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The Student Newspaper of Rock Valley College
12.10.2013 / vol. 54, no. 4
RVC Board of Trustees member Mary Tuite resigns The Rock Valley College Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Mary Tuite at their monthly meeting on October 22nd. Mary Tuite. Board Chairman Michael Dunn Jr. met with Tuite on Monday and received her resignation in person. Tuite, who did not wish to be interviewed, told both the college and the Valley Forge she was stepping down due to personal reasons. During the meeting many of the trustees shared thoughts on working alongside Tuite. Dunn described their
time campaigning together and working together during the teacher negotiations in 2012 as a positive one. “I will miss her,” said Student Trustee Marshawn Massenat who talked about getting to know her while the two of them spent time together at conferences throughout the state. The Board has 60 days from her resignation to appoint a replacement who will serve until the next election in 2015. This adds to the growing list of responsibilities of the board including the presidential search, a proposed tuition increase, the current CL1 renovations and future building renovations.
photo by Shannon Doyle
Former Board of Trustees Member, Mary Tuite at a recent meeting.
Changes to student activity fee allocation proposed By Brandon Lee Staff Writer
they can give it to the clubs and campus activities that they thought best. However the ‘below the line’ spending has also included the ValAt the November 20th Student Government ley Forge’s budget, the student handbook, and meeting RVC Vice President’s Dr. Amy Diaz money spent on activities at the Stenstrom Cenand Sam Overton presented new allocation stan- ter and Learning Opportunity Center. The new dards for the Student Activity fee for fiscal year proposal has these ‘below the line’ spendings, which have always had set amounts that stayed 2015. Up to and including this school year the Stu- the same year to year, moved ‘above the line’ dent Activity fee (which is apart of every stu- and handled by the college instead of the Students tuition) has been split in half. Half has dent Government. According to Overton these changes will not been ‘above the line’ and gone to the the various campus sports teams and activities. This money affect the Valley Forge, the handbook, or the achas been controlled and spent by the school it- tivities at the two ‘off-campus’ locations. The average amount in the Student Activity self. The other half has been below the line and been given to the Student Government so that fee each year is $525,000. Up until these changes
go into effect the money was split to $262,500 for above and below the line spending. The new spending will have $350,000 set aside for sports, the Valley Forge, and activities at the Stenstrom Center and Learning Opportunity Center, and $175,000 given to the Student Government each year. A difference of $70,000. During the presentation it was said by Overton that each year the SGA has had a surplus budget and that the $70,000 decrease will not affect the amount of money that has normally been given to the clubs. In fact, most of that has already been set aside at the beginning of each year and was never factored into the amount available to be distributed.
Table Top Gaming Club Horrifies RVC By Devan Severson, Staff Writer
To get into the spirit of Halloween, and to raise some funds for the club, Table Top Gaming held a horror based fundraiser on Tuesday, October 29, in the Student Center Atrium from 4 to 8 PM. With an assortment of horror based card games, face painting, zombie themed survival role playing games and raffles, Table Top put on quite an event. “We wanted to celebrate Halloween in a fun way that people, even outside of the club, would want to join in on. It was a very entertaining event, and we look forward to having it again next year; hopefully we get even more students who are interested in participating,” said Mary Sutton, Secretary of Table Top Gaming.
SGA on page 3 Meetings summarized
A dollar cover charge allowed any RVC student access to a wide array of spooky confections. Several boxes of Clue like card games were placed on tables around the Atrium, spooky themed music played over the speakers, and the Atrium was decorated with zombie banners and Halloween props. The biggest eye catcher of the lot was the face painting table. Everyone that entered the event was given a number, and were called up to the table according to their respective number. Natasha Martin, an RVC student that has worked with special effects and haunted houses for several years, was breathing new life into her victims with professional grade make up effects from fake scars, wounds, and road rash to incredible monster faces.
