Oct 10 (No. 7)

UNEWS

ARTS

Grovefest celebrates eclectic neighborhood

Cardials Advance to NLCS

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OPINION PAGE 13

SPORTS

Government shutdown stretches on

PAGE 12

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Vol. XCIII No. 7

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U.S. Government shutdown moves into second week

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Event addresses immigration issues sation going about it.”

The goal of the event was to educate students on the comprehensive immigration reform on a more local, naSaint Louis University tional and global level. students educated themIt included insight from selves on matters of immisix different speakers’ pergration reform at Monday’s spectives, so as to promote One World Event in the the most unbiased presentaCenter for Global Citizention on the subject as posship. sible.

With the growing nationStudents heard from a al concern over the immigrapolitician, human rights action system and the pressing tivist, border patrol agent, comprehensive immigralocal enforcement officer, tion reform bill, SLU’s One church leadWorld Mager and an azine ape co n o m i s t . propriately We all have a hisThese perchose this tory of immigration spectives all time to host discussed an interacin our blood, but the current tive prewhat brings us all state of imsentation here? migration concerning in the U.S. the different -Mary Shannon, while properspectives One World E.I.C. viding their of immigraown personal tion reform. opinions on “ W e the issue. thought it was really impor“We wanted to cover all tant to bring this conversasides of the issue, but the tion to SLU on a local level issue of immigration is so because it has been so hotly complex that it is hard to debated, and October has have a 45 minute conversaactually been deemed ‘Imtion about it,” stated Dore. migration Month’,” stated “Although the different perOne World Magazine Camspectives were all different, paign Director Anna Dore. what they all had in common “Although the government was that reform to the immishut-down has kind of taken gration system is necessary.” over the news, the immigration reform is still very much a pressing issue, and we wanted to emphasize that See “One World” on Page 3 we need to keep the converBy JESSICA WINTER Associate News Editor

Furlough Statistics

Department of Commerce Total Employees: 46,420 Total Furloughed: 40,234

Shutdowns in the past: This is the 12th shutdown since 1981 Last and longest shutdown occurred from December 1995 to January 1996 The Employment and Training Administration has about 28 of its 1,100 employees reporting to work National monuments such as the Washington Monument, the St. Louis Arch are now closed.

Department of Health and Human Services Total Employees: 78,198 Total Furloughed: 40,512

Department of Education Total Employees: 4,195 Total Furloughed: 3,983 Photo courtesy of Ashely Ziegler

By VIVEK GORIJALA Staff Writer

The partial government shutdown, which began at midnight on Oct. 1, is impacting far more than just the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Many St. Louis citizens are among those across the entire country feeling the effect of the partial shutdown.

Many St. Louis citizens working at St. Louis’ most prominent tourist destinations were deemed nonessential employees and furloughed. The affected tourist destinations include the prominent Gateway Arch and the Old Courthouse, some of the most visible icons of the city. These monuments are currently closed to visitors, and only a minimum number of employees have been retained at the Gateway Arch, strictly to watch resources at the monument and handle public safety.

The effects of the partial shutdown, however, reach much farther than just national monuments. Many

workers at Scott Air Force Base, located east of St. Louis, have been furloughed as part of the partial shutdown. Military personnel at the base will only be paid until Oct. 15, after which they also will receive no pay.

The situation is similar at the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri. The judiciary will remain open until approximately Oct. 15, after which it will be forced to reassess whether the court can remain open.

Many day-to-day activities, however, have not been affected. The United States Postal Service has continued to deliver the mail on time, and security agencies such as the FBI and TSA have continued operations.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport remains open and functioning on a normal schedule.

The effects of the partial shutdown will hit harder the longer the shutdown continues. Businesses that depend on the national monuments or spending from workers that have been furloughed will suffer, and will lose more money the longer the government cannot agree on a budget.

However, there is another rapidly approaching deadline that could result in far more dire consequences for the United States.

On Oct. 17, the government will default on its debt if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the amount of money that Congress allows the Treasury to borrow. The effects of a default would affect far more than just the United States. The world economy, which is heavily dependent on the U.S. economy, would be harshly affected. Both economies would face severe financial crises, and the fallout would be much more severe than what was seen following the 2008 financial collapse.

Fortunately, the United States government has never defaulted on its debts, so precedent suggests that the debt ceiling will be raised. However, as the Oct. 17 deadline moves closer, the partial shutdown that is already affecting so many citizens in St. Louis and beyond may be put on the backburner as President Obama and Congress attempt to compromise over raising the debt ceiling.

Breaking out of the Bubble

By VIVEK GORIJALA Staff Writer

Every new Saint Louis University student learns about the so-called ‘Shady Shell’ and is warned to never go past the Fox Theatre into North St. Louis.s warned to never go past the Fox Theatrecalled Shady Shell and By attaching these stigmas to parts of the city, SLU students insulate themselves in what is widely known as the SLU bubble, according to Norman White, an associate professor of criminology at SLU. The student-led Breaking the Bubble discussions, organized by White, aim to help SLU students learn about the divides that exist in St. Louis and provide opportunities to start breaking down these barriers.

The stigmas that SLU students have created, according to White, extend past the Shady Shell nickname and the Fox Theatre warning. The warning to SLU students to never go past the Fox Theatre is a manifestation of the Delmar Divide, a socioeconomic di-

Wolf Howard / News Editor

Barriers: The blue lights on Lindell serve to mark off SLU from surrounding areas. vision along Delmar Boulevard that separates some of the poorest neighborhoods in St. Louis from their more affluent surroundings. In addition, the university itself was once called the ‘Oasis in Midtown’, with a clear implication that the rest of Midtown was not well-off.

These terms, according to White, display one way that SLU students form bubbles around the university and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The first Breaking the Bubble discussion occurred on Sept. 26 after two years of planning. These meetings were inspired by some of White’s students who were motivated to address the topic of the SLU bubble. According to White, one of the main problems that he wanted to change at SLU, partially through these discussions, was to help students view the North St. Louis communities in a different light.

“We don’t understand places that are just down the road. This leads us to make assumptions that aren’t true. Instead, we need to view these people as another one of us, rather than as ‘others,’” said White.

Junior Alanah Nantell, who attended the discussions, also believed that the first step in breaking the bubble around SLU and its See “Bubble” on Page 3

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Y R SOR ’RE WE SED O L C

Of housing and the homeless

By JACKIE STACHIW Staff Writer

Even before the fall semester had started, Saint Louis University’s Habitat for Humanity was feverishly planning for the school year ahead. A major national organization, Habitat for Humanity is a student organization that engages in social events, fundraisers, volunteering and education in order to end substandard housing.

One of the club’s most popular events, Cardboard City, allows students to build structures out of cardboard and sleep in them overnight.

Its purpose is to increase empathy for people living in substandard housing.

Habitat members dedicate a large amount of time preparing for this event, as it is not something that can simply be planned in one day.

“All of the cardboard used is collected from freshmen move-in, so we count on club members to be ready for Habitat time before the school year technically even begins,” said co-president Emily Burghoff. “Every year we [also] always have devout club members donating hours of their summer to collect cardboard for this event.”

While the event might sound strange to some, those who attend are never disappointed. At the kick-off, stu-

dents usually receive duct tape, spray paint, and their cardboard boxes as well as a boost of encouragement to get creative and make a “home” that is fit to be judged for competition. “[We have] a competition of who can make the best house!” exclaimed copresident Kathleen Gallagher. “We have some judging criteria, and judging takes place later during the night. We always have very creative submissions--in the past we’ve had people build a rocket ship, Hogwarts, and even the Cupples House.”

At the beginning of the night, Habitat asks the builders to spray paint facts concerning housing issues, substandard housing and the Habitat for Humanity organization. These facts are then taken into consideration at the end, when the vice president of fellowship examines and judges the houses.

This year, however, the Cardboard City event was cancelled due to rain. Undeterred, Habitat for Humanity sponsored a makeup event for the following Monday that was full of fun, smiles and meaningful messages.

“The alternate event on Monday featured the speaker who was supposed to be at the event on Saturday. They are also a Habitat

See “Habitat” on Page 3

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

NEWS

SGA aims to Freshman retreat for a ‘Fresh Look’ increase efficiency

By JEFFREY SEIB Contributor

Twenty-two freshmen returned this weekend with a “Fresh Look”. Every year SLU sponsors the Fresh Look retreat, a weekend event intended for freshmen looking to build new relationships and learn more about college life.

The Fresh Look retreat was first conceived in 1996

by Father Bob Philips and a group of first-year students.

While having pizza with some freshmen, the Jesuit asked his group if they would have attended a first year introduction retreat had one been offered, and they all seemed pretty enthusiastic about the idea. These students molded the layout of a retreat that gave birth to the very first Fresh Look in January 1996. It is held at SLU’s privately-owned Saint Louis University Lay Center up in Louisiana, Missouri. “[The retreat’s] goal is to provide first-year students with an opportunity to hear from sophomores who still have their first year experience fresh in their mind since they were just in those shoes the year before,” Griesedeck campus minister and retreat sponsor Robby Francis said. At this year’s retreat group, speeches were held called ‘Who Have I Been,’ ‘Who Am I Now,’ ‘Reconciliation,’ and ‘Who Do I Desire to Be.’ The group talks were followed followed by smaller discussions where students were provided an opportuni-

ty to open up to each other.

Outside of the more targeted section of the program, students participated in various activities including nature walks, stargazing, hiking, and other activities.

Many students left this year’s retreat having had a positive experience.

Both leaders and retreaters seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

“I would say for me, the Fresh Look Retreat was an amazing experience. I was able to meet many amazing people and hear their stories,” sophomore group leader John Ketzner said.

Ketzner found that the opportunity to hear from other students about their faith and approach to faith strengthened his own beliefs.

“I believe that the more that one expands their views in Christianity and try to use other Christian’s ideas to help build their own faith, the closer they will get to God. That is what Fresh Look did for me,” Ketzner said.

Dayton Nelson, a freshman attendee, echoed the sentiment of spiritual enrichment, though he also appreciated the time to relax and think. Maria Yamnitz also had a positive experience, especially in the friends she found.

