little theater on crass, but will definitely catch a fair of East 4th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B in Manhattan. While the size share of laughs.

Island blends Shakespearean ele- of the theater makes the play more ments with contemporary ideas, a brilliant personal, the seats were rather small. You combination. It makes the play seem more can catch Island every Tuesday through traditional while still managing to keep Saturday until October 13th.

ALEX PARKER

“

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Dating site takeover SARAH YU

Chief Copy Editor In the 21st century, online dating has become a viable alternative to the traditional forms of meeting people to which most individuals are already accustomed to. Jean Meyer and Balazs Alexa have taken the business model and made their site, “DateMySchool.com,” solely for the use of college students and alumni.

The site is open to over 1,000 four-year colleges and universities all over the nation and it has become the largest online dating platform available for the student demographic, according to Alexa. It also was the winner of About.com’s 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards for ‘Best College Dating Site.’

“Jean and I were getting our MBA’s at Columbia University, and a woman in the nursing department complained about how hard it was to meet guys outside of her department, which was mostly female,” Alexa said. “We didn’t find a better solution out there, so we created ‘Date My School’ to help students and alumni safely and efficiently discover new people on campus and campuses.”

DMS might be similar to Facebook, but according to Alexa, it is the exact opposite of Facebook because it stays exclusive to only students and alumni.

Interested students can only use their college email addresses when they register and alumni are verified through databases, to keep the site from frauds or having fake profiles. Members have the option to remain anonymous and they can filter out schools, departments, age range and individuals so that only certain people will have access to their profiles. DMS also provides safety tips for both online and offline activities and provides customer service in which they reply back within a 24-hour time frame.

As far as interaction goes, DMS provides different ways that members can communicate directly and indirectly with each other. They can directly contact another student by sending inbox messages or via instant messaging/chatting, just like Facebook.

Students can indirectly talk to each other by posting on an interactive message board, which eliminates the awkwardness of approaching someone, according to Alexa.

DMS also has a Q&A function where users can ask questions and then compare the answers to see if they have any commonalities between each other. In addition, a search engine helps students search for specific types of people based on academic, geographic and personal backgrounds.

“Whether for dating, relational or study purposes, DMS is the go-to platform to discover new people on campus and campuses nearby in a safe and efficient way,” Alexa said.

Intramural Flag FooballStandings (As of 10/1)

Monday/Wednesday Early Team

Overall

Differential

1. Lexington Steelers 2. PARE

5-0-0 3-1-0

73 57

4. APD

1-3-0

-20

0-4-0

-89

3. Mooseheads

5. Strong Arm of The...

6. Free Agents

Sunday Early

Team

3-1-0 1-3-0

Overall

1. Pi Kappa Phi 2. Kappa Sigma

5-1-0 5-1-0

4. Young Saints

2-4-0

3. 4th and 20 5. Spyders

-11

Differential

Overall

Differential

1. Kodeen Kowboyz 2. The A-Team

3-1-0 3-1-0

47 37

4. EXB

1-2-0

-31

0-4-0

-68

3. TKE

5. N.O.B.

6. Team Reckless

Sunday Late

Team

3-1-0

1-3-0

Overall

24

-19

Differential

1. #Dieslow 2. New York Jets

5-1-0 3-3-0

62 -15

-7

4. Violation 203

2-4-0

-35

-12

0-4-0

-21

Overall

Team

28 40

3-3-0

Tuesday/Thursday Early

Team

5

Monday/Wednesday Late

Differential

3. Team Snack

2-4-0

Tuesday/Thursday Late Team

Overall

-12

Differential

1. Ball Me Maybe 2. Trot Squad 514

3-0-0 3-0-0

47 35

1. The Fighting Myrons 2. The Money Team

4-0-0 4-0-0

92 67

4. The Nutty Bananas

1-2-0

6

4. Slippery When Wet

0-2-0

-38

0-2-0 0-3-0

-42 -63

3. The Step Dads 5. John’s Team

6. St. Johns Knights

2-1-0 0-3-0 0-3-0

32 -55 -65

3. No Punt Intended 5. Blue Bloods

6. We got 5 on it 7. Skulls

2-1-0

0-2-0

24

-40

Women’s soccer sinks Pirates Johnnies win second consecutive conference game on senior night

MATTHEW WOLFSON

Staff Writer Senior Day at Belson Stadium ended fittingly on Sunday, with a pair of goals from seniors Runa Stefansdottir and Megan Klement, who helped the St. John’s women’s soccer team cruise to a 4-0 victory over Seton Hall.