“I think the event went marvelously. I think everyone had a great amount of fun, the games went great, it was very interactive. I thought the special effects make-up had a great turn out. I had many people ask me the next day if I was the one that let the zombies loose over campus. The only thing the event needed was more publicity,” said Martin. A large scale Role Playing Game on the stage called “All Flesh Must Be Eaten” was played. The basic principal of the game was if you played a survivor, you used the weapons and attributes specific to each unique character to survive. If you were a zombie, you found the survivors to eat them. The game was played on a large paper map that displayed hotels, parking garages
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and buildings. It was a turn by turn game that only allowed each character to typically move one space in any direction, not counting special vehicles and attributes. Each player that participated had their name placed in the raffle each time they played. On top of this large scale RPG, card games like a werewolf version of Clue, and games that let you choose zombie or human, were spread across the Atrium tables. “Running around the campus as a zombie was my favorite part of the night. It was a great way to advertise for the event.” said RVC student Zachary Politsch. Table Top Gaming looks forward to putting on more events in the future.
THOR 2 Should you see it? page 6
2 opinions
12.10.2013 / vol. 54, no. 4
The Valley Forge
Sarah Glickenberger sets a service “bench”mark:
Special Needs SGA Senator fine example of student government serving students By Brandon Lee Staff Writer One of the common complaints against RVC’s Student Government is that they don’t do much for the student body. Of course anyone familiar with the SGA knows that isn’t true. Special Needs Senator Sarah Glickenberger is proving it. Glickenberger, who is set to graduate next semester and pursue a career as an Ultrasound tech, started the semester with no plans to join the SGA but after receiving a phone call asking if she was
interested in taking the Special Needs Senator, she was excited to accept. “I’m very compassionate for those with disabilities of any sort.” she said. After taking the position Glickenberger began looking for a way to help those at Rock Valley who had special needs. But as luck would have it an opportunity would approach her. “One day I was walking over by the bridge.” Glickenberger explained. “There was this gentleman I saw, I don’t think he knew me that well but
I did speak to him a semester prior to this. And I just stumbled and we started talking. He noticed my name tag and noticed that I was the Special Needs Senator. He asked me if I do anything within that. So I said I was part of Student Government and he had no idea Student Government was on campus. He asked me if there was any possibility to put a bench in front of the ERC. So I thought, yes, of course, I would love to.” For those with physical disabilities waiting for a ride to arrive can be quite a
challenge. The parking lots are quite a distance from any of the buildings, and with no place to sit out the wait. Disabled students are forced to stand at the curb, sometimes in the cold, for long spans of time. It was this reason Glickenberger decided to get involved. Lynn Shattuck of Disability Services was able to put Glickenberger into contact with the Facility Planning, Operations, and Maintenance department. From there the process was relatively simple. Concrete in
it’s future location has already been poured and the bench is now awaiting installation. Glickenberger hopes to have a disability placard put on the bench in the hope that students will know to leave it available for those with a need for it. While the SGA is always doing something, too often it’s not something that the student body can see and so they assume nothing happens. Sarah Glickenberger is doing something that not only affects but helps the students of RVC.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Shannon Doyle, Editor in Chief Catt Garcia, Encore/Features Editor Rebecca Denham, News Editor Meico Gowan, Photo Editor Damien Pitts, Sports Editor
COLUMNISTS & REVIEWERS Alec Heaton Brandon Lee Shaquil Manigault Devin Severson Victoria Sockwell Zach Thanasilangkul
PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Doyle FACULTY ADVISER Prof. Frank Coffman
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opinions 3
Thanksgiving and Private Property By Zach Thanasilangkul Staff Writer Thanksgiving in America is a time to hit the pause button on life, relax, and take note of all one has to be grateful for. Amidst the turkey, potatoes, and biscuits, however, many of us neglect to think of the history behind the holiday. As a general rule, there are some things that you absolutely should not talk about around the dinner table—politics being one of the most prominent among them. Nevertheless, examining the history of Thanksgiving can give us perspective into many political and economic debates happening among lawmakers and policy analysts today. When the Pilgrims first settled at Plymouth Rock, their new settlement was intended to be communal. Everyone was to receive necessities out of a common stock that would be replenished by organized labor. People would produce according to their abilities and consume according to their needs. So we basically have a system of resources in which people put in
