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NEWSPage 2 January 5, 2011

Hursts graduationrate 13th in nation

Mercyhurst College is in the top20 for best graduation rates amongmany colleges and universities.

The Chronicle of Higher Educa-

tion recently ranked Mercyhurst astying for the 13th best graduationrates out of the 555 schools desig-nated as masters universities.

The Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion used six years of federal informa-tion up to 2008 to compile the list.

Mercyhursts graduation rate of73 percent earned the school itstop 13 spot. This graduation ratemeans that 73 percent of first-timestudents who enroll during fall termgraduate with a degree from Mercy-

hurst within six years. Vice President of Enrollment

Management Michael Lyden, Ed.D,explained why Mercyhurst is able tomaintain a high rate.

The number one reason is thequality of our academic programsas well as the average financial aidpackage that out students receive,he said. Many students and parentsfeel that Mercyhurst represents anexcellent value compared to manyother colleges or universities.

The graduation rates of Mercy-hursts athletes help the colleges

overall graduation rate.Lyden said the graduation rates

of Mercyhurst athletes are muchhigher than almost any other Divi-sion II school.

Not only are their graduationrates higher, but their grades arehigher too.

The womens softball team at

Mercyhurst has an average GPA of3.6, the second highest Division IIGPA in the country.

The colleges location helps toattract students as well. Many stu-dents who live within a few hoursare drawn to Erie.

Erie is able to attract studentsfrom many major metropolitanareas, such as Cleveland and Pitts-burgh.

The distance from these areas isthe right amount for students who

want to get away from home butstill be close enough for family to

visit.I love the beautiful campus and

friendly faces here, freshman Cor-vette Morrison said. Mercyhurst ismy home away from home.

Sophomore Kyle McIntyre likesthe Mercyhurst campus for its livingarrangements.

I like the school because weget to live in apartments starting atsophomore year up instead of alwaysliving in resident halls, he said.

In a recent press release Lyden

explained how other colleges selec-tion processes allow them to havehigher graduation rates.

Most of the other top-rankedschools, such as Villanova and Provi-dence College, for example, are muchmore selective in their admissions

when compared to Mercyhurst.He explained that Ivy League

schools, such as Harvard, haveextremely high graduation rates butonly admit about 10 percent of stu-dents who apply.

At Mercyhurst, about 80 per-cent of applicants are acceptedand qualifications are not as strict.

This enables Mercyhurst to provideopportunities for students who maynot have done as well in high schoolor had lower SAT or ACT scores.

Lyden has high hopes not onlyfor these students futures but for

Mercyhursts future as well.I think our graduation rates will

only get better and that Mercyhurst will move into the top 10 out of500 other schools in the next fewyears, he said. My reason is that

we are admitting excellent studentsand every student that we admit toMercyhurst has the personal abilityto graduate and be very successfulin either their chosen career, gradu-ate or profession school.

By Stacy Skiavo

Staff writer

By Kelly Luoma

Managing editor

Correction

The Dec. 15 issue of The Merciad contained a story titled,Cost of play: How Mercyhurst funds its varsity athletics. In

that story, several key figures were incorrectly reported.

Mercyhurst College spent $76.6 million in 2009-10, but thattotal does not include the amount spent on financial aidan

addition of nearly $36 million that was left out of our story.Thus, Mercyhurst spent 9.6 percent of its total budget on athlet-ics last year, not 14 percent as the story stated.

The Merciad also reported that the college spent more than$250,000 in game-day expenses on mens basketball and footballlast year, which was incorrect. The actual total was $235,102.

Finally, Edinboros reported athletic participant count was 406,while the 2009-10 official total was 347. We apologize for theinaccuracies, skewing of numbers and any confusion they may

have caused.

LakerNet not yet

gone for good

The Mercyhurst Portal was sup-posed to be phased out by Laker-Net at the end of December.

The phasing out of LakerNet was pushed back because peoplestill use the site for the quick links,

Web Programmer Matt Engelsaid.We just want to be careful about

the pace we introduce new changeor changes, he said.

