2008-09 Issue 09 Loquitur
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INSIDE this week’s edition YOU SPEAK, WE LISTEN CABRINI COLLEGE Radnor, Pa. Vol L, Issue 09 www.theloquitur.com Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 Pacemaker Winner Lolla-No-Booza Page 10 REFUGEES, page 3 ISP, page 3 Bittersweet Farewell Page 13 Project brings Iraqi students to U.S. Refugees hope to show world ‘good things about Iraq’ Iraqi students placed at 14 United States colleges MEGHAN HURLEY GUEST WRITER MEG.HURLEY@GMAIL.COM Editor’s note: Meghan Hurley and Amanda Finnegan received the Eileen Egan award for jour- nalism because of stories they did for Loquitur on Fair Trade. This is the highest award for journal- ism given to journalists writing for Catholic publications. They are the first journalists to win who wrote for a college newspa- per. As a result of their award, they traveled to Syria and Leba- non with Catholic Relief Services for two weeks at the beginning of October to report on the Iraqi refugee crisis. This is a report by Meghan Hurley on the Iraqi Stu- dent Project. The Iraqi Student Project was started out of the need for two Americans to do something for the country of Iraq. Gabe Huck and Theresa Kubasak started the project in 2007 after they saw how many young students had to flee Iraq and leave behind any opportunity of continuing their education. Based in Damascus, Syria, Huck and Kubasak are now pre- paring to send a second group of Iraqi students to the United States to receive a four-year col- lege education. “This can help break down ste- reotypes Americans have about Iraqis and Arabs,” Kubasak said. They are currently preparing a group of more than 11 students to receive tuition waivers from colleges and universities all over the United States. Among the re- quirements for applying, which include being proficient in Eng- lish and not having the financial ability to study in Syria or anoth- er Middle Eastern country, they have to be firm in their willing- ness to return to Iraq once they have graduated. The desire of the Iraqi stu- dents to return home to Iraq after studying in the United States was strongly apparent. Moustafa studied pharmacy for two years in Iraq before he had to leave. “I just hope to be a good phar- BRITTANY MITCHELL MULTIMEDIA EDITOR BVM723@CABRINI.EDU The Iraqi Student Project has placed 14 Iraqi students in vari- ous U.S. colleges and universities this semester. Since ISP’s recent posting of online applications, the students in need of U.S. educational as- sistance has doubled. “We’ve had over 30 applications for fall 2009 and we will probably call a halt to receiving more applications for this year. Our staff in Da- mascus [Syria] works carefully with every single application and applicant,” Jane Pitz, U.S. execu- tive director of the Iraqi Student Project, said. “They [ISP] have been with us since the beginning, and they helped us to prepare for every- thing,” Jaffar Al-Rakabinasir, freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, Mich., said. Al-Rakabinasir is studying to be a computer engineer and is currently opening up his own computer company. Al-Rakabi- nasir sees this opportunity as “a good start, a slow start, to help rebuild my country [Iraq].” “It’s important to understand that the Iraqi universities are op- erating, but not well, not consis- tently, not without threat, and are having terrible problems in terms of their buildings, their mainte- nance and their faculty [they have been driven out],” Pitz said. Farah Abrahim studied three years of English at Damascus University, Syria. “It was one of the fine and honorable colleges in the Middle East, yet it was still not what I dream of,” Abrahim said. “I dream of getting a higher education, because if I want to achieve my goal in reviving my country then I should get a better education.” Abrahim, political science major at Dominican University, Calif., plans to take her new edu- cation and “work for a non-gov- ernmental organization, specifi- cally to help rebuild Iraq. If that doesn’t happen, I would like to be involved in the political sector in Iraq and help my country in any possible way.” MEGHAN HURLEY/SUBMITTED PHOTO Meghan Hurley, Cabrini alumna ‘07, spends time with children she met at a shelter for Iraqi refugees and migrant workers. The children were from a family of eight children and are with both of their parents in the shelter, which is usually not the case. CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES At a United Nations processing center near Damascus, Syria, an Iraqi refugee named Rahman entertains refugee children as their parents wait to be interviewed for resettlement. Rahman is part of the Iraqi Stu- dent Project, which helps Iraqis enroll in American colleges. He hopes to study theater in the U.S.
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2008-09 Issue 09 Loquitur, Cabrini College student newspaper, Radnor, Pa. 19087
Transcript of 2008-09 Issue 09 Loquitur
INSIDEthis week’s edition
Y O U S P E A K , W E L I S T E N C A B R I N I C O L L E G E
Radnor, Pa. Vol L, Issue 09www.theloquitur.com
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Pacemaker Winner
Lo l l a -No -Booza
Page 10
REFUGEES, page 3 ISP, page 3
Bittersweet
Farewell
Page 13
Project brings Iraqi students to U.S.Refugees hope to show world ‘good things about Iraq’
Iraqi students placed at 14 United States colleges
meghan hurley guest writer
Editor’s note: Meghan Hurley and Amanda Finnegan received the Eileen Egan award for jour-nalism because of stories they did for Loquitur on Fair Trade. This is the highest award for journal-ism given to journalists writing for Catholic publications. They are the first journalists to win who wrote for a college newspa-per. As a result of their award, they traveled to Syria and Leba-non with Catholic Relief Services for two weeks at the beginning of October to report on the Iraqi refugee crisis. This is a report by Meghan Hurley on the Iraqi Stu-dent Project.
The Iraqi Student Project was started out of the need for two Americans to do something for the country of Iraq. Gabe Huck and Theresa Kubasak started the project in 2007 after they saw how many young students had to flee Iraq and leave behind any opportunity of continuing their education.
Based in Damascus, Syria, Huck and Kubasak are now pre-paring to send a second group of Iraqi students to the United States to receive a four-year col-lege education.
“This can help break down ste-reotypes Americans have about Iraqis and Arabs,” Kubasak said.
They are currently preparing a group of more than 11 students to receive tuition waivers from colleges and universities all over the United States. Among the re-quirements for applying, which include being proficient in Eng-lish and not having the financial ability to study in Syria or anoth-er Middle Eastern country, they have to be firm in their willing-ness to return to Iraq once they have graduated.
The desire of the Iraqi stu-dents to return home to Iraq after studying in the United States was strongly apparent.
Moustafa studied pharmacy for two years in Iraq before he had to leave.
“I just hope to be a good phar-
brittany mitchellmultimedia editor
The Iraqi Student Project has placed 14 Iraqi students in vari-ous U.S. colleges and universities this semester.
Since ISP’s recent posting of online applications, the students in need of U.S. educational as-sistance has doubled. “We’ve had over 30 applications for fall 2009 and we will probably call a halt to receiving more applications for this year. Our staff in Da-mascus [Syria] works carefully with every single application and applicant,” Jane Pitz, U.S. execu-tive director of the Iraqi Student Project, said.
“They [ISP] have been with us since the beginning, and they helped us to prepare for every-thing,” Jaffar Al-Rakabinasir, freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, Mich., said.
Al-Rakabinasir is studying to be a computer engineer and is currently opening up his own computer company. Al-Rakabi-nasir sees this opportunity as “a good start, a slow start, to help rebuild my country [Iraq].”
“It’s important to understand that the Iraqi universities are op-erating, but not well, not consis-tently, not without threat, and are having terrible problems in terms of their buildings, their mainte-nance and their faculty [they have been driven out],” Pitz said.
Farah Abrahim studied three years of English at Damascus University, Syria. “It was one of the fine and honorable colleges in the Middle East, yet it was still not what I dream of,” Abrahim said. “I dream of getting a higher education, because if I want to achieve my goal in reviving my country then I should get a better education.”
Abrahim, political science major at Dominican University, Calif., plans to take her new edu-cation and “work for a non-gov-ernmental organization, specifi-cally to help rebuild Iraq. If that doesn’t happen, I would like to be involved in the political sector in Iraq and help my country in any possible way.”
Meghan hurley/subMitted photo
Meghan Hurley, Cabrini alumna ‘07, spends time with children she met at a shelter for Iraqi refugees and migrant workers. The children were from a family of eight children and are with both of their parents in the shelter, which is usually not the case.
CatholiC relief serviCes
At a United Nations processing center near Damascus, Syria, an Iraqi refugee named Rahman entertains refugee children as their parents wait to be interviewed for resettlement. Rahman is part of the Iraqi Stu-dent Project, which helps Iraqis enroll in American colleges. He hopes to study theater in the U.S.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008www.theloquitur.com2 NEWS
2008-2009 Loquitur Staff/Editorial Staff
Our Mission Statement The Loquitur is Cabrini’s College weekly, student-run, campus newspaper. It is widely respected as the voice of students, staff, faculty, alumni and many others outside the Cabrini community. The Loquitur has earned its position by advocating for self expression through freedom of speech, and by serving as an outlet for readers to affect change on campus and off. Founded in 1959, the Loquitur has thrived and greatly expanded its readership. The paper now has over 2,000 online readers and 1,500 print readers on a weekly basis. Our mission is to provide readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions freely, in an environ-ment where their voices are effectively heard and respected.
The Loquitur: You Speak. We Listen
Loquitur is a laboratory newspaper written, edited and produced by the students of COM 353, 352, 250 and 251. Subscription price is $25 per year and is included in the benefits secured by tuition and fees. Additional copies are $1 each. Loquitur welcomes letters to the editors. Letters to the editor are to be less than 500 words. These are usually in response to a current issue on campus or community area. Guest columns are longer pieces between 600 and 800 words and also are usually in response to a current issue on Cabrini College campus or community. Letters to the editor and guest columns are printed as space permits. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and con-tent. Name, phone number and address should be included for verification purposes. Personal at-tacks and anonymous submissions will not be printed. Letters to the editor and guest columns can be submitted to [email protected] or to the newsroom mailboxes in Founders Hall 264.
Univers i t ies host I raq i students, yet Cabrini still not involved in solution The current financial crisis has American college students worried about the cost of their education and ability to obtain a job after grad-uation. However, young adults in Iraq have some-thing far worse to worry about—getting a col-lege education at all. Iraqi students, whether in Iraq or refugees in Lebanon or Syria, must be concerned for their lives due to the extreme violence in their coun-try, and that is why a majority of college-aged Iraqis have stopped their education. Imagine having spent your whole high school career working to get into the college of your dreams. Then because of war you must pass up the chance to further your education and help rebuild their country. Students are literally risk-ing their life to attend what few universities are still open in Iraq and the once top-notch educa-tional system is falling apart. In 2003, when the American force invaded Iraq, the structure of the country was destroyed. The war sent millions of innocent citizens flee-ing their homes. As the war continued, oppor-tunities such as college were rarely possible for students, and most have stopped their educa-tion to protect their safety. Iraqi students who were at the top of their class and dreamt of being doctors, lawyers and teachers are unable to pursue their dreams because of the state of their country. But how can a small private college in Pennsylvania help a whole country? The answer Loquitur proposes is to consider pledging to take on the financial responsibility to host two Iraqi students through their undergraduate degree. The Loquitur covers global social justice issues each week to illuminate for these issues for the Cabrini community. But is knowledge without action enough? Last year when editors introduced the Iraqi Student Project to the Cabrini community, it was their vision to have two Iraqi students begin their college education here at Cabrini College this fall. Currently 14 college and universities host Iraqi students who applied through ISP. Why is Cabrini College not one of them? Isn’t acting for social justice what the Cabrini mission truly means? The financial burden may be great for our college, but what we would gain culturally would certainly outweigh the costs. We realize that offering scholarships to these students may create a great expense for our college, but besides supporting social justice with courses and activities, accepting Iraqi students would also benefit the college and would outweigh the costs. When Ken Hackett, the president of Catholic Relief Services, spoke at Cabrini last year, he said, “We launched the invasion, and we have, in my opinion, a tremendous responsibility to help those people.” The Iraq war has affected the structure of the whole country and for them to rebuild they must have strong and intelligent leaders, but where will these leaders come from if we do not allow them an education?