what they are able to and take out what they need. Everyone is working equally for the common good. While that may initially sound like a decent idea, the Pilgrims starved, and the situation evolved into what American ecologist Garrett Hardin termed “the tragedy of the commons” in his 1968 essay of the same name. The tragedy of the commons goes like this: if people can get the same amount of stuff by working less as they can by working harder, they will work less. Plymouth governor William Bradford wrote in his History of Plymouth Plantation (c. 1650) that “no supply was heard of” and that the settlement continued to “languish in misery.” After much debate, the governor announced that they would “set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves.” They abandoned the idea of communal resources. Every family was designated a piece of land to tend to on their own. The results were phenomenal. There was an abundance of corn, and those who would before fake illness “now went willingly into the
field.” Whereas communal resources created a tragedy of the commons, private property and the incentive to keep the fruits (or corn, in this case) of one’s own labor allowed the Pilgrims to grow their resources for the benefit of both themselves and the group. Self-interest and profit-incentive, as economists call it today, inherently improved the standard of living for everyone. Because of that, we are able to celebrate with a feast on Thanksgiving today. It’s important to note that the Plymouth settlers were not the first ones to make the mistake of communal property. Just a few years prior, the Jamestown colony went nearly extinct because of the same idea. Historian Edmund S. Morgan described the event in his book American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia: “There are 500 people in the colony now. And they are starving. They scour the woods listlessly for nuts, roots and berries. And they offer the only authentic examples of cannibalism witnessed in Virginia. One provident man chops up his
wife and salts down the pieces. Others dig up graves to eat the corpses. By spring only sixty are left alive.” The problems of communal property are all around us today—just think of public toilets! What many people fail to recognize is that the solution is private property. Whether it be a condition of human nature or some socialized behavior, the reality is that people don’t take care of others’ stuff the way they take care of our own. Economically speaking, private property gives people incentive to provide higher-quality goods and services at a lower price. This even includes things like roads and insurance plans. In Plymouth, private property allowed for an abundant harvest where everyone inherently benefited. The Pilgrims at Plymouth nearly starved because they didn’t understand this sooner. In Jamestown, they were driven to cannibalism. Private ownership lets people not be cannibals. So from this Thanksgiving to the next one, be thankful for private property.
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4 features
12.10.2013 / vol. 54, no. 4
The Valley Forge
{Catt}astrophe
Members of Righteous Vendetta
Righteous Vendetta By Catt Garcia Features Editor
On Saturday November 23, 2013, as cold as the local music scene, and perhaps the weather outside, sits a tiny bar on the very edge of Rockford, IL. Paper-thin walls of peeling, painted concrete were separated only by surely-hollow sheets of drywall. As feedback from the monitors buzzed through the wall, I balanced on a chair of great character (wobbly, and spilling its foam stuffing) in the VIP room. Basking under a maroon ceiling, Ryan Hayes, lead vocalist of Righteous Vendetta, let the surroundings all but fade completely. “This is the first thing we saw of Rockford,” he laughs. Hailing from the modest town of Cody,
Wyoming, Righteous Vendetta is the metal-met-rock-and-had-one-incredible-baby, started by a couple of community college friends in 2008. Fresh off of touring with Taproot, and Trapt, RV hopped aboard a tour with Hed (PE) and Dope to promote the October release of their third album The Fire Inside. Without a breath to spare, RV wastes zero time in touring like there’s no tomorrow. “The first show of this tour we’re in this place thats called Cheers,” Hayes recalls, “the stage is tiny and there was like 200 people in a 184 cap room. And it was crazy...people chanting like they were gonna kill us and stuff.” The insane stories and Best-Of moments have yet to be made for this tour: having only performed a few shows so far, the eagerness to dive in head-first is thrilling Hayes. “We toured Europe last year, which...that whole thing was a
Photos courtesy by Catt Garcia
defining moment for us...our first time ever touring internationally. We got to go to 6 different countries, playing in front of huge crowds, got to go to downtown Vienna, Austria and see just awesome places. That (whole tour) was probably the coolest thing.” While tonight resembles nothing near a European tour, Hayes made it very clear that this is exactly what he and fellow band members want to do for the rest of their lives. Originally a song on their self titled EP, The Fire Inside encompassed their hopes for the album in progress, and eventually became the title. “‘So Long’ was actually the third song we wrote on The Fire Inside,” Hayes explained, “and we actually wrote it to be a UFC fight song. We wanted it to be an anthem for UFC so initially the chorus we had written for it was a tough guy blehnyehblehnyehblehnyeh (demonstrates heavy riff with face and air guitar)
and then we were like ah, we gotta change the chorus.” I could sit here and spit stats about how many weeks The Fire Inside has dominated this chart or that, and while all of those accomplishments are of much importance, Righteous Vendetta deserves more than just stats. Buy yourself a copy of The Fire Inside and hear the blisters on their fingertips, the rivets of sweat from a single scream. Hear how a small town band never gave up, how faith is more than just saying you have it, and seeing your tour mates naked is actually normal. Righteous Vendetta? Needs no introduction or ending. Visit them at www.righteousvendetta.com, facebook.com/righteousvendetta and be sure to pick up The Fire Inside on iTunes and Amazon.
