Vol. XCIII, No. 14, January, 16, 2014

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See “Food” on Page 3

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Destiny’s child: Beyoncé runs the world

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Academic Senators

(2013-14): 35 (2014-15): 28

By WOLF HOWARD News Editor

Residential Senators

(2013-14): 18 (2014-15): 4

Miscellaneous Senators

(2013-14): 10 (2014-15): 10

X X

Saint Louis University looks to have an eventful semester as it finds the deadline for choosing a future food provider rapidly approaching. Hoping to make a final decision by March or April, the university will spend the remainder of this month receiving presentations from the four companies bidding on the contract.

The four bidders, Chartwells, Bon Appétit, Aramark and Sodexo, will pitch their presentations to the Food Request for Proposal Evaluation Committee by Jan. 23.

The committee is comprised of many stakeholders at the university, including representatives from SLU’s Facilities and Sustainability departments, SGA, academic departments such as the law school and several others.

These representatives will evaluate each presentation, reporting on the pros and cons that each food vendor offers.

“We will hear the strong

SG

Contract deadline approaches

By JESSICA WINTER Associate News Editor

PAGE 5

A student voice of Saint Louis University since 1919

Vol. XCIII No. 14

PAGE 7

Diversity Leadership Cabinet Senators

(2013-14): 0 (2014-15): 4

Senate reform aims to increase competition With election season coming up for Student Government Association, earning a position in the chambers is expected to be more competitive this year than in the past. A bill passed in the SGA assembly Nov. 13 SGA that shrank the total number of senators from 63 to 43, a 68 percent reduction.

Academic and residentially based positions saw the largest reductions.

According to members of SGA,

the goal in reducing the size of senate is to create a more efficient and effective student government body.

Under the new organization, academic senatorial positions still make up the majority of SGA. When coming up with the new structure, the task force used a system where every college was given two seats for the first 1,000 students and an additional seat for every additional 1,000 students. Seven academic seats were removed

as a result of the system. First year senators were also reduced from five to two, and a transfer student position was created.

Whereas many seats have traditionally been assigned based on housing location, the task force eliminated these seats in favor of two positions reserved for members of the Residence Hall Association (RHA). RHA will hold separate elections to fill these seats. This moves issues related to on-campus

housing more explicitly into the realm of RHA. Similarly, graduate student seats were reduced from nine to two and reserved for two representatives elected by the SGA. Some of the most notable additions to senate are four Diversity Leadership Cabinet seats. DLC currently serves as a committee.

See “SGA” on Page 3

League looks to make SLU smile

Get a MOVE on... with

Campus improv group rising in popularity

the ‘Biggest Loser’

LOL: Four members of the comedy troupe practice their improvisational work.

By WOLF HOWARD News Editor

League of Laughter (LOL) is set to open for mentalist Chris Carter tonight at 8:00 p.m. in the St. Louis Room, offering up their usual brand of sketch-based comedy.

The League, SLU’s student-based improvisational comedy group, specializes

in a comedic style in the vein of the once-popular “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” playing improv games that take audience suggestions and use them to create a scene. The group usually holds their own monthly performances in Xavier Hall, but opening for a well-established entertainer gives them an opportunity to raise their profile.

“We are really excited to

open for a mentalist,” Kunaal Bajwa, Vice President of LOL, said. “Also an audience the size of the [St. Louis Room] typically has more energy and that equals more prompts and overall a fun time.”

According to Michael Baris, President of LOL, the group has been pulling in bigger audiences in recent years. While they used to

See “LOL” on Page 3

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963 1955 1964 Leads March on Joins bus The Civil 1963 Washington held boycott folRights Act Publishes on Aug. 28.

Delivlowing Rosa of 1964 is “Letter from ers his famous “I Parks’ arrest Birmingham Jail.” signed into Have a Dream” on Dec. 1. law on July 2. speech.

1965 The 1968 Voting King is assasRights Act sinated April is signed 4 in Memphis, into law.

Tennessee.

tember until Thanksgiving.

It consisted of groups with 5 members competing against each other and the group that lost the largest percentA new year means new age of overall body weight resolutions, and Saint Louis won a class session at the University’s MOVE ComSimon Recreation Center. mittee is doing its best to This year, Human Resources make sure that those resoluFinancial Coordinator and tions are healthy ones. From MOVE Committee member Jan. 13 until June 16, the Terrie Perry is spearheading group is hosting a ‘Biggest the competition and looks to Loser’ competition for the enhance the program.

SLU community in which “The purpose of the event faculty and staff members is to bring people together can enter to win prizes for and share a common goal, losing the greatest percentto improve camaraderie and age of body weight. confidence, strengthen selfA sub-committee of the image and improve everyHuman Resources Departone’s health m e n t , and fitness,” MOVE was said Perry. established Our main goals “We have 114 in 2010 are to provide a [people] enand aims positive, energetic rolled ... but to highlight I would love its four and engaging to see at least main founwork environment.

200 this year.” dations: Last year’s motivation, -Megan Mitchell, MOVE competition optimism, Committee Chair consisted of value and 33 teams and engage127 particiment. The pants and was reportedly group provides events that successful. The event rework towards recognizceived positive responses ing a balanced life, building from those involved, and a sense of community and participants even asked for it promoting a life built around to return. The MOVE Comthe Jesuit mission. mittee didn’t disappoint, and “Our main goals are to this year’s competition looks provide a positive, energetic to be a promising event. and engaging work environ“Bottom-line, MOVE is ment and to build and fosfun,” said Mitchell. “It allows ter trust and collaboration me to interact with people among employees,” stated outside of my department MOVE Committee Chair and plan events that make Megan Mitchell. working at SLU enjoyable.”

Their ‘Biggest Loser’ comThe group’s next event, petition will look to accomSLU is Sweet on You, will plish these goals by inspiring take place in February and the SLU community to join will encourage employees to in efforts for a healthier liferecognize their co-workers style. The event was started by sending a personalized in the fall of 2012, first runmessage and Hershey’s Hug. ning from the end of SepBy JESSICA WINTER Associate News Editor

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Wolf Howard / News Editor

average 20 people a show, mostly friends of the performers, a recent performance had attendance of roughly 100.

“After a semester of getting better and building our reputation we had a show of 100 in the tiny Black Box Theater [last semester],” Baris said. By the time the theater had filled the group was actually in violation of fire code, which Baris described as a “really good problem.”

As a result the League split their show into two hour-long sessions. Their last performance saw 140 spectators over both performances. However, tonight won’t be their first opportunity to open for a bigger name.

“We were fortunate enough to open for Kate McKinnon, the Saturday Night Live comedian as well.

That was really big, that was

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3 Let Us Introduce You: Katie Gauthier Donnelly THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

New Program Manager discusses global inspirations

Mentalist Chris Carter

By JESSICA WINTER Associate News Editor

(St. Louis Room) Mentalist Chris Carter will perform a serious of unexpected mental tricks on Thursday night. SLU’s League of Laughter will open the night.

As a small town girl from Canton, NY, Katie Gauthier Donnelly is proof that sometimes small-town citizens can become global inspirations. The new Program Manager at SLU’s Center for Global Citizenship (CGC) as of October, Donnelly has been all over the states as well as the world, and now finds refuge in SLU’s international affairs.

“SLU is an institution full of students, educators, and scholars who know they can have a positive influence on their communities and in the larger world,” she said.

“It is a fantastic environment for someone like me, who wants to bring more creative discussions about global citizenship to campus and to our larger community in St. Louis. I believe it is a timely and important pursuit.”

Before coming to SLU, Donnelly studied at Saint Lawrence University, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and African Studies, and later on at the University of Oregon where she got her Master’s degree in International Development.

These educational experiences helped to shape her career and life paths as well

Thursday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m.

