1. science
2. biology
3. breeding

Campus Times
Check out the CT Web site on Thursday, March 18 for online-only content. The print edition resumes on March 25.
Volume 137, Number 7
Serving the University of Rochester community since 1873
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Brad Berk
returns to
CEO position
Berk looks to
experiences as a
patient in future
plans for UR
Medical Center
mark fleming • Senior Staff
Sihir Belly dancing breaks it down
From left: Seniors Kayla Anderson, Ellen Frohning and Alexandra Glover participated in Sihir Belly Dancing Ensemble’s
annual spring concert, called Soleil d’edyppd, which took place in the May Room last Saturday night.
Futurity partners with UK
universities to expand globally
by ross brenneman
Publisher
When Futurity launched
just under six months ago,
it had the support of 35
research universities, all
located in North America.
Now Futurity has gone
transatlantic.
The Russell Group, a
union of 20 research schools
located in the United Kingdom, has been integrated
into the cooperative research
Web site known formally as
Futurity.org. Though not all
20 schools within the Russell
Group are official members
of the Futurity project yet,
the schools that have been
added are intended not
only to increase Futurity’s
breadth of coverage, but
also to increase exposure of
Futurity to other parts of
the world.
“Visitors to the UR Newsroom page come from Rochester, New York City and
London in that order most
months, so that audience is
already very important to
this university,” Vice President for Communications
Bill Murphy said.
The United Kingdom
schools added to the group
include Cardiff University,
King’s College London, University College London, University of Leeds, University
of Nottingham, University
of Sheffield and University of Warwick. They join
McGill University, located
in Montreal, in representing
international research.
The new additions have
been slowly phased in since
January, when the members
of Futurity voted to include
the Russell Group. Already,
a number of pieces have
been added. Cardiff released
a study two weeks ago examining how the bamboo
diet of pandas relates to the
pandas’ genomes.
Leeds released a study on
Futurity last week describing the effect of collaboration between health care
specialists on patients with
depression and diabetes.
Allowing such research to
more easily reach American
readers was exactly the goal
of the Russell Group.
“We’re very excited about
our partnership with Futurity,” Director of External
Relations for University
of Sheffield Carrie Warr
said. “It allows us to communicate our University
of Sheffield research to a
wider audience, and have
our achievements showcased alongside leading U.S.
universities.”
Futurity, a Web site which
showcases the research of
what is now 53 institutions,
exists to increase collaboration and, more importantly,
easily showcase research
to a broader audience. UR,
Duke University and Stanford University founded the
organization in September
2009, and UR’s Office of
See EXPANSION, Page 4
by sandra barbosu
Senior Staff
Following long months of
rehabilitation after a severe
bicycling accident last May,
CEO of UR Medical Center
Brad Berk returned to his
position on Monday, March
1, while still undergoing a
few hours of physical and
occupational therapy every
day. “My first day back felt
amazing. It was very exciting, anxiety-provoking and
tiring,” Berk said. “It was a
great day.”
On May 30, 2009, Berk
was involved in a bicycle accident in which he suffered
a cervical fracture and an incomplete spinal lesion While
Berk was hospitalized and
recovering, his position was
temporarily filled by thenChair of the Department of
Medicine Mark Taubman.
In January, Taubman was
announced as the tenth dean
of the Medical Center.
According to Chief Medical Officer and URMC Vice
President Ray Mayewski,
Berk’s return to the post
went as well as could be
expected.
“We are delighted … The
transition occurred smoothly.
We made this change without
any great upheaval. Basically
speaking, we didn’t miss a
step,” Mayewski said.
An important factor that
motivated Berk to return was
the support he received from
the Rochester community
following the accident.
“The support was phenomenal, and played a huge
part in my desire to get back
because I really wanted to acknowledge all of that support
and show them that it made
a difference,” Berk said.
A UR Web site was created
after his accident, through
which Berk received more
than 4,000 supportive notes.
In addition, his daughter
was very involved with the
“Wishing Well” that was
put up in a café on Elmwood
Avenue, where Berk received
hundreds more notes.
“People also e-mailed me
on a regular basis, and it
is obvious that the community followed the story very
closely, because wherever
I go, people recognize me
and ask me how I’m doing,”
he said.
Seeing URMC through the
eyes of a patient, Berk has
observed firsthand both the
positive and negative aspects
of the facility, which he says
will help guide him in his
future plans.
“In the first 12 days following the accident, while
I was in the ICU, I was very
fortunate not to get any
pneumonia or any infections, so I think that is a
testament to our quality
and safety program,” Berk
said. “We’ve remarkably
decreased the number of
See URMC, Page 4
Israel Peace Week comes to UR
by Mark fleming
Senior Staff
Israel Peace Week, a movement co-founded by UR
student sophomore Anna
Richlin in January, came to
the River Campus this week
to educate students about Israel’s contributions to peace,
along with other information
about the nation.
“We wanted to make sure
that, not from a political
side but from a social side,
people know about Israel,”
she said.
Richlin and four other
college students — three
from the U.S. and one from
Canada — came up with the
idea of Israel Peace Week
Inside this issue:
after going to Israel with
Hasbara Fellowships in December 2009. Their purpose
was to portray a positive side
of Israeli society and educate
people about it.
They created the organization and wrote a mission
statement in January and
launched their Web site
and Facebook group in early
February. From there it grew
faster than they expected.
Since its founding one and
a half months ago, Israel
Peace Week has expanded to
40 college campuses across
the U.S., Canada, England
and Australia. Students from
many more universities and
other community members
contacted Israel Peace Week
for help hosting their own
peace week events.
UR Israel Council (URIC)
Co-President and sophomore
Vered Idan said that Richlin
approached URIC in January to collaborate on an event
to educate people about
Israel’s efforts at peace and
contributions to the world
in terms of culture, science
and technology.
“In a lot of people’s minds
Israel is correlated with conflict, but [it] is much more
than that,” Idan said.
Richlin and URIC designed the event to be a series
of exhibits about various aspects of Israeli culture, from
News: UR Biodiesel rewarded for its efforts
Page 3
Page 6
Opinions: Organized religion: good or bad?
Page 9
Features: There’s no business like snow business
A&E: Eric Hutchinson and Ingrid Michaelson perform Page 13
Page 15
Sports: Spring sports preview innovations in medicine and
irrigation to its protection
of women’s rights and gay
rights.
“Israel is not just sand and
desert and war,” Richlin said.
“It’s so many things that
your average UR student
wouldn’t know.”
For Idan, the expo on
Monday was a chance to talk
about Israel’s contributions
to peace without bringing
politics into the equation.
“I think a peace fair for
Israel is important because
Israel is always in the news
for some sort of violence,”
freshman Marissa BalononRosen, who attended the
See MOVEMENT, Page 4
Courtesy of www.rochestercitynewspaper.com
CEO of UR Medical Center Brad Berk was welcomed back
to work this week after recovering from a bicycle accident
last May, which resulted in serious spinal injury.
The Editorial Board
A View from Abroad:
The local debate on mayoral control
in Rochester misses the larger issue at
hand: poverty.
A UR student experiences the modern
lifestyle of Amman, Jordan.
Opinions: Page 5
Features: Page 12
NEWS
Page 2
Five-Day Forecast
Thursday
Friday
Mostly sunny
Chance of precipitation: 10%
High 32, Low 26
Partly Cloudy
Chance of precipitation: 20%
High 30, Low 24
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Courtesy of www.weather.com
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Partly cloudy
Chance of precipitation: 20%
High 36, Low 30
Few snow showers
Chance of precipitation: 20%
High 37, Low 34
Few snow showers
Chance of precipitation: 30%
High 41, Low 34
Correction from last week’s issue
The Page 1 standalone of the dodgeball tournament did not name the featured
player, Freshman Kevin Layden. The photograph was taken by Photography Editor Matt Chin.
In last week’s Teacher Feature: Burke Scarbrough on Page 8, it was incorrectly
stated that Scarbrough helped to found Rochester’s Martin Luther King High
School. Instead, Scarbrough helped to start a new high school in the building
where MLK High School formerly operated.
It is the policy of the Campus Times to correct all erroneous information
as quickly as possible. If you believe you have a correction, please e-mail
the Campus Times editor at [email protected].
This Week on Campus
Thursday
MARCH 4
Clothing exchange
Ross Brenneman • Publisher
Books stack up in rush rhees
Sophomore Juan Robaina joined other UR students, faculty and staff in looking through the selection of
books at the Friends of UR Libraries and the River Campus Libraries Spring Book Sale, which takes place
in the Hawkins-Carlson room of Rush Rhees Library from Tuesday, March 2 to Wednesday, March 3.
Security Update
Two suspects caught lurking
By Justin Fleming
News Editor
1. Ban forms were issued to two
of three suspicious individuals who
were attempting to enter Gilbert
and Tiernan Halls on Saturday,
Feb. 27.
According to UR Security Investigator Daniel Lafferty, while
a student reported this behavior
to UR Security, the three suspects
left the area. Security spotted the
suspects crossing the pedestrian
footbridge and alerted officers on
the other side.
Two of the three suspects were
stopped by the officers. The suspects claimed that they had just
finished writing a paper in the
UR Medical Center Edward G.
Miner Library and that they were
simply cutting through the River
Campus. Officers noted, however,
that neither of the individuals
were carrying any materials that
would indicate they were working
on a paper.
One of the suspects was found
to have an undergraduate ID card
in his possession, which he said he
picked up after the third suspect
threw it on the ground.
The student to whom the ID
belongs said that the card was
misplaced earlier this semester.
The Rochester Police Department responded to the incident
and identified the two suspects.
Neither were affiliated with the
University, nor would they provide information on the third
individual.
The suspects were instructed not
to return to UR property.
2. Wallet stolen from
Gleason Library
An undergraduate student reported that items were taken from
her wallet while she was studying
in Gleason Library on Sunday, Feb.
28. The student claimed that the
wallet contained $25 in cash and
several personal bank receipts.
According to Lafferty, the student reported that she left the
wallet unattended while she used
the restroom. When she returned,
she noticed an individual leaving
her work area and that her wallet
had been moved from where she
had left it.
Security officers checked surrounding areas for the suspect
but were unable to locate the
individual.
One passenger was injured and
complained of neck pain. Rural
Metro and Rochester Police responded and transported the
individual to Strong Memorial
Hospital. The driver and other
passengers were not injured.
The vehicle sustained front-end
damage, but the light pole was not
damaged.
3. Driver hits light pole,
one passenger injured
An undergraduate student
reported that his cell phone was
stolen in Hoyt Auditorim on
Saturday, Feb. 20, between 9 and
11 p.m.
The student said that the phone
likely fell out of his pocket. According to Lafferty, several calls were
later made from the phone. The
victim plans to file a police report
at a later time.
Fleming is a member
of the class of 2013.
Information provided
by UR Security.
At 1:49 a.m., on Saturday, Feb
27, a security officer noticed that a
vehicle had jumped the curb of the
traffic circle on Wilson Boulevard
and Alumni Road and struck a
light pole.
The driver informed the officer
that he had lost control of the vehicle as he drove around the circle.
Road conditions at the time of the
incident were not of optimal condition, according to Lafferty.
4. Cell phone taken from
Hoyt Auditorium
11:00 a.m. - 3 p.m., Hirst Lounge, Wilson Commons
Bring your unwanted clothes and exchange them for new clothes available at
Grassroots’ Clothing Exchange. Clothing is not for sale — clothes for clothes
exchanges only.
Fulbright information session
3 p.m., Stackle Room, Wilson Commons
Learn more about studying, researching or teaching English abroad as a Fulbright
Scholar. Juniors, Take Five Scholars, Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year Scholars
and graduate students should begin the application process this semester for the
2010-11 competition cycle.
Neilly Series lecture
7:30 p.m., Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library
Abraham Verghese, the author of the acclaimed non-fiction work, “My Own
Country,” will lecture on his experiences as a physician treating people with HIV
in Johnson City, Tenn. The Neilly Series is supported by the Andrew H. Neilly
and Janet Dayton Neilly Endowment and River Campus Libraries at UR.
Ishmael Khaldi To speak
7:30 - 8:30 p.m., Gamble Room, Rush Rhees Library
Ishmael Khaldi, the first Bedouin deputy consul to the state of Israel, is going to
speak about his family, his upbringing and his adult life in the Jewish state. Khaldi
spent two years living in the San Francisco area working for the Consulate, and
now serves under Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
Avigdor Lieberman. He is the highest ranking Bedouin in Israeli government.
Saturday
MARCH 6
HAPPY SPRING BREAK!
Roots rock reggae
10 p.m. - 2 a.m., KC Tea & Noodles, Rochester
Come hear some Reggae music while eating noodles at KC Tea & Noodles at
363 S. Goodman St., Rochester. This event is sponsored by Lion’s Den Roc and
Kinetic Entertainment. There is no cover charge before midnight, and a $10
cover charge after that.
tuesday
MARCH 9
New Horizons Big Band/ Saxology/ Latin Jazz
3
4
Eastman Music School
UR Medical Center
2
Riverview Complex
7-9 p.m., Kilbourne Hall, Eastman School of Music
The Eastman Community Music School offers a concert that includes New Horizons
Big Band, Saxology and Latin Jazz. The Eastman Community Music School is home
to the first New Horizons Band, Orchestra and Chorus, all part of an ensemble
program for adults. Since its inception at Eastman, the New Horizons program
has spread all over the world. This event is free and open to the public.
thursday
MARCH 11
Creating inclusive communities
1
5 p.m., Welles-Brown Room, Rush Rhees Library
Stanley Byrd is coming to speak at UR about his experiences in the Rochester
community as a trainer, facilitator and consultant to more than 25 local agencies on issues of diversity and prejudice reduction. Byrd is a Human Resources
Manager for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusion at UR. This event is free and
open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Please e-mail calendar submissions to
[email protected].
NEWS
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Patent income up
By Rebecca Leber
tor of the College of Arts, Sciences
Managing Editor
and Engineering Office of TechEarlier this month, The Asso- nology Transfer Jack Fraser said.
ciation of University Technology
Not all of the University’s patents
Managers released the institutions are put to use, and licensing each
that received
patent can cost
the most royapproximately
alty revenue
to file,
y the numbers $15,000
from licensed
due to internal
technologies in
and filing costs.
in early FebruThe process of
ary of 2008.
filing a patent
dollars in licensing revenue for 2008,
UR ranked
can take sevthe Universities highest amount ever, acin the top 10
eral years to
cording to the Association of University
for its eighth
see through —
Technology Managers released data.
year, receiving anywhere from
$72.3 million
two to eight
in royalties.
years.
This number
Once a patpercent of UR’s 2003-05 research
is at its highest
ent is filed, the
income funded by licensing, according to
in University
Office of Techthe Office of Technology Transfer.
history — alnology Transmost $20 milfer helps pitch
lion more than
the innovation
the amount
to established
patents were issued to UR in 2008,
generated in
companies, or
which submitted 74 patent applications,
2007.
in rarer cases,
according to the Office of Technology
Many of the
helps support
highest earna University
ing technolostartup, such
gies have been developed at the as SiMPore and Virtual Scopics.