“It was just a beautiful bonding experience,” Yamnitz said. “I feel like I left with 40 new best friends.

I felt like I grew as a whole person spiritually and emotionally.”

By JESSICA WINTER Associate News Editor

This week’s Student Government Association meeting proved highly productive as senators approved two bills and were updated on current academic advising matters.

Lisa Israel, Director of Academic Advising and Support, addressed SGA about the academic advising department and its role in student retention and success.

“Advising here at SLU is decentralized,” stated Israel.

“We have eleven offices, both primary and secondary, that work in different schools and colleges to better serve students in the advising process.”

Israel explained this decentralized advising department model to senate and the department’s desire to get the advisee to advisor ratio down to the national standard. She stated that the Student Success Center has hired 65 percent of their staff in just the last year, both filling vacant positions and creating new ones.

She stated that research has shown an appropriate academic advisor-to-advisee ratio to be 300 to one, and that the medical school was over this ratio last fall with an approximate 440 to one ratio. With new funding, however, they were able to hire two new advisors and lower this ratio to 255 to one.

The department’s new focus is on the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and

Technology, as their ratio is about 48 students too many per advisor. Israel informed SGA, however, that Academic Advising and Support was anticipating this issue and has already requested for the appropriate funding for this advising department.

Further issues addressed at the meeting included the academic advisor turnover rate, after senates expressed concern towards the amount of advisors that a student might go through during their four years at SLU. Israel expressed sympathy over this issue that students might experience, and said that SLU is looking at many different options that will hopefully appeal to future advisors and increase their retention rate.

SGA then addressed and passed two different senate bills. The first looked to seat and confirm the 2013-2014 members of the Upperclassmen Scholarship Selection Committee, while the second created a task force that will investigate and discuss the optimal restructuring of SGA. To conclude the meeting, SGA President Vidur Sharma addresses the senates in his State of the Association Address.

“This year is a time of transition for the University.

I have a very positive outlook and am excited for what we will be able to do for the University, and hopefully you do too,” he said. “So SGA, let’s improve the SLU experience and do our part in advancing the University this year.”

Events Calendar Billiken Madness

Saturday, Oct. 12, 5:00 p.m.

(Chaifetz Arena) In preparation for the 2013-2014 basketball season, students are invited to attend a free event at Chaiftetz. Hosted by SLU men’s and women’s basketball, activities include shooting contests, scrimmages and autograph signings.

Trick-or-Treat for Change Flyering

Sunday, Oct. 13, 11:45-4:00 p.m.

(St. Louis Area) Habitat for Humanity is inviting students to join them in putting flyers up throughout neighborhoods surrounding SLU’s campus in order to fundraise and spread the word about Habitat.

Food Day

Thursday, Oct. 24, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

(Compton and Rutger) The third-annual “Gardens to Tables Food Day” is set for the Thursday after break. The event looks at global issues concerning access to food and humane farming practices.

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Busch Student Center

Sponsored by Midwest Association of Pre-Law Advisors, Saint Louis University Pre-Law Program, Saint Louis University School of Law, and Saint Louis University Office of Career Services Questions-Contact Kelley McCottrell with the Pre-Law Program at 977-3695

NEWS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

Billikens on Bikes set for spring A new bike-share program called BIllikens on Bikes (BOB) was approved in a vote by Saint Louis University’s Student Government Association in their Oct. 2 meeting. The initiative is expected to place 10 bikes outside of Busch Student Center that students will be free to use throughout any given day.

Under the proposed rules, the bikes will be available starting at 8:00 a.m. every morning until an hour before the BSC closes. Before participating in the program, interested students will have to sign a liability form. Checking a bike out is as simple as giving a school I.D. to one of the desk workers in the Student Center. A helmet will be provided to each student that checks out a bike and the helmets are to be cleaned and disinfected between check-outs.

Billikens on Bikes is expected to begin in the spring once contracts and payments are finalized. Ann Kneztic, the student plan-

ning the initiative and SGA’s bicycle racks to house the vice president of academic program’s bikes exclusively, affairs, intends to purchase extra money for repairs to bicycles, locks and helmets bikes should they be necesfrom Big Shark Bike Compasary and cleaning supplies ny. Big Shark is a St. Louisfor the helmets. The probased organization that has posed style of bike is the helped other groups start electra-townie, and Kneztic bike-shares in the past. plans to purchase five men’s Use of the bikes will be and five women’s bikes. granted on a first-comeAccording to Kneztic, first-serve basis. The $7,818 plans to expand the program initiative is depend on being fundhow students ed by Wellrespond I have a feeling... ness Fee dolto its ini[that] even after a lars, a pool tial launch, semester there is of money though she going to be need generated by had positive a semesterly expectations for expansion ‘ We l l n e s s ’ for future charge of growth.

-Ann Kneztic, VP of $90 for ev“I have a Academic Affairs ery student. feeling from We l l n e s s getting stuFee funds dent interare governed by SGA’s Wellest... [that] even after a seness Committee and allotted mester there is going to be to students or groups that need for expansion,” she said. request support for initiaMultiple senators extives that focus on health in pressed concerns that stua broad sense: physical, mendents might game the system tal and spiritual health initiaby taking a bike every morntives all fall under the puring and keeping it through view of Wellness funding. the day, denying equal acThe amount allotted for cess to others. Kneztic acBillikens on Bikes includes knowledged the concern and funding for bikes, helmets, presented the possible solu-

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By WOLF HOWARD News Editor

tion of placing a time limit on each rental, though she qualified the option by stating that it would be hard to know how to best solve certain issues until BOB was actually in operation.

She expressed hope that the administration might pick up the initiative if it had a large amount of success. When asked about how bike-share programs at other schools operate, Kneztic pointed to University of Loyola-Chicago as an example.

“The way they started it was through the administration,” Kneztic said. “[It’s] a $25 fee to get the bikes, it’s kind of an insurance fee, and if you return the bike with it being perfectly fine within the semester they get that $25 back.” She said that she was hesitant to have SLU students pay for the program directly as it might hamper its initial success.

Kneztic mentioned a possible launch day for BOB to drum up student interest and garner extra exposure, although an opening date won’t be available until the start-up process comes closer to completion.

One World: Group sparks conversation

Photo courtesy of One World Magazine

Monologue: Students watching a monologue about immigration by a church leader.

Continued from Page 1

The One World editorial team had researched these different sector perspectives and used this information to create short monologues for the speakers, which highlighted the different viewpoints on the topic.

“We kept [the monologues] short enough to keep people’s attention and simple enough so that everyone could understand the perspectives,” said One World

Editor-in-Chief Mary Shannon. “We tried to make it so that the person speaking was emphatically trying to feel what that person would feel.

So individually, there were certain opinions, but together the spectrum of them was as unbiased as we possibly could have presented them.”

Students who attended the presentation were also able to interact with the topic through an activity in which they were invited to mark their ancestral history on a large map, so as to pro-

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

vide a representation that conveyed the message of worldwide immigration.

“We all have a history of immigration in our blood, but what brings us all here?” asked Shannon. One World wanted to encourage their audience to consider this question when regarding immigration reform.

The end of the presentation was possibly the most insightful part of all, however, as 16-year-old high school student Naomi presented her viewpoint on the

topic.

Naomi is an undocumented immigrant, but through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) she was able to receive a social security number in order to attend high school.

Naomi’s DACA standing, however, is set to expire in November — at which point she must reapply for this to see whether or not she will be able to stay in the United States.

“I think everybody was really able to relate to her the most,” said Shannon, “because even though she speaks fluent English, studies with her peers [and] has dreams of her own, she can’t go to college [in the U.S.].”

The One World Event was a stepping stone in their “Be an Informed” campaign, as this event was specifically targeted towards being an informed American and was shaped around their message of being more aware of our nation’s issues.

The immigration reformpresentation included feedback postcards on the seats of all of the attendees, and One World reporting having received a lot of positive commentary.

The editorial team hopes to create another meaningful event for next semester.

Bubble: Prof. encourages city involvement Continued from Page 1

neighboring communities was to understand the people in the neighborhoods.

“We need to know and connect with the people,” said Nantell. “It’s more than just going and helping for an hour or two; we need to live with them as a part of the same community to understand them.”

White believes that after SLU students form this understanding of their community, they will become more open to going past SLU’s campus and working to improve St. Louis’ impoverished areas. Current groups and programs that aim to serve these places include SLU Corps and the Sweet Potato Project. SLU Corps has a partnership with Angel Baked, a bakery employing North St. Louis youths to bake cookies. The Sweet Potato Project provides valuable employment to North St. Louis youths by helping them create and sustain a business selling cookies made with self-grown ingredients.

These programs are similar to many that White has helped students participate

in over the years. SLU students have taken part in major community cleanups in the past and can also join tutoring programs for disadvantaged children in St. Louis. These programs, according to White, are in line with the Jesuit mission of serving others, which is why White believes that SLU is ideal for these discussions.

“SLU is the perfect place for me to be doing what I do,” said White. “The students here are motivated and really want to help their surrounding communities.”

The second of the four discussions will take place in November and will cover the effects of urban planning on the North St. Louis community. White hopes that the remaining discussions will help students learn more about North St. Louis and the problems facing the area.

“It’s easier to ignore the problem than it is to solve it. The inhabitants of these communities are the invisible people of St. Louis,” said White.

However, with enough awareness, White believes that SLU students can lead the way to breaking the bubbles around SLU’s campus and the neighborhoods of North St. Louis.

Habitat: Cardboard City rained out Continued from Page 1

homeowner,” stated Betsy Barton, a Habitat member.

“She is closing on her Habitat house next week, so that was really exciting to see someone whose life has actually been changed by the work that we do.”

Many students such as Gallagher agree with Barton that the speakers are the best part of the night. “It is a phenomenal experience to hear their stories because it continually ignites my passion to continue my work with Habitat for Humanity.”

In addition, students were able to go on a scavenger hunt around campus and participate in a “mini Cardboard City building contest.”

Rather than a large-scale house that they could have slept in, students made little gingerbread-like houses out of cardboard.

Although the event in

itself is fun, the message it sends is serious. There are individuals who must sleep in these cardboard boxes every night.

