THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929

V6U77 No,l Mercyhiijrst College 50tjE.-38ttfc St. Erie Pa; 16546

The Merciad is also available at merciad.mercyhurstedu

NEWS: Suicide bombing in Iraq brings death toll to 100. I

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FEATURES: Senior Lori Keeney falls in love with a future in interior design after interning at Ethan A lien Home Interiors.

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OPINION:

Madam Maiarky and the X-factor of blind dates.

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ARTS& ENTERTAINMENT:

Les Violons Du Roy performed at the PAC on Sunday, FebY

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SPORTS: Men's hockey team in position for a run at 1st place.

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Upcoming Campus Events

Film: Lost in Translation Mary D' Angelo Performing Arts Center Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 2 and 8 p.m

Dance: Raw Edges Mary D' Angelo Performing Arts Center Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 and 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m.

Sports: Last men's basketball game at home Mercyhurst Athletic Center Thursday, Feb. 5 8:00 p.m.

MSG Lecture: Michael Dyson Mary D' Angelo Performing Arts Thursday, Feb. 12 8:30 p.m.

Index

Mercyh west By Jonelle Davis Contributing writer

ercyhurst College is looking to once again expand the institution as long as the right elements fall into place.

According to the Erie Times-News, west Erie County officials havewel-corned the idea to start a new brandi campus of Mercyhurst in the west county area.

Mercyhurst officials are interested in the idea as long as a proper site is found, the community supports the new institution, and financial fund-ing is sufficient [Mercyhurst College President Dr. William P. Garvey discussed many is-sues about the possible new branch. When asked about the site, Garvey said, "We are interested in a site if we can find the right place. We told (West County officials) if they have any ideas, let us know. If the right thing comes along, we will do it."

To date, Garvey and staff mem-

bers have toured possible sites such as the vacant Copes-Vulcan plant in Lake City and the former Divine Word Seminary off Route 20 in Gi-rard Township. According to Garvey, the Copes plant is too large and the cost to build on the semi-nary property is too high.

Garvey went on to say, "Nothing in reality has happened. Nothing has moved to the point of fruition, but we're interested. We need some in-dication or community support Not just money, but in terms of, do they want this? Broad-based citizen sup-port is important."

When the North East branch of Mercyhurst was started in 1991, the North East community helped open the campus by raising $500,000, which was put toward property im-provements. |

Since its opening, Mercyhurst North East has increased enrollment to 840. With plans for a $5 million expansion in the spring, the campus will be able to accommodate up to

1,500 students. According to Garvey, however,

only 6 percent of the Mercyhurst North East students come from the west county.

"We found that the distance was a problem for them. They wanted some kind of site in the Fairview-Girard area. In our strategic vision, we agreed to look at a site out there to at some future point establish a west county branch."

Damon Homich, director of the Girard Area Industrial Development Authority and member of the Girard Lake City Chamber of Commerce also commented about the new cam-IftflHJ u

He said the discussions of the Mer-cyhurst branch are preliminary. "The industries in the west county are small-er and economic times are a little bit harder than when North East did it. I think the business community should be behind this. The kids in the west county have a lot to gain and the employers have a lot to gain. I

can't really see the down side of it." Many people may benefit from a

new branch campus ofMercyhurst, but how would new campus effect students at main campus?

When questioned about the issue, Garvey said that there would not be any effect on students at main cam-pus. Students will not interact with other students at the new campus and tuition will not go up.

With that in mind, Mercyhurst stu-dent John Konzier, a business major, was asked how he felt about a new branch campus ofMercyhurst.

"I feel that as long as tuition re-mains the same, then ifs a good ben-efit towards the students in that area, and the entire community in gener-al," said Konzier. * -

It is not certain whether or not a new branch campus will exist any time in the future; however, the idea is in-cluded in Mercyhurst's strategic plan, and officials from west county com-munities are starting to campaign for the project.

Soccer, baseball teams to have home field advantage By Dan Wagner Contributing writer

Colleges have long prided them-selves on athletics. Collegiate athlet-ics have given birth to the meaning of school spirit, as a foreground for students tb come together in support of their schoolmates and hatred for the opposition.

Don't think this applies to Mercy-hurst? |

Then apparently you were not at the MAC Jan. 26 as the Mercyhurst basketball team defeated Gannon in front of more than 1,900 fans.

The bottom line is college athlet-ics provide schools with identities and reputations.

Likewise colleges and universities strive to put the best accommoda-tions and facilities together for their student athletes.

Mercyhurst is not different. Ac-cording to Mercyhurst Athletic Di-rector Pete Russo, "Facilities are key, we owe it to our teams to have the best ones we can."

Mercyhurst started to dig up the natural grass of the soccer field and replacing it with a $700,000 artificial surface called Astro Play, along with the addition of a sophisticated drain-age system.

Astro Play is rubber based. Rub-ber blades of grass sit atop a surface of rubber beads. "Astro Play is the newest and most modem technolo-

The soccer team often plays in versus Gannon last year.

File photo horrible field conditions. One of the worst came during this game

gy in college athletics," said Russo. a Why the change?

The Mercyhurst soccer team has made the NCAA Tournament the last two years with the opportunity of hosting the opening rounds. Unfor-tunately, The Laker's field was not up to NCAA standards, and they

were forced to move to an alternate site.

That's the tip of the iceberg. Men's and women's soccer were

forced to practice at three different locations throughout the year, and play half of their home games at Mercyhurst North East.

Head soccer coach Keith Cam-midge said, "It was almost impossi-ble for us to find a natural grass sur face to play on that drained propei M M { \ I

The games that were played at Mercyhurst were more of a mud wrestling match than a soccer game. The women's team had one match

cancelled on a game day. Mercyhurst soccer has had it bad,

but not as bad as the Mercyhurst baseball team.

They have never even had a home game or practice. Hie baseball team has been sharing a field with Mercy-hurst North East.

Head coach Joe Spano said, "I can't remember one practice in the last seven years that the whole team has been at."

Working around North East base-ball has been a problem for Spano.

North East plays in a league of its own. They have their own home games and practice needs. "It has

become almost impossible to work around them," said Spano.

Another problem Spano has en-countered is the schedules of his stu-dent athletes. Keeping students from missing classes and meals is a priority with Spano.

But this has proved extremely chal-lenging with the different schedules his student athletes keep.

A big part of this problem is that the baseball team does its own field maintenance. They have to prepare their field before games and practic-es; that can take hours.

Please see Field on Page 3.

R/IAP program will see more growth with $300,000 By Jen Allen I Contributing writer

News. News. Features. Opinion.

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A&E. A ftU 6 Sports. Sports.

1 8

The R/IAP program at Mercy-hurst will be growing, thanks to a $300,000 grant that the program re-cently received from the federal gov-ernment. The grant, announced by Congressman Phil English, is part of over $ 1 million in funding English announced would go to Erie.

"I am pleased that the appropria-tors recognized the importance of these projects for northwestern Penn-sylvania," English said.

"Two of the top higher education institutions in Erie also got a big boost as they are better pc >sitioned to make sure that our patients and communi-ty at large are safe," English said of the grant given to the Lake Erie Col-lege of Osteopathic Medicine as well

as the Mercyhurst College R/IAP program.

R/IAP, which stands for Re-sea rd v'lntel 1 igence Analyst Program, is a program very unique to Mercy-hurst College and the first of its kind in the country.

The program, which was started by Robert Heibel in 1992 with only 14 students, has been erowine ever since and in need of money to improve the program.

Heibel, who formerly worked with the FBI, decided to start the program upon his retirement to Erie. "We were trying to find analysts and could not find what we were looking for," Heibel said He then approached Dr. William Garvey about starting the program and the rest is history.

Please see R/IAP on Page 3. McAdan is/PJtolo editor

Students in the R/IAP program will soon have new labs for their work as analysts.

