No. 12 (Nov. 29, 2012)

U University News Thursday, November 29, 2012

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Vol. XCXI No. 12

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A student voice of SLU since 1919

SLU’s Laclede Houses may face wrecking ball

By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor

Saint Louis University recently announced the planned closure and demolition of the Laclede Houses at the end of the 2013 spring semester. The move has been met with resistance from residents of the Laclede Houses in the form of a petition.

The Laclede Houses are a group of three apartment buildings located at 3741 Laclede Ave. Easily identified by the blue awnings sitting above each doorway, they were originally acquired by SLU in 1999.

According to Joshua Walehwa, director of the Department of Housing and Residence Life, the main issue with the houses is quality, and the building was never intended for long-term housing. The houses experienced many

renovations last summer.

However the expense of constantly renovating the houses would be much greater than the worth of the building.

“At this point, the houses are in good enough condition to live in,” Walehwa said. “But the value of the houses compared to what it would cost to truly renovate them and put them on par with what our standards and expectations for housing are is way more expensive than the value of the houses.”

The apartments initially existed as a learning community for foreign language students. They were first used as housing for students in the Micah program in 2008.

The Micah program, which is the service-learning community on campus, provides housing for freshmen and sophomoroes in See “Micah” on Page 3

Engineering and Innovation Parks seniors work to turn plans into products

Kristen Miano/ News Editor

Left: Senior Eric Held holds the turbocharger that will increase the power output of the group’s engine. Top right: A race car designed by past engineering students. Bottom right: A graphic of the turbocharger, along with the engine and a dynamometer.

By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor

Kristen Miano/ News Editor

The row of Laclede houses are set to be closed this summer.

Faculty Senate plans for Board meeting sessment Task Force to be charged with gathering information to compile reports for the Executive A main concern of the Committee to use when Faculty Senate meeting on meeting with the Board. In Tuesday, Nov. 27 was the addition, a forum is being upcoming meeting of the held to assist chairs and deBoard of Trustees on Saturpartment heads in finding day, Dec. 15. ways to fulfill their obliga“At this point, our mistions in light of the current sion is to get in the door that situation at the University.

Saturday and plead our case Senate also went over to the Board members so we the work done so far by know the Board members the Faculty have heard Manual us,” Mark Task Force K n e u f e r, TF), president of Our mission is to get (a F M group the Faculty Senate, said. in the door that Satur- of faculty Since the day and plead our case m e m b e r s vote of no to the Board members w o r k i n g to evaluate confidence a g a i n s t so we know the Board and revise L a w r e n c e members have heard the policies within the Biondi, S.J., us. manual. president of When the Saint Louis -Mark Kneupfer draft poliUniversity cies proon Oct. 30, posed by the Vice Presithe Executive Commitdent for Academic Affairs, tee has reached out to the Manoj Patankar, were reBoard of Trustees, meeting leased, the Faculty Manual once with several members Task Force authored a letconfidentially and inviting ter to the Vice President dethem to attend the Senate tailing the manual revisions meeting on Nov. 13. Acneeded to make the proposcording to the Executive als viable.

Committee, it is likely that Since the policies have another confidential meetbeen withdrawn, the Facing will be held before the ulty Manual Task Force has actual Board meeting. been specifically looking at Since the last meeting, the Faculty Senate have begun a University AsSee “Senate” on Page 3

By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor

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INSIDE:

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NEWS

Just across from McDonnell-Douglas Hall is a giant block of a building called Oliver Hall. It remains unfamiliar to the majority of students at Saint Louis University, but for Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology students, it stands as a vital place for their continued education.

Essentially, Oliver Hall is a giant workshop where engineering students put their hours of computer design training and their plethora of fluid dynamics equations to practical use. It is where seniors in Parks College spend a large amount of their “free-time”; that is, the time they don’t spend in classrooms, computer labs or lining the halls of MDH with a laptop and a notebook brimming with graphs and data.

Every engineering student must complete a senior design project, which is a year-long process done with a team of students. The teams come up with ideas that they want to see become reality, then put the entirety of

used by NASCAR mechanics, which operate under 150 psi. The group will be constructing the robot from scratch.

“The problem is finding components that can withstand that particularly high pressure,” Lewandowski said. The team will compete with another SLU group that is designing a robot with a wedge device. The winner of that competition will move on to the RoboGames.

Another project currently underway is a solar energy-powered boat. The team, comprised of Ram Pokhrel, Hasta Monger, Huaqi Lu and Sufeng Shi, plan to attach two solar panels measuring 5.5 feet by 3.3 feet to the back of a 19-footlong boat. The solar panels extract energy from sunlight and use it to charge lead acid batteries, which are used to run a DC motor connected to the propeller of the boat. One person will pilot the boat.

“Our main goal for this project is to complete a well-functioning boat and take it to an intercollegiate competition that’s going to happen in Iowa in June See “Design” on Page 3

Speaker addresses plague of body parts market

By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor

Investigative journalist Scott Carney began his speech on Nov. 28 saying that he likes talking to college students for a very specific reason.

“It’s always an honor to speak in front of college students,” Carney said. “Especially since you’re getting to these issues before you get horribly jaded by them.”

Carney was brought to Saint Louis University by the Great Issues Committee to speak about his book, “The Red Market.”

He spent roughly six years researching and traveling for the story, and said that the Red Market can be summed up in a simple quote from anthropologist Richard Titmuss.

“If blood as a living human tissue is increasingly bought and sold as an article of commerce and profit improves from such transactions, that follows that the

2 OPINION

>> Syrian student talks revolt

their education to work in an attempt to design, construct and implement an innovative product.

While all share in the realm of engineering, the breadth of the various goals and disciplines of Parks seniors is vast and deep.

From solar-powered boats to battle robots, turbo-chargers to air-surveillance devices, designs put forward by students span land, sea and air, some even going so far as outer space.

For many groups, the primary intention of their project is competition. For instance, the team of Joe Lewandowski, Angela Schilt, Chris Eberhardt and Ander Robinson is building a robot to enter in the 2013 RoboGames, an international robotics competition held in San Mateo, Calif.

According to Lewandowski, the group plans to build a pneumatic flipper, which is a device that extends forward 5 to 7 inches from the robot and pushes up at the same time in an attempt to launch other competitors.

A 250-psi air tank will be used to power the flipper. Lewandowski compared this level of power to the drills

>> Life after Majerus

laws of commerce must in the end prevail,” Titmuss said.

The Red Market is the trade of not only human body parts, but also human people as commodities.

Carney’s book explores these markets, ranging from the sale of organs to the sale of children, and exposes just how prevalent and illustrious such a trade is in modern times.

Carney spoke about visiting a tsunami refugee camp in India where he saw first hand what happens when things become so desolate, the body is the only thing a person has left. In the camp, every woman in residence had sold a kidney.

This is not an isolated incident, according to Carney, and it manifests itself across the globe in any number of ways. Despite the variety in the Red Market, Carney said that he found one thing in common among all the kinds of transactions he encountered.

“It’s taken me inside the

4 ARTS

Kristen Miano/ News Editor

Scott Carney speaks in the Wool Ballrooms on Nov. 28. respected glass and steel institutions of the first world, like where we are right now, and into the back dens of criminal hide outs in the third,” Carney said. “I’ve met with police and lawyers and victims and ordinary business folk just trying to make their livings and in all the markets I’ve explored, one thing has stood out:

that everyone, no matter who they are, is convinced they are doing the right thing.”

From there, Carney delved into the flaws in the medical system. While a large number of body parts are in fact donated and obtained in legal ways, any

7 SCIENCE

>> The Ho! Ho! Holidays

See “GIC” on Page 3

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>> A new life under the sea

2 NEWS

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

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Let Us Introduce You: Michael Megarbane Student celebrates Syrian identity despite the growing conflict

By HANNAH WILEY Staff Writer

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

Tuesday, Nov. 20

7:30 a.m. - STEALING OVER $500 John Schuler/Photo Editor

children. His love for the country began as a child, a love that he didn’t know he possessed until he had already left.

“I never realized how much I love Syria, how much I respected it,” Megarbane said.

Megarbane’s only home had been in Syria, up until his sophomore year of high school when the tensions began. The revolts started, and his American Embassy high school quickly emptied. He said his friends fled to neighboring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, and the rest headed for Canada and the United States.

Megarbane moved to Kansas City and finished high school in the United States at an all-boys Catholic school.

As the fighting continues in Syria, Megarbane said he hasn’t picked a side in the matter.

“I can’t say what side I’m on. Who cares if I pick a side?” Megarbane said.

“For it to stop, it doesn’t take picking a side.”

Megarbane believes that the key to peace lies in productive conversation and avoidance of any international intervention.

“As long as there are foreign hands in the issue, it won’t stop. It takes sitting down and talking peacefully,” Megarbane said. “I don’t know, it might be an-

other Ground Zero before it stops...and then we will rebuild.”

The country’s war may be frontline news everyday and the pressing issue in presidential debates and foreign concerns, but Megarbane remains proud to be a Syrian, something he attributes to the kind nature of his people and beautiful history of the land.

He wants to return to Syria after graduation to work for his family’s business. Megarbane hopes Syria can one day return to being the only Middle Eastern country that allowed the practice of any religion, the Syria he grew up loving and respecting.

Megarbane and his friends, who have become refugees, wish they could go back to their homeland, but Megarbane remembers the words of his best friend from childhood: “We are all in the United States for a reason: to educate ourselves so that we may go back and rebuild Syria.”

Megarbane plans to return to Syria during December to visit his mother, family and friends, but also to see the war and experience it firsthand. The plans are not definite, however, due to the increasing risk associated with visiting.

“If nobody would stop me, I would go,” Megarbane said. “My blood is Syrian.”

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A parent and his son parked their vehicle behind Hotel Ignacio. Surveillance cameras revealed the vehicle was broken into by several unidentified males. The suspects broke the window and removed a laptop, hard-drive, three suitcases and tools. SLMPD responded and filed a report.

Monday, Nov. 26

1:00 p.m. - HARASSMENT

A student is harassing her roommate via phone and internet over another student. Residence Life was notified. This is an ongoing problem that Residence Life is aware of.

Tuesday, Nov. 27

2:42 p.m. - PROPERTY DAMAGE

A DPSEP officer received a call about a refrigerator that malfunctioned a week ago. The refrigerator compressor failed, destroying the antibodies and cultures that were contained inside.

Tuesday, Nov. 20

9:22 a.m. - STEALING UNDER $500

A SLU student stated that on Nov. 16 he parked his vehicle at the loading dock with the engine running. He left his wallet on the roof of the car.

When he returned the wallet was gone.

Thursday, Nov. 22

Tuesday, Nov. 27

7:53 a.m.- FOUND PROPERTY

A student identification card was turned into DPSEP. The owner of the yeard was contacted and responded to the Wool Center to claim the card.

Tuesday, Nov. 27

uncertain if anything was stolen from the vehicle.

Tuesday, Nov. 27

6:35 p.m. - BIAS INCIDENT

DPSEP responded to Reinert Hall regarding a bias incident. An RA was a victim of a bias incident. The victim stated that she left her room and noticed bias remarks written on her name tag on the door to her room.

Be a Responsible Billiken STOP. CALL. REPORT.

1:13 p.m. - FIRE ALARM

1:56 p.m. - STEALING UNDER $500

314-977-3000

A student was cooking fried chicken and set off the smoke detector.

There was no smoke or fire. The alarm was reset.

A student reported that while her car was parked on the street, unknown person(s) smashed the window of her vehicle. She was

witness.slu.edu dps.slu.edu

@SLU_MuseumOfArt cupples.slu.edu 314.977.2666

Sophomore Michael John Megarbane may be a U.S. citizen, but his heart is Syrian. Raised in Damascus, Megarbane’s childhood memories are filled with the richness of Syrian tradition and cultural values. While he planned to attend an American university once he graduated from high school, Megarbane’s route to the United States was unexpected.

As a freshman at Saint Louis University, Megarbane immediately declared an international business major and joined Sigma Phi Epsilon. He said his experience as a SLU student has been nothing short of welcoming and enjoyable, and the University has become Megarbane’s new home.

But things have changed this year. Megarbane’s homeland is engaged in a civil war, and his mother and family remain overseas, experiencing the war firsthand. While he speaks with his mother almost everyday via text or phone calls, Megarbane worries for her safety. His mother stayed in Damascus to take care of the family business, and will stay until the danger is no longer avoidable.

Since the revolts in Syria in March of 2011 provoked the civil war between the Alawite government and Sunni army, Megarbane has watched his country destroy itself over religious hatred and oppression, something he said has forced the him to mature quickly.

In Syria, Megarbane’s perception of his government was a positive one: his minority group of Syriac Christians was protected by the government, since the government was also controlled by a religious minority. Now, Megarbane’s opinions have changed, given the recent situation in his country.

“It’s not a perfect world.

The president [of Syria] has made a lot of mistakes, but he was the only source of stability,” Megarbane said.

“But I don’t support any side that kills, and both sides have now balanced out. People don’t understand that it takes one trigger and this could become World War III.” Megarbane was born in the United States, but his family immediately moved back to Syria to raise their

unewsonline.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Design: Novel projects from Parks seniors Continued from Page 1

Kristen Miano/ News Editor

Pokhrel’s team plans to power the 19-foot-long boat with solar panels attached to its back end.

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turbocharger for a 600cc for the team is not so much motor racecar. Turbocharggetting the greatest horseers are used power to increase possible, the potential but maxipower outizing The problem is m put of an enhorsefinding components p o w e r gine. “ W e ’ r e that can withstand at lower trying to speeds particularly to get make it so that the race high pressure the car to cars can be accelera little bit ate more more power- -Joe Lewandowski quickly ful and we out of can get them turns. out of the Turbocorners faster,” Held said. chargers operate based on The design considerations airflow, and for the competi-

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tions in which the team they are restricted to sending air through holes smaller than a nickel.