They struggle to find warmth and are in a constant battle of life and death. The purpose of Cardboard city is to encourage people to live like them for one night in order to raise awareness about the cause.

While the event was cancelled due to rain, it highlighted the environmental struggle that homeless people must face on a daily basis.

Rain or shine, however, Habitat for Humanity promotes substandard living awareness at SLU while also bringing a bit of fun.

While they hope it is not cancelled in future years, Habitat is always prepared to make the most out of any situation.

Wendy’s under fire from worker’s rights groups

Wednesday, September 18 8:48 a.m. - INFORMATIONAL

A SLU student found a piece of cardboard in her desk drawer with a drawing of a two headed person with a message written, “White people cannot be trusted.” She did not know how long the item was in her desk.

Monday, September 30

A SLU student employee’s left foot was ran over by a “Gator” vehicle. The next day the student was experiencing pain in his foot and was transported by DPS to Employee Health.

Tuesday, October 1

12:43 p.m. - ELEVATOR ENTRAPMENT A SLU employee became entrapped while vacuuming the floor of the elevator. Maintenance was contacted, however the door opened on its own prior to their arrival.

Photo courtesy of Dan Cohn

Be a Responsible Billiken STOP. CALL. REPORT. 314-977-3000

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Demonstration: A group of worker’s rights advocates held a protest in front of Wendy’s on Oct. 6, criticizing the chain for its refusal to join the Fair Food Program. FFP participation requires corporations to purchase their tomatoes from approved farms based on set humane labor standards in addition to paying a premium that goes to increase workers’ wages. Wendy’s is the only chain of the U.S.’s five largest restaurant chains not participating.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

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Arts Entertainment

October 10, 2013 arts@unewsonline.com Molly Rippinger, Arts Editor Kendra Cruse, Associate Arts Editor

The Grove is growing on St. Louis Quirky has never been cooler than at 8th annual Grove Fest

Courtesy of Grove Fest STL Facebook

Grove: Manchester Ave. was blocked off to host a massive celebration of everything lovable in The Grove this past weekend. The Bubblebus was a favorite across the board.

By KENDRA CRUSE Associate Arts Editor

Strolling down Manchester Avenue on a Saturday afternoon would normally be a quiet affair. Not quite tumbleweeds on a dirt trail, but this strip of bars and night clubs doesn’t usually liven up until the sun goes down.

Hip live music and glittery drag shows decorate nightlife in the Grove, while daytime is reserved for a laid-back lunch of ethnic cuisine. This past Saturday, Oct. 5, the opposite was true as the community, loud and ready, piled in to celebrate the 8th-annual Grove Fest.

The Grove is known for being very LGBTQ-friendly and is home to several gay bars and clubs including Attitudes, Rehab and Novak’s, but the festival wasn’t exclusively targeting that crowd.

Rather, it’s a jamboree with people of all backgrounds and from all walks of life coming together.

Middle-eastern immigrants shared the food of their homelands, toddlers danced in a storm of bubbles, Tef Poe rapped about life in Missouri and middle schoolers from Grand Center Arts Academy photographed the event. A diverse

crowd of artists and skaters, hoopers and hipsters, families and friends alike filled the trendy, up-and-coming neighborhood stretching from Tower Grove to Boyle, with a stage for live music at each end.

You could find anything from busking banjo players looking for a sing-a-long, to a roller derby team in action, with vendors serving food and other goodies in between.

Cocktails from Meyer’s Grove, a new bar settled on the south end of Manchester right before Kingshighway, were a hit. Concoctions like

caramel apple and s’mores hot chocolate satisfied fall fancies while avoiding the classic, but sadly used-andabused pumpkin flavor.

Blessed with perfect autumn weather (save the off-and-on drizzle), Grove Fest organizers couldn’t have asked for a better turn out.

The event was also used to show off new businesses in the area, like Meyer’s Grove. Another fresh spot in the Grove is RISE Coffee House. Full of crocheted this and crafted that, the decor gives this new addition to the St. Louis coffee scene a homey, do-it-yourself feel.

They serve sustainable treats from Whisk bakery and fair-trade Goshen coffee. It seems high time for a place like RISE in the Grove, and high traffic at the cafe’s festival set-up proves St. Louisans agree.

What sets Grove Fest apart from other street fairs in the city is the effort to build community in the Forrest Park Southeast area.

Every year at Grove Fest, a new mural is painted. Not by one commissioned artist, but by any person who wants to stop by and contribute, leaving each painter with a sense of solidarity with ev-

A look back at the Lumineers concert

ery other person who helped mold the neighborhood into what it is today. A day full of fringe art, local music and delicious food is good time for everyone. It’s a beautiful thing when the object of such fun is creating a tightknit community.

As the community grows, Grove Fest grows along with it, becoming bigger and better every year. If you missed it this year, be sure to check out the festival next time around.

Only time will tell what Grove Fest 2014 will have in store, but you can count on a good time for everyone.

OUT on the

By Molly Rippinger Arts Editor

Courtesy of Soulard Oktoberfest Facebook page

Oktoberfest: Be prepared to see a whole lotta lederhosen in St. Louis this weekend.

Oktoberfest in STL Soulard is pumped to say “Probst!”

By Molly Rippinger Arts Editor

This weekend, Soulard will be taken over by thousands of people looking for a chance to get in touch with their inner-German. Just how everyone becomes Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, when it comes to celebrating a festival rooted in the traditions of beer and giant pretzels, most people want to join in the fun regardless of their heritage.

Beginning on Friday, Oct. 11, Soulard welcomes all in St. Louis to attend their 10th annual Oktoberfest.

Tooted as one of the best

celebrations in the country, this weekend is made complete through live musical performances, various Germanic competitions and lots of lederhosen. For example, if you’re feeling particularly strong (or emboldened by beer) sign up for the “Masskrugstemmen” game, which challenges participants to hold a 1 liter stein of beer longer than all other competitors.

Or if you’ve always watched the “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” and thought you have what it takes, test your tummy’s limits in the brat-eating contest.

Even if competition is

not you cup of tea, come on down to experience this joyful German tradition.

At the very least, shouting “probst!” and drinking special brews made by Schlafly and Urban Chestnut just for the occasion make it well worth the trip.

It all takes place between Third and Lafayette Streets in Soulard. Check it out on Oct. 11 from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the event. It may not be Munich, but St. Louis’ Oktoberfest has enough lederhosen to for all.

No strangers to St. Louis, the folksy rockers from Colorado returned to the play in a packed Chaifetz Arena on Friday, Oct. 5. The Lumineers were further promoting their already re-released debut album, which has been a favorite nominee for numerous categories in the 2013 Grammy awards. Performing for almost 8,000 fans, the band kept their set low-key with only five antique chandeliers strung above the stage and deep blue lighting beaming from behind the guys. “Ho Hey,” “Flowers In Your Hair” and “Dead Sea” were just some of the hits which drew the largest cheers of the night.

Yet, about halfway through the show, an awkward moment occurred

when Wesley Schultz lectured the fans for using cell phones to capture photos and videos during the show.

Once apparently was not enough, because he again interrupted a song in order to chastise the over-eager crowd.

Perhaps he felt guilty for the lecture because later on in the set he suggested that the band wanted to get a little closer to the crowd. So for “Darlene” and “Elouise,” The Lumineers went to the back of the general admission floor where a sea of SLU students greeted them with hundreds of cell phones held up to capture the moment. Talk about irony.

The night opened with Dr. Dog and Nathaniel Rateliff who were promoting their new albums B-Room and Falling Faster Than You Can Run.

TOWN Arts Editors’ Picks

Music Barenaked Ladies Friday, Oct. 11 7:30 p.m.

Peabody Opera House Danny Brown Friday, Oct. 11 7:30 p.m.

Chaifetz Arena Minus the Bear Saturday, Oct. 12 7:30 p.m.

Plush Motion City Soundtrack Sunday, Oct. 13 7:30 p.m.

Plush

Movies Dawn of the Dead Sunday, Oct. 13 7:30 p.m.

Webster University-Moore Auditorium Gravity Through Oct. 31 Moolah Theatre & Lounge

Courtesy of The Lumineers Facebook page

Lumineers: SLU students took advantage of free tickets to see the popular folk rock group play at Chaifetz.

Pulp Fiction Friday, Oct. 11 & Saturday, Oct. 12 11:55 p.m.

Moolah Theatre & Lounge

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Hollywood finds its footing in space “Gravity” pushes beyond the boundaries of cinema me truly breathless in the that so much of the story is theater. One of the highlights conveyed with so little diaof the film is a 15-minute exlogue. tended shot that twists and In particular, Sandra Bullturns with the acrobatic asock’s performance as Dr. tronauts. In the theater you Ryan Stone is a tremendous truly feel like you’re another exhibition of successful solo astronaut on the mission. It’s acting. Coming off her lead an incredible illusion and it role in the summer blockis just one example of direcbuster hit “Heat,” “Gravity” tor Alfonso Cuaron’s masterseems to have pushed Bullful camerawork, which will ock well past the comforts surely earn him nods from of comedy and into a role numerous film associations impossible for an actor of come 2014. less talented than she. In the The sound (or lack therefilm she plays a biomedical of ) in “Gravengineer on ity” also her firstdeserves a ever space special menmission. The The movie lives or tion. In outer fact that she space, there is not too dies solely by its is nothing to keen on bevisuals and in the carry sound ing shot up regard it sets a waves and into outer new technological this is wonspace as an derfully reastronaut is milestone. alized in the also clearly film. Whencommuniever a giant cated in the explosion beginning of occurs, there is an unnerv“Gravity.” As the trailer suging silence that accompanies gests, things quickly go from the onscreen chaos. It adds bad to worse for Dr. Stone to the tension and suspense and her research crew once of the film as you realize that they leave Earth. Surprisno one could ever hear your ingly, the film does not fodistress as you float off into cus solely on the chaos, but the abyss. rather attempts to address Behind all the spectacular how we, as human beings, visuals and audio achieverespond when problems ments lies a beautiful metaarise. phor for life, depression, It’s the elegance and grace loneliness and relationships. in which Cuaron answers The story of “Gravity” is these questions that is most surprisingly simple, but the striking in “Gravity.” For exbulk of the story’s emotional ample, Cuaron beautifully weight is conveyed in the accompares the fear of drifting tor’s faces and the movie’s vioff into the vast nothingness suals. It’s an astonishing feat of space to the psychological

“

“

“Gravity” is one of the best films ever made. I know that this may be a considered q u i t e a bold statement to m a k e right out of the gate, but this is a wonMichael derfully Schufreider f r e s h Hollywood production. So in this review I promise to attempt to best explain why everyone should take the time to go see this film without revealing too many of the finer details. What you simply must know though is that this is an extremely powerful and emotional movie that implements some of the best special effects in cinematic history.