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FEBRUARY 4,2004 THE MERCI AD PAGE 3

7b contact: newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu NEWS N e w M e r c y h u r s t I n s t i t u t e f o r I n t e l l i g e n c e R e s e a r c h a n d A n a l y s i s Continued from Page 1.

The R/IAP program has over 130 graduates now, most of whom have gone on to receive their master's degree. In the pro-gram now, are approximately 190 students from 14 different states, Canada, and Europe. ,»-.

The program is split with 50 percent of the students being male and 50 percent female. Heibel said that the program has a 98 percent placement rate with students' salaries starting at $35,000 to $50,000 per year.

Heibel hopes that the numbers will be even greater with the ad-ditions from the grant.* The money will go into a new insti-tute for the program called the Mercyhurst Institute for Intelli-gence Research and Analysis. Heibel said, "The mission of that institute will be to strive for a legitimacy of intelligence studies."

"It will benefit our students for a number of reasons," Heibel said

Some of these reasons include, creating an Association of Intel-ligence Educators to bring to-gether those with common inter-ests and goals in the field, identi-

fying training and product needs of intelligence managers, re-search new tools and techniques applicable to the intelligence pro-cess, develop distance learning intelligence related courses, and much more.

"We see the institute as not only benefiting our students," Heibel said

The program, he explained, will benefit the government which is looking for students in the area of intelligence and oth-er colleges that might be look-ing to start similar courses.

Some of these schools include West Virginia University, Mexi-co State University, Wright State University, Drexel University, and Temple University.

"Traditional colleges can pro-duce graduates who are very hire-able," Heibel said. "What is being taught in our program here is really a liberal arts edu-cation." ttit;

M With the grant, and the 1 ̂ gin-ning of the Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence Research and Analysis, Heibel hopes many good things will happen. "The center has always been in the back of our minds," he said.

"We have been working with Congressman English for over two years now," Heibel said and now the college has finally re-ceived the funds to create a bet-ter learning facility to the grow-ing number of students within the program. £

J.P. Ratajczak is a 2002 grad-uate of the R/IAP program at Mercyhurst and is now working to obtain his master's in organi-zational leadership.

He is currently working with the program as a graduate re-search associate but said, Til be going hopefully into the private sector to work with business in-telligence."

Although he has already been through the program, he is very optimistic about the grant they are now receiving.

"I think it will be good for ev-eryone," he said. "It is money that we did not have before that will increase the program."

Ratajczak said that with the money the program should be able to purchase new equipment and possibly hire new staff members to enhance a program that is already very experienced and knowledgeable.

I had actually never heard of the program," Ratajczak said but added, "I came to school and fell in love with it."

"It was the first undergradu-ate program of its type in the nation," he mentioned and said that it is very deserving of the grant given to it

Erin Cunningham is a senior from Ohio who is one of the many females in the program. She has been given many oppor-tunities through the program, in-cluding an internship at the Unit-ed Nations.

"I have had about six job of-fers and just accepted one," Cun-ningham also said.

"Places that come to interview us are just blown away."

Cunningham did not come into Mercyhurst as a R/IAP major, though, she declared a communications major but switched her sophomore year.

"I took the Intro to R/IAP class and decided this is what I wanted to do."

She does feel that the grant will be very helpful to the pro-gram even though she has had great success. "The problem with the program is that we have

so many projects going on. It would be nice to have a center we could go to do our research."

"It is going to be nice to have a huge R/IAP lab," Cunningham said

Cunningham said that the pro-gram here is by far the best. She mentioned that the students and professors are great and have a lot of experience as well.

"The professors here have a wide variety of knowledge and experience," she said

She also loves the small class-es and many opportunities that she has been allowed that will be even greater with the addition of the Institute.

"We have the ability to do any-thing in intelligence," she said

"With this grant, Mercyhurst could take on more students in the program and give the stu-dents more opportunities," Cun-ningham said

Nick Proy is a sophomore in the program and hopes that over the next two years the grant will be a great deal of help to the program. > "It is much needed and will improve the facilities and the major greatly," he said.

Proy feels that the program is unique and deserves the grant localise Mercyhurst is the only college in the nation that trains intelligence people for national security. "I mink that it is good because more analysts will he trained," he added.

Proy, who would like to attend law school eventually, feels that R/IAP will be a good base. He said of the program, "It teaches you how to deal with many kinds of information."

"When I was looking for a major I found out that R/IAP dealt with computers and ana-lyzing information and it would help me achieve my goal of go-ing to law school," Proy said.

He hopes that the grant will add to the prestige of the pro-gram as well.

"I think that it will in the long run, not immediately, but will eventually help us to become more nationally known."

For more information about the program, the $300,000 grant, and the new Mercyhurst Insti-tute for Intelligence Research and Analysis, visit riap.mercyhurst.edu.

N e w field for SOCCer, b a s e b a l l Death toll in Iraqi blasts climbs above loo

Courtesy of Pete Russo The blueprint from the new soccer and baseball field shows that it will boost both the soccer and baseball programs at Mercyhurst.

By Tom Las seter Knight Ridder Newspapers

IRBIL, Iraq The death toll from a pair of suicide bomb-ings in the offices of two Kur-dish political parties rose to at least 110 on Monday as politi-cians began to debate whether the violence would further un-ravel U.S. plans for a unified Iraq. M

workers washed blood and body parts from the floors and ceilings of the rooms where the explosions occurred in the mid-dle of holiday receptions Sun-day with dozens of Kurdish po-litical figures and their follow-ers.

Interviews with administra-tors at three of the city's five hospitals indicated that 110 peo-ple were confirmed dead and

more than 200 were injured. Standing outside the regional governor's office, a spokesman said there were no local senior officials to interview. They all died in the blasts, he said.

The explosions, almost certainly the deadliest in postwar Iraq, came as Iraqi and U.S. officials in Baghdad are trying to meet a Feb. 28 deadline to hammer out a law to guide the formation of an interim government. A key sticking point has been the amount of autonomy to be granted to the Kurdish territory in northern Iraq.

Leaders of the two parties whose offices were hit by the blasts, the Kurdistan Democrat-ic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), re-leased statements saying they were resolved to work together

for the future of Iraq. But Peter Galbraith, the

former U.S. ambassador to Croatia who's been in the re-gion consulting withjalal Tala-bani, the head of the PUK, and Massoud Barzani, of the KDP, said the blasts provided pow-erful incentives for the groups to isolate themselves from a central Iraq authority.

Galbraith said the Kurds have expressed fears to him since the fall of Baghdad that the "Iraq disease" of chaos and violence would follow to the Kurdish ar-eas. "Now it has," he said.

The bombings came on the Muslim holiday Eid al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates Abra-ham's willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son.

Continued from Page 1.

This means more distraction and less instruction for the play-ers,

Russo has been monitoring the situation for a long time. Russo met with President Dr. William Garvey and laid out a plan for a new field after months of research. Garvey, adminis-tration, and the Board of Trust-ees approved the plan.

Russo said, "Astro Play is the future of college athletics." It requires practically no mainte-nance, and can be used in any

weather condition. "It's a done deal, all we need

to do is sign the contract," said Russo.

This is a tremendous boost for both soccer and baseball

Mercyhurst soccer hopes to host the next round of NCAA playoffs at home for the first time in two years.

"This commitment of a qual-ity playing surface acknowledg-es that Mercyhurst needs pre-mium practice and playing facil-ities, to go along with the national recognition we have achieved," said Cammidee.

The baseball team is just hap-py to have a place to call its own. "When I think about it, I can't even sleep," said Spano. Locker rooms, practices, and fans will all be welcomed.

"The thing I look forward to most is the opportunity to once again focus on, and teach base-ball, which is what I am here for and love to do," said Spano.