On Tuesday a banner was addedto the top of every page except themain page of LakerNet that says,This web page has been archived,but made available for histori-cal purposes. To view more cur-rent information please visit themy.mercyhurstportal.

No new information will beadded to the LakerNet pages, andinformation will gradually disap-pear from the site. The site willmost likely be gone by the start ofspring semester.

Although the IT staff is notquite ready to get rid of LakerNet,all necessary information has beenadded to the portal.

The core set of departments that were on LakerNet are all on theportal, and on Dec. 22, single sign-

on to Blackboard was added.Since Nov. 15, the porta l has had

11,037 unique visitors. This is alarge increase from the 1,569 people

who visited the portal during Sept.4 through Oct. 4.

Engel said he thinks the amountof visitors is where it should be,but he said he would like there tobe more consistency between howmany people visit the portal each

day of the week.Mercyhurst students are work-ing on adding features to the portalthat would increase the number ofpeople who visit the site on Sat-urdays, which is the day with thelowest number of visitors.

Junior Scot Bly is working on aWhats Cookn section for the web-site that would allow students to

write if they like or dislike the mealthat is being served on campus atany given time.

Sophomore Amanda Grim isworking to add a Mercyhurst clas-sifieds page.

Engel is looking for studentswho are interested in joining a stu-dent technology committee that

would discuss technology ideas.Interested students should con-

tact Engel at mengel@mercyhurst.edu.

Read the full version of thisarticle at merciad.mercyhurst.edu/news.

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FEATURES January 5, 2011Page 3

Happy New Year!

What is your New

Years resolution?

Focus on develop-ing real relationshipswith people in person(face-to-face with actualcommunicating), in com-parision to the virtualfriendship of lots of Face-

book and texting.-Natalie Pertz, freshman

To read at least threeclassic novels notrelated to school work inany way. I think litera-ture classics and readingin general are an unde-

rutalizied tool of relax-ation that I would liketo take advantage of.-Megan Duane, senior

To not spend money

unless absolutely neces-sary--- bread and milkare a necessity; iTunesand clothes are not.-Adam Ferrari, sopho-more

Alum featured in painting

at Army Aviation Museum

No Safe Haven will hang in the U.S. Army Aviation Museum.

The painting was created by artist Larry Selman.

Contributed photo

Stay active to beat the winter blues

The best way to beat the winter

blues, says Student Health Centercounselor Judy Smith, Ph. D. is to

resist the urge to sleep the season

away, and instead be active.

This is easier said than done with

a foot of snow on the ground and

a pile of homework waiting in your

dorm.

Its hard for people to even get

out of bed with a situation like that

to look forward to.

To fight these blues, Smith urges

students to get out of their dorm or

apartment with friends.

Organize a breakfast squad of

friends who agree to wake each

other up, get to class and grab

breakfast, says Smith.

Its important to stay social inthis weather, because while elec-

tronic communication is great,

having people right there with you

makes you laugh, move and get

energized, she says.

Another way to stay active

during the winter is to get involved

in a winter sport. Even sledding in

Garvey Park gets students up and

out of their dormitories.

Also students can check when the

college is hosting an open skatingsession to get themselves moving.

Even go for a walk on one of

the rare sunny days: anything to get

blood pumping. This helps those

Vitamin D levels, Smith said. A

good multivitamin with D can also

be a good thing.The monochromatic view outside

also contributes to making winter a

depressing time of the year.

Even if spring wont come

for a while, you can bring a little

green indoors with plants and

colorful posters of nature scenes

or your favorite bands or movies.

An extra lamp can also do won-

ders.

Remember, EMTA offers free

rides to Mercyhurst students, andyou can use this service to get out

and explore the city, hang out with

friends at a restaurant or go to a

movie.

Smith also suggests volunteer-

ing if you find yourself with too

much time on your hands. Vol-unteer opportunities abound

within an easy bus ride from the

campus and would be beneficial,

said Smith.

Being active and social in Erie

during the winter is difficult to

do, especially for students who

arent used to so much cold and

snow.