As students move into the spring semester, their projects will move from design stages to construction and implementation, which is certain to come with a whole new set of obstacles.

Yet at the end of all the frustrations and problems inherent in any design of man, those most dedicated, talented and fortunate engineers will have added their very own piece to the collection of human technological innovation.

SGA examines effects of Oath of Inclusion

3

Senate: Task force aims to revise the Faculty Manual Continued from Page 1

2013,” Pokhrel said. The group also hopes to demonstrate the potential for alternative energy in the form of solar power.

A similar project was attempted in 2010, but the group working on it ran into problems and never got the boat running.

Looking to the skies, Kevin Keadle, Jeremy Payne, Ellen Pifer and Grant Spencer are designing an unmanned air vehicle for a competition being held by the Department of Homeland Security.

The goal is to provide a platform that would allow Homeland Security to survey the border and watch for illegal drugs or illegal immigrants.

According to Pifer, the team’s design is somewhat innovative in that it’s a UAV without a tail, something like a B-2 Bomber.

Should their design report be chosen to continue in the competition, the group will be given $30,000 to create a working model prototype.

“We have a 55-pound aircraft with a wingspan of about 16 feet,” said Pifer, concerning the designed aircraft. The group has designed UAVs of comparable size over the last few years, but felt that attempting to create an aircraft without a tail would be more challenging and give a “more real-life flavor to the design.”

In the area of land-based racing, Jaime Burgos, Eric Held, Greg Pasken, Shengyang Yi, and Manuel Tertsch are designing a

NEWS

been specifically looking at section III.H.4 of the manual that deals with the definition of shared governance.

Proposed adjustments to this section include a clear shift from top-down governance, more empowerment of and input from faculty units and changes in the process of making academic decisions that more readily include participation from the groups most affected by such decisions.

Chair of the FMTF, Miriam Joseph, noted that the task force has been looking at the shared governance model of Santa Clara University, an institution that received an award from the American Association of University Professors specifically for their style of shared governance. “[Santa Clara] is just one example of a possible approach. Just a thought.” Joseph said. “We have a lot of homework to do to see what is out there and see how we will adapt in our situation.”

Any changes to the Faculty Manual must be approved by the Faculty Senate before they become official.

Senators will make decisions based on feedback from their respective schools and departments.

Another concern addressed at the meeting was what the next step would be following the upcoming Board of Trustees meeting. The next official meeting of the Faculty Senate will not be until January 29, 2013. Since that meeting is the annual budget meeting and would not leave much time for discussion of other business, a motion was presented to hold an additional meeting on Dec. 18 to discuss the next step.

“If we want to pass any motion following the Board meeting before our meeting in February, a December 18 meeting would be a good time to do it,” Steven Harris, a senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

Ted Vitali C.P., a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, agreed that the decisions of the Board would likely dictate the need for timely action.

“I’m not a proponent of meetings, but I don’t want to wait.” Vitali said. “Depending on the decision, we may need to form additional committees.”

Many senators voiced concern about how informed the Board would be going into their meeting about the current situation.

The interactions so far have been mostly between the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, but given the gravity of the issue, it is likely any actions taken by the Board of Trustees will be decided upon by the entirety of the Board.

“We need to communicate to the Board that real and lasting damage could be done to the University depending on their decision, especially with budget planning coming up for next year.” Gregory Beabout, a faculty representative, said.

The Executive Committee encouraged the senate to continue collecting evidence from all aspects of the University in order to ensure that the positions presented in the Board meeting will be a reflection of SLU faculty concerns.

“When the whole Faculty Senate voted no confidence, that was representative of the whole faculty of the whole of Saint Louis University,” Executive Committee member Douglas Williams said.

GIC: Journalist speaks on the problems of the Red Market Continued from Page 1

John Schuler/Photo Editor

Vice President of Diversity and Social Justice Sean Worley and VP Emeritus Kripa Sreepada give an analysis of a survey concerning the Oath of Inclusion. Some thought the Oath was a step in the right direciton but needs to be followed up with more steps to improve inclusion at SLU. Others were largely indifferent to the document. Still others considered it a front by the administration to improve the University’s image.

Worley and Sreepada found that those in the minority due to inward diversity, specifically socio-economic status and sexual orientation, considered SLU less welcoming than other students.

Micah: Cost of renovation outweighs worth Continued from Page 1

Marguerite Hall. The Micah students living in the Laclede Houses are all upperclassmen.

Since the Micah program took over the houses the number of Micah residents in the houses has increased, and currently all of the residents of the Laclede Houses are Micah students.

The Department of Housing and Residence Life hopes to have the Laclede Houses closed by the end of the academic year.

Laclede Houses residents were first informed of the planned closure in a meeting in October.

A message was posted on the Micah program’s Facebook page on Oct. 31 asking students to sign a petition and send in a memory that demonstrated students’ positive experiences in the

houses or statements from sistant director of Housing underclassmen about why and Residence Life, along they were looking forward with Micah Program Coorto living in the houses. dinator Debbie Wilson and Members of the Micah Micah Program Director program submitted a petiDonald Stump, have been tion to Housing and Resicommunicating with the dence Life students against the through closure of emails and the Laclede meetings We just wanted Houses in about the an attempt the people making future of to demon- the decision to know the housstrate the es and the houses p o t e n t i a l importance what of the build- mean to us.

Micah livings to the ing spaces Micah comto replace munity. the hous-Allison Walter “We just es. wanted Accordthe peoing to Walple making the decision ter, Residence Life has been to know what the houses very responsive to students’ mean to us,” Allison Walter, concerns. a Micah member and resi“While it seems that dent of the Laclede Houses, sadly, the houses cannot said. be saved,” Walter said, “We Dawn Aldrich, the asare hopeful to come to a

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solution that will allow the community we have put so much of ourselves into to continue to flourish.”

Many different options have been discussed as to what the Micah program can do for housing in the future.

“We’re committed to working closely with students to find the best options that can support their needs and that they’ll be satisfied with,” Walehwa said.

One new option that is in conversation is the West Locust Master Tenant building. Located near the Flying Cow on Locust Street, the space has potential to hold over 45 beds, Walehwa said.

The fate of the Laclede Houses space is still uncertain, though the plan is to have them closed once students move out in May and to eventually demolish te building.

excess demand is what contributes to the transactions occurring on these Red Markets. Too often, donors and recipients of body parts accept that privacy of medical records keeps them from learning where these transactions begin and end.

“Medical privacy becomes the perfect cover for some of the most despicable crimes humanity has invented,” Carney said.

Carney’s goal, however, is not a critique of medical systems. Instead, his aim is to create awareness about where the human commodities that have allowed our medicine to become so advanced come from.

The trade of human bodies is as old as the study of medicine itself. As early as the 1700s, medical students bought cadavers to study.

The cadavers, it turned out, were not always obtained ethically, as some providers resorted to murder in order to have a product to sell.

When a demand for skeletons for studies arose, methods of obtaining them went oversees. The same problems of unethical pro-

duction occurred and eventually, the skeleton trade was outlawed. Most producers went out of business, but a few managed to survive. It was these producers Carney meant to track down, stumbling upon his larger story in the process.

The more Carney looked into the trade of human parts, the more incarnations of the trade he found.

He expanded his focus from corpses and organs to the exploitation of international adoptions. He noticed that in areas that have suffered from natural disasters or other kinds of hardship, these sorts of trades appear with greater frequency.

“In these sorts of emergencies, brokers come in,” Carney said. “With such concentrated destitution, you’ll have people who want to take advantage of that in any way they can.”

Carney’s goal with his speech was to take a mostly ignored problem and frame it as a social issue. His research is far from over, as he stated, he learns about a new market or trade practically every week.

At the end of the lecture, Carney took several questions from the audience and held a brief book signing.

Kristen Miano/ News Editor

After his speech , investigative journalist Scott Carney, signed copies of his new book, The Red Markert.

U OPINION

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

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

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A call for a sensible response from discontents at SLU

Mike Hogan/ Opinion Editor

Questions about Billikens’ future after Majerus The departure of Rick Majerus from Saint Louis University’s men’s basketball team has created a host of questions concerning the Billikens. Most of these questions are centered on the court—how will the team fare without Majerus at the helm?

Beyond the loss of his talent in tactical decision making, how will the absence of Majerus affect the performance of the players? But perhaps the biggest questions surrounding the Billikens belong not on the court, but in the offices of the administration.

Majerus is one of college basketball’s greats, a brilliant strategist and a skilled leader. Finding a head coach to replace him will be a challenge. How the athletic department responds to this challenge will have repercussions not just for the basketball team, but for the University as a whole.

Majerus has worked hard to build up a solid men’s hoops program at SLU. A worthy successor will continue and even build upon that success. Obviously no one can foresee how a given candidate will perform, but what the department can do is devote the necessar y resources to the recruitment process. It would be a travesty to the University and to Majerus’ legacy to allow the Billikens to descend into obscurity by selecting an unqualified coach.

The importance of the basketball team extends well beyond the athletic department. Like it or not, men’s basketball is the most popular NCAA sport in which SLU par-

ticipates. A strong basketball team does more than just win flags to hang in the Chaifetz Arena rafters; it creates a brand name for the SLU. Judging by the billboards populating the highways around St. Louis, the administrators at SLU clearly understand the importance of creating a memorable brand name for the University.

A strong basketball season will bring students into the school, allowing SLU to become more selective in admissions and thereby gain rankings nationally. Moreover, athletic success is self-catalyzing; a good season brings in more recruits, which further improve the program. On top of that, the men’s basketball team can be a significant source of income for the school, helping to fund academic programs as well as other athletic teams that may not enjoy the same financial success.

Furthermore, a university’s athletic teams are the most tangible link between the school and its alumni. Keeping the basketball team relevant will improve alumni support for the University and hopefully bolster the alumni donation rate. Putting the basketball team in the national spotlight could do more to encourage alumni support than a year of cold calling.

Majerus will be missed, but the show must go on. The basketball Billikens are at a turning point, and it is up the administration to point them in the right direction. And when the athletic teams are victorious, the entire university wins.

Black Friday: A celebration of consumerism Nearly a week after Black Friday the merchandise madness continues unabated. Originally, there was just Black Friday, but that has now extended into Black Thanksgiving as the deals encroach on America’s beloved holiday.

For the Internet inclined and those who aren’t broke from the more traditional varieties of shopping frenzy, there is also Cyber Monday.

This year, Cyber Monday extended into what Amazon calls “Cyber Monday Deals Week.” At the current rate of expansion, most Saint Louis University students can expect the bargains to reach the Fourth of July sometime in their lifetimes.

In all seriousness, Black Friday has grown to become something of a holiday in itself. It’s a common criticism that the entire affair is indicative of the rampant consumerism in American society, and few would argue against such an insight. But like it or not, it seems that Black Friday is here to stay, and the best that can be done is to consider the materialistic mania in as objective a light as possible.

The scar y thing about Black Friday isn’t that Americans go out and buy things, or even that Americans go out and buy things they don’t need. That is a well-established and rather unremarkable phenomenon. Given the insatiability of our consumer culture, the shopping rush makes a lot of sense; it’s a great time to get deals on holiday desirables.

Consumers save money; retailers make money. Mostly ever yone seems to benefit. The economy certainly does, and the ver y name “Black Friday” comes from the tendency of retailers to begin turning profits for the year on

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that date—to go from “in the red” to “in the black.”

No, the scar y thing about Black Friday is the utterly animalistic behavior displayed by so many of the other wisenormal shoppers. On Black Friday, Walmart and Best Buy become the gladiator arenas of the United States. Shootings and tramplings are not unheard of, and slaps and violent verbal exchanges are a dime a dozen, to appropriate the language of the ubiquitous bargain signs.

What in the world could drive people to act so indecently? Apparently, children’s toys and flat screen TVs. The mass hysteria of the malls seems to feed on itself, creating a hurricane of hurr ying housewives with no regard for anything in their paths.

Even for those who sur vive with their bodies intact, it’s not clear that Americans always benefit from Black Friday. Many people take off work in order to go shopping, which probably neutralizes a large portion of their savings. Moreover, saving money on unneeded goods isn’t really saving money at all.

The illogic of Black Friday indicates that maybe it isn’t about the deals after all; it is an event in itself, a retail adventure that millions of people enjoy for their own reasons. Many people have decried the commercialization of Christmas and wish that crazy consumerism would be separated from the sacred Christian holiday.

Well, here it is, a holiday dedicated to commercialism and consumerism and all the material goods America loves, unencumbered by association with any previously established feast day. It’s not going away; so happy Black Friday, or at this point, happy Cyber Monday Deals Week.

I am bothered by the infantile outcries coming from self-ser ving pseudo-wanna-be–intellectuals that are overly critical of Fr. Lawrence Biondi’s leadership and development of SLU. It is precisely his leadership that has bolstered the value of SLU and a SLU degree. Unknown to his critics, their attitude and criticism is detrimental to the value of a SLU degree. If you examine the methodology of the various college rankings, an aspect of the ranking always involves student, faculty and alumni satisfaction with the school and administration. Students and alumni at other schools are fully aware of this subjective factor, and, sadly, our malcontents are contributing to the devaluation of a SLU degree. This is beyond ironic; the malcontents are condemning the leader that has increased the value of a SLU degree and school prestige for fear of the opposite effect, devaluation, which is what the malcontents are accomplishing.