Billikens After Dark & Campus Rec. SkyZone Friday, Jan. 17

(SkyZone) Students are welcome to sign up for a trip to SkyZone. Registration is being held in the Student Involvement Center, located on the top floor of the BSC.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Celebration Monday, Jan. 20, 5 - 7 p.m.

(CGC) The Center for Global Citizenship will house an event honoring the legendary civil rights activist.

Photo courtesy of Katie Michael

as allow her to discover a fascination in international affairs.

“As an undergraduate I spent a semester in Kenya on a very intensive academic and experiential semester program – it changed my life, my understanding of the world and of my home community ... and it made me curious. This curiosity has led me all over the United States and to a decade long relationship with East Africa.”

Since 2006, Donnelly has lead experiential service learning programs in Tanzania with National Geographic and their partner programs. She has served as

SGA: Senate to tackle committees next Continued from Page 1

It focuses on discussing and solving diversity issues across campus, but it currently has no legislative power in Senate. With the addition of these seats, the task force hoped to create more discussion about diversity issues in the weekly SGA meetings.

“The biggest difference that I can see [between SLU and peer institutions] is the fact that we have BSA and DLC senate seats,” she said.

“Within all of the universities we researched, none of them had anything like these seats. That is something that we are all proud of!”

The voting process won’t

change in any drastic way for students, but a reduced number of seats is likely to result in a more competitive election this semester than in years past.

“I am hopeful that the reduced number of seats in this election will generate more competition between candidates,” Election Commissioner Beth Alberty said.

“In the past, seats for many constituencies were often uncontested. If the seats are contested in this election cycle, students will have an incentive to engage with and learn about the campaign platforms their potential student representatives.”

The deadline for candidate applications is Feb. 6 at

5:00 p.m. and elections day is set for Feb. 25.

Restructuring SGA is not a new topic of discussion in the chambers, but this is the first time legislation has been passed. The idea of making changes to senate’s format has been talked about for years.

The relatively unusual size of SLU’s student government has been cited as a source of issues with productivity. There have also been multiple conversations in past years concerning the desire of minority groups for more influence in senate.

Sean Worley, former VP of Diversity and Social Justice, started an election reform task force last year to

get the idea moving towards action.

“We came up with ideas [last year] but we did not feel that the time allowed for us to make changes to the structure,” Knezetic said.

Reform efforts will continue through the spring semester as SGA works to improve their committee output.

“This semester, we will address the issue regarding the number of committees currently in SGA. Right now, there is not enough collaboration between each committee,” Sharma said. “With a smaller Senate and purposeful committees, I look forward to a productive SGA for future SLU students.”

Food: Four companies in the running

75 million consumers in 80 countries

Founded in San Francisco

Founded in 1997

Serves in 22 countries

Founded in Marseilles, France

Food provider at Washington University in St. Louis

Primary food service company at SLU since 2002

Recognized in FORTUNE magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” in 2013

Continued from Page 1

points of each vendor presentation from the committee, and then the next step is to go visit some of the sites of the vendors,” stated Evelyn Shields, Student Development Director of Business and Auxiliary Services. “We plan to narrow it down to our top two vendors sometime around March.”

SLU has previously hired both Sodexo and Chartwells.

Chartwells won their current contract in 2002 after Sodexo had spent nearly 15 years on campus. Aramark, on the other hand, has competed in the past for the contract but has yet to receive it, while Bon Appétit brings a new name to the table.

“We’re looking for a vendor who is committed to

providing the best level of service possible to our students, faculty and staff,” said Shields.

After narrowing the list down, SLU’s executive staff, who are the final decisionmakers on the matter, will then complete their financial analysis and proposal evaluations and will make a recommendation for awarding the contract come March or April. However, the executive staff assures that others’ opinions, especially those of the students, are being considered throughout this process.

“This process started somewhere back in January of 2012, and we’ve had SGA involved in all phases of the project,” said Shields. “Students are heavily involved in the decision-making pro-

cess.”

This includes a studentsurvey that was sent out last year concerning food preferences or concerns of the student body, as well as any other issues that have been brought to SGA’s attention.

“Students have voiced many concerns about what will happen to front-line staff should the contract be awarded to another vendor,” said SGA President Vidur Sharma. “There is a significant affinity between the front-line staff and students.

We intend to ask each vendor about its plan for retaining current front-line staff during the vendor presentations.”

Shields commented that, at this point, all four potential vendors have committed to the idea of interviewing

and employing the current SLU food staff. Each company is also submitting a management and associate staffing plan to the committee.

As Chartwells’ current food contract is set to expire in June, any future transitional changes that might take place would not begin until the end of the semester.

Once the decision is in effect, the future food provider would inhabit SLU’s campus for a comfortable minimum of five years and a maximum of ten.

“The quality of the bids by the four vendors is very high,” Sharma assured. “We look forward to interviewing all four vendors in the next two weeks and advocating for affordable, nutritional and diverse food options on campus.”

a Rotary Scholar in Uganda, worked on international programs at four different universities, and worked with the international non-profit community. So essentially, there’s nothing small-town about her.

Regarding setbacks in her life, however, Donnelly admits that it’s never easy adjusting to a new place.

“Being an expatriate can be lonely, it isn’t always glamorous, and likewise, being new to a city in your home country can also be challenging – it takes time to build community.”

It would seem that so far, though, she likes it just

fine in St. Louis. In between yoga, jogging and watching a lot of soccer (as she is the wife of a soccer coach), Donnelly is just as busy as during her years as a traveler and seems more than content with her work life at SLU. Commenting that she finds the CGC space “welcoming, lively, supportive and deeply collaborative,” Donnelly looks forward to seeing how the new CGC will evolve in the future and what new programs can be fostered to help engage students.

As for Donnelly’s dream job? She thinks she has arrived. “It took 10 years, but I think this might be it!”

LOL: Club seeks to maintain recent success “I enjoy the club’s challenge to make something out of nothing, by taking one a fantastic opportunity,” prompt and running with it Baris said. “We performed to make a relationship and in front of 800 that night scene, all while being a hilarand opening up for [someious adventure,” Bajwa said. one who is for] a lot of us our Baris hopes to maintain favorite comedian... It was a recent attendance numbers star struck sort of moment.” throughout the rest of the seThe troupe earned their mester, and spot when the troupe Ana Sontag, is continua Program I enjoy the club’s ing to add Coordinachallenge to make to their cotor for the medic repStudent In[relationships and ertoire with volvement scenes] out of new games Center, saw nothing. and techthem open niques. for McKin-Kunaal Bajwa, U l t i non. She apm a t e l y VP of LOL proached League of members Laughter after wards just wants to bring more and invited them to perform smiles to campus. again.

“Not every student has LOL meets in Xavier Hall the money to go to a show every week in order to pracat the fox or see a movie, so tice different improv techwe give them an hour of enniques, get comfortable, and tertainment absolutely free,” generally help each other Baris said. grow as performers.

Continued from Page 1

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Events Calendar

THE SLU SCOOP All Information Provided by Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Saturday, Jan. 4

10:42 a.m. - ELEVATOR ENTRAPMENT Seventeen people became trapped when the doors of elevator #4 failed to open. Maintenance attempted to reset the elevator with negative results. SLFD was contacted responded and freed the passengers. The elevator was taken out of service.

11:38 p.m. - PROPERTY DAMAGE A DPS officer discovered graffiti on the east exterior wall of the building. Pictures were taken of the graffiti.

Monday, Jan. 6

2:06 a.m. - PROPERTY DAMAGE A DPS officer conducting a building check discovered water leaking from the ceiling. There was damage to the wall and ceiling. Maintenance was notified and responded.

