The Northerner Print Edition - Oct. 7, 2009

A&E: Much Ado About Nothing Review News: Gen. Ed Reduction

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2Edition 44, Issue 7

NEWS

VIEWSVote to Know: Why punching in a ballot can bring true change to America.

A&ETheatre Review: Much Ado About Nothing boasts a quality cast and accessibility to the sometimes confusing prose of Shakespeare.

Cover StoryThe Gospel of Dr. W.A.S.: Speaker brings his fiery political rhetoric to Northern Kentucky University.

6 & 7

4 & 5

8 & 9

11

SPORTSOne-on-one with Steven Beattie: The Norse soccer star on the success he’s seen in three plus years with NKU.

10

Not a smoker’s delight: Designated smok-ing areas promote respect for non-smok-ers. But is it working?

WHAT’S INSIDE


Note from the Newsroom

The NorthernerUniversity Center Room 335Highland Heights, KY 41076Editor in Chief: (859) 572-6128News & Sports: (859) 572-6677Features: (859) 572-5859Advertising: (859) 572-5232Fax: (859) 572-5772

E-mail: [email protected]

furtherdetailsEntire content is copyright of The Northerner and may not be reprinted without prior con-sent. Views expressed do not represent those of the administration, faculty or student body.The Northerner is considered a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censor-ship or advance approval. The Northerner staff respects the right to a free and open dialogue as allowed under the First Amendment.

PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEFTim Owens[[email protected]]

WEB EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJoe Castelli [[email protected]]

NEWS EDITOR Kelly Phelan [[email protected]]

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jesse Call[[email protected]]

MANAGING EDITORMark Payne[[email protected]]

PRESENTATION EDITOREmily Teaford[[email protected]]

ASST. PRESENTATION EDITORKarli Wood[[email protected]]

VIEWS EDITORHeather Willoughby[[email protected]]

A&E EDITORJeremy Jackson[[email protected]]

SPORTS EDITORMichael Collins[[email protected]]

PHOTO EDITORCharlotte Etherton[[email protected]]

COPY EDITORSCassie Stone[[email protected]]

Chelsea Asher[[email protected]]

Judy Hussey[[email protected]]

Emily Christman[[email protected]]

ADVISORGayle Brown[[email protected]]

AD MANAGERWilliam Fisher[[email protected]]

northernerstaff contactinformation

Editorial CartoonistPatrick Delaney[[email protected]]

ASST. A&E EDITORJustin Mattingly[[email protected]]

STAFF WRITERSDan Robards[[email protected]]

Rodney Moore[[email protected]]

Alex Owsley[[email protected]]

Brandon Barb[[email protected]]

ASST. PHOTO EDITORSEmily Christman[[email protected]]

Ed Morris[[email protected]]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSSamantha Del Vecchio[[email protected]]

Michael Willis[[email protected]]

We’ve all seen them — the religious zealots on campus who use the quad or a patch of grass as a soapbox to preach hell and damnation. They have become such a regular fixture on campus that their message seems to be diluted because of it. It doesn’t matter what religious affiliation they cham-pion, to me they all say pretty much the same jargon. That’s how I approached Dr. W.A.S.’s (more commonly known to those who have seen him as angry Santa Clause) presence at Northern Kentucky Univer-sity. But I quickly realized how different this less-than-jolly Kris Kringle was from the Bi-ble-thumpers who parade up and down campus. He wasn’t here on assignment from God. His religion was politics, and he was here to protest. Protest the war, the government, Barack Obama, illegal im-migration — you name it, he was against it. After hearing his rhetoric for a week and a

half as I walked to the office, I started to think about the importance of his presence on campus. It’s not necessarily his message but what he, and even the religious zealots that preach here, represent. They are a symbol of free speech — a constitutional right that most American citizens have forgot about. Agree with them or not, it takes balls to stand up and preach what you believe in the face of potential opposition. More importantly, what angry Santa and Bible-thumpers represent is a fight to keep a marketplace of ideas alive — an idea that is vital to democracy and our way of living. They spark conversa-tion and debate — two things that, if done more often, could empower ordinary citizens to get on their soapbox and fight for what they believe in.

-Tim Owens Print Editor-in-Chief

Not a smoker’s delightDesignated smoking areas prove unsuccessful thus far

It is a dreary Monday morning in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It has been a long morning too — battling traffic just to fight for a parking spot all before 8 a.m. After sitting through two classes, all you want to do is walk outside, sit down for a minute and smoke a cigarette.