While I was there (1996-2000), there were also protests by the usual stereotypical malcontents upset at Biondi for one delusional reason or another, such as the grumbling against building gates around campus because “it makes our school appear elitist.” Never mind such concepts as safety, beautification and alumni donations given for such purposes.

My advice to the malcontents is to be merciful to the man who has the long-term interests of SLU at heart and in mind. Feign your support to bolster the value of the degree, as most other students and alumni already understand and do elsewhere. Graduate and go do something worthwhile in life unlike your current myopic shenanigans. As alumni, give to the school the way you choose, if not money an endorsement. Remember that you decided to go to a private university, and being civil means following their rules and being respectful to a good authority figure. If you don’t like it, there are other schools available. Finally, regardless of what your collective animosity towards Fr. Biondi is, his good legacy, SLU and the Jesuit order will be here for many more centuries. I recommend contributing to it in a positive and supportive way because it is in your best long-term interest.

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Quotes

of the week

-Scott Carney, investigative journalist and Great Issues Committee speaker.

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You never want your season to end, but it’s going to sometime, and today we left it too late.

-Alex Sweetin, men’s soccer midfielder, after losing to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA tournament.

See Page 11.

2012-13 EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief Brian boyd eic@unewsonline.com

”

Medical privacy becomes the perfect cover for some of the most despicable crimes humanity has invented.

General manager connor berry gm@unewsonline.com account executives Rachel Cambell natalie grasso Nick Steinauer advisors laura thomson don highberger advisor@unewsonline.com the editorial board of the university news recognizes avis meyer, ph.d. as the newspaper’s faculty mentor.

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NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Taboo inquiry in America: Is football too violent?

It’s an unpopular question because, try as we baseball fans might, it’s hard to deny t h a t football is truly Ameri c a ’ s pastime.

Baseball u s e d to be; football TJ Keeley is now.

But, as I sat and watched hours of football with relatives this Thanksgiving weekend, I began to wonder if the violence on the screen was a product or a cause of the violent attitude of the American psyche.

There is little room to deny that America is a violent nation. Among affluent nations, America ranks embarrassingly high in gun violence statistics, with around 9,000 people per year murdered through the use of firearms. But surely gun possession cannot be isolated as the sole cause of violence in America. Other countries have guns – you know, lots of those socialist countries over there on the continent. They just don’t shoot them. There’s a popular pie chart floating around Facebook right now that suggests that America has been at war for 214 of its 235 years in existence.

That is, of course, only true if you count the Vietnam War, which was, in fact, a “conflict.”

But what constitutes something as intrinsically violent? How violent is too violent? And is it OK to have violence in our culture instead of merely pretending it does not exist? Sure.

But the case I am making against football is not one confined solely to the easily identifiable consequences.

If I did, it would look something like this:

Football is the most dangerous sport for a kid to play. According to the National Center for Sports Safety (NCSS), 28 percent of all football players aged 5 to 14 will sustain an injury, higher than any other popular sport. Nearly 413,620 injuries occur every year as a result of playing football. This is second only to basketball. However, the basketball injuries mostly involve strain on ligaments from constant starting and stopping while running.

Most of the football injuries involved collision contact.

The average career of a football player in the NFL is 3.3 years. While a short football career can also be attributed to retirement or being cut from one’s team, injuries are a common cause. MLB players average 5.6 years; NBA players average 6.1 years. Golfers and bowlers play until they die. The leading contributor of this is old age.

But rather than focusing just on the injury statistics, I’m concerned with the attitudes engendered by the sport. Football is ensconced in an extensive war metaphor. As George Carlin once brilliantly parodied, much of the language around the sport resembles battle banter. The games are played in places called “Soldier Field” and “War Memorial Stadium.” Football, as Carlin says, “has hitting, clipping, spearing, blocking, piling on, late hitting, unnecessary roughness and personal fouls.” It has a two-minute warning, which, if tied, goes to sudden death. Carlin, again: “In football, the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, launches an aerial assault with deadly accuracy, in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into en-

Mike Hogan/ Opinion Editor

emy territory…with a sustained ground attack.”

Carlin was a joker and a satirist, but I wonder if the language of football does not indicate or enforce the attitude of the game. In fact, this arrives precisely at my point. The question, is football too violent, is not really a matter of the safety of the players. There are ways that can be fixed. It took a few broken hands to bring gloves into baseball. But what kind of effect does the violent voyeurism of football have on the audience?

What attitudes are being cultivated in people who treat football games like ceremonies or religious rituals, who gather at specific times weekly with their loved ones, break bread together, share libations and engage in superstitious behavior? And furthermore, what happens to us when we cheer a man tackled to the ground?

I do hope none of this sounds too preachy. I don’t know what the answer is.

Despite my tone, this com-

mentary is inquisitive in nature. It’s a strange phenomenon, don’t you think?

Or don’t think about it, it’s rather uncomfortable to do so. It’s much more comfortable to drink beer and shovel in turkey while watching the game, but don’t think you’re not being conditioned. When I broached this topic briefly with a relative this weekend (Well, you can’t talk about politics, so what else was I going to say?), he quickly, defensively fired back, “Well, they choose to play the game.”

Do they? Or, like most of us, are football players victims of and products of their environment, of a culture who cheers when they tackle and jeers when they blitz?

And while fame and fortune await those who find success on the turf, can you blame them for trying?

No, football is a distinctly American sport because it tickles a distinctly American ethos. Professional football took to the gridiron in 1920, but we’ve been at this since 1776.

Constitutional amendment an alternative to secession The popular vote of the 2012 election, of which 62 million went to President Obama and 59 million w e n t to Governor R o m n e y , called i n t o question the Andrew Sova t r u e representative ability of our democracy. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country began signing petitions at whitehouse.gov in a futile plea for their home states to secede from the Union. Politics in this nation have turned down right ugly. No candidate runs on morals, ideals or principles; campaigns are about slandering the opponent and thus, no one wins an election without losing dignity.

In light of the recent win for the Democratic Party and liberals alike, millions are beginning to fear that our nation is transforming into

a welfare state. Realistically, the very idea of seceding from the Union, regardless of its legality, has no practical impact on changing our nation’s course. A large number of states would preserve the Union, and the remaining states would most likely become independent territories.

Perhaps these petitioners hoped that if their states were to secede, they could collectively cripple the federal government. Unfortunately, the previous secession of 1774 sparked a war with Britain as an effort to wrest control of the original 13 colonies from the King of England; and the secession of 1864 led to the Civil War. Therefore, if a third secession were to occur, it would certainly result in a second civil war. Many local and national media outlets ran stories on the petitions, stating that the White House has a policy to respond to a petition when 25,000 individuals sign it. Unfortunately, the federal government is not going to recognize these petitions, largely because they hold no legal

ground. In fact, secession talks arose following the 2008 election, but nothing came of that either. While the figures differ, a recent press release by the Daily Caller claimed that 675,000 people nationwide have signed these petitions.

Many people seem to have failed to realize that it would be substantially easier to disband the federal government. Article V of the Constitution authorizes two-thirds of Congress or 33 of the state legislatures to amend the Constitution.

There is no doubt that Americans, fundamentally, stand alongside conservative principles for government. If 33 states were to hold an emergency session to abolish the federal government, Washington, D.C. would no longer be the national capital, at least for a short while.

All federal laws would be disbanded, all federal government regulations would be abolished and all federal government departments and bureaucracies would cease to exist. Consequently, millions of government

employees would have to seek jobs in the private sector, meaning they would no longer depend on your tax dollars to earn a living. We would not have to worry about the fiscal cliff because government spending would plummet, but the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights would still be preserved.

Imagine a nation without excessive federal income taxes. We would finally be free from supporting programs like Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.

Everyone would have the freedom to choose where to invest their savings for their retirement and everyone would be able to purchase private sector insurance policies for retirement, which would come at a much lower cost than existing government programs. More importantly, a new federal government would only be authorized to carryout Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, which promotes the common defense of the state from foreign invasion.

OPINION

5

Lessons from Abe Lincoln Stephen Spielberg’s historical drama “Lincoln” has received much attention from the press recently, and not just from the usual cultural critics crowd.

PolitiMike Hogan cal pundits and even politicians have been chiming in on the film, which depicts the political wrangling involved in passing the 13th Amendment and ending the Civil War. Analogies have been drawn between that historic struggle in the House of Representatives and the current debate over the approaching “fiscal cliff.”

Republicans and Democrats alike claim that the film shows the need for leadership and compromise in the legislative process — usually with the implication that their party should do the leading and the other guys should do the compromising. The movie also depicts some backroom political deals that someone unschooled in Washington tact might be tempted to call “bribery,” but the politicians seem to have dozed off during those scenes.

At any rate, it isn’t surprising that politicos would express interest in the film. Ever since the United States was founded under the principle of “separation of church and state,” Americans have been creating a pantheon of our own. To garner public support, politicians love to invoke the names of beloved American heroes, comparing themselves favorably with the likes of Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan (but not both) or any of the Founders. So with Lincoln in the public spotlight, everyone and their lobbyist is taking the opportunity to appropriate his name and life story for their public relations needs.

But before our representatives go trotting into upcoming budget debates with “What Would Lincoln Do” bracelets on their wrists, maybe they should take a closer look at the actual events of the film, or better yet, the historical record. It’s undeniable that in his tenure Lincoln exhibited many traits that all leaders would do well to emulate. Likewise, Honest Abe himself certainly drew inspiration from the leaders and thinkers of the past, from the Founding Fathers to Euclid. But ultimately, Lincoln gained much of his current fame for pushing through an anti-slavery agenda that a large portion of country did not agree with, using methods that would likely have made the Founders wince.

There’s a strain of thinkers in American politics today who like to attribute the Founding Fathers with almost supernatural wisdom and foresight. They seem to argue that government policy should stay in line with the vision of those who wrote and signed the Con-

stitution. Never mind that the Founders could never have foreseen a host of challenges presented by 21st century technology and politics. Never mind that the Founders disagreed greatly among one another about their vision of the nation.

And certainly never mind that the Founders were radicals themselves, rebels against the venerable tradition of monarchy. They advocated one of the most groundbreaking concepts in the history of political science: that no one in the country would be above the law; that a document, rather than a person, would be sovereign in this nation.

The point here is that sometimes it is necessary to break with tradition. There is much to be learned from the great men and women of history, but greatness requires forward vision as well as an awareness of the past. If we as Americans really want to live up the example of our nation’s heroes, then we should emulate their ability to dream of a better future even as they lived amidst the obstacles of their own times. Lincoln and the Founding Fathers alike were forward thinkers; to simply imitate them would be contrary to their progressive ideals.

Progress isn’t always a straight road, however, and this is why the democratic process in the country involves more than just casting votes. The end of slavery and the enfranchisement of women and people of all races are just a few examples of undeniably positive steps in our nation’s history. And yet, not so long ago, the majority of Americans opposed such measures. Fortunately, the opinions of the electorate aren’t set in stone.

The optimism of democracy lies in the belief that, with time, a large population of people will make the morally right decision after public discourse and debate. This is why freedom of speech and press are so vital to democracy. In the arena of public opinion, leaders can battle one another with ideas, not weapons, and the hope is that the successful ideas will be the best ones for the country.

Likewise, education is essential to the democracy, because each citizen needs to have the knowledge to make informed decisions about the nation’s direction.

I won’t argue that any one side of our country’s political spectrum has all the right answers; that’s the job of the pundits. I will argue that argument is good. And I will argue that sometimes, it takes a strong leader to make progress happen, and that such a leader might possess a vision of the future which the rest of the country can only later be brought to comprehend. So don’t let our country stagnate in its obsession with a glorified and possibly fabricated vision of the past.

Like Lincoln, let’s fight for our own visions of the future with reasonable debate, and yes, maybe with some political maneuvering. And as the arguments continue, may the best America win.

Perspective on secession: An American tradition that often comes to nothing When in search of a motive, the narrative of the Democratic Party seems to rely solely on an overutilized strategy of infusing the necess a r y “-ism” or phobia Patrick Olds on whate v e r disagreement it may have with opposing ideologies.

This pattern continues with the recent secessionist movement talk in Southern states. The main arguments used to denounce such secessionist movements are that they are racially motivated and that they go against the logic of Americans past and present.

By most accounts, when

secession is mentioned it has an obvious and longlasting link to our Civil War that was fought over one central disagreement. The popular (and simplistic) culture of history will claim (with full confidence) that it was over the freedom of slaves. As Americans, we naturally want that to be the cause – that there was the morally right North and the morally evil South. However, it wasn’t that simple.

This conflict was (more broadly) about the idea of states’ rights and diverging views on the economy. Specifically, the southern states felt that the northern Republicans had a flawed view of the differences between the northern industrial economy and the agriculture-dominated southern economy.

To the very core of moral logic, the South was wrong

a rock and a hard place and in its system and utilization they responded in the only of human slavery to further logical way that they could economic means. Though, envision. in context, the only reason Secession is a drastic that we can label the North leap from reason. Secession as morally superior is that happens when one side industry found its home feels as in the New though reaEngland son or comstates earpromise is lier than it Talk of secession has not plausidid in the Carolinas. been in the American ble – which is a rare ocT h e South was blood ever since its con- c u r r e n c e .

That is why being forced ception. secession to make a is and has foundational change been used to their way of life in which only as threatening rhetothey would undoubtedly ric for most of American fail economically. Legislahistory, yet this is not new. tion passed making their Talk of secession has alnecessary laborers free, auways been in the American tonomous beings. Though blood ever since its conit hardly gives them any ception. Thomas Jefferson, excuse, it provides context in the Declaration of Indefor their secession. The pendence, made it so that South was pushed between we as a people would never

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be forced to feel helpless under any tyrannical government: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”

The American people often have over-utilized this strategy to prove points of dissatisfaction, yet it is in the bloodline to threaten secession. Therefore, when consuming the context and history of secession in the United States, it is reasonable to associate the polarizing political attitudes of the times with this live, but unthreatening secessionist movement.