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Mallory Terrence Staff Writers Deputy Editor Christine Graf Christine Adolf Kirk ManionManaging Editor Meghan Smith Megan Bernatavitz Melissa MarianiNews Editor Liz Garrett Samantha Bokoski Morgan MillerNews Editor Christopher R. Blake Justin Bostwick Erin NollenA & E Editor Christina Michaluk Charles Bush Michael O’HaraA & E Editor Jake Verterano Amanda Carson Eric PovishFeatures Editor Britany Wright Gillian Davis Gianna SkikitinoPerspectives Editor Jessie Holeva Kara Driver Andrew StettlerSports Editor Danielle Feole Katharine Engell Matthew StewartSports Editor Nicholas Pitts Kerry English Tina VitanzaCopy Editor Shannon Keough Jill Fries Jessica WegelinCopy Editor Brittany McLeod Arielle Friscia Candice WojnarowskiCopy Editor Diana Trasatti Kristofer Genther Jen WozniakWeb Editor Megan Pellegrino Janene Gibbons Multimedia Editor Kara Schneider Sami GodowskyMultimedia Editor Brittany Mitchell Molly KearneyGraphic Designer Anna Scholl Megan KutulisAdviser Dr. Jerome Zurek Brian Loschiavo
Noted Catholic scholar from Notre Dame to speak about debated political issues
britany wrightfeatures editor
As the election comes to a close this week, voters search for answers from political experts. On Thursday, Oct. 30, the Rev. Richard McBrien, noted author on the subject of religion and politics, will be providing views on election issues at 7 p.m. in the Mansion at Cabrini College.
McBrien, author and former theology chairman at Notre Dame University, has been scheduled to come to Cabrini for two years to talk about the relationship between politics and American Catholics.
Dr. Leonard Primiano, associ-ate professor of religion, explained how significant McBrien’s visit is to the campus.
“I booked him two years ago to come on the Thursday before the election. He is one of the most significant Catholic schol-ars to come and speak on campus in many years. He is coming here and nowhere else in Pennsylva-nia and the East Coast,” Primiano said.
The issues McBrien will touch on are related to how American Catholic voters will decide which presidential candidate to vote for on Nov. 4.
“Some of the issues [that he will talk about] are who Catholics will vote for [based on their stand
on the issues]. They [Ameri-can Catholics] will usually vote Democratic. But since Ronald Reagan, [former president] they have been voting Republican,” Primiano said.
McBrien is well versed on the topic as he has had more than 24 books published on the topic. The event is free to the general pub-lic and is sponsored by Cabrini’s department of religious studies, the offices of academic affairs and student development and the Wolfington Center for Service and Leadership.
The main issues of particular concern to American Catholics include healthcare, abortion, na-tional security, poverty and war. Voters have the opportunity to elect a new president who rep-resents their views, who they in turn believe will fight for policies that they wish to see.
McBrien is focusing his lec-ture on the issues important to Catholics. He will reference some his points to the five Catho-lic principles taken from Catho-lic teachings. According to an article by Thomas C. Fox titled, “Theologian says one-issue bish-ops violate their own teaching,” there are five principles.
“Bishops and other Catholic officials have a constitutional right to participate in public poli-cy debates they must impose cer-tain limits on themselves; Catho-lic voters and bishops need to
focus on the issues with integrity, philosophy and performance; the voters and bishops must not for-get the distinction between moral principles and their application in political order; no moral law can or should be expected to be translated into civil law; due to sacramentality, moral implica-tions should not be imposed onto others.”
“He’s very accessible. He’ll speak in a way people will under-stand the issues,” Primiano said. The lecture will invoke thought amongst the community.
In response to a noted author on religion and politics coming to campus, Dr. Mary Laver, di-rector of applied social teaching, said, “I’m delighted that a theo-logian of McBrien’s stature is coming to Cabrini College. His strong focus on the Church as the people of God is a refresh-ing and empowering view that is especially welcome on a cam-pus like ours inspired by Frances Cabrini’s commitment to those on the margins. This is an excel-lent time to hear his message, in an election season when it’s ‘the people’s turn’ to speak from our consciences about who should represent us in the search for a better nation and world.”
Please send your com-ments to [email protected].
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 www.theloquitur.com NEWS 3
REFUGEES, page 1
ISP, page 1
Students face tuition issues in economic crisisshannon keough
copy editor
With the economic crisis in full swing, people are now strug-gling to pay for college tuition. Cabrini College’s students and their families are no exception to this struggle.
Between the incomparable losses in the stock market, grow-ing difficulty of obtaining loans and companies laying off their employees, the economic crisis has taken no prisoners.
Katie Engell, sophomore com-munication major, explained that because of her family’s extreme loss in mutual funds, there is a possibility she will not be able to return to Cabrini next semester.
Engell’s great grandfather was one of the creators of the PMA stock. Over time, her fam-ily had invested a lot of money in the stock, which has ensured
their economic stability. How-ever, with the drop in the mar-ket, “money isn’t promised right now,” Engell said.
She was paying for her college tuition through stock and bond funds, but was recently notified that money had been taken from those funds.
The Dow Jones industrial av-erage is down 40 percent from last year and many college-sav-ings plans have been affected as a result.
Other students are suffering due to their parents getting laid off at work.
Since last year, Renee Roff, senior elementary and special education major, has taken out loans to pay for school. Although her parents had planned on pay-ing her tuition all four years, her father will be laid off at the end of this month, which they foresaw long ago.
Her brother also entered col-
lege last year, making it unrealis-tic to pay for two college tuitions in their current economic situa-tion.
Gianna Shikitino, sophomore communication major, is in a similar situation because her sin-gle mother was just laid off from one of her jobs.
“I know that I’m being affect-ed by it [the economic crisis],” she said. Shikitino works a lot and refuses to ask her mom for money because she understands how times are tough right now.
The National Association of Independent Colleges and Uni-versities surveyed its 953 mem-ber institutions in September and found that “38 percent of respon-dents stated that some of their students were working more.”
In addition, many students are taking off time from school or becoming part-time students.
While worrying about her current economic predicament,
Shikitino also worries about her future.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get a job after college. I’m so scared because I don’t know if I’ll be able to pay them [her loans] off because of the economy,” she said.
Loan companies are also hurt-ing, creating problems for stu-dents as a result.
Over the summer, Kate Cona-han, junior exercise science and health promotion major, was re-fused by the loan company she borrows from every year. Al-though she was able to find an-other loan company that would accept her, her mom had a lot of trouble finding a loan for her younger sister who was starting her first year of college.
“My parents were telling me to either start working or we’ll all [her and her two siblings] be commuting to West Chester [University],” Conahan said.
According to a Fidelity In-vestments news release, a survey they conducted shows that more parents are depending on student loans this year—9 percent more than last year. However, almost 32 percent of these parents don’t feel they will obtain their desired loan amount.
“It makes me think a lot about my economic future, which I never had to do until now,” En-gell said.
Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story. Please send your comments to [email protected]. The editors will re-view your comments each week and make corrects if warranted.
Graduate profiles Iraqirefugee student program
macist,” he said. “I am plan-ning to return to Baghdad to help put my country back to-gether.”
“I want to complete my study of medicine because that is what my country needs,” Raed, another student prepar-ing to study in the U.S., said. Loquitur is not using last names to ensure their safety.
These students have all had to leave Iraq due to threats and the increasing violence around their homes and universities. Dhuba, who has already being in college for two years, had to leave Iraq after he got shot in the hand.
Rahman, 24, arrived in Da-mascus in 2007. He left Bagh-dad because he was threatened and it became too dangerous to attend classes.
“I hope to do everything in my country,” he said. “We can show the world the good things about Iraq.” Rahman hopes to
study theater.He is also worried about
what will happen to the chil-dren, to the next generation. Currently, he is working as a clown and entertains Iraqi refugee children at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registration cen-ter and the Danish Refugee Council.
“It’s not about people who want to put Iraq back on the right track,” he said. “It’s about people who want to study pharmacy, theater, med-icine.”
Fouad, 19, found it too dif-ficult to finish his studies in Syria and had to give them up in order to work to support his family.
“When I look at my life, I feel depressed. I can’t see my future. The happiest moment I ever had was when I met Gabe and Theresa. I am not just dreaming to have a future, I am working towards that.”
Project benefits Iraqi youth
Meghan hurley/subMitted photo
Meghan Hurley visited a home for abused mothers and their children in Damascus, Syria. Sister Therese of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd is one of the sisters who operate the home.
Jane pitZ/subMitted photo
Two Iraqi students currently attending U.S. colleges through the Iraqi Student Project. Overall, the project has placed 14 Iraqi students in various colleges and university across the United States.
“The point is that we Iraqis, we are so deeply rooted in our country, no matter how far we are, no matter where we are, we have this strong thing that pulls us back to Iraq. It’s more than love, it’s more than passion, it’s more than responsibility, it’s something I can not describe in words,” Abrahim said.
“The [ISP] students are very serious about education; they’re very committed to getting a good education and going back to help
rebuild their country,” Pitz said.A great portion of ISP’s suc-
cess is due to the local support groups at the participating col-leges. “Wherever there is a stu-dent, we have support groups,” Pitz said. Support groups are a joint effort of many individuals and are essential to the process. They support each student cul-turally, emotionally and finan-cially. “There’s a large network of people who are part of a sup-port group,” Pitz said.
ISP has been successful re-cruiting many colleges, but has faced roadblocks as well. “I had a
number of schools turn me down already this year and said they couldn’t do it. They told me they have other commitments,” Pitz said.
The growth of the ISP pro-gram depends a great deal on the generosity of the United States and its people.
“It’s very important to have them [the Iraqi students] in our midst; they help us recognize what we’ve done to their coun-try,” Pitz said.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008www.theloquitur.com4 NEWS
Superior general honored on campus
Grant to support citizenship learning communitysami godowsky
staff writer
Cabrini has recently been awarded a $92,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to support the project “Collabora-tive Research-Watershed Citizen-ship Learning Community.”
“Collaborative Research-Watershed Citizenship Learning Community” focuses on doing biological stream monitoring studies on Crabby Creek, a tribu-tary to Valley Creek, which flows through Valley Forge Park.
It also involves understanding community, environmental prac-tices and environmental aware-ness. Cabrini is partnering with the Valley Creek Restoration Partnership, a non-profit envi-ronmental organization.
“Valley Creek Restoration Partnership is made up of con-cerned individuals that are pas-sionate about protecting the greater Valley Creek watershed and its headwaters such as Crab-by Creek,” Dr. David Dunbar, bi-ology professor, said.
The project is directed by Cabrini faculty members: Dun-bar, Dr. Melissa Terlecki, psy-chology professor, Dr. Caroline Nielsen, biology professor and Dr. Susan Gill, education direc-tor of the Stroud Water Research Center.