Young Americans For Liberty Seeks Members for Spring Semester By Zach Thanasilangkul Staff Writer
YAL is a group of like-minded individuals whom share the passion for promoting the cause of Young Americans for Liber- liberty through Libertarian idety (YAL) at Rock Valley College ology—namely unregulated free is seeking additional members for markets, individual freedom, opthe upcoming spring semester. position to war, and opposition to
the general expansion of government, among other things. Meetings for next semester will be on Mondays at 3pm in the Club Resource Room in the Student Center (location is tentative). Students of all ages, majors, and
political affiliation who may be interested in joining YAL are encouraged to attend a meeting, stop by an activism event, or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook. com/RVCyal.
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news analysis 5
Same sex marriage legalized in Illinois By Devan Severson Staff Writer
O
N NOVEMBER 5th at roughly 4 P.M., Illinois became the fifteenth state in the United States to legalize same sex marriage. This news was well received by all of the LGBT community and their many allies, not only in Illinois, but everywhere. Some couples even made their engagements or marriages official after they found out. “Its been so many years that we have waited for this. I have searched a long time to find that person and I have found him. I feel whole but without marriage equality I sort of felt like something was holding us back. When I heard that they finally made it legal, it was like I was ready to have the biggest moment of tremendous change. Now I feel complete,” said RVC student, Brian West. A big moment has been made in Illinois history. But that is nowhere near the end of the discrimination and subjugation. Illinois, the rest of America, and the rest of the world have a long way to go before everyone is equal in every way. Gay marriage equality just happens to be the problem at the forefront right now, due to all of the positivity and negativity flying around Capitol Hill and other states that don’t agree with same sex marriage. The key now is for other states to follow suit and do what is right. Not religiously, not biased, but right.
“My wife and I have been through many versions of “marriage equality”. First we were simply, privately committed to one another. Five years in, we had a formal commitment ceremony in a Christian church with family and friends. Then nearly 14 years into our commitment we became legal domestic partners under state law in Illinois. This Fall we were legally married in Minnesota in order to gain access to potential new protections offered by recent supreme court decisions. Now Illinois law supports same-sex marriage. We are thrilled for this growth in public support/opinion. However, we still need a federal marriage equality amendment to truly enable nationwide equality. Our fight and hope for national growth continues,” said Rock Valley College Rock Out LGBT+ Community adviser, Stacey McCaskill. Members of the LGBT+ Community are not the only ones super excited, and super anxious and hesitant about this monumental achievement, and the struggles at hand for even greater achievements. Allies to the community and those who really don’t care what others do with their lives are also very uncertain about the strife that is sure to be ahead. They want everyone everywhere to be equal, and to be happy, or can we really call it equality? “I think it’s about time that our state moved forward and legalized gay marriage, but it’s not the end, though. We still have a long way to go. We are not done until every state has
Photo by Devon Severson
Brian West and Blain Deihl, recently engaged.
gay marriage legalized,” said RVC student and LGBT ally, Jeffery D’Angelo. Fifteen states have already taken the polar plunge into the icy pool of controversy and the battle of yes and no. The people wonder which state will be next? How much longer until this entire gay marriage debate will end? What will be the next big thing in controversy and righteousness across the nation? Time will tell. But America is definitely taking steps in the right direction.