But getting out into the commu-

nity can help students feel healthy

and happy, improving grades andspirits.

By Faye ClarkStaff writer

Artist Larry Selmans paintingNo Safe Haven was acceptedinto the U.S. Army AviationMuseum at Fort Rucker, Ala., onDec. 14.

The event is not only a celebra-tion for Selman, but also for Mercy-hurst alumnus Eric Carlson, who isfeatured in the painting.

Selman, a south-central Pennsyl-vania native, works in the Westernfine art market, primarily in mili-tary printmaking. He paints bothhistorical and modern war scenes,as well as other subjects related to

times of war.His recent work, No Safe

Haven, depicts one of the manyhigh-risk air assaults conducted bythe 82nd Airborne Division and7th Special Forces Group (Air-borne) in Eastern Afghanistanduring 2007.

Carlson was serving as a UH-60Blackhawk pilot with the Division

at the time, working with the 7thSpecial Forces Group.

Selman used actual footage of anApache Attack Helicopter to createNo Safe Haven. In the painting,Carlson is depicted piloting theUH-60 Blackhawk.

Selman wrote in his descriptionof the painting, Thanks to ourmilitary, there is no where in the

world terrorists will feel safe.There is nowhere American sol-

diers will not chase them to, and

as this painting depicts, there is nosuch thing as a Safe Haven, andthere will be no sanctuary for ter-rorists as long as the 82nd AirborneDivision and US Army GreenBerets remain on point for thenation, he wrote.

Prints of the painting were soldthroughout the U.S., many of which

were signed by Carlson and hiscomrades. The director acceptedthe original painting into the U.S.

Army Aviation Museum on Tues-

day, Dec. 14.

A paintings acceptance into themuseum has great significance forboth Selman and Carlson, as every

Army aviator who graduates FlightSchool receives his or her wings atthe museum.

Now, every Army pilot earn-ing their wings will be able to seeSelmans work, reminding them of

what being an Army aviator really

entails.Carlsons brother, Capt. Ernie

Carlson said, The painting isnow on display where every avia-tor from this day forward, andanyone who visits the museum,

will see this painting and the nameof a product of Mercyhurst Col-lege.

Indeed, Carlson has proudlyshown what Mercyhurst graduatesare capable of.

Eric Carlson is an Erie native

who graduated from MercyhurstPrep and Mercyhurst College.

He is a part owner of The Key-stone Armory in Edinboro, anorganization through which citizenscan buy, sell and trade firearms andmilitary collectibles or commemo-rative.

Carlson now works at Penn StateMain Campus as part of the Nit-tany Lion Battalion Cadre, instruct-ing future Army officers. He holdsthe rank of major, and is an MSIII

Advisor.

By Lynn DulaStaff writer

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According to the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, sustainability is a

call ...for policies and strategies that

meet societys present needs without

compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs

(epa.gov/sustainability). The international

movement toward sustainability seeks

to address the social, economic and

security needs of all peoples now

and far into the future. Sustainability

represents a profound paradigm shift

in human experience that is (albeit

slowly and incrementally) redening

how we think about everything from

economic development to national

security to agriculture and necessitating

a fundamental reorientation of our

relationship with the natural world.

Here at Mercyhurst College, our

sustainability efforts have for the past

decade or more been primarily aimed at

improving the environmental performance

of our physical plant by, for example,

making buildings more energy efcient.

We employ renewable energy wherever

we can and experiment with sustainable

building materials and practices such as

our new green roof. More recently, courses

across the curriculum, focused through

our Sustainability Studies academic

program prepare our students for a future

in which the principles of sustainability

(environmental and public health, localized

development, social equity) will increasingly

shape and impact every walk of life.Much of the movement toward a

sustainable future is driven by a desire

to strengthen local communities ability

to feed themselves and provide for their

energy needs.

This is seen in the widespread

emergence of farmers markets, which

provide healthier food choices for

individuals and families, while also

supporting local farmers and offering

tangible lessons in sustainable economics.