So how will this benefit stu-dents at Cabrini?
“It will benefit Cabrini stu-dents in many ways such as involving them in community-based research, understanding how to do stream science stud-ies, how different disciplines like psychology and biology can come together to solve environmental problems,” Dunbar said.
The two-year grant, which begins in February 2009, funds faculty course development, classroom supplies and student assistants for two courses, Envi-ronmental Citizenship and Wa-tershed Ecology.
“The students in these two courses will be involved in a learning community, so they will develop skills in working collab-oratively. They will also learn about how all the components of a watershed—hydrological, bio-logical, geological, chemical and social/cultural—fit together and influence one another,” Nielsen said.
Members from the Stroud Wa-ter Research Center will teach parts of both courses as well. Stroud is an institute that edu-cates people on watershed issues and ways one can improve local watershed quality by practicing watershed principles.
These courses offer students great opportunities and hands-on experiences.
“Students will gain expertise in research methods from a social science perspective and better understand the catalysts behind human choices and behavior, es-pecially as it relates to the envi-ronment,” Terlecki said.
Loquitur wel-comes your com-ments on this story. Please send your comments to [email protected]. The editors will review your comments each week and make corrects if war-ranted.
Cabrini College/subMitted photo
Dr. David Dunbar, pictured top right corner, and other Cabrini fac-ulty members direct the the Collaborative Research-Watershed Citi-zenship Learning Community.
morgan millerstaff writer
Sister Patricia Spillane, MSC is the newly appointed Superior General of the Missionary Sis-ters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini College’s religious spon-sors. Spillane graced Cabrini with her presence on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in the mansion.
Dr. Marie Angelella George, president of Cabrini College, hosted the reception in honor of Spillane’s appointed position in Rome. The position was official-ly chosen on July 20, in Codogno, Italy.
“It’s a special time for us. All of us at Cabrini College look forward to our partnership in the years ahead,” George said. “Through our sponsorship we are confident about achieving our vision of providing a Catho-lic Cabrini education represented of excellence social justice and transformational learning.”
Spillane, who served as Cabri-ni’s dean of students from 1968 to 1970, will be the seventh elected superior general. Spillane follows directly behind St. Frances Xavi-er Cabrini.
“With her faith filled energy, [Spillane] is a very fitting and worthy successor,” Nancy Cos-tello, Web site director for Stella Maris Province, said.
Throughout the course of Spillane’s six year term, she plans to spread the love of God while promoting social justice and reducing hunger. Her posi-
tion will require her to work with the sisters and various institu-tions throughout the world.
“We have a six-year plan for the congregation,” Spillane said. “We are called, in Cabrini Col-lege terms, to do something ex-traordinary.”
Spillane’s reference of Cabri-ni’s slogan is not only significant because she was a former dean. Spillane also earned a bachelor of science degree from Cabrini in 1964.
Dr. Joseph Romano, profes-sor of philosophy, taught Spillane and thinks her to be a likeable and qualified person for the posi-tion.
“I remember her as a tremen-dous, gregarious person. Smart, bright, fun to be with,” Romano said. “No question about it, we all would light up when we’d talk to Sister Pat.”
On Oct. 28, Romano’s face lit up as Spillane, while speak-ing to the crowd gathered in her honor, shouted, “Is that Joseph Romano!”
Costello and Romano were not the only attendees impressed with Spillane. Brother Dominic Matthew O. Dem, freshman edu-cation major, attended the recep-tion.
“She’s going to be a good leader,” Dem said. “She is a very
friendly and outward person.”Spillane was elected her new
position at the general chapter, a meeting involving discernment of spirits. Spillane was elected in an environment of prayer where it is decided which sister will ful-fill the role adequately, while be-ing the best leader towards God.
“Spillane was selected for her qualities. She’s energetic, smart, understanding of the global real-ity of the sisters, a leader and a true missionary,” Costello said. “She’s a teacher because she has the ability to explain things to people in a way in which they can readily understand. Primar-ily, though, she’s faith-filled; she
really does trust in the Lord.”On Thursday, Oct. 23 and Fri-
day, Oct. 24, the General Council of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus met at Des-mond Hotel in Malvern, Pa. Dur-ing this gathering Sister Pietrina Raccuglia, MSC, was elected as the new Provincial of the Stella Maris Province.
Spillane acknowledged that the role of the Catholic college is to teach people to look at things differently. Cabrini students have a chance to practice this and to reach out through the new social justice curriculum.
However, in order to do this, the students must keep their eyes wide open. It is also important to acknowledge different cultures and ways of life.
“It’s a great opportunity not only to help but for people who could learn to become world citi-zens, instead of just American citizens,” Spillane said. “[People need] to have their heart and their mind stretched.”
Spillane practices teaching the need to stretch hearts and minds to others through God’s love. She believes that this is God’s plan for her and she is not at all disap-pointed.
“God has a purpose for each one of us; I’ve been used by God,” Spillane said. “I am so happy; I’ve got passion, purpose, interest and zest. I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.”
Sister Patricia Spillane, MSC, pictured at a receptionin the Cabrini Mansion hosted in her honor. Spillane is the newly appointed Superior General of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Morgan Miller/staff Writer
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 www.theloquitur.com NEWS 5Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
O b a m a ’ s 8 - p o i n t l e a d advantage over McCain
melissa mariani staff writer
Entering the final week of the presidential race, Barack Obama has an eight-point lead. However, John McCain still has big advantages with his supporters. The main focus is winning over Virginia because they have 13 electoral votes. Apprehension is also arising if Obama in reality will make a good commander. Last month, Virginia poll taken did not look good for Obama, but since then Obama is now tied with McCain. He has an almost 2 to 1 advantage over McCain in Northern Virginia.
Anxiety in job security
Layoffs are expected to rise by the end of the year.The current unemployment rate is 6.1 percent and is pre-dicted to rise to 8.5 percent. The unemployment rate hit 9 percent back in the mid-70s recession. Companies started cutting back hours but it wasn’t enough. The auto industry, construction, airlines and retailing are increasing layoffs. These layoffs are now concerning college students graduating this year in search of a job along with current business workers all over America.
Obama campaign floods TV with ads
The Obama campaign has placed a great number of TV ads in battleground states. Numerous TV com-mercials and radio announcements cost $65 million. Web advertisements for the Obama campaign cost $32 million in August. Targeting younger voters, Obama is placing ads in video games like Madden ’09 and Guitar Hero. This tactic is estimated to cost over $10 million. Obama is already outspending McCain 4 to 1 nationally. Recent records show that Obama will most likely break George W. Bush’s 2004 record of spend-ing $188 million on advertising in a general election.
Saving vs. spending
In times of recession, people are saving their hard earned money. Americans are saving more than ever. Getting thrifty may not be the best way to lead America out of our recession. On Sept. 11, after the attacks, President Bush urged the country to go on trips and travel, en-couraging people to spend their money to lead us out of a recession. Today, Americans have huge barriers that keep them from spending, like the rise in debt and job losses, home repair and health care. This burden makes Americans save more, but traveling, redecorat-ing and eating out helps keep our neighbors employed.
Financial crisis affects food
Last month, the credit crisis became a huge issue around the world. China hurried to protect itself and imposed new export taxes to keep grains and fertilizer from leaving the country. Although the attention has been focused on banks and stock markets, the glob-al food crisis is getting worse. This economic crisis has left incomes tighter and an additional 119 million people sell below the poverty line. Declines in com-modity prices have been gladly accepted. However, lower prices could mean less incentive for farmers to plant crops and result in a global food shortage.
El Salvadoran speakers express need for change in country
arielle frisciastaff writer
Two representatives from a popular community organiza-tion spoke to Cabrini College to explain the issues of their coun-try in El Salvador on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Representatives Bernado Belloso and Jose Heriberto Orel-lana Franco met with members of Cabrini’s community in the Wid-ener Lecture Hall.
In El Salvador, citizens will elect a new president for their country in winter 2009. The hu-man rights of people in El Sal-vador are at stake. Belloso and Heriberto spoke to students with the help of a translator repre-senting the National Directive Council Member of Rural Com-munities for the Development and Directive Council Member of Carasque.
Belloso and Franco are travel-ing around the United States with Emily Carpenter, National Di-rector of U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities network and translator Jan Morill, USESSC El Salvador Co-Coordinator. The tour will end in Washington D.C.
Forty percent of the popula-tion in El Salvador is living in poverty and the country is one of the most violent countries in the world. CRIPDES was formed after the civil war that occurred in the ‘80s and lasted until 1992. Human rights were being violat-ed during the war.
“This is a way to share the situations we are living in our country,” Belloso said. “The peo-
ple that are being affected by the problems that are occurring in El Salvador are the poor.”
Factories employ women who make only $167 per month. Fami-lies live on a $1 a day in El Sal-vador. Some families in the coun-try have eight or nine children to support.
“The people need minimum conditions meant for everyone, especially children,” Belloso said.
The salaries have not helped the people of El Salvador since the rise in gas prices, as well as their most valuable food prod-ucts, corn and beans. El Salvador has signed free trade agreements affiliated with the United States and other countries. The free trade agreement has made it eas-ier for other countries to export and import goods to El Salvador and make products more expen-sive.
“Free trade violates our con-stitution. Free trade does not fa-vor the majority of our country,” Belloso said. “We don’t care what the government says about us. We are just trying to build our com-munities.”
Franco comes from a town called Carasque. Carasque is CRIPDES’ strongest organized community in the department of Chalatenango.
“CRIPDES started 19 years ago in my town. There are dif-ferent committees on health and education and they are made up from those who live in the area,” Franco said.
Immigration is a major issue in El Salvador. They said that
740 people a day emigrate from El Salvador to the U.S. The Sal-vadorans who do not make it to America put themselves in more debt than they were already in because they pay $7,000 to be taken to the United States and if they don’t make it, they repeat-edly try to come.
Franco said that immigration could cause problems between families because there are times when parents leave their children with grandparents back in El Sal-vador.
It is a struggle for parents who do immigrate over to the United States because they do not know the language or the culture of the U.S. posing problems with attain-ing a job and being able to live a stable life.
If there is one thing that both the countries have in common, it is the upcoming elections that are happening in both the United States and El Salvador. Change is about to happen in each country with a new president.
Voting was mentioned as be-ing really important to change. “If we don’t take responsibility and don’t vote we won’t be able to change,” Belloso said.
Belloso and Franco stressed the fact that the youth, who have the strongest views, are extreme-ly important in the upcoming election.
“The youth need to have a clear position as what they want. Don’t let others influence the youth in their vote,” Belloso said. “Youth are our future of our country.”
arielle frisCia/staff Writer
Two native El Salvadorans spoke at Widener Lecture Hall on a variety of issues that affect their country. Bernado Belloso and Jose Heriberto are traveling around the United States speaking prior to El Salva-dor’s election for its new president in winter 2009.
6 PERSPECTIVES www.theloquitur.com Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
PerspectivesPersonal breast cancer strugglesIN MY OPINION
KERRY ENGLISH
mct
staff writer
Chocolate is not some-thing I choose to eat but a constant craving bordering on addiction.
Cheese in any form is the equivalent to fruits and vegetables in the food pyr-amid of Janene Gibbons. Macaroni and cheese is my personal favorite comfort food. Pizza comes close in second.