The movement, most

certainly, is not derived from racism but rather a mood of post-election blues.

Those that sign the petitions will likely stridently disagree with President Obama’s policies and ideology but to claim racism as a cause seems like a stretch (who claims this as a cause?). Granting that a state, such as Texas, secedes, what would happen to the minority populations that reside there? The state of Texas would be seceding — not just the white people of Texas.

These secessionist movements are related to the polarization of politics, the current state of the country’s financial vitality and the uneasy times overall. Besides, Gov. Rick Perry said Texas will, at no point, secede from the Union. You got it from the horse’s mouth.

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NOVEMBER 29, 2012

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Arts Editor’s Picks

Music November 29 Gaither Christmas Homecoming Family Arena 7 p.m. from $29.50

November 30 The Highway Companion The Firebird 8 p.m. $5

November 30December 1 St. Louis Sympony Orchestral Program: Heroic Stauss Powell Symphony Hall Fri: 10:30 a.m., Sat: 8 p.m. tickets from $27 (student tickets $10)

Until December 1 John Pizzarelli Quartet Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $37

December 5 Holiday Concert at the Old Courthouse Old Courthouse 12 p.m. free

December 5 Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker Peabody Opera House 7 p.m. from $32

Theatre Until December 2 Blue Man Group Fox Theatre Thurs: 1 and 8 p.m., Fri: 8 p.m., Sat: 1 and 8 p.m., Sun: 2 and 7:30 p.m. from $15

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Celebrating the holidays in the city December brings fesitivities throughout St. Louis

By MAGGIE NEEDHAM Associate Arts Editor

With Thanksgiving now behind us, December is ready to unfold with its own holidays filled with bright lights, delicious food and even snow. In order to help Saint Louis University students pack as much holiday cheer into the last few weeks of the semester, we’ve put together a list of festivities happening in St. Louis during the coming month.

Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo More than 500,000 lights decorate the St. Louis Zoo for the holidays during its annual Wild Lights celebration. Trees and plants adorned with lights guide the way through the Gingerbread Village, Snowfall Flurry and other locales.

Throughout the month, puppet shows, fireside stories and on select nights, local choirs add to the holiday atmosphere.

Visitors see animals such as penguins in paradise, swan lake and fantasy butterfly garden. Souvenirs are available at the Holiday Zootique. Wild Lights is open 5:30-8:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Dec. 23 and daily from Dec. 26-30.

Entrance is $5 ($4 for zoo members), and tickets can be preordered online or by phone, as well as purchased on site.

Santa’s Magical Kingdom Santa’s Magical Kingdom in south St. Louis County is home to Candy Cane Village, the Waterfall of Lights and Kringle’s General Store.

Visitors take wagon rides across 35 acres of land decorated with Christmas lights. During the ride, visitors see Santa’s helpers—the flying reinder. Located in Jellystone Park in Eureka, Mo., Santa’s Magical Kingdom is open until Jan. 6 from 5:30-10:30 p.m.

Sunday through Thursday and 5:30-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $19 per car or $12 per person for wagon or train ride tickets.

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden has holiday celebrations galore during the

Photo courtesy of Mary Lou Olson

Plants and trains on display at the Missouri Botanical Garden during last year’s 2011 Gardenland Express Flower and Train Show. month of December.

The Gardenland Express Holiday Flower and Train Show features g-scale train models from different eras travelling a 900-foot-long track throughout a miniature holiday landscape.

This year’s “Merry Botanical Traditions” theme puts plants of the holiday season on display, such as poinsettias, holly and Christmas cactus, as well as silk flowers from the Chinese Lantern Festival held at the Botanical Garden this past summer.

Orthwein Floral Display Hall becomes a winter wonderland with a fairy tale cottage for this seasonal event. Gardenland Express is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m until Jan. 1.Missouri Botanical Garden will also host the Deck the Halls wreath exhibit and Christmas caroling on Dec. 8; both are included with garden admission.

On Dec. 9, the Missouri Botanical Garden is hosting the Chanukah Festival of Lights.

The traditional Jewish celebration runs from 1-4 p.m. and includes Israeli music, dance and a meno-

rah-lighting ceremony, all included with garden admission.

Central West End The Central West End is hosting Holidays of Light this Saturday, Dec. 1 from 1- 5 p.m. It is the neighborhood’s own multicultural event showcasing diverse holiday events from around the world.

Attractions include Santa and his sleigh, Bob Kramer’s marionettes at Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier, pony rides, a petting zoo, the lighting of the tree and holiday refreshments.

The annual Window Walk throughout the neighborhood starts at 1 p.m. to view holiday themed window displays, which will be up until Dec. 22.

Way of Lights The Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville consists of more than a million lights that tell the story of Jesus’ birth.

Entry is free, with a small charge for the laser light show, camel rides and other attractions. The Way of Lights is open from 5-9 p.m. nightly until Dec. 31.

Another round of ‘Food and Liquor’

The Foreigner Repertory Theatre of St. Louis Tues: 7 p.m., Wed-Fri: 1:30 p.m., Sat: 5 p.m., Sun: 2 p.m. from $16

Other November 29 St. Louis Historic House Tour Various venues 3-8 p.m. $30

Winter Jewels: A Holiday Celebration Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House Tues-Sun 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $6

December 1-2 29th Annual Cherokee Antique Row Cookie Spree Cherokee Antique Row 11 a.m.-5 p.m. free

Jewel Box Poinsettia Show The Jewel Box in Forest Park has a seasonal poinsettia show with red, pink and white poinsettias decorating the city’s largest park.

It is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Admission is $1 every day, but Mondays and Tuesdays before noon is free.

Christmas Candlelight Concert The classic St. Louis tradition of the Christmas Candlelight Concert will be held at Powell Symphony Hall on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Music from Bach’s “Magnificat,” hosted and performed by the Bach Society Chorus and Orchestra, will be accompanied by a candlelight procession and the St. Louis Archdiocesan Children’s Chorus. Tickets start at $20.

JCC Hanukkah Event The St. Louis Jewish Community Center is hosting a Hannukah celebration on Dec. 9 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Marilyn Fox Building in Chesterfield, Mo. This family-friendly event includes

Photo courtesy of Brian Moghadam / www.lupefiasco.com

Rapper Lupe Fiasco performs onstage in New York City in 2010.

By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor

In his opening lines on “Touch The Sky” I became an instant fan of Lupe Fiasco. I obsessed over the “Food & Liquor” album as a teenage girl might her Facebook page. I treated “The Cool” like a scuba diver would his oxygen tank; I consumed everything Lupe as if my very life force depended upon it. So it was

incredibly disappointing when “Lasers,” a highly commercialized affair filled with big name features and pop-rock rhythms, replaced the Lupe Fiasco I knew and loved with a man guided by record executives. It was a fine pop album, better than a lot of modern hip-hop, but it didn’t capture my heart.

So with the release of “Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1,” I was hesitant. I ap-

proached it with a much calmer mindset and I listened to it with caution, wondering if Lupe Fiasco could demonstrate the same unique and brilliant mind that I had experienced as a teenager.

The opening track, a spoken-word performance

by Fiasco’s sister Ayesha Jaco, is the first sign of a See “Album” on Page 8

Hanukkah activities such as dreidel spinning, candle making and storytelling.

Latkes, helly donuts and other delicious traditional holiday food is available, as well as mitzvah projects for the community. Attendees help to light the giant Agam menorah outside.

Brothers Lazaroff 2nd Annual Hanukkah Hullabaloo Popular local band Brothers Lazaroff started their Hanukkah tradition last year, and this year it continues on Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. at Off Broadway in the Historic Cherokee Lemp Distrcit. Music is a strong tradition of Hanukkah, and the Brothers Lazaroff celebrates this tradition with a performance filled with Hanukkah-inspired songs.

Other musicians make guest appearances throughout the night, making for an interesting and festive evening. Tickets are $8-11.

Staying indoors with a mug of hot cocoa and a blanket seems inviting as the weather gets colder, but St. Louis offers events these events to help put everyone in the mood of the season.

America the Brutal

By T.J. KEELEY Managing Editor

Until December 23

Until December 30

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

In the opening moments of Andrew Dominik’s new darkly comedic crime thriller “Killing Them Softly,” a man smoking a cigarette wanders through an empty parking lot of an abandoned broken-down city, trash askew across the ground.

He’s gritty and grimy. He walks in slow motion. On the soundtrack, we hear President Barack Obama’s reiteration of the promise of the American dream. “We are community,” he says.

But these words are cross cut with the title of the film.

Obama says, “Now is the time for…” before a giant title card with “Killing “pops up on the screen. “Killing Them Softly” is too cynical for Mr. Obama. Like its characters, “Killing Them Softly” is a gritty and dirty film, just out for itself.

The man in this opening scene is Frankie (Scoot McNairy from “Argo”). He recruits another low-life (Ben Mendelsohn) to help knock over a high-stakes card game. Markie (Ray Liotta from “Goodfellas”) is running the game after robbing his own game years ago. The idea is that if the game is robbed a second time, Markie will be blamed again, and Frankie and company will get off easy.

But, as always, corporate

interest is involved. A character known only as “Driver” (Richard Jenkins from “The Visitor”) hires Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a hit man and one of the best in the business, to take down the robbers.

From its plot description, “Killing Them Softly” likely sounds a Guy Ritchie film, but it fiercely tries to be something greater – and succeeds in this. Written and directed by Dominik, whose “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” was one of the criminally underrated films of 2007, the film is scathing indictment of capitalism and American individualism. While it strays off course a few times, the film remains an excellent example of the crime thriller genre.

Some might complain that Dominik’s anti-American message is heavy-handed. Audio from speeches by George W. Bush granting tax breaks to the wealthy or Barack Obama reciting hopeful rhetoric play behind so many scenes that they become their own sort of narration. I think that after several uses of this audio, it begins to turn on itself. Political language saturates the film. We are watching people concerned See “Killing” on Page 8

8 ARTS

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

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The Weeknd drops 30 track debut Singer Abel Tesfaye opens up about love, drugs and infidelity

Album: Fiasco releases part one of new album where shootings are at a record high in 2012.

There is a clear departure toward darker territory return to form. Jaco’s poem at the midpoint of the album captures the plight of the with “Lamborghini Angels,” lower class in America with a dark and biting commenthe same revolutionary tint tary on the corruption of that sits over most of Lupe’s morality and the evils plagumusic. ing Americans in the modThe album title is approern day. priate, as “Food & Liquor From here, Lupe flexes II” is simply a grown-up ithis lyrical muscle before eration of “Food & Liquor.” presenting a vignette of his Times have changed since fight for a woman’s love, 2006, and America faces ending with “Battle Scars,” problems both new and old; the album’s most successful Lupe has changed with it, single, featuring Guy Sebasmaturing in his sound and tian. vision. The youthful exu“Brave berance and Heart” and hope isn’t “Form Folas promiFuncnent here The youthful exu- lows tion” show as it was in at Lupe’s ear- berance and hope Lupe his most lier days.

The be- isn’t as prominent c o n f i d e n t , ginning of here as it was in d e m o n strating his the album sounds a lot Lupe’s earlier days. s u p r e m e lyrical wit like a simand one-ofple follow a-kind flow up to “Food while he boasts about his & Liquor.” He touches on talents and his come up many of the same issues from nothing to a rapping as his earlier work such as great. sexism, racism, ignorance This bravado is quickly and violence. “B*tch Bad” quieted by the introspection is a clever shot at illustratof “Cold War.” The song ing how the abuse of a serves as Fiasco’s memorial word can alter the mindset to his brother and it is the of the next generation, and most honest and personal it would feel right at home he has ever been. on “The Cool” or “Food & “Unforgivable Youth” Liquor.” highlights Lupe’s version of However, one can tell American history – one of that the repetition is startbarbarism, first aimed at the ing to wear on the rapper.

Native Americans and then This idea is most explicit our own people – and ends on “ITAL (Roses),” where with a vision of a future peohe says, “I know you’re ple finding our artifacts and saying Lupe rapping ‘bout misinterpreting the reality the same [stuff], well of our existence as a peacethat’s ‘cause [nothing’s] ful and organized existence. changed.”

The album closes with Indeed, his call for an “Hood Now,” which serves intellectual and spiritual as a playful nod to Fiasco’s revolution amongst the hometown and the people lower class has been met with whom he grew up, as with a constant progreswell as the bits of the hood sion towards more violence permeating today’s pop culand crime, very notably in ture. his hometown of Chicago Continued from Page 7

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Photo courtesy of www.clclt.com

Canadian artist Abel Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, has sold 115,000 copies of his debut album “Trilogy” as of Nov. 25, 2012.

By TIM WILHELM Staff Writer

“You don’t know what’s in store.” Thus begins The Weeknd’s 30-track debut album “Trilogy.” Released in November, it is a compilation of three mix tapes — “House of Balloons,” “Thursday” and “Echoes of Silence” — all released individually last year. The man behind the moniker, Canadian singer and producer Abel Tesfaye, entices us with those opening lyrics of “High for This” and goes further with a chorus that advises, “trust me, girl, you wanna be high for this.”

The next 29 songs are a perilous landscape of drugs, alcohol, dips in and out of reality and highs and lows dotted with episodes of infidelity, volatile love and faint glimmers of hope.

Tesfaye’s voice sings of a man addicted to both substance and self-destruction.

In “Wicked Games” he makes a deal: “Bring your

love, baby, I can bring my shame / Bring the drugs, baby, I can bring my pain / I got my heart right here / I got my scars right here.”