UR Medical Center — in 2008
When a intellectual property can
they were two pediatric vaccines, be put to practical use in a busia cervical cancer vaccine and anti- ness world, though, UR can see
body technology applicable to the a generous return, especially on
development of new drugs.
vaccines. The University may only
“Many patents are never licensed, see a percent or two of income, but
but sometimes you license one that Fraser said that can translate to
is worth a lot of money ... particular- tens of millions of dollars.
ly that happens when it’s a pharmaLeber is a member of
ceutical or a vaccine,” Deputy Directhe class of 2011.
B
72.3 million
10
25
Page 3
Biodiesel wins national award
By Emily Berkowitz
News Editor
The efforts of UR students to
find a solution to a common environmental obstacle were rewarded
when their project, UR Biodiesel,
received the Excellence in Innovations for Sustainability Award by
the Association of College Unions
International (ACUI).
UR Biodiesel is a project created
by undergraduate students to turn
extra fryer oil from dining service
centers into biodiesel to fuel a
campus shuttle bus. The award was
presented to UR on March 2, at the
ACUI’s 2010 Annual Conference in
New York City.
According to the ACUI, the
Excellence in Innovations for Sustainability Award is given to the
student group that has the most
groundbreaking and environmentally sustainable methods of solving an environmental problem. In
addition, the ACUI requires that
the winner of this award possess
the capability to impact and positively influence the surrounding
community with a project.
“I was honored to win this
award,” Chair of UR Biodiesel,
member of Engineers for a Sustainable World and freshman Ellen
Sadri said. “The project that won
[last year] was the student union
of [the University of Vermont],
which was built to lead standards,
so it is flattering to be compared
to them.”
In the fall of 2006, alumni Chris
Babcock, David Borrelli, Dan Fink
and current Students’ Association
President and senior Eric Weissmann founded the project. They
submitted their business proposal
to Rochester’s Charles and Janet
Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition, which included a way to
save UR money by turning excess
vegetable oil from the River Campus dining centers into useable
biodiesel fuel.
Before UR Biodiesel, the University was paying to have waste from
the dining halls removed.
Their proposal won second
place in the competition, which
prompted Babcock, Borrelli, Fink
and Weissmann to continue on with
UR Biodiesel.
“The most important goal we had
was to make sure that UR Biodiesel
did not end with our graduation,”
Weissmann said.
Over the course of the last four
years, this goal has been realized
with a business proposal that has
transformed into a fully functional
operation. UR Biodiesel is now situated in a lab that makes 30 gallons
of biodiesel fuel each week.
The fuel used by the buses is
mixed with diesel at a ratio of
80 percent diesel to 20 percent
biodiesel.
Not only is this fuel used to
power a campus shuttle, but two
University contractors, the AEY
and P&J construction companies,
also use the biodiesel to fuel their
on-site equipment. In addition,
the construction on Library Road
last week used 50 gallons of UR’s
biodiesel fuel.
“UR Biodiesel is one of the few
groups that connects the students,
Facilities, Transportation and
faculty,” Sadri said. “This has
taught the separate groups to work
together toward one goal, which in
turn improves the health of our
school.”
In addition, UR Biodiesel encompasses an important academic
component. More specifically,
Ben Ebenhack, who is a senior
lecturer in the Chemical Engineering department and the project’s
faculty adviser, allows his students
to participate in experiments in his
lab to test the science behind the
biodiesel project.
All the progress that UR Biodiesel has made thus far motivates
its founding and current members
to continue to improve and push it
toward becoming a well-established
project at UR.
“I can only hope that continuing
leadership decides on a direction
for the project to take [and] that
they establish goals of their own,”
Weissmann said.
The current UR Biodiesel members have echoed Weissmann’s
wishes.
“I am hoping to find more sponsors to extend the influence of UR
Biodiesel and to make us more
well-known [in the community],”
Sadri said. “In future years we
are hoping to start a second lab
producing ethanol fuel. We are
actually making a difference with
every gallon we produce.”
Berkowitz is a member of
the class of 2012.
Courtesy of www.urbiodiesel.blogspot.com
From left: Facilities employee Eris Oleksyn, senior Eric Weissmann,
Dave Borrelli ’09 and Dan Fink ’09 founded UR Biodiesel in 2006.
UR Debate finishes season strong
The HIV Vaccine Trials Unit at the University of
Rochester is now The Rochester Victory
Alliance. Healthy, HIV-negative gay and
bisexual men, ages 18-45, are needed for local
studies.
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So ‘MAN UP’ and Volunteer for Victory today!
AN HIV VACCINE IN OUR LIFETIME
By Justin Fleming
News Editor
The UR Debate team had a
solid showing at their regional
championship last weekend, which
included several members making
elimination rounds and one earning a Top Speaker award.
UR participates in two distinct
debate formats — Policy and
Worlds. In Policy debate, one topic
is debated for the entire academic
year, and teams must do extensive
research throughout the year to
develop their argument on the
subject. In Worlds format, on the
other hand, a different topic is
chosen for each event, and teams
have just 15 minutes to prepare
their argument.
The University fields novice and
JV teams in both types, and Varsity
teams in the Policy format. In both
Policy and Worlds, members debate
in teams of two.
In the Policy format, all the novice teams and one JV team made
it to the elimination rounds of the
regional championships. Two of
the novice teams took second and
third place in the tournament. In
Worlds, which the University has
only been participating in for two
years, all three teams were just one
ballot away from the elimination
rounds.
UR Debate Director Ken Johnson expects that, with another year
of practice under their belts, UR’s
Worlds teams will make it to the
elimination rounds next year.
Ranked No. 11 in the nation
coming into the championship,
the performance of the team has
vaulted UR Debate into the top 10
teams in the nation. According to
the latest National Debate Tournament rankings, UR is now the No.
7 team in the country.
Freshman Sean Delehanty won
the Top Speaker award at the
regional championship, which
included teams from across the
northeast.
“The speaker award was defiantly gratifying, but I know that
my own success is directly tied to
all the help the team has given me,”
Delehanty said of the award.
Johnson stressed that one of the
keys to the UR Debate’s success is
the fact that, unlike other nationally ranked schools, the team is
open to anyone.
“The beauty of the UR team is
that we are a big tent,” Johnson
said. “We are one of the largest
teams in the nation and we take
anybody, even people without previous experience.”
Even with its young team, UR
Debate continues to improve in
rankings. Last year, the team
ended the season ranked 40th in
the nation.
“That number doesn’t sound
great, but everybody worked hard
and did their best,” Johnson said.
“It has been great to see the team
mature and put out the effort this
year.”
The team’s accomplishments at
the regional championship are by
no means the only successes UR
Debate has had this year. Back
in October, a team consisting of
Delahantey and freshman Muran
Zhu defeated Cornell University to
win a tournament at the University
of Vermont. Team President and
senior Rona Yang and sophomore
Vijay Kasschau also won the Varsity
division over Vermont at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst
tournament.
In addition, there were a handful of Best Speaker awards won
throughout the season.
According to Johnson, debate
can be much more than just an
academic experience.
“Often, a debate partner becomes a friend for life,” he said.
“Debaters learn loads of lifetime
skills, like critical thinking, [effective] research and teamwork.”
Fleming is a member of
the class of 2013.
NEWS
Page 4
URMC: CEO gains a new perspective
Continued from Page 1
pneumonia cases for people on ventilators, and I didn’t get pneumonia
despite the fact that I was at great
risk.”
Berk highly recommended
Strong’s menu items — citing the
Pasta Primavera and the cinnamon
buns as his favorites. Berk highlighted the nursing staff as another
strong point of URMC.
“Strong has an hourly rounding in nursing which is really
great for patients,” Berk said.
“One area we are always working
on is communication among teams.
Since there are several teams taking
care of you, it is difficult to keep track
of all of them. Nurses and physicians
put their names on whiteboards
everyday, so I think the communication has been getting better.”
Additionally, Berk said he would
like to see more artwork, because
he claimed the environment at
the Medical Center is sterile.
Berk added, “The Medical Center needs to change from service
to care, because the kind of service we provide is care,” he said.
Berk claimed this included both
care for patients and care for the
employees, so that everyone feels
respected and valued for their work.
In addition, courage is an important aspect of patient care,
both courage on the part of the
patients and on the part of physicians and nurses, because it is
vital that they know how to deal
with difficult, emotional situations.
The final major concept that Berk
believes is crucial in patient care is
“the power of the healing touch,”
meaning that it is important for
the caregiver inspire confidence
and comfort, rather than to just
do what they are supposed to do.
To Berk, this is one of the strongest ways to promote a stronger
patient-caregiver relationship.
AspartofhisfutureplansfortheUR
Medical Center, Berk hopes to foster
more compassionate relationships
between caregivers and patients.
“Being compassionate has
an enormous impact in how
people are healed,” Berk said.
Mayewski embodied the excitement surrounding Berk’s
return at the Medical Center.
“We look forward to his continued leadership and we are
optimistic [about the future].”
Barbosu is a member of
the class of 2010.
Continued from Page 1
Communications manages the
enterprise.
The site operates by sorting press
releases from the individual institutions into various categories:
earth and environment, health and
medicine, science and technology
and society and culture. The Web
site is not an original reporting
organization as much as a hub for
communicating research — one
that the Russell Group looks to
utilize effectively.
“So much research activity these
days is done corroboratively across
continents, so it makes sense for
the U.S. and U.K. to collaborate
on communicating this research,”
Warr said.
Head of Communications for the
Russell Group Donald MacLeod
agreed.
“Good science is international so
the decision by Futurity to expand
outside North America is logical as
well as very welcome from the point
of view of British universities and
British readers,” he said.
Still, the primary goal of Futurity
is to fill a void in reporting scientific
research to large audiences. Unlike
most major media outlets, Futurity
is focused on research alone, and its
backers hopes to use this to make
the Web site popular.
“Futurity is one of the interesting experiments taking place
now in the media as everyone
tries to adapt to the steep decline
in traditional newspapers and
magazines,” MacLeod said.
To the extent that Futurity is
looking for a consistent readership,
there has been steady success. According to a Feb. 23 press release,
Futurity has been visited over
400,000 times since its launch. But
to the extent that Futurity will find
footing among wider audiences
with broad interests — never one
of its expressed goals — success
may be more elusive.
Particularly unique research
tends to be picked up by the larger
media outlets — indeed, a New
York Times assessment of online
article popularity suggests such
research stories tend to be most
popular. Yesterday, for instance,
both The New York Times and
Futurity covered a University of
Michigan study about dinosaureating snakes named Macrostoma.
Both Futurity and the Times
provide online links to the original research, meaning Futurity is
bypassed altogether if a story is
accessed on the Times Web site.
The effect on the research institutions is a moot point — they gain
attention either way.
This may, however, diminish the
ability of Futurity itself to become
a destination, in turn making it
difficult for less flashy research
to gain recognition.
“We’ve always looked at Futurity as an experiment — one that
is gaining traction,” Futurity
Editor and Assistant Director of
Public Relations Jenny Leonard
said. “[UR] has helped foster that
experiment from the very beginning. I’m really proud to work on
the project, and look forward to
seeing it develop in the months
ahead.”
If Futurity can gain broader
public recognition, though, the
benefits to the participating institutions are undeniable.
“Scientists publish their work
in learned, peer-reviewed journals
that will never be read by the general public in a million years but
ultimately they depend on the public for funding one way or another,”
MacLeod said. “So the more their
stories can be told in an accessible
way, the better for science and the
better for all of us.”
Brenneman is a
Take-Five-Scholar.
Continued from Page 1
event on Monday, said. “It’s good
to know that Israel is out there for
peace around the world.”
Israel Peace Week at UR unfurled
with only one minor problem. One
promotional flyer showed a woman
in a bikini standing next to a woman
wearing a veil and listed rights that
Israeli women have.
“Just like American women,
Israeli women have all of these freedoms. Women in the surrounding
Muslim countries are still waiting,”
the flier said.
Several members of the Muslim
Students’ Association found the
flier’s wording offensive and mentioned it at the group’s meeting.
MSA then contacted URIC and
proposed that the two groups meet
to discuss the issue.
“We didn’t appreciate the message they were putting out,” MSA
Publicity Chair and junior Saleha
Vandal said.
They chose to meet in Douglass
Dining Center, an open environment, to resolve the issue. Three
members of MSA’s and URIC’s
executive boards attended, as well
as one member of Students for
Interfaith Action, to explain their
positions and reach a solution.
“[URIC] felt that as a cultural
group they had to confront stereotypes, so they understood,”
Vandal said.
In response to the meeting,
URIC wrote a letter of apology to
MSA members. Both groups said
that they were satisfied with the
way they resolved the matter.
“There was no yelling, it was
completely peaceful,” Vandal said.
“We were very comfortable.”
Richlin said that she viewed the
meeting as a success and that it
represented the values of Israel
Peace Week.
“This is the mission of Israel
Peace Week — to make peace,”
Richlin said. “It showed that
this initiative can help to foster
peace.”
Fleming is a member of
the class of 2010.
Expansion: Futurity acquires global partner
Movement: Groups reach peaceful solution
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Campus Briefs
National agency awards UR
research contract
UR Research, a program initially
designed to provide researchers a
place to digitally store their work,
has been expanded to include new
features for faculty, students and
the general public.
Features offered by the new
software include the ability for
researchers to securely store files
digitally, authorize manuscripts
and showcase their work. The
system also allows for researchers to preserve the formatting of
their documents, which is often
lost when files are stored or shared
using other methods such as Google
Documents.
The program also allows faculty
members and graduate students
to create a customized researcher
page, on which they can upload
their resumes and research.
The changes to UR Research
were initiated because of studies
conducted on researching faculty
members and graduate students to
find out why they weren’t using the
old system. The studies revealed
that researchers needed a way to
share their work, save different
versions of manuscripts and safely
share their data.
According to the team at the
University’s River Campus li-
braries that led the changes, the
revitalized program tackles all of
these needs.
“It’s a win-win relationship,”
Suzanne Bell, the librarian charged
with introducing the system, said.
“Researchers get the tailor-made
functions and online storage they
need, Internet users get free and
open access to academic research
and priceless collections.”
National agency awards UR
research contract
UR has been selected to receive
a $3.9 million grant this year to
research quick and accurate ways
of measuring radiation exposure.
Over the next four years, the funding could reach up to $42 million.
The contract was handed down
by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), with the intent of
improving emergency care in the
event of an act of terrorism or a
nuclear accident.
The BARDA contract is also
leading to some local job growth,
as lab technicians, researchers and
administrators are being hired for
the project.
Justin Fleming is a member of
the class of 2013.
Information courtesy of
UR Communications.
In Rochester
Ford drops out of Democratic
Primary election
Harold Ford, Jr., former Tennessee representative, who spoke at
UR last week, has recently decided
not to challenge Senator Kristen
Gillibrand in the Democratic primary this coming September.
Ford cited his belief that his
presence in the Democratic primary would damage the party as a
reason to withdraw his candidacy.
He also stated that the Democratic
Party had tried to bully him out
of the race.