So you do just that.You walk outside third-

floor Landrum, pop a squat on the wall and light up.

“Excuse me sir, you’re going to have to move to a designated smoking area,” someone says.

You look up — it is a cop.Although you are a bit an-

noyed, you apologize, get up and move to the plaza area where you can enjoy the rest of your cancer stick.

Everyone knows you cannot argue with a cop, it will only get you into more trouble than you would have

been in if you had just com-plied in the first place. Now imagine if it was not a cop, but just a student asking you to relocate.

Either way, this is how Northern Kentucky Uni-versity’s smoking policy is supposed to be handled. Stu-dents, professors — anyone — can ask a smoker to move from a non-designated smok-ing area to a designated area for smokers to puff away.

So far, some people on campus say it’s not working.

“I don’t think the policy has made a difference,” Jaime Larimore, a junior photography major, said. “I never smoke in a designated area because it’s out of the way.”

It is, of course, a smoker’s right to smoke. The policy is not a law and smoking is not illegal. So, what is the incen-tive to smoke in the desig-nated areas?

“We try to isolate the smoke so that the rest of the campus isn’t subject to sec-ond-hand smoke,” Student Wellness Manager Maggie Gough said. “It’s a matter of everybody being respectful of each other.”

Senior Special Education major Rose Broderick is al-lergic to smoke.

“I think they [smokers] have to realize that there will be people that are allergic to smoke,” Broderick said. “I know I try to avoid smoke as much as possible, but when people ignore the policy and smoke right outside building entrances, there is no way to avoid it.”

Since it’s not a law, it seems everyone on campus, smoker or not, has a right to do as they please. The designated smoking areas promote smokers’ respect of non-smokers’ rights.

But smokers, like Lari-

more, don’t weigh in these considerations when lighting up.

“I am outside. People can deal,” Larimore said. “But if I am asked nicely I don’t mind moving.”

Gough says that politeness is, in fact, the key.

“When we approach people smoking in a non-designated area, we are not abrasive,” Gough said.

Broderick has had a differ-ent experience.

“From my experience, when you do ask someone to move they are rude about it,” Broderick said. “It is not just their space — we all share it.”

Although there are con-flicting opinions on the topic, Gough says there is hope that policy will take form and have a positive affect on campus.

“I do think, though, that the more that people who

continue to smoke in non-designated areas, the more likely the campus is to go totally smoke-free,” Gough said. “You will eventually lose your privilege if you refuse to comply.”

Karen Simmons, senior Sports Business major, is neutral.

“As long as you are out-side, it doesn’t really bother me,” Simmons said.

Gough shares, in some part, Simmons’ thoughts and wants smokers to know that they are not being targeted or attacked.

“I’m sure that sometimes the people that do smoke feel targeted or discriminat-ed against, but that is not at all our intent,” said Gough. “We get it; we get that it is a person’s right to smoke, but they should be respect-ful to other peoples’ right to breathe clean air.”

Charlotte Etherton/ Photo EditorSmokers caught lighting up in a non-designated smoking area can be forced to put out their cigarette and move to one of allocated spot.

NEWS

Samantha Del VecchioContributing Writer

4 Edition 44, Issue 7


Kelly PhelanNews Editor

NORTHERNER

With the stink Northern Kentucky University students raise about their General Edu-cation Requirements (GER), you could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon.

“They suck. They’re a waste of time, and especially when you could be studying for your major,” Accounting major Oscar Ochieng said. “Then it ends up that you can’t gradu-ate and you have to waste an-other semester on Gen. Eds.”

As of Fall 2009, NKU stu-dents could spend up to two years of the four years it takes to get a bachelor’s degree at NKU solely collecting their GER hours. This is true if a student does not fail or drop out of a course — only adding more time dedicated to their GERs.

The Reform Committee, composed of faculty members responsible for General Edu-cation reform, is proposing to the Faculty Senate for a reduc-tion in NKU GER hours to drop from 46 to 37 hours. This would mean that future NKU students would only have to spend a little over two semes-

ters working on their GERs. “This reduction follows

what other universities have, and it follows the areas that are in the Kentucky Transfer Module,” President of Faculty Seante, Dr. Alar Lipping, said. “We found that 37 GER hours seemed to meet all of those areas,”

One reason the Reform Committee looks to reduce the credit hours is so that students can complete their degrees sooner.