“Gravity” is a unique film because of its novel use of setting and atmosphere to tell a story of human relationships. The movie lives or dies solely by its visuals and in this regard it sets a new technological milestone.

To be honest, it still baffles me that the movie was not actually shot in space, but rather just inside a studio. The visuals are so convincing that this is the probably the closest many of us will actually get to floating in space.

The movie is also one of the most impressively shot films I’ve watched, with many of the scenes leaving

A lot more than just catcalls at Cabaret OUT

By Katy Keating Staff Writer

on the

TOWN Arts Editors’ Picks

Festivals Soulard Oktoberfest Friday, Oct. 11- Sunday, Oct. 13 Friday 6 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Saturday 11 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Sunday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

3rd and Lafayette Streets St. Louis Columbus Day Parade & Festival Sunday, Oct. 13 12 p.m.

The Hill

Haunted houses

The Darkness Daily through Oct. 31 $25 per adult 1525 South 8th Street Soulard Scream Park at Creepyworld Daily through Oct. 31 $45 per adult 13th St. & Highway 141 Fenton, MO The Lemp Brewery Daily through Oct. 31 $20 per adult 3500 Lemp Ave. Soulard Fright Fest at Six Flags Every Friday and Saturday through October Eureka, MO Corn Maze Massacre Every Friday and Saturday through October Eureka, MO

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis premiered its season with the award-winning musical Cabaret. Set in Berlin as the Nazis rose to power in the 1930s, this iconic Broadway production follows the employees and patrons of the Kit Kat Club.

More specifically, Cabaret tells the love story of club performer Sally Bowles and writer Cliff Bradshaw. The action of the play is interspersed with cabaret performances by the Kit Kat Girls and the show’s host, the Emcee. As the show begins, the lines between performance and reality are solid and defined, but as the show progresses those lines are blurred until Sally gives her final performance with “Life is a Cabaret,” and the actors and audience discover that those once clear lines are now nonexistent.

The Emcee is the driving force behind the whole show, acting as a host, performer, ringleader and sometimes even a puppeteer. Nathan Lee Graham played this coveted role and managed to grab the audience’s attention right from the start. His performance was a mastery of physicality that came off as strange, yet fascinating.

From the first act to final bow, Graham never stopped loving the audience, and because of that the audience never stopped loving him.

Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw were played by Liz Pearce and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, respectively. The two had an interesting and mature chemistry that is not typically seen when watching Cabaret. Pearce was forceful, yet she seemed to warm up a bit on stage while her

American admirer, played

by Herdlicka, performed his role with specificity and ease. Together they moved the show forward, but they did not necessarily do it justice.

The actor worth praise was Mary Gordon Murray.

She played Fraulein Schneider, Sally and Cliff ’s loveable spinster landlord. Murray grounded the show and played Schneider as a complex character with whom you could emphasize, love and also pity. She carried the show strongly and should be commended for her performance, which pushed past a mere crowd-pleasing character.

Cabaret was directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Marcia Milgrom Dodge. While the artistic vision was apparent in the show, overall the performance lacked any definitive depth. Under her direction Cabaret became a story to entertain the masses rather than a story to teach a lesson or make a point. However, that vision worked for this particular production.

The show had a month-long run in St. Louis, with eight shows per week.

In this day and age, with the economic decline of theatres everywhere, it becomes part of the director’s job to put on a show that will sell tickets. Despite the odds, Dodge found a way to do just that while still telling an important story.

All in all, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’s production of Cabaret was a huge success. With scenic design by Michael Schweikardt, costume design

by Angela Wendt, lighting design by John Lasiter and sound design by Acme Sound Partners, this show was pleasing to every sense.

drifting that people experience when they encounter a seemingly insurmountable problem in life. “Gravity” handles the complex themes of humanity so effortlessly that the viewer becomes increasingly immersed in Cuaron’s story.

“Gravity” asks and answers important questions of life from a setting that is out of this world. It’s this apparent paradox that cements Cuaron’s film as a true cinematic masterpiece, which will be remembered for years to come.

With that said, if you haven’t already seen this movie, stop reading this review and go see it as soon as possible! The Moolah Theater and Lounge will be showing “Gravity” through Friday Oct. 31. It will also be playing at Galleria 6 Cinemas through the month.

Gravity

A+

THE GOOD

The special effects and superb acting by Bullock and Clooney

THE BAD

Sometimes the effects were eerily realistic

THE VERDICT

A ground-breaking feat of cinematography

Molly Rippinger/Arts Editor

Gravity: Catch the film at The Moolah through Oct. 31.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Block brings fine dining near SLU New butcher serves as ‘foodie field trip’ For months now I have been meaning to make a visit to one of the newest restaurants in SLU’s neighb o r hood, T h e Block.

Somehow this dinner Molly Rippinger has gotten delayed time after time, with too many conversations ending in “well let’s just go to Vito’s, it’s so close,” or “I heard Gringo has great guacamole!” I was finally fed up by the excuses and now that I’ve been, I’m quite literally already making plans for my next visit.

After I picked up my mom from Lambert this past Friday we were both quite hungry and we decided that it was the perfect chance to see what The Block was all about. Located just a threeminute walk west of campus at the intersection of Sarah and West Pine, The Block doesn’t really look like much from the street. While the windows could be easily passed by without a second glance, the buzz of conversations and soft clinking of silverware rising up from the patio might strike your interest. You’d be a fool to keep walking, so let your curiosity get the best of you and ask the hostess if there are any

free tables.

Now I’m not trying to be presumptuous with this comment, but I’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants and I can confidently say that my evening spent in The Block was one of the most relaxing dining experiences I’ve had in quite a while. My mom and I quite literally walked up to the hostess stand, were instantly seated and then greeted by our server who returned within three minutes with our Smokehouse Manhattans in tow. In short, they knew how to make my mom and me two very happy campers and this was all before we even took a single bite of food.

Chatting away and savoring the notes of vanilla in our bourbon based cocktails, we decided to indulge in our most favorite vegetable for an appetizer. If you have never tried a Brussels sprout, do yourself a great favor and walk straight down to The Block for a little “foodie field trip.”

These small, often-underappreciated cousins to cabbage are packed with incredible bursts of flavor. At The Block, they pair these flash fried beauties with housesmoked bacon, caramelized onion, toasted almonds and a squeeze of lemon.

Even though I thought the Brussels were slightly undercooked, the bold flavors quickly made up for the added crunch of each bite. I’d

confidently bet that this dish makes the once dreaded vegetable a fall favorite for many diners.

By the time the entrees were brought out, we were quite excited to see what our dishes would entail.

With the intention of sharing, we had decided to order the two specials for the evening. The first was a filet of wild-caught Pacific salmon served perched atop a fluffy mound of root vegetable puree, crowned with two prosciutto wrapped shrimp.

Lying next to the heart of the dish were delicate spears of grilled asparagus, which were drizzled by the circles of balsamic on the perimeter of the plate. The salmon was perfectly cooked with a cracker-crisp layer of skin, and dragging each fork-full through the local honey and balsamic reduction added just the right touch of sweet and sour to accent each bite.

The second special for the evening may sound strange to some, but I promise that just like the Brussels if you keep an open mind you’ll fall in love. Any culinarian will divulge how cheeks are the coveted cut of many animals. Go ahead and take your filet mignon, because I like to enjoy meat so tender that I can slide the side of my fork to pull away the perfect, mouth-watering bite.

If it helps, think of them as easier to eat short ribs and you’ll understand the appeal

to braised beef cheeks.

That said, the sauce to accompany these little beauties was based in a reduction of the braising liquid. This technique concentrates not only the beefiness but also any of the other added flavors. The cheeks were rested upon a bed of potato puree, which was topped with a fresh apple slaw. This vinegar-based slaw was brilliant because it ensured that the dish would not feel bogged down by the richness of the meat and creamy puree. Not to mention it was also was a nice nod to the harvest season.

While it may not have been your typical surf and turf kind of meal, my Mom and I adored each bite at The Block. Obviously they place an emphasis on attention to detail because every element of our dinner, from the wait staff to the crushed black peppercorns on the table, indicated that they truly want to elevate your dining experience to the next level.

In my opinion, The Block is one of the best bargains in St. Louis with generous portions, high quality product and top-notch wait staff.

The next time you’re looking for a great meal with your family, or even a new spot for a date night, give The Block a try. They have a second location in Webster Groves and both restaurants offer a terrific happy hour Monday - Friday.

Courtesy of The Block’s Facebook page

The Block: Only a three minute walk from campus, this restaurant is a convenient spot dishing up top notch plates.

Room for more than one Yeezus in rap?

By Tony Traina Managing Editor

Kanye West’s first album, “The College Dropout,” hit stores in 2004. It dropped one year after 50 Cent’s debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” arrived on shelves.

Kanye’s album cover features a lonely college mascot, a bear looking dejected on gymnasium bleachers.

“All that’s saying is ‘make your own decisions,” Kanye said of his first album. “Don’t let society tell you, ‘this is what you have to do.’” That’s what has propelled Kanye to success: being himself, sometimes to a detriment.

While 50 Cent and others have tried to carry the culture of Gangster rap into the 21st Century, Kanye took a different route. A middle class suburbanite from Chicago, he raps about self-consciousness and the role of race and class in society.

Quite simply, Kanye ushered in the new era of hip-hop. He made the selfaware, relationship-centered rhymes of Drake possible.