This beleaguered man is our guide in this descent into the underworld of the human pursuit of a good time. He acknowledges the dangers — “Higher that I climb, the harder I’mma drop,” from “The Morning” — but rejects responsibility — “Blame it on the weed, on the booze, on the nightlife / Just don’t blame it on me,” as he sings in “XO/The Host.” His recklessness (“I’m living for the present and the future don’t exist,” from “Loft Music”) and his conceit (“they say they want heaven, they say they want God / I say I have heaven, I am God!” from “Heaven or Las Vegas”), however severe, are offset by an unexpected sort of wisdom; in the forlorn “Montreal,” he asserts that “happiness exists when you don’t know a thing.” In the same song his voice can be heard in the

background murmuring “Leave the Girls Alone” by Serge Gainsbourg.

The theme of getting what one deserves is rather pervasive, although you wonder if our host ever learns anything. “I know everything,” he claims in “The Knowing,” an accusatory/ consolatory song with a layered vocal harmony that turns Tesfaye into his own choir. Yet the next song, the tenor-heavy “Twenty Eight,” finds him admitting “I’m so wrong…to let you in my home / Now you know where I sleep.”

As a vocalist, Tesfaye has masterful control over his voice and possesses a range that roams the musical scale freely throughout the album, from the lightest trills of his signature tenor — “High for This,” “Twenty-Eight,” “Rolling Stone,” “The Fall and Next,” reaching angelic tones in “The Morning” — to the deeper intensity found in “Initiation,” “Gone” and “The Birds, Pt. 2.” On several

occasions he sounds astonishingly similar to Michael Jackson, as in “Twenty Eight,” “Lonely Star,” “Life of the Party,” “Valerie” and “D.D.” Aside from his sinister, seductive, or downright alien sounds, Tesfaye incorporates vocalization (no lyrics, just sounds) heavily into the album, as heard in “Same Old Song” (feat.

Juicy J) and “Loft Music.”

His lyrical style is intensely introspective, verging on the poetic -- in this respect it resembles that of Frank Ocean. Both artists are also grounded in R&B and hip-hop themes but occasionally branch off into the realms of pop and techno.

“Trilogy” offers the kind of complex journey you would expect in 30 songs.

From the intense beginning of “House of Balloons,” through the nearly monotonous (albeit panoramic) “Thursday,” to the fiery denouement of “Echoes of Silence,” this is a mindblowing party you should

”

Killing: ‘Smart’ and ‘taut’ thriller comes to theaters

A cappella groups sing all over St. Louis

By KRISTIN MCGUIRE Staff Writer

During the last weekend of November, every a cappella nerd in the area was in a state of elation. Both Pentatonix (PTX), of “Singoff” fame, and Straight No Chaser (SNC), from Indiana University, performed shows in St. Louis. While these groups are two of the most popular a cappella groups in the country, their styles and appeal could not be more different.

Straight No Chaser began at Indiana University in 1996 when ten guys realized they had one interest in common: girls.

Oh, and singing.

After excelling as an a cappella group at IU during their studies, the members graduated and moved on to careers mostly outside of music. But ten years later, when their video of “12 Days of Christmas” reached over 7 million views in one year, Atlantic Records contacted them about getting back together. Since then, the ten men have traveled around the country performing in concert and on television and recording multiple albums.

“We take our music very seriously. We just don’t take ourselves seriously,” Ryan Ahlwardt, a tenor in the allmale a cappella ensemble said.

This group functions best as a goofy, entertaining a cappella group, covering popular songs and including generic dance moves.

Highlights of the concert included the “Fix You, I’m Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow” mash-up and “12 Days of Christmas.”

The arrangements were

Photo courtesy of guardian.uk.co

Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) carrying out a hit in one of the many “pummeling” scenes throughout the film.

Continued from Page 7

Photo courtesy of Angie Hawf / Fabulous Fox Theatre

Straight No Chaser sang at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Nov. 10. They are currently recording their fourth album. overall incredibly elaborate and appealing. Many of the tunes interwove two completely different songs, creating an entirely new feeling and sound.

“People respond most to […] hearing songs in a completely different way,” said Ahlwardt, who writes some of the song arrangements for SNC. “Some people even like that better.

That’s very rewarding as an arranger!”

Between songs, the men entertained the audience with funny bits.

Charlie Mechling, one of the impressive basses in the group, gave a hilarious monologue about what it’s like to go to the movies.

The group followed with a song consisting entirely of epic movie theme songs.

Straight No Chaser by no

means bends the rules of a cappella, but you are sure to be entertained at their shows as they combine topnotch singing with comedy.

Pentatonix, on the other hand, has only five members. This young group was formed last year, winning the popular NBC reality show, “The Sing-Off.” They won’t have you roaring with laughter, but this group truly understands how to arrange music to incorporate the theatrically of a song. Their song arrangements sound almost computer-generated, although the group performs everything live with only their voices. PTX performed many of their famous songs from “The Sing-Off,” with several new ones, including Beyonce’s “End of Time” and “Nature

Boy.” Highlights from the night include an interactive a cappella session with bass Avi Kaplan and vocal percussionist, Kevin Olusola.

Although the impressive vocal gymnastics of the three main singers are part of the appeal of the group, the risks and choices made by Kaplan and Olusola are truly Pentatonix’s foundation.

When the three main singers took a break, Kaplan and Olusola took center stage and led the audience in their own arrangement.

Each group has its own gimmick, and both Straight No Chaser and Pentatonix delivered solid shows. To read more about Straight No Chaser, visit sncmusic. com. Visit pentatonix.org to learn more about Pentatonix.

with only their lives, their money and the violence they use to get or protect it. So, in a way, the political sound bites serve as the film’s voiceover and main narration. Listen closely as they describe the events of the film as it unfolds.

Another important character in the film is New York Mickey, played by James Gandolfini from “The Sopranos.” Mickey is brought in to help Jackie, but soon proves incapable of whacking guys like he used to.

But Mickey serves more as a mouthpiece for anecdotes further extrapolating from Dominik’s hard-earned anti-capitalist message.

Gandolfini plays Mickey with such obnoxious largerthan-life gusto that he truly seems out of place next to the subdued performances

by Pitt and Jenkins, but perhaps that is the point.

Finally, many critics have complained that “Killing Them Softly” is too cynical, and that its cynicism is really just fashionable nihilism. Yet, I think it’s braver than that. Here is a film that is so political it becomes anti-politics. In the begin-

ning scene, Frankie passes a double billboard in the background. On one side is a campaign poster for John McCain; Obama is on the other – two sides of the same coin.

Yet, aside from boasting great performances by Pitt and McNairy, “Killing Them Softly” succeeds as a smart and taut thriller. It is essential also to note how Dominik links capitalistic greed with violence via individualism. The scenes of pummeling in this film are among the most intense and disturbing I have seen. As with many elements of the film, Dominik ups the style.

Each punch lands with such a heightened thud they seem to be punching America’s voyeurism of violence as well. It’s a perfect match of style and content.

Later, a character walks into a bar while, in the background and out of focus, a gun fight breaks out on the street. It appears that one man is killed, but the camera and the character do not flinch. Just another day in Anytown, America. It’s a truly remarkable gesture and a dark statement about America’s attitude toward violence.

U SCIENCE

TRUST or BUST? Snow

MYTH: “The squeak of snow will the temperature show.”

It might sound like an elementary proverb, but it does hold some truth.

The pressure you apply to snow when walking can potentially melt it.

If the snow temperature is lower than 10 below zero degrees Celsius, the pressure will silently melt the snow.

However, if the snow temperature is higher than that, the pressure from your shoes will not melt the snow, compacting the ice crystals of the snow that causes a crunching noise.

Trust.

MYTH: It can be too cold to snow.

This is probably the most popular myth about snow. And a myth it remians. It is true that snow starts falling around 2 degrees Celsius and can continue to do so until around minus 40. However, the temperature is not what is important; snowfall is dependant on the amount of moisture in the air.

When temperatures fall below minus 40, there is very little air moisutre, resulting in little snowfall.

However, the only time that snowfall can be absolutely impossible is at absolute zero ( minus 273 degrees Celsius), but so is everything else at that temperature.

Bust.

Species swims to discovery

By ADNAN SYED Religion Editor

Richard Mayden, of Saint Louis University’s biology department, and Steven Layman, of Geosyntec Consultants in Kennesaw, Ga., discovered five new species of fish in the U.S. this past month.

Mayden holds the W.S. Barnickle Endowed Chair of Natural Sciences at SLU and has netted nearly $4 million in federal funding this past year. This was used to conduct an inventory of Cypriniformes. These fish are found on nearly every continent and are similar to minnows, shiners and carp that are in most freshwater ecosystems. They range from small, no bigger than a mosquito, to 100 pounds.

“As we discover and describe new species over the next few years, we’ll find they are more important than we ever thought,” Mayden said.

The species were previously considered to be mere isolated populations

Or if you’re using crayons, the snow would be blue. In fact, snow is colorless. It appears white because snowflakes scatter the light that hits it and reflects back all the colors in light.

Depending on where you live, snow can appear red, blue, green or even purple.

Bust.

of a speckled darter fish, but are recognized as separate species based on their male breeding colors and morphology, the form and structure of organisms.

Named by Mayden and Layman, the scientific names of the fish are: Etheostoma obama (spangled darter), Etheostoma teddyroosevelt (highland darter), Etheostoma gore (cumberland darter), Etheostoma jimmycarter (bluegrass

darter), Etheostoma clinton (beaded darter).

According to the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, the fish are named after political figures that worked to support environmental issues and scientific advances.

“The spangled darter is named after President Barack Obama for his policies on promoting clean energy, energy efficiency, environmental protection and humanitarian effort Drawings done by Joseph Tomelleri

during challenging economic times,” the Institute said.

“The highland darter is named after former president Theodore Roosevelt for his enduring environmental conservation legacy, the designation of national forests and wildlife refuge.”

The highland darter species resides in the Arkansas drainages on the Ozark Plateau in Missouri, Arkansas and corners of Kansas and Oklahoma.

The species can be found throughout river drainages just west of the Appalachian Mountains.

They are part of the group darters, perch-like fish found in freshwater streams in North America.

Mayden said his latest discoveries are further evidence that there are plenty of new species waiting to be found in our own “backyards.”

From top moving clockwise: Etheostoma obama, Etheostoma gore, Etheostoma jimmycarter, Etheostoma teddyroosevelt, and Etheostoma clinton.

The fish were named after presidents that have emphasized and supported environmental issues.

Science Center, an attraction for all ages

By KATHLEEN KAYSEN Staff Writer

St. Louis offers its residences and visitors many free, exciting attractions. One of those is the St. Louis Science Center. Located at 5050 Oakland Ave., the Science Center sits in Forest Park along with other free attractions like the St. Louis Zoo, the art museum, the history museum and the Muny.

Named one of the top five science centers in the U.S., this St. Louis attraction has a lot to offer and continually changes various exhibits.

Additionally, it made the list of Top 10 Science Centers for Families by Parents magazine and was also namedw one of America’s most visited museums by Forbes Traveler Magazine.

Home to over 700 exhibits, the Science Center offers its visitors knowledge and entertainment in every possible subcategory of science. The center consists of several buildings, including the OMNIMAX Theater, the EXPLORADOME and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium.

The OMNIMAX Theater regularly plays several different shows, such as the current movies, “To the Arctic,” “Rocky Mountain Express” and “Born to Be Wild.”

This theater differs from others in that it creates an atmosphere that lets the audience believe they are part of the scene. As the picture and sound See “Center” on Page 10

Black Friday: A bag full of trickery

By KATHLEEN KAYSEN Staff Writer

In recent years, Christmas lights and wreaths appear in stores at the same time as Halloween jack-olanterns. As anticipation for the Christmas season builds earlier every year, Black Friday gains more importance in American culture.

Advertisements boast huge sales and crazy deals, and Americans continue to feed into it all.

Relatively speaking, though, this boom has occurred fairly recently, especially when considering

the importance of the Internet in all of it.

Before Black Friday existed, there was an unwritten rule that Christmas advertisements didn’t start until after the Thanksgiving Day parades.

Traditionally, Santa Claus was at the end of these huge parades put on by major department stores, and his presence signaled the beginning of the shopping season. Originally, Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November, but after concerned retailers asked for an extra week in the shopping season, Franklin D. Roosevelt

Death: The beginning of another journey

By GABBY GEERTS Science Editor

MYTH: Snow is white.

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

unewsonline.com

Yes, it’s way past Halloween.

The only candies left are those that you usually end up donating to the dog. Costumes are destroyed, ripped from too much trick-or-treating.

However, the scary skeletons linger—in fact, they never leave.

Many wonder what happens when we die; is there a heaven and will I get there? That’s for the religious folk to fight about.

But the physical body, what happens to that?

Well, first one has to pass away. With the progression of technology, this process is reshaping.

Simply put, though, the ability to breathe defines death and once that skill is lost and the brain loses necessary oxygen, dying begins.

Cells will begin to die at

different rates, so the pace of death may be longer or shorter depending on which cells are dying. Any cutoff of oxygen to the brain will result in quick cell death; heart attacks are also capable of quick destruction. Those passing of old age incur a more drawn out, degenerative type of death.

While no one lives to tell the tale of death, many of those suffering near-death experiences agree that the process isn’t painful. In fact, many say it is a peaceful, light-at-theend-of-the-tunnel-type of sensation.

Practitioners pinpoint the release of endorphins at the actual moment of death as the trigger of these feelings.

Feelings aside, the corpse needs tending at this point. The body will begin to chill, dropping 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit every See “Death” on Page 10

moved up the holiday.