Soccer and baseball will have a place to call their own next year; a place where they are the only ones with home field advan-tage.

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PAGE 4 THE MERCIAD FEBRUARY 4, 2004

To contact: featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu FEATURES K e e n e y f a l l s i n l o v e w i t h f u t u r e ByJenHelbig Contributing writer

"I was brought to Mercyhurst because of their Interior Design program," Keeney said.

Keeney is a senior interior de-sign major. This past summer she had an internship with Ethan Allen Home Interiors in Vestal, N.Y. •- ' ' I

I live on a farm in Sugar Run, Pennsylvania,1* Keeney said. "The drive to Vestal was about an hour and a half long."

The internship is a requirement for interior design majors.

At Ethan Allen, Keeney said she helped with residential inte-rior design.

"I was not allowed to have my own clients," she said, "because they did not want someone to get attached to me before I came back to Mercyhurst."

However she was still able to design, but for her co-workers' clients.

Keeney was the only intern at Ethan Allen, and she said that Ethan Allen did not offer intern-ship opportunities in die summer.

"I was shopping in Vestal," Keeney said. "And I stopped in Ethan Allen to talk with the man-ager. We ended up exchanging information, and she became interested in having me as an in-tern."

Keeney did not receive income for the internship, but she said she was excited for the job.

'The manager told me the rea-

Katie McAdams/Photo editor This is one example of Keeney s room design she drew for Ethan Allen clients. The Internship taught her how to interact with people in a public setting.

Katie McAtJams/Photo ednor

Senior interior design major Lori Keeney stands In front of work done by fellow majors in the Briggs Annex.

son she wanted me was because I was so persistent"

Keeney went through a five-week training program before she started as an intern. She learned how to consult, which is a service Ethan Allen provides free to its customers.

Keeney drew a variety of sketches for consultations. Many were for unique layouts or situations.

"One woman was an artist, and she had a long, narrow room," Keeney said. "It was the most difficult project I did, but we fit her desired elements into the

room, and even some of her own personal artwork."

That particular design was ac-tually manufactured and sold to the woman. Ethan Allen provides a unique personalization feature to their customers.

"The customer chooses the piece of furniture," Keeney said. "And then they can have any type of fabric in a wide price range." I Keeney's internship gave her a customized learning experience. She felt her skills developed at Ethan Allen

"My classes taught me tech-nique, but I think that the real

world is about common sense, and you can only learn from ex-perience," she said.

"I was respectful and a bit tim-id when I met with people for the first time," Keeney said. "And I am usually more relaxed after I get to know a person. This in-ternship helped me learn to in-teract with people in real situa-tions." %1 I The internship also brought a new-found direction to Keeney's future. v

"I was having mixed feelings about interior design prior to the internship," Keeney said. "I was

overwhelmed about which direc-tion to go because interior de-sign encompasses a lot of jobs."

Keeney said that she doesn'tj feel that her full potential is reached through furniture de-sign. Her real interest is in the-ater scenery design.

Keeney has had a long history of interaction with design, from) steadily working at a gift shop, to helping on about seven sets in her high school and commu-nity theatre. '

"I hope that this su mmer af-ter graduation I can find a job," Keeney said. "I would like to

work on set design for television as a career."

If television does not work out, she said that she would en-joy working with hospitality or entertainment design.

"I loved the internship," Keeney said.

"My co-workers were like a second family to me, and I learned a lot from them. Now I feel like I have gained direction for my career, and an experience to help start my future."

K & K p r e p a r e f o r t h e i r f u t u r e i n e d u c a t i o n By Brian Cellone Contributing writer

When looking at Kristy and Xat^e .Kivqhendorfer, one can see an instant resemblance..

These sisters are natives of Westlake, Ohio, and came to Mercyhurst College because of their love for the small campus setting.

Kristy is a junior and has a dou-ble major in elementary and ear-ly education.

She decided to attend Mercy-hurst because of the people and I the fact that she fell in love with the campus on her first visit

Another factor in her decision to come here was the small class sizes and the superb education department.

"I loved every minute that I was on campus. I had the op-portunity to stay overnight twice and could not have asked for a

Katie McAdams/Photo editor Kristy and Katie Kirchendorfer are education majors at Mercyhurst College. Both young women are excited about teaching and can t wait to put their knowledge to use in a classroom. better experience," Kristy said. Ambassador. She loves being an teraction with prospective stu-

Kristy decided to become an Ambassador because of the in- dents.

"I love the fact that I get to show students how awesome Mercyhurst is."

Another love of Kristy's is teaching. She currently teaches J preschool and last term^taught | third grade. "My kids give me'a * new challenge each day, never ceasing to surprise me."

Her love of children will help her be a successful teacher when she graduates from Mercyhurst in the spring of 2005.

Katie Kirchendorfer is a soph-omore at Mercyhurst, and a pure mathematics/math education major. She also plans to eventu-ally complete a minor in com-puter systems management.

"Since I love kids and math it seemed obvious to me to be-come a math teacher," Katie said.

Katie chose Mercyhurst be-cause of the small campus at-mosphere and the location of the • school in relation to home.

Katie spends much of her time as a member of the Mer-cyhurst cheerleading squad.

"Cheering is so much fun. I love hearing the enthusiasm

i-c&me f̂rom-t-htt' fans duwnc a game*.' V 1 fr-*C

Katie loves being a part of the squad and has gained a good group of friends.

She is also looking forward to the cheerleader's upcoming com-petition, the first for the squad.

"I like having Kristy on cam-pus. She gives me advice about education classes. She is some-one I can count on,." said Katie.

The Kirchendorfers also work together in the admissions office.

"Even when we are very busy, working in admissions gives us a chance to see one another," said Katie.

The sisters continue to support one another so they enter the fu-ture successfully.

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FEBRUARY 4,2004 THE MERCIAD PAGE 5

Letter to the editor: Why is The Mtaraad against the president? The opinion page of TheMer-

ciadhas been turned into anti-Bush rhetoric as of lately -defeating the purpose of The Merciodifthere is any. Read-ing The Merciod\his academic year, one would not be sur-prised to find out that it is the MoveOn.org and the billion-aire George Soros who are behind the opinion articles on TheMerdod

Merciod opinion pages look nothing than negative political advertisement found on the array of left-winger's posters financed by Soros' millions of J dollars. Without Madam Ma-

flarky, what would one really [enjoy reading in TheMerciod? Mercyhurst sports' results and statistics! $"

Ghee. Anyway, what is the Bush bashing is all about? Is it a response to the State of the Union Address?

1 do not think so, because this Bush-bashing has been going on way back and has more to do with Bush being the hon-orable president than to do with anything else.

In fact, the Bush's points in the State of the Union Ad-dress did not turn "even the most stable, sensible mind into throbbing, pounding mass of confusion" as the negative political poster in the Merciod claims. Instead, the Bush's points address the very issues that the marriage phobia and those like-minded encounter.

Therefore, Bush, issued mea-

sures protecting the sanctity of marriage. Marriage phobia should not undermine the tradi-tional values of 'institution of marriage' and nor should it be used as a justification for gay marriage.?

If marriage is the fundamen-tal social institution that is deep-ly rooted in all societies, then anything short of it such as gay marriage must be understood as hostile to all societies, not just those who want to graduate from college, dress themselves up, or those who want to marry the person of their own choices.

It is the values that the tradi-tional marriage provides, which will be threatened not the sim-ple things we do for our satis-factions as the negative adver-tisement in Merciadsuggpste.

The values that the traditional marriage provides are undoubt-edly under serious assaults from multiple directions, that is why President Bush is promoting healthy marriage initiatives and encouraging faith-based institu-tions to protect the sanctity of marriage.