ST. JOHN’S SETON HALL

4

really well,” said Coach Stone of his team.

“It was a very physical game, but we’re used to that in the Big East.”

The Johnnies went up 2-0 before halftime with an unexpected goal coming via a free kick from junior defender Sandra Osborn from 45 yards out. Her booming shot bounced off the keeper’s hands and into the net.

Junior midfielder Jen Gibbons added a third in the 68th minute before Klement belatedly opened her St. John’s account.

“What we had to do was settle down and keep possession of the ball,” said Stone.

“Because we knew that we would be able to capitalize on a few of their defensive mistakes, and that proved to be the case as the game went on.”

Seton Hall (6-8-0, 1-5-0) gave the Red Storm their final loss last season, so the team was proud to exact revenge.

“It feels great,” said Klement. “And to go out there and win 4-0? That’s even better.”

The Red Storm collected two wins this

weekend to end a four game losing streak where the team was outscored by a total of 14-1.

“This entire season we’ve been so close and we had so many heartbreaks where it wasn’t going our way,” said Stefansdottir.” “And then today it finally went our way.”

Can’t get enough Torch sports? Visit our Web site for online exclusives. torchonline.com/sports

0

“Senior Day to me is a little bit of a token to add to how much we appreciate the seniors,” said St. John’s head coach Ian Stone. “For them to get two of the goals, I thought, was very fitting.”

Klement’s goal came in the 79th minute and was the first of her career.

“Honestly, for me, it was a big thing because I had never scored before,” she said. “And I really just wanted to make an impact for our team, and I think today we played amazing and everybody on the field worked for each other.”

The Red Storm (6-7-0, 2-4-0) got off to a quick start, with Stefansdottir’s goal coming in the 11th minute, burying it in the right side of the net.

Although there were no cards given, a total of 17 fouls were called in a scrappy match between the two Big East rivals.

“I thought they kept their composure

Senior Runa Stefansdottir crosses a ball into the box on Senior Day against Seton Hall.

TORCH PHOTO/DIANA COLAPIETRO

Honored alumni spark nostalgia

MITCHELL PETIT-FRERE

Sports Editor The timing of the St. John’s women’s soccer team’s first conference win of the season, a 1-0 victory over Rutgers on Sept. 28 at Belson Stadium, couldn’t have been better.

A number of former Red Storm players watched the Johnnies victory over their New Jersey rivals from the VIP section of Belson Stadium on alumnae night, including Amanda and Nicole Pasciolla, two of the most decorated players to don the Red Storm shirt.

The Pasciollas were honored at halftime with the unveiling of a banner at Belson that pays tribute to their academic and athletic success.

The twin sisters garnered a plethora of awards throughout their careers, but their most prominent achievement came during the 2009 season when they led the Red Storm to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

“It boosted it [the program] to a new level,” explained Amanda Pasciolla. “It set a precedent for everyone else that was going to play us that this [team] is serious and you better come to play.”

The tournament appearance also paved the way for future recruits, including this year’s senior class, to join the St. John’s program.

“We worked very hard to get there [to the NCAA Tournament],” said Nicole Pasciolla.

“Players coming in realized that this is a serious program.”

However, the Pasciolla twin’s talents were not only limited to the soccer field. They were both CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans as well as role models to the underclassmen who took the reigns of the program once they graduated.

Runa Stefansdottir was a freshman during the 2009 season and credited the Pasciollas for setting an example early on in her St. John’s career.

“As I’ve evolved from a

freshman to a senior, it’s made me realize how good my role models were [my] freshman year,” said Stefansdottir. “They were not only great role models on the field, but also off the field.