Despite this claim by Ford, public
opinion polls show that Ford was
behind Gillibrand in the race.
In addition to speaking at UR
during his visit to Rochester last
month, Ford met with Mayor Duffy
and showed his support of Duffy’s
plan for the city school system.
Even with Ford’s withdrawal
from the race, a Democratic
primary will still take place next
September. Labor activist Jonathan Tasini will oppose Gillibrand
in the race.
RIT wins Google virtual
tour contest
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) finished ahead of four
other finalists in a Google virtual
tour contest.
They received almost 30,000
votes from online voters.
As part of their win, Google Maps
will send its Street View crew to
the RIT campus, where an onboard
camera will take pictures that will
be posted online as a virtual tour.
This will allow anyone in the
world to take a virtual tour of the
RIT campus.
Emily Berkowitz is a member
of the class of 2012.
Information was compiled from
the Democrat and Chronicle.
Opinions
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Page 5
EDITORIAL BOARD
Traveling plans
Poverty harms RCSD
Each spring and winter recess, students struggle to find cheap and convenient
transportation when they return home. Unlike other schools, UR has not managed
to find a successful way to provide affordable and easy transportation during major
breaks.
SUNY Binghamton University, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Cortland University and
Cornell University — among a handful of other upstate universities — charter buses
from a private company called College Express to New Jersey, New York City and
Long Island at prices as low as $25. The Office of Parking and Transportation and
the Students’ Association Projects and Services Committee can look into this, as
well as any other possibilities, as a cheaper option to the $92 fare of the current bus
service, the newly started My Bus Home program.
For the first time this year, a third party charter bus company coordinated with the
Office of Parent Relations to provide buses to New England and New York City at
prices that ranged depending on the number of students who signed up in advance.
While other schools have provided this service successfully and cheaply, UR is only
now seeing its first successful bus launch — to New England this Friday.
In the winter, My Bus Home canceled two buses leaving from UR because of a lack
of interest in the event. In part, the cancellation occurred because information about
the program was not publicized until late November. By the time the service was
fully made public, most students had already made other traveling arrangements in
order to return home.
Another system that has been set up is Road Trip, an online ride request and
offer board for car pools to and from a given city during spring and winter break.
However, the system is underused and often consists of a disproportionate amount
of ride requests to offers.
For both My Bus Home and Road Trip, the Students’ Association, which was already
advertising the programs, can take charge of better publicizing what transportation
opportunities UR has — early in the semester and often. One likely reason for the
meager interest is simply that students are unaware of their options.
If the University sees a need to make students’ travels easier and less expensive, it
should consider providing stronger support for such programs. Once they are made
available, it is the SA’s responsibility to get the information out to students in an
effective manner.
Last week, 19 area college presidents, including UR President Joel Seligman, endorsed Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy’s plan for mayoral control of the Rochester
City School District. The presidents cited Rochester’s perpetually low graduation
rates as a call to action to improve schools.
We understand Seligman’s desire to take action, because a school district that
graduates half of its students is a huge liability to the city’s future. The concept of
school reform is a noble cause and Duffy has good intentions. However, we are concerned that the terms of the mayoral control debate are overlooking a much larger
issue, poverty, that plays a significant role in the limitations of a school system.
The keys to success for any child in school lie far beyond the walls of their classrooms. The lack of educational resources (computers, books) at home leads to poor
performance in the class; children hungry for knowledge are unable to capitalize on
their enthusiasm to learn. Additionally, there is a high correlation between family
income and education success — students from financially secure families perform
better in school than students from poorer families. All of these symptoms are
fundamental issues of poverty, and its prevalence in Rochester is undermining the
success of its students.
Some of these issues are workable. For example, community centers have been
built alongside schools, giving students a controlled outlet to gain helpful knowledge
at the end of the day. More community centers attached to schools would be a great
start to channeling the enthusiasm of our youth.
There is at least one positive aspect of this debate. As evidenced at the teach-in
a few weeks ago, many in the community, who are strong advocates that poverty is
the rate-limiting factor in school success, are outraged at this proposal. We hope this
community passion will give newfound life to the fight against poverty that plagues
our city. The issue of mayoral control does not account for this fundamental question of poverty, and until it does, the Rochester City School District will remain in
the same perpetual cycle of failure, regardless of who runs it.
The above two editorials are published with the express consent of a majority of the editorial board,
which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Opinions Editor and two other editors elected by a majority of the editorial staff. The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board make themselves
available to the UR community’s ideas and concerns. E-mail [email protected].
Editorial Observer
What we aren’t learning from the news
These days, media outlets are
faced with a real dilemma — how
to stay financially solvent and
report the news accurately and
with integrity. That these goals
conflict with each other has been
a well-documented problem in
recent years.
But after reading The New York
Times coverage on recent troop
movements in Afghanistan, I think
that there is a larger, more urgent
problem in media. I don’t believe
media outlets leave readers, and
viewers, with enough perspective
to comprehend the stories. The
assumption that media outlets,
such as The New York Times,
make for an educated readership
or viewership is far too generous.
And accurate reporting is nothing
without an educated populace.
But what The New York Times
misses out on is perspective. For
example, the average reader may
not understand the entirety of
American history in Afghanistan,
dating back to arming Islamic
fighters to fight the Soviets in the
’80s. Or, what about the abrupt
American withdrawal from the
region in 1989, leaving Afghanistan to cope with a bleak economic
landscape? The United States has
a significant 30 year history in the
region, one that has enormous
implications for American foreign
policy today. The lack of perspective one receives by solely reading
news articles on the subject is the
basis for an uneducated opinion.
Furthermore, this lack of perspective is particularly glaring in
the opinions formed by The New
York Times Editorial Board in its
coverage of the Afghan War. For
example, in “Mr. Karzai Relents,”
the Times published that, “The
next Afghan government has no
hope at all unless it is truly committed to rooting out corruption
... and delivering basic services
and security to its people.” Yet
nowhere in this editorial was it
mentioned that the need for these
basic services and security is a
result of American abandonment
of the region in the late ’80s.
Here again, the Times is guilty of
a lack of perspective. Whether the
Editorial Board agrees or disagrees
about America’s course of action
in the region is a moot point —
the argument would be stronger
if it provided more perspective. It
is clear that the constraints of a
newspaper, and its need to be current, limits the depth of both news
and editorial board articles.
So if newspapers aren’t the way
to learn the complete story behind
the news, then what is? A striking
alternative was discussed by the
President of the Global Americana
Institute Juan Cole on his blog,
Informed Comment. Cole, an
expert on the Middle East, noted
that al-Jazeera, the Arabic news
network, often provides a historical spot in its TV news programs,
providing the crucial context that
seems to be missing in other news
mediums.
A similar informational session
would be a welcome addition to
the American media. According
to www.tvbythenumbers.com, an
average of 1,761,000 people tuned
in on a nightly basis to the 8 p.m.
cable TV news shows on the four
main networks — CNN, headline
news, Fox News and MSNBC
Conor
Willis
•
Features
Editor
— between Dec. 28, 2009, and
January 29. Imagine a five-minute
history segment that changes and
runs three times a week, over the
course of that span. Providing an
objective (or as objective as you
can get with MSNBC and Fox)
history spot three times a week
could definitely help the public
form an educated opinion about
the complex world situations in
which America finds itself.
And after all, accurate and in
depth coverage would be a waste
without the benefit of an educated
populace.
Willis is a member of
the class of 2011.
Campus Times
Editorial Cartoon
Serving the University of Rochester community since 1873.
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OPINIONS
Page 6
Thursday, March 4, 2010
“Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” — John Adams
Point
CounterPoint
Dangers of religion
BY Michael Shteyn
The majority of the UR’s student body is
composed of scientifically devout, Epicurusabiding, sacrilegious heathens. And, really,
in today’s culture, that’s pretty acceptable.
Certainly, few are overt, vehement deriders of organized religion and it’s popular
to proclaim just to be religiously inactive.
Publicly, it’s pretty respectable to be tolerant of other people’s religious views and
just to be passive when it comes to any of
the countless outrageous rituals we accept
as rational in the 21st century.
But is it harmless to be just passively irreligious? Sure, Bill Maher may be infamous
for his polemics, but his Meliora Weekend
routine last semester wasn’t merely a stab
at Islam for the sake of humor — he posed
some very significant questions that the
tolerant agnostics are too afraid to approach.
Maybe it’s necessary to take another look at
the impact that organized religion has had
on a global scale.
The most pertinent differences among
humans arise from ancestral culture.
Furthermore, most culture is unified by
a fundamental religious ethical structure.
It must be understood that this structure
is inherently flawed. Above all, organized
religion is the epitome of counterproductivity — although a significant common
goal is man’s unification, religion is inherently exclusionary and elitist. How many
conflicts have been the consequences of
religious intolerance? While the Crusades
and Inquisition were long ago, all around
the world organized religion is the source
of bloody massacres and genocides — before
our very eyes today.
After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992,
the ethno-religious differences between
those previously united by the state finally
became recognized. A religious genocide
ensued. By 1995, tens of thousands of
Bosnian Muslim men, women and children
were mercilessly massacred by the Catholic
Croats and Orthodox Serbs in an attempt to
“purify” the land. It should be mentioned
that the Croats, Serbs and Bosnians speak
virtually the same language and have nearly
identical ethnic roots. This genocide occurred in your lifetime.
It should not even be necessary to elabo-
Defense of religion
BY Naomi Ashan
rate on the 6 million Jewish people murdered
And Tamara Slater
in the Holocaust, the unregulated Jewish
When thinking about the role religion
discrimination within the Soviet Union or
the continual persecution they face in the plays in the world, it is important to look
beyond examples of religious conflict. This
Middle East today.
It’s time to appropriately hold organized is not to say that religious differences do not
religion accountable for the sustenance of lead to contention, because they sometimes
these divisive tactics. Acceptance of religion’s do. It is to say that religions do not inherinherent insularity is only perpetuating its ently and inevitably lead to conflict, and
disease. I am not advocating that we have religious division is not necessarily violent
to be intolerant of other people’s spiritual or negative as a force in the world. In fact,
beliefs. Rather, we should be intolerant of religious institutions play a catalytic role in
people organizing to propel the segregation social progress, serving as a common unifyof a species of equally respectful, religious ing force to mobilize people.
There is not a single violent conflict that
individuals. This means drastically reforming our conception of organized religion’s fre- can be explained in purely religious terms.
Individuals within a society are far too comquently violent role in our communities.
As often as many progressive religions plex to ascribe any specific behaviors solely to
the influence of one force. Socioeconomic,
deny it, a central implicacultural and political factors deeply
tion of any organized
impact both the role
religious practice is
and development of
that the faithless are
religion — it is never
inferior to the faithful.
the sole cause of any
Proselytizers would
succession of events.
hardly have a case if
Overall, religion has
this were not true. This
been a force for good. Many
instilled superiority acts in
Jordan Cicoria
of
the great social activists in
no other way than to further
Staff Illustrator
recent times have been deeply
amplify people’s differences
and encourage divisiveness. Whether or not inspired by religious faith and communities.
a specific God exists is not the issue that This long list of leaders includes the Rev. Dr.
fosters segregation. The people’s treatment Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel, Mohandas Ganof this concept is.
I’ll admit it — for the longest time I thought dhi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Dalai Lama.
that militant atheism was just as obnoxious Not only are these individuals all activists,
as the proselytizing religious fanatics. Since but many of them collaborated with each
childhood, I’ve always just been contently other in fighting for various social causes
non-theistic and the opposite of aggressive in their communities.
Religion can also be a powerful tool for
in this respect. The most important thing
to recognize is that you are not wagering organizing. The Industrial Areas Foundation
anyone else’s life in being anti-religious. (IAF) is a very powerful and secular network
The unified faithful are, however. Being of grassroots community organizing affilipassive about a topic that is costing human ates. IAF came to Rochester in the weeks
lives every day is nothing less than a moral following the riots of July 1964 to help the
atrocity. We are permitting the Holocaust. African-American community organize.
We are allowing Yugoslavian genocide. We In Rochester and all around the country,
the IAF has often worked with religious
are letting Al-Queda slide.
It’s time to be brave and take a stand communities to produce change, taking
against divisiveness — it is time to be vocal advantage of previously existing structures
about the devastation that organized religion of unity and organization. As this outreach
demonstrates, religion clearly offers utility
is causing our global society.
Shteyn is a member of to diverse societies by spiritually empowerthe class of 2013. ing — and physically organizing — people
who need to make their voices heard.
Religion does not simply increase cohesion
within groups that already derive unity from
other sources. It can also be an interface for
solidarity and amity that is indiscriminate
to divisions such as ethnicity, race, land,
language and economic standing. Recent
examples include the outpouring of support
from religious communities to areas ravaged
by natural disaster — regardless of who
would benefit. Religions have traditionally
offered services to promote literacy, economic
development and access to medical care.
Faith can also drive science and innovation,
as the improvement of the human condition
is a goal shared by many religions. Because
of its relevance to understanding people and
their behavior, religion offers an additional
bridge between the known and unknown. As
instruments of academic examination, faithbased histories and paradigms can provide
insight into other disciplines such as history,
psychology and other social sciences.
Conflict on some level often predicates
learning and change. A leading theory
in social psychology is that of cognitive
dissonance, the motivation to reduce the
uncomfortable feeling of holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously by changing
or rationalizing attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Dialogue across lines of religious
divergence offers a platform for that kind of
growth. In fact, to deny conflict in all forms
is to deny the beauty of human diversity and
community. Philip Hellmich, Senior Officer
for Strategic Philanthropy at Search for
Common Ground, noted that when conflict
“is approached constructively, it is an engine
of growth and transformation.”
As social beings we must learn from each
other in order to grow as people and as a
society. In this pluralistic world, religion is
a source of diversity and we must hesitate to
assign too much of society’s problems on this
vast and complex category. The challenge of
our time is not to eliminate our differences,
but rather to utilize and appreciate them.
Written on behalf of
Students for Interfaith Action.
Ashan is a member of
the class of 2011.
Slater is a member of
the class of 2010.
The filibuster: A problem that needs solving
BY Mario Morales
One reason for American resentment
towards Congress, and one reason Barack
Obama’s promises of greater transparency
in legislation and government resonated so
well with the voting public, is the arcane set
of rules, regulations and stipulations that
govern debate in the House and the Senate.
The latter is where the filibuster has come
in for some severe criticism lately, given its
use by both Democrats and Republicans
in recent years to delay the other party’s
agenda from coming to the floor. Likewise,
many have criticized the wonderfully named
“Mae West hold,” recently used by Sen.
Richard Shelby (R-AL) to block federal appointments to various offices in his state
until he received proper quid pro quo — in
the form of a military base.
Then there’s the case of Sen. Jim Bunning
(R-KY), whose antics on the Senate floor are
possibly the greatest case of childish over-
webpoll
Does UR do enough to promote the arts on the River
Campus?
reaction since Congressman Preston Brooks
felt it would be beneath him to actually duel
Senator Charles Sumner. Rather than allow
Congress to extend unemployment benefits
two days before they were set to expire,
Bunning stood his ground, responding to
the pleas of his colleagues with “tough shit,”
and had the gall to complain about missing a
Kentucky basketball game while doing it.