“One of the goals of the reduction is being able to help students complete their degrees in a timely fashion,” Dr. Tonya Krouse, member of the Reform Committee, said. Krouse is responsible for pre-senting the official proposal to the University Curriculum Committee.

“Another thing that I think the reduction in GERs will help with is making it more transparent to students why they are taking these par-ticular courses. The way the program is now, students think, ‘oh, I’m taking this class because they say I have to

take it,’” Krouse saidA benefit of this new

structure is that students who previously didn’t have the opportunity to explore other courses will now be able to do so.

“The GER program has been in place for over ten years,” Lipping said. “So this is the time to look at the GER program and see how it meets the changing needs of our students.”

If the proposal is passed, current students can change their catalog so they only have to take 37 hours of GERs.

“There are some students now who have virtually no opportunity to take a class because it interests them,” Krouse said.

Under the proposed struc-ture, students will still have to take a math course, a global view points course, an oral communication course, two writing courses, two natural science courses, two courses in a new category called Culture and Creativity and, lastly, three courses in social and behavioral sciences.

Gen. Ed. under scrutinyReform Committee to propose reduction

SGA Jesse CallAssistant News Editor

Although students voted to approve a new Student Gov-ernment Association (SGA) constitution in the September special election, the failure to implement those changes has prompted the organization to form a subcommittee for “Constitutional implementa-tion and transition,” according to the minutes of the Sept. 28 meeting.

Senator Amy VonHandorf announced the formation of the committee during her Student Rights Committee report. 433 students voted in favor of the constitutional changes, while only 58 voted against.

Among the changes yet to be implemented include the name changes of SGA of-ficials. The executive board is to be renamed the executive cabinet, according to the new constitution. In addition, the executive vice president will be called the vice president, and most current vice presi-dents will be called secretar-ies.

A more substantive change was chosen for the election procedure for the executive cabinet, judicial board and student sena-tors. All ex-cept of fresh-men sena-tors are not to be elected in the spring semester.

However, the future elec-tion of student senators is a much less pressing worry than the current shake-up of already elected senators.

The resignations of student senators Chris Wallace and Mike Gardner were accepted.

During new business, Senator Sean Henry moved to impeach Senator Adam Donovan. However, Henry ul-

timately rescinded his motion to impeach Steve Meier, asso-ciate to the Dean of Students, recommended that Donovan be given the opportunity to resign. Donovan was not pres-ent at the meeting.

“My whole motivation was to have an active Senate,” Henry said.

However, Donovan sub-sequently resigned from his position as senator.

“I did resign last week. I had to resign due to my con-flicting schedule with classes and the scheduled meeting times on Mondays at 3:30,” Donovan said in a Facebook message to The Northerner.

Henry said he was please with Donovan’s decision.

“He has since resigned and I actually feel great about that,” Henry said. “He never came to the meetings, didn’t ever do anything, so we have his spot open,”

Henry said that impeach-ment would have taken several more weeks so the resignation was preferential. These resignations moved the number of open spots in the Student Senate from three to six.

In-creasing aware-ness of the SGA and its work is another topic that got a lot of atten-tion at

the meeting.Some student organiza-

tions can expect visits from a SGA representative in com-ing weeks, according to Max Swartz, vice president for student involvement. If an or-ganization does not currently have any of its members serving in the SGA, an official will be designated to visit that organization.

Charlotte Etherton/Photo Editor

With a GER reduction, students may not have to spend so much time studying for them.

My whole moti-vation was to have an active senate - Sean Henry said

,,

,,

The “doctor” is inDr. W.A.S. sets up shop at NKU to preach fiery political rhetoric

The atmosphere bottled by Northern Ken-tucky University’s Student Union and Univer-sity Center typically echoes only of the subtle sounds of daily campus interactions peppered with the occasional excited banter among friends meeting up for social exchange.

A casual stroll across the quad to Starbucks for a café au lait will usually progress with little disruption, but is sometimes met with a circular crowd of spectators gathering around a single voice whose intensity rises in direct correlation with the size of its audience.

For more than a week, the students, faculty and staff of NKU have experienced the plea-sure, or discontent, of interacting with the man who goes by Dr. W.A.S. — a 68-year-old activist and self-proclaimed futurologist with much to say about war, government, the environment and the university itself.