Similarly, new companies developing

renewable energy sources and ways

to improve energy efciency help to

strengthen the security of communities

that are now at the mercy of the utility-

controlled power grid and long-distance

What is Sustainability?

By Brittany PrischakSustainability Coordinator transmission. Even long-established

companies such as the giants of the

American auto industry are nding new life

and generating American jobs by developing

more fuel efcient and smarter vehicles

that can help wean America away from our

dependency on oil and minimize future

environmental disasters like the recent

Deepwater Horizon tragedy.

Every step counts, no matter how small.The old bumper sticker slogan is true:

Everything is connected. Turning off the

lights when you leave the room is linked to

the urgent need to end mountaintop removal

coal mining in West Virginia. Buying local,

buying less, buy fair trade, replacing your

light bulbs at home, walking, biking or using

public transit when you can, using reusable

water bottles, turning off the lights and

computer We all know what we need to do.But if youre not convinced, then remember

what we at Mercyhurst have learned, along

with countless businesses and governments

around the worldbeing environmentally

responsible does save money. Get involved.

Planning for Earth Week events have commenced. If you would

like to be a part of the planning committee for environmental

education programs in April, please join us on Wednesday,

January 5th, 2011at 3:30pm in the Egan 315 conference room.

A theme is yet to be determines. Although we have several

ideas, we would love additional help organizing and coordinating.

If you would like to help or are interested in more information,

please contact Brittany Prischak at bprischak@mercyhurst.edu

or Analida Braeger at abraeger@mercyhurst.edu.

Help plan Earth Week 2011Old phonebooks are once again being collected on campus for

recycling. Drop off last years yellow pages in the bins in the foyer

of Preston/Old Main, next to the stack of 2011 phone books, or in

the bin located in the library lobby, next to the Merciad newspaper

stand. Remember, recycling phone books benets the Second

Harvest Food Bank and supports Erie Energy Products, a local

business. They churn phone books into home-insulating material,

which in turn saves energy. This is a win-win-win project!

Phonebook recycling begins

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No need to ship spent toner cartridges long distances for

recycling. From now on, toner cartridges can be placed in the ink

cartridge collection bins. Recycled ink and toner cartridges as well

as cell phones will all be sent to the Funding Factory, which is a local

recycling company. The Funding Factory deals with remanufacturing

and reusing of these recycled materials. Collection bins are located

in Old Main on the second oor next to the Center for Teaching

Mercyhurst now recycles toner cartridgesExcellence, in Preston on the rst oor near the corner ofces and in the

basement next to the Mailroom and in Hirt on the second oor next to

the stairwell. A cell phone collection bin is located in the basement of

Preston near the Mailroom. Reducing waste sent to the landll, relling

cartridges for reuse, and recycling whats left; its the three Rs of

recycling accomplished with one easy action.

Earth Week Planning Committee Meeting

Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 3:30 p.m.

Location: Egan 315

Bike/Run Duathlon Planning Committee

Sunday, Jan. 8 at 8:00 p.m.,

Location: 118 Hirt.

All Campus Green Team Meeting

Monday, Jan. 17 at 3:30 p.m.

Location: TBD Stay Tuned

Bike Proposal

By Angelina Viveralli

As campuses across the United States

work towards a more environmentally

friendly future they have begun tackling

problems in areas such as waste, energy,

food, and transportation. Mercyhurst

has made great strides in the areas of

waste, energy, and food however, there

are fewer opportunities to promote green

transportation on a primarily residential

campus. Students are able to use public

transportation in the city and soon, they

may be able to borrow campus bikes.

The Green Team is developing a series

of proposals for the Green Energy Fund to

both reward those students already using

bikes as transportation and hopefully to

inspire more students to cycle. One idea

is to implement a bike rental program on

campus. Other ideas are to plan events on

campus to promote bike riding.

After an evaluation of existing bike

racks, the Green Team will requestfunds for more convenient bike racks

and storage areas on Briggs and Lewis

Aves. We will also propose to purchase

a bike rack to be mounted on one of the

campus vans in order to allow bike trips for

students to Presque Isle and other

local trails.