President Bush understands that strengthening marriages will lead into healthy families, which in turn will build better societies. However, it is sad that his initia-tives and effort to promote healthy marriages are being at-tacked by those who gave up societal responsibilities including TheMerciad

It is also unfortunate to note that the religious institutions,

which are the cornerstones of societies, are being thrashed by the same like-minded individ-uals who attack President Bush on every issue.

It is President Bush again who encourages the faith-based initiatives knowing that religious faith stabilizes and satisfies the status of marriage. Without religious faith which encourag-es the sanctity of marriage, our society will be called the mor-bid society.

I hope the marriage phobia should not drive us to the state of confusion and impair our judgments from understanding President Bush and his initia-tives to promote a healthier and better society.

I am optimistic and still have faith in Merciod, especially with Madam Malarky being present, that 7heMerc(advri\i be turned around from its negative polit-ical posters into something that provides substances for intel-lectual discourse and learning. Remember, Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts who usually naps or nods in the State of the Union Addresses as a sig-nal of expressing disagreement in a most childish way, had worked with President Bush on education initiative known as ?No Child Left Behind."

So, one will expect TheMer-ciad to work with Bush in some other issues, if it is extremely anti-traditional marriage and pro-gay marriage.

-Steve Paterno, senior R/IAP

by A' tradition lqf 'bird' courses

By Ashley DuBose Contributing Writer

Because it is registration week, I thought this would be a good time to talk about classes. I know that by the time this article is printed, nearly everyone will be registered, but that is OK. If somehow I manage to write something that deeply moves you, just go see the Registrar. However, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

We all want to take the easy classes. We warn to find that magical class where the profes-sor will let us daydream every day, where we never have to take notes, the only homework is nap-time, and the final is made up of one question: What is your name?

So before any students be-come shocked that I would openly admit that where a pro-fessor might read it, I must re-mind you that they were once college students too. They know where we are coming from.

We've all had that discussion, the one where you sit down with your pals and say, "So what are you taking?" Or better yet, "Have you taken [fill in class here] before?"

Most of the time, we are talk-ing about the Core. Why should we take a bunch of classes that have nothing to do with our major and are tough as well? So we ask each other: What classes are fun? Which professor doesn't care about attendance? And so on and so forth.

What we have to remember is that all of that is subjective. It's all opinion

Don't take a class just because someone said it was easy. What happens when you get to class and find out that you have two papers due before midterms? You should have known that your friend was a freak of na-ture that loved writing research papers every day.

Don't take a class just l̂ ecause a friend is taking it. Sure, you have a built-in study partner, but that won't help you not hate the

class itself. Or you might end up having such a fun time writing messages to each other in your notebooks, you forget to pay at-tention to the professor.

Oops. :K

What happens if the person giving you advice secretly hates

^fyour guts because they thought you were hitting on their girl/ boyfriend? I don't even want to think about that one.

I know, you're rolling your eyes at me, thinking that if the class is so bad, you can just drop it. However, if you don't add another one, you are out big bucks and if you do add anoth-er one, well, you've already missed at least one class, and who's to say that the new one will be any better?

So, why not skip the whole class-switching thing. Grab the class catalogue and the big gray list, and start figuring out which classes will be the least tortur-ous. Remember, the only thing you have to fear is work.

Oh, and clowns, 'cause those guys are creepy.

Campus question: "His/her most attractive feature is..."

"... his manner because class is always sexy."

-Michelle Brewer, Freshman

"... personality because even the best looking guy can be a jerk." iS

-Jermani Hickman, Freshman

"... eyes; I can see what he's really thinking If it contradicts what comes out of his mouth."

-Lindsay Stickney, Sophomore

"... eyes and smile because it is the first thing I notice, and sometimes it invites me to talk to them."

-Allison Perry, Freshman

"... a truthful smile and hon-est personality; there are a lot of pretty girls out there, but those two factors single them out." p£-Dan Schuler,

Freshman

W"... nice, strong man hands be-cause they have so much poten-tial* 7p&- v A. j& -Madam Malarky, B Senior

"... booty because I'm from the hood, and that's how we lay it down back home. It's not your beauty; it's your booty!"

-Jesus Lepe, Junior

"... smile; it gives me a sense of confidence to approach and t.ilk to hci "

-Mike Daddario, Sophomore

"...boobs because I don't have them."

- Chris Clark, Grad Student

". j". personality because in 40 years, that will still be the same.'*

-Andy Greathouse, Sophomore

"... the male swimmer's muscle, aka: the 'Ken doll' stomach muscle- it's freakin' hot!" A: i |

-Sarah Benvenuti, Senior

"... the lips; there's nothing better than a good make-out session."

Tamara Snyder, Senior

"... a good laugh." -Zach Smith j Junior

To contact: oplnbnmercied@m0rcyhurst.edu OPINION

Why blind dates are usually X-men

DearMadamMalarky, I Wry is it that blind dates always

suck?Imean, theso-calkd "friends" thathookyou itparesupposedto be looktngoutforyou, right?

Then whydotheyhookyou upwtih themostmotvnic mutantsto tualkthe earth? I mean can t they tell if the perscn1syourl)perTheyshouMknow youwsQenoagh.

Oris it that theyjust want to see yousquirm? \jt NeuerLeaving the House Again

Dear Never Leaving, \%: Ahhh, blind dates. Nature's way of reminding us that perhaps we're not so bad after all.

Quite honestly, I don't think I have ever heard of a blind date that went well. I don't think any-one has. So why is it that we feel compelled to do it?

For once, I'm not quite sure, but lets ponder this phenomenon

Take a look at your friends. Friends are great. We all gotta have.'em. They support us through the rough times, and laugh with us during the good times.

They make sure we don't choke on our own vomit when we're drunk. They humor us when we gripe about things that don't matter.

They're great, and we can't live without'em. However, we must remember that they are human and because they are human, they can make mistakes.

More importantly they can turn into raging control freaks and try to play God or even worse -cupid.

If you think about it, I'm sure you've probably had one of those moments when you've thought that two of your friends should hook up. I think it's safe to say that it's happened to ev-eryone. M

Sometimes we just don't think hard enough about it

Say for example, that you have a friend you've known since kin-dergarten. A friend that used to eat paste with you and play Nin-ja Turtles with you out on the playground Back men you were both mutants.

Everyone in elementary school is. It is the nature of the paste-eating beast. Nobody noticed anybody else's "mutanthood."

It was one big happy mutant community filled with boogers and skid marks. •)

Times change. Unfortunately, sometimes

friends don't You probably grew up, went through the psychotic phase in junior high, went through the "too deep for ev-eryone'' phase in high school, and came to college and became nor-mal. (Hey, I can pretend if you can)

All the while, you've stayed close with your elementary school friend and friendship tran-scends all logic. \

You probably haven't even no-ticed that your friend still eats paste ... that he looks like he never hit puberty... that he still shouts "no gimmies!" at random times.

You hueihis friend and because you've known him for so long, you don't even notice that he's a bit... strange.

You think he's great, and you'd jump at the chance to set him up with one of the bombshell female friends you have here up at school.

You just can't seem to under-stand why he never gets dates for himself.

You figure he's just shy.

This is where problems start. So it's entirely possible that

whoever set you up on this date has no idea that your date is a mutant.

Maybe you should break the news to the matchmaker gently. Or you can just forget about it and hope the mutant doesn't get set up on any more dates... for the date's sa ke.

My advice to you is that you should probably just avoid blind dates. Clearly they're not work-ing out for you, so try to pick up your own dates?

Why do you feel the need ro go on blind dates anyway? Are you having difficulty getting dates the traditional way?

Still got skid marks?

Keep me posted. Or don't. Whatever.

MadamMcilaiky

"Changmgtheivoiidonednitihen mistake at a time-

Send your questions to Madam Malarky@yahoo.com or add "Madam Malarky" to your AOL buddy list and IM me with your questions.