He made Frank Ocean’s emotional falsettos, filled with sexual tension and confusion, a mainstream feasibility. He made it cool for NBA players to wear $2,000 suits to press conferences.

“Pink polos with a Gucci back pack/ But everybody know you brought real rap back.” Kanye raps about himself on his latest album, “Yeezus.” Kanye is able to bring rap back to its roots: social commentary intertwined with stories from his past.

While his arrogance has made him many enemies along the way, it has also played a large role in his success. He fancies himself a new age Steve Jobs, another man whose pompousness played into his success.

“If you’re a Kanye West fan…you’re a fan of yourself,” Kanye said in a recent interview with BBC Radio 1.

Viewed through this lens, Kanye’s pronunciation that “I Am a God” on “Yeezus” carries more meaning than a megalomaniac pronouncing his greatness. His friends have said the line was inspired in part by Psalm 82, which reads, “Ye are gods.”

It brings back memories of John Lennon’s famous proclamation that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” later clarifying that he believed that “what people call God is something inside all of us.”

Further, this assertion is a long way from 50 Cent saying he is a “P.I.M.P” on his debut album. Kanye recognized as much in his recent BBC interview. He says he’s frustrated by the constraints society has put on him.

“Would it have been better had I called myself a gangster?” he asks. “…or a pimp?”

Most of all though, Kanye struggles with his perception of himself.

“That’s the main thing people are controlled by.

They’re slowed down by the perception of themselves,” Kanye said.

These are the primordial screams we hear echoing through the song “I Am a God.” The god inside Kanye is the same many recognize to be within all of us, struggling against our desire to find meaning.

“We at war with ourselves,” Kanye raps in “Jesus Walks,” the song that began it all for him. Now, he calls himself a god, but is still clearly at war with himself.

“Do I contradict myself?”

Walt Whitman once asked.

“Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.” Six solo albums in, Kanye’s complications continue to contradict, but there’s not an inconsistency to be found. In the process, he hasn’t just brought real rap back; he redefined it.

Others have followed, but only Kanye has led.

By Wolf Howard News Editor

Courtesy of Yeezy’s Facebook

Kendrick v. Kanye: the debate rages on

John Schuler/Photo Editor

Courtesy of Kendrick Lamar’s Facebook

Rap: UNews editors become frienemies over Kanye/Lamar debate

While every rapper alive is the “best rapper alive,” the competitors for the top spot in the rap industry are few in number but astounding in quality. However no one living is better at poetry in motion than Kendrick Lamar.

The man has become prolific in the year following his platinum album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,” a modern hip-hop masterpiece. You can’t talk about the genre today without talking about Lamar. He’s got an uncanny style and an unmatched gift for telling a story with insight and drama. “Good Kid” tells the tale of a generation raised in violence, crime and lust through the eyes of a young Lamar.

Yet rather than becoming part of the common gangster-turned-rapper roster and bragging about his women, money and ‘real’ status, Lamar casts a critical eye on his environment. He simultaneously shows the genuine nature of his peers’ dreams – money, sex and status – and how misguided people become in pursuit.

There’s honesty in everything he says because he’s come from a place of struggle, and there is intention in his writing as he tries to help portray a reality.

As he delivers his perspective Kendrick weaves subtle wordplay with dramatic imagery to make the picture he’s painting pop. In “Good Kid” he raps “For the record I recognize that I’m easily prey/ I got ate alive yesterday/ I got animosity building, it’s probably big as a building/ Me jumping off of the roof is me just playing it safe.” In one fell swoop he characterizes Compton as an urban jungle while expressing the overwhelming hatred he has for the environment he’s stuck in.

On “Keisha’s Song (Her

Pain),” from his first album, “Section.80,” Kendrick writes about the painful life of a prostitute, capturing the struggles of a woman trying to get by in a bad way. He makes his point with precise lyrics like “Her anatomy is God’s temple, and it’s quite simple/ Her castle is about to be destroyed,” attending to the humanity of the woman in the story and the high cost of her lifestyle.

Still, Lamar’s talents extend beyond a powerful story and clever metaphor. He possesses an unprecedented ability to command a beat.

He’s equally at home on the high-octane production for “M.A.A.D. City” as he is on the relaxed, hazy “Money Trees” or the R&B informed “Poetic Justice.” Since his last album was released Kendrick has been a constant feature artist and every time he touches down on another MC’s track he makes it his own, stopping, starting and twisting his flow at a moment’s notice.

And what does the great Yeezus have to offer? Yes, Kanye is something of a visionary in production, but he hasn’t rapped the same since “College Dropout.” Where he began with relevance as a producer that just couldn’t conform to the system and had to make his own way, he’s no longer connected to anything but a superstar status and a lifestyle of fortune. He still challenges the normal and he certainly has his moments of genius, but these are offset by things like his bridge on “New Slaves.”

Sure you’re a leader Kanye, but that doesn’t make you a proper rapper. Sure you’re angry, but that’s only because you’re still a brat.

A rap competition between Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar is like pitting a Chihuahua against a Rottweiler: both bark plenty, but Lamar actually has the bite to match.

UNews

Sports

October 10, 2013 sports@unewsonline.com Alex Kozich, Sports Editor Ryan Glover, Assoc. Sports Editor

Soccer falls late at VCU

Thirty-five seconds to naptime

By Charles Bowles Staff Writer

The men’s soccer team’s road struggle continued as the Saint Louis Billikens lost 2-1 to Virginia Commonwealth University on Sunday, Oct. 6. The loss knocks them out of the top 25. This is the Billikens’ third road loss of the year.

In those three matches, the Bills have scored three goals compared to nine goals in their four home matches this season. The Bills are now 6-3 on the season as they begin their Atlantic 10 conference schedule.

The Bills got on the board first against VCU. After a Kingsley Bryce shot was saved, David Graydon collected the rebound and knocked it into the goal to give the Bills a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute. The goal was Graydon’s second of the season. The Bills took the 1-0 lead into halftime, but would not be able to hold onto to that lead.

In the 74th minute, VCU’s Garrett Harvey headed the ball into the net to tie the match at 1-1. 11 minutes later, VCU’s Jose Manel scored the game-winning goal with less than five minute left in the match. That goal gave VCU a 2-1 advantage and the eventual victory.

“The reason why the loss to VCU hurt so bad was because we were coming off of a huge win over Creighton and we were feeling really

Billiken Media Relations

Upset: Junior Raymond Lee celebrates as the Bills took down ranked VCU in a thrilling double OT match at Hermann Stadium last season. The Rams got revenge last week as they kocked off the No. 22 Billiken with two late goals. good about ourselves and what we could accomplish on the weekend,” said goalkeeper Nick Shackelford.

Now, the Bills begin their A-10 conference schedule.

The Bills in an A-10 preseason poll were predicted to win the conference. They will open the conference sea-

son with three home games against Fordham, George Washington and Dayton on Oct. 11, 13, and 19, respectively. Then the Bills will go on the road to take on St. Bonaventure and Duquesne on Oct. 25 and 27. After their final non-conference match against Louisville, the Bills

will return home for their final conference match of the season against Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 3. The Bills will close the regular conference season on the road against Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

If the Bills finish in the top eight of their conference,

then they will play in the A-10 conference championship tournament in Dayton, Ohio from Nov. 14-17.

If they win the conference tournament, the Bills will receive an automatic bid to the See “Dribble” on Page 12

Volleyball wins both weekend tilts

By GRACE BONOMA Staff Writer

Saint Louis Volleyball ended their three-week road stint with two wins this past weekend. The Billikens welcomed Atlantic 10 newcomer George Mason with a 3-1 win Friday night and went on to sweep the La Salle Explorers 3-0 Sunday.

George Mason opened the match hitting an impressive .375 in the first set. The Billikens tied the score at five but the Patriots answered with a 7-2 run. SLU closed the gap to 10-14 but the lead grew as large as a 10-point deficit for the Billikens. The Patriots took the first set 1525.

SLU responded to this initial loss and picked up all facets of their game. As a team, the Billikens notched a .414 hitting efficiency holding the Patriots at .000.

Sophomore Megan Gilbert was unstoppable with six kills on seven attacks in the second set. SLU closed out the second set 25-16.

CHEER

JEER

Out of the break the Billiken offense continued to shine, opening the third set with a 10-1 lead. Mason pulled within five at 15-10 but Freshman Danielle Rygelski’s six kills paced the Billikens to a 25-14 win. The deciding set was the closest of the evening. Nine tie scores, the final at 18-18 made for a tightly contested set. Freshman Mallory Dillon led the Billikens on a four-point run to take the lead 22-18. SLU closed out the match 25-21.

SLU carried this momentum into Sunday’s match with a sweep of the La Salle Explorers (25-14, 25-14, 26-24). In the first set, SLU maintained a comfortable lead controlling the match by 11 points near the end.

Dillon’s five kills led the Bills offensive efforts and guided SLU to a 25-14 win.

The second set began with an early 6-1 lead for the Billikens. The Explorers cut

See “Serve” on Page 11

Billiken Media Relations

Volleyball: The Bills improved their conference record to 3-1 with victories over George Mason and La Salle last weekend. The team aims to continue their strong play.

FEAR

WHO TO CHEER: JAMEIS WINSTON Famous Jameis is catching on. This 19-year-old has taken college football by storm and has vaulted Florida State to No. 6 in the nation. The true freshman signal caller just threw for career highs with 393 yards and five touchdowns as his Seminoles dismantled No. 25 Maryland in record fashion, with a 63-0 pounding.

College basketball has a scoring problem, and it’s losing fans because of it. Last season, teams scored an ave r a g e of 67.5 points p e r game, the lowAlex Kozich est point t o t a l since the 1951-1952 season.

Because of this sustained drop in scoring and overall blandness of the college game, many fans care only about college basketball when it’s time to fill out brackets in their office pool in March.

Overall attendance at regular season games has dropped every year for the last five years, and attendance at last years’ March Madness tournament hit a five-year low. Some of this drop can be attributed to the myriad of other ways one can watch a game today, but with the slow-paced, low-scoring style of play prevalent in college there is no incentive to go to games when you can watch the few exciting moments on ESPN an hour after the game is over. So, what then can be done to speed up the game and make it more exciting for the average fan?