Be a Responsible Billiken STOP. CALL. REPORT. 314-977-3000 witness.slu.edu dps.slu.edu

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January 16, 2014 arts@unewsonline.com Molly Rippinger, Arts Editor Kendra Cruse, Assoc. Arts Editor

Queen Bey brings art to album

Courtesy of Beyonce’s Facebook page

Beyoncé: After dropping her top-secret album just days before taking the stage in St. Louis, Beyoncé brought a high-energy show to Scottrade on Dec. 14.

Beyoncé, Queen Bey, Sasha Fierce, Mrs. Carter, or the newly bestowed, Yoncé stretches the boundaries of pop music once again by creating a full “visual album” and releasing it without a word. Beyoncé reminds music listeners that pop music is still an art form.

On Dec. 13, 2013 at 12 a.m., pop singer/songwriter Beyoncé Knowles surprisereleased her fifth studio album. The self-titled album, BEYONCÉ, is visual album featuring a music video for each track. The album includes 14 songs and 17 videos. Its first release was sold as one cohesive piece exclusively on iTunes. The album became available in the form of single tracks as of Dec. 20 and is now available in stores.

The album was uniquely released with no promotion or pre-released singles in the middle of Beyoncé’s international Mrs. Carter World Tour. Despite its lack of “hype” the album sold over 80,000 digital copies within the first three hours. It marks Beyoncé’s fifth number one studio solo album, the highest first week of sales for any albums of her solo career and sold over 1 million digital copies worldwide in only six days. The album topped the Billboard charts for three weeks on removed by Disney’s Frozen soundtrack.

The album offers old fans more of what they love while offering something entirely

different from her previNASA Challenger tragedy of ous repertoire. The album’s 1986 (featured in XO). With sound is true to Beyoncé’s so many people collaborattraditional R&B and Pop ing on the album many are background but adds more in awe of how it was kept a elements to the genre itself. secret for over a year.

The album features strong The ordering of songs and beats, southern snare and the flowing of videos signify Beyoncé’s powerful vocals that the album is to be seen whilst having fluid strucas one large piece to be expetures and lyrical flow. The rienced as well as heard. The lyrics and phrasing of muvisual aspect of the album sic is organic, repetitive and gives listeners the full eftangible to the listener. The fect of the music. The videos tracks incorporate many difwere shot in many different ferent audio effects including places such as the beaches of pulses, throbs, heartbeats, Brazil, a chateau in France, etc., adding a metallic touch the Cyclone of Cony Island to the various tracks. Beand the Funplex of Houston, yoncé flexes her Texas. Each video vocal skills by not was directed by only showing off direcThe album is to different her powerhouse tors with different be seen as one sound but also her styles and interlarge piece to sultry, smoky side pretations of the and her Houston- be experienced. songs; ***FLAWendowed rapping LESS was shot in ability. black and white in The album feagrunge style, very tures vocals from Canadian different for Beyoncé, that rapper Drake, crooner Frank compliments the aggression Ocean and Mr. Carter himof the song, while Blue, deself, rapper Jay-Z. All songs picted various candid scenes on the album were also a of Beyoncé and her daughcollaborative writing effort ter Blue Ivy Carter exploras multiple writers are acing Trancosco, Brazil. The credited to each song. Jusmajority of the videos intin Timberlake, Sia Furler corporate visuals and audio and Miguel are just a few of from Beyoncé’s childhood, the big names that co-wrote early career, her friends and songs with Beyoncé. The alfamily. As the videos were bum also features audio inalso shot in secret there is a serts from various sources minimalist quality to them including the French version that adds drama as well as of “The Big Lebowski” (feaintegrity to the visuals. The tured in Partition), an exmajority of the videos lack cerpt from Nigerian novelist Beyoncé’s usual dance rouChimamanda Ngozi Adichtines and big sound staging ie’s TED talk “We Should but instead takes up a more all be Feminists” (featured cinematic quality. The videos in ***FLAWLESS), and the encourage a story, a stance, a controversial audio from the moment, an emotion that

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By TAELON SMITH Staff Writer

one can relate to.

Even for those who are not fans of Beyoncé’s past work, BEYONCÉ is well worth the experience. Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchel often talks about the rawness of her Blue album (1971) and how personal and honest the lyrics are to her own life. Being so honest about feelings and experiences can leave an artist feeling raw and exposed. In pop music, it is rare when an artist puts out tracks as personal as the ones featured on BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ, even with Beyoncé’s strong fan base, could have very well flopped. The experimental sounds, personal themes and lyrics show Beyoncé as an artist, a woman, a wife and a mother, not merely as a performer. Performers make an art of creating a character for their listeners, creating a style and a symbol to sell.

Artists sell pieces of themselves and this album is full of more Bey than any album she has previously released.

Strong themes of love, feminism, body image, insecurity, motherhood, adulthood, self-expression, depression etc. are expressed. The most prevalent theme is sexual freedom and expression which finds its way subtly and bluntly into many of the tracks.

Beyoncé has put out a unique experience for her fans and lovers of pop music.

The visual album, love it or hate it, is an amazing piece of art that will hopefully lead the way in other artists truly expressing themselves in their work.

Loving winter in The Loop

Image courtesy of Ice Carnival’s Facebook page

Ice Carnival: The ice sculptures at the annual Ice Carnival in The Loop are irresistable! The festivities will bring out the inner child in everyone.

By MOLLY RIPPINGER Arts Editor

St. Louis wasn’t the only part of the country experiencing a “snowpocalypse” during SLU’s Christmas break. Milwaukee had wind chills near -50 degrees, Atlanta was in the single digits, upstate New York was pounded with a blizzard and even sunny California shivered through unseasonably low temperatures. While the cozy climate might have been fun for a little while, cabin fever quickly kicked in

for thousands after the 24th hour stuck on the couch or 24th minute spent shoveling snow.

That said, The Delmar Loop’s Ice Carnival celebrating all things winter might seem like a tough sell for this coming weekend, but those dreaming of warmer weather should not doubt the fun events planned for this annual event on Jan. 17-18. Beginning on Friday night with the Snow Ball inside of the Moonrise Hotel, guests are asked to don their best and brightest white clothing as they mingle throughout the

ballroom. Entertainment for the evening will include live music, fun cocktails, passed hors d’oeuvres and crowns for the best-dressed ice king and queen.

Saturday’s festivities kick off with the Frozen Buns run 5k and 10k throughout the University City neighborhood. For those not exactly jazzed about running first thing in the morning, there are many other options to enjoy the Ice Carnival, such as the human dog sled races and numerous professional ice carving demonstrations.

Even for those just look-

ing to walk around The Delmar Loop with a hot chocolate in hand, there’s still plenty to see amongst the many game booths and various street performers, such as the towering stilt walkers and talented jugglers.

Adrenaline junkies should be sure to head towards the Moonrise Hotel at 3 p.m. in order to catch the Red Bull Air Force dive team swooping towards Delmar in their stunning two-man skydive.

This year’s Ice Carnival will also continue the crowdfavorite Putt-Putt Pub Crawl, which incorporates

an 11-hole golf course along the bars of Delmar Avenue.

Golfers are encouraged to sport snazzy knickers and pop the collars of their polos as they putt and drink their way from bar to bar. The crawl ends with a party at Cicero’s where prizes will be awarded to the best golfers of the day.

The ninth-annual Ice Carnival provides an opportunity to not only embrace winter, but to also explore what The American Planning Association deemed, “one of the 10 greatest streets of America,” just a few years

ago. During the weekend, shops and restaurants along Delmar Boulevard will be holding special sales to celebrate the Ice Carnival. So even if you’re dreaming of warmer days, consider the Ice Carnival a great excuse to experience a stretch of St. Louis that is well-worth seeing.