The way they prepared and the way they came out everyday really made me want to become a great leader.”

Both Pasciollas have since graduated with economics degrees and are now employed in the men’s fashion industry in New York City.

Nevertheless, wherever their career paths take them, the Pasciolla sisters will always be grateful to St. John’s for the experiences the institution has provided them along with the honors that it has bestowed upon them.

“It means the world [to me],” said Amanda Pasciolla. “The fact that St. John’s was willing to do this makes me feel great.”

“It was absolutely amazing that St. John’s did that for us,” Nicole Pasciolla added. “I miss playing and I miss St. John’s so much.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATINS

The Pasciolla twins pose with plaques that honor their athletic and academic achievments while at St. John’s University.

Johnnies sweep Huskies aside

Vball reamins unbeaten in conference play as they knock off UConn ANTHONY PARELLI Contributing Writer The St. John’s volleyball team utilized a unique mix of upper and underclassmen to defeat Connecticut and remain unbeaten in conference play.

The Red Storm (16-3, 3-0) didn’t trail until the third set en route to a straight-set win (25-20, 25-21, 25-21).

Despite the sweep, the team had to fight off the Huskies (117,2-1) pressure all afternoon in front of 197 fans at Carnesecca Arena, including a furious rally in the first set after the Johnnies took a nine-point lead.

“We were able to use the energy from our fans and that helped us work as a team and fight through,” said sophomore Ashley Boursiquot.

Boursiquot, along with senior Milicia Krstojevic led the Red Storm in kills with 10 a piece while senior Sabina Piegza contributed 36 assists. Boursiquot also posted a .909 attack percentage, her highest of the season.

The Huskies’ attack was paced by senior Mattison Quayle, who flew around the floor all day, contributing 12 kills in the loss.

Close matches are not unusual for the two teams, as each of their last four matches have gone into at least four sets.

“Every Big East team is a rivalry, but when teams like UConn and St. John’s get together, it’s a little more special because we’re a couple of the originals,”

TORCH FILE PHOTO/DIANA COLAPIETRO

Senior Milica Krstojevic (right) leaps to tip the ball over the net in the volleyball team’s win over Connecticut. said St. John’s head coach Joanne Persico.

The Red Storm and the Huskies both came into the match undefeated in conference play and with the win, the Johnnies have now tripled their total Big East wins from a season ago.

“Coming off last season,

I’m very happy these girls still believed in the program and believed in the school,” said Persico.

Out of 16 total Red Storm players, 11 are freshmen or sophomores, which, combined with the veteran leadership of Piegza, Krstojevic and libero Gabriela Petkova make for a very

successful mixture.

“This team is very young and I am really proud of them and what they have been able to accomplish,” said Persico.

The team knows it has a long road ahead, but they believe the sky is the limit.

“I think we could go really

far,” said Boursiqout. “Hopefully [we] win the Big East and make the NCAA tournament.

Our motto is, ‘start strong and finish strong.’”

Can’t get enough Torch sports? Visit our Web site for online exclusives. torchonline.com/sports

Score one to the beautiful game A couple of weeks ago, I went to my first NFL game. Being the incredibly passionate sports fan I am, it’s quite surprising that it took me 20 years to find my way into the stadium of a professional football team on a Sunday afternoon.

With that said, I went to an EaglesRavens game in Philadelphia. Before any Giant fans jump to conclusions, I’m not an Eagle fan; I was there for one of my best friend’s birthday.

I was merely a mercenary fan.

Just for some context, I’m a die-hard Viking fan that takes pride in the fact that my “Purple People Eaters” will break my heart at least once every year.

But to the Giants fans I referenced earlier, I hate your team with a burning passion. Remember 41-0 at the Meadowlands 12 years ago in the NFC Championship game? I do. I was seven. And I

cried. A lot. But, I digress.

What interested me most three Sundays ago at Lincoln Financial Field was how I couldn’t focus on the game that was happening directly in front of my eyes. It’s not like it wasn’t an exciting game, because it truly was.

The fact of the matter is that the whole experience was an absolute spectacle.