War Sick

“Speak up, or sign up,” he often shouts with his makeshift props in the backdrop, implying that students cannot be lukewarm about the war in progress.

“We made a big fundamental mistake going to war in Iraq,” said Dr. W.A.S., who uses his visual aids as a means of attracting an audience.

“I’m so sick of war,” he said. According to the activist, he was in the 478th engineer battalion in the Army during Vietnam, though he never fought. “It’s your war — you’d better speak up.”

Dr. W.A.S. also said Johnny Bench and Pete Rose were in his battalion, and that he’d lost several friends to the Vietnam war, which he feels bore similarities to current conflict in its waste of American resources.

“He was sort of right about the war,” said Justin Bernard, an undeclared freshman. “It re-ally was a stupid thing to go to war with a coun-try where people blow themselves up every day — where they really don’t care about dying … He is sort of correct about that aspect.”

A Doctor of Imagination

Born Gerald Davidson, and later legally changing his full name to Wizard of I, the 1959 graduate of Newport Catholic High School has been shouting into causes he believes in for more years than he can readily quantify.

The acronym in the Dr. W.A.S. moniker stands for Water, Air, Soil, alluding to a group he said he tried to get incorporated with the help of Cincinnati-based attorney David Alt-man, known for his work in environmental law.

His green activism has included the protest-ing of the Fernald site, which, according to the Web site for the Fernald Closure Project, produced high-quality uranium metal products for the United States’ weapons production program during the Cold War.

The Web site describes the end of the lengthy, quiet portion of Fernald’s production era, when the Department of Energy reported that “nearly 300 pounds of enriched uranium oxide had been released to the environment,” con-taminating three off-property wells.

“I was the guy that spilled the beans on that one,” he said, adding that he got students from NKU, Xavier, and University of Cincinnati to tag along for protests.

Dr. W.A.S. has some specific ideas for im-proving the environment, such as the construct-ing enclosed bicycle-only highways, and offer-ing high school students a generous allowance for riding their bikes to school to keep busses off the road.

“I’m a doctor of imagination,” he said with a laugh.

“He wants expressways you can ride your bike on, so you can go from Kentucky to Cali-fornia on your bike,” Bernard said. “Which is a little out there, but you know.”

The Art of Defensive Boxing

Dr. W.A.S. also speaks out against illegal immigrants, and can be heard shouting what spectators often interpret as racist speech. He said he’s not a racist, but feels terrorism will one day become a serious domestic problem, creating a dangerous atmosphere for Muslims. He also made comments offending blacks.

“The rea-son he said that I would be fine is be-cause I’m standing right there in front of his face,” said Lamar Hill, a freshman at NKU. “I’ll bet you if I wasn’t there, or any other black person wasn’t there, he would be talking about just white people alone, and that Mexicans, black people, any (ethnicity) other than white … should be kicked out of the United States because we’re taking his jobs, or their jobs. That’s stupid as hell, that pisses me off.”

His list of qualms with the government is extensive, and entails a massive re-tooling and a boxing match.

“I’d like to challenge President Obama to a boxing match,” he said. “I’d kick his ass. I’d suck him in, ‘cuz I’m a defensive boxer.’”

Dr. W.A.S., who, with only a brief stint as a geology major at the University of Kentucky in 1957 under his belt, is not actually a doctor, also tells students of his ideas to counteract il-legal immigration.

“He’s real big on the illegal Mexicans and stuff. He always says we need to have a bounty on them, which is a little messed up,” said Bernard, who’s tuned into the activist’s gospel several times already. “He said ‘$500 a head, ten a day.’ He says ‘don’t get too greedy.’ That’s what’s messed up.”

Addicted to NKU

In addition to speaking out on a wide array


Joe CastelliWeb Editor-In-Chief

of hot topics, Dr. W.A.S. said he wants to help improve NKU. He’d like to see NKU open its doors 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and also feels the university would ben-efit from a name change — he sees big things in store for NKU, and thinks a more distinctive name will have more impact when big things come.

“I’m addicted to NKU,” he said. “Totally dedicated. I’ll do anything for the students and faculty.”

Dr. W.A.S. said he feels that most students love his presence on campus, but not all students have taken his words so positively.

“I just don’t believe anything he says,” said Hill, who studies pre-med. “When I look at him, he’s just fake to me.”