For more information and to view a schedule of events, look to the Delmar Loop’s website or contact The Moonrise Hotel at 6177 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis.

6

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

A life flipped at the griddle

By KENDRA CRUSE Associate Arts Editor

Most people can’t say that their day job landed them coverage on the “Today Show,” but Daniel Drake is not like most people. A true renaissance man, he’s the front man of the multigenre band the Psychadelic Psychonauts and he just released a comic book (Gorgozord Vol 1: The evils of the wicked Zax), but those aren’t the accomplishments that lead to his recent spurt of fame. Artist, writer and musician, Drake puts his whole self into any and all work he does, including his job as a short order cook at Courtesy Diner (3153 S. Kingshighway). As Drake puts it, “Being creative is such a dynamic thing, you don’t always feel motivated to express yourself in the same way, and the best part is that we don’t have to.”

Flipping pancakes has become more than just a way for him to pay the bills; now it’s another medium for creative expression. To keep his own spirit alive and to make better tips, Drake created “Dancakes,” works of art in his made-to-order pancakes.

Scooby Doo, Adventure Time characters and even Daft Punk have all sizzled on the grill in front of Dr. Dan the Pancake Man. Outside of the diner, Dancakes made their first public appearance on Reddit, the link-sharing used by web surfers all over the world. He made a Facebook fan page to share his creations with friends and family, and was shocked when the Reddit post earned the page 300 likes over night.

“It blows my mind; it took our band over a year to reach the same milestone.”

Dancakes have since been spotted on Buzzfeed and Yahoo News articles. After he was featured on local news, Drake was contacted by a producer from the “Today Show”, offering to fly him to out to New York City. The national attention made Drake realize the potential

of this project, and he decided to run with the opportunity the universe had presented to him. While he was in New York with his friend and business partner Hank Gustafson, the two came up with the idea to launch a Kickstarter campaign, fundraising to open a traveling pancake business called The Dancake Van. He figures that the Kickstarter is the best way to say, “Okay universe, here’s my idea to take advantage of this, if you think it’s good too, help me make it happen.”

Before the universe decided to present him with the success he deserves, it threw him a test. Shortly after the “Today Show” appearance and having put in his two weeks notice at Courtesy Diner so he could work on his business and art full time, a burglar broke into his house and stole $1,500.

Feeling hurt and violated, Drake’s plans were altered.

Ever resilient, his altruistic nature gave him perspective and he continues to work as hard as ever.

The Kickstarter is now up and running. The pair hope to raise $15,000 to cover the costs of the vehicle, materials, food and marketing.

“Hopefully, if the campaign is successful, it will create a source of income for me to apply to all my other pursuits, and it’ll be a blast in the process.”

More than anything, Dan is positive, passionate and unapologetic. “I mean the pancake art fame thing is this total bizarre fluke that came at me out of nowhere,” he says. “But it was a direct result of putting myself into my work and owning my lifestyle.” No matter what you do, you can make a strong impact on the world if you enjoy yourself and work passionately. It’s not just about the work or the art, it’s about being the best you can at whatever you are. “We’re all the only people holding ourselves back and if you think what I do is cool, you can probably do something similar in your own life.”

Courtesy of Dr. Dan the Pancake Man Facebook

Dancakes: Daniel Drake had America’s favorite weatherman cheesing for an Al Roker pancake (above), while also using his skills to teach kids drugs aren’t cool (bottom left). Some would say his art is the cat’s meow (bottom right).

Courtesy of Dr. Dan the Pancake Man Facebook

Zingers and zeniths from the 2014 Golden Globes

By MOLLY RIPPINGER & KENDRA CRUSE Arts Editors

Award season kicked off last Sunday with the Golden Globes, hosted for the second time by the hilarious comedic duo, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Between the red carpet fashions and terrific one-liners from the hosts and presenters, this year’s Golden Globes were noteworthy across the board.

Just in case you missed out, here’s a rundown of the night’s best moments.

During the opening monolague Amy Poehler bashed Matt Damon by saying “Matt, on any other

night in any other room, you would be a big deal. But tonight — and don’t take this the wrong way — you’re basically a garbage person.”

Thousands of viewers took to Twitter, but @bookishbelle justified the female viewers with this tweet, “All the live tweeting about movies & actors I’ll be doing tonight is payback for all those goddamn football tweets you lot shoot out.”

Fashion writer for The New York Times, Alexandra Jacobs, discussed the best outfits of the evening in her review stating, “Amy Adams, whose turn in ‘American Hustle’ almost certainly inspired some of the deeper

necklines of the night.” Jacobs thought Emma Watson discovered the perfect middle ground between overdressed and under-dressed for a “party that can’t figure out if it’s formal or festive casual” with her “cap-sleeved, hot-tomato Dior apron dress that, when she turned, revealed black pants.

Lastly, poor Tom Hanks proved no one is safe from the puns at The Golden Globes as his name was botched by Amy Poehler as “Tam Honks,” which quickly took off as a new Twitter hastag.

Photos courtesy of The Golden Globe Facebook page

Globes: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (left) kept the audience on their toes with quick one-liners, Adam Sandberg was pumped to win best actor in a comedy series (top right) while the cast of “12 Years A Slave” celebrated clinching the award for best film.

Courtesy of Dr. Dan the Pancake Man Facebook

“The Wolf” bites

By MEREDITH HARGIS Staff Writer

Most moviegoers consider Leonardo DiCaprio a notable actor – we fell in love with Jack Dawson treading water in “Titanic” and were mesmerized by green-lightgazing Jay Gatsby last summer– but the true test of an adored actor’s abilities proves to be if he can convince his most star-struck fans to despise his role as a greedy businessman, playboy and drug-addict. In terms of the acting talents of the stars “The Wolf of Wall Street” delivered, but the impressive elements of the film end here. Audiences were widely misled by trailers for the Christmas Day release, which suggested a classier blockbuster starring fan-favorite DiCaprio. Even though his role was that of a law-breaking bad boy, the trailer still portrayed DiCaprio as a lovable character with whom the audience would empathize and admire for his charm, wit, energy and mastermind thinking.

Though many may have expected this film to be a modern-day Gatsby with plenty of partying in the fictional West Egg, “The Wolf of Wall Street” actually proved to be its own, less inspiring genre.

Cheap, overdone, static, crude, unnecessary, uninspiring, demeaning, random and poorly edited are all words to describe Martin

Scorsese’s film. If the sections that can be described by the above words were cut out (making the movie maybe 90 minutes long, or in other words half the time of the actual film) the resulting production would advance in quality. Fleeting moments of potential exhibit a glimpse of what could have been edgy, clever, sexy and realistic but instead wholly resembled a movie aimed at an immature “Project X” crowd.

So, are we just too snobby and old-fashioned in our tastes? No, it was more than perhaps being a prude to the unnecessary sex scenes, endless cocaine and the ultimate lack of justice in the end. Even beyond what the MPAA raters warned audiences of, there was simply a bad mood and vibe to the movie. Yes, it was based on the real life antics of Jordan Belfort, but without background about the true scandal the audience watches a comedy that was grossly mixed with dark subject matter that made the movie’s purpose quite confusing and nauseating.

“The Wolf on Wall Street” apparently has done well in foreign box offices, grossing over $15.2 million in France since opening. Still, I wonder what lovely gains in reputation Americans will get from the film? In internationally produced movies Americans often are presented in a stereotypical and unflattering light, but why does it seem

that with this film we are doing it to ourselves?

Please, do not let “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Jordan Belfort be the first thing a foreigner thinks of when someone mentions the American economy! Please, let us not have another thing that gives the wrong impression to people who do not understand the context and background of a story.

Please, let us rise above being trashy and loving it!