Or just read my away message, 'cause that's prohably what you'll do anyway. Don't forget to make suggestions for the extra-special Valentine's addition'

P.S It has been brought to my attention that some readers are upset at the lack of a "Lifetime Original Movie" reference in the last article. I'm sorry to cause such an uproar.

Lifetime sucks. How's that? <£ P.P.S.'To that kid 1 mCt'STa

party a couple weeks ago and who said my article is gay - (I forget your name... I think it was Brian or something)

Was this week heterosexual enough?

INTeRPLANeTARY EXPLORATION Wouu>Be FUW*BU~T\... % »

OWOOR GIPBAL CooLlNG CWSlSt .

...FIRST we HeeDToFUUY FUND OUR

*NOiAWAe % LelTBeRiND* PRoGRAM.

^FiRSrV/fi NeeDACuRe

AND MAD

Disease*

MERCURY 1 1 S ATuRM N e P T c N e

*&jr*No'tnin'.' BREAK OUT •me GRAND-WDS'CReWT CARDS?

V4IL

«- MERCIAD Adam DuShole Billy Elliott Kelly Rose Duttine Courtney Nicholas Jaime Rlnne Patrick Marti no Emily Crofoot Katie McAdams

Jess Tobin

Piotr Wolinski

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor

News Editor Features Editor Opinion Editor Sports Editor* A&E Editor f. Photo Editor Copy Editor

editormerciad@mercyhurst. edu prQdmerciad@mercyhur$tedu ne wsmerciad@mercyhurst. edu featuremerclad@mercyhurst.edu opinionmercia d@mercyhurst. edu

sportsmerciad@mercyhurst. edu entertalnmentmerclad@mercyhurst.edu photomerclad@mercy hurst, edu jtobin 75@mercyhurst. edu

Assistant Managing Editor

The Merciad Is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms week and finals week. Our office is in the Hirt Center, room LL1l£0ur telephone number Is 624-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and 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. Letters are due the Thursday before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit letters to box PH 485. I 0 I i I

PAGE 6 THE MERCI AD FEBRUARY 4, 2004

ENTERTAINM ENT To contact: entertainmentmerclad@mercyhijrst.edu

FEB. 16. Howie Day, Stereophonies. Agora Theater, Cleveland.

Bf* FEB. 20. Peter Case; Amy Rigby, Jeff Klein. Beach; Ballroom, Cleveland.

FEB. 21. Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Phantasy Theatre. Lake-wood, Ohio. On sale Jan. 24 at Tlcketmaster.

. 21. Little Steven's Underground Garace live with the Romantics, Ches-terfield Kings, Reigning Sound, Fondas, Cobra Verde, hosted in person by Little Steven Van Zandt. Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland,

FEB. 22. Pennywise, Guttermouth, Stretch Armstrong. Agora Theater, Qeveland.

FEB. 25. Chris Whitley, Ieitur. Beachland Tavern, Qeveland.

FEB. 27. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Beachland Ballroom, Qeveland.

|. 28. Punchline, Don't Look Down. Club Laga, Pittsburgh. On sale Jan. 24 at Ticketmaster.

MARCH 6. Ziccy Marley, Michael Franti and Spear-head. Mr. Small's Theater, Pittsburgh. On sale Jan. 24 at noon at Ticketmaster.

MARCH 8. Von BondiesS Tough and Lovely, Beach-land Tavern,Cleveland.

MARCH 9. Bette Midler. HSBC Arena, Buffalo. On sale Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. at Tops Friendly Markets, by phone at (888) 223-6000, onlineatwww.tickets.com

MARCH 22. Proclaimers. Rosebud, Pittsburgh. On* sale Jan. 23 at Ticketmaster.

MARCH 23. Dream Theater. Palace Theater, Monroeville. On sale Jan. 23 at Ticketmaster.

MARCH 24. Proclaimersjfj Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland.

APRIL 6. Sleepy Jackson. Rosebud, Pittsburgh. On sale Jan. 23 at Ticketmaster.

APRIL 8. Larry the Cable Guy. Warner Theatre, Erie. $27.75. On sale Feb. 7 at Tullio Arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 452-4857 or 456-7070, online at www.tickeunaster.com. Notes, Date moved from March 11?

APRIL 19,20. Comedy. Jackie Mason. Jr's Last Laugh, Erie. On-sale date TBA..;

APRIL 30. Alan Jackson, Martina McBride. Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh. On sale Jan. 24 at Ticketmaster.

APRIL 29. MUSICAL "Sound of Music." An Erie Broadway Senes event. Warner Theatre, Erie. $47.75, $35.75, $25.75. On sale at Tullio Arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 452-4857 or 456-7070, online at www.ticketmaster.com.

APRIL 30. Alan Jackson, Martina McBride. Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh. On sale date TBA J v *& University oi Buffalo M i instage Theater, Buffalo.

Foephoto

TV on the Radios newest album, Young Liars EP, was released in July 2003.

TV on the Radio By Julie Segner Contributing writer

Band: TV on the Radio Album: Young Liars EP Released: July 8, 2003 {* Label: Touch & Go Records

Let me just start by saying that this is where music should be going! This EP from a NYU film graduate, turned singer/song-1 writer Tunde Adebimpe, blew me away from the start I eager-ly welcomed this change of musical pace because it was, and is, so new, original, and complete-ly unexpected.

Although the voice of Tu nde Adebimpe may be unfamiliar to those who are outside of the tight knit New York rock scene, his partner in crime and produc-tion/keyboardist/sound manip-ulator, David Andrew Sitek as not! Sitek, having recently dipped his hands into some of today's groundbreaking indy rock - Yeah Yeah Yeah's and The Liars, became involved with Adebimpe when they both were neighbors in Brooklyn. Soon enough they found themselves making music together, as well as being fellow artists and film-makers.

Sitek's brother Jason began playing drums and other instru-ments with the pair during their recording sessions, which result-ed in a self-titled, 24-track CD released by the Brooklyn Milk imprint. Jason later rejoined the group to release the EP Young Liars in the summer of 2003 to much acclaim and embarking on what is 2003's most promis-ing band with a mere EP that has already gone beyond most full length albums by established artists.

After the EP was completed, TV on the Radio added guitar-ist/vocalist Kyp Malone to be-gin recording the full length due out this March - "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes."

I don't even want to tarnish this beautiful EP by categoriz-ing it "indy rock" and plaguing it with the usual off-putting and superfluous descriptions used to depict the "underground" mu-sic scene. This EP goes above

and beyond any music I have heard thus far. If I could mere-ly convince you of their won-derfulness just by saying, Take my word, this band rocks!" I would do so a thousand times over.

But the cynic and music critic is at the heart of us all, and if I really want you to hear this I must become a music predator and mangle my prey with ostenta-tious descriptions. Even then, I doubt any of you readers will go out and purchase said musical revolution.

So here goes: Adebimpe does 99 percent of the vocals on Young Liars, which is incredible, not only because of the a ca pel-la version of the Pixies song Mr. Grieves, but because his voice does not follow the screeching off-key trademark of indy rock-ers today.

This guy can actually sing, which is a rarity nowadays! Ade-bimpe's voice is a boundless mediator between soul, African roots and electronic "art rock," the latter being the base element of the songs themselves (think multi-layered harmony with son-ic youth guitars.) TVs EP (with the Sitek's help of course) is awash with opulent synthesizers, whining guitars and Adebimpe's haunting vocals all behind sim pie and direct lyrics.

All of this is so original I still can't stop playing it over and over, and yet it lacks ALL pre-tension of the NYU music scene! This was not a whimsical musical endeavor meant to im-press people and win friends.

These songs were carefully sculpted, without effort it seems, and is purely the result of two great music mind's coming to-gether. These guys are touring with their close friends the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and will be playing in Cleveland on Feb. 28 at the Beachland Ballroom to promote their second release, the full length "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes" that comes out in March.