Obviously obstructionism is a huge problem in modern American politics, especially
because the voting coalitions viable in Kennedy’s or Johnson’s days are no longer present in the current parties. They are divided
sharply not only by economic but also by
social ideology. The inner workings of the
Senate have been thrown into greater relief
now that the Democratic majority in the
Senate has had particularly uphill battles in
its attempts to pass the President’s agenda.
This includes defections from its own party
line, the curious case of Benjamin Nelson
Not enough. The UR
needs some culture
shock.
Just right. Good job,
UR!
Too much. Stop wasting money on trivialities.
(D-NE) and a streak of Republican holds
and filibusters — the latter of which had
already broken all previous records back
in December 2009, according to remarks
made by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Of course, given that a three-fifths majority
is required to change Senate rules, and that
both parties are terrified of being completely
shut out of the legislative process once in the
minority — the case for debate reform is far
more easily argued than finished.
Aside from ideological convictions and
pork-barrel politics, there may yet be another
reason why senators in recent times feel far
more willing to use the filibuster. It is no
longer required of them to actually speak
against any bill on the floor, but merely to
make the majority leader aware that they
intend to filibuster it. Debate is immediately
brought to a grinding halt unless sixty votes
can be scrounged up for cloture. In typical Senate fashion, this rule change was a
61%
22%
17%
win-win situation for everyone, except the
electorate: Filibustering senators no longer
had to risk their precious vocal chords or sleep
in shifts, and likewise, the rest of the august
chamber no longer had to hang around and
listen to them.
Maybe what the Senate needs, to get over
its love of obstruction, is a return to core
debate principles. Legislative minorities
play a valuable role in moderating political
agendas, but they should not be permitted
to obstruct them wholesale through notes to
the majority leader’s desk. Whichever party
is in the opposition, it should be forced to
debate legislation on the floor, or failing that,
at least to take the floor. Perhaps then, to
paraphrase H.L. Mencken, Americans will
find out which senators are the scoundrels,
which are the idiots and just how much
they’re all poltroons.
Morales is a member of
the class of 2011.
Vote Online at
campustimes.org
Next week’s question:
Does UR produce too
much garbage?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
OPINIONS
Page 7
Setting better priorities than Joe Stack
BY Diana Duarte
Two weeks ago, Joe Stack, a 53-year-old
software engineer, posted his suicide note in
the early morning, lit his home on fire and
left to fly his airplane into an IRS building
in Austin, Texas. Why did he do it? Beyond
the faith that we put in government control
of our money, the answer to this question
reflects the poor choice of putting money
before all other things in life.
Why is it a bad choice to trust our government with our financial future? Stack’s
suicide note reveals that he ultimately felt
like the world’s biggest sucker for believing
his government to be a fair system, one that
not only guaranteed political and financial
freedom, but also rewarded hard work. In
his note, he named his dilemma “the real
American nightmare,” adding, “It made
me realize for the first time that I live in a
country with an ideology that is based on
a total and complete lie.”
Last week, CNN’s Lisa Sylvester interviewed a man named Paul Dubosz who
worked over 35 years in the auto parts
industry. When his company went bankrupt,
he discovered his pension, taken over by the
federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, had been reduced by over 30 percent.
He said, “I felt betrayed ... mostly because I
put 37 years in with the company: following
the rules, doing everything I should, and
then … I found out that for the rest of my
life things would be changed.” It is only
natural that feelings of gullibility, betrayal
and devastation arise when two-thirds of
your life is spent working tirelessly for an
elusive goal.
Stack is an extreme example, but he represents the typical thinking of our parents.
The traditional American dream is that if
you work hard enough, you can go from
rags to riches. This was the dream of our
parents, but they added, “Retire and enjoy
the last 15 to 20 years of your life.” Our
generation would be naïve if we believed
our government would be holding financial
security for us in the future. Our nation
today stands as the following: pensions
are a thing of the past, stay-at-home wives
are a rarity and Generations X and Y will
be lucky if Social Security is still around
when they retire. And if it is, it will not be
enough to sustain them — they will need
much more than a 401K plan to pay their
bills when they retire.
Some people argue it is important to have
faith in our government so that there isn’t
anarchy. While it is foolish to trust in our
current government given its past record,
we don’t need to resort to anarchy for a new
system — just a wave of new mentality.
Our generation should observe Stack’s essential flaw: He idolized money. His money
was the ultimate marker of life’s success.
Stack’s suicide note makes it apparent that
he based his entire life on what money the
government did or didn’t give him. When
the government took his idol, he lost his
mind and took his life, along with the life
of IRS employee Vernon Hunter. Stack is a
warning that when we centralize our life on
money, we become undone. Nothing in this
world is worth killing someone for.
Stack has taught us two things: Our generation cannot depend on the government
for our money, and we cannot rely on money
for our happiness. Just as we will need to
base our retirement on several different
sources, we should base our happiness on
several different sources as well. Do not
put your eggs in one basket, especially the
wrong one.
Just as our politicians have separated
church and state, our generation must
separate our lives from the constraints posed
by money and state. We cannot allow the
government to rule our lives and drive us to
such desperation that we commit violence.
Joe Stack is what happens when the pillar
of your life is wrong.
We can never feel safe. Look at Haiti and
Chile — my friend’s family was in Haiti, and
my entire family is in Chile. Our generation
knows what happens when you base your
life on things that in reality aren’t important. So what is important? Your family,
your loved ones. If you lose your job, your
money, your home, what will you have left?
What is truly yours?
In the end, money is only worth having
if you have a family or loved one to spend
it with.
Duarte graduated in 2009.
Sports stadiums: Who should bear the costs?
BY Amir Khan
Due to the economic recession, some state
and city governments are cutting spending
on essential public services such as education
and mass transit. Yet in major sports venues
across the United States, tax dollars are being used to subsidize the costs of building
stadiums for professional teams.
According to the Daily News, the sports
stadium for America’s richest professional
sports franchise, the New York Yankees, cost
$1.5 billion to build. Four-hundred million
dollars of the payment came from taxpayers
in the form of subsidies. Another $1.5 million of New York state tax revenue was used
to build the parking garages. Furthermore,
city and state taxpayers will forgo up to $7.5
million annually in lost taxes due to the
sale of $225 million in tax-exempt bonds,
authorized in October 2007, by the New
York City Industrial Development Agency
to finance construction and renovation of
the parking garages.
In nearby New Jersey, taxpayers are paying $330 million in subsidies for the construction of the new Giants-Jets stadium. Across
the country in Texas, billionaire owner Jerry
Jones of the Dallas Cowboys decided to replace Texas Stadium with a new stadium,
which cost $1.15 billion to construct. To help
fund this, the city of Arlington approved an
increase of the city’s sales tax by 0.5 percent,
the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent and the costs are little or nothing, and thus may be
worthy of community-wide support. Nearby
car rental tax by 5 percent.
Some officials question whether subsidiz- businesses such as bars and restaurants will
ing stadiums for private gain is consistent also be boosted by increased stadium attenwith the goal of aiding “public” infrastruc- dance. Furthermore, jobs in construction and
ture projects. New York State Assembly- dependent businesses would be created by
man Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) subsidizing stadiums.
But Coates’ analysis shows it is clear that
protested, arguing, “Why are we funding
not all citizens in a community benefit from
stadiums when we can’t
subsidizing a stadium. The money spent
fund the MTA and we’re
largely translates into salaries for wealthy
cutting back on city
athletes, many of whom live
hospitals?” Officials
outside the city where they
such as NYC Mayor
play. High-income indiMichael Bloomberg
viduals generally spend
and other proponents
a smaller fraction of
of funding stadiums
their income than lowcounter that stadiand middle-income
ums significantly
people. Much of the
contribute to the
spending by profesvitality of the losional athletes occal economy.
curs
in a different
Analysis of
Jordan Cicoria
community than where they
this debate was undertaken
Staff Illustrator
earned it. As a result, the money
by Dennis Coates, professor of
economics at the University of Maryland. spent to finance the stadium does not circuThe research determined the consequences late as widely or abundantly as it would if
of stadium construction and franchise it were paid to people with less wealth and
relocations and incorporated yearly obser- more attachment to the city.
An important aspect to consider in this
vations on personal income, employment
issue is the opportunity cost. In other words,
and wages.
Supporters argue that stadiums some- what could the tax dollars used to subsidize
times host public events at which admission the stadiums be used for instead? The fund-
ing for stadiums does not come directly out
of an existing government budget but rather
from a new source of revenue, like special
taxes on tickets or add-ons to the local sales
tax. These additional taxes reduce the disposable income of local citizens — taking away
money they could spend elsewhere.
Another opportunity cost is that such
taxes could alternatively be used to fund
services that will benefit the public, such
as health care, disability support, education and mass transit. Critics often decry a
public health care option as “socialism.” Yet,
why are professional sport teams, which are
private businesses, benefitting from public
tax dollars when some average citizens can
barely afford the price of a ticket? This is
socialism to benefit the already wealthy.
Moreover, it is not impossible for teams to
finance their own stadiums. In Washington,
Miami, Charlotte and San Francisco, owners
have built state-of-the-art stadiums with
their own money.
Although there may be benefits in subsidizing professional sports venues, the
money should be used where the benefit is
greatest, namely public services. State and
local governments should keep this in mind
before pledging millions of dollars to fund
the next new stadium project.
Khan is a member of
the class of 2012.
BY Matthew Dawidowicz
Anyone following politics today has probably noticed the bitter partisanship and
ideological intensity preventing any sort
of agreement in Washington. Some people
wish we could go back to the days of parties
working together flawlessly as U.S. representatives first and partisan hacks second. But
there is one big problem. Historical trends
have culminated in this current Congress
to create these unbridgeable disagreements
that cannot be undone, at least not without
some highly improbable intervention.
Anyone who doesn’t know history but
follows current politics today will be beyond
shocked at this next fact: The Southeastern
United States, especially the deepest, poorest, most racist parts of the Deep South —
today the base of the modern Republican
Party, was once the most solidly monolithic
supporter of the Democratic Party. That’s
right: Reactionary racists like Strom Thurmond, David Duke, Jesse Helms and George
Wallace were once the proudest Democrats
that could ever be. The Republicans, the
party of Lincoln, had virtually no presence
in the South whatsoever — after all, the
Republicans were the party of “Northern
Aggression.” And because very few blacks
and poor whites could vote, it was an all-white
block of middle-class and wealthy southern
Democratic men (and later women) who
voted for Democrats by almost unanimous
margins (in South Carolina in 1936, FDR
won 98-2).
For the political junkies reading, let’s
imagine Chuck Schumer and Jeff Sessions
being in the same party. You can’t, can you?
But that’s exactly what happened during the
1930s and 40s. With liberal northern Democrats and reactionary southern Democrats,
these two wings didn’t really get along. As for
the Republicans, their base was New England
liberals and Midwestern conservatives, and
they also didn’t get along.
Some of you are probably wondering: If
liberals and conservatives existed in both
parties, what was the difference between the
parties? Here’s the answer: there wasn’t one.
Liberal Republicans were sometimes more
liberal than liberal Democrats. Bipartisanship occurred when there were really no party
differences to begin with. In the 1950s, the
parties were so similar and non-polarized
that political scientists were concerned that
voters were not being offered true choices.
Keep in mind, this type of similarity across
parties is very abnormal for a two-party system. The idea of a “conservative coalition”
spanning across parties was rather unusual,
especially for such a long time.
What changed it? The spark was the
Civil Rights Movement. The southern
Democrats were viciously resistant, and
so. The parties cannot return to their past.
Sure, there are far more conservative
Democrats than liberal Republicans, but with
blogs, news channels with biased agendas
and the endless need to rally your base, we
are only bound to become more polarized.
Pretty soon, Democrats Ben Nelson and Mary
Landrieu will be replaced by Republicans, and
Republicans Susan Collins and Scott Brown
will be replaced by Democrats. Anyone out
of step with their constituents’ ideology has
a hard time getting re-elected.
Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who won
in a perfect storm of a weak opponent, discontent with Washington and unpredictable
turnout patterns in a special election, has
a ride for his life in 2012. Any Republican
who thinks Brown is presidential material
is deluded: He is pro-choice, and he has
already voted with the Democrats several
times. He will not survive in 2012 because of
more predictable turnout patterns, a political
climate better for Democrats due to a better economy and (most likely) an opponent
who actually campaigns instead of going on
vacation. This is obviously not a guarantee,
since the future is difficult to predict. But
with more ideological polarization happening by the day, political obstruction is bound
to get worse.
Dawidowicz is a member of
the class of 2012.
Bipartisanship is an unattainable objective
after Republican presidential candidate Sen.
Barry Goldwater in 1964 opposed the 1964
Civil Rights Act for philosophical (not racial)
reasons, the transition to the Republicans
began with Strom Thurmond taking the
lead and switching parties. With suburban
development and white flight, the Consciousness Revolution that tore American culture
apart at the seams, the rise of the culturally
divided Baby Boomers and the aging of the
civic-minded, team-building GI Generation
of WWII, the liberals started to run into the
Democratic Party, and the conservatives into
the Republican Party.
The ideological sorting is becoming more
and more complete with each passing year,
with moderates having no true home. The
reason the remaining moderate Republicans
won’t vote with Obama regardless of compromises is that standing up for themselves
will earn the ire of the conservative base that
controls the GOP. To be fair, the Democrats
face the same constraint with their liberal
base — just not as much.
If you want to go back to the 1950s type of
bipartisanship, you have to turn the South
from a diverse, multicultural economic boom
region back into a poor one-party state run
by wealthy, vicious white supremacists who
kept their power through fear and terrorism.
And you won’t get far with that suggestion.
Even if you did, it would not be possible to do
COMICS
Page 8
Major Life Dilemmas Thursday, March 4, 2010
by Spiels Deco Sad Trombone
by Peter Berris
by NAFC
What if ...
by Kate Bredbenner
Joke of da Week
Jurassic Farce
by J. Silverstein
by W. Penney & C. Olfano
Statistics Worth Knowing
by Ross Brenneman
What March Brings to Mind
Spring break
St. Patrick’s Day
Green trees
It’s a Pun!
Women’s History Month
by Ross Brenneman
Boy there, Jenkins, this is some nice spreadsheet
work. We should talk about your future soon.
Yep, Jenkins was really Excel-ing at life.
Four Square
by Tim Minahan
Campus Times
Arts &
Entertainment
Eric Hutchinson and Ingrid
Michaelson bring down the
house with their electric
concert.
Page 13
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Page 9
There’s no
business
like snow
business
Article by Willie Clark
Editor-in-Chief
Design by Cheryl Seligman
Presentation Editor
Mt. Everest sits as the tallest
peak in the world, reaching a height of
29,029 feet. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa sits at a mighty
19,341 feet. And UR, sitting in lovely Rochester, N.Y. (the 12th
snowiest city in the United States), at a mere 520 feet above sea level, has
one thing in common with the massive mountain giants: snow.