According to the Web site “Psychology Today,” when lead author Dr. Brian Wansink, University of Il-linois marketing profes-sor, asked 1,005 men and women what their favorite comfort food was, it was a landside victory for ice cream. Wansink said ice cream could be a favorite food because we cogni-tively associate it with the
stress-free days of being a child.
I think of everything in life, including food, in terms of relationships. Food and I go way back. I am so in love with food but there was a time when the stress of my dancing career and how good I looked in my leotard compared to all the other girls in my class made me hate food. My freshman year of high school, I watched what I ate to the point where it be-came an obsession.
I gave up worrying about my eating habits and
weight after a year or so when I realized that life is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. When I work out really hard or I accomplish something big or feel like something hearty, I order that chicken cheese steak from Campus Corner. The key for me is to give my-self the chance to order once a month from there. I limit myself to that. In saying all this though eat-ing healthy is difficult this year.
Allow me to paint you a little picture of me and my relationship with food dur-
ing the school year. I walk into the cafeteria
feeling hung over from a lack of sleep. I am so busy this semester that I never and I mean never get to bed before 3 a.m. Every morn-ing I wake up, I think today is the day I will start eat-ing healthy. After all I do want to be an actress and I want to stay fit. I start off okay with a Special K bar and a multi-vitamin for en-ergy. I take a big bottle of water with me and head off to class.
Sometime between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.
I make it to the cafeteria. There is a long line for ev-erything I want, except the French fries I so desperately crave and the grilled cheese sandwich that I could liter-ally get to in two seconds and have in my stomach di-gesting in the next minute. So what do I do? Do I wait in the long lines for pasta or the vegetable stir fry or make a beeline towards the crappy junk food?
As I squeeze the last re-mains of the only ketchup bottle in the cafeteria on to my fries I think to myself, “Well everyone deserves a treat now and then. I am re-ally active. I take 17.5 cred-its and I am always literally running from the theater, to the radio station, to the video studio and so on. It will all burn off.”
I sink my teeth into my warm salty fries and chug down some essential caf-feinated Pepsi so that I can keep my head up in class. I think to myself, the only thing I need now is… choco-late. I grab a chocolate pink M&M cookie, the kind that they have for breast cancer awareness month. Finally, I feel temporarily energized and relieved.
Eating a lot is okay if I am able to work out. Oth-
erwise, I do feel guilty for taking advantage of my fairly fast metabolism. I feel like I could be skin-ner if only I could just stay away from those yummy fries and limit myself to one piece of chocolate in-stead of three. I am a ner-vous eater, so when I can, I try to pace myself and give 10 minutes in between get-ting seconds to see if I am really hungry or just dis-tracted.
I try to make my late night snacks something I know I won’t eat a lot of like pretzels and then I drink a lot of water. I also go to the gym almost every week and do a half hour on the elliptical and some seri-ous crunches, which really helps me relieve stress and feel good about myself. I even went to a spinning class this year with my friend Jack. When I ex-ercise I can eat more, so I love to exercise.
My advice, have the salad bar as much as pos-sible with pasta for energy.Every once and a while it is okay to treat yourself and remember anything in moderation is fine.
Eating your way to relief: comfort foodsIN MY OPINION
JANENE GIBBONS
staff writer [email protected]
At the age of two, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I don’t remember much.
Most of my memories from my mother’s surgery and treatment stemmed from home movies and pictures. It was explained mommy was sick, but she was going to be just fine. And she was for 17 years.
Time went by after the treatment was completed and everything was look-ing good. My mom was healthy, felt like herself again, and had maintained a very close relationship with her breast doctor.
Then the unthink-able happened. After 17 healthy years, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. Learning this two weeks prior to my first day at Cabrini knocked the wind out of me.
My mother underwent surgery and treatment again. With tremendous personal strength and the support from everyone around her, she beat cancer for the second time.
It was my sophomore year in high school when I had my first surgery. One day in the shower I noticed a difference in my breast. There was a small lump that felt like an acorn. It was strange to me, some-thing I’d never felt before.
My mom called her doctor later that day and got me an appointment. I couldn’t help but notice the looks I received upon walk-ing into the waiting room. Everyone else waiting to be seen was in their 40s or 50s, and here I walked in as a 15-year-old girl.
After being examined, the doctor decided I was going to need surgery to remove the lump. Initial-ly I didn’t know what to think. All I can remember is trying to hold back my tears until I got in the car.
The next few days went by so fast. I went from my doctor’s office to blood work to tests to surgery in what felt like a minute. Before I knew it, it was the morning of my surgery and I was on my way to Phila-delphia.
I arrived at Jefferson University Hospital early that morning having no idea what was to be expect-ed. All that mattered to me was Dr. Anne Rosenberg, the same doctor that had done my mom’s surgery, was going to be perform-ing mine. Having my fam-ily by my side and know-ing I was in good hands put me at ease.
Over the course of the next three years, I had three more surgeries done on both breasts. After a while, it all became rou-
tine and the diagnosis was always the same.
Missing school was al-ways the most frustrating. Rarely would I have time to prepare for my absence and would have to spend a few weeks playing catch-up. None of that mattered, however, as soon as I re-ceived the phone call from the lab saying the lumps were benign.
Since being at Cabrini I have had one surgery to bring me to a total of five. This last one was the toughest; it was my first surgery where lumps had to be removed from both breasts at the same time.
Because of my mother’s condition, I knew it was important to start monitor-ing myself early.
Women in college need to realize the importance of breast health. Check-ing yourself monthly is an easy way to detect any irregularities. I’ve always been a firm believer that you know your body better than anyone else.
Foods like grilled cheese, pizza and french fries are items many crave when upset and seek the comfort of food.
janEnE gibbons/ staff writEr
PERSPECTIVES 7www.theloquitur.comThursday, Oct. 30, 2008
noelle westfall
guest writer
Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have both made energy an im-portant topic in their cam-paigns. Each of these men believe in alternative fuels, cleaner energy options and of course, getting gas pric-es cut.
But which senator’s plans really are the most likely to get the job done in D.C.?
According to McCain’s Web site, one of his ideas
is to use the natural ener-gy options available in the Outer Continental Shelf, which he states contain 77 trillion cubic feet of re-coverable natural gas. He wishes to lift the moratori-um that the federal govern-ment mandates on drilling in this area.
However, the oil provid-ed from the shelf wouldn’t be available any time soon and would only temporar-ily relieve our dependency on fossil fuels.
He is also a big sup-porter of zero-emission nuclear energy and wishes
to construct at least 45 new Nuclear Power Plants by 2030.
The Republican Party platform states “the labor force will expand, with nearly 15,000 high quality jobs created for every new nuclear plant built–and those workers will lead the nation away from its de-pendence on foreign oil.” In this way, McCain will be putting two election is-sues into one convenient package-job creation and clean fuel, who could ask for more?
Obama’s passions on
the energy issue stem pri-marily from creating new, green jobs and help for the common man as well. Ac-cording to his Web site, he hopes to ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
Factcheck.org states that Obama has also changed his mind to be open to drill-ing for oil along the Florida coast in order to cut tax breaks for oil companies.
What he really wants to do is release oil from the na-tional Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, which he claims would lower oil prices, a proposal which has been supported by congressio-nal Democrats. Obama states he would also “ex-tend the federal Production Tax Credit for five years to encourage the production of renewable energy.”
Throughout my re-search, I’ve concluded Obama’s plans for energy are the most creative and will be helpful to our coun-try in the shortest amount of time.
The best way to tell which candidate will truly
lead our country towards prosperity is to think about the all of the topics out there–abortion, education, healthcare, ect.– and to use that information towards your pick for president.
Energy is only one part of the big four year picture, but it is an important one.
So when you’re at the polls on Nov. 4, take all of the issues you’re passionate about and make the smart-est choice.
Who do you think is making the greatest effort to add some “green” to our red, white and blue?
kate schmid
guest writer
One of the most talked about platforms in this election is the economy. People throughout the na-tion are losing jobs and homes.
Something must be done in order to revitalize our economy.
The two major politi-cal parties approach the problem differently. The Republican plan focuses on businesses: stimulating a lower corporate tax rate, reforming home-lending practices and resorting to federal bailouts only as an emergency move.
The Democratic plan focuses on the individual and family tax cuts, giving tax breaks to employees and their families as well as putting more money into Social Security checks.
The Democratic plat-form for the economy states that they plan to “jumpstart the economy and provide middle class Americans immediate re-lief empowering families for a new era.”
Obama’s main push is for the middle-class fam-ily. He won’t increase tax-es on any family earnings under $250,000. He will offer additional tax cuts for middle-class families.
McCain claims he is for the middle class but his platform claims that a lower corporate tax rate is essential to keeping good jobs in the United States.
However, Stephen Herrington, an analyst from the Huffington Post brought up this point, “McCain will cut the cor-porate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent .. to keep American companies on shore and to stimulate the economy.
Since most corporations
do not pay any taxes due to loopholes it is ridiculous. All that will happen is that those that are paying taxes domestically will pay less and increase the deficit.”
Obama supports an in-crease in regulation and closed loopholes, which will hopefully decrease our deficit.
Part of McCain’s plat-form states that, “Eco-nomic freedom expands the prosperity pie; govern-ment can only divide it up. That is why Republicans advocate lower taxes, rea-sonable regulation and smaller, smarter govern-ment. That agenda trans-lates to more opportunity for more people.”
McCain recently laid out a $52.5 billion pro-posal to help those “hurt-ing the most.” Politico news reported that, “The proposal slashes taxes for seniors who tap their re-tirement accounts, inves-tors who took losses in the stock market and workers collecting unemployment insurance.”
McCain’s chief eco-nomic adviser Douglas-Holtz-Eakin believes, “It will put cash in the hands of those who have been damaged by the stock mar-ket.
It resembles the trickle down theory that Bush ad-vocates. It calls for more tax-cuts for the wealthier in hopes that their in-creased earnings would trickle down to the needy.
Conservative econo-mists are for the plan say-ing that it will increase the value of stocks whereas liberal economists believe that it will just keep money in the hands of people who don’t really need help.
The past eight years of having a Republican in power has failed our na-tion. Consider this state-ment reported by Matt
Ortega of the Democratic Party saying that, “George Bush has nearly doubled the national debt of all pre-vious 42 U.S. presidents combined in just seven-years.”
So what does debt have to do with the economy? “One problem is that we are increasingly borrow-ing from foreign sources and when we are paying interest on our debt that money is removed from our economy,” Harrington said.
Without this money in our economy we increase more deficit spending.
I believe Obama would be the best choice for president to help our na-tion’s economy. He’s more focused on the individual and their family’s best in-terest.
In a time of crisis, we all want what is best for our-selves and I think Obama’s plan is aimed at helping the individuals, especially those who are struggling.
He is for helping the middle-class first in order to bring our economy out of the crisis, whereas Mc-Cain is more for helping business.
Obama is the change I believe we need.
Presidential candidates on energy
candice wojnarowski
staff writer
Obama-fever. It has struck the United States, and has swept up even the most proper, blue collared American workers. I never thought too much of it, un-til a group of Sarah Palin protesters dented the hood of the limousine I drive at work.
I remember I was turn-ing down Broad Street when the sirens started. I turned onto Walnut to avoid the police cruisers but they still sped around me. Two blocks later, and it was all too clear why: stretched across the inter-section of 16th and Walnut, armed with picket signs and megaphones, close to a hundred people forced the traffic to a standstill.