The urgency surrounding what came to

“

No matter what it is you’re buying, the price ending in “99” will always look less expensive than it does without it.

”

be known as Black Friday has gradually increased over the years. In the 1990s,

the day ranked as one of the busier shopping days of the year but it only recently topped the list in 2002 as the pinnacle of shopping days. What creates the intensity that surrounds this well-known day? What keeps people coming back for more?

Retailers use the psychology of shopping to create a sense in people that they must have the items right now or it will be too late. By advertising very low prices on only certain items, offering special sales during specific hours, limiting the number of items on sale and racing to be the first store open,

retailers of America have created a new culture for shoppers. It’s become more of a race than ever before, and shoppers aren’t even sure what exactly they’re racing for.

A large part of the race involves price. Price ultimately drives people to this madness, but many other strategies are used to mentally attract consumers, without them even knowing. No matter what it is you’re buying, the price ending in “99” will always look less expensive than it does without it. This is due See “Shopping” on Page 10

Christmas season sparks the use of electricy

John Schuler / Photo Editor

Each strand of Christmas lights uses about 1 amp, the equivalent of a 100-watt light bulb running on 120 volts. It is tough to say how much this costs in terms of electricity, but as with any light, you don’t want to have it running all night long. So set your lights on timers and purchase LED lights to conserve energy.

unewsonline.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Binge drinking can bring more than just a hangover group was given no alcohol.

Scientists then measured anxiety levels in the mice when shocked with electrical currents.

Recent studies conclude The mice with no alcohol hangovers are not the only exposure overcame the fear downsides of a night out. of the electric shocks; while Binge drinking has althe mice with the excessive ways been a concern and a alcohol exposure had intopic of discussion across tense anxiety long after the college campuses. experiment ended.

A study published on “Basically, our research Sept. 2, 2012 by the jourshows that chronic exponal Nature Neuroscience sure to alcohol can cause a shines light on a new end deficit with regard to how result to binge drinking: our cognitive brain centers post-traumatic stress disorcontrol der. our emoAccordtional ing to Scibrain cene n c e D a i l y, The pattern is similar to ters,” Dr. “Doctors have long what is seen in patients with T h o m a s recognized PTSD, who have trouble K a s h , study aua link between alco- overcoming fear even when thor, said. holism and they are no longer in a dan- Kash is theassisanxiety distant proorders such gerous situation.” fessor of as PTSD.” pharmaScientists cology at conducted the Unithe study versity of North Carolina at the National Institute on School of Medicine.

Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholAccording to ScienceDaiism on a group of mice. ly, “The pattern is similar to Throughout the course what is seen in patients with of the one-month-long PTSD, who have trouble study, the scientists obovercoming fear even when served the reactions of they are no longer in a dangroups of mice with both gerous situation.” chronic alcohol exposure The results of the study and no alcohol exposure. will help scientists in findThe scientists gave one ing drugs to better help group of mice the equivathose with anxiety disorlent to double the legal limit ders. of alcohol, while the other

By KATHERINE KELLIHER Staff Writer

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Students commemorate those that have donated their bodies to science during a service held at College Church.

Continued from Page 9

hour until plateauing at room temperature.

The body stiffens within two to six hours, a process called rigor mortis.

While the body may be dead, there are a few things still alive. These surviving organisms reside

in the intestines and aid in the putrefaction, or decomposition, process.

The bacteria and enzymes begin the process of breaking down their specific host. In fact, the pancreas is so densely populated with bacteria that it basically digests itself.

As these bad boys work, the body will discolor,

10

Center: Entertainment and learning bundled into one package Left: A dinosaur diorama at Saint Louis Science Center. This is one of the many exhibits that the museum has to offer.

Continued from Page 9

surround the audience, the incredible detail greatly affects the experience.

Another example, the planetarium, offers numerous interactive exhibits, such as demonstrations on the way in which eclipses and meteor showers work, a projection in the dome that imitates the starry sky and the SBC Learning Center that shows visitors what living in a space station really is like.

In addition to its free and regular exhibits, the Science Center offers day and overnight activities for elementary school-aged children. Adult programs include Science Around Town, which are daylong trips that focus on scientific discoveries made in the St. Louis area. Participants visit the mines of Missouri or hunt for fossils. Information on these events can be found on their website.

The adult flight academy offers interested participants the opportunity to be trained to use a flight simulator and end the program in an actual airplane to test your skills.

While some of the more specific programs and outside activities require an additional fee, the entire museum complex is free to all visitors.

With more than 700 exhibits, it takes more than just one visit to cover all that the Science Center has to offer.

Below: A photograph of the Saint Louis Science Center’s James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Visit the Planetarium for star shows and space exhibits.

Photo couresy of AfricanGeo

Photo courtesy of Steven M. Ley

Death: The body reacts beyond last breath

Photo courtesy of Riya Anandwala

SCIENCE

going from green to purple and finally to black. Even a blind person will experience the sensory changes; the bacteria emit a putrid gas.

The build of said gas causes the body to bloat, eyes to bulge and tongue to swell.

About a week after death, the skin will have blistered and will fall off with the slightest touch.

Months later, hair, nails and teeth whither and wriggle free.

And to clear all rumors, hair and nails do not continue growing postmortem; they only appear larger as the skin dries out, giving the appearance that the nails are larger. Internally, organs and tissues eventually liquefy and swell the body to the point of bursting. In the end, only a skeleton remains.

This process is hidden from us since law mandates that something must be done with the body after death. The possibilities are quite endless. A coffin can carry our body to a grave; an urn could host our ashes.

To slow the disintegration process described above, bodies can be mummified or embalmed for preservation.

Embalmment is showcased at funerals and can be broken down to three steps: sanitization, presentation and preservation.

Eventually the body will be groomed and dressed for appropriate public display.

Finally, bodies can be donated to science.

Medical training and research wouldn’t be nearly as advanced if it wasn’t for body donation.

Typically, medical schools are the ones to receive the bodies and use them as cadavers for dissection and surgery practice. And nobody wants surgeons practicing for the first time on a live body, specifically your own.

Remains are usually cremated, and in some cases, ashes can be returned to the family upon special request.

Saint Louis University recently honored the people that donated their bodies to the Medical School at Saint Francis Xavier College Church on Nov. 16.

“This service gives our students an opportunity to think about what the individuals have done in donating their body, and how that will help them learn and become a better physician,” Margaret Cooper, professor of anatomy at SLU and associate director of the Gift Body Donor program, said.

Now, who said dead people can’t be helpful? If only knowing about death, meant being able to avoid it.

Shopping: A mind game Continued from Page 9

This is due to the way humans view numbers, reading $29.99 as “20-something” and $30 as “30-something.” Ultimately, the lower number wins.

Additionally, prices ending in nines are viewed as discounts while zeros dictate quality. Fast food uses nines; high-end restaurants use zeros. Even the amount of numbers and characters will affect how the mind values the number.

Simply removing the comma from $3,000 will make it appear cheaper while adding decimal points, as in $3,000.00, tricks the consumer into believing it is more expensive.

Before despising the deceptive pricing strategies though, realize that these tactics do make it easier on the consumer. Round numbers are cognitively more accessible and tend to stick in our heads longer, according to Tim Smith, a managing principal at Wiglaf Pricing.

Walmart employs a different technique. The don’t use whole dollars for pricing but instead price things at odd values like $4.38 and $9.62 to give consumers the impression that they have saved you

every possible penny.

According to a report from CNBC, Black Friday’s excitement has built up because it is becoming as much of a Thanksgiving tradition as the ubiquitous pumpkin pie.

Tradition feeds off the culture that retailers have created and continue to improve upon because of so much feedback from consumers.

Following tradition regularly promotes bonding, an important component of what makes the entire season enjoyable and memorable.

However, reports of injuries and deaths resulting from trampling or fighting on Black Friday show that this day is not all about the bonding.

Psychologically, groupthink takes over. People feel that they can get away with trampling inside a store as it opens because everyone else is doing it; why does one more person joining in make a difference?

While Black Friday’s basis in shopping and consumerism may be superficial, it can promote family bonding rooted in spending time together and enjoying the thrill of the crazy day. As for the prices, don’t stress too much about them; stores are doing all they can to please you. It’s not worth stampeding down your neighbor for.

The brain’s diet and how mindless eating is causing growing waistlines

By GABBY GEERTS Science Editor

Even though Thanksgiving may be done, the feasting has just begun.

Holiday season is notorious for adding a bulge to waistlines everywhere, a fear for those watching their weight.

Recently, research has been conducted concerning where and how we eat, and the affect that this has on what and how much we decide to eat.

Our nation is filled with overeaters, and some scientists are reasoning that this over-consumption stems from a problem in our own heads.

Recently, a Hardee’s restaurant in Champaign, Ill. mellowed out a section of their restaurant --

decorating the place with indirect lighting, white tablecloths, candles and even soft music. This section was soundproofed and separated from the loud music and bright lights of the regularly decorated portion of the restaurant. The only common thing between the two settings was the menu.

Findings from the study were published in the academic journal Psychological Reports, determining that while food selection did not differ between the two groups, food consumption did.

The customers in the fine dining setting ate an average of 775.3 calories, while those in the regular section of the restaurant others took in 949.2 calories. This boiled down to eating 86 percent of the food on their plates for the

fine diners in comparison to the 95 percent by those in the regular dining area.

Author of the study, Koert van Ittersum, said, “You create a nice atmosphere, people talk more, they concentrate less on the food.” Additionally, “They leave the place more satisfied.”

Rally’s won’t likely follow this trend but it isn’t a coincidence that new McDonald’s franchises are now more pleasant than sterile. Companies are realizing that they can satisfy their customers with less food simply by changing the setting.

Brian Wansink, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, labels this situation as “mindless eating.”

However, our surroundings aren’t the

only things shaping our dietary habits.

A study conducted

by Wansink shows that the larger the plate is, the larger serving of food someone will eat. And with the mantra of “clean plate club” echoing internally, we consume more.

When looking at a serving of spaghetti on an eight-inch plate, it appears to be a normal size. Take that same serving and move it to a twelve-inch plate and it appears smaller, making us dish out more food.

So size matters. But what about shape?

Children and adults have both demonstrated that when given a short, wide glass they pour and consume more juice than when given a tall, narrow glass. This is due to the vertical-horizontal illusion, stating that we focus

on heights rather than widths. In fact, the wide glass group in the study poured 76 percent more juice than the slender glass group.

Another issue causing over-consumption is distractions. For many of us, eating is usually paired with some other sort of task. Whether it be television, homework or music, it all leads us to eat more.

Wansick discovered that people eat over 40 percent more food when they are distracted by watching television. This is caused by one of two things: either we eat until the show is over or we eat to the pace of the show.

The faster the pace, the more we consume. The stomach does not keep an accurate account of how much we have eaten, as it

takes roughly 20 minutes to realize that we are full. Instead, we rely on our visual cues -- an empty bowl, a clean plate-- to determine when we are finished eating.

Combating mindless eating may seem like an overwhelming task, but little changes can be done to slow our food intake. Put snacks into a separate dish, rather than eat from the box. Move healthier foods to eye level in the cabinet. Eat meals in a dining setting, not in front of a television.

This isn’t to say that what we eat isn’t important; that glazed donut still packs a lot of calories even when it is served on a small plate. However, being aware of what causes overeating can help us to stop eating before we go overboard.

U SPORTS

unewsonline.com

Historic season ends in heartbreak

By CHARLES BOWLES Sports Editor

BILLIKEN BRIEFS

Kristo named Semifinalist

SLU forward Robbie Kristo was a semi-finalist for the Hermann Trophy, the most prestigous individual award in intercollegiate soccer.

Kristo is one of 15 semifinalist for the award. The three finalists will be named on Thursday Dec. 6.

Men’s Basketball

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

John Schuler / Photo Editor

Robbie Kristo and teammates were heartbroken after losing to Farleigh Dickinson in the NCAA tournament.

Heartbreaking is the only appropriate word to describe Jack McVey’s goal that knocked the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team out of the NCAA Tournament.

After the golden goal, the Billikens stood in shock on the field, heads down, angry and sad. The realization began to dawn that their season was over.

The Billikens, Atlantic 10 champions and overall No. 8 seed, lost at home in double overtime against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 2-1 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 18.

“You never want your

season to end, but it is going to sometime and today we left it too late,” Alex Sweetin, midfielder, said.

The teams battled hard in the first half. Neither team managed to break through on offense, and the game remained scoreless at halftime.

The Knights broke through with the first goal in the 56th minute. Jan Aubert scored off an assist by Antony Moore. The Bills responded in the 73rd minute with a goal from Robbie Kristo that was scored off a header.

The game was tied at 1-1 going into overtime.

The Bills applied a lot of pressure in the first overtime, but could not get a goal. Although there were a few scoring opportuni-

Deck the Rec with healthy living How to stay in shape during the holiday season

See “Health” on Page 13

See “BCS” on Page 12

During the Valparaiso game on Sunday Dec. 2, 138 student-athletes will be honored for earning a 3.0 GPA during the Spring 2012 semester. Also, 99 were named to the Atlantic 10 honor roll

Tony Trina / Associate Sports Editor

Tai Chi is just one of 32 unique sports clubs offered at Simon Recreation Center. Jintao Chen teaches the class, which is open to all interested in learning about the ancient Chinese art.

BILLIKEN SCHEDULE

Women’s Basketball Dec. 1 Valparaiso Dec. 3 IllinoisChicago

Men’s Basketball Dec. 2 Valparaiso Dec. 5 North Texas

Swimming & Diving Nov. 29 Mizzou Invite

It’s that time of year again. Students are drowning in tests, haven’t slept in days and mountains of gingerbread cookies and other tempting Christmas treats will soon be staring students in the face. What’s a college student to do?