And if you think scaling the combined 48,370 feet of both mountains is a task, imagine
having to cover over ten times that amount of space. Try 6,080,000 square feet to be exact. And when
winter comes, as it tends to do in full force in Rochester, can be covered with snow. And all that snow somehow has
to find a new home.
That is also the million dollar question as far as UR Facilities is concerned: How do you go about moving, cleaning and salting
that much snow as fast and efficiently as possible?
But before we get into that, how much snow exactly are we talking about here? Sure it may sometimes seem like the one small back-alley path that we
take each day to class has a little snow left on it, but in the larger picture, how much snow are we really talking about here?
Now I’m a word guy, but Dan Schied, the Manager of Horticulture and Grounds for UR Facilities, easily painted a very white Ansel Adams picture for me of the
whole snow removal process during our conservations last week. One inch of snow may not seem like a lot, but if you add it up across the whole 6,080,000 square
feet, it can be. One square inch of show is enough to amount to a solid cube (Read: Solid. Block. Giant, solid, one-piece rectangular prism) that could fill the football field
at Fauver Stadium, ultimately reaching a height of 11.26 feet tall.
Now, on any given Rochester night, I think it is fair to say that usually we are dealing with more than one inch of snow. Two inches falling, and double that giant
box. And for even more perspective, if you were to take the 15 inches of snow that UR received last Thursday night through Friday morning, you would be staring at a
snow monolith 168.9 feet tall.
I bet that the Students’ Association never thought of using snow to try to Fill Fauver.
Joking aside, snow removal at UR is no laughing matter, and something that is taken very, very seriously.
“Snow is a big topic and the most important service we provide to the University,” Schied said, and after we toured the snow removal facilities and discussed
just how much goes into snow removal here at UR, I am inclined to agree.
During the week the operation is staffed 24/7, both with UR staff members and contracted professionals. With one person working evenings and another
overnight to be the “eyes and ears” of snow removal, their night shift may mirror many students’ study schedules: Midnight to 8:30 a.m. is where most of the work, and
usually, the snow happens.
“The biggest challenge is when we get bursts of snow at sunrise and sunset,” Schied said. “This is due to convections over Lake Ontario that are disrupted at
these times of the day.”
But bursts of snow aren’t the only thing that Facilities have to counteract. Moving all that snow around, equipment can break, causing them to lose precious
time. On top of that, if the snow keeps up, state law can also become a problem. New York State mandates the number of days somebody can work without a day off,
and while it hasn’t been an issue this year, several days in a row of strong snow can work the staff as far as they are legally allowed to go.
And, as with any such job, one person being out sick has its own impact. But sometimes, even with perfect machinery and staffing, Mother Nature just gets the
best of you.
“We had one of the worst types of snow and timing, snowing 1.5 to 3 inches per hour between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday morning,” Schied said. “This, combined with the wind, created white-out conditions during that time. We had everything we own or leased
out working from midnight on and couldn’t stay ahead of this rate and heavy snow.”
It’s a night like this when sometimes tough decisions have to be made. There might not be time to get every sidewalk
cleared, but Facilities has a plan set up to clear the routes that they find students use most often, and makes sure to get those cleared
first.
That isn’t to say they don’t have help. With several specialized machines, from sweepers to plows, UR has several ways
that are always prepped to go out and tackle the snow.
And for the roads, UR uses SEACO’s “Ice B’Gone” salt treatment. This “magic salt” was a recent addition to the snow
removal arsenal, and helped bring about a thirty percent reduction in the amount of salt needed. It also works longer and
in much lower temperatures than regular salt, making it a true win-win solution as far as road treatment goes.
And as if that weren’t enough, for all you save-the-environment types, the new salt product recently won the
EPA’s Design for Environment Award.
So not only does it save the roads, but it helps save the whales as well.
On top of everything that Facilities can do, sometimes it just needs to rely on luck and the weather. They also
make sure to rely on their other every watchful helpers: anybody who calls in to the Snow Removal Hotline. The number, x50000 from a campus phone, is open 24/7 seven days a week and allows students, staff members and faculty
alike the ability to call in and report areas of snow that have built up or
haven’t yet been cleared.
See REMOVAL, Page 12
FEATURES
Page 10
Club spotlight: SOCA
Bringing the islands to Rochester
BY Jerome Nathaniel
Features Editor
Four years ago, senior Nadine
Nicholson wanted to form a group
that would share the vast Caribbean culture with the student body.
As of a result, Nicholson and her
friends formed the Student Organization for Caribbean Awareness,
also known as SOCA (a play on
words for a Caribbean genre of
music). SOCA is one of three committees under the Black Students’
Union.
Now, junior Amelia Stone leads
the organization. While the group
was primarily performance-based
in its early stages, it has expanded
to other cultural events. This past
Friday, the group celebrated Bob
Marley with an expo at the Community Learning Center.
The group continues to seek innovative ways to share Caribbean
culture with students through music, food, dance and entertainment.
and spread Caribbean awareness
across campus.
ragua, Honduras, etc.
What has been SOCA’s biggest
success since starting?
We have had numerous successes including winning the March
for Creativity in Performing award
from the Minority Students Advisory Board for creativity in performance.
Our biggest success occurred
last spring when we cosponsored
the program Ox and Oxtails with
the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority along
with numerous other organizations. Through this event we drew
parallels between the Caribbean
and Chinese culture while uniting
the student body for a celebration of culture and the last day of
classes.
Who’s contributed the most to
Caribbean culture? And what
country has the strongest influence on Caribbean culture?
No one person has contributed
[the most] to the Caribbean culture. We are one people, and we all
have contributed to our culture,
but Bob Marley has contributed to
the spread of the Caribbean culture. ... Individuals like him allow
foreigners to open their eyes to the
Caribbean.
Immigration has also contributed a lot to the spread of the
Caribbean culture; there are a
great amount of Caribbean people
that now reside in Europe, Canada
and the U.S.
What aspects of Caribbean
culture are often overlooked
or misunderstood by people
who are unfamiliar with it?
When people think of Caribbean
culture, they automatically think
of the culture of Jamaica, Haiti,
or Trinidad. In actuality there is
an extensive list of countries that
make up the Caribbean, including
mainland nations. Some of these
nations are Guyana, Belize, Nica-
I understand that the Caribbean culture is vast and varies because of the numerous
countries/islands. How does
SOCA share and encompass
all of those cultures?
Each country has its unique
culture, yet there is a lot of overlapping since we all are descendants from the same people — the
indigenous people (Arawaks, Taínos, Ciboney, etc.) and the African
slaves.
During Caribfest, we try to
incorporate all these cultures and
create fun and educational programs to showcase these cultures
BY charlene cooper
Columnist
I walked into the suite party
entering a world of shirtless
girls flailing their half-covered
breasts around to the sounds of
Kesha’s “Tik Tok.” To my right
were guys making out with girls
they’d hardly remember the
next morning.
Coming my way was a pretty
little brunette girl who, in her
attempts at welcoming me, recklessly spilled half of her beer on
my boots and offered me a kiss
as a strange form of apology. Oh
the beautiful sights of college, I
thought. There’s no experience
like it.
Some of us come to this place
called college and find our more
daring and sexual sides, while
others choose not to explore
that side of themselves at all.
Some of us take sexual risks to
evaporate the loneliness of not
having a partner, while others
University Health Service. As
do so just to take a chance.
awkward as these visits may
Many of these choices have
be, taking such a little step by
eventually proven to be misgoing to the doctor’s office could
takes. The kind you wake up
go a long way.
to the next morning and think
On those often dreaded visits
“How did I get here?” or “Who
to our physicians, it is common
is this random girl lying in my
that we walk out assuming we
bed?” These are the mistakes
are disease-free because we
many of us would consider to
never receive an anonymous
be the best. After all, the best
letter stating otherwise. Many
mistakes are said to be the ones
times we presume that this is
you don’t remember. But what
an indication that
happens when
we have no STD
these mistakes
the
worries. Unfortuhave an afternately, this is not
math? What
Let Sex & the CT help you
the case.
happens when
through your most
What we may be
you begin
awkward sexual years.
surprised to learn
to develop a
is that, in most
nasty sore on
cases, these physiyour genitals
cians do not automatically perthat wasn’t there just a week
form tests that indicate whether
ago?
someone is infected or not. Such
For some sexually active colservices must be requested from
lege students, it takes moments
the patient. It would be nice if
like these for us to realize
this was done without having to
that we need to take a visit to
If SOCA had unlimited funds,
where would be the ideal
place you’d send the campus
community for vacation?
We would probably send the
campus community to one of the
Caribbean countries during its
Carnival or independence day,
namely Trinidad. It is at Carnival
where you will be able to experience the true essence of our culture through music, dance and
food. Here is also where you will
experience the term “One Love.”
Nathaniel is a member of
the class of 2011.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
things you
should
know this week
YouTube: “L.A.R.P. Live Avatar Role
Playing”
“Avatar” fanatics take their
love for the Navi culture to
another level. Watch these
grown men and women pretend to be Avatar characters
as they play in the woods.
Urban Dictionary word of the week:
“Tiger Woods”
(n.) To have several inexplicable relationships with women far less
attractive than one’s wife, and subsequently ruin one’s reputation. May or may not be accompanied by a car crash.
Governor Eliot Spitzer ruined his political career and marriage
after pulling a Tiger Woods and soliciting a prostitute.
This Day in History: March 4
1997: President Bill Clinton bans federally funded
human cloning research.
1925: Calvin Coolidge becomes the first president
to have his inauguration broadcast on national radio.
1493: Christopher Columbus returns to Lisbon,
Portugal aboard the Niña, after his voyage to what is
now known as the Bahamas.
Embarrassed about getting tested? Ways around it
“Sex&CT ”
UR Opinion
go through the awkward process
of asking your physician to test
you for STDs, but it just isn’t
that easy.
The first and most vital part
to ensuring that we don’t catch
something nasty from our partner would be to use condoms.
Unfortunately, in situations
where it’s all about a good time,
we forget about this option or
chose not to take advantage of
it. Once this option is disregarded and the damage has been
done, our next choice would be
to get tested.
Asking our physicians to test
us for STDs is a huge hurdle
that many find tough to get
over. Let’s be honest, it can be
embarrassing and just plain
uncomfortable.
Leaving a note at the front
desk of the clinic telling your
doctor to test the cup of urine
you’ve given him, or asking the
nurse to relay the message to
the doctor are both effective
ways to avoid the embarrassment.
Many people choose not to use
their primary physician to test
them for diseases, but instead
go to outside clinics that will
do it for a cheap fee. This can
make things a little less uncomfortable, because once the tests
are done you never have to see
those people at the clinic again.
Places like Planned Parenthood usually test their patients
without being asked to do so, so
this could be another great way
to get around such discomfort.
Going there will help you avoid
having to discuss STDs with
your primary doctor, who you
have to see at least once a year.
Whatever your method, don’t
let your fear of asking to get
tested keep you from being in
tune with your sexual health.
Cooper is a member of
the class of 2012.
What celebrity would you like to lie next to on the beach over break?
by matt chin
Camilo Ocampo ’11
“Probably Richard D.
James. He does a good
job of making himself look
good on album covers.”
Alena Stasenko ’12
“James Franco. Ma Man!”
Zach Carr ’11
Emma Caldwell ’11
Mark Angland ’13
John Amir-Fazli ’11
“Jessica Alba. She’s
smoking.”
“Jessica Alba. She’s
smoking.”
“Johnny Depp. I feel like
he’d be the most entertaining.”
“Christopher Walken. I
find his voice soothing.”
FEATURES
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The
movement
behind
9/11
BY Gabriel Sukenik
Contributing Writer
The most interesting thing
about being a journalist is being able to watch the stories you
cover develop and grow. The fall
semester of my junior year, I took
a semester off from school to
cover a story that I could not afford to miss. I had been researching the events of September 11,
2001 and felt compelled to take
the time to interview eye witnesses, emergency first responders, firefighters, the families of
the victims and professionals
in various fields to discover for
myself the true nature of events
that unfolded that day.
During the semester I came
across a group called Architects
and Engineers for 9/11 Truth,
and eventually volunteered with
them for the semester as a verifier for their petition signers. At
the time, between 300-400 degreed architects and engineers
were signatories of the petition.
On Feb. 19, Architects
and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
(AE911Truth) held a press conference in San Francisco at the
Marines' Memorial Club & Hotel
to announce that they have recently surpassed a total membership of 1,000 degree architects
and engineers. These architects
and engineers are demanding a
new investigation with subpoena
power into the collapse of World
Trade Center buildings 1, 2 and
7 on 9/11.
AE911Truth has gathered evidence that they claim disproves
the government's official theory
proposed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that the towers experienced a gravitational collapse.
A petition demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder convene
a grand jury and conduct a new
investigation was submitted to
the office of every member of
the U.S. Congress. Simultaneous
press conferences were held in 47
cities across the globe. Recently
AE911Truth concluded an official meeting with 12 members
of the Japanese parliament to
review the evidence of the event
that sparked the global War on
Terror.
Architects and Engineers for
9/11 Truth was founded in 2006
by Richard Gage, a member of
the American Institute of Architects. Since then, AE911Truth
has been vocal in its criticism
of both official reports by NIST
into the collapses of WTC 1, 2
and 7. NIST published their final
report for towers 1 and 2 in 2005,
and WTC 7 in the summer of
2008. AE911Truth was a major
presence during the revisionary
periods of the various reports.
Its successful petitioning efforts
helped lead to the discovery that
WTC 7 fell at free-fall speed for
a period of over 2.5 seconds. Not
noted in NIST's revision was the
clear implication that this feat
defies the laws of physics if a
gravitational collapse did indeed
occur.
Gage addressed some of the
key forensic and physical evidence supporting a controlled
demolition collapse during the
press conference. All three col-
Page 11
UR alum finds calling in the classroom
BY Jerome NAthaniel
Features Editor
There once was a young and
rebellious Philadelphia native
named Marquisha, who would
give her fifth grade teachers
heck. Even though she was in the
fifth grade, she read at a third
grade level — perhaps a product
of social promotion. From time to
time, Marquisha would lead class
revolts against her substitute
teachers. In one instance, she
stood on top of her desk and rallied her classmates, chanting,
“We can do what we want.
Don’t listen to her. She’s going to
leave anyway.”
When the average school looks
at Marquisha, they see a troubled
and hopeless girl who causes
more harm than good. But, when
members of the Knowledge is
Power Program, or KIPP, saw
Marquisha, they saw a misguided
girl with tremendous leadership
skills. After four years at KIPP
Philadelphia Charter School,
Marquisha graduated as the
president of the middle school
student body. Now, as a high
school student, Marquisha is
the president of the 11th grade
class, an outstanding athlete and
on her way to college. For KIPP,
Marquisha is hardly an excep-
tion; she epitomizes its mission.
In 1994, Mike Feinberg and
Dave Levin had a vision of starting a school that would provide
a healthy educational environment for under served youth.