For starters, the simplest and most effective way to speed up the game is to shorten the shot clock to an NBA- length 24 seconds.

Making this simple change would guarantee teams more possessions over the course of a game. More possessions equal more shots, which would hopefully translate into more scoring.

In a game last year, Georgetown defeated Tennessee by a sleep-inducing 37-36 score. At half time, the Volunteers led the Hoyas 1816, hardly a barnburner that draws in the viewing masses.

A shorter shot clock in that game would have at least forced each team to move the ball up the court quickly and run their offense, rather than walking the ball up the court and holding it for 30 seconds before finally running a play.

The current 35-second shot clock, which allows teams like Tennessee and Georgetown to play such a game, is also hurting the growth of players in college basketball. Shortening the shot clock would force players to play at a higher level and lead to a more fluid and enjoyable game to watch. For the players that are able to jump to the NBA, they would be much better prepared for the NBA game because they would already have the expeSee “Shot Clock” on Page 12

By Ryan Glover, Associate Sports Editor WHO TO JEER: ALDON SMITH Things looked bad for Aldon Smith after he was arrested for a DUI after smashing his car into a tree last month. As of this week, Smith is staring down the barrel of three felony assault weapons charges. That brings his season total for criminal charges to five, compared to 4.5 sacks. All of a sudden rehab doesnt seem so bad.

WHO TO FEAR: PEYTON MANNING What can’t this guy do? After a neck injury threatened to derail his career, Peyton has returned with a vengance. He has posted video gamelike numbers with 20 TDs and just one pick, and has shown no signs of slowing down. They take a record 28 point line into Sunday’s game against the abysmal Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Serve: Volleyball pushes A-10 record to 3-1

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the lead down to three early on but SLU’s dominant defense held the Explorers to a .000 attack percentage.

In set three La Salle put up a determined fight leading the Billikens 8-7. The Explorers then notched a four-point run prompting a Billiken timeout at 18-16. SLU refocused with a 3-0 run of their own and the teams continued to exchange points until the end.

A Dillon service ace closed out the set 26-24.

The Billikens were led by Gilbert, who led the match with a .438 hitting percent-

For the latest Billiken coverage

Scoreboard Friday, Oct. 4 Volleyball @ George Mason

W (3-1)

Womens Soccer @ Richmond

W (3-2) Saturday, Oct. 5 XC - Greater Louisville Classic

Women 10, Men 16 Volleyball @ La Salle

age, her third consecutive match with a .300 hitting efficiency or higher.

Rygelski was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for her efforts over the weekend. This is the second consecutive week she has earned the accolade. Rygelski recorded he seventh double-double of the season with 18 kills and 12 digs against the Patriots Friday nights. She also recorded a team-best 28 kills on a .273 attack percentage across both matches.

Rygelski and the Billikens return to Chaifetz this weekend hosting the Duquesne Dukes Friday, Oct. 11th at 7 p.m. and the Fordham Rams Sunday, Oct. 13th at 1 p.m.

Volleyball Stats

W (3-0)

Team Record: 7-10, A-10(3-1)

Sunday, Oct. 6 Mens Soccer @ VCU

L (1-2) L (0-1)

Calendar Friday, Oct. 11 Volleyball 5:00 p.m vs. Duquesne Women’s Soccer 7:00 p.m vs. Duquesne Men’s Soccer 7:30 p.m vs. Fordham

Saturday, Oct. 12 Field Hockey 12:30 p.m vs. Massachusetts

Sunday, Oct. 13 Field Hockey 12:00 p.m vs. Ohio Women’s Soccer 12:00 p.m vs. Massachusetts Volleyball 12:00 p.m vs. Fordham Men’s Soccer 2:30 p.m vs. George Washington

Briefs Softball players recgonized for academic efforts

Billiken Media Relations

Senior Kelsey Briggs

Six players on the SLU softball team were named to the 2012-13 All-America Scholar Athlete list, which was released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association this week.

Representing the Billikens are Kelsey Briggs, Laura Bohning, Jessica Buschjost, Lindsay Friedman, Katie Kroeger, and Jessica Van Nostrand. The Billikens ranked second in the Atlantic 10 with a 3.366 team GPA last season.

Billiken Media Relations

Rygelski: Freshman Danielle Rygelski won her second-consecutive Rookie of the Week award for the A-10. This is the fourth such award for the Billikens this season.

Danielle Rygelski back-to-back A-10 rookie of the week.

Fried chicken, golden thongs and no-hitters The first rule of Fight As the October Classic Club and of an ongoing perheats up, St. Louis moves fect game is the same: Don’t into fall and Halloween is talk about it. Just don’t. It is right a well-known fact that talkaround ing about any such instance the corwill break the magic of that ner, it game. In my lifetime it’s hapo n l y pened much too often for makes me to be able to recall. When sense to I tuned into the Sept. 6 San take a Francisco Giants vs. Arizona look at Diamondbacks game, one of one of my friends, who will remain the best Nate Creech anonymous for his safety, parts slipped and pointed out the of the pitching performance by the game: superstition.

Giants’ Yusmeiro Petit. Sure In baseball, superstitions enough, one out away from take on a wide variety of perfection, Petit gave up a forms: curses, batting ritusingle. Perfect game and noals, random jumping and hitter bid gone, just like that. tons of eating. To get our feet It also happened to the rookwarm, let’s delve into two of ie here in St. Louis, Michael the most notable curses to Wacha, when he lost his bid ever come about. for a no-hitter thanks to an First, we have the Curse ESPN analyst’s decision to of the Great Bambino. This comment on the perforstarted in 1918 when the mance.

Boston Red Sox decided to The other unwritten rule trade Babe Ruth, the Great that must be respected to Bambino, to – of all teams – avoid disaster is that you the New York Yankees. The must never step on the foul curse did not allow the Red line when entering the field.

Sox to win a World Series Don’t do for 86 years it.

Bad but was brothings ken when the The first rule of have hapSox won the pened to crown in 2004 Fight Club and of good peoin a sweep of an ongoing perfect ple. Turk your St. Louis game is the same: We n d e l l , Cardinals. The pitcher for Red Sox seem Don’t talk about it. the Mets, primed to get Just don’t.

Cubs and back on that Phillies, track this year after a fantasw o u l d tic season. take this to an exPossibly treme and jump over the the curse known best to the dirt and foul line for good NL Central, and specifically measure. I don’t know what Cubs fans, is the Billy Goat it is with Mets pitchers and Curse. The curse started in jumping, but Oliver Perez 1945 when Billy Sianis was would also emphatically kicked out of Wrigley Field jump over the foul line each during the World Series betime he headed for the dugcause his pet goat’s smell out. Eating has and will alwas bothering other fans. ways be a ritual for some Sianis proceeded to curse people, for others it’s not the Cubs by saying, “Them only a ritual, but a way of Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” Sure enough, the life. Matt Garza, pitcher for the Cubs, eats Popeye’s Cubs haven’t won a National chicken every day that he League Pennant since that is scheduled to start. Wade day and haven’t won a World Boggs, third baseman for Series in 105 years. This the Red Sox, ate chicken becurse seems to have a few fore every game to the point more years in its tank. that he earned the nickname Now that we can all accept the realness of curses, “Chicken Man” for his ritual. it’s time to dive into the game itself and some rules that are See “No-No” on Page 12 only written on our hearts.

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Womens Soccer @ George Mason

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Charles Camosy, PhD Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at Fordham University

“From Medical Research to Our Dinner Plates: Rethinking Our Relationship with Non-Human Animals”

Tuesday, October 15, 2013 7:00 PM Saint Louis Room Busch Student Center

SPORTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

Dribble: Late goals doom Bills Continued from Page 9

NCAA tournament The Bills are very confident going into their conference schedule.

“I am expecting us to win the A-10. I am expecting us to shut out every team and I am expecting us to score over 20 goals in the next 9 games before we hit our conference tournament.

There is not a single team that is better than us. The only team that can beat us is ourselves,” said Shackelford.

The Bills will open their conference season against the Fordham Rams on Friday, Oct. 11 at home in Hermann Stadium at 7:30 p.m. They will follow that up with a match against George Washington on Sunday.

rience of making the quick decisions required to play in the NBA. It’s not just fans and the media who think college basketball should look at changing the shot clock. Many coaches have voiced their displeasure with the longer shot clock with Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo as one of the biggest proponents of shortening the shot clock.

“We have the slowest game in the world. The international is less, the pro is less, the women’s is less. And here we are with 35,” Izzo said in a radio interview earlier this year.

In a poll of 100 college basketball coaches done by cbssports.com, 19 percent of respondents said that the number one rule change they would like to see is a shortening of the shot clock,

fans. Is the Chop some sort of black magic for the Braves?

Clearly it didn’t work all that well in the NLDS… Lucky Slumps may be the worst peanuts anyone? Keep one part of any athlete’s career. peanut for that eighth inning Jason Giambi, a pitcher’s rally and then start chewing nightmare, was no stranger at that first pitch. Missing to slumps even during his the first pitch is a cardinal prime. How did Giambi sin for veteran baseball fans climb out of these slumps? A and when you do miss it, you golden thong. You read that might want to have a very right, a golden thong helped good reason for the baseball Giambi end slump after gods. We all know in our slump. The thong worked so hearts that sitting in a cerwell that other Rockies detain spot, waving a rally towcided to borrow the thong el, putting to get out on the rally of their own cap or turnslumps.

A golden thong. ing our back Everyone will make You read that knows that our team numbers are right, a golden perform betimportant to thong helped ter. It’s been players, but Giambi end slump proven time s ome time s and time after slump. players take again.

(Forthat to the get about the extreme. few times it And when I didn’t work.) say extreme, Although I mean penny pushing exscience, society and even our treme. Turk Wendell asked own mind calls us crazy for the New York Mets to make thinking that our little effort his salary $9,999,999.99 in does anything to change the recognition of his number, course of the game, sports 99, when he played in 2000. fans know that it does work.