To make a long story short, police attempted to persuade the protesters to allow traffic to pass. Halfway down the street, a wooden sign hit the hood of my Mercedes. A young man, no older than me pro-ceeded to yell about how McCain only cared about “people like me.” I leaned on the horn and sped down the street, leaving behind me similar chants:
“Bush-McCain the same,” “Obama-Obama.”
Although the experi-ence was unnerving, it forced me to abandon my non-involvement in the election as a whole. I started watching the cam-paign trail and quickly re-alized Philadelphia wasn’t the only city experiencing Obama-frenzy. His sup-porters cried at rallies, held their hands in the air and called to him. It was almost eerie how his status became god-like. People regarded him as a savior, the answer to their prob-lems.
As a history buff, I’m automatically skeptical of all “saviors.” And after some basic research, I’ve found that just as all the political leaders before him, Obama is just a man. Obama-fever, just a trend. And while I find his fine-tuned speeches pleasing to the ear, I refuse to allow pretty talk and a bright smile to pull the wool over my eyes.
McCain is not a sav-ior, he too is human. But McCain is focused on the issues that will determine America’s future. Mc-Cain’s economic policies are derived from years of experience in the Sen-ate. His strategies revolve around the working-class, around families and young people.
Obama spends so much time explaining how he relates to us, the working class, that he never fully explains his policies. He calls for healthcare re-forms, wants to mandate employer-provided health insurance, regardless of cost– often nine to 12,000 per employee.
McCain wants to make healthcare more readily available to the public, but understands the financial burden health insurance
places on small business-es. He wants to offer every family a $5,000 health in-surance credit in order for plans to be purchased.
McCain wants to devote more money into develop-ing cleaner sources of en-ergy and work to free the United States of its depen-dence on foreign oil. He supports offshore drilling and is leading a campaign to build 45 nuclear power plants by 2030. Not only would these create over 700,000 new jobs, but they would allow for America to produce its own oil and clean, inexpensive elec-tricity.
The war in Iraq, Obama was opposed to it from the beginning, and if elected will withdrawal the troops within 16 months. Obama disregards how this will make America look to the rest of the world.
McCain also wishes to end the war, but doesn’t want to set a timeline. He wants America to with-draw once Iraq is a func-tioning democratic power. McCain cares about and has fought to uphold the American image.
McCain has repeatedly voted against his party, and protested the corruption in Washington. America doesn’t need a celebrity with the ability to make promises. If we are going to move forward as a coun-try and heal the wounds of the past eight years, we need a proven leader. We need John McCain.
The Loquitur encour-ages your opinion. Please send your thoughts to [email protected].
in favor of mccainCandidates’ job stance
mct
8 FEATURES FEATURESwww.theloquitur.com Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Childhood found at Lego StoreImagine back to when you
were a child, what would have you thought if there was a Lego Store in your local mall? Well, King of Prussia Mall has just that. The store opened on Sept. 18 to great prominence. There was a two and half hour wait just to get inside the store itself, according to Marcy Von Wallmenich, Lego Store supervisor.
The Lego Company started in a small woodshop and is now the world’s sixth largest manufactur-ers of toys. The name “LEGO” is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well.”
Even now, after 70 years, it is still family-run by the founder’s grandchild. According to Lego’s official Web site, their purpose is
to inspire children to explore and challenge themselves creatively.
If one was to enter King of Prussia Mall, one would see there is a large need for toy stores in the mall itself and more so of a store geared towards boys. The Lego Store fulfils both needs. When asked a bit on her child-hood with Legos, Von Wallmen-ich said she played with Legos all the time but her current favorite item in the store is the chest set. Von Wallmenich is shocked at the intricacy of the bricks in today’s store in comparison to that of her childhood.
The store itself has a unique set-up, with a wall of bricks at the back where customers can choose what Lego pieces they would like to buy, spend time in a play area full of ramps where they can race cars they make and tables to work on. The employees are like chil-dren playing with the toys and
helping customers. The store it-self is bright, cheery and friendly and any customer feels welcome. It is almost as if they are ageless upon entrance. Wallmenich said, “The look on grown-ups faces is of pure joy when they enter the store.”
The store has not figured out its holiday time or specials be-cause it is not a franchise. It is run by the Lego Company and they will decide what kind of spe-cials and hours will happen dur-ing the holidays. The mall’s hours change during the holidays and the store’s hours should change as well, but nothing is determined yet. The price of Legos can range from several cents to the collect-ible items which are several hun-dred dollars.
Mark Chila, sophomore busi-ness major, grew up playing with Legos. When Chila found out a Lego Store had opened he said, “I
want to go there right now.” Chila played with his Legos every day as a child. Obviously, he was brought back to his childhood when he said, “I’d like to build a palace and play in it by myself.” Legos bring the child out of adults as mentioned previously and this is proven by Chila.
Ben Nana, junior English ma-jor, spoke about his childhood and how Legos impacted him. Nana used to build mansions with his Legos and of course then destroy them as any child would. Legos had so much an impact on him that he’d like to pass his col-lection of Legos on to his future children. Nana has yet to visit the Lego Store but knew of it. Nana went on to express an interest in applying to work there because employees are basically getting paid to play.
Rob Kallwass, junior English major, has never been to the Lego
store but was aware of its exis-tence like Nana. Kallwass does not play with legos anymore but feels it is good for a child’s cre-ativity. Kallwass discussed his legos as a child like the pirate and castle themed. He felt they each had a story behind them and chil-dren got to act that story out.
Dr. Michelle Filling, assistant English professor, grew up play-ing with Legos and is now able to watch her own nieces play with them as well.
“My brother who is 10 years older than me had a whole suit-case of legos and you would just rummage through until you found that perfect piece,” Filling said.
Her brother has now passed on that suitcase of Legos that she played with as a child to his young daughters. Legos form a child’s imagination and help make life-long memories and encourage creativity Filling believes.
molly kearneystaff writer
molly kearney/staff writer
The King of Prussia Mall has a new addition to the line of stores that sell novelty items. Just two months ago, the Lego Store opened providing an opportunity for boys and girls of all ages to go and experience childhood once again. It provides reasonable prices, an activity center where customers are free to explore the product and a wide selection of kits that customers can purchase and build.
Touch screen menus coming to the U.S.
Going to a restaurant could soon be more technologically ad-vanced than ever imagined. Not only are faster stoves and more efficient cooking utensils being brought into the restaurants, but now touch screen menus are the new development that is sweep-ing through Europe.
In the United States, the only touch screen menus most of the people in the Philadelphia area have heard of are those similar to the ones used at Wawa. These screens were created for a fast and easy way to get food without much of a hassle.
Touch screen menus started in London. This technology allows the customer to order drinks first. The order then pops up directly at the bar. Then the customers may order appetizers and entree or-ders, which are sent back to the kitchen. While the people are waiting for their food, there are games to play on the screen and different interactive things to do.
The new trend of having touch screen menus at nice sit-down restaurants in different parts of Europe is very popular with al-most everyone. This means that the United States is not far from having this sensation from Lon-don come to the restaurants most know and love.
As of now, one restaurant in
the United States is definitely mixing things up and trying to keep up with what is happen-ing across the ocean. An upscale wine bar in New York City, called the Adour Restaurant has been known for its interactive touch screen menu.
One wonder is if the trend will be as popular in the United States as it is in Europe. The touch screen menu has cut the wait staff almost in half since being started. This also gets rid of interaction between the customer and the waiter. With the way the econo-my is right now, waiters cannot afford to lose the jobs that they have. Once Americans get back on their feet, the touch screen menu could change the way we
live in many different ways. The loss of interaction could
lead to less of a tip because the customer did not get to see the personality and efficiency of the waiter.
Jackie McKeon, junior el-ementary education major, said, “Being a waitress, I think that this idea is really awesome. It makes it less stressful on the server and you don’t have to deal with rude customers. The only down side would be getting less of a tip, but less stress is definitely worth it.”
One glitch still being worked out in European restaurants with the touch screen menu is power outages.
If the power goes out, the menus will no longer work,
which means that waiters will be needed and with the staff cut in half; it could get chaotic.
The only thing that most peo-ple care about is the quality of the food that is being brought out. Marina Isaac, senior exercise sci-ence and health promotions ma-jor, said, “Having touch screen menus is an awesome idea. As long as my food tastes good and is brought out at a reasonable time, I am definitely fine with the idea of the menu.”
Loquitur welcomes your com-ments on this story.
Please send your comments to: [email protected].
Editors will review comments and make revisions if warranted.
megan bernatavitzstaff writer
FEATURES 9FEATURES www.theloquitur.comThursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Apple updates laptops Fashion trends for college students
Students can report bullies online
Mac is back, “Redesigned, Reengineered and Re-every-thinged.” On Tuesday, Oct. 14 Apple released the next genera-tion of laptops.
“I worked all summer to pay for my MacBook Pro. They use the best, up-to-date software and are the new technology of the future,” Jake Neary, freshman el-ementary education major, said.
The new MacBook is thinner, sleeker and top of the line. To purchase one of the new Mac-Books, one will have to spend more than average. A 2.0 Giga-hertz will easily cost $1,300 and a 2.4 gigahertz will cost $1,599. Why would a laptop have such an incredible value?
All the value is due to the in-ternal design of the MacBook. Mac decided to literally sculpt the new MacBook from a solid block of aluminum. Aluminum allows the laptop to become a light 4.5 pounds. The button-less touch-pad is not only a scrolling option in the new MacBook; it becomes a way to scroll, point and click. The Mac employees behind this new evolution said they took away anything unnecessary.
Samantha Sauer, junior el-ementary and special education major, said, “The new MacBook would work well in classrooms with children with physical dis-
abilities that hinder their fine motor skills.” The new MacBook seems to have opened up new possibilities and accessibility to individuals who were not able to work with technology before.
The idea of this laptop was to make everything simple and de-fined.
The creators behind the new MacBook produced what is called the “unibody.” The uni-body is the heart of this unbeliev-able machine. It contains the new graphic processor and 16 support chips all in one.
The screen of the new Mac-Book is simply stunning and captures any individual’s eye when first walking into the Ap-ple store.
The screen-now revamped is made of glass and LED lights. The LED lights permit the thin effect of the screen and the seam-less picture.
Mac overall has made an un-beatable reputation for them-
selves, it excels from software to appearance.
Another feature that comes only with the new MacBook 13’’ 2.4 gigahertz, is an illuminated keyboard. The laptop is able to understand how dark or light a room is and when someone may need the keyboard illuminated.
The benefits seem endless; the new MacBook was also made with the environment in mind. To reduce energy consumption, the hard drive spins down when inactive. The LED light used for the desktop uses 30 percent less power and is mercury-free. In ad-dition to less power and energy, because MacBook is so thin and portable it uses 41 percent less packaging and is highly recy-clable.
The display of this new laptop is of course right when one walks into the Apple store. This new MacBook is everything impres-sive and beyond, beautiful inside and out.
sam bokoski/staff writer
Apple has offered a new version of its laptop called the MacBook. The benefits of this device not only include better comportability, but also helps the environment by reducing energy consumption.
American style stays pretty simple with jeans and t-shirts each year, compared to Eu-rope and other countries.
With fall and winter ap-proaching, updating your wardrobe with new trends around campus can complete a student’s look.