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6 sports
12.10.2013 / vol. 54, no. 4
The Valley Forge
College basketball sure to excite By Shaquil Manigault Sports Writer
Whatever last season NCAA D1 mens basketball lacked in star power or excitement (excluding the national tournament), this season will surely make up for and then some. With potential powerhouse teams like Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State and Kansas. Not only can fans count on powerhouse teams this year but star players as well with a freshman class that rivals one of the best ever. Players like Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, Juilus Randle of Kentucky and Jabari Parker of Duke are sure to be household names by seasons end as well as top picks in next years NBA draft. To go along with new talent is a new landscape of college basketball with conference realignment. Most considerable in college basketball most dominant conference the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). Also new this year is the focus the referees
will place on hand checking ball handlers supposedly allowing the game to be more skill over physicality based and a better flow of offense. There are four teams that will undoubtedly be dominant this year starting with Kentucky. John Calapari head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats has managed to bring in the number one recruiting class in the country and it’s not even close. There’s the 6’6 Harrison twins Andrew playing point guard and Aaron playing shooting guard. James Young who was described by NBA scout as “maybe the fastest player in college basketball” as reported by sports Illustrated. And then there’s number one overall pick candidate Julius Randle standing at 6’9 who averaged 32 points and 22 rebound per game in high school. The amount of minutes this team freshman are projected to play will rival the Fab Five historic mark when the freshman played 68.5 % of the teams minutes
according to sports illustrated. If there was a polar opposite to this team that is in the top tier, Michigan State would be that team. This years Spartan lineup will include two seniors, one junior and two sophomore. As noted by Sports Illustrated “Since Coach Tom Izzo took over in 1995, every player who has stayed four years in East Lansing has made it to a least one final four” so in other words this year seniors are due to make a long run into the postseason. Not only do the Spartans bring back heavy experience but they also bring back a large portion of their production from last year as well. 83 % of their minutes, 84 percent of their points and 82% of their rebounds will return this year. Those numbers are higher then other team ranked in the top five. One can always count on Coach Izzo teams to defend and rebound and with talented players this year offense will be no issue as
well. But when Coach Izzo was asked what one of his biggest concern were he answer was the teams intensity and could they maintain it at high level, “Motors are the big thing for us right now”. Despite the Duke Blue Devils replacing their entire starting lineup they expects to return to college basketball royalty this year with the roster that coach Mike Krzyzewski has assembled. Spotlight players like Rodney Hood a transfer from Mississippi State and freshman Jabari Parker who is expected to be a lottery pick next summer will be the anchors for this team this year. With this new starting line up the Blue Devils will not be as big and will be a little more unconventional then in past years but will be allowed to play a more press and run style of play. Another aspect the allows them to overcome there lack of size would be the versatility of Parker would can bring
the ball up the court as well as post up. Maybe the only team who has a player who’s hype is bigger then the team itself with Andrew Wiggins. The 6’8 Canadian who has a chance to be the number one pick next summer. This Kansas team is similar with Kentucky in a way due to the amount of time freshmen will play. Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid who are starters and also projected to be lottery picks. According to Coach Self this team is more talented then last years team which reached the elite eight and sent guard Ben Mclemore to the NBA as a lottery pick. The Kansas Jay-Hawks biggest test will be harnessing the individual talent they have into a collective effort. With all that said we may be in store for one of the most intriguing college basketball seasons in a very long time with a NCAA tournament that may be one for the ages.
Oklahoma State’s football program does it again SPORTS OPINION
By Shaquil Manigault Sports Writer
It Seems nearly every season there is a story breaking in college football regrading someone or a program breaking NCAA rules. This season is no different, and no I don’t mean Johhny Manziel and his autographing session controversy. I am Speaking of the Oklahoma State University football program and the extreme lengths that they went to in order to ensure success on the football field. Sports Illustrated writers George Dorhmann and Thayer Evans reveled investigative report On the Oklahoma State Football program this past week which was part of 5 part report which can be read on SI.com: The money, The Academic, The Drugs, The Sex and the Fallout. I will discuss the money & the academics aspect. 64 OSU players spoke on the issue individually but all had consistent stories. One former Oklahoma State assistant coach stated “I Knew this day was coming and today is that day. It was a matter of time.” OSU for the majority of its football life has been a bottom dweller in the Big 12 conference. This changed nearly immediately once Les Miles became the coach. More money was being brought into the program. The NCAA rules state in