There were cheerleaders at every corner of the field, advertisements on the jumbotron, reporters walking the sidelines as if they were members of the team and after every timeout, it seemed like each of the 53 players from both squads would make their way onto the field.

There was too much going on to focus on the actual game.

Don’t get me wrong; I love watching football, but watching an NFL game live was a totally different experience than what I initially expected it to be.

So, taking into consideration my observations, I began to compare the experiences of watching a live football game with a live soccer game; because we all know that I can’t go a week without mentioning the beautiful game.

Obviously, I was a bit biased going into my experiment since I’m obsessed with soccer, but I put on my freshest

objective-journalist face and got to thinking.

By the time I finished pondering my thoughts, the Eagles had won, Ray Lewis was eyeing down one of the replacement refs with a menacing look and I realized that a live football game doesn’t at all compare to a live soccer game when searching for a plentiful sporting experience.

If you think I’m crazy, bear with me for a second.

Football is entertaining, I understand that. But how entertaining would it be without the pre-game spectacles, music in between plays, cheerleaders and tailgating?

It’d still be amusing, but not nearly to the same extent.

Also, take into consideration that there are 60 minutes of actual game time, yet you’re forced to squeeze into a 15-inch plastic seat for three hours to watch 130 plays that last about ten seconds each.

Until the fourth quarter of the Eagles game, I wasn’t about that life. There’s only so much I can handle of Andy Reid jogging up and down the sidelines, relaying messages to his offense in between downs.

Soccer, on the other hand, is poetry in motion. It’s 90 minutes of uninter-

rupted speed and grace combined with a sprinkle of the aforementioned spectacle.

Only in this case, the spectacle is gamesmanship rather than fireworks (I still have your back, CR7).

All in all, soccer could live on without any supplementary activities surrounding it.

I’m not saying that football (this is not a typo) is better than American football, I’m just stating my firm belief that the sport that asks its players to kick rather than throw is a better live experience than the one whose ball is the cause of this supposed bacon shortage.

Maybe there’s a reason behind St. John’s’ lack of a football team. I bet the administration is a genuine supporter of the beautiful game and its utter sporting pureness. Considering this University’s global outreach, its only fitting that it chooses to embrace a global game rather than one whose foundation is based on spectacle.

Probably not, though.

Mitchell Petit-Frere is a junior journalism and English major who guarentees that you cannot beat him in FIFA, whether it be ‘13 or ‘98. He can be reached at torchsports@gmail.com.

Matthews’ goal downs DePaul

Red Storm leave Chicago with 3 points and first conference win KYLE FITZGERALD Staff Writer The St. John’s men’s soccer team followed up their win against Columbia last Wednesday with a 2-0 shutout victory at DePaul on Saturday.

ST. JOHN’S

2

DePAUL

0

The Red Storm (7-1-3, 1-1-0) did not waste any time as they had an opportunity to score as early as the third minute when freshman Jordan Rouse’s shot hit the top of the crossbar and landed out of play.

Senior Andres Vargas continued to build up momentum for the Johnnies as the forward took four shots in the first fourteen minutes of the game, testing DePaul goalkeeper Eric Sorby.

“We had a lot of chances in the first half and even the second half, but their goalie made some good saves,” said St. John’s head coach Dr. Dave Masur.

Sorby could not keep up with the constant shots from the Red Storm and eventually let one slip by him in the 18th minute after a chip from junior midfielder Nick Matthews, giving the Johnnies a 1-0 lead.

However, the Red Storm were not satisfied with a one

goal lead. They continued to attack and fatigue DePaul’s (3-6-1, 0-2-0) defense and forced the goalkeeper to come up with a number of saves.

Continuing his positive form, Vargas sent a shot past Sorby in the 36th minute.

Freshman Brandon Savino assisted Vargas, which was his second helper of the game.

“Andres is probably one of our utmost strongest and quickest players,” said Masur. “If we get him good plays he can put them away.”

The second half was similar to the first, except for the fact that the St. John’s offense was unable to add to their two goals.

Their closest opportunity came in the 85th minute when a foul in the goalie box set up a penalty kick for the Johnnies. Daniel Herrera stepped up to take the kick, but his shot was denied by the Demons’ goalkeeper.