Unbeknownst to many, there are many resources at Saint Louis University to help students stay healthy, even at the end of the semester.

This past August, the first SLU Student Health 101 online magazine was

sent to SLU students.

The purpose of the magazine was “[to encourage] students to tap into a wide variety of campus and national sources to better educate themselves on all aspects of healthy living,” Khannie Dastgah, aquatics and wellness coordinator, said.

Many groups on campus that have tried to promote wellness and healthy living have had trouble spreading their message. This initiative was yet another way for students to connect to other like-minded students. One of the biggest challenges for incoming students is

the lifestyle adjustment and making healthy choices in their new, hectic lifestyle.

“The fitness programs are hard to fit into my schedule, and it’s all too easy to ignore my body when medical school applications are breathing down my neck,” junior Karena Nguyen said, echoing the sentiments of many students trying to balance healthy living with a frenetic academic schedule.

According to Dastgah, the most prevalent difficulties for new college students include, “sleep deprivation, stress relief, time management, budgeting money and financial stabil-

Roll Tide vs fighting Catholics

ity, peer pressure and making healthy choices regarding alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.”

While Simon Recreation Center offers access to an array of equipment and amenities, its offerings go well beyond the physical resources many students enjoy.

Besides the traditional weightlifting, treadmill-running and elliptical-prancing, Simon Recreation Center offers a plethora of alternatives for students not interested in subjecting

Academic Excellence

By TONY TRAINA Associate Sports Editor

See “Soccer” on Page 13

After three months of defending home turf, grueling road wars and cycling through four different n u m ber one teams, college football has finally come d o w n to this Nate Creech month of waiting.

Notre Dame retains the title of Bowl Championship Series (BCS) No. 1 after a beat down of Wake Forest for their first shutout of the season in sacred South Bend.

They took the momentum into Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles and beat down the battered University of Southern California to stake their claim as the only bowleligible undefeated team of the 2012 season.

Of course, Braxton Miller and the rest of the Ohio State Buckeyes went into Ohio Stadium this past weekend and beat “That Team from Up North,” the University of Michigan, to complete Urban Meyer’s first year undefeated but they can’t play in a bowl this year thanks to NCAAimposed sanctions. Cross your fingers for an Associated Press Championship, Buckeyes.

While Notre Dame will be playing in the BCS National Title Game in Miami on January 7th (lament the 46-day wait), the real question is: who is the actual No. 2 team in the country?

Alabama rebounded after its sole loss of the season against SEC-newcomer Texas A&M and the fabulous Johnny Manziel, rolling over Western Carolina and Auburn before setting their sights on the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. Georgia kept its end of the bargain after getting blown out by South Carolina early in the season, going on to beat their last six opponents by an impressive 141-point difference.

And what about the team out west, quacking for their spot in the title race?

The Billikens added Sean Duff to the men’s basketball roster as a walk-on. Duff was a walk-on at Drake University during the 2009-2010 season.

Duff’s uncle played for the Billikens from 1988-1991. Duff is the second walk-on on the roster.

Follow us @TheUNewsSports for the latest Billiken sports coverage

ties, the team failed to put the ball away.

The Knights won in second overtime on a one timer goal. Antony Moore crossed the ball into the box where Jack McVey headed it into the net to end the match.

The Bills’ season was over.

The Bills finished the season with a 16-5 overall record. That is a 10-win improvement from the previous season when the Bills finished 6-10-1 in the 2011 season. Next season, the team will have a number of players returning from this year’s team.

The team opened the

My time with Majerus, a coach and friend I always thought this day might come, but I had never hoped to type these words: Rick Majerus is now the former h e a d coach of the Saint Louis University men’s b a s Derrick Neuner k e t b a l l team.

My relationship with Majerus began my sophomore year when I became the basketball beat writer for The University News. I heard the stories and read the profiles. I expected to encounter a sour man who had no intent on making

my job as a student journalist easy.

In fact, I was so nervous about asking him a question that it took three post-game press conferences for me to speak up. I asked him if he was encouraged by the performance of one of his players.

“Yeah, sure,” he said.

“But we lost.”

Thanks for the quote, Coach.

But, over the years, I collected great bits of wisdom, parody and mockery from the coach. Very few of his words ever made the paper simply because while Majerus was on the record, the quotes weren’t really for public consumption. I’ll always remember him saying he would kiss Kyle Cas-

sity’s behind to get him to take open shots.

I often joked with his secretary that I could write a great coffee table book, “Big Thoughts on Life, by Rick Majerus.” It would have been a best-seller, ala “Sh*t My Dad Says” and “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.”

But what pains me more about the end of Majerus’ career at SLU is the personal relationship I developed with Majerus. I was shocked that he knew me by name, even one time calling me just to talk about school and my future plans.

I remember once he told me that my parents should See “Majerus” on Page 13

Michael Johnson / The University News

SLU announced Majerus will no longer coach the Billikens on Nov. 18. Majerus leaves SLU with a 95-69 record.

12 SPORTS

unewsonline.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Keeping up with the Clarke family For the Clarkes, family matters when it comes to athletics

BCS: Crimson vs. Catholics for the crystal Continued from Page 11

By TONY TRAINA Associate Sports Editor

When Butler University guard Rotnei Clarke drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Marquette last week, then followed up the shot with a 17-point effort to help take down the No. 9 ranked North Carolina Tarheels, rest assured his biggest fan was watching.

Saint Louis University senior setter Cassie Clarke often lived in the shadow of older brother Rotnei, but came into her own after transferring to SLU before her junior year. The brother-sister duo have been competing on and off the court since they were kids growing up in Oklahoma.

Cassie led the volleyball team in setting in both of her seasons with the squad, wrapping up her senior season on Nov. 21, when the Billikens lost to the University of Kansas. Her teammates viewed her as a leader, on the court and off.

“We always play so hard and work well together on and off the court… I love my teammates and these two years that I have gotten to spend with them,” Cassie said after the season ended.

Now, a new season begins for Cassie – that of fan, as she watches her brother lead Butler in its first season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Rotnei originally signed with the University of Arkansas, but after leading the Razorbacks in scoring during his junior season, he decided it was time for a change amid coaching and philosophy changes within the basketball program.

He finally decided to transfer to Butler, sitting out the ensuing season because of NCAA rules. Cassie had followed Rotnei to the University of Arkansas, accepting a scholarship to play

Photo courtesy of Butler Sports

Photo courtesy of Billiken Media Relations

Cassie (left) and Rotnei (right) Clarke, after transferring from the University of Arkansas, have both had great athletic success at their respective Atlantic 10 institutions. volleyball in Fayetteville, as the family had moved there after Rotnei decided on Arkansas.

Cassie is no basketball slouch herself -- she was the MVP of the Arkansas state tournament her senior year of high school, when she led her team to a 32-0 season en route to a state championship.

“She’s going to play Division I basketball, there’s no doubt about that. There are a lot of Division I schools after her,” Cassie’s uncle and one-time high school basketball coach Rocky Clarke said during Cassie’s high school career. However, Cassie wasn’t quite as interested in basketball as she was in another sport.

“I loved playing the actual [basketball] games, but the training and consistently working on my shot I didn’t enjoy as much [as volleyball],” Cassie said.

As her Division I athletic career comes to a close,

Cassie is excited to cheer on her brother as he takes to the court again, this time against Atlantic 10 competition.

“Words cannot express how excited I am for Rotnei to come to Chaifetz. I will definitely be making the trip to Indianapolis when SLU plays there as well,” Cassie said of the opportunity to see her brother in action.

For a family so close, it was difficult for Cassie to part ways with her brother after spending two years together at Arkansas, but she could not be happier with where she ended up.

“I knew right when I got on campus here [at SLU] that this is where the Lord wanted me to be. If Rotnei would have transferred first, that might have altered my decision, so it’s probably a good thing that I went first.

It’s very hard that we are in different places now; I was so used to seeing and hang-

ing out with him whenever I wanted,” Cassie said.

Rotnei and Cassie aren’t the only athletes in the Clarke family.

Both of their parents were college athletes as well, and uncles Kelly and Rocky coached Rotnei and Cassie in high school.

Needless to say, the household was competitive when the two younger Clarkes were growing up.

“That would be an understatement,” Cassie said.

“Everything was a competition with my brother and me. It was a lot of fun and has shaped me to be the person that I am today.

My parents always taught us good values and that sports weren’t everything, though.”

When asked which sibling is the better athlete, Cassie replied that it’s “obviously me,” before quickly adding that she’s only kidding.

“This absolutely kills me

to say and I would never tell Rotnei this, but yes, he is pretty good at volleyball,” Cassie said. “We would always play one-on-one basketball and I knew I didn’t really have a shot at beating him at that. I did take him in HORSE every once in a while, though.”

Cassie’s 5-foot-11 frame was never quite enough to match the stronger Rotnei in one-on-one matchups in the backyard and at the gym.

So what colors will Cassie be sporting when Rotnei comes to Chaifetz Arena on Jan. 31 to take on the Billikens?

“I am friends with some of the basketball guys and they are great people, but blood is thicker than water.

I will probably be sporting my Butler Bulldogs shirt at the game while cheering for SLU, too,” Cassie said.

“If you can’t tell, we are very close,” Cassie added with a smile.

CHEER, JEER, FEAR WHO TO

WHO TO

WHO TO

CHEER

JEER

FEAR

Cory Remekun

The Injury Bug

Cody Ellis

John Schuler/ Photo Editor

After sitting out the first two games of the year due to an injury, Cory Remekun kicked off his season with a bang against Texas A&M, registering 12 points (one off his career-high set in 2010 versus VCU) and three blocks (SLU had just one entering the game).

When fouls forced Dwayne Evans to sit down early in SLU’s games versus Texas A&M and SIU, Remekun did an admirable job shouldering the extra work in the paint.

Remekun, who averaged less than two points per game last season, is already on pace to set a new career-high in scoring with 30 points through three games played.

“Obviously, having this guy out there really helps us,” interim coach Jim Crews said of the senior forward.

“He gives us energy, he gives us knowledge out there in a lot of different ways and he’s done a really great job for us…He gives us a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score that we really need.”

Remekun is developing into exactly the type of down-low threat the Billikens will need to compete in a grueling Atlantic 10 season.

Remekun is in his senior year as a Billiken.

Emily Diehl/ Multimedia Director

There are injury-plagued teams—and then there are the Saint Louis University Billikens.

It started in October when senior captain Kwamain Mitchell broke his foot during the first practice of the year.

However, the injury created an opportunity for freshman Keith Carter, until he went down with a leg injury against Santa Clara.

With Carter sidelined, the Billikens entered the CBE Hall of Fame Classic with just two healthy guards, Mike McCall Jr. and Jordair Jett - who went down against Kansas. Of course, Jett logged 26 minutes against SIU, but it was obvious he was playing through some pain.

SLU’s depth at forward took a hit as well, with Remekun and Grandy Glaze (who played 20 seconds against Texas A&M before dislocating his shoulder) both missing time.

“I think these guys have been very resilient with a lot of adversity this year,” Crews said. “We’ve had more than our share with a lot of different things. It is what it is and these guys understand that. We can only do the things that we can do. They’ve responded very well under some very difficult times.”

Emily Diehl/ Multimedia Director

Senior Cody Ellis has been lethal off the bench for the Billikens, averaging 12.8 points per game. The 6-8 forward has shown a willingness to battle for rebounds (4.8 rebounds per game) to compliment an improved shot.

In addition to the strong numbers he’s posted thus far, Ellis has embraced his role as team captain, slowly emerging as an on-thecourt leader.

“I like being a leader. It’s awesome,” Ellis said. “I was captain of the Australian team, which was a lot of fun, so being a co-captain with Kwam this year has been a lot of fun…I think everyone’s holding each other accountable from the freshmen even through the seniors.”

Midtown’s favorite Aussie hit four three-pointers en route to a season-high 19-point performance against Kansas. His fourth trey of the night cut the deficit to nine late in the second hal, capping the Billikens’ comeback attempt.

As if his abilities as a dualthreat forward with an awesome Australian accent were not enough, the blue streak through Ellis’ hair (which is slowly but surely gaining national attention) has his opponents on high alert.

Stanford upset Oregon in overtime, 17-14, but the Ducks dominated every other game they played.

Even if they missed out on the Pac-12 title game, they deserve a chance to prove themselves against the rest of the country.

The simple answer is this: No one really knows who the No. 2 team is.

Thanks to a couple more years of the BCS system, we may never find out. In 2014, there will be a four-team playoff system, but for now, a few well-deserving teams will be left out. Florida, perhaps the hottest team in the country, will be shunned by the system. They won their last four games and crushed rival Florida State on Saturday, but will have no shot at a national championship.

They’ll have to ask last season’s Southern California team, who missed the title game due to sanctions, how to deal with the feelings of exasperation.

So who is this year’s number two going to be? Alabama should be in because of their dominance of the No. 1 spot nearly all season and the fact that they won the BCS title last year, right?

Georgia deserves a shot because they recovered from a blowout loss and trampled the competition to end the season and are set to play in the SEC Championship, right? Oregon deserves it because of their dynamic running back duo, Kenjon Barner and De’Anthony Thomas, and because the only game they didn’t put up 42 points or more was against probable Stanford, right?

Arguments can be made for every team in the top five of the BCS standings, and that is true every year.

There will never be an agreement among everyone as to who should play, so why not throw out one more opinion as to who should play Notre Dame in the title game?

Let’s start at the bottom with No. 5, Oregon. They shouldn’t make it because of the mediocre strength of their schedule and the fact that they couldn’t even qualify for their own conference championship game, losing to Stanford in their biggest game of the season.