This fall, the most wanted and hottest trends are inspired by the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Glamour magazine fashion section released the bohemian style as the most recent trend arising. How to get the look is keeping it colorful and loose fitted.
Glamour also suggested lots of dark colors, bold prints and free-flowing cuts. Any-thing with lace, along with a light weight scarf, to add to an outfit.
A few students on campus were asked if they think fash-ion is reoccurring through-out decades. Some students agreed fashion is cyclical.
“I love the romanticism
style that is in this fall. Black, white and deep colors are in fashion. Along with anything that is part of the romantic period and old fashioned,” Brittany Amber Such, senior communication major, said.
Seventeen magazine sug-gested fitted t-shirts layered with vests as a recent trend to watch out for.
Fringed boots also domi-nated the demand for the fall’s most-wanted list, along with large framed sunglasses.
For the guys, style trends are the urban style with flan-nel shirts, colorful Nike sneakers and Converse Chuck Taylor shoes.
The sporty guy look of fit-ted polos, fitted hats and the Under Armour collection con-tinues to stay a trend.
“Dark denim Levi’s with a solid button-down shirt, a pair of black Chuck Taylors, with a nice wrist watch is my trend. You can never go wrong with that outfit. You can wear it to a party or school,” Jahlil Ed-wards, sophomore marketing major, said.
melissa marianistaff writer
sam bokoskistaff writer
If the tragedies at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University have taught us any-thing, it’s that bullying takes a serious toll on students.
“Many victims feel trapped, with no one to turn to until they reach a breaking point,” Cathy Leonard, a parent in the St. Mat-thew school district and coordina-tor of the Roosevelt after-school center and a possible subscriber to SchoolTipLine.com, said. “Unfortunately that breaking point often results in violence.”
Justin Bergener, founder and CEO of SchoolTipline.com, hopes to put an end to these vio-lent outbursts by giving the stu-dents a place to turn.
SchoolTipline.com is a Web site designed specifically to al-low student victims to report acts of bullying to school administra-tion. The appeal? It allows the victims to remain anonymous and is completed online or via text messaging.
The Web site acts primarily as a third party, allowing students to generate anonymous reports regarding activities or behaviors within the school and then relays this information back to the des-
ignated faculty and administra-tion.
“The hope,” Bergener said, as listed on the Web site, “is that stu-dents will break down the code of silence and become the eyes and ears of safety when empowered with anonymous communica-tion, and reporting methods they prefer, such as the Web or text messages.”
Thus far the Web site has drawn both positive and negative reviews.
It has won various awards for its unique business plan and has been praised by all the major news channels.
Whitney Ford, senior elemen-tary and special education ma-jor, said, “I’m not sure it would be taken seriously. Some people would use it, but there is always the handful of people who want to start trouble; send in false re-ports, make a joke out of it.”
SchoolTipline.com does take measures to deter false report-ing and allows for participating schools to require a student login when sending a report.
This login remains visible only to Web site facilitators and isn’t released to the school unless a report is life-threatening.
SchoolTipline.com also re-serves the right to trace IP ad-dresses, block, delete user ac-
counts or look up the users ID in the case of frivolous reporting or abuse of the system.
Eryn Morgan, senior exercise science major, said, “By defini-tion, bullying is affecting some-one else by means of intimida-tion, so of course a victim would be scared to report a bully. Being a tattle-tale would only lead to further bullying. The way to end
the cycle is to enable the victim to remain anonymous.”
While the Web site is certain-ly innovative and has been ad-opted by over 50 schools across six states, there is a fundamental flaw in its execution. Anonymity doesn’t hold up in a court of law.
Lillian Burroughs, director of public safety, said, “Legally, it is better to have a written state-
ment from the person that is be-ing bullied to better be able to as-sist them. You have to remember, everyone has rights and in a court of law, people have the right to de-fend themselves in front of their accuser. Here, people could not do so. I even doubt our Cabrini judicial system could discipline without a witness or complain-ant.”
candice wojnarowskistaff writer
candice wojnarowski/staff writer
SchoolTipLine.com provides anonymous service to report bullies.
As summertime comes to a close, fall becomes a transi-tion period of dressing in layers with summer and winter clothing. It’s not time yet to pack away those tank tops and shorts but beware of fashion faux paus.
10 A&E www.theloquitur.com Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Arts & Entertainment
EVENTS: Oct. 30 - Nov. 5Cavalier Tip-Off
Marks the beginning of the college basketball season; includes priz-es, games, music and basketball.
Thursday, Oct. 30.8 p.m. in the Dixon Center
Election Day shuttle to the polls
Election Day, the Cabrini shuttle will go to the polls on N. Wayne Ave.
This special shuttle service change will only be in place on Nov. 4.
B-I-N-G-O Night
Come take part in one of Cabrini College’s most popular traditions BINGO Night!
Wednesday, Nov. 59 p.m. in Jazzman’s Cafe.
Halloween service activity at Elmwood Park Zoo
Volunteer with the Cabrini team at Elmwood Park Zoo’s “Nightmare at Elmwood.”
Thursday, Oct. 30 4:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.Transportation from campus will be provided.
Lolla-No-Booza provides non-alcoholic funkerry english
staff writer
“If you drink, there are con-sequences,” Lillian Burroughs, Cabrini’s director of public safety, said at Lolla-No-Booza on Tues-day, Oct. 21. Lolla-No-Booza was hosted by residence life, stu-dent engagement and leadership, the health and wellness office and public safety.
“Hopefully it will be really successful, “Toni Baisden, area coordinator, said. The goal of the night was to promote not drink-ing and teach students the dan-gers of alcohol abuse. Packets and pamphlets with alcohol facts were given to students upon ar-rival. Baisden brought the event to Cabrini after having success with it elsewhere. She was happy with the turnout and enjoyed see-ing the students having fun.
Students spent the evening enjoying various activities set up throughout Grace Hall. One of the first stops was the pump-kin decorating table. All sorts of glitzy decorative items were used to give this season’s pumpkins a little something special. The pumpkins were then judged and the top three were chosen and awarded prizes.
Next up was worm-bobbing. Gummy worms were hidden deep in bowls with whipped cream on top. Students buried their faces into the bowl and ended with whipped cream all over them-selves.
A station where students were allowed to create their own non-alcoholic beverages was among the evening’s events. This stop was one of the favorites of the night. It showed students alcohol-free drinks can still be delicious. The three best tasting of the night were given prizes.
The highlight of the evening was the DUI obstacle course. Public safety officers conducted field sobriety tests. Students were given beer goggles that stimulated what it would be like to be under the influence.
After putting the goggles on, the officers instructed you to walk a line and touch an index finger to your nose. After failing, you were then read your rights, hand-cuffed and taken for a walk of shame. The officer then walked
students around signs hung from their necks that stated possible crimes one could commit as a re-sult of driving under the influence of alcohol.
WYBF 89.1 provided music for the event. Students enjoyed listening and dancing along to holiday themed songs, such as Monster Mash.
Marissa Licardo, freshman psychology and criminal justice major, works with the student leadership association. She de-cided to come out to Lolla-No-Booza because “it makes people realize the damage they could do under the influence of alcohol.”
The featured events appealed to Jasmine Cumminzs, freshman, psychology major. “I wanted to make fake drinks and I thought about what I can do to my pump-kin to win,” Cumminzs said.
Students like Anthony Sessa, senior business administration major, is a CAP board member and enjoys coming out to events. “It’s fun,; I’m at all of them,” Sessa said.
Ashley Natale, sophomore criminal and psychology ma-jor, had a great time decorating the pumpkins. “I thought it was a good idea to support alcohol awareness.”
KERRY ENGLISH/STAFF WRITER
Lauren Brown, senior elementary education major, poses with Lillian Burroughs after being “arrested” by public safety. Brown was handcuffed and forced to wear this sign after being unable to walk a straight line in beer goggles. The exercise was part of an attempt to increase knowledge about the dangers of drunk driving.
KERRY ENGLISH/STAFF WRITER
Students participate in a pumpkin-decorating contest at Lolla-No-Booza. Students were able to use feathers, sequins and tons of other art sup-plies to create their own unique Jack-O-Lantern.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 www.theloquitur.com A&E 11
Celebrities voting campaign effective?charles bush
staff writer [email protected]
On Sept. 7, thousands of col-lege students tuned in to watch their favorite celebrity or music artist make an appearance on stage or in the crowd at the MTV Video Music Awards. However, 19 days later on Sept. 26, at the first presi-dential debate, significantly less college students tuned in.
It’s quite apparent that most students would rather see Paris Hilton sit in a bikini and speak about how we should vote, or lis-ten to rapper Kanye West give his political views on who he is vot-ing for.
“It’s good that the celebrities are reaching out but there’s a way to do it. I mean the whole vote or die thing, what the hell is that? And then we come to find out that in the last election Paris Hilton didn’t even vote,” Mike Viscari-ello sophomore information sys-tems and political science major said.
Some of the methods that the
celebrities are taking to raise vot-ing awareness are very effective and helpful.
“It’s good that celebrities are taking their time to reach out, be-cause we’re more likely to listen to them than politicians,” junior marketing major Rodney Collins said.
A good example is a new vot-ing campaign out called Declare Yourself. One of the campaign’s commercials has celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Ellen DeGeneres, Dustin Hoffman, Sarah Silverman and Jennifer Aniston to name a few.
Their message is quite simple: just go out and vote. No one on the commercial says “ Vote or Die” or “Obama rules.” There is no bias going into the commer-cial, just making sure that the youth understands the importance in voting.
“There is a right way,” Viscar-iello said. “I think it’s good that celebrities want to help, but they shouldn’t try to sway our minds,” Saleem Brown assistant director of Cabrini admissions said.
katie engell staff writer
On Friday, Oct. 10, the Austra-
lian Pink Floyd performed at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby. The show was nothing short of amazing and fans of all ages were treated to a full sensory music experience. The band not only played Pink Floyd’s music in a hauntingly similar fashion, but also presented a top-notch laser light show.
Throughout the course of mu-sic history few bands have made such an impact as Pink Floyd.. Since their disbanding in the ear-ly 1990s fans all around the world have turned to tribute bands to fulfill their Pink Floyd needs.
Of all the bands currently playing Pink Floyd’s music “The Australian Pink Floyd Band”
stands far above the rest. Originally known as “Think
Floyd,” the members of this tribute band are from Adelaide, Australia. It was here that they realized their dream of recreat-ing the magic of one of the most respected rock bands of all time, Pink Floyd.
During the late ‘80s, tribute bands had not yet become popu-lar. In the Australian Pink Floyd’s case, the five original musicians sought out to change the dynam-ics of the “cover band” and cover songs in a more realistic manner.
Their goal was to completely restore all the elements needed to achieve the same sound as Pink Floyd and give Pink Floyd fans a dose of what they knew and loved.
“Shine On You Crazy Dia-mond” and “Money” were two of the first songs that they accom-
plished as a tribute band. After a month of constant rehearsing, the band had honed their skills well enough to perform all of Pink Floyd’s music correctly.
Their performing career began in 1993 when they debuted at the First International Pink Floyd Fan Convention in London, England.
Since 1993, the Australian Pink Floyd has been constantly touring the globe and keeping Pink Floyd’s music alive. They’ve traveled the United States, Ger-many, Canada, Italy, Switzerland as well as numerous South Amer-ican countries. They have done such a good job that they have been demanded back to countless venues year after year.