A bike rental pilot program would

inspire more bike use on campus.

Through this program students would be

able to rentfree of chargeone of four new

bicycles and helmets purchased from local

bike shops. Although the exact details of therental program are still in the works, we are

condent that the program would run in half

to full day rentals and that the bikes could be

taken off-campus.

Call for Submission from Students and

Faculty: Narratives of Travel and Navigation:

English by Water, Air, Land, and Imagination.

Does the end of the term have to mean the

end of students coursework? Is the recycling

bin the inevitable destination of graded

assignments? Can the three Rs of recycling

ever apply to essays without plagiarizing?

Students who have taken Western Classics,

American Classics, some history classes,

and perhaps a few others may have written

something for class that could earn a wider,

real world audience. The Pennsylvania College

English Association (PCEA) invites proposals

for original creative works and critical

interpretations of any genre of travel narrative

or stories of journeys or quests for self, real or

imaginative. Analysis of landscapes in travel

writing and inquiry into attitudes about nature

and the natural world in literature would

support the conference theme.

In addition to the special sessions on

the topic of travel and navigation, PCEA

welcomes all proposals related to the study

and/or teaching of literature, lm, composition,

and linguistics, as well as creative works.

The conference will meet in Eries Bayfront

Convention Center, March 24-26th. It couldntbe easier to attend!

Graduate and undergraduate students who

submit an abstract for the conference may

also compete for the Best Paper Award, which

is given by PCEA in three categoriescritical,

creative poetry, and creative proseand carries

a small monetary prize. Award winners will also

be considered for publication in PCEAs journal,

Pennsylvania English.

For more information about submissions

for the conference or the essay contest, visit:

http://www.english.iup.edu/pcea.

Need more incentive? The Student Creative

and Scholarly Research Fund supports research

opportunities for undergraduate students

at Mercyhurst College by reimbursing them

for research and travel expenses to present

completed research at a professional research

conference such as the PCEA conference, or

to present or perform an artistic creation/

exhibition. In other words, you could share your

important academic or creative work, get an

accolade for your career le, and enjoy a day or

two off campus on the Bayfront for free.

For more information, visit

http://lakernet.mercyhurst.edu/students/

student_research_fund.php

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 6January 5, 2011

As a dance major with an art

therapy minor, junior Kelly Clymer

has a special interest in the power

of art to heal.

Hailing from Cleveland, Clymer

has been dancing from a young age,

and she hopes to dance profession-

ally in the future. Since coming to

college, though, she has discovered

an interest in movements uses in

therapy. After her professional

dance career ends, she intends to

transition into the dance movement

therapy field and work with dis-

abled children.

Dance and movement also

serve in a remedial capacity for

Clymer herself. Dance is an

escape from everyday life for

me, she said.

Clymer was one of the students

who assisted with the creation of

Yoga Club, a new RSCO advised by

Betty Amatangelo. Having discov-

ered how much she enjoyed the yoga

classes offered on campus, Clymer

was excited to help with the forma-tion of the organization. She now

serves as the secretary for the club.

Its a very close-knit group, and

its a lot of fun, Clymer said. I

really like yoga a lot. Its nice to have

some introspective time.

In addition to her talent as a

dancer, Clymer is also a choreog-

rapher and a gifted visual artist.

She studied art in high school,

and now she likes to integrate

her art background with herdancing. She is currently choreo-

graphing a piece for the dance

departments winter concert,

Raw Edges, which explores

the idea of color s on the color

wheel coming alive.

Clymer describes her choreog-

raphy as generally light and often

humorous, and she says that she

likes to have fun in the studio while

she works.Combining academic pursuits with

her dance studies is important to

Clymer as well. I feel like its impor-

tant to also have an academic side in

college while dancing, she said.

She is an active member of the

Honors Program and secretary for

the Honors Council. Clymer also

serves as the vice president for Mer-

cyhursts chapter of Nu Delta Alpha,

a national dance honor society.