Although players have Each sport provides their their own superstitions, fans own flair to this superstiget extremely crazy on their tious way of life, but baseball own. The line between tradidoes it better and more ention and superstition is often thusiastically than most. blurred and then crossed by Continued from Page 11

Ryan Quinn / Staff Photographer

VCU: The men’s soccer team will look to recover from a tough loss at VCU. The team will begin Atlantic 10 conference play Friday night at home against Fordham.

Shot Clock: Time for college basketball to catch up with the rest of the world Continued from Page 9

No-No: Superstitions dominate baseball

far outweighing the second most wanted rule change, getting rid of transfer waivers for players, at 11 percent.

While shortening the shot clock would have an immediate impact on improving the pace of play, critics have rightly pointed out that just changing the shot clock will not automatically improve the fluidity of the game and enhance scoring. They say that with the current way college basketball is refereed, all shortening the shot clock will do is lead to more bad shots against good defensive teams. And, in fact, just as scoring is down across the board, the number of fouls called reached an all-time low last season. Thus, if the NCAA ever passes a rule to shorten the shot clock they must package that with a change in the way games are refereed. Mainly, referees must start calling more fouls.

If you have ever watched a game between Georgetown

and Syracuse or any other game from the conference formerly known as the Big East, you know what I’m taking about. Watching a game between two former Big East teams was like watching a touch football game on a basketball court.

Hand checking is ignored, cutters can’t make it from one side of the court to the other without being bumped, grabbed or flat out held, and players use their hands to play defense rather than moving their feet. By allowing this style of defense, it is almost impossible for teams to run their offenses effectively because the defense can easily disrupt the play by simply bumping a cutter or hand-checking a ball handler.

One of the major reasons, other than Michael, Magic and Larry, that the NBA has seen the fluidity and excitement of NBA games take a major leap in the last 30 years is because in 1994

NBA commissioner David Stern outlawed hand checking and in 1997 he limited the use of forearms.

These changes allowed the game to speed up and have attracted millions of new fans, thanks to the new up-tempo, exciting style of play. For college basketball to take the same leap the NCAA must make these same rule changes and address the lack of fouls called during games.

As someone who loves basketball and will watch regardless of whether the rules change or not, it would be nice if the NCAA, for once, listened to the fans and coaches and made rule changes to bring the sport up to speed with the rest of the basketball world.

Until the NCAA makes some changes, it will continue to alienate millions of fans until it’s bracketology time.

Until that time, I can’t wait for SLU vs. Wisconsin this November, first to 50 wins.

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Opinions Editorials

October 10, 2013 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.

Letters to the editor

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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.

Congress: Incapacity to act On the eve of Oct. 1, Congress was unable to pass a funding bill for many of its governmental agencies, causing a government shutdown to occur.

Until Congress can eventually pass the bill to fund many crucial government agencies, many sectors of the government will be closed and its workers will not be paid. Every national park is closed (including Yosemite National Park in California, which was unfortunately closed for its 123rd birthday). All the national monuments are closed as well, which means no visits to the Arch. Many overseas offices are also closed during this time. In all, 800,000 government workers are not being paid. The shutdown is also damaging the economy; IHS Inc., a global market research firm, estimates that at least $300 million is lost each day the shutdown continues. The firm also believes that the losses will continue to increase as the shutdown lengthens.

The government shutdown has received extensive media coverage over the past week. Students at SLU have taken notice, and the subject can be heard across campus. The world media is also taking notice and shaking their heads that the world’s first modern democracy has allowed the situation in Congress to become so bad.

There are a few reasons why this regrettable and unnecessary situation has happened. The first is the rise of a small but influential group of Tea Party conservatives that have inextricably linked the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), with government funding. The second is a more systemic trend of inaction and partisanship in Congress.

Last week the New York Times noted how a powerful, but relatively unknown, group of hardline, conservative congressmen have managed to influence the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House John Boehner. This group stands in the way of Boehner, his large, more moderate Republican contingent and a middle approach to the funding bill, instead only wanting to pass a funding bill if it includes dismantling or delaying Obamacare. Their influence has also allowed them to threaten Boehner’s job by aggressively campaigning that he has been soft towards Obamacare and other programs unpopular to conservatives. The oddest part of this group is that they are reveling their chance to influence Congress, and even think they are winning.

This attitude reflects larger concerns about Congress as a whole. In terms of passing legislation, this year’s session of Congress has been the least productive

in decades. This inaction is due to an increasingly pervasive trend of partisanship.

This partisanship can be seen in the last few hours before the deadline to pass the funding bill. After passing a funding bill tied to delaying the effects of Obamacare for one year, the House sent the bill to Senate. After 57 minutes and basically no debate, the Democratic majority Senate rejected the House bill without any provisions or recommendations. Earlier in the week, Senate only took 25 minutes to reject an earlier funding bill.

It’s a ridiculous notion that Congress not only waits so long to deliberate over legislation crucial to the government’s proper functioning, but that it sends bills to the other house knowing full well that it won’t pass the other house of Congress.

It is a dark time indeed when Congressmen and women are lauded not for their ability to compromise and pass crucial legislation, but for their impossible stubbornness.

Another showdown looms on Oct. 17 when Congress must raise the debt ceiling or incur a “globe-shaking default.” The most basic of tasks the members of Congress have been elected to do is to keep the government running.

That is now what they must do. They must act.

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Quotes

of the week

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There’s not a single team that is better than us. The only team that can beat us is ourselves.

Nick Shackelford, Goalkeeper, Page 12

Lamar’s talents extend beyond a powerful story and a clever metaphor

Wolf Howard, UNews News Editor, Page 8

Fall’s what’s up y’all On Sunday, the heat of the summer finally dissipated (hopefully for good). We were misled before with some semblance of fall weather a couple weeks yonder before another long stretch of humid days in the 90s. This weather increased the SLU community’s collective anticipation for one of the four most exciting seasons of the year: fall!

There are many reasons to love fall. Autumn provides a unique set of activities and adventures to enjoy. The sensory experiences of fall in the United States are unparalleled. The colorful sights, the superb smells and delicious tastes are all an integral part of the fall season. All of these reasons make The University News staff incredibly excited to begin the fall festivities.

From jumping in an enormous pile of fallen leaves someone spent hours raking, or enjoying the plethora of sports available in fall time, it is quite easy to see why we’re all so excited. The Cardinals are embarking on yet another glorious playoff run.

Could the Cardinals find more magic, or could another rally rodent grace the Cardinal’s run this Red October? Meanwhile, your favorite collegiate or professional football team is hopefully having a more successful season than my St. Louis Rams- maybe next year.

Another thing to do and enjoy in the fall season is visit the regionally famous Eckert’s Farm. Pick some apples and pumpkins outside then go to the general store for cider, hot chocolate, interesting salsas that don’t have anything to do with autumn and other delectable delights!

The bounty of food during the fall season is voluminous

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enough for several term papers, but a couple paragraphs will have to make do. First there are the products of the plentiful fall harvest, including apples, squash, corn, cranberries and of course the coolest, most versatile variety of squash on the face of this planet: the great pumpkin.

Henry David Thoreau, an all-American writer and lover of the neatness of nature, famously said, “I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” Other than being a handy chair, the pumpkin also has gobs of other uses: it’s a vital component of breakfast delights such as pumpkin chai lattes and pumpkin muffins, it can be used in soups and breads, their seeds make a great snack, jack-o-lanterns can be made out of them and they are the crucial ingredient to the pumpkin pie.

Jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin pie brings us to the holidays of fall. There’s Halloween, where SLU students, men and women alike, can dress scandalously and party all night.

Then there’s Thanksgiving, where we all can give thanks that great-aunt Marge never saw the Facebook pictures from that crazy Halloween. More importantly, Thanksgiving is perhaps the only time before winter break that students can visit home and see their families.

According to the UNews, unlike that ridiculous calendar, fall has already begun. So we encourage every SLU student to enjoy the season by watching sports, picking food, making food and eating food.

Also, go honor Henry and take a seat on a pumpkin.

THUMBS UP:

THUMBS DOWN:

Several former members of SLU’s men’s basketball team are playing professionaly abroad. Kwamain Mitchell is playing in the Czech Republic, Cory Remekun is playing his trade in Germany and Cody Ellis is set to play in his home country, Australia.

The South Carolina football superstud of last year is a shell of his former self this year. For his last game he unexpectedly took himself off the roster to accusations across the country that he is faking injuries. It doesn’t matter though. He’s still going to be the first pick in the NFL draft.

Billiken Ballers Abroad

THE UNIVERSITY NEWS 2013-14 EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief Brianna Radici eic@unewsonline.com

sports editor ALEX KOZICH sports@unewsonline.com

online editor christopher webb webmaster@unewsonline.com

managing Editor TONY TRAINA managing@unewsonline.com

Assoc. sports editor RYAN GLOVER sports@unewsonline.com

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR JOHN SCHULER photo@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

assoc. arts editor KENDRA CRUSE arts@unewsonline.com

copy editor ANNALISE WILCOX copy@unewsonline.com

OPINION EDITOR RYAN MCKINLEY opinion@unewsonline.com

design director ALLEGRA MERRIWEATHER design@unewsonline.com

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Briana Kagy/ Chief Illustrator

General manager NICK STEINAUER gm@unewsonline.com advisors laura thomson advisor@unewsonline.com

the editorial board of the university news recognizes avis meyer, ph.d. as the newspaper’s faculty mentor.

Jadaveon Clowney

“Freedom of the press—print, online and broadcast—is a basic right in a democratic society and is valuable in promoting the development of students as socially responsible persons ... The University News is a student voice, not the student voice. The views of The University News are the expressions of the students involved ... If [The University News] can represent a point of view around which discussion may develop, it serves a legitimate and needed purpose.”

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

OPINION & EDITORIALS

Put your Bills up!

From the Miami Hurricanes’ “U” to the “Hang Loose” of the Hawaii Rainbow W a r riors, h a n d signs are storied traditions at m a n y universities Tim Keogh across t h e United States. They act as important symbols of school pride and spirit, and many are well recognized; who doesn’t know the Florida Gators’ “Gator Chomp,” or the famous “Hook’em Horns” of the University of Texas?