When the two Teach for America
participants worked together
to set up the first KIPP charter
school in Houston, Texas, their
mission was to provide the skills,
knowledge and character necessary for their students to succeed
in college and positively affect
their communities. Sixteen years
later, with 82 public schools
across 19 states and the District
of Columbia, 21,000 children are
being served, 90 percent of its
students enroll in preparatory
high schools and 85 percent of
its alumni enroll in college. It is
clear that KIPP’s mission is in
full effect.
In 2003, Marc Mannella ’98
became integral to the mission
when he founded KIPP Philadelphia. But, as an undergraduate
student, Mannella didn’t seem
like a likely candidate for the
task.
Mannella spent his first four
years at UR completing his bachelor’s degrees on with a double major in biology and psychology. From
See CHARTER, Page 12
Eats in the ct
At Benucci’s, a vibrant setting hosts delicious food
BY evan siegel
Columnist
Warm. Vibrant. Decorative.
These are three words that come
to mind when entering Benucci’s, a contemporary Italian
restaurant nestled in the heart of
Pittsford Plaza. Surrounded by
various stores, including a Cold
Stone Creamery and a movie
theater, the area offers plenty of
activity for a night on the town.
The restaurant bustles with excitement as the dynamic Italian
wine bar overflows and chatting
couples, families and friends sip
wines and snack on cheese and
olive appetizers. On the dining
room side, all of the medium and
large booths fill up with parties
from four to six people, who all
enjoy various stages of their
meals — a happy, lively scene.
Walking up to the maître de,
we were immediately greeted
with a smile and, after giving
our reservation name (which
was made in the mid-afternoon),
waited a mere five minutes
before being seated. Considering
the waves of people that entered
the restaurant as we waited and
the crowd already dining, this
was extremely timely. Sliding
into the booth, the seats were
comfy. The wood paneling and
beautiful lighting mirrored the
décor of a pricey restaurant,
which Benucci’s certainly is not.
The ambiance is both comfortable and welcoming, a beauti-
Roasted Garlic Cheese Bread, a
ful black and white landscape
salad would be a smarter way to
of Italian coastline gracing the
go because the entrees are so sizwalls along the interior.
able. With the House Salad and
“It’s a very cozy place where
Classic Caesar at $4 each, they’re
you can have an intimate and
a steal.
relaxing night out with friends,”
The House Salad’s combinasenior Lyanne Yozawitz said.
tion of mixed greens, cherry
First to come to the table, as
tomatoes, crumbled Gorgonzola
expected, is water. The presentacheese and balsamic vinaition, however, was not expected.
grette was
Instead of being
really tasty.
served from one BENUCCI’S
The Caesar
of those plastic
3349 Monroe Ave.
was croutons
pitchers with
were crunchy
the spouts for
and the
easy pouring,
cream-based
the waitress
dressing was
poured the waa homemade
ter gracefully
Quality: 4.5/5
embodiment of
from a sleek
Atmosphere: 4/5
deliciousness.
plastic-corked
Food variety: 3.5/5
The main
glass bottle, as
Best Bang for Your Buck:
courses are
though serving
substantial.
wine. Two little Chicken Parmesan
Pricing: Moderate
Each order
bread loaves
came out of
were served hot Red Discount Honoree: No
the kitchen
from the oven
steaming hot
with crunchy
and cooked to the patron’s specicrusts and soft centers, accomfications. The best of the pastas
panied by a garlic butter spread
includes the Pollo Fusilli, a comthat was wonderful to taste. The
bination of fusilli pasta grilled
evening’s tone was set.
chicken, garlic, olive oil, broccoli
Glancing at the menu, it was
and roasted peppers, a definite
immediately apparent that it
and refreshing departure from
was only one-sided. Yet what
a commonplace pasta dish like a
the restaurant perhaps lacked
fettuccine alfredo. Topped with
in variety, it overwhelmingly
some fresh Parmesan grated off
made up for in quality. While it
the block by the waitress, it’s
would be easy to get caught up
like putting icing on the cake, for
in delicious-sounding appetizlack of a better phrase.
ers, such as Calamari Fritta or
For those who enjoy the
classics of an Italian menu, the
Italian Specialties section is your
spot and the Chicken Parmesan
is a dish you don’t want to miss.
Two thick cutlets of chicken
are well-breaded, layered with
melted cheese and placed atop a
bed of spaghetti marinara that
could feed a small army.
At $12, it is definitely this
week’s Best Bang For Your Buck.
Equally priced, and very close in
size, are the Eggplant Rollettes,
a twist on the classic eggplant
Parmesan — two sizable pieces of
eggplant, thinly sliced, breaded
and fried, rolled and stuffed with
ricotta cheese. Gracing a plate of
linguine in a portabella tomato
basil cream sauce makes it an appetizing vegetarian option.
For the college student,
Benucci’s could not get much
better. The waiters are wonderfully attentive, the atmosphere is
vibrant and exciting — a perfect
escape from the boredom of
campus dining life. With pastas averaging $12 and entrees
maxing out at $19, the prices
are quite fair to the student on a
budget who desires a nice night
out with some friends or even a
date (guys, take note).
Benucci’s is most certainly
true to its name in serving
delicious Italian food in a grand
setting.
Siegel is a member of
the class of 2010.
FEATURES
Page 12
A view from abroad: amman, jordan
Where modern culture meets the old
By Caitlin Simpson
Contributing Writer
Walking through the souk,
or market place, next to the alHusseini Mosque, in the heart of
downtown Amman, Jordan, I feel
as though I’ve entered a market
straight out of Arabian Nights.
The merchants have created a
maze of stands and shops filled
with produce and people from
sunrise until sundown. Some of
the merchants even sing about
the fruit and vegetables they’re
selling.
Then, as I wander away from
the souk, up one of the steep
winding roads which litter
Amman’s many hills, I arrive
at the Citadel. The Citadel has
served as a home to a Roman
temple, Byzantine church and
Umayyad Palace throughout the
site’s 7,000 year record.
Meandering on the hilltop,
surrounded by the ruins and
remains of Amman’s past, I hear
the call to prayer as it emanates
from the minarets that rise up
in force against the city skyline.
I feel enveloped by the capital’s
traditions and history.
Yet, when the alert for prayer
pops up on the TV during the
commercial break of the “CSI:
Miami” episode I’m watching, or
when I’m walking around a mall
Courtesy of Caitlin Simpson
The Citadel towers over downtown Amman, offering a clear view of
the temple of Hercules. The Citadel is now the oldest fortification.
where half the women wear the
hijab and listen to “Hotel Room”
blasting from the sound-system,
it becomes clear that this is not
the Jordan I’ve learned about
in school or even read about in
travel books.
Despite the fact that I was
academically aware that Jordan
has historically been a cultural
crossroads, it is still surreal to see
two cultures actively colliding.
Although the Roman and
Ottoman traders are long gone
(save all the buildings they left
behind), it is amazing to me that
the integration of civilizations
remains one of the most striking
facets of Jordanian culture.
Tradition and modernity are
in a constant tête-à-tête here,
and it is exactly this unique
dance between the two which
makes Amman such a livable city,
where one can immerse himself
in a newer kind of Middle East,
without losing a sense of its
ancient roots.
Simpson is a member of
the class of 2011.
Teach for America, Mannella
couldn’t shake off his calling to
engage in education. Mannella
wanted to serve kids who were
overlooked and unchallenged
— constrained in a perpetual
system of failure. When Mannella started working at a North
Philadelphia charter school, he
reached the final straw and decided that it was time to make
strides for change.
In 2003, he took notice of a
program that shared his vision:
KIPP. Mannella took it upon
himself to start KIPP Philadelphia Charter School, serving as a
leader for the school for its first
five years.
“They believe what I believe —
that all children will learn when
taught in an effective high quality way,” he said.
KIPP’s enrollment and graduation statistics are highly reflective of their hypothesis. Eighty
percent of KIPP students are
from low-income households and
90 percent are minorities. Upon
enrolling in KIPP, fifth graders
scored a mean of 59 percent in
math and 32 percent in reading
scores on their Pennsylvania
System of School Assessment
standardized test in comparison
to the state average of 71 percent
and 61 percent on respectively.
Upon graduating, however, KIPP
graduates score 78 percent and
81 percent on their math and
reading PSSAs as opposed to
the state average of 70 percent
and 77 percent. The results are
measurable, and the accomplishments are rewarding.
Having finally found his niche,
Mannella anticipates big things
in KIPP Philadelphia’s future.
He is currently helping expansion
plans from two schools and 420
students, to 10 schools and 4,400
students. Until then, he expects
to be right where he is, pacing in
his office. Mannella and his cohorts continue to challenge their
students to their full potential.
“Ultimately, people need to remember that kids will rise to the
challenge when [they are] placed
in a proper school environment.”
he said. “When we set the bar
low, we are telling our kids something. It’s a way to make excuses
for expecting less from certain
children. But KIPP makes no
excuses.”
Nathaniel is a member of
the class of 2011.
Charter: Take Five sparks alum’s aspirations
Continued from Page 11
day one he was convinced that
medical school was in his immediate future and that he would
pursue a career in medicine. But,
before embarking on his journey,
Mannella enrolled into possibly
the most impactful program for
UR students: Take Five. Mannella’s Take Five Scholar program
was called “Methods of Bringing
up Change in Modern America.”
By the end of the program, it was
evident that Take Five changed
him.
As an undergraduate, Mannella would work as a camp
counselor during his summer
breaks — he was always a natural with children. Before making
any final decisions about medical
school, Mannella decided to give
Teach for America a try. Teach
for America assigned Mannella
to West Baltimore Middle School
from 1998 to 2000. As a science
teacher, he observed the darker
side of education.
“It was frustrating,” Mannella
said. “There was a lot of bureaucracy, parents weren’t supporting
the children and the system was
failing them.”
After completing his time with
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Truth: Weak U.S. coverage
Continued from Page 11
occur with near zero resistance
such as a controlled demolition
collapse rather than a gravitational collapse. Multi-ton steel
ejections were also calculated to
be ejected at speeds of over 60
mph and over 600 feet. Gage also
addressed the complete pulverization of 90,000 tons of concrete
and metal decking from both
the Twin Towers and the lack of
debris found at their base.
Combined with the fact that
the blast radius base was 1,200
feet and that no floors were
found “pancaked” on top of each
other, the “pancake theory”
holds little water. In addition,
molten metal was found at all
three sites after 9/11, as reported
by firefighters and news reports
during the weeks after. Yet, lead
NIST investigator John Gross
has gone on record denying any
such existence of molten metal.
If NIST were to acknowledge
these reports, jet fuel fires would
be nowhere near hot enough to
account for metal to have not
just weakened, but melted.
In another recent development, a former physics professor
Steven Jones discovered nanoparticles of detonation material
in multiple samples of WTC dust,
coining the discovery “the loaded
gun.”
AE911Truth has received
remarkable coverage internationally while being blacked out by
American media. Gage recently
concluded tours to various universities throughout Europe,
Australia and Japan and he has
been featured on major media
outlets in dozens of countries.
While there are many lingering
(and discomforting) questions
surrounding the events of 9/11,
Gage and AE911Truth contend
that the science behind the collapses is not one of them. In an
interview with the Washington
Times on February 23, Gage
closed with strong words: “Government officials will be notified
that ‘Misprision of Treason,’ U.S.
Code 18 (Sec. 2382), is a serious
federal offense, which requires
those with evidence of treason
to act,” Gage said. “The implications are enormous and may
have profound impact on the
forthcoming Khalid Shaikh Mohammed trial.”
When I first began to follow
this story I slowly began to understand the enormity of the implications, and the inevitability
of this information getting out
to the public. A year and a half
later, it appears that the story
has broken in the media.
Sukenik is a member of
the class of 2010.
Continued from Page 9
So far this season, UR has
been lucky enough to avoid the
snow that the lower Eastern U.S.
has seen. Recent storms led to
closings across Maryland and
other coastal areas. But the bigger question looms: Has such
strong snow ever caused UR to
close down?
Schied, who has been working
at UR for 16 years, could only
recall one time such an incident
had occurred.
The culprit: a whopping 42
inches of snow over the course
of three to five days, back in the
good old winter of 1999.
With a track record like that,
it is hard to not be taken aback
at just how much work goes on
behind the scenes while students
sleep to make sure, as much as
possible, that the snow is gone by
the time that blaring alarm rings
for class.
And for Schied and his staff,
their goal is a simple one.
“[Our goal is to] provide safe
passage and limit the inconvenience of winter,” he said. “We
can’t do away with it, but we can
work tirelessly to make the saf-
est environment we can and limit
the inconvenience of it.”
Schied was also quick to mention the real work behind the
snow services —
­ the people who
are actually out operating the
machines and working to clean
the pathways.
“Our snow removal professionals are the ones making the
sacrifice … snow doesn’t seem to
know what holiday it is,” Schied
said. “This is a combination of
in-house staff and management
and partnerships with very
dedicated vendors that all work
together to achieve the results
we have.”
So next time you wake up and
notice there is a little snow outside your door, just remember
that there was over 6 million
square feet around the River
Campus that also needed to be
taken care of.
Or, if you are really concerned,
be proactive and call it in to the
Snow Hotline. To put it in words
by a famous forest ranger, “Only
you can prevent UR snow blizzards.”
Clark is a member of
the class of 2012.
Removal: Where does it go?
Courtesy of UR Facilities
The snow removal professionals have to plow through tons of snow,
covering 6,080,000 square feet to clear the UR grounds.
Arts &
Entertainment
Page 13
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Eric and Ingrid bring
strange fun to campus
by Meredith Gaylo
pacted by the short staff of musiStaff Writer
cians, and she still managed to
Some of the most famous
produce a beautiful performance.
songs ever written were about
In fact, the lack of a full set of
the strangest subjects. The
band members opened the door
Beatles, after all, sang about a
for a very exciting opportunity.
yellow submarine, and Queen
One of Michaelson’s songs called
has a tune devoted to “fat botfor three backup singers. Since
tomed girls.”
she only had two available, she
This past Friday, at a perforasked the audience if anyone
mance in Douglass Dining Cenwanted to stand in as a third. A
ter, Eric Hutchinson followed
very happy UR student, freshsuit and improvised a ballad
man Shukri Hassan Abdi Duabout the infamous Garbage
aleh, was chosen from the audiPlate. This song, which was
ence and sang alongside Ingrid
personalized for the UR audiMichaelson, center stage.
ence, is a good representation of
In her bizarre themed song,
the concert’s overall tone. Both
Michaelson sang a tune devoted
Hutchinson and his opener,
entirely to Mexican food, inviting
Ingrid Michaelson, crafted
the eager audience members to
humorous
sing along about
performances
tacos and quesacustom-made
dillas.
Hutchinson and
for UR stuMichaelson’s
dents.
set list was also
Michaelson
Michaelson
improvised specrafted humorous cifically for this
started the
concert with
performance. In
performances
a playful folk
fact, she treated
custom-made for the audience
rendition of
Lady Gaga’s
to a song that
UR students.