They were able to sustain an onslaught of injuries throughout the season, only losing to a superior Stanford team. They will likely finish their season playing Kansas State, as former No. 1 and No. 2 play each other in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Too bad, Ducks, the Pac-12 just isn’t the SEC and you can blame yourselves for that loss to Stanford in overtime.

Florida, No. 4, won’t be lucky enough to go to the championship game in Miami thanks to its sloppy 17-9 loss to Georgia earlier in the season. The Bulldogs ran through the rest of the SEC East, and finished the regular season by blowing out rival Georgia Tech, keeping Florida from the SEC championship game.

No. 3, the Georgia Bulldogs, will face No. 2 Alabama on Dec. 1 for the right to play Notre Dame in the title game. I don’t see the Bulldogs putting up enough offense against the Tide’s top-ranked defense, which is allowing the least amount of points in college football.

Sorry Bulldogs, but tough love; enjoy the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

We’re left with the Crimson Irish Bowl. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Two traditional powerhouses recapturing their glory days.

Alabama has returned to its status as a perenial powerhouse, second only to Bear Bryant and Forrest Gump in the annals of Alabama football. They are poised to play the team everyone loves to hate.

And so another SEC football team will be featured in this year’s championship game. I for one will have my TV tuned to that game come January.

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Stone’s Billikens off to a rolling start

Courtesy of Billiken Media Relations

Mallory Eggert (50) has scored in double digits the past two games. She scored 12 points against Nebraska-Omaha and 11 points against Western Illinois.

By DJ BARGER Staff Writer

While many Saint Louis University students relaxed over Thanksgiving weekend, the Women’s Basketball team got down to business, playing games on Wednesday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 24.

SLU beat the Mavericks of the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Omaha, thanks in part to strong efforts from junior Lorreal Jones and senior Mallory Eggert; both scored 12 points. Jones narrowly missed a double-double, collecting nine rebounds.

The offensive effort was not the only part of the Bil-

liken’s play that was impressive. Their defense limited UNO to 42 points in the game, far lower than their previous low of the season (58 points), and their season average (72 points).

SLU also led on the boards, doubling the rebound total of the Mavericks, 46-23.

Jamie Nash and Paige Frauendorfer both led the

Mavericks with 11 points in the game. The victory for the Billikens was the first of the season and the first for new head coach, Lisa Stone. The final score was 51-42.

Saturday was the home opener for SLU, and the Billikens delighted the crowd with a victory over Western Illinois, 55-44. Leading the way for SLU was red-shirt senior Courtney Webb with a game-high 16 points. Lorreal Jones added 12 points and Mallory Eggert contributed 11.

SLU’s defense was on display as the Billikens forced the Leathernecks to spread the ball around and use a variety of players.

Ashley Luke led the Leathernecks with six points.

In this game, Western Illinois used a total of 14 players, none of whom played even 30 minutes while SLU used only nine players. The Billikens’ starting five all recorded over 30 minutes.

In the upcoming week, the Billikens will play Indiana State on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m. in Chaifetz Arena. The Bills will then travel to Indiana to play Valparaiso on Saturday, Dec. 1, and will return to play University of Illinois-Chicago on Monday, Dec. 3.

Health: ’Tis the season to live well Continued from Page 11

themselves to the monotonous white noise of a spinning treadmill.

Currently, 32 club sports teams are registered with the Student Government Association and Department of Recreation. Club swimming was added this past August and recently had their first meet at the University of Missouri.

These clubs provide students “with an interest to practice and play competitively” and an opportunity to compete at a more competitive level, as club golf founder Joe Valentine said.

The club sports range from the usual, such as volleyball and lacrosse, to the borderline obscure, like Tai Chi and the Wilderness Adventure Club, the latter meant for “camping, hiking, cycling, rock climbing, canoeing, skiing, caving— whatever activities our members choose,” according to their website.

Simon Recreation Center also offers numerous intramural sports for casual competitors. They are even divided into multiple leagues for Greeks, coed teams and varying levels of competitiveness. The competitive “A” leagues are not for the faint of heart though; some intramural referees say they have even disqualified teams for bringing back superstars that graduated long ago.

In additional to intramu-

ral, Simon Recreation Center offers a variety of programs and classes.

“There’s something for everyone, from aquatics classes, to yoga, pilates, spinning, hip-hop, zumba, ballroom and salsa,” Dastgah said.

Simon Recreation Center has instituted a more inclusive class fee. Registrants pay a one-time fee for an all-access pass to any fitness classes offered during the season. This gives those unsure of what class to participate in the opportunity to do a bit of shopping and sampling, figuring out which class best suits their interests and abilities.

The most well-known problems facing college students, though, are the diet issues resulting from the new environment. No longer can moms force their children to eat their peas, and those chicken nuggets at Griesedieck Dining Hall are all-too-inviting, even for breakfast.

“In terms of obtaining fresh produce, you’re limited to bananas, oranges and apples… everything you get for your meal plan is pretty much processed food,” Nguyen said.

Multiple associations on campus have been working to remedy this though, the first being Billiken Dining Services, promoting events like “National Eating Healthy Day” at Griesidieck, highlighted by special promotions and “heart healthy meals” like spinach

SPORTS 13

unewsonline.com

Majerus: Leaves a personal legacy on and off the court Continued from Page 11

be proud of the son they raised.

He had hoped to get the chance to tell them that.

Before the 2011-12 season, Majerus took me out to dinner on the Hill. We talked ball, yes, but also politics, family and love. He told me about the various charities he was involved with, different people who have touched his life and how he hoped to be remembered.

At the 2011 NCAA Tournament, in front of ESPN and the like, before answering a question from me, he asked me if I had been partying in New Orleans at Mardi Gras with Brett Favre, and he told me he wish he lived my life.

He also told the audience what he thought of me as a reporter.

I received a letter following my undergraduate graduation from Majerus. While I won’t give you the full contents, he complimented me on my success as a student, a college reporter and as a man. He promised to take me out for Italian when he returned to St. Louis in the fall.

It can be considered taboo in the world of journalism to be personal friends with the subjects you cover.

Sure, a reporter can and should have a respectable professional relationship with the people he or she covers – it helps build trust – but there are boundaries where that relationship ends.

So, you could say it was wrong of me to befriend and be befriended by Rick Majerus. And maybe it was.

But my friendship with Majerus has been a defining part of my college career. Some of my colleagues have accused me of being a “homer,” of not challenging Majerus enough on his decisions. There may be some truth to that, though I always did my very best to uphold my journalistic integrity.

It has been my pleasure to work with Coach Rick Majerus the last four years.

While you may miss seeing Coach on the floor, each game reminds me that I may never see him again or hear him joke about Mitt Romney and even my sex life.

I always thought this day would come, but I hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.

Soccer: Bright lights, big expectations for next year from this year’s squad— Alex Sweetin, Michael Robson and Nick Maglasang. season with a 2-1 loss to a Robson and Maglasang nationally-ranked Indiana both graduate this year, team, but the team bounced and Sweetin is not returnback with two consecutive ing. Despite these loses, wins. the team has nine players The Bills got its first returning from the starting taste of success in national squad this season. competition after the UniRobbie Kristo, the team’s versity of Louisville visited leading goal scorer, will Hermann Stadium. return for his junior year.

The No. 18 Cardinals lost Kristo had 11 goals and against the Billikens thanks five assists this season for to a late Adnan Gabeljica grand total of 27 points goal. It was the first nationand was named to the allally-ranked opponent that conference first team. Adthe Bills defeated this seanan Gabeljic and Kingsley son.

Bryce will also return. They After the Louisville vicwere the team’s second and tory, the team suffered its third leading scorers, reworst defeat until the NCAA spectively. Bryce was also tournament loss in an overthe MVP of the A-10 confertime match against the Unience tournament. versity of Denver Pioneers.

David Graydon, who led They lost 2-1. the team with seven assists, However, the Bills rewill return for his sophosponded with three victomore year. Graydon was ries, including a key road named to the all-freshman victory against Creighton team in his rookie season. who was No. 7 at the time.

Jon Roeckle will return After an opening conferfor his senior year; he had ence loss against Xavier, the three goals and six assists Bills colfor the lected five team this straight season. conference On the v i c t o r i e s , It’s a great group, defense, including Anthony a dramatic I love ever yone of Manning 3-2 double will return o v e r t i m e them, they are great as a cenm a t c h kids and have great ter back. against VirManning ginia Com- upside... received monwealth second University. team all-Mike McGinty The Bills conferhad a 5-1 ence honconference ors this record goseason. ing into a key matchup on Besides Manning, Roeckle Oct. 26 against Charlotte. and Tyler David will return The Bills claimed first place on the defensive line for the in the Atlantic 10 conferBills. Marco Heskamp, who ence standings. started the majority of the The Charlotte game was year, will also be another the only shut out game returning defender for the against the Billikens all Bills. year. Charlotte claimed vicGoalkeeper Nick Shacktory at 1-0. elford will also return for The Bills easily won its his senior year. Shackelford next two A-10 conference had a 0.85 goals-allowed matches and claimed a No. average, posted seven shut2 seed in the A-10 conferouts last season and had a ence tournament. .798 save percentage. Due The high point of the Bills to the collective work of season was the A-10 tournaboth Shackelford and the ment. The team opened the defense, the Bills ranked tournament with a 3-1 win second in goals allowed and against La Salle. The Bills fourth in shutouts this seathen faced Xavier, one of son. the four teams that defeated “It’s a great group, I love the Bills earlier in the seaevery one of them, they are son. great kids and have great The Bills got their reupside,” Head Coach Mike venge against Xavier with a McGinty said of the team.

1-0 victory and moved onto “I’m blessed to be a part of the A-10 conference finals the group.” where faced VCU. Next season marks a maThe Bills jumped out to jor change in A-10 soccer. an early lead and won the Temple and Charlotte will A-10 title. Their win got no longer take part in the them a first-round bye in A-10 conference. Charlotte the NCAA tournament. The was a perennial contender Bills’ NCAA tournament in the A-10 conference. run ended early.

Though the Bills season For next year, the team is over, the future is very loses three key players bright for the team.

Continued from Page 11

Tony Traina / Associate Sports Editor

Dodgeball is just one of the many intramurals offered at Simon Recreation Center. and strawberry salads and fresh fruits.

Simon Recreation Center now works with Chartwells, the provider of dining services on campus, to promote healthier choices and provide more options for health-conscious students.

The two collaborate to organize events to achieve their common goals. Professionals from Simon Recreation Center provide health, fitness and wellness information to students, while Billiken Dining Services cooks up healthy, alternative meals.

“In the past five years,

Excellence Awards 2013 Arts & Sciences Excellence Awards

Excellence in Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Awards Excellence in Undergraduate and Graduate Mentoring Awards Excellence in Adjunct Teaching Award Arts and Sciences Staff Excellence Award Faculty from the College of Arts & Sciences as well as undergraduates with majors in the College and graduate students pursuing an advanced degree are encouraged to submit nominations for the College's Annual Excellence Awards. One full-time professor in each of the College divisions (humanities, sciences, social sciences) will be chosen for an Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. An Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award will be given to one full-time faculty member from the College.

An Excellence in Graduate Teaching and an Excellence in Graduate Mentoring will be awarded to a faculty member in Graduate Education. An Excellence in Adjunct Teaching Award and an Arts and Sciences Staff Excellence Award are also being offered this year. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to submit nominations for the Staff Excellence Award.

the healthy options on campus have drastically increased and improved.

Many people believe that campus food or cafeteria food isn’t always going to be the healthiest; however, taking an active role in your nutrition can help you realize that healthy options are available at all SLU dining facilities,” Dastgah said.

Of course, one of the most chic culinary offerings on SLU’s campus is Fresh Gatherings Café in the Doisy College of Health Sciences, which is operated by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. The goal of the café is to be “ecofriendly, support local farmers and provide the patrons with menu items using local products,” according to their website. The café also operates an organic farm on campus. The menu has diverse offerings, from graband-go salads to smoothies.

The most unique of these offerings is the Harvest Market that Fresh Gatherings hosts on Fridays during the fall.

One of the largest cooperative events among groups at SLU is the annual “Good Eats, Good Health,” which will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The free event brings together a variety of on- and off-campus organizations to make students aware of “healthy businesses and food alternatives around SLU,” as Dastgah phrased it.

While it is easy for students to dismiss their culpability in making healthy choices, the new reality is that college campuses nationwide have gone to great lengths to provide the resources to live a healthy lifestyle.

The responsibility for making good decisions and utilizing the available re-

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Spring Break Mission Trips Apply for a spring break mission trip to El Salvador, Jamaica, Arizona, West Virginia or other locations.

JOIN US FOR TRAVEL, SERVICE, FAITH AND FUN! Applications are available online at slu.edu/ministry.xml

Deadline to apply: Wednesday, December 5th Trip Dates: March 9th-16th For more information: Contact James Hillis at hillisj@slu.edu or (314) 977-1532 Sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Center for Service and Community

A Student Leadership Experience Commuter Assistant Learning Community Mentor Oriflamme Transfer Mentor SLU 101 Leader U101 Peer Instructor

First-Year Experience Information Sessions: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 5:30pm | McDonnell-Douglas Hall 1016 Thursday, November 15, 2012 5:00pm | Ritter Hall 232 Monday, December 3, 2012 4:00pm | Busch Student Center 172 Tuesday, December 4, 2012 4:30pm | Ritter 320

Applications are due January 18th, 2013 at 11:59pm!

Visit slu.edu/fye for more information.

To apply, visit SLUGroups.

NOVEMBER 29, 2012