not so many words prohibit the payment of student athletes. The football program spent 26 million and grossed over 41 million, thats more then other school in the country. The NCAA rules in not so many words prohibit the payment of student athletes. So when players where receiving payment for good performances, basically a bonus system they were getting involved with illegal NCAA conduct. One of the examples of the bonus system is how the defense was paid for specific plays. Quarterback hurries were worth $50, and sack being worth up to $200. The better a player you were the money you would receive. As the report notes, some star players were receiving more then 25,000. The manner in which this money was given is almost just as astonishing as the misconduct itself. One former player recalls a teammate getting an interception for 63 yard touchdown in a victory of conference foe Kanas St. and seeing him get handed a envelope in the locker room by assistant coach, full of bills larger then any $500 payout he had ever gotten. Booster appearance were more and more frequent as well under coach Les Miles. In 2001 OSU beat arch rival Oklahoma University at home to end the season and OU’s championship title chances. It’s noted in the report boosters were
giving 500 handshakes to key players for preforming well in the win. The frequency of boosters around players reached new heights. Multiple players state they can remember booster walking down the isle or team buses handing out cash to top players. The term student athlete,is defined by someone who attends school first and is a athlete second. This was the complete opposite at OSU, the student aspect of the players was nearly eliminated by program. Report two from SI investigates the misconduct on the academic side. “The goal was not to educate but to get them the passing grades they needed to keep playing. Thats the only thing it was about” states Fath Carter OSU safety from 2000 to 03’. Players and assistant coaches also stated in the report they thought there were teammates amongst them who were functionally illiterate. One scenario tells of a player attending a tutoring session of some sort and when asked to spell “house” he spelled it “Haws”. It seems players were given more resources to cheat then to succeed in the classroom. One example of this is can be found by an individually that went by the name of Keys, his real name anonymous. One former player said the he and other former players would drop there assignments of to Key and return a
few days later with them completed. Some players would write there own work but it would just get completely changed around for the simple fact they didn’t know how to write papers. Which leaves the question why they were even admitted to the school. Football is the answer. Not only were players assignments completed for them, some recall being steered away from certain majors because the program just wanted to keep them passing. Most players were steered to the major of sociology. This may have largely been due to the fact that there were slew of instructors who gave passing grades for little or no work. “You just show up you’ll get a C”... “they’ll give you a C because they care about Oklahoma State Football.” The repercussions of the programs actions was detrimental to the lives of these young men. Yes, to an extent the perks benefited the players in terms of getting on the field but when players endured harsh injuries or simply weren’t preforming up to par they were cut. And the coaches would find any loophole to do so. Many players ended back to the places they hope to escape & returning there with no value or understanding of being a student athlete.
sports 7
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Sports Profile:
Get to know Jack Harrison, #32 SPORTS FEATURE By Lia Pennacchi for the Valley Forge
“I’m good enough, I’m fast enough, and doggone it people like me!” This slight variation to the famous Saturday Night Live skit is hardly expected to be warm-up mantra for a 6’ 8” collegiate athlete. But that is exactly what sophmore Jack Harrison tells himself before every basketball game. And it seems to work for the starting power forward of the Rock Valley College Golden Eagles. Jack Harrison is a newcomer to the Rock Valley basketball team, but hardly new to basketball. The Minnesota native says he has been playing basketball “since I could stand.” So it makes sense the experienced player is one of four captains on the RVC team. Harrison is no stranger to collegiate athletics. He previously attended South Western Iowa Community College, where he started
as a freshman for the Spartan basketball team. Harrison had received many college offers right out of high school, and after living in Iowa for a year, ultimately made the decision to come to Rock Valley. Originally from Prior Lake, Minnesota, part of the Twin Cities, Harrison says Rockford feels more like home to him than Iowa did. “The school I was at was in a very small town. We had a Wal-Mart, a gas station, and a McDonalds. So there wasn’t much to do.” But despite the change in scenery, Jack has not let the distractions of a larger city get to him. The Eagles currently have a record of 8-1, and the one loss was to the number 1 rated division 1 junior college. Harrison attributes much of the team’s success to the grueling preseason condition and tight bond the players have. He categorizes Rock Valley as a “run and gun team” with a heavy focus on conditioning and being physically fit for games.