The Australian Pink Floyd has also been the only tribute band to directly play for a member of the original Pink Floyd. In 1996, they played at guitarist Da-
vid Gilmour’s 50 birthday party. Gilmour has claimed that the Australian Pink Floyd performs their music better than they did.
At this particular show at the Tower Theater, the bands played “The Wall” album from start to finish. After taking a quick 15- minute intermission, the band came back out with an impressive greatest hits set that left the audi-ence in awe. It is no wonder this is such a popular show to see.
Of all the bands that are cur-rently playing the music of Pink Floyd, none of them present the songs in the fashion that the Aus-tralian Pink Floyd does. They play each song with precise detail and truly capture the mood associated with the original recordings. This band presents a high quality per-formance that any fan of music can appreciate.
MCT
Kanye West is known for his strong political beliefs and expresses them in his lyrics.
Pink Floyd cover band plays familiar beatjessie holeva
perspectives editor
Cabrini Funny Fest will make you burst at the seams. Come one, come all to catch your peers get on stage for five minutes as they unleash their fierc-est jokes. Cabrini’s radio station, 89.1 “The Burn,” is hosting their first com-edy festival, Cabrini Funny Fest.
The objective isn’t only to please the crowd, but to make the judging panel of three professional comedi-ans swoon and get giddy.
The three guest judges will rank the contestants. Highest score wins a gig at Northeast Philadelphia’s Comedy Cabaret for an up-coming weekend.
Star of the Web series “The Wingman,” James Holeva, will MC the event. He’ll be sharing unfiltered tales of being a professional wingman. That means cree-pin’ and sex, with a possi-bility of some gyration
The guest judges, John Poveromo, Jason Pollock and Katie Pidge Decker will then put on a free show for the audience. To check out judges’ bios and links, go to wybf.com.
The doors open at 8 p.m. Friday Nov. 7, at Jazzman’s Café. It’s not too late to en-ter. If you can come up with five minutes of original standup and think you’re entertaining enough to wow the judges, then go to wybf.com to find out how to enter.
Funny Fest
jAKE vERTERANo/A&E EdIToR
The Australian Pink Floyd plays only music by the original Pink Floyd. The Australian Pink Floyd plays each song with precise detail.
MCT
Paris Hilton used celebrity power to spread the word on the importance of voting.
www.theloquitur.com12 A&E Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
VOTE IN PENNSYLVANIA ON NOV 4TH FIND OUT WHERE BY VISITING
OR CALL 1-877-PA-OBAMA (1-877-572-6226)TEXT PA TO 62262 TO FIND OUT ABOUT EVENTS HAPPENING IN PA
PAID FOR BY OBAMA FOR AMERICA
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 www.theloquitur.com SPORTS 13
SportsSports
Sophomore anticipates CSAC championship
andy stettler/staff writer
andrew stettler
staff writer
Sophomore criminal justice major Desiree Umosella was recently selected as player of the week for field hockey.
Though this honor is only given to a single player, Umosella emphasized that it is truly the team that has brought her to be the athlete she is today.
“I think we’re going to win the conference this year. We want it so bad,” Umosella said in anticipation.
Last year, she was awarded Rookie of the Year as a freshman. This year, she has lived up to the award by scoring 11 goals in 15 games, three of which were
game-winning goals. As a forward, she has scored
five points in three of her last conference games and with the
help of her teammates, won each game.
Umosella was named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Co-Mid-Atlantic Region Player of the Week on Oct. 1 and earned CSAC Honor Roll distinction on Sept. 29.
“I came here because of her,” Umosella pointed out when asked about the team’s head coach Jackie Neary. “In fact, a lot of people have come here because of her.”
Umosella said Neary has played a big role in how the team has so successfully communicated on the field this year.
Umosella mentioned her strong respect for players like Lynda Kaufmann, junior
biological science major. “I’ve never seen anybody
play like her in all my years of field hockey.” However on the field, Umosella said it is mid-fielder Melissa Benedetti, senior pre-physical therapy major, who brings out the player in her. “It’s like magic when we’re together.”
The forward said that a lot of the team’s success lies in this year’s defense.
“We run a diamond defense and they’re just unstoppable. Without them, we would not be undefeated.”
Umosella said that one of her favorite parts of the college’s field hockey program is the field. Her high school field has uneven grass with patches of
dirt. Sometimes under such conditions it is not necessarily the players fault for playing poorly.
However, the Cabrini field hockey field is made with turf rather than grass.
“It is much easier to concentrate on stick work.”
Although she has sat out of the last two conference games due to injury, Umosella feels she will be able to join the team by their next game and hopefully assist in winning the playoffs.
“We could be the first Cabrini field hockey team ever to win the CSAC,” Umosella said.
gillian davis
staff writer
It was senior day for Cabrini’s volleyball team on Saturday, Oct. 25. The gym was decorated with blue and white balloons and posters with every senior’s name written on them.
Families came from all over to celebrate this occasion. Lindsay Martin’s family flew in from California to cheer her on and give her all of their support.
Before the game against College of Notre Dame, seniors Martin, Kaitlyn Fetterman, Michelle Mola and Danielle Finnegan were honored and
thanked for playing for Cabrini and for always playing their best.
The girls won their first match with a score of 25 to 15.
They were blocking and hitting every ball that entered their side of the court. Perfect demonstrations of bumping, setting and spiking could be seen from the players.
Showing that they knew what they were doing, the seniors took charge and dominated the court.
By controlling the offensive end of the court, Martin achieved 11 kills. She didn’t stop there. Martin had 22 kill attempts, seven digs and four assists.
“She was excellent,” William Martin, Martin’s farther, said.
“She did well reading the defense and knew exactly when to slam and touch the ball. I am so proud of everything she does.”
Fetterman, Finnegan and Mola also showed off their skills. Fetterman completed eight kills and five blocks, while Finnegan had six digs.
Mola, the team’s libero, saved the ball from hitting the floor by completing 14 digs.
The next match was won with a score of 25 to 21 and the seniors were not the only one’s scoring the points.
Freshman Courtney Abel had eight digs and junior Kate Conahan had one dig and five sets.
Lizzie Williams, junior, always appeared to be in the right spot to set the ball 27 times to her fellow teammates.
Alexis Doss, freshman, had 18 kill attempts and three digs.
Traci Beltz, junior, achieved seven kills and 24 kill attempts.
“That game was intense,” Kim Prigge, junior exercise science and health promotion major, said. “These girls really know how to communicate with each other; the perfect team.”
The next match proved Prigge to be right.
The girls played with strength offensively and defensively. Their communication had awarded them with another win of 25 to
Bittersweet farewell: seniors final home match10, thus securing the win.
The girls ran around the court, screaming and jumping, excited about their win. All the seniors came in together for a big group hug and cherished the moment of winning their last game in the Cabrini gym.
“It won’t be the same without the seniors,” Stephanie Recklau, sophomore, said.
“It was emotional playing beside them and knowing that they won’t be with us next year.”
Recklau, scoring the team six points with her kills, ran over to the seniors to congratulate them once more on the win.
matthew wittmer/staff photographer
Senior Lindsay Martin hugs her mother who flew out from California to watch the teams final home match. The Cavaliers beat the College of Notre Dame, securing a memorable night for their senior stars.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008www.theloquitur.com14 SPORTS
jill fries
staff writer
Philadelphia Eagles bring it back After a short slump and some injuries, Eagles bring it back with a win against the
Atlanta Falcons 27 to 14. Sunday’s game brought the Eagles to a 4 to 3 loss record putting them in fourth place in the NFC East standings. Westbrook, returning from broken ribs and a bothered ankle, rushed 167 yards and two touchdowns for the birds. Injuries still nagged him but he was tired of sitting in the training room. A touchdown, also ran in by McNabb, and extra points and field goal by David Akers, brought the Eagles to a win. In the fourth quarter, L.J. Smith was knocked out with a concussion by Falcons Lawyer Malloy. McNabb finished the game with a total of 253 yards thrown and 25 yards rushed.
Penn State knocks off Ohio State, moves up in rankings After winning at Ohio State on Sunday, Penn State moved in the Bowl
Championship Series standings closing the gap on first-place Texas and second-place Alabama. The top two teams in the final BCS play for the title on Jan. 8. The polls consist of USA Today coaches poll and Harris poll for two-thirds and a compilation of six computers for one-third. Penn State’s average moved up to .925 after defeating Ohio State 13 to 6. The only thing that may keep the Nittany Lions from keeping a high average is the perceived weakness of the Big Ten compared to the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12. Penn State has a week off, then plays Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State to end their season.
Federer takes Swiss indoor for third time Swedish tennis star Roger Federer defeated Argentinean David Nalbandian 6
to 3, 6 to 4 in the Swiss Indoors final. Federer has now won his third hometown tournament, along with four other titles this season: U.S. Open, Estoril, Portugal and Germany. Sunday’s match put him 4 to 4 in finals this season and 57 to 21 overall. Federer won with eight aces and on his service game. The match was over after Federer hit a forehand winner. He is now seeded No. 2 in the Paris Masters behind Rafael Nadal. The Paris Masters started Monday, Oct. 27.
Upcoming games
This week in sports
Thursday, Oct. 30
Women’s soccer @ Cedar Crest College @ 4 p.m.
Volleyball @ Immaculata University @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1
Volleyball @ Rutgers University-Newark @ 12 p.m.
Volleyball @ Saint Mary’s University @ 2 p.m.
Cross Country @ CSAC championship - Allentown, Pa - TBA
Men’s Soccer home vs. Gwynedd-Mercy College @ 1 p.m.
Swimming @ Millersville University @ 1 p.m.
Women’s Soccer @ Neumann College @ 3 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 3
Women’s Soccer - Conference Quarterfinals - TBA
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Field Hockey - Conference Semifinals - home - 2 p.m.
kristopher genther
staff writer
As the rain poured and the wind howled, the Cabrini women’s soccer team recorded its second straight win to beat Keystone College 3 to 0.
With the win, Cabrini moves back to .500 and improved their conference standing to 5 to 3.
The first half was a stalemate, with both teams struggling for control on the wet turf.
“It was a tough game for us because the weather was horrendous,” coach Ken Prothero said.
However, as the second half got underway, the weather started to change for the better and Cabrini was soon on the board. In the 47 minute, senior Chrissy Regan scored on a rebound from a shot by fellow senior Nicole Duggan.
In the 62 minute, Freshman Kara Hinkelmon made it 2 to 0 off a cross from senior Collette Walsh.
Finally, Cabrini added on its final insurance goal less than 10 minutes later on a shot from freshman Sammy Thompson.
Keystone College came in with a game plan.
“They put all their best players in the back and played a more defensive game, but once the weather cleared up in the second half we were able to generate more offense,” Prothero said.
The game was also the last home game for the six seniors on
the team: Chrissy Regan, Nicole Duggan, Collette Walsh, Jen Burke, Christina Romano and Brittany Shields.
“It’s definitely bittersweet because it was a day to celebrate and recognize the six of us but it was also sad because it could be the last home game we ever play
on that field, depending on our seed in playoffs,” senior English and communications major Nicole Duggan said.
“Time really does fly and I’m going to miss the team a lot,” senior elementary education major Jen Burke said. “It all seems so unreal.”
Rain or shine, Lady Cavaliers find way to winCabrini was able to honor its
six seniors by making sure that every person on the team got to play in their final home game.