II you desire/enjoy "pushing the musical envelope" without getting too obscure, please buy this CD or come to the show because it's worth the money!

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Monty Python comes to the PAC By AJana Lisiecki Contributing writer

Need a break from all the homework piled up on your desk? Come on over to the PAC for an exciting movie! "Shattered Glass,* a drama di-rected by Bilty Ray is showing on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.and 8 p m

This true-life story of Stephen Glass played by Hay-den Christensen, documents the life of a young writer who works his way up in the world as a journalist in Washington, D.C. Glass wanted nothing more than to be famous and in order to reach his goal he constructed false stories, sources, and quotes in at least 27 of his 41 articles.'

However, the deceitful staff member of "The New Repub-lic" goes from famous to no-torious.

What will happen to every-thing that he worked so hard for?

Owen Gleiberman from En-tertainment Weekly called it, "A devious and entertaining jour-nalistic suspense story." Come and find out the fate of Stephen Glass on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

For more information about the film, visit this Website: www.sriatteredgJassniovie.com/

Before you get serious and set-tle down with your books to study for finals it's essential that you set some time aside to come and see one of the runniest movies ever made. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," an adventurous comedy directed by Terry Gil-liam and Terry Jones, will be play-ing in the PAC on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The re-mastered version re-leased in 2001 is sure to provide sidesplitting laughter.

The group faces many prob-lems during their quest for the Holy Grail, including a three-headed giant, the dangerous Cas-tle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.

Critic James Berardinelli de-scribes it as a "brilliant comic writing.'' ?

So grab your friends and head over to the PAC to catch these two great movies.

Admission to both of these films is free for Mercyhurst stu-dents.

Other upcoming.,A&E events: G

• On Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 8 at 2 p.m., "Raw Edges IV will

be performing at the PAC. The show is an innovative program of cutting edge new works by emerging choreographers, phis an intermission chat with the choreographers. Admission is $1 for Mercyhurst students. I • On Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m., QuinTango "ValenTan-go" will be performing at the PAC. Sf |

One hundred years ago, the tango was banned by many communities as immoral and suggestive — which makes QuinTango a perfect enter-tainment for Valentine's Day.

This five-member ensemble will be joined by a pair of award-winning dancers. We call this special event Valen-Tango, the most memorable way you can spend the year's most romantic evening.

If you're planning on one special night this coming year, circle the date for ValenTan-go... in red. 4*

For more information, visit www.quintango.com.

Tickets for this event are $22.50 for adults, $20 for se-niors, $17.50 with the Presi-dent's Card, $12.50 for youth under 15, and $12.50 for Mer-cyhurst students.?

Photo courtesy of www.googie.oam.

On Feb. 1, Les Violons du Roy performed at the Mercyhurst Performing Arts Center.

Les Violons du Roy gives performance By Jenn Camodeca Contributing writer

It is clear that the Super Bowl is much more intriguing than a classical concert.

This is apparent and disap-pointing as the attendance of Les Violons du Roy this past week-end was minimal. Only 271 of the 800 seats in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Cen-ter were filled on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 2:30 p.m.

Les Violons du Roy originates from Quebec City and is well know throughout Canada for its wonderful concerts and record-ings. The group was brought to-gether in 1984 by artistic direc-tor Bernard Labadie. Labadie is a highly accomplished director and specialist in the Baroque and

Classical repertoire. This ensemble specializes in a

vast repertoire of music for the chamber orchestra. Each musi-cal number is performed in the stylistic manner appropriate to each specific time period.

The ensemble performs piec-es from the Baroque and Classi-cal periods and is highly influ-enced by the 17h and 18,h cen-turies.

While perfonning this reper-toire, the orchestra uses Baroque bows and bowing techniques, which are very difficult and ft-nitev 'i

Les Violons du Roy is also very proud of the fact mat they are known for their exceptional en-ergy, brilliance, and vitality of their performances. t The growth of this orchestra is apparent since 1988, because

they have appeared in France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, En-gland, Norway, Austria, Moroc-co, Ecuador, Canada, and the United States.

In 1992j.Les Violons du Roy signed a contract with Dorian Recording. This collaboration has resulted in 11 CD recordings to date. Five of the compact discs have been nominated for Juno Awards and two won the Juno award for Best Classical Album, Choral or Vocal Performance.

This was a wonderful classical musical performance. It is sad that the audience was not very large; however, those who at-tended found the music of Mozart, Schubert, and others played to perfection. As of now, we are uncertain if Les Violons du Roy will return for an encore performance. We can only hope.

MERCYHURST STUDENTS (+18) We have Immediate openings in our customer sales/service dept

$12.50 base/appt. Funtflex. Hrs. around class. Work with other students!

s 3 I

FEBRUARY 4,2004 THEMERCIAD PAGE 7

Women To contact: 8portsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

~LAKER SPORTS

basketball beaten 64-45 BylizWHlJams Contributing Writer

Mercyhurst played against Hillsdale on Thursday, Jan. 29.

The Lakers were defeated 64-45.

Hillsdale now holds a 7-11 overall record with a 3-5 mark in the GLIAC.

Tnis was the Chargers first win after a five-game losing streak. After a recent first win of the season over Gannon, the Lak-ers overall dropped to 1-17 and 1-10, •

At intermission the score was 30-27.;

This was an effort by Mercy-hurst to get ahead, but still trail-ing behind

The Lakers once again had only seven players dressed, and in the second half they ran out of gas.

The Chargers took an early lead in the second half, leaving the score at 53-32.

Mercyhurst had a slow start: They earned 13 points in the last five minutes of the game.

Sophomore Cassie Seth end-ed with a total of 15 points for the Lakers.

Hillsdale out-rebounded Mer-cyhurst 45-28.

Nikki Wustman led her team by earning a dozen

Mercyhurst lost three of their starters from last season.

Nine players returned to the team that had an overall 6-21 and 3-14 in the Great Lakes Inter-collegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). f f-

On average, the team this year is very youngs

It features one junior, eight sophomores, and two freshmen

Sophomore guard Cassie Seth is 5-11, and is the returning lead scorer for the Lakers.

Last season she only missed one game.

She also started in 24 out of 26. I

Seth totaled 212 points and had 36 steals.

She was ranked third on the team in scoring.

This Thursday, Feb. 5, the Lak-ers match up against Wayne State for a home game.

Recently, the Warriors had three straight wins.

They beat Central State, Ash-land, and Northwood.

Senior guard Jodi Young of Wayne State poured in a game-

Wrestling coach puts team on right track By Matt Jackson Contributing Writer

It was expected before the start of this year's season that the Mercyhurst mens wrestling team would improve from their mediocre first two seasons, and ffi Thisls evident by the fact

"We've done good things. It could be better but we still have the opportunity to make this sea-son a great one. Right now I'm pleased but not satisfied."

One goal of the Lakers each season is to beat its crosstown rival. Gannon University.!

(hev^have i^xdisa^^jnte^^^^ Head Coach Tony OpoJJone -vj

put even more pressure on his team by scheduling nineDivi-sion I opponents and at least six top 20 Division II teams.

The team has responded well by compiling a 9-4 record and a No. 13 national ranking up to this point in arguably their toughest schedule in the team's tli ree seasons.

It is this tough schedule that QpoUone hopes will prepare his team for the post season.

"Competition is going to help us. Wrestling in the West Vir-ginia open and against Division I teams like Findlay, Slippery Rock University, and UPJ is good competition. At this point we feel like we can compete with anybody," said Coach Ci-pollone.

tot. a sheet of pa per coi mting down the days to the Gannon match has been located on the wrestling room wall all season.

The Lakers accomplished this goal for the first time this sea-son in dominant fashion, de-feating the Knights 29-11. I

"Gannon is always one of the goals of our season. I've told the guys we will wrestle some teams better than them, but it was still a big win," said Cipol-lone.