Yet while SLU students recognize the “Gator Chomp,” most SLU students are unaware of the most glorious hand sign of them all: the Billiken hand sign.

For those students unaware of the Billiken hand sign, it is both brilliant and simple. First, put your hand up with your palm facing out away from you. Second, leave your fingers adequately spaced apart (like they normally are). Third, fold your ring finger and middle finger all the way down. Forth, fold your index finger and pinkie finger down halfway to their respective knuckles. Lastly, bend your thumb down as far as it can and tuck it inside the palm. Make sure not to wrap the thumb around the middle and ring fingers. If done properly (consult the

photo), the pinkie and index fingers simulate the Billiken ears, the middle and ring fingers simulate the face, and the thumb simulates the open eye of the Billiken.

There are numerous stories of how the Billiken hand sign began. Some alumni speculate that it is as old as 1906, when SLU football quarterback Bradbury Robinson flashed it as a tipoff to teammates of a special play—a play later known as the first forward pass in football. Others claim that it has a more ominous past: A SLU Jesuit priest flashed the sign in 1949 when performing an exorcism, causing the demon to quickly flee the power of the Billiken. But others assert that it was actually SLU legend Larry Hughes who began the hand sign. Hughes allegedly flashed the hand after being drafted eighth overall by the 76ers in the 1998 NBA Draft, but --as the story goes--cameras failed to catch it, or it most certainly would have made the ESPN Top 10.

Yet despite the legends that surround it and its great likeness to the Billiken, the hand sign has never really taken off with the SLU community. Most students don’t know about it, but all the same you will find pockets of SLU students and alumni who show this unofficial hand sign at athletic events or in Facebook profile pictures. Wouldn’t it be great if this hand sign became an official, mainstream tradition?

There will likely be a bunch of naysayers out there who’ll say stuff like “only schools with football teams have hand signs,” or perhaps “hand signs are silly.” But all the same, hand signs bolster the important college values of collectiveness, school spirit and pride. Look around at a Florida basketball game when everyone is doing the “Gator Chomp” for example; it contributes more enthusiasm and spirit than anything else. SLU has several great traditions, like the “O’ when the Bills go marching in” cheer, the flagship S-A-I-NT L-O-U-I-S cheer, the Tuba player timeout routine and the singing of “Sweet Caroline” after a victory. But the truth is SLU’s school spirit and enthusiasm could use all the help it can get.

For a university blessed with talented teams and great venues, SLU really struggles getting students to go to games. This year we have a soccer team ranked in the top 10, yet few students go to games. Last year we had a top 25 basketball team, yet the student section was never full besides the Butler and VCU games. Additionally, A-10 champion SLU baseball is lucky if a handful of students show up to games.

SLU needs to work on its school spirit and pride, and maybe the Billiken hand sign can contribute. A higher level of school spirit will translate into higher expectations of one’s self and

surroundings, and will push for positive changes at the university. It will encourage a common bond between fellow students, faculty and alumni and create endless memories that students carry with them long after graduation. Lastly, increased school spirit and pride will foster a nostalgia felt by alumni for their alma mater, bringing in more donations that better the school and increase financial aid.

Now I’m not saying that making the Billiken hand sign mainstream and widespread on campus will necessarily solve our school spirit problem, but it’s a fun step in the right direction. It would be a visible signal that could contribute in helping turn around the “no show” culture that SLU currently has, and it could be another fun way to show our collectiveness and pride.

Granted, SLU doesn’t need to do this just to try to fit in with other schools; we have our own unique traditions to be proud of. But it is never too late to begin another tradition. So why not give it a try? It can’t hurt, it’s easy and fun to do and it looks like a Billiken.

Fellow SLU students, let’s make this big. So “put your ‘Bills’ up” during the next SLU corner kick, SLU basketball free throw or even on your way to your next class.

We are all Billikens, and the hand sign could become a fun and goofy link to that solidarity.

Sean/Flickr

Where does media end?

I’m really not a Luddite, but I always find myself wondering about an America (and possibly a world) that is so obsessed with its media and with the escapism of enter t ainRoberta Singer ment.

Can we ever not watch? Can we halt our instant streams? And what does it even mean for us to be constantly devouring so much?

It’s conflicting, because most of television really is very good. We’re at an interesting point in time when there is enough media out there that we can choose what to consume, and when and how to do so. The fact that there is something for almost every subgroup, an unprecedented amount of different forms of representation accessible to almost all, isn’t just culturally curious but carries significant political weight; if one wanted to, the opportunity to eschew a dominant white male epistemology is easier than ever to accomplish, as diverse images and ideas in television (internet mostly,

but also broadcast) abound and as the disseminators of our media aren’t limited to a conglomeration of two or three networks. We have far more agency now to decide what type of people we want to be because we are surrounded by different narratives, by shows about people with religions and lives and values not our own that let us imagine totally different ways of being.

Also, socially, I find media to be an incredibly compelling tool. The movies I like and identify with really do say something about who I am – the fact that I connect so strongly with the social themes and political messages in certain media are real insights into the values I hold. Each piece of media is a metaphor that I can exchange with someone else to slyly get at what “I” am all about. In a way, it isn’t superficial at all. It is, in fact, very profound; these exchanges are about art, the forms we structure our lives around. The types of media we choose to consume in turn structure how we think about the world.

But still--what are the consequences to living in such a thick sea of it, all the time? Is it really so freeing?

Despite seeming to be subversive, to go against

some kind of a capitalist hegemony, we still are defined mostly by what we consume and not what we do or create. We are, in a large part, passive. In that way, we are still trapped. We still have to watch something. We can’t simply be, and we are encouraged far more toward this act of consumption than toward creation.

There has also arisen a concurrent anxiety about the need to consume a certain amount of media. The plethora of shows and movies and music, not to mention YouTube series and Tumblr streams that we subscribe to demand our constant attention. There is the overwhelming task of staying current on these takes energy away from what might be more interesting or even politically resistant activities.

If anything, it just makes us more frantic people.

It’s also important to keep in mind that this culture I’m describing really only exists among a specific segment of the population – namely those that can afford computers and internet connections. There is a large portion of the U.S. population that cannot afford those things, and an even greater portion of the world population. If we are not skilled at making connections with people

in our own culture who do not share in our new vernacular of the Hulu-sphere, if we only know how to talk by trading in those images, I don’t know how we can possibly seek to have meaningful interactions across cultures.

Another reason to maybe consider separating oneself from all of the noise is because there is something important in having space to develop a sense of self that is not subject to constant reinterpretation due to a new show or piece of culture that you gleaned. In order to really think about what it is you are consuming and whether or not it benefits you to do so, whether or not you actually like something and what that means, there needs to be time to breathe.

I’m not really that pessimistic about television and pop culture; I’m not clinging to my radio from underneath a fort of books. I participate in all of this as well, and define myself partly by the things I like. But I would hope that it’s more than that.

I would hope that we create things, that there is a place in our culture for that. That we don’t watch just for entertainment, but to gain some kind of a deeper understanding. And that, at some point, we can learn to switch it all off.

Tim Keogh/The University News

SLU Scoop: A Guilty Pleasure Billikens, I have a confession. We all have our own guilty pleasures in this world a n d mine is reading the SLU Scoop e ver y week in this very p a p e r.

I’ve been Olivia White an avid reader of the UNews for three years, but no column, no article, no interview has given me greater joy than the SLU Scoop column. Food and music reviews are great and all but they aren’t SLU Scoop.

It makes me squeal with delight, proceeding to read it aloud to my friends, strangers, statues, squirrels, whoever is around at the moment. I then proceed to cut it out and hang it on my fridge to marvel at throughout the week like my third grade art project or an A+ test.

The comedy literally writes itself. elevator entrapments, accidental injuries, found quarters, stolen bath towels, non-criminal property damage, peace disturbances, fire alarms, untied Shoelaces, broken pinky swears. There is nothing more hilarious than reading about how someone’s bath towels were taken from the laundry room without a trace, or how two drunken students punched each other in the face on Laclede.

All of this makes me wonder, who, on instinct calls DPS when they break a fingernail? Now I know there is, on occasion, serious news reported in this section.

The occasional car break-in, theft, serious property damage, etc. are all important things to report to DPSEP and should help us all be-

come more responsible Billikens. But, c’mon, someone slamming his or her ingers in a doorway in a residence hall is not an incident that requires DPSEP attention or news coverage.

This also raises the question, how often are DPSEP’s emergency phone lines tied up because someone is reporting something trivial, when there are people out there with real safety concerns? If I get robbed and cannot get through to DPSEP because someone is trying to report stolen towels I will probably come by and steal their sheets as well.

If I were a better person, I would point my finger at all of you who report trivial things to DPSEP and tell you to stop doing it. But I’m not going to do that because I do not know how to live without the laughs from the SLU Scoop in my life.

I found myself rather upset that this past week was apparently a slow week for hitting our friends in the face with baseballs, because only three stories were featured.

Three stories for campus of over 8,000 students? Really?

C’mon friends, do not hold out on us.

I might have to start calling DPSEP every time I spill my hot coffee or accidently trip on West Pine just so I have something to laugh about when the paper comes out.

In fact, I think we should all start reporting so much that the editors have to sift through all the reports to pick the best ones to print. I would love to see this campus band together and get fired up about campus safety.

So stop, call and report, you $20 bill finders, laundry room police and paper cut sufferers. Without you I don’t get to laugh on Thursdays.

What’s black and white and read all over?

UNews, every Thursday

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

Sign Up for Safe Zone Training!

The Safe Zone program strives to erase prejudice, while providing a support system for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Fall 2013 Training Dates: Tuesday, October 15 – 2-5pm Fall training sessions will be held in Busch Student Center 253D.

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Simon Rec Center Fall Programs Fitness classes – Half price on Fitness classes! Register once, attend any class all semester long. 24 classes each week Spinning, Cardio Kickbox, Pilates, Yoga, Bootcamp, Pi-Yo, Physique Fusion, Hip Hop, Intro to Salsa, Ballroom/Swing, Merengue & Bachata dances Wellness programs – Check out Student Health 101. Great health info each month. Giveaways too. http://readsh101.com/slu.html Various types of swimming classes.

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