Junior goalkeeper Rafael Diaz only had to make one save throughout the entire 90 minutes of Saturday’s game. This was his fifth cleen sheet of the year.

St. John’s travels back home to host the Villanova Wildcats (7-2-1, 0-0-1) on Wednesday evening.

The Red Storm will look to improve their Big East record while the Wildcats are searching for their first conference win of the season.

Sophomore center back Tim Parker of the men’s soccer team was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after commanding a Red Storm backline that conceded one goal on nine total shots during their two vicotires last week.

Freshmen goalkeeper Ellen Conway of the women’s soccer team was named the Big East Rookie of the Week after keeping two clean sheets this weekend in victories over conference opponents Rutgers and Seton Hall.

Men’s golf finishes second at MacDonald Cup The St. John’s men’s golf team were runners up at the MacDonald Cup, its third tournament of the season. Pat Wilson, Jeremy Quinn and Ryan McCormick all recorded team lows of 71(+1) en route to the team’s second place finish.

TORCH PHOTO/KRISTEN FARMER

Senior Andres Vargas has three goals this season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF STJOHNS.EDU

The 39th Ryder Cup will go down in history for a number of reasons, the biggest being the United States’ collapse on the final day at Medinah Country Club, blowing a 10-6 lead to team Europe, who eventually won 14 ½ to 13 ½.

However, St. John’s University will remember this year’s Ryder Cup for the performance of Keegan Bradley, a 2008 graduate from the College of Profes-

Cast

Big East Honors a pair of Johnnies

Keegan Bradley reacts at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club.

Sports Editor

Storm

Leavin’ their Mark

Keegan storms the Ryder Cup

MITCHELL PETIT-FRERE

Torch Sports

sional Studies.

Bradley finished the competition with a 3-1 record, his lone loss coming in his final match to world number one, Rory Mcllroy. He was the first rookie to win his first three matches at the event since 1995.

Bradley quickly became a crowd favorite at Medinah, inducing tremendous roars of approval after his animated celebrations after each put he sank.

Bradley’s vivacity also took the media by storm. His passion for the competition mixed with a strict, red, white and blue-only wardrobe, granted him a

large following.

Media outlets across the country highlighted his yelps of joy while celebrities took to their Twitters to applaud the St. John’s alum.

Bradley was paired with veteran Phil Mickelson at the competition.

Mickelson’s experience mixed with Bradley’s youthful zest made for one of the most lethal pairings at the event as the duo only trailed for three out of a possible 44 holes.

Despite the fact that team USA failed to win the Cup, Bradley left an indelible mark on the competition and the golfing world as a whole. Many believe the former Johnnie to be the future face of American golf.

A native of Woodstock, Vermont, Bradley was a member of the St. John’s golf team during his four-year tenure at the school, before turning professional in 2008.

He won his first major championship during his rookie season at the 2011 PGA Championship.

The Red Storm will next take to the course on Oct. 19 in the Mission Inn Classic in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

Blowin’ in the Wind

“

This past week was so special. I feel for our captain. He deserved a victory. Was an inspiration to us all.

He will always be captain to me.

-Keegan Bradley praising United States captain Davis Love III after the Ryder Cup.

”

Headin’ this Way Red Storm home games

Men’s Soccer: Can’t get enough Torch sports? Visit our Web site for online exclusives. torchonline.com/sports

Oct. 3 Oct. 6

Villanova Cincinnati

Women’s Soccer: Oct. 7

Pittsburgh

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

SPORTS 3 October 2011 | VOLUME 90, ISSUE 8 | TORCHONLINE.COM

SENIOR SPECTACLE STEFANSDOTTIR, KLEMENT SCORE IN ROUT OF SETON HALL PG. 21

TORCH FILE PHOTO/ DIANA COLAPIETRO

The men’s soccer team won its second Big East Conference game after defeating DePaul 2-0.

The volleyball team continued its winning ways after sweeping Connecticut.

Pg. 22

The men’s soccer team notched its first conference win of the season with a 2-0 victory over DePaul.

Pg. 23