Overall, Martin Scorsese managed to make an attention-grabbing movie. Certainly, the 180-minutes was not boring, but I found the elaborately distasteful elements exhausting to watch.

The film itself was well performed but not well edited, and by the end it was nice to leave the theater and see women fully clothed.

I’m not sure what the intentions for the film were exactly. It was not a comedy; there were too many terribly realistic and gut-wrenching moments. It was not a drama; much of it obviously was not meant for personal reflection or abstract observation. Rather, “The Wolf of Wall Street” ultimately makes each viewer lose faith in humanity and believe that maybe Leonardo DiCaprio was the one shot by George Wilson. Regardless of how he proved himself as an outstanding actor, it is still shocking to see a favorite hero and protagonist become such an adversary.

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For continued multimedia coverage of Billiken sporting events visit unewsonline.com

January 16, 2014 sports@unewsonline.com Ryan Glover, Sports Editor Casey Waughn, Assoc. Sports Editor

No. 24 Billikens win 10th straight

By BRIAN HAENCHEN Staff Writer

It’s always a good thing when a team can learn valuable lessons and further its development while still winning games. Case in point: as they entered the academic break, the Billikens appeared to be in stuck in neutral.

But on Dec. 18, Saint Louis finally got itself on track with an 8366 dismantling of Indiana State.

They suddenly caught fire from behind the arc, burying 10 of 25 3-point attempts. The long-range attack created more opportunities for Dwayne Evans, who knocked in 16 free throws as part of a seasonhigh 24-point performance.

The home team’s performance on the defensive end of the floor was characterized by the complete shutdown of ISU’s leading scorer Jake Odum, who managed just nine points with seven turnovers.

Perhaps the most encouraging development was what happened when SLU took the lead—they remained hungry.

After weathering the Sycamores’ initial charge in

the second half, the Billikens ripped off a 21-10 run to bury their unwelcome visitors and claim their fourth win in a row.

“This was a great win,” Evans said. “It’s obviously the best win of the year. We played well throughout the entire game…everyone played well. We really shut down everything they were trying to do. It came down to them making one-on-one plays and that’s something we have to clean up. But as far as their offensive sets, we shut that down for the most part.”

On paper, it’s not nearly as gaudy as last season’s New Year’s Eve beat down of No. 20 New Mexico, but that ravaging of Indiana State marked a turning point in the Bills’ season. Since that game, they’ve strung together six more victories to extend their winning streak to ten and have entered the national rankings for the first time this season, checking in at No. 24 following triumphs in last week’s wins over Rhode Island and Dayton.

“I think we’re playing well,” reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Jordair Jett said Saturday afternoon.

“But we also feel [that] we can play a lot better. It’s scary how I feel we can play and we all know it too.”

Over the past couple of weeks, the where has been just as important as the how for the Billikens, because sandwiched between relatively easy victories over North Carolina A&T (NCAT) and Yale at the end of the non-conference season was a hard-earned victory in Nashville.

Nine days after they obliterated North Carolina A&T, the Billikens found themselves down by five late in the second half on the road against Vanderbilt.

Undaunted, they stabilized and began their counter-assault, ignited

by Jett. After staving off one final Vandy surge, Saint Louis seized control with an 8-0 run, capped off by an emphatic two-handed slam from Evans, which gave them a 49-44 advantage with 2 minutes left.

Per usual, Saint

Louis’ trademark defense led the way in Nashville, limiting the Commodores to just one field goal

(a three-pointer from Luke Hornet with 12 seconds left) over the final eight minutes of the game.

“That was a big boy game,” coach Jim Crews said. “It was a tough, grind out, possession-bypossession game and our guys hung in there and kind of got better as the game progressed.”

With a 75-55 victory over Yale in hand, SLU was off to its best start since the 1993-94 season and, more importantly, was brimming with confidence as it opened its Atlantic 10 slate with games at Rhode Island and at Dayton.

“It’s all about confidence,” McBroom explained. “Coming into this next conference game is big for us to make a statement. We want to make a statement here right off the bat.”

The defending Atlantic 10 champs wanted to make a statement in their first two conference games of the sea-

See “Ranked” on Page 9

Bills stumble in Breaking down the Billikens’ path conference play through the Atlantic 10 conference

By CASEY WAUGHN Assoc. Sports Editor

Many students love to complain and compare stories from winter break about the weather they encountered while at home. However, the women’s basketball team had their own adventure caused by the weather.

What was expected to be a two-day trip to New York turned into an eight-day East Coast jaunt that began on Jan. 2 and ended on Jan. 9.

On Jan. 2, the Bills played their first A-10 conference game at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY. The Rams defeated the Billikens 74-52. Instead of boarding a plane the next morning and flying back to St. Louis, the team’s flight was cancelled after eight hours of waiting in the airport due to inclement weather in the Northeast, rendering them stuck in New York.

The cancellation caused what would have been the Bills A-10 home opener against Dayton, originally scheduled for Jan. 5, to be rescheduled for Feb. 17.

Following the cancellation of the flight, the team stayed in New York City until Monday, Jan. 6, where they then traveled by bus to Washington D.C. to play

CHEER

JEER

George Washington University on Jan. 8.

The team took advantage of the misfortune by sightseeing, making stops including Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center while in New York, and the Capital and a visit with Missouri state Senator Claire McCaskill while in Washington D.C. The Bills lost their contest with George Washington 84-61. Freshman Erin Nelson led SLU in scoring with 17 points on the night. The Billikens also had two other players in double figures, as redshirt sophomore Jamesia Price added 14 and sophomore Denisha Womack scored 11.

Nelson is leading the Billikens in a number of statistical categories on the season thus far, including average minutes played with 35.8 and points per game with 14.1. Freshman Sadie Stipanovich leads the team in rebounds on the season with 117.

Most recently, the Billikens played Duquense to open their A-10 play at Chaifetz for the season. After a late run, SLU lost by a final score of 59-47.

See “Billikens” on Page 9

By RYAN GLOVER Sports Editor

The Billikens men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 in conference play (162 overall) with their victory over St. Bonaventure at Chaifetz arena on Wednesday night. The defending champions of the Atlantic 10 conference, the Billikens are poised to compete for yet another conference championship this season.

Due to conference realignment, the A-10 has a much different look than a season ago. Former conference heavyweight Xavier departed for the new-look Big East conference along with Butler after their first season in the league. Temple moved to the American Athletic Conference after 31 years in the A-10 and Charlotte joined Conference USA. The lone newcomer is George Mason, who is best known for their Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2006.

Despite an outright conference regular season and tournament championship a season ago, the Billikens were picked to finish second behind media darling Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Behind SLU, La Salle, Massachusetts and St. Joseph’s rounded

John Schuler/Photo Editor

Basketball: Austin McBroom dishes it to Mike Crawford for a clutch three in the second half of the Billikens 66-60 victory over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night. out the top five. Much has changed since the preseason polls were released, and the A-10 race figures to be very competitive once again with several teams in the mix for the conference title as well as NCAA tournament invites.

At this point in time Massachusetts appears to be the Billikens’ strongest challenger in the conference race.

The Minutemen are currently ranked No. 16 in the AP poll. They hold a 15-1 record and improved to 3-0 in the

FEAR

WHO TO CHEER: PEYTON MANNING If there is one person in sports that deserves recognition right now, Peyton is the guy. He is a virtual lock for the NFL MVP award after his magnificent season in which he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 TDs. He broke Tom Brady’s and Drew Brees’ records respectively, and the Broncos are only one win away from the Super Bowl.

A-10 after defeating George Mason on Wednesday night.

Massachusetts is led by senior guard Chaz Williams who averages over 15 points per game and shoots better than 43 percent from behind the arc. UMass is known for their ability to light up the scoreboard; on the season they average just shy of 80 points per game. The Billikens will travel to Amherst to take on the Minutemen in the A-10 finale on March 8 in a game that figures to

have strong implications in deciding the regular season conference champion.