The difficult workouts only added to the team chemistry as Jack explains, “I think that is what really made all of us close, because we went through a sort of hell together.” The student support at Rock Valley has also had a big impact on the success of the team. A lot of fans come to the games, which can be rare for junior colleges, and add to the energy of the team. For the number 32 point forward personally, he enjoys the crowd support during game time, but prefers to be solitary during pregame. In addition to his Saturday Night Live self-affirmation, he prefers quiet music before games as a way to get his body loose and focus his mind. As a four year high school basketball player, Harrison isn’t easily distracted by large crowds. “I would be lying if I said I couldn’t hear them, but when I had to… I’m able to tune out the crowd.” He especially tunes out the crowd
during critical moments such a free throws. His only focus is on making baskets and winning the game. And the hard work of Harrison and the other players has earned them a 9th place rank in the country for junior colleges. The average point differential for the Golden Eagles has been about a 24 point win over the other teams. With Harrison’s success at Rock Valley comes the difficult task of transferring. As he approaches his final semester at RVC, Harrison hopes to further establish where he wants to go by visiting some colleges. While a majority of his prospective colleges are out of state and towards Missouri, Harrison is looking into mostly division 2 schools to continue playing basketball. Although still unclear of what his future holds, Harrison is certain of one plan. “My future plan is to enjoy my life, with whatever I do,” Jack stated.
Chess rising in popularity By Brandon Lee Staff Writer
Chess is said to be one of the oldest games in the world, evolving from a game called Chaturanga in 6th century India. Played throughout the world since then chess’ popularity has diminished in United States since the days of World Champion Bobby Fischer. But the recent World Championship match between reigning Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway may have changed America’s interest in the game. While the game isn’t always as fast and adrenalin pumping as watching sports like football or soccer, chess is universally known for it’s deep strategy and the unparalleled
commitment of it’s top players. Chess reached it’s peak in July 1971 when American Bobby Fischer faced off against Soviet Boris Spassky but has since slipped in total media coverage. Even so, according to market research company YouGov over 605 million people across the globe play chess regularly, making it the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer. The championship matches saw record breaking viewership in the home countries of the two contestants. In Norway, national station NRK had 700,000 viewers in a country of only 5 million. India’s DD Sports channel cite as many as 105 million viewers, to put that in perspective: that’s only 3 million short of the last Super
Bowl. World wide estimates are as high as 500 million viewers both on television and online. Carlsen had been the favorite to win the match, and his journey to the championship is a story unto itself. The third youngest grandmaster in the world at age 13 and the youngest world no. 1 at age 19, Carlsen has been nicknamed the ‘Mozart of chess’ after just his first major tournament win. The qualifying tournament, held in London, was a double-elimination round robin (the first time in 50 years the tournament wasn’t a knock-out tournament) and saw Carlsen and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik tied before their final matches. In order to win Carlsen needed to outperform Kramnik in his game against world no. 10 Peter Svidler. When
both failed to defeat their opponents Carlsen won and went on to face Anand. Held in Chennai, India the championship was best of 12 games spread between November 9th to the 26th. In previous games Carlsen had only won three against Anand, who had won six with the two drawing 20 games. But after 10 games of the championship Anand failed to win a single game resulting in Carlsen becoming the new World Champion with 6 ½ games to Anands 3 ½ games. What’s most interesting about the championship aren’t the games themselves but the total dominance of Carlsen. He currently sits as the highest ranked player of all time. Chess uses an Elo system to determine rank, players gain or lose points based on
their opponent and whether they win, lose or draw. Carlsen currently has an Elo rating of 2872. Number two ranked Levon Aronian is 69 points behind him at 2803. Anand is ranked 9th in the world with 2773 points. The difference between Carlsen and Anand (99 points) is the same difference as Anand and ranked 73rd Denis Khismatullin. Going forward Carlsen will be a major force in the world of chess on par with Garry Kasporov. Anand hasn’t said whether he will try to take back the championship next year but he hasn’t ruled it out. For now the hope of chess fans everywhere is that it’s popularity will continue to grow and bring in more players and perhaps a future world champion.