With her natural cheer andenergy, Clymer is sure to be a suc-

cess in whatever arts genre she is

pursuing.

By Sarah MastrocolaStaff writer

Dancer spotlight: Junior

Kelly Clymer integrateshealing with dance

Junior Kelly Clymer is a dance major with an art therapy

minor, which she will put to use after dancing professionally.

Tyler Stauffer photo

PAC brings the WildWest to Mercyhurst

The Mary DAngelo Performing

Arts Center (PAC) will be streaming

the Metropolitan Operas presenta-

tion of Puccinis La Fanciulla del

West this Sunday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m.

The opera premiered in 1910

with the Metropolitan Opera (Met)

in New York City. Puccini was com-

missioned to write the opera for the

two leading stars, Enrico Caruso

and Emmy Destinn. It was the first

of many world premieres at the

Met, and after receiving outstand-

ing praise in the United States went

on to tour in Europe.

The opera is based on the play

The Girl of the Golden West by

David Belasco and depicts a mining

camp in the Sierra Nevada Moun-

tains in 1849-50 during the gold

rush.

Presented in Italian in three acts,the story follows the love of a local

Native American, and plenty of the

action and rough and tumble spirit

so prevalent in Wild West narra-

tives.

Indeed, American optimism is

shown boldly in the work in contrast

to the tragic demeanor adopted by

many operas. This hearty, frontier

attitude is likely due to the proxim-

ity of the wild frontier lifestyle and

the hope for the possibilities of thefuture as America moved into the

twentieth century.

In the version streamed at the

PAC and presented by the Met,

Deborah Voigt and Marcello Gior-

dani sing the lead roles in celebra-

tion of the operas centennial. This

particular production has not been

performed by the Met since 1993.

Though a bit of an unusual

opera, the work has won a loyal fol-

lowing due to its moving melodictendencies.

The New York Times praisesthe music and called it subtle and

boldly modern, wrapping the audi-

ence in rich textures and heartfelt

lyrics. In a sense the music gives the

audience what it needs and not nec-

essarily what it wants, or is expect-

ing to hear in any given scene.

The ability for the Met to stream

such performances has done a great

deal for the opera as well as all those

now able to be reached and touched

by art. In fact, the presence of suchshowings at Mercyhurst College

make quite a difference to the art

programs at the college, as well as

providing more accessible fine art

for the Erie community.

La Fanciulla del West is a sin-

cerely moving, honest and native

opera for the Ballet Met and is sure

to be spectacular.

Tickets can be purchased at the

PAC box office or by calling 814-

824-3000. They are $15 for Mercy-hurst students with ID.

By Claire HindeStaff writer

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September 3, 2008OPINIONPage 7 January 5, 2011

@mercyhurst.edu

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The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of

finals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 120B. Our telephone number is(814) 824-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signedand names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the

letters for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Lettersare due Mondays. by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submit

letters to box PH 485 or via e-mail at opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

If you dont want it printed . . . dont let it happen.Editors

Ethan Magoc

Kelly Luoma

Alex Stacey

Victoria Gricks

Nick GlasierKathleen Vogtle

Samantha Williams

Tyler Stauffer

Ethan Johns

Chrissy Mihalic

Max Rivera

Bill Welch

Brian Sheridan

Positions

Editor-in-Chief

News Editor

Features Editor

Opinion Editor

Sports EditorA&E Editor

Graphics

Photo Editor

Web Editor

Copy Editor

Ad Manager

Adviser

Adviser

The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the v iews of Mercyhurst College, the staff of The Merciador the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be e-mailed to opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

Holiday spirit to remain through time

Like most college students, I

planned on working over Christ-

mas vacation. I had spent a lot on

gifts for my family, and I desper-

ately needed to replenish my bank

account. So, I texted my manager

at Subway, told her my availability,

and asked to be put on the sched-

ule as much as possible.

When she finally got back to

me about when I would be work-

ing, I was shocked she only

wrote me down for Christmas

Eve from 10 to 5. Angry about

my lack of days and knowing my

mother wouldnt even let me go

to work the day before Christ-

mas, I texted her back and told

her I didnt want to be on the

schedule at all.