Early in conference play, preseason pick VCU currently stands at 13-4. Shaka Smart’s team has been regarded for their “havoc” defense ever since their improbable run to the Final Four in 2011. This year, the Rams’ pressure defense is a See “A-10” on Page 9

By RYAN GLOVER, Sports Editor WHO TO JEER: ALEX RODRIGUEZ ARod or “ARoid” as he is commonly known is certainly the least popular and most scrutinized athlete in American professional sports, and for good reason. Despite vehemently denying using PED’s, everyone knows that he did. Now ARoid is suing the MLB and MLBPA in federal court to overturn his 162 game ban.

WHO TO FEAR: BILLIKENS DEFENSE If there is one factor that has lifted the Billikens into the top 25 rankings it is their stifiling defense. The Bills allow 57.6 points per game, good for eighth in the nation. In addition, SLU ranks fifth in the nation in defensive efficiency. The Billikens have held (11 of their 17) opponents under 60 points, and that is a winning formula.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

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Ranked: Bills continue to roll Continued from Page 7

@TheUNewsSports For the latest Billiken coverage

Scoreboard Men’s Basketball Tuesday, Jan.7 Rhode Island Billikens

19 39 27 32

58 59

Saturday, Jan. 11 Dayton 34 33 Billikens 25 34

67 59

Wednesday Jan. 15 St. Bonaventure 27 33 60 Billikens 28 38 66 Women’s Basketball Wednesday, Jan. 8 George Washington 36 48 84 Billikens 37 24 61 Saturday, Jan. 11 Duquesne 29 30 Billikens 25 22

59 47

son and that they did, picking up two crucial road wins.

After Jett’s career-high 31-point performance led the Billikens to a dramatic 59-58 victory over Rhode Island (their first in five tries), they traveled to Dayton to take on the rival Flyers. SLU appeared poised to blow the hinges off UD for the second time in a row, utilizing a 12-5 run to match its largest lead of the afternoon at 13 with 13:10 remaining in the second half.

But the Flyers refused to go away quietly, closing to within five with 26 seconds remaining.

However, as it has done all season when faced with adversity on the road, Saint Louis maintained its composure and hunkered down, hitting three of four free throw attempts and registering a steal on the final play of the game to ice the 67-59 victory.

“We didn’t do what we usually do and have a lapse in scoring throughout the game,” Evans said. “I think

that was a key for us… I still fun to watch those guys dethink we have a long way to velop.” go, but we’ve got a bunch of Crawford, who has seen guys really buying in, so you increased playing time over can’t beat that.” the last few games, hit a pair After playing three of its of crucial three-pointers midlast four on the road, SLU way through the second half. welcomed St. Bonaventure The first broke a 47-47 staleto Chaifetz Arena to kick off mate and gave Saint Louis the spring sethe lead mester. for good The game with 9:19 We knew we were went acremaingoing to have a cording to ing in the target on our back, the script. g a m e , even if we weren’t The Bonnies w h i l e ranked, coming off fought and the secscrapped for ond—a of last year. the entire 40 line-drive minutes, nevfrom the - Senior forward er allowing far corDwayne Evans the Billikens ner—gave to pull ahead SLU it’s by more than largest nine. But within the heat lead of the evening at 57-48. of battle, an unlikely hero “I just shot it and it just emerged—freshman Mike felt good,” Crawford said. “I’m Crawford. just slowly starting to under“That’s what’s fun about stand things a little bit better coaching—when you see kids and [I’m] getting more comput in the extra effort and stay fortable in my role.” with the process. Mike just A litany of missed free keeps his nose to the grindthrows by the Billikens— stone,” Crews explained. “It’s they shot a season-low 53.3

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U SPORTS

percent from the line—allowed Bonaventure to piece together one final run, but a missed three-pointer by Jordan Gathers with three seconds remaining allowed SLU to escape with a 66-60 win, its 10th in a row.

With Wednesday night’s triumph, the Bills are 15-2 on the season and are one of just three teams with a perfect conference record inside the Atlantic 10. They also boast the nation’s best road-record at 6-0 and are ranked among the AP’s Top 25. However, none of these numbers mean much.

“I wouldn’t say there’s much pride in being ranked at all,” Evans said. “It’s a cool number next to our name when we play games. That’s really about all it is. We’ve been here before. We knew we were going to have a target on our back, even if we weren’t ranked, coming off of last year.”

The Billikens will host conference opponent Fordham at 1:30 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Swimming and Diving Saturday, Jan. 11 Mens 1st of 3 Womens 2nd of 3 Track and Field Saturday, Jan. 11 Mens 3rd of 6 Womens 4th of 5

Calendar Friday, Jan. 17 Track and Field @ Illinois Challenge

Saturday, Jan. 18 Swimming and Diving @ William Jewell/Bellarmine Men’s Basketball 1:30 p.m. vs. Fordham Women’s Basketball 3:30 p.m. @ St. Bonaventure

Wednesday, Jan. 22 Women’s Basketball 7:00 p.m. vs Richmond Men’s Basketball 6:00 p.m. @ Duquesne

Briefs Jett named A-10 Player of the Week

Billikens: Women’s basketball team shoots for more consistency Continued from Page 7

However, SLU held the Dukes to their second-lowest point total of the season, and also their third worst shooting performance, but the Billikens committed 21 turnovers.

As of press time, the Billikens, under second-year head coach Lisa Stone, are 5-11 overall and 0-3 in the A-10 Conference. SLU’s wins came over Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Tulsa, SEMO and Evansville. All of the wins came prior to the New Year.

The team is shooting .360 overall from the field and averaging 61.5 points per game. They are holding their opponents to an average 65.8 points per game, up from last year’s 57.9, which was the lowest average in 28 seasons.

Another notable statistic is home attendance for this season, which is an average of 538 over their seven games, where as SLU’s opponents are averaging 888 fans per game. Upcoming games for the Billikens include on the road at St. Bonaventure on Jan. 18 and at Chaifetz Arena next Wednesday, Jan. 22, against Richmond.

The Billikens then have two straight road games, where they play at both Rhode Is-

Ryan Quinn/Staff Photographer

Women’s Basketball: Erin Nelson looks for a teammate in the Nov. 10 win against Valparaiso. Nelson leads the team in average minutes per game and points per game. land and St. Joseph’s, and then return home to play both La Salle on Feb. 1 and Fordham on Feb. 5.

St. Bonaventure is 12-6 overall and 1-2 in the A-10 as of press time. Recently, they lost to Duquesne 73-65,

Track team triumphs

By CASEY WAUGHN Assoc. Sports Editor

Billiken Media Relations

Senior Jordair Jett

Jordair Jett has been a crucial contributor for the Billikens this season, and his recent performances earned recognition with the A-10 Player of the Week award.

Jett averaged 21.5 points per game last week in a pair of road victories, which inlcuded a career-high 31 points against Rhode Island. Jett’s defense has been paramount, and his scoring has made him even more dynamic for the Bills.

On Saturday, Jan. 11 the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams competed in the indoor meet, the Illini Invite in Champaign, Ill. The men’s team placed third out of six teams overall while the women took fourth place out of five.

Both new men’s and women’s records were set at the meet by freshman Michael Reader and senior Hannah Kuenzel. Reader won the high jump setting a school record with a 1.90 meter jump. Kuenzel set a new weight throw record with a toss that went 14.6 meters.

In the 3000 meter race, SLU men took the first and second places. Junior Michael Scolarici finished first with a time of 8:37.32 and senior Jack Hostettler

took second with a time of 8:54.25. Other athletes who placed include freshman Chad Maxwell, who got third in the 800 meters with a time of 2:02.48 and sophomore Dominic Corvington who leaped 12.54 meters giving him second in the triple jump.