Though Dr. W.A.S. hasn’t been seen at NKU in at least three years, this is not his first time on campus.“He’s been coming here for the past 20 years,” said Bill Lamb, who served as NKU’s dean of students until 2001, and

now is the employer relations coordinator of the Career Development Center. Lamb said the message he brings always has a common through-line.

“Everything he’s spoken about has had a common theme of pro-environment or anti-big government,” Lamb said.Dr. W.A.S. said a part of what drives him to do the work he does is that he fears the path our country is currently tak-

ing will lead America into being a semi-closed state.“We’re in a house of glass,” he said. “We have such a wonderful, open society, but the doors are slowly closing.”


VIEWS

Auston HensleyJunior, Political Science

“1st Amendment and Free Speech. It’s worth

listening even if you don’t agree.”

Mike DenhimFreshman, Pre-med/

Biology“Not at all....he was try-ing to impact but didn’t know what he was talk-

ing about.”

Ryan PraterSenior, Political Science

“Yeah...whether I agree with him or not, he has the right to free speech.”

rnpCompiled by

Mark Payne & Charlotte Etherton

Do you think Dr. W.A.S. should be allowed on

campus?

norse poll responses

For more Norse poll responses and video, visit www.thenortherner.com

Shonna BarnesSophomore, Biology/

Pre-med“I think he’s trying to

incite panic and get stu-dents wound up.”


It happens every semester: an outrageously-dressed person shows up in front of the University Center and begins spouting preachings that are al-most always debatable. Some students gather around him to listen and argue the validity of what the speaker has to say, and things get dangerously close to getting out of hand.

In the three and a half years I have been at this university, I could prob-ably write you a book on this subject. We at The Northerner always cover these people in some medium because they cause such a racket on campus. I have listened to Brother Rick and John McGlone, and last week I was able to finally experience “The Wiz-ard”.

Personally, I feel embarrassed every time I see someone new preaching on campus. I am embarrassed because these people believe things that are, to me, so completely outrageous that people openly ridicule them. I am embarrassed by my fellow students who provoke these speakers — giving them a reason to be here. On top of

that, I am embarrassed and annoyed that it evokes these emotions in me altogether.

So what do these men accomplish by preaching on our campus? They are exercising their rights as citizens. The same rights that protect me (and the newspaper) are the same ones that give preachers like The Wizard the right to argue ridiculous viewpoints.

I propose this: Next time one of these preachers comes to campus, just ignore them. Most likely, the person will either: a) Do something that is news-worthy to get attention; or b) Leave.

If you do this, someone on this staff will not have to write another article about how the preacher thinks pretty much everyone is going to hell; thus, you will not have to be bored by hear-ing about the crazy that has stomped around campus for several days. In my opinion, the community, as a whole, benefits from this proposal.

But, in the event that this plan seems off-base to you, please continue to exercise your First Amendment rights.

Emily TeafordPresentation Editor

Charlotte Etherton/Photo Editor

Ignore elaborate presentations, like Dr. W.A.S’s shown above, preacher and other speakers use to entice you to hear their speeches with.

Quiet the crazies on campusIgnore the preachers and the Dr. W.A.S.s that come to NKU


NORTHERNER

Now that you are in col-lege and one step closer to being a part of the “real world”, it is important to be informed as to what is hap-pening around you.

Whether it is the taxes that have to come out of our paychecks, the school grants or loans we receive, it all comes down to politics. It is hard to not get involved in something that is not af-fected by politics.

Only 56.8 percent of regis-tered voters participated in the last presidential election, according to InfoPlease.com. What could the remaining 43.2 percent of voters have done? How many of them

are the kind of people run-ning around saying, “Well, what is my one vote going to mean, anyway?” But in real-ity, 43.2 percent of people can change everything.

I realize that not all of them are out there won-dering what their one vote could mean. This still does not explain the fact that if such a large percentage of eligible voters not voting, had gone out to do so,the results would have been.

It is not just a matter of going out and performing your civic duty, but also be-coming educated about who and what you are voting for.

Obama’s spending plans

are going to double the national debt, according to The Heritage Foundation Web site. We need to know how much our leaders are spending and what they are spending it on to find out whether or not it is wise for their presiding in office.

With congressional elec-tions just around the cor-ner, I challenge you to take a look at who is running for the various offices and what their voting history is compared to what they are promising. Not just being a voter, but an educated one at that, can the best out-comes be seen on all fronts — local, state and federal.