“Poker Face,”
she had never
asking for
performed beaudience parfore, deciding
ticipation in
on which key to
singing the chorus. She divided
play it on the spot.
the audience into two groups:
Overall, the first half of the
“sexy warriors” on one side and
concert was delightfully per“gentle lovers” on the other.
sonal, quite humorous, and, of
This elicited quite the collective
course, full of gorgeous, welllaugh, and ignited a light, fun
played music.
mood that lasted for the duraMichaelson showed the audition of her performance.
ence her strong vocal talents,
Michaelson spent much of her
even mimicking operatic singing
between-song banter discussing
during one song. Equally impresthe snowy weather conditions in
sive was her use of the ukulele
Rochester, explaining that the
and piano, both of which perice caused Allie Moss, her guifectly complemented her melodic
tarist, to fall over several times.
and often understated songs.
The snow, however, had an
Eric Hutchinson, as a followeven greater impact on Michaelup act, did not disappoint. He
son’s show, because weather-reimmediately demonstrated his
lated delays left her short three
talent and confidence as a perband members. Amazingly, her
former, singing with such a
music was not noticeably imSee CONCERT, Page 14
Bradley Halpern • Senior Staff
UR students enjoyed Eric Hutchinson’s improvisational songs that
discussed Rochester-related subjects such as Garbage Plates.
Courtesy of media.movies.ign.com
The chemistry between Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as police officers is the only enjoyable thing
in “Cop Out,” director Kevin Smith’s major-studio homage to the buddy cop films of the ‘80s.
Kevin Smith loses his comedic
spirit with lame ‘Cop Out’
by Jason Silverstein
A&E Editor
Kevin Smith fans who cringed
at the thought of the one-time
indie underdog directing “Cop
Out” — a big budget action movie that marks the first time he is
working with a script he didn’t
write himself — were perhaps
wrong to immediately assume
the worst.
After all, every movie Smith
has directed in the past 10 years
has added to the droves of disappointed fans, and his last effort,
“Zack and Miri Make a Porno,”
proved that he seemed incapable
of keeping his foul-mouth slacker
shtick fresh outside of the Jay
and Silent Bob universe that
made him famous.
Putting Smith on a movie
exclusively for his directing
skills is like getting Hendrix to
do a capella, but it’s clear that
ever since saying goodbye to the
View Askew characters (twice),
Smith has been having trouble
maintaining his own character.
Turning to others — in this case
screenwriters Mark and Robb
Cullen — for fresh ideas perhaps
wasn’t such a bad decision.
But if “Cop Out” is actually
Smith’s idea of broadening his
repertoire, he might as well
start thinking about stretching
“Clerks” out to a trilogy. The
film is an homage to the cheesy
buddy cop flicks of the 70s and
80s — a genre of films that, in
case Smith or anyone else forgot,
were usually structured around a
few threads of whimsy, and a lot
of forgettable nonsense.
“Cop Out” stays true to that
standard, in the sense that the
partnership at the film’s center
is enjoyable enough and everything else is incredibly lame.
The friendship here is between
NYPD officers Jimmy Monroe
and Paul Hodges, played by
Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.
It’s noble how much of an
effort both actors make to play
against type — Willis’ cop is a
hard-ass old guy with daughter
problems, Morgan’s is a loud and
obnoxious black guy who screws
up every task he’s assigned.
Of course they do police work
in all the wrong ways — letting
informants get killed, stealing
bikes so they can pursue shootouts in broad daylight — and get
suspended from the force.
Most of the plot revolves
around Jimmy’s quest to find a
stolen baseball card he intended
to pawn so he can pay for his
daughter’s wedding, a quirky
idea that might actually make
you think the whole movie won’t
be completely by-the-book. But
the two cops soon get caught up
in a local drug ring operated by
a family of Mexicans so stereotypical and uninteresting it’s as
if Carlos Mencia had been put
through an assembly line.
Willis and Morgan are, at least,
fun. They lack the back-andforth tension that would have
elevated their relationship to
hilarity, and even some of their
best banter doesn’t match the
level of fine-tuned wit or singularity that Smith flaunted in his
own dialogue.
But they seem like the kind of
guys you’d love to spend a day
with, which is the point. Like
“Sherlock Holmes,” “Cop Out”
is an utterly vapid action movie
that’s almost salvaged by the
bickering friendship at its core.
Sean William Scott has a hilarious supporting role as Dave, a
roof-leaping burglar with a penchant for maniacal laughter and
knock-knock jokes that reach the
level of psychological torment.
He often steals the show when
sharing the screen with Willis
and Morgan, but when left on
their own, the two stars always
riff off each other with glee.
If Smith had the good graces to
let this chemistry shine for all of
“Cop Out,” it might have actually worked. After all, this is the
guy who once said that if he were
to write an action scene, it would
consist of a couple guys standing
around and talking about the
action scene.
“Cop Out” completely betrays
that spirit, as if Smith has lost
touch with his inner film geek.
It dutifully attends to a number
of dull conventions that dilute
whatever simple pleasures the
film offers.
The whole plot about the
Mexican drug dealers is given
an inordinate amount of attention and seriousness, as if Smith
believes he is actually crafting
something like an interesting
crime story.
Paul is given a sub-plot about
his suspicion that his wife is
cheating, because it simply
wouldn’t be fair to only let one
cop have all the conflicts. Adam
Brody and Kevin Pollack play
another NYPD duo who continuously compete with our heroes
and yet never seem like a threat See SMITH, Page 14
A&E
Page 14
Thursday, March 4, 2009
Families come together in ‘Parenthood’ pilot
By Becky Rosenberg
A&E Editor
Several times throughout the
year, my family gets together
for the holidays to enjoy the
craziness that large family gettogethers seem to bring. There
is “drama” among the adults,
tantrums from the children, and
my sister and I always get stuck
between the kids and adults —
not quite sure which end of the
spectrum we belong to.
But at the end of the day,
when we all sit down to eat with
one another, there is heart and
warmth flowing through the air
in a family that I am glad to say I
belong to.
Watching several families come
together for dinner on NBC’s
new dramedy “Parenthood” felt
familiar enough to grab my attention for the hour. The show,
which is a spin-off of a 1989 film
of the same name, begins when
Sarah (Lauren Graham), a single
mom who escaped from a marriage with a “tortured musician,”
decides to uproot her two teenage children, Amber (Mae Whitman) and Drew (Miles Heizer),
and move back home.
Meanwhile, Sarah’s brother,
Adam Braverman (Peter Karuse)
is not only dealing with bad um-
nah Paige Rae). Her husband
piring throughout his son’s little
Joel (Sam Jaegger), on the other
league game, but is taking hold
hand, gets the advantages of beof his wife Kristina’s (Monica
ing the stay-at-home
Potter) recent discovery that their
The Idiot Box dad whom cuts Sydney’s food and sings
son Max (Max Burher to sleep. If Sydney
kholder), has been
weren’t so darn adordiagnosed with Aspergable, this would
er’s Syndrome.
probably be my least
While at times the
favorite storyline,
pilot episode did have
given its been-therea melodramatic and
done-that feel. But
stuffy feel, the scenes
she’s just so cute.
in which Adam and
Finally, the youngKristina realized
est brother of the four
just how much they
adult siblings, Crosby (Dax
needed to help their son really
Sheperd), is dealing with his
resonated.
own commitment issues when he
The choice to accurately porfinds out that his girlfriend Katie
tray a child on television with
(Margerite Moreau) is keeping
this disability, which was made
donated sperm in her fridge beout of the personal connection of
cause her biological alarm clock
one of the creators, has proved
is about to go off. As Crosby is
to be a bold and wise choice. It
about to finally jump into a real
brings the heart of the family to
relationship with Katie, an old
the forefront of the action.
flame walks right into the picture
But while this was the story
with a son he didn’t know exthat really catapulted the pilot
isted. Of course.
episode, there was a hell of a lot
Tying the whole family togethmore taking place. Adam and
er is the overbearing father, Zeek
Sarah’s other sister, Julia (Erika
(Craig T. Nelson), and the oddly
Chistensen), is the stereotypical
workaholic mom who has allowed seldom-seen mother, Camille
(Bonnie Bedelia). With stories
the demands of her career to
branching off from every chartake precedence over the needs
acter in every possible direction,
of her daughter, Sydney (Savan-
ADDICT
Courtesy of Presscounselpr.com
The large cast of NBC’s “Parenthood” keeps the show unique.
with me over the course of the
the nature of the show can feel
hour. They seem totally in tune
somewhat overwhelming.
with each other, which helps creBut this proves to be both the
ate a very believable on-screen
curse and blessing of “Parentfamily — something many other
hood.” The constant flow and
televisions shows struggle with.
smooth transitions between the
While the show may not have
plots of the brothers, sisters and
that immediate love at first sight
their children allows for new
feeling I’ve had in the past, it
stories to keep the show fresh.
certainly had the strength and
There were a few too many tears
room for growth that I am more
(six crying scenes if I counted
than willing to tune in to see.
correctly) and not quite enough
“Parenthood” airs on ABC on
laughs.
Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
Yet, it was still a very fun
Rosenberg is a member of the episode. The actors had a family
class of 2012.
friendly chemistry that resonated Concert: Hutchinson and Michaelson win over students
Smith:
Continued from Page 13
perfect pitch and clear tone
that one would have thought it
was his recorded album playing
through the speakers.
Hutchinson’s band members
were also incredibly talented.
The drummer, Jimmy Coleman,
had intense solos that kept the
entire audience up and dancing
all night.
Like Michaelson, Hutchinson
worked hard to keep his performance engaging, largely by dancing energetically on the stage
and begging the audience to clap
along with his catchy tunes. His
ode to Garbage Plates contained
lyrics that seemed to be composed of equal parts curiosity
and disgust. He wondered what
was in a Garbage Plate, but also
how often UR students ate such
things.
Hutchinson speculated that
if the frequency of consumption was anything more than
“rarely,” the student body should
be “hooked up to IVs.” There
is something rather whimsical
about the notion of UR students
going through a Garbage Plate
detox process.
Along with this silly interlude,
Continued from Page 14
or even a matter of interest.
Of course, these are all conventions of the genre — according to
the movies Smith is working off
of, no cop duo is complete without bad guys, rivalries and average guy turmoil that can and will
be happily resolved before the
credits roll. The problem is that
this film doesn’t attend to these
details with any sense of nostalgia, irony or, indeed, personality.
With “Cop Out,” Smith gives further legitimacy to the concerns
he’s been raising with every film
he’s made since “Jersey Girl:”
His inability to tell a bad joke
or an eye-rolling convention
when he directs one, his inability
to keep a movie going without
awkward hit-or-miss pacing and
his inability to deliver anything
surprising in the final act.
He can still get some fun out
of his movies, even if its stupid
fun. But you’d think he’d have
enough comedic common sense
to make “Cop Out” a lot funnier,
or at least be more attuned to its
obvious failings. Is this really the
best he can do?
Silverstein is a member of the class of 2013.
he also performed a multitude
of other enjoyable songs, such
as his popular “Rock and Roll,”
and the dance-inducing “Food
Chain.”
These songs were punctuated
by witty monologues; in one
song, in reference to his hightech water bottle, Hutchinson
jokingly remarked that he’s
from the future, and that it was
“Thanksgiving on [my] home
planet.”
Hutchinson certainly worked
hard to communicate with the
audience on a personal level. In
fact, he stopped playing at the
beginning of one song to comically reprimand several students
for leaving in the middle of his
show.
Perhaps the most telling fact
about Hutchinson’s personal
approach is that he dined at our
very own Pit prior to the concert.
In the end, that’s what makes a
concert worthwhile — the individualized, one-time-only nature
of a live show, which is the kind
of thing that can’t be gained
from simply playing an album in
a stereo.
Gaylo is a member of
the class of 2012.
Bradley Halpern • Senior Staff
Despite weather mishaps, Ingrid Michaelson delivered an exciting and
involved performance to the students at UR last friday evening.
M ov i e T i m e s
UR Cinema Group
The Little Theatre
Friday
Hoyt Auditorium
Saturday
Up in the Air
7:00, 9:15, 11:30
The Blind Side
7:00, 9:30, 12:00
Shutter Island
Crazy Heart
The Last Station
The White Ribbon
•
*Note: Times are for March
16th & 17th. No screenings on
March 5th & 6th.
WRUR
88.5 FM
bi-weekly top 10
•
Friday and Saturday
240 east avenue
Call for times (585) 232-3906
Seraphine
6. Xiu Xiu
1. Corinne Bailey Rae
2. Vampire Weekend
7. Yeasayer
3. Watson Twins
8. Local Natives
4. Midlake
9. Freelance Whales
5. Magnetic Fields
10. Laura Veirs
SPORTS
Thursday, March 4, 2010
This Week in Sports
Friday, March 5
•Squash at College Squash Association Individual
Nationals at Trinity College, 10 a.m.
•Men’s Track and Field in Eastern College Athletic
Conference at Championships Smith College, 10 a.m.
•Women’s Track and Field in ECAC Championships
at Smith, 11 a.m.
•Women’s Basketball vs. SUNY Cortland in the National
Collegiate Athletic Association First Round, 8 p.m.*
SATURDAY, March 6
•Baseball vs. Neuman University in Vero Beach, Fla., 9 a.m.
•Squash at CSA Individual Nationals at Trinity, 10 a.m.
•Men’s and Women’s Track and Field in
ECAC Championships at Smith, 10 a.m.
•Softball in National Training Center Spring Games
vs. John Carroll University in Clermont, Fla., 11:30 a.m.
•Softball in NTC Spring Games vs. Ohio
Northern University in Clermont, Fla., 5:30 a.m.
Sunday, March 7
•Baseball vs. New Jersey City University in
Vero Beach, Fla., 9 a.m.
•Squash at CSA Individual Nationals at Trinity, 10 a.m.
•Men’s and Women’s Tennis vs. The College of
New Jersey in Orlando, Fla., 11 a.m.
•Softball NTC Spring Games vs. TCNJ in
Clermont, Fla., 11:30 a.m.
Page 15
2010 Spring sports preview
Baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse teams begin the quest
for postseason success over the upcoming spring break
Campus Times File Photo
Baseball returns after a first round
loss in the Liberty League Championships last season. “The baseball
team looks to improve on the 2009
season,” head coach Joe Reina
said. “We return several key players
but a lot will depend on pitching.”
Monday, March 8
•Men’s Tennis vs. Vassar College in Orlando, Fla., noon
•Women’s Lacrosse vs. Susquehanna University in
Baltimore, Md., 3 p.m.
•Men’s Tennis vs. Wesleyan University in Orlando, Fla., 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 9
•Men’s Tennis vs. Coe College in Orlando, Fla., 10 a.m.
•Women’s Tennis vs. Haverford College in
Orlando, Fla., 11 a.m.
•Softball vs. Case Western Reserve University in
Altamonte Spring, Fla., 12:30 p.m.
•Women’s Lacrosse vs. Lynchburg College in
Baltimore, Md., 3 p.m.
•Men’s Tennis vs. Wabash College in Orlando,
Fla., 4:30 p.m.
•Baseball vs. Case Western in Sanford, Fla., 6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10
•Women’s Tennis vs. Malone University
in Orlando, Fla., 9 a.m.
•Softball vs. Brandeis University in Altamonte
Spring, Fla., 10 a.m.