On the women’s side, SLU had five events place.

The 4x400 meter relay team of seniors Kita Alvares and Allison Walter, and freshmen Emma Kidd and Hannah Rohde finished third with a time of 3:53.55. Alvares also took second in the 400 meters with a time of 58.08. In the high jump, SLU took second and third places as Naya Owusu and Stephanie Uhrich placed second and third respectively with jumps of 1.65 meters. Kunezel finished third in the shot put with a 13.17 meter toss.

one of the teams that also defeated SLU. Last season, the Bills lost to the Bonnies 64-52.

Richmond has an overall record of 8-10 with recent losses to Fordham and St. Bonaventure. Last season,

the Bills lost to Richmond at home 63-45.

Though the New Year has not brought the Billikens new victories, the A-10 season is still in the early stages with 14 conference games remaining.

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A-10: Aim to repeat Continued from Page 7

focal point once again. Junior guard Treveon Graham and senior forward Juvonte Reddic lead the way for VCU, but they are one of the more well-rounded teams in the conference. The Billikens will host VCU at Chaifetz arena on Feb. 15, and they will travel to Richmond for the rematch on March 1 in what should be two very competitive contests.

Perhaps the most surprising A-10 team is George Washington. The Colonials are 14-3 overall and they improved to 2-1 in conference play after a 76-66 victory over VCU. Five players average scoring in double figures for the Colonials, three of whom are just sophomores.

George Washington was picked to finish 10 in the preseason poll, but they appear to be a legitimate contender at this point in the season. They will travel to St. Louis to take on the Billikens on Feb.22.

Despite struggling in nonconference play, La Salle will be yet another competitive team in the A-10. The Explorers sit at 10-6, but are now 3-0 in conference play after victories over George Washington, Duquesne and Rhode Island. La Salle finished 11-5 in conference play a season ago, but they peaked at the right time as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. The Billikens will travel to Philadelphia to take on La Salle on Feb. 8.

Other than UMass, no A-10 team is in better position than the Billikens. The Bills entered the AP poll at No. 24 this week after a convincing road victory at Dayton over the weekend.

A season ago, the Billikens stumbled to a 3-3 regular season start, and they faltered with a 1-2 record to begin conference play. Despite this, the Bills won the A-10 with a 13-3 league record, won the conference tournament, and finished with a school-record 28 victories.

If the Billikens are to return to prominence once again this season, their stingy defense is what will carry them there. SLU currently ranks fifth nationally in defensive efficiency, and gives up less than 58 points per game on average. 13 conference games remain for the Billikens – six on the road, and seven at home. If SLU can win their remaining home games and win two of three versus La Salle, VCU and UMass on the road, they are likely to be A-10 champions for the second consecutive year and earn their third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

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Opinions Editorials

January 16, 2014 opinion@unewsonline.com Ryan McKinley, Opinion Editor

Editorials are opinion pieces written by the Editorial Board of The University News. The editorials printed in this space represent the opinion of The University News.

Commentaries and Letters to the Editor represent the opinions of the signed authors but do not necessarily represent the opinions of The University News.

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The University News reserves the right not to publish any letters that are deemed intentionally and/ or inappropriately inflammatory, more than the 300word limit or unsigned by the original author. The following are letters and/or website comments. Because the identities of website posters cannot be verified, all website comments should be treated as anonymous.

Actual letters to the editor may be submitted online at unewsonline.com or e-mailed to opinion@unewsonline.com. Please include your cell phone number.

Some SLU Year Resolutions Welcome back to SLU, folks! Those of us with the UNews welcome you back and wish you all a prosperous semester and all that jazz.

Since it is the UNews’ first issue after the break, we decided that we would publish our own set of resolutions. Rather than putting our personal resolutions, although it would undoubtedly be funnier if we did, we came up with several schoolwide resolutions that we can all apply to our next semester at SLU. Our first resolution has to do with polar vortex that hit St. Louis and just about everyone else and the resulting destruction and chaos that afflicted SLU. The first floor of Griesedieck was flooded with over an inch of water. That wasn’t even the worst part. The pipes of Anderson Hall in the Village Apartments burst in the midst of the frigid temperatures, causing all of the rooms in that hall to be damaged to such an extent that the tenets of Anderson Hall were forced to relocate on campus.

The most disappointing aspect of this saga is that it could all be avoided by a little forethought by SLU and its contractors. Apparently, the piping on the third floor of Anderson Hall was not insulated, causing the pipes to be more susceptible to freezing and subsequent bursting.

Under normal winter weather condi-

tions, such a design decision would likely cause no problems, but the worst happened and now there are likely hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to pay for. In the future, we hope SLU will take more consideration into incurring costs now, lest they risk paying the greater costs later.

Our second resolution for SLU is for a more school-spirited student body. SLU’s men’s basketball team is on its way for its third NCAA tournament in as many years, and yet their success is not translated into filling the student section every game. However, we’d also like to see a greater interest from the student body in other SLU events as well.

SLU students and organizations offer a bounty of great events that deserve some SLU pride. This school spirit also means getting more involved on campus. There are over one hundred organizations on campus, and there are hopefully several that can interest every Billiken on this campus.

Our third resolution is to get out of SLU every once in a while. We are all aware of the feeling: being stuck at SLU each day in the same routine. It’s time for everyone to take some time out of the week to treat your self or to give to others.

Our fourth resolution goes out to the

folks that send these long reports regarding SLU’s presidential search. While SLU students should be interested in the proceedings, these long reports make such a task slightly more difficult. As well as a longer report, we’d also like to see an abridged version of important events at SLU, giving accessibility to all and greater access to those that want to learn more.

A fifth and almost final resolution is to take more attention to events that may or may not matter to you, but nonetheless affect many people. While we’ve also said that the University could stand to cut down the size of news bits in the university, it is extremely important, regardless of major, that as SLU students we become more well-rounded by being well read. Be informed and become an active participant.

Now, this doesn’t mean read the New York Times front to back every day. It does mean picking a topic that interests you and challenging yourself to learn more.

You were in Madrid last semester and was peeved that all the garbage workers had gone on strike and wreaked a stench upon the city? Read about it!

Challenge yourself in more ways than academics (although pay attention to your studies as well) and enjoy yourself fully this semester!

The Billikens are worth watching The basketball season is heating up and it’s time to talk hoops!

The Billiken men’s basketball team is 16-2 after a home victory against St. Bonaventure, winning 66-60.

The win against St. Bonaventure gives the Billikens a tengame win streak, which is something of an expected streak, given that this is the Billikens’ third such streak of nine or more games in just two years.

What’s more impressive about the Billikens’ excellent record is that their only two losses of the season were two close games against Wisconsin and Wichita State, two teams with only one loss between them that grace the top ten of the rankings. The rankings took notice of the Bills’ impressive display, and SLU is now ranked No. 24 in the country.

Due to SLU’s relatively weak conference opponents, as well as SLU’s level of talent, SLU is not projected to lose again until early March, making yet another run into the NCAA final 68 all but inevitable.

However, if SLU hopes to receive as high of a seeding as they got last year as a No. 5 in last year’s tournament, they must come close to winning out against their opponents and take the Atlantic 10 crown yet again.

Such a goal puts the onus on the Billikens to pull out the tough road games against teams such as VCU, as well as to maintain

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their focus and drive against weaker conference opponents. If they do not, they risk falling into a bubble spot or even worse, out of the tournament conversation altogether. The Bills’ composure cannot afford to be lost with the conference competition that they have this year.

But those of us in the UNews fully expect the mature and team-oriented Billikens to maintain their excellent play down this all-important stretch of play, and will reach their third NCAA tournament in as many years.