The Lakers now have three remaining matches before they set their minds on the post sea-son.

"Our goal right now is to qualify all ten wrestlers to na-tionals, and I think there is a good possibility we can do it"

The Lakers will next compete on Feb. 7, when they host

As for the improvement this Muskingum, the Division III season Coach Cipollone is not school that Cipollone last content as of yet. coached at.

Coach Cipollone watches a match intently. Flte Photo

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Sophomore guard Cassie Seth advances on Hillsdale. Seth ended the day with 15 points. Kate McAdam&'Pholo Editor

high 24 points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds to help Wayne State (8-10) past Central State (73-63) in a non-conference

game last Saturday. Mercyhurst has 8 games left

in the GLIAC and still have a chance to get a few wins.

When asked about the rest of the season, Cassie Seth was con-fident that mere could be a turn-around

A positive Lakers play at their next State.

outlook will help the up to their potential game against Wayne

Men's basketballjrolls Hillsdale Record improves to 9-2 in conference, 15-6 overall

ByKristaRoss Contributing Writer

The Mercyhurst men's basket-ball team edged GLIAC rival Hillsdale 63-52 Jan. 29 to im-prove its overall record to 15-6 and 9-2 in the league.

The Lakers came out'Strong in the first half, leading 13-5 with eight minutes off the clock, but the Hillsdale Chargers were not going to just hand Mercyhurst a victory and would come within a point, 23-22, with just under two minutes left in the first half.

The Lakers lead at intermis-sion, 28-22, and would carry the lead through the second half. Senior forward Josh Helm had an impressive 26 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Lakers in

Justin Shouse File Photo

scoring. Senior guard Justin Shouse

also added 13 and had 9 assists. The Lakers shot 43 percent

from behind the arc including three that came from sopho-more guard Tony Mitchell.

The Mercyhurst men also out-

Kate McAdams/Photo Editor Senior Forward Josh Helm works the bal under the net. rebounded the Chargers 32-29 and shot 52 percent on me night

The Lakers will resume play on

Thursday, Feb. 5 against the Wayne State Warriors at the MAC 8 p.m.

Randazzo eyes national birth; again By Daniel Wagner Contributing Writer

\ Mercy hurst's young wrestling program is quickly becoming one of the top programs in the NCAA East Region.

While Mercyhurst has only had a wrestling team for the last two and a half years, the program has enjoyed considerable success. . • As one of the college's most successful programs, Mercy-hurst can boast four national qualifiers and two Al 1-Americans, and most recently a national ranking of 13th by the latest Di-vision II Wrestling Coaches As-sociation

Junior Ricky Randazzo wants to add his name to the list of national qualifiers and All-Amer-icans, while helping the Lakers receive further national atten-tion * A native of Parma, Ohio, Ran-

dazzo spent his freshman year of college at nearby Cuyahoga Community College where he wrestled at 125 pounds. Ran-dazzo had a 19-17 record while wrestling mostly Division I and H opponents.

The competition paid of I Randazzo took third in the

New York Region, qualifying him for the Junior College National Championships in Rochester, Minnesota.

Although Randazzo missed out on All-Americ in by one match, he did record two wins and a hunger to return,?

But Randazzo's wrestling would take him elsewhere.

cently handed Tony Iovine of Ashland University his first loss on the season

So what's his secret? Prior to the 2004 season

Randazzo changed his diet and off-season training to improve his strength and technique.

Randazzo lost weight gradual-ly in order to maintain the mus-cle he put on over the summer.

Randazzo has also welcomed the addition of two training part-ners.

Randazzo said, "J.J. Zanetta and Ryan Finn bring out the best in me every day, every practice is like a match." •Randazzo believes his confi-dence plays a key role in his suc-

Junior wrestler Ricky .Randazzo Re Photo

While competing in the Mid-west Classic Wrestling Tourna-ment his freshman year, Randazzo met Mercyhurst Coach Tony QpoUone.

Cipollone arranged for Randazzo to visit Mercy hurst in hopes of filling the vacant 125-pound spot

Randazzo liked what he saw, and enrolled at Mercyhurst for his sophomore year.

"Mercyhurst was the right fit, academically and athletically," he said.

Mercyhurst was a change for the better. I* g

Randazzo said "Practices and matches are closer and more competitive, and there is more

of a for us on the team." Though Randazzo's season

was stopped short in the East Regional Championships in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at the hands of Doug Curnes ( West Liberty), he did mount a 19-12 record on the year.

But his desire to again com-pete at i lie national level would have to wait another year.

The 2004 season is now half over and Randazzo is off* to an impressive start.

He is both the National Cath-olic Duels (Duquesne Universi-ty ) and Midwest Invitational ( Indianapolis Indiana ) champion Randazzo avenged his region-

al loss to Doug Curnes and re-

"I used to watch out for oth-er wrestlers, now I think I am someone they should watch out for," Randazzo said.

Randazzo is enjoying his sea-son, but he's not content, i

"My goal is to get to nationals and be an Ail-American. Win-ning tournaments is nice, but it doesn't matter unless I get to nationals," Randazzo said.

Currently, Randazzo is ranked fourth in the East region and predicted to go to I lie National Championships} in Mankato, Minnesota U Randazzo aims to be the fifth

wrestler from Mercyhurst to qualify for nationals, adding his name to an elite list of wrestlers, all of whom are still at Mercy-hurst today.

Randazzo puts it most simply saying, "I want to compete with the best, and against the best"

PAGE 8 THE MERCIAD FEBRUARY 4, 2004

7b contact: sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

rJAKER SPORTS M e n ' s h o c k e y g o e s l - o - i a g a i n s t Q u i n n i p i a c

M e r c y h u r s t offense n e t s 9 g o a l s , F r a n c k h o l d s Q u i n n i p i a c t o 5 By Ryan Palm Contributing Writer

The offense of the Mercyhurst men's hockey team continued to be on fire, scoring nine goals in the two game weekend series against visiting Quinnipiac Uni-versity.

The teams squared off first on Friday night, and to the surprise of the nearly 700 fans at the Ice Center, the teams played to a scoreless first period.

The Lakers entered the game with the best offense in Atlantic Hockey, averaging just over four goals a game. [ On the flip side, the Quinnipi-

ac defense is the toughest in the conference, averaging just few-er than two goals allowed per game.

The Lakers were able to break through just over four minutes into the second period, when sophomore forward Scott Rey-nolds scored his eighth goal of the season.

The two-on-one goal was as-sisted by sophomores Erik

*

Johnson and Dave Borrelli. The goal also broke the score-

less steak or Quinnipiac goalie Jamie Holden, who hadn't al-lowed a goal in 191:45. The Bobcats would even the

score, as junior forward Chris White beat the glove of Mercy-hurst goalie sophomore Andy Franck.

The goal tied the game at 1-1, but little did Quinnipiac know that it would be their last tally of the night. % * Mercyhurst came back to

J. • • J c score when junior deienseman TJ. Kemp scored his fourth goal of the season, with assists cred-ited to junior Rich Hansen and senior Adam Tackaberry.

The power-play goal came with over 17:00 left in the second period, and put the Lakers

ahead 2-1. Mercyhurst added another tal-

ly just over six minutes into the third period when Borelli was fed on a breakaway by Reynolds and senior defenseman Nolan Brown. \ Just over a minute later junior David Wrigley found freshman Scott Champagne wide open in front of the Quinnipiac goal. Champagne's fifth goal of the

season put the Lakers ahead 4-1. " : M

The final score would involve all freshman, as Mike Pochatek fed Jon Asselstine off a rebound, and Assel tine put it past Hold-en, giving the Lakers a 5-1 lead.