The Valley Forge
Award-Winning Student Newspaper of Rock Valley College
12.10.2013 / vol. 54, no. 4
RVC Lady Cagers off to an unusually rough start:
Keep calm...they are the Golden Eagles Coaching, Championship spirit should help SPORTS NEWS ANALYSIS AND OPINION By Shaquil Manigault Sports Writer
R
OCK VALLEY’S women’s basketball team started the season out strongly and impressively beating their opponents with a combined score of 280-132. But as of late they have lost their last three out of five games, all of which were on the road with the exception of the win over John Woods Community College. These few losses are something that is unfamiliar to the team, since they are coming off of backto-back national championships in
which losses came few and far between. This year’s team is extremely disciplined, hardworking and very talented—especially at the guard position. But even with the proven coaching of Misty Opat and the efforst of talented players like sophomore guards Marquiesha Grant and Shanteria Miller—both scoring north of 15 points per game— the team still has one glaring deficit: size, or more correctly, the lack thereof. This year’s post player stands at only 6’1” with the next tallest being 5’8”. Their lack of size has directly affected some their losses. In the three losses they have encountered over this 5-game span,
they have been out-rebounded by their opponents 130 to 151. In my sit down with coach Opat earlier this season, she predicted that rebounds mightbe a challenge for her team because of this lack of a true post player such as they are accustom to having “We’re small this year we’re replacing 6’3 with 5’6...You don’t really replace it you just find a different way to make it work,” said Opat. It is still very early in the season, so there is time to find the solution, but if it goes unaddressed it could come back to haunt the team once the tourney rolls around. Something that has been slightly uncharacteristic in these losses
has been their quick ball movement. In the three losses, they have been out-numbered in assist 54 to 85 which is nearly unheard of with a Misty Opat coached team. The team plays a fast paced, push-the-ball type of offense which usually inherently produces a substantial amount of assists. With all that said, if there were a team not to be worried about and that deserves the benefit of the doubt it is this one. Back to Back champions, a seasoned group of sophomores and a resilient and innovative coach are more then enough reasons for fans to keep the faith in their team as the season progresses.
Men’s Basketball Starts Season Undefeated by Damien Pitts Sports Editor
The Rock Valley College Golden Eagles Men’s Basketball team is off to a red hot start this season as they are undefeated at 3-0. Their latest victims were the Clinton Community College Cougars or C.C.C.C. for short. On Saturday November 9th at 7:00pm the men of Rock Valley dominated every facet of the game to beat C.C.C.C. A nearly ten minute delay preceded the nights’ action as the shot clock would not work initially. This slight distraction was just that; slight. If you haven’t been to a game you wouldn’t, nay, couldn’t understand the true meaning of a torrid pace on a basketball court. We push the
ball up the court at any given opprtunity and harass, pester, and swarm when on defense. Our men’s coach Craig Doty has brought back a sense of pride to his basketball program. This can be seen in the fast-paced, hard-nosed effort given thus far this season. The team implements a suffocating full court press that forces other teams into playing faster than they are used to and this leads to said team turning the ball over. The team has forced their opponents into double digit turnovers in 2 of 3 games, making C.C.C.C. commit 19. Led on this evening by small/ power forward Ben Grygiel (14 points) the Golden Eagles won going away by a score of 90-30. The men are averaging 86.6 points per game, while holding their opposition to just 48.6.
Returning starters Keenan Franklin, Tairhe Turner (12 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists), and Brandt Voiles (13 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists) have definitely added some veteran stability to an otherwise young squad. As with last seasons’ team, this Golden Eagles squad shoots a lot of three pointers, they also make a lot of three pointers. They average just around 50 percent from behind the three point arc. The offense runs a ton of screens for a team filled with shooters. The coaches can literally interchange the whole team out (kind of like a line change in hockey) with little or no lag between the starters and the players coming off the bench. Case in point would be #11 Frank Cimino. At about 5’9” and 150 pounds, Cimino
is not an intimidating figure on the court…unless you’re guarding him. Upon entering his first collegiate game, the 18 year old freshman guard from Rockford Boylan promptly hit 7 out of 12 three point shots and he is shooting 58.8% on his home court. When asked about his performance in front of his home crowd and family Cimino said “it was really cool”. The coaches also have quite a bit of size inside in brothers Sam and Jack Harrison from Minnesota. At 6’7”and 6’6” these can hold it down defensively in the paint while adding post scoring and rebounding. Teams have to respect their height, which spreads the floor for the shooters. Regrettably for defenses these big men have a touch soft enough to shoot long range jump shots themselves. Like
I mentioned before, this is a team full of shooters. It took the Cougars a few minutes just to score their first bucket and that was a desperation three heaved up by Clintons’ #35 Onterier Brown. With a flurry of defensive pressure the Golden Eagles found themselves up 42-15 at the half. The Eagles kept up the defensive pressure they had exemplified earlier in the game in the second half outscoring the Cougars by a score of 4815. At no time was this game close. The men from Clinton may not have looked overmatched physically, but they were absolutely overmatched when it came to preparation and skill. Come out and see what I mean. Support RVC sports. Go Eagles