Vote to knowPunch in a ballot if you want to see true changeM. Gordon WillisContributing Writer

I do not support what Dr. W.A.S., the latest fanatic to visit Northern Kentucky Uni-versity, has to say.

His arguments, for the most part, are random and do not make sense. If there is a message he is trying to relay it is not clearly coming through.

“Convert or leave,” he said to a Muslim woman during one of his rants.

It did not make sense, because just moments before, he said we needed to remove the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan because it was a small group of fanat-ics that had performed the 9/11 attacks — not an entire religion. One second he sup-ports somebody or something, and the next second tears them down — He just rambles in a nonsensical and moronic fashion.

Although I feel Dr. W.A.S. is a blabbering idiot, I am glad he is here. Why? His presence proves the First Amendment is alive and working.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment

of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the peo-ple peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

This amend-ment allows

Dr. W.A.S to say whatever he wants to say in a public place, no matter how outlandish it may be.

His right to free speech is ensured by the U.S. Constitu-tion, and further more, by this public university. This, Dr. W.A.S., I, a fellow fighter for the First Amendment, will support.

NKU Behind Bars

By: Mark Payne

SPORTS

Chad HensleyStaff Writer

One-on-one with Steven BeattieNorse soccer star talks about his experiences and continued success


David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Kaka, Cristiano Renaldo and Landon Dono-van are some of the most recognized names in profes-sional soccer. But Northern Kentucky University is home to a men’s soccer player who is making quite the impact at the NCAA Division II level.

Steven Beattie, a native of Skerries, Ireland, has amassed 42 career goals according to the NKU Athletics Web site. Now, he’s just five goals shy of surpassing Chad Scott’s 46 career goal record.

Beattie has also garnered accolades such as the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, First Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas All-Amer-ican and the Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year, just to name a few.

During Beattie’s three-year tenure with the Norse, NKU has compiled a 46-6-5 overall record and an astounding 27-2-1 in the GLVC. Of the 45 wins in just over two seasons, Beattie has notched 20 game-winning goals.

During a recent interview, Beattie said that if he did not have such great teammates to play with, the individual accolades would not be pos-sible. Those same teammates also aided Beattie in helping the Norse advance to the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Final Four in Tampa, Fla., last December where the Norse would eventually fall to Dowling (N.Y.) College 2-1 in overtime.

The Northerner: What made you choose NKU over other colleges or universities in the United States?

Steven Beattie: I had original-ly committed to a big Division I school, but after an average math score on the SAT, I only

qualified to play Division II. It has worked out for the best. Everything happens for a reason, I guess.

TN: Why did you decide to leave Ireland to come to the US to play collegiate soccer?

SB: Since I was about 16, I’ve always wanted to go to America. The size of the coun-try always appealed to me. I was offered a pro contract when I was 18 and I was all set to sign. My parents sat me down and told me that if anything would ever happen (such as an injury), I would have no third-level education to fall back on. That talk really made me think about coming to America, where I could get my degree and play high-level soccer.

TN: This past summer, you played for the St. Louis Lions of the USL Player Develop-ment League. What was it like to play in that league?

SB: It was a really great ex-perience. The majority of the players I played against were from top Division I schools or were former professionals. I was able to hold my own and start every game, scoring seven goals and getting five assists in 10 games. I learned a lot from the summer.

TN: What are some of the things you have taken from that experience and brought back with you to help this year’s NKU team?

SB: The main thing I have brought back to NKU is how to better prepare your body for a game. Eating the right things, getting a sufficient amount of sleep and also warm-ups — I have intro-duced new runs and stretches.

TN: You have won numerous

accolades in your short stint with NKU. Can you describe the feeling you get when you find out that you had accom-plished those feats?

SB: It is always nice to win individual awards, but I never let it influence my play. You have to remember: If I didn’t have such a great team around me, I would have no chance of winning any of these awards. Since I have been here, there have been five All-Americans. That shows the strength of NKU soccer.

TN: In the regional champion-ship match against Lewis, you picked up your eighth yel-low card of the season, which meant that you had to sit out the national quarterfinal at Millersville. Can you describe what you felt knowing that you would not be able to play against Millersville the fol-lowing week? Did that change your style of play?

SB: Obviously it was heart-breaking. I am an aggressive player and I will never change that part of my game. The referees here are a lot differ-ent than back home. They call every tackle. It is crazy some-times. As soon as I got that yellow, I knew I was missing the next game. I just had to keep my focus and I knew if I got us past that game, the guys would do the job in the Elite 8. I kept my head and scored one of the penalty kicks in the shootout.