I was disappointed that I

wouldnt be making any money,

but I couldnt wait to relax. It wasthe first time I wouldnt be work-

ing while on break.

During my time home, I

received several texts from my

managers asking if I could work,

and I made an excuse each time as

to why I couldnt. Sure, it sounds

mean, but I had no interest in

making sandwiches for custom-

ers or prepping food for several

hours.

A couple days after Christmas,however, my friend asked if I

could cover his shift. I contem-

plated his question for several

minutes before responding with a

yes. I guess the spirit of the holi-

day had put me in a g ood mood.

Youre probably asking your-

self why any of this matters. I

mean, who cares that I spent a lot

of money on gifts and whether or

not I worked over break? Well, let

me tell you why this is important.Have you ever noticed what

Christmas does to society? Its

the time of year when everyoneforgets their troubles and just

enjoys the holiday. People are able

to spend time with friends and

family, eat good food, and relax.

(Some even cover their friends

shift .) Its great.

What about after its all said and

done, though? The presents have

all been unwrapped, the new year

has begun, and its back to reality.

Well, I think its about time we

change that.I dont think the spirit of the

holiday has to disappear as soon

as January arrives. So, lets make

a New Years Resolution to keep

this cheerful attitude alive within

us all year long. Granted, there

will be days when we just hate the

world. But if we remember the joy

we felt at Christmas, we should be

able to get past that negative emo-

tion.

So, what do you say? Are youwith me?

By VictoriaGricks

Opinion editor

A plea for writers

When I first started college, I

saw the student newspaper as a

bit of a mystery.

It showed up on racks around

campus and was presumably put

together by the upperclassmenpowers that be. I knew none of

the names among the bylines and

was often dissatisfied with the

content and opinions expressed

within the pages.

If this was the official voice

of students, it sure didnt sound

like mine. And I definitely

wasnt about to read something

that carried little personal inter-

est.

But that was at a universitymore than three times the size

of Mercyhurstone where

my voice truly didnt count as

much as it might at a smaller

school.

Fortunately for you, fellow stu-

dent, you possess the opportu-

nity to make your opinion mean

a great deal more here.

The Merciad, Mercyhursts

official student newspaper for

more than 80 years, publishes

1,200 copies every Wednesday

morning. Our staff personally

distributes these inside the front

door of every major building

on campus and editions can be

found lying in many classroom

and hallway and corners.

Most importantly, we are the

best student-produced source of

information for campus news,

arts and entertainment, features

about your faculty and fellow stu-

dents and the place to catch up

on the most interesting varsity

sports story lines.

And, of course, the main place

to express your opinions and col-

lege experiences.

Yet we have lately run into a

shortage of talented or even reli-

able writers.

While theres still a steady

crop of dedicated scribes who

produce quality content each

week, our numbers have begun

to dwindle.

At the risk of sounding like a

public television station, Im not

going to say we wont survive

without your help.

Still, these pages are probably

going to start to lack quality very

soon if you dont come our way

with fresh story ideas, a differ-

ent perspective on an issue or the

ability to clearly communicate

your thoughts in writing.

Even if you possess none of

the above, and are simply eager

to be published or to write in

some form other than that lack-

luster essay you turned in Monday

morning, we want you.

Doesnt matter what your

major isthe more wide-ranging

the better.

While the majority of our

staff stems from Mercyhursts

communication department, to

truly continue this tradition as

a well-rounded publication and

not just a first-floor-of-Hirt-

shouting-box, we need you to

share experiences from all over

campus.

If you see any part of The

Merciad that youre interested

innews, features, entertain-

ment, opinion sportscontact

myself or one of our section edi-

tors on the right.

And know that anything you

write is guaranteed to earn you

$10, a byline and the knowledge

that your voice does indeed

matter.

By Ethan Magoc

Editor-in-chief

The GoodStudents are now able touse the portal to access

email, Blackboard, and

WebAdvisor without having

to log in multiple times.