With the Billikens playing as consistently well as they have been this season and in seasons’ past, we would expect the Bills’ home games to be sold out, or at least for the student sections to be filled, but unfortunately neither are true.

We’re not certain if the poor attendance is a result of poor competition, less-than-perfect scheduling, heavy workloads or all three, but the inevitable result is that the basketball team is playing in front of a crowd that sometimes lacks enthusiasm. At the University of Dayton over the break in an early season conference clash between Dayton and the Bills, the arena sold out their tickets. Judging from this season, we know that SLU could pull off such a feat. Simply put, the Bills are having yet another stellar season and it is up to the players and the fans to keep this beautiful run going.

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sports editor RYAN GLOVER sports@unewsonline.com

online editor christopher webb webmaster@unewsonline.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR JOHN SCHULER photos@unewsonline.com

News Editor WOLF HOWARD news@unewsonline.com

Arts editor MOLLY RIPPINGER arts@unewsonline.com

copy editor CASSIE BOEHM copy@unewsonline.com

Assoc. News editor JESSICA WINTER news@unewsonline.com

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After a surprise album release that no one has stopped talking about, Beyoncé chimed in feminist circles by helping on an essay and stated that gender equality is a myth. She’s blowing up album sales and now she is blowing up gender stereotypes and patriarchy!

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OPINION & EDITORIALS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

Phil Robertson vs.

Pope Francis presentation of the Christian faith. Currently, the Catholic Church is going through what many have described as an identity crisis. There are two issues at hand – maintaining traditional beliefs and adjusting viewpoints to appeal to the new generation. Appealing to the youth was part of the reason that Pope Francis was elected – he strives to place emphasis on youth and advancing the Church into the future. Robertson would represent the other belief, sticking to the Bible

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His attitude was one of superiority, spreading the Lord’s truth to these people who sin.

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I would like to compare two leaders of the Christian community: Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty and the leader of the Catholic Church, P o p e Francis.

First I would Paul Otto like to establish some facts about their outlooks on homosexuality. There is controversy surrounding Pope Francis’ opinions about the sinfulness of the homosexuality due to actions before and after his election to the papacy.

In 2010 (as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio), he worked against an Argentine bill allowing same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. But in a post-election interview with Antonio Sparado, SJ of America, he remembers his response to a question about homosexuality as this: “Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person.” Clearly, the pope’s opinion on the sinfulness of homosexuality is not cut and dry.

Phil Robertson does not mince any words regarding his opinion. In the now-renowned interview with GQ, he claimed that sin started with homosexuality and spreads from there to drunks and terrorists.

Now, due to the confusion surrounding the pope and my personal desire for a constructive debate, I am not going to talk about the sinfulness of homosexuality, I am going to talk about the

and traditional teachings instead of adopting “new-age” beliefs. Now, both positions (changing vs. maintaining tradition) have merit, but the way that people present their opinions makes all the difference. And that is why there was such uproar about Robertson’s comments and subsequent suspension.

His attitude was one of superiority, spreading the Lord’s truth to these people who sin and need to remedy their bad habits. This is by no means an accurate description of his goals, but this is an interpretation of his comments that is too easy to make.

On the other hand, Pope Francis presents a more passive idea of traditionalism, claiming that the one known truth about Christianity is

that Christ is God and that we are all searching for God. He admits the possibility of mistakes within tradition and claims that a true religious leader needs to have doubt, to “leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble.”

Some interpret this doubt as weakness in the face of heathenism that is becoming rampant in the modern age; but Pope Francis describes it perfectly as humility.

Francis acknowledges that humans are human and can make mistakes, even mistakes that may have been included in the Magisterium or the Bible.

That doesn’t mean that these spiritual sources are incorrect entirely, just that certain parts of the Bible or the teachings of the Church may be wrong. Francis presents a humble openness whereas Robertson presents a harsh certitude.

I may not be a follower of Buddhism, but I want to be able to listen to any Buddhist who may have something to say to me. This isn’t about selling out on my faith in God, but it’s about being willing to communicate and recognize the goodness in other religions and other people, and I think that is a large part of being a good human being. That is why I draw solace from Pope Francis’ example.

He shows me how to be a good person, whereas Robertson tells me how to be good from his perspective. In this day and age, I have thousands of people telling me that I am wrong.

It’s a relief to have a different spiritual icon be willing to say that he, and God, accepts me as a person who is trying, even though I am not perfect and I am full of sin.

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Botched cases let Hesiman winner walk Jameis Winston, the star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner from Florida S t a t e University, led the Seminoles to a 34-31 victor y over the University of Aubur n Ryan McKinley in the BCS National Championship game on Jan. 6.

Winston capped an incredible athletic display throughout the season despite being mired in a sexual assault case. With the decision on the status of the investigation coming only a few days before the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December, there was a great deal of doubt over Winston’s star status. Fortunately for Winston, Florida state attorney William Meggs announced in December that the state would not file sexual assault charges against him.

The announcement was disturbingly marked by its jocular tone. Throughout the announcement and the subsequent questions, the state attorney and members of the press joked about Winston’s Heisman candidacy and the accuser’s boyfriend.

The accuser’s attorney’s conference was less jovial, as attorney Patricia Carroll castigated the investigation by the state attorney office.

Carroll stated that, “this was a complete failure of an investigation of a rape case.”

While she said that going through all of the failures of the state’s investigation would take an entire day, her chief concerns were that the police department

in Tallahassee (TPD) failed to test the victim’s blood for date-rape drugs, the medical records from the night were altered or redacted and the TPD failed to record conversations with the victim, witnesses and Winston’s attorney until after the case was closed. The TPD also failed to execute a warrant to conduct a DNA test on Winston after the victim identified him as her attacker.

She lambasted Meggs and Scott Angulo, the head detective, for “not [even] conducting an investigation on the suspect.”

In addition, she criticized the focus of Megg’s supposed investigation by stating that he focused more attention on the victim’s boyfriend and consensual sexual relationship than on the suspect himself. In addition, according to Carroll, Meggs focused primarily on the witness accounts from two Florida State football players (teammates of Jameis Winston).

Now, if this investigation seems flawed, imagine that blundered investigations for rape and sexual assault cases like this occur all the time.

This only aspect of this case that is extraordinary is that the accused won a Heisman trophy.

However, there are plenty of aspects of this investigation that are by no means extraordinary and is in fact prevalent. The first aspect of this case is an investigation of the victim rather than the suspect and threatening behavior towards the victim.

Angulo said to the victim “[that she] needs to think long and hard before proceeding against (Winston),” lest she “be raked over the coals and her life will be made miserable.”

This statement is relatively mild compared to the threats and hostility received by other women who had come forward against athletes that had sexually assaulted or raped the victims.

Such hostility from the football team and administration of Notre Dame was shown to a female college student who had come forward with a sexual assault charge caused her to take her own life.

Other cases of threats from the community against an accuser can be seen in a recent case in Maryville, Mo., where a girl had come forward against a high school football player. The girl and her family received so much hostility that they were eventually forced to move (afterwards the family’s house in Maryville was burned down by an unknown arsonist). The hostility has even continued into this month with the victim attempting suicide.

Coming forward against athletes takes a tremendous amount of courage, and that is an absolute shame. It should not require bravery to report a crime beyond confronting their attacker.

The crime itself is traumatizing enough for the victim, but society often makes it even more difficult for these women by protecting the reputation of the athlete rather than the victim; testing a woman’s blood for alcohol and narcotics, but not for date-rape drugs, investigating the woman’s life rather than the accused’s, for the average spectator believing that the girl is lying even though such cases are extremely rare. These are all examples and consequences of a society that protects the privileged athlete to the detriment of the victim.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

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