TN: This year’s team has two additional Irishmen, Paul Andrews and Andy Mont-gomery. Did you have a hand in getting those players here to NKU?

SB: Yeah. I got those guys to come to NKU. Paul lives in my hometown and I always knew he was a strong player.

Once he saw how well things were going for me over here, he wanted to be a Norse. I did everything I could to get him here. I played against Andy at the club level and I always had a great deal of respect for his skill. Once I found out he was interested in coming to America, I told coach and we went after him.

TN: If you were not playing soccer, what could you envi-sion yourself doing?

SB: I would probably be a cop back in Ireland. I wanted to be a soccer player first, and a cop second when I was young.

TN: When you leave NKU, you are probably going to be known as the greatest men’s soccer player in NKU history. What do you want people to remember you for?

SB: That is a bold statement, and one I have never re-ally thought about. It is scary thinking I could be known as the best ever. If it were to happen, I would want to be remembered as a nice guy on and off the field, a hard worker in practice and in a game and that I would do any-thing to win for the team.

Tim Downer/Photographer

Steven Beattie is five goals shy of the career goal record.

A&E

Much Ado is more than nothingCast makes the prose of Shakespeare accessible to all

Jeremy JacksonA&E Editor

The first installment of perfor-mances to hit the big stage at North-ern Kentucky University this aca-demic year is the Shakespearean tale, Much Ado About Nothing.

In the romantic comedy, we are in-troduced to a pair of lovers (Claudio and Hero) who are set to be married in a week. In order to fill idle time, and entertain their own whims, the duo conspires to convince two unsus-pecting characters to proclaim their love for each other.

Benedick, a selfish and self-pro-claimed life-long bachelor is, through a series of lies and eavesdropping, coerced into giving his heart to that of Beatrice (a cynical girl of wealthy means — both challenging and opin-ionated). She then proclaims her love for him, but along the way a whole host of other factors materialize.

The play was traditionally set on the Italian island of Sicily in the 17th century, and deliberately trans-planted to the Regency era of 19th century England by director Mike King. The new location and time period was chosen for the similar-ity in values that were typical of the Shakespearean time: personal honor,

romanticism, chastity and a vast economic stratification. Although the eras are divided by two centuries, the sorted scenario seems to jive.

The line of characters (21 to be exact) are scheming. No hijinks or deceit is lost in translation. We are revealed a world of characters that are amalgamated, ripped apart and reunited — all predicated by a stage of lies, half-truths, conspiring fac-tions and double-entendres. It is akin to a soap opera, but with a Shake-spearean twist. The performers and production crew pull it off without a hitch.

The natural step from high school nowadays is some form of higher education, whether it is a univer-sity or a trade school. For the cast members of Much Ado, the gradual step of talent was well beyond that of a university — they exuded near-flawless delivery of lines and an ambiance of drama, expressing an equally keen distribution of comedy. Senior Johnny Kyle Cook portrayed Benedick and delivered an energetic and versatile performance, weaving both humor and dramatics together as if it all were old hat. Senior Aaron

Brewer portrayed Dogberry and delivered the typical clown fixture to the play, but in an un-typical style. His release of humor and sense of physical comedy was top-notch.

Because it is cloaked in Shake-speare’s 16th century slang, discover-ing the plot and dialogue may take the average audience member at least until the second act before it is realized what the actors on stage are trying to convey. Do not let this dis-courage you — like many plays that stream from the quill of the Bard, once revealed, it is well worth it.

So, along the route of confusion and uncertainty, make sure to take notice of the set. Breathe in the estate where most of the play un-folds. Take note of the historical garb and the seemingly two-ton gate that floats away during scene changes, as if it defies gravity itself.

As for the play, enjoy the convo-luted expression of Shakespearean hearsays, loaded chitchat and a degree of deceit. But bear in mind, like many high-comedies, in the end, nuptials will most likely prevail.


Charlotte Etherton/ Photo Editor

Kieran Cronin (left), Seth Wallen (middle), Johnny Cook (right) star in Much Ado About Nothing. The play runs now through Oct. 11.

The Northerner Print Edition - Oct. 7, 2009

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Transcript of The Northerner Print Edition - Oct. 7, 2009