The BadNow that Christmas

vacation is over, we have to

stay at school for the next

seven weeks before getting

another break.

The UglyEven though we just got

back to school, we have

to worry about midterms

already. Blame the

trimesters.

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Jan. 5, 2011

8/8

Sports Page 8January 5, 2011

Schaetzle

goes forfootballcoach ofthe year

honors

Mercyhurst College head foot-

ball coach Marty Schaetzles accom-

plishments have garnered him

recognition inside the Mercyhurst

community and nationally.

Schaetzle has gained nationalattention as a finalist for the 2010

Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year

Award for leading Mercyhurst Col-

lege to its first Pennsylvania State

Conference title and to its first

NCAA Division II National Cham-

pionship playoff birth,

The Liberty Mutual Coach

of the Year Award is given to a

NCAA Division II football coach

who has achieved coaching excel-

lence throughout the 2010 footballseason.

Schaetlze made it to the final

round as he was voted in the top

15 candidates on www.Coachofthe-

Year.com and by an objective-scor-

ing model.

The objective scoring model

considers criteria such as wins,

team penalties, on-field sportsman-

ship, academic achievement by the

student-athletes and civic and phil-

anthropic endeavors.To be considered for this award

was a great honor for Schaetzle, but

he does not take all the credit.

It was great to be considered

for this award. Schaetzle said, It

was really an offshoot of what the

players did this season, though.

Schaetzle is not only happy with

what this award will do for his career

but what it means for Mercyhurst as

an institution and his players.

It is the work of the players that

got us to this point, and it is reallygreat to get our colleges name out

there, Schaetzle said.

Schaetzle has done a great deal

of work to build up a Mercyhurst

football program that before his

tenure had lurked in the shadows

of the colleges attention.

As the head coach, Schaetzle

has had his ups and downs at Mer-

cyhurst. This season was only the

second that the Mercyhurst football

program has finished with a win-

ning record.Despite these ups and downs

Schaetzle has been resolute in his

development of the program.

He has worked to greatly improve

footballs facilities and widen the

region of Mercyhursts recruiting.

Despite the highly successful

season, Schaetzle still sees ways that

he and the team can improve.

Going forward, we need to

learn to do a few things better such

as scheduling practices if we make

it deep into the playoffs again,Schaetzle said.

Schaetzle is busy on the recruit-

ing trail and has seen how a success-

ful season can help.

Our playoff run really widened

our recruiting base, said Schaetzle.

Now we know who we are and

what we are about as a program.

The winner of the 2010 Liberty

Mutual Coach of the Year Award

will be announced Jan. 10.

By Nick Glasier

Sports editor

Mercyhurst College head football coach Marty Schaetzle led the Lakers to their most

successful season ever.

Ethan Magoc photo

Sports

in fullswingthiswinter

There are activities for everyone

in college.

For an aspiring writer, there is the

school paper. For a basket weaver,

there is a basket-weaving club. For

athletes, there is athletics.

However, a varsity team can be

very selective, which is is why intra-

mural sports are a perfect fallback.

At Mercyhurst College, sports

are offered every term for students.In the fall, there is flag football

and ultimate Frisbee, and winter

term has basketball and volleyball.

Also, in the spring there is softball

and soccer.

According to Intramural Direc-

tor Joe Spano, the largest sports in

terms of par ticipation are flag foot-

ball and softball.

Each sport has had at least 16

teams with 10 students per team

over the last few years. Volleyball has been a steadily

growing sport. Since all sports are

co-ed, volleyball seems to benefit

the most.

With 14 teams already this year,

volleyball is very close to becoming

the largest sport.

Thankfully, with all the support

from students who participate,

there are only about two forfeits

per sport.

With no supervision on a team,forfeits could be common by teams

that are not committed, but that

does not seem to be an issue.

With the help of Spano, the

intramural sport events are sched-

uled around students schedules as

best as possible.

Different kinds of sports are

tried each year as well as the major

sports.

For the full article go to merciad.

mercyhurst.edu.

By Spencer Hunt

Staff writer