“Everybody on our roster got to play in the game, and that is always a positive,” Prothero said.
As the seniors were walking off their home field for what could
be the final time, the parents and fans who were brave enough to weather the storm gave the team a standing ovation.
However, the season is not over yet.
At .500, the team has two more away games to play before the playoffs start.
“I want to leave here as CSAC champions because we have more talent and heart than any other team in our conference. We owe it to ourselves,” Burke said.
With this win, the team is now seated in the middle of the conference standings, but with two of the lower ranked teams still to play, Cabrini has a chance to move up significantly in the standings before the playoffs start.
The team is set on taking home a CSAC championship for themselves and perhaps more importantly for the six seniors on the team who have given so much to make this team what it is today.
The team will try and return the favor by making sure that the game played Saturday night in the rain wont be the last home game for the graduating seniors.
Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story. Please submit your comments to: [email protected]. The editors will review your comments each week and make corrections if warranted.matthew wittmer/staff photographer
Senior English and communication major Nicole Duggan carries the ball down the field. Despite the inclement weather, the Cavaliers earned a win and kept its playoff hopes alive.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 www.theloquitur.com SPORTS 15
jessica wegelin staff writer
The Cabrini men’s golf team has been on a winning streak since Sept. 19.
The Cavs participated in six different tournaments including: the Moravian Invitational, Lebanon Valley Invitational, Penn State- Berks, Philadelphia University, Immaculata University and the Cyclone Invitational.
In each of those tournaments, they came away with a win, except the Cyclone Invitational where the day was cut short due to nightfall setting in.
“We’ve played in two big tournaments this fall and ended up winning both. It was the first time our team has ever won one of these tournaments and we did it back-to-back. The highlight of the fall season was Tim Harners score of 69 in the Lebanon Invitational, which helped us win over a lot of good competition. That score was also the lowest team score in Cabrini history,” junior accounting major Chris Lawler said.
The Cyclone Invitational didn’t go as planned for the golfers.
The weather was cold, rainy and windy which made the conditions very tough for the golfers. Not only was the weather against them, but also a few of the teams that were participating in the Cyclone Invitational got lost on their way. They were forced to have a late start of 1 p.m. instead of the scheduled 12
p.m. Accordingly, nightfall set in which forced an early ending to their day.
“It ended up being a long day with no official scores posted by anyone or any team,” head golf coach Dr. Verde said.
Although the Cyclone Invitational didn’t finish with a score at the end of the day, the other tournaments they participated in, did.
They opened their fall season finishing first out of 20 teams overall at the Moravian College Fall Invitational. From there they went on to win at Lebanon Valley College Fall Invitational. At Penn State-Berks, the team scored a 318 which led them to victory. Then they came in first out of four teams at Philadelphia University. Their final win took place at Immaculata University where they shot a 358.
“This year just seems that there is more committment from all the players. In previous years we’ve been good but we weren’t sure who was playing or who wasn’t. This year we have a set team that’s really deep and committed,” Lawler said.
The fall season has been an overall success for the Cavaliers but they are aiming for even higher things for the spring season.
“We’re aiming to win another conference championship and get back to the NCAA tournament, that’s our first goal. If we accomplish that, we will then be looking to finish higher this year then we did last year,” Lawler said.
Successful fall for men’s golf
cabrini athletic department
Junior Chris Lawler tees off in a match played earlier last season. The Cavaliers won the conference championship last year and Lawler recieved individual champ honors.
amanda carson
staff writer
The Cabrini men’s soccer team
defeated Marywood University with a 4 to 3 victory in a Colonial States Athletic Conference game Saturday, Oct. 25.
Their win at the Edith Robb Dixon Field secured an unbeaten status and advancement within the CSAC.
“They are hitting their peak for the playoffs,” Eric Burke, Cabrini Alum ‘93, said of the team’s achievement.
Drizzling rain and a 62-degree temperature did not affect the Cavaliers’ playing abilities or stop fans from crowding the bleachers.
The Cavaliers gained an immediate 1 to 0 lead within the first 16 minutes, as sophomore defender Troy Allen landed a goal. Allen said, “I think the team started off well.”
The Cavaliers set up a couple of failed attempts after Allen’s goal in order to rack up the score.
With approximately 16 minutes left in the first half, a later set up, which consisted of a 60-yard kick made by Allen, was converted into a goal under the
direction of sophomore forward King Saah.
Marywood’s Anthony Roma punted a direct penalty shot at a Cavalier wall force, which solidly bounced back.
Shouts from the crowd of “Not against our wall,” could be heard amid Cabrini fans.
A kick made by junior mid-fielder Brian Moran slipped through Marywood’s goalkeeper Jared El Gayeh’s hands tallying the score to 3 to 0.
Allen, again, received a credited assist.
Heightened tensions marked the game as Cabrini fans made offensive remarks towards Marywood’s Brian Wasser while Marywood sought to score.
Wasser was instructed by a referee to ignore the offensive remarks. Yet, with just a minute and 30 seconds left in the first half, Marywood gained a point. The first half closed with a score of 3 to 1.
As the second half opened and developed, Cabrini scored another goal when a wide-open shot was made by freshman defender Patrick Tobey.
An assist was credited to junior forward Justin McCall.
Hopes for an overtime revival were given to Marywood as the
score came to 4 to 3. Of their second half
performance, sophomore goalkeeper Mike Viscariello said, “It was kind of an ugly win because we had a lead and then it got close. It was kind of like your team gave up on you.”
With a five-minute pressure inflicted on the Cavaliers defensive strategies, such as purposely kicking the ball out of bounds, were displayed.
With just a mere 25 seconds left on the clock, the crowd gasped as a kick just missed entry into the Cavalier goal post.
The game closed with a final score of 4 to 3.
“Once we got the lead we got too relaxed and stopped communication,” Allen said. “This eventually led to it being a close game at the end.”
Looking towards their next game junior midfielder Jason Moran said, “We wrapped up home field advantage with that win. We’re more confident now.”
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cavs slip past marywood on home turftina vitanza
staff writer
The top-ranked field hockey team pulled through as they beat Philadelphia Biblical University 1 to 0 on Saturday, Oct. 25.
While ignoring the horrible weather and being persistent, the team gave the audience in Langhorne something to cheer about—a victory over the Crimson Eagles.
Heavy rain and muddy turf did not hold back the Lady Cavaliers from this win. Freshman forward political science major Lauren Alessi scored her fifteenth goal of the season and the only one in the game.
Along with assisting the goal, freshman midfielder elementary education major Samantha Ewan helped break the 0 to 0 lock on the teams.
“The game was well played and I was very happy with our teams overall performance. We are proud of our freshman reaching her 15th goal, however we are more excited about the opportunity to play in the CSAC playoffs and hope to do our best as a team to reach and win the championship game,” head field hockey coach Jackie Neary said.
“The team is focused and excited to be playing in November. Every field hockey player knows if you are playing when the leaves are on the ground it’s a good sign, because that means you are in a race for playoffs,” Neary said.
“The field was awful and we were all slipping and falling and having trouble scoring but we knew once we finally scored we would be able to pull the win off,” sophomore communication major Allie Rodolico said.
“It was our last conference game and the team was really excited, because the win would give us an undefeated season within the conference,” Ewan said.
“It was also a physically challenging game, because it was raining and we are use to our turf field. The team really put forth their best effort and the win helped bust out confidence as we progress in to the finals for the conference. It has been an amazing season and I hope the team continues this way for the future years to come,” Ewan said.
This victory is the twelfth straight for the Lady Cavs, putting them in the CSAC postseason tournament. Their next game is the quarterfinals on Nov. 1.
Lady Cavs win 12 straight
www.theloquitur.com SPORTS 16Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008
Reigned out: delay angers fansJunior Gina Mulranen and Senior Craig Lowrie attempt to stay dry just minutes after hearing of the rain delay in the stadium, just a mere block away. The students were angered and in disbelief that after six rainy innings, Major League Baseball comissioner Bud Selig finally decided to postpone the game due to deteriorating field conditons.
nick pitts/sports editor
nick pitts/sports editor
nick pitts
sports editor
Not even Tug McGraw’s ashes were enough to save the Phillies from Mother Nature.
Just one game, scratch that, a mere two-and-a-half innings away from perhaps their first World Series championship since 1980, the Philadelphia Phillies were forced to give in to inclement weather.
“It definitely caused the team problems,” Shane Evans, Cabrini alum ‘07, said. “They were in good form and the rain delay really dampened everyone’s spirits.”
This marked the first time in the 105-year history of the World Series that a game was postponed due to weather.
Even before the start of game five, on Monday, Oct. 27, the skies were gloomy.
It seemed as though it was just a matter of time before the clouds opened up and a cold, wind-driven rain destroyed the infield at Citizen’s Bank Park.
“The league should not have started the game if they knew the weather was only going to get worse, especially a game that could determine the World Series,” senior education major Felicia Neuber, who was among the crowd in the city, said.
The Phillies, riding left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels through solid six innings, scored on a two-out single by outfielder Shane Victorino.
Hamels threw a relatively low 75 pitches and was poised to go further into the game, having given up only two earned runs.
“I think the delay is definitely taking the momentum away from the Phillies,” Saleem Brown, assistant basketball coach, said.
“We are undefeated at home in the playoffs and we had Cole Hamels, our best pitcher, on the mound.”
The second of two runs that Hamels surrendered to Tampa Bay happened in the top of the sixth, right before Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig made the controversial decision to postpone the game.
Senior business major Chris
Cavaliere was an eyewitness to the strange game at Citizen’s Bank Park and was not happy about the decision to suspend play.
“I was aggravated that the umps waited until the game was tied up and made Cole pitch that last inning in the rain,” Cavaliere said.
“I think it is crap that they waited until the game was tied to make a decision,” Mike Dolente, senior business administration major, said. “The field was already horrible in the fourth and
fifth innings, yet they waited till the sixth and for the Rays to tie the game.”
Though MLB officials agreed ending the game in the bottom of the sixth inning would ultimately be for the best, Philly can argue that their starting pitcher was denied a chance at rewriting history in his championship-starved town.
“The rain more or less took Cole right out of the game,” Evans said. “He might not have let up those two runs if it wasn’t for the rain and the Phillies might
be up going into the seventh or eighth.”
Freshman undecided major Steve Baxter, had a different outlook on the call. “I was so angry, but at the same time it will allow the players to get more rest.”
The official MLB rulebook states that after the sixth inning a game is official and a winner can be declared upon a lengthy rain delay without playing the last three innings.
Commissioner Selig, however, clearly stated that had no intentions of ending the game prematurely.
“Before last year, and Selig’s decision, if the Rays didn’t tie the game, it would have been a Phillies win,” Evans said.
“The train into the city was crazy, the bars were crowded, the streets flooded with people and entire city was so hyped up,” Neuber said.
“After the delay was announced, people were so mad that they walked out of bars without paying their checks. No one really knew what to think.”
For a night at least, the Phillies and their fans, just nine outs away, were robbed of the coveted World Series hardware.
“It really did rain on our parade,” junior finance major Mike Holland said.
Evans seemingly agreed. “It didn’t do much for the
psychology of the fans, the city, and even the players” Evans said.
“No matter how close we are to winning it all, something is always in the way.”Fans came from all over the region expecting to celebrate the first Phillies World Series championship win
since 1980. The announcement of the delay was posted on all of the electronic signs in order to notify the fans in the parking lots.