•Softball vs. Emory University in Altamonte
Spring, Fla., 12:30 p.m.
•Women’s Tennis vs. Emory in Orlando, Fla., 3 p.m.
•Men’s Tennis vs. Drew University in Orlando, Fla., 3 p.m.
•Baseball vs. Emory in Sanford, Fla., 6 p.m.
Thursday, March 11
•Softball vs. Washington University in St. Louis in
Altamonte Spring, Fla., 10 a.m.
•Baseball vs. WashU in Sanford, Fla., 1 p.m.
•Women’s Lacrosse vs. Nazareth College, 4 p.m.*
Friday, March 12
•Men’s and Women’s Track and Field at NCAA
Championships at DePauw University, 10 a.m.
•Softball vs. Case Western in Altamonte Spring, Fla., 10 a.m.
•Baseball vs. Case Western in Sanford, Fla., 11 a.m.
•Softball vs. Brandeis in Altamonte Spring, Fla., 12:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, March 13
•Men’s and Women’s Track and Field at
NCAA Championships at DePauw, 10 a.m.
•Softball vs. Emory in Altamonte Spring, Fla., 10 a.m.
•Baseball vs. Emory in Sanford, Fla., 11 a.m.
•Softball vs. WashU in Altamonte Spring, Fla., 12:30 p.m.
•Baseball vs. Brandeis in Sanford, Fla., 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 17
•Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving at NCAA
Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., 9 a.m.
Thursday, March 18
•Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving at NCAA
Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., 9 a.m.
*denotes home competition
Stat of the Week
.59
The seconds ahead of the National Collegiate Athletic Association provisional
qualifying time that junior track and field runner Jacqueline Cinella put up in the
800-meter run. She posted a time of 2:15.91 at the New York State Collegiate
Track Conference Championships last weekend.
Dan Wasserman • Senior Staff
Campus Times File Photo
(Left) A disappointed loss in the first round of the Liberty League Championships ended the women’s
lacrosse season last year but an energized team brings new hope for UR.
(Right) After making it into the NCAA tournament last season, the softball team is determined to prove
it wasn’t a one-time deal. “The team is returning seven out of nine starters from last season and the
majority of the offensive power in the line-up, including junior Lindsay Macaluso and sophomore Kim
Grimes. Senior Juliana Nicholson will be in charge behind the plate,” head coach Margaret Yerdon
said. “The team will have a different look on the mound this year, but Sara Hutchinson is ready to take
on the top pitching spot, supported by sophomore Cara Celorio, junior Brittany Hylen and freshman
Maddie Skellie.”
From the Pressbox
Spring time blooms a new season
By David Maystrovsky
Senior Staff Writer
It’s March and you know what
that means — free steroids for
everyone! Hang on, I’m sorry to
say that apparently giving out
vials of “The Cream” and “The
Clear” is actually illegal under
United States law, so you’ll all
have to settle for the start of
baseball season.
Baseball, as we all know, is suffering from a crisis of confidence
brought on by the shocking
revelations that the dudes who
looked almost too muscled to be
actual human beings were in fact
getting help from steroids.
Wait, it gets better. You see,
most of the baseball players in
the majors are not what we would
call “Mensa material.” When
Congress called in the biggest of
the big to question players about
their alleged use of performanceenhancement drugs (apparently
insulin is banned which means
our excess of overweight youth
can no longer aspire to be baseball players, how sad), what
followed was an embarrassing
display of ineptitude.
But enough about the embarrassing, red-light district side
of baseball. It’s spring time (in
Florida and Arizona, but seriously when is it not springtime
in those two places?) and time
for the people in Pittsburgh and
Washington, D.C. to have dreams
of glory.
By glory, I mean winning half
their games. By the way, how sad
is it that sports teams aspire to
win half their games? What kind
of pathetic, half-assed mentality
is that? Not only that, but can
you imagine being one of the
three people in Pittsburgh with
season tickets hoping to see a mediocre team? It’s not like these
people get paid or anything. Oh
wait, they do.
I suppose that being a Red Sox
fan and having experienced two
World Series titles in the past
six years (that’s right Yankees,
two titles and we didn’t have to
spend half-a-billion dollars to do
it) gives me a certain authority
to discuss the game. I can, for
instance, tell you that the Tampa
Bay Rays will never be a consistent winner because they play in
a crapbox of a stadium, they are
too cheap to join the elite teams
of the game and eventually their
farm system will wither away
and die.
I can also let you in on a little
secret — Manny Ramirez is the
modern-day Samson and without
his glorious dreadlocks, he loses
all his power (it’s a little-known
fact that the woman’s hormone
that he was caught with last year
was actually meant to help him
maintain his luxurious locks).
But enough about me and
my Nostradamus-esque ability.
No baseball article would be
complete without mentioning
the greatest nicknames of those
play the game. Brave men like
Boof Bonser, Coco Crisp and Eric
“Captain America” Byrnes give
me endless joy. Not that I would
in any way condone drinking
games during baseball games,
but if you gather together some
buddies and drink every time
the anchors on ESPN’s SportsCenter trot out the nicknames
during highlights, there’s a 90
percent chance that you will
get wasted within the first two
minutes.
I suppose you want me to give
you some kind of wacky prediction (to fit with the theme of the
article). I predict that by June,
Stephen “the Gimp” Strasburg
will be in crutches and that
someone from the Steinbrenner
family will be in jail by August.
If I had to choose a World Series
matchup, I can only hope for
a Rangers-Marlins series — if
only to force Selig to shorten
the playoffs, because I’m tired of
watching baseball in November.
That shit ain’t right.
Maystrovsky is a member of
the class of 2010.
S p o rt s
C a mp u s T i m e s
Page 16
Results
Men’s Basketball
(15-10)
UAA standings:
1. Washington (13-1)
2. Brandeis (9-5)
3. NYU (7-7)
3. Emory (7-7)
3. Chicago (7-7)
6. UR (6-8)
6. Case Western Reserve (6-8)
8. Carnegie Mellon (1-13)
Feb. 27: Emory University
85-71 (W)
John DiBartolomeo scored
17 points, four assists and
three rebounds.
Colin Cubit scored 13
points, three assists and
two rebounds.
Bill Serle scored 21 points,
four assists and four rebounds.
Mike Labanowski scored
12 points, three assists
and four rebounds.
Women’s
Basketball
(19-6)
UAA standings:
1. Washington (13-1)
2. Chicago (11-3)
3. UR (9-5)
3. Brandeis (9-5)
5. NYU (5-9)
6. Case Western Reserve (4-10)
7. Emory (3-11)
8. Carnegie Mellon (2-12)
Feb. 27: Emory University
67-62 (W)
Jodie Luther scored 11 points
and five rebounds.
Melissa Alwardt scored 10
points and nine rebounds.
Madeline Korber scored 10
points and five rebounds.
Amy Woods scored nine
points and eight rebounds.
Men’s Tennis
(2-1)
Women’s Tennis
(1-0)
Men’s Track
Feb. 26-27: NYSCTC
Championships at RIT
Finished fifth out of nine
Will McMunigal was named
the NYSCTC Field Event
Athlete of the Meet. He
finished in first in the long
jump, third in the high
jump and
McMunigal, Justin
Lyttleton, Ceylon Mitchell
and A.J. Lee finished in fifth
in the 4x200 relay.
McMunigal, Mitchell,
Gregory Hartnett and Alex
Federation finished in
fifth in the 4x400 relay.
Lee finished in first place
in the 500 meter run.
Ethan Kaplan finished in
second place in the
weight throw.
Andrew Fleisher finished in
second place in the mile run.
Hartnett fininshed in
second place in the 800
meter run.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Men’s Hoops
Women’s basketball rolls into NCAAs
By Ross Brenneman
Publisher
May it never be said
of the 2009-10 women’s
basketball team that they
fail to bring some drama
to the court. Many of the
games this season have
been marked by reversals
of fortune — and when the
games matter most, those
turnarounds have been the
most pronounced.
Three months ago, when
UR took on Emory University’s Eagles in an away game,
the Yellowjackets gained an
early lead, but lost it just
before halftime, coming up
short in a 50-60 loss.
When UR played Emory
again this past Saturday, in
the comfort of the Palestra,
the Yellowjackets again took
the lead. And again, Emory
took it away. Only this time,
there was one major difference: UR took it back, winning 67-62.
The game had more than
pride at stake. While the
win against New York University on Feb. 24 helped
secure a place in the NCAA
Tournament, nothing was
guaranteed until the regular
season finished. A chance to
prove their endurance, exact
revenge and make the postseason — well, that’s just
high theater.
The last loss UR suffered,
against Brandeis University on Feb. 19, came when
Brandeis snatched victory
from the jaws of defeat. The
win against NYU ran the
opposite way. The biggest
question, then, was whether
UR could take the lead and
actually maintain it.
“If it was the beginning of
the year, we may have lost
the game, but I think [this]
season’s experience has been
a great advantage,” senior
guard Jessica Mastronardi
said.
The Eagles drew first
blood this past weekend, but
only momentarily, as sophomore forward Kate Agan
went on a shooting spree,
bringing an early 6-2 lead
further developed by shots
from sophomore forwardcenter Jodie Luther and
freshman forward-center
Amy Woods.
Then, only nine minutes
into the first half, that horrible feeling of déjà vu struck.
With the exception of two
successful foul shots, UR
scored nothing for almost
eight minutes. With 1:24
left in the first half, Emory
reclaimed the lead.
In the second half, the
true brawling began, with
UR trying to pull ahead yet
again, while Emory brought
things back even. Two free
throw shots by junior guard
Melissa Alwardt propelled
UR into a 55-53 lead that
was then undone 25 seconds
later, after UR fouled Emory
Campus Times File Photo
Throughout the season, Kristyn Wright helped get the
Yellowjacket women’s basketball team to the NCAA’s.
sophomore guard Becca
Feldman.
Emory subsequently
fouled Luther, who started
UR’s victory run in earnest
as the Yellowjackets kept
the Eagles at bay and Mastronardi nailed the last point
in the game for the 67-62
victory.
That success also proved
enough not only to cement UR’s place in the
playoffs — the NCAA announcement came out on
Monday — but also means
the Yellowjackets will kick
off hosting privileges this
Friday. They will be preparing for the SUNY Cortland
Red Dragons, especially
with their senior forward
Jessica Laing, who was
recently nominated for the
prestigious Jostens Trophy
recognizing outstanding
ability in DIII basketball.
“We have worked really
hard all season and this
is our reward,” sophomore
guard-forward Caroline
Bernal-Silva said. “This is
when the season starts to
get really fun.”
Brenneman is a
Take Five Scholar.
being named the New York
State Collegiate Track Conference Field Event Athlete
of the Meet.
The team finished just
a point-and-a-half behind
host school RIT and trailed
third-place Ithaca College by
eight points.
McMunigal won the pentathlon at last week’s NYSCTC Pentathlon meet at
Ithaca, before winning the
long jump on Friday night
and finishing third place in
the high jump.
“The conference meet was
one of the most competi-
tive meets I’ve been a part
of,” McMunigal said. “We
would have liked to finish
a little higher in the team
rankings, but the competition within the top five
spots really brought out the
best performances in a lot
of our guys. Knowing how
close it was going to be, our
coaches really stressed the
importance of scoring in
each event, and I think that
motivated us.”
The Yellowjackets look to
keep their drive up on the
road ahead.
“Overall, the indoor season has gone really well.
We’ve had opportunities to
compete in big meets and in
great facilities,” McMunigal
said. “The key thing is to
improve week-to-week and
we have done this so far. We
want this to continue going
into ECACs and hopefully
even Nationals.”
Also finishing well for the
men was junior A.J. Lee, who
won the 500 meter. Second
place finishers included
senior Ethan Kaplan in the
weight throw, sophomore
Andrew Fleisher in the mile
run and sophomore Greg
Hartnett in the 800 meter.
With NYSCTC behind
them, both teams head to the
ECAC Championships next
weekend in Northampton,
Mass.
Clark is a member of
the class of 2012.
ECACs next after successful meet
BY Willie Clark
Editor-In-Chief
Last weekend both the
men’s and women’s track
teams raced to great success at the New York State
Collegiate Track Conference
Championships for indoor
track and field at Rochester
Institute of Technology.
The women’s team placed
second out of nine participating teams. The team took
three first place finishes —
junior Jacqueline Cinella in
the 800-meter run, sophomore Hillary Snyder in the
1000-meter and the in the
4x400 meter relay.
“I am really proud of the
way the team competed this
weekend,” captain and senior
Heather Graham said. “People stepped it up and really
gave their races, jumps, and
throws everything they had.
We had a lot of people finish
better than their seeds and
people who were seeded outside of scoring break into the
top eight. We have had a great
season and everyone really
left it all on the track.”
The men’s team finished
fifth out of nine schools, with
sophomore Will McMunigal
Women’s Track
Feb. 26-27: NYSCTC
Championships at RIT
Finished second out of nine
Jacqueline Cinella finished in
first place in the 800 meter
run and fourth in the 200
meter run.
Hillary Snyder finished in
first place in the 1000
meter run.
Lisa Cole finished in third
place in the 1000 meter run.
Melissa Skevington finished
in third in the triple jump
and broke a school record.
Campus Times File Photo
Shanthi Chodagiri (left) and Laryssa Hebert (right) sprint for the Yellowjackets.
Win
finalizes
season
BY Brandon Manrique
Sports Editor
As the final game of the
season comes and goes for
the men’s basketball team,
hopes arise for the possibilities of the next chapter of the
team’s basketball career.
“We will learn from our
mistakes this year and be
better off next year for it,” junior guard Mike Labanowski
said. “I am really excited
about the ability this team
will have next year, as the
majority of the team will be
returning and be much more
experienced.”
The season went out with
a bang with the easy win over
University Athletic Association rival Emory University,
85-71.
Sophomore forward Bill
Serle led UR with 21 points,
four assists and four rebounds.
With the win, the men
ended the season tied in sixth
place in the UAA standings,
with a 6-8 conference record
and 15-10 overall.
Unable to clinch a spot in
the NCAA tournament, UR
reflected on this weekend
and what this season has
meant for them.
“This season was a great
learning experience and
to me it meant nothing
comes easy,” junior forward
Marcus Roberson said. “It
really showed me nothing
comes easy and you have to
work for everything you get
in life.”
The season started off on
a high note with a five game
winning streak but issues
with having a young and
inexperienced team plagued
the Yellowjackets.
“We are a very young team
this year and this extra year
that everyone had to get
playing time and learn how
the system works is going to
be a huge help for us next
year,” sophomore forward
Nate Novosel said.
With a 12-2 record after
winning the midseason
Wendy’s College Classic, UR
seemed as if they were going
to roll into the postseason.
Fate had a different plan
when the team lost eight of
their last 11 games.
For next season, the men
are aiming high and will try
to keep their momentum up
throughout the winter.
“We have a lot of potential
with the young group of
guys,” Novosel said. “Our
goal is always going to be a
national championship and
that won’t change.
The team will return most
of their starting line, hoping
to be a formidable opponent
next fall.
Manrique is a member of
the class of 2012.