That is the way it would end, as the Laker defense held off some strong attacks by the Bob-cats during the final minutes.

The two teams were at it again Saturday, with a much different result in the end.

The game opened with two straight goals by Quinnipiac, the first coming off the stick of sophomore forward Ty Deine-ma. f 'Deinema's second goal of the

season came 5:43 into the game and gave the Bobcats a quick 1-Olead. .jt> j , t

Quinnipiac scored again four minutes later, when Troy Maley-ko scored his first goal of the season, putting the Bobcats up by two.

Mercyhurst finally bounced back with one of their own with under a minute to play in the first, when senior Mike Carter scored his tenth goal of the sea-son, and was assisted by fresh-man Jamie Hunt

The Lakers scored first in the second period, as Tackaberry slapped a rebound past Holden, evening the game at 2-2.

The goals continued to come in pairs, as Quinnipiac scored the next two, one during the second period and one in the third.

Men's volleyball falls to Loyola of Chicago By Liz Williams Contributing Writer

i*

Loyola of Chicago defeated Mercyhurst 3-0 on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Loyola College.

Mercyhurst fell to 0-2 in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volley-ball Association (MVA).

The loss dropped the Lakers record to 4-4 overall.

Conversely, the record for Loyola improved to 4-2 and 1-0. The scores were 32-30,30-17, and 30-26.

Dan Kick of the Lakers had 28 assists. Justin Waas led the team by having eleven kills, and Austin Siewert finished the game will) ten.

On Friday January 30, Mer-cyhurst dropped their first con-ference match 3-0.

The Lakers' record fell to a 4-3 overall. .

They faced the defending Na-tional Champions at Lewis Uni-versity.

Their record had improved to 3-5 and 1-1. £ ^ *]

The scores were 30-22, 30-23, and 30-23. i - T

Dan Kick finished with 23 as-sists. Austin Siewert made 10 kills. Justin Waas and Dave Schmidt both added 7 for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst defeated Medai-lle College 3-0 last Wednesday on January 28.

Trie record for the Lakers im-proved to 4-2 on the season.

Dan Kick finished with 25 as-sists and Tom Roberts had 10. Justin Waas added 12 kills, while Austin Siewert had earned an even higher of 16.

The scores of that game were 30-27,30-15, and 30-22. f

The Lakers had their most

Justin Waas Rte Photo

prolific year statistically last sea-son. |

Luckily, this season at least eight key players came back from the 2003 campaign. Soph-omore Justin Waas led the Lak-ers in kills and aces last season.

Also, sophomore Nate Kee-gan earned All-Tournament honors at the 2003 Mercyhurst Invitational.

The team has many promis-ing young athletes, and the coaches are sizing up their po-tential, j

Last season senior Nate Sam-ple and junior Bill VanCise proved their selves to the team. \t The coaches noticed their hard work, and mentioned more permanent spots for the men

The coaching staff urges the team to start the games strong, and finish even stronger.

There is a motivating force that will help Mercyhurst get back on track after their two straight losses.

Mercyhurst will attempt to straighten out their play next Friday at the University of Findlay in the Midwest Inter-collegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). S

KatjeMcAdamtfPhotoEoHor Sophomore forward Scott Reynolds wins the draw back to Erik Johnson. The pair each had two points on the weekend.

Facing a 4-2 deficit, the Lak-ers rallied with a goal early in the third, when Pochatek scored his first goal of the season off a rebound from Kyle Gourgon.

Ten minutes later senior Peter Rynshoven continued his great play of late, as he tied the game

with his eighth goal of the year, assists given to Carter and Kemp. ^Neither team could break the tie in regulation, and the teams headed into the sudden-death five minute overtime.

Despite some great chances, the teams could not put the puck

in the net, and the game ended as a 4-4 tie. ~ -The Lakers record now stands at 14-9-2 overall, while still in second place in Atlantic Hockey with a 11-3-1 record

The team will hit the road next weekend, traveling to take on

Sacred Heart University for a pair of crucial Atlantic Hockey games.

Sacred Heart currently sits in fourth place, behind Mercyhurst by eight points.

Women's hockey downs OSU By Ryan Palm Contributing writer

The No. 7 ranked women's hockey team hosted the Ohio State University on Jan. 31.

The Buckeyes got on the board early, with a goal by Erin O'Grady at 7:55.

Grady's seventh goal of the season was assisted by Krysta Skarda and Amber Bowman.

Mercyhurst held off the Buck-eye offense for the rest of the game, as junior goaltender Desi Clark stopped 20 of the 21 shots she faced, r

The Lakers got on the board at 13:48 in the second period, when sophomore Samantha Shir-ley scored her team-leading 12th

goal of the season. Shirley's goal was on a rebound

from Marchese-Del Monte and assisted by Danielle Lansing.

Mercyhurst got the game-win-ner from junior Chrissy Yule, whose eighth goal of the season was assisted by Sarah Kurili.

The goal came following a 2-on-1 breakaway, when Ohio State net minder Melissa Glas-

en stopped Yule's first effort, but could not stop the second shot, as the goal put Mercyhurst up for good. j

Glasen played a spectacular game despite the loss, as she stopped 34 of the 36 shots tak-en by Mercyhurst, good enough to earn her the game's second star. it Mercyhurst now leads the all-time series 2-0, as they won by an identical score last year in Columbus, Ohio/

The team will resume College Hockey America (CHA) play next weekend when they travel to Wayne State for a pair of day games on Saturday and Sunday.

The Lakers defeated Wayne State 1-0 and 5-1 earlier this sea-son at the Ice Center. Eg Mercyhurst now leads the con-ference with a 6-0-0 mark, and is 18-4-4 overall.

Jim Fetter coaches Wayne State. He is the former assistant women's coach for Mercyhurst.

"They have a new coach we are familiar with and he is hard working. We need to pay atten-tion to the little things when we face Wayne State. If we play the

Katie McAdama/Photo

Junior Chrissy Yule avoids an OSU defender. game right, we will come out on top" Samantha Shirley said.

Several Lakers were given awards Jan. 27 from College Hockey America Weekly.

Shirley picked up the offensive

player of I he week award, while freshman Ashley Pendleton picked up the defensive award and fellow freshman Jackie Jar-rell picked up the freshman of the week award

Club hockey wins[tourney in Annapolis By Matt Jackson Contributing Writer

Freshman goaltender Dan Larue was named MVP of the Crab Pot tournament in Annap-olis, Md., this past weekend as he led the Mercyhurst Club Hockey team to a 2-0 record and a first place finish.

Larue let up only five goals in two games, both against nation-ally ranked teams.

Senior P.J. Mastyiak took MVP honors in the first game as he

scored one of the Lakers five goals in the their 5-3 victory over No.llTowson.

Whitney Gibbs, Chris Danna, Shane ReUhan, and Brent Kli-mt >w all chipped in with one goal apiece.

Navy beat Villanova Universi-ty on the other side of the brack-et to set up the finals contest between Mercyhurst and Navy.

The Lakers found themselves trailing after one and made changes going into the second period I The Lakers erased the deficit

in the second period with goals by Danna and sophomore for-ward Matt Rusilko

Lame would let up his final goal of the tournament in that peri-od to make it a 2-2 tie after two periods of play.

The score would stay at 2-2 with only four minutes to play in the game when Chad Klimow scored the go-ahead goal. Just minutes later Brent Klimow put the Lakers up by two with a goal of his own.

In a last attempt to make a comeback, the Navy team pulled

their goalie. The plan backfired, however, as junior Justin Rob-ertson scored an empty netter to make the final score 5-2.

Chris Danna was named MVP of the second game.

The next list of national rank-ings will be put out on Thurs-day, and after this weekend's tournament it is almost certain that the Lakers will be ranked nationally.

Mercyhurst will next compete when they play a home game against Syracuse University on Feb. 7.