Nov 7_Final

IU South Bend’s official student newspaper

Wednesday, November 7,

2012

INSI

DE Game Review:Assassin’s Creed III

Page 8

Profile: Local DJ,IUSB Student

Page 5

Star Wars Episode 7?

Page 8

the prefaceBy MACKENZIE JARVISStaff Writer

With a hop, skip and a jump through the destruction of Hurri-cane Sandy, critically acclaimed au-thor and social activist Marge Piercy ended up at IU South Bend on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 2.

Piercy took center stage in the packed University Grill to pres-ent a lecture entitled “Sex Wars: A Turbulent Era that Casts a Current Shadow.”

Piercy was welcomed to cam-pus as a lecturer for the Gloria Kaufman Memorial Lecture Series presented by IUSB’s Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) Program.

This lecture series honors the ac-complishments of Gloria Kaufman, a former English department facul-ty member who developed the first Women’s Studies course and created the Women’s Studies program.

Piercy’s lecture was focused on her latest novel, “Sex Wars, A Novel of Gilded Age New York” which addresses issues concerning wom-en’s rights in post-Civil War New York City. Her novel interweaves both fictional and prominent his-

“Sex Wars” comes to IU South Bendtorical figures including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull. Post-Civil War politician Anthony Comstock is depicted as the novel’s censor-ship-crazed antagonist.

Piercy spoke extensively about the struggles of women during that time period.

“Prostitution was one of the only ways women could make a liv-ing,” she said.

Piercy’s novel is studied at length by IUSB students in WGS courses. April Lidinsky, a WGS faculty mem-ber, teaches the novel in some of her courses. To introduce Piercy, Li-dinsky opened with a few lines from one of Piercy’s many poems.

“[The poem] captures what so many of us have learned it takes to make the world a better place,” said Lidinsky.

Daniel Schulte, an IUSB student who attended the lecture, was made aware of the event through a course he is currently taking.

“It was really interesting to me. Specifically because I’m in a wom-en’s protest literature class right now and this presented insight on what not only feminists, but women

were resisting or protesting at that time,” he said.

Schulte, who is interested in the feminist movement in general, has not yet read Piercy’s work, but as an effect of the lecture is now inter-ested in doing so.

Piercy has written 17 novels, 18 volumes of poetry and other vari-ous works including a memoir and multiple essays.

During the questions and an-swer portion of the lecture, Piercy revealed that it took her about three years to research “Sex Wars,” which she did while working on another novel.

“Comstock was pretty shock-ing,” she said in answer to what shocked her most about her exten-sive research.

Moments later, Piercy described Comstock, the historical figure and her novel’s antagonist, as someone who enjoyed “depriving people to death.”

The lecture was followed by a reception with refreshments and a book signing.

For more info on Marge Piercy visit www.margepiercy.com. n

What did you think about the election?

OBAMAROMNEY

While results were not tabulated before press time, we have local

commentary and reactions on the web!

The Prefaceonline

www.iusbpreface.com and facebook.com/IUSBPreface

OBAMA

ROMNEY

Preface Art/CECELIA ROEDER

Sex Wars author Marge Piercy spoke at IUSB about her novel and women’s roles in the Guilded Age

Photo courtesy of www.goodreads.com

2 The Preface

The Preface The Preface is the official

student newspaper of Indiana University South Bend, pub-

lished every Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters. The Preface receives funding from the Student Government

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The Preface is a student written, edited and designed publication.

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The Preface1700 Mishawaka Ave

PO Box 7111 South Bend, IN 46634

Student Activities Center Room 220

April Arias, Sophmore:

“Bowling! My room mate took me for the first time in this area.”

Titan Talk This week, we asked... “Where is your favorite place to go off campus?”

Danielle Borgman, Freshman

“My aunt’s house. They have horses and goats. And I can do laundry for free.”

Kristen Borrelli, Freshman

“Home. It’s like a half hour away. I like to see my mom and have a home cooked meal. I’m sick of eating chicken nuggets.”

Wednesday, November 7 3

IUSB Adventures

Illustrated by Traci Bremer

By JESSICA SCHLISKAStaff Writer

Suicide: a word forbidden, excluded from approach, use or mention. A subject that so many refuse to open up about, or even get involved in. A topic so easily marked taboo. But suicide is real, not something that can be brushed under the rug and forgotten about.

Stephanie Burkus, a senior at IU South Bend studying psychology and philosophy, is passionate about educating others on this forbidden theme. During this past summer, Burkus volunteered for the St. Joseph County Suicide Prevention Center. While there, she was introduced to National Suicide Survivor Day.

According to Burkus, Saturday, Nov. 17, is a day committed to spreading awareness in honor of those who have lost a loved one to suicide. This day not only brings together families of those who have committed the act, but also survivors wanting to support and help those affected.

According to the American Association of Suicidology, in 2009 suicide was ranked the tenth leading cause of death in the United States

and the third leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds. To break it down, 1 suicide occurs every 14.2 minutes.

Unlike many causes of death in the United States, suicide is absolutely preventable. In a video posted on the IUSB Suicide Research Team webpage entitled “Working to Disseminate Suicide Prevention Course Nationwide,” IUSB Psychology Professor Daniel DeBrule speaks about a main reason why the subject continues to remain taboo.

“People may not feel comfortable voicing because they may think it may increase the risk, but that certainly is not the case,” said DeBrule.

According to the video, experts say that the more educated society becomes, the more lives will be saved.

In the fall, Burkus enrolled in DeBrule’s Suicide and Depression course, a class that requires students to get involved in their community using concepts learned throughout the semester.

Deciding to incorporate National Suicide Survivor Day into her project, Burkus is arranging a documentary film screening created by the American Foundation for

Suicide Prevention.“The documentary mostly

consists of suicide survivors sharing their experiences,” said Burkus. “At the end of the documentary we will probably conduct some kind of discussion talking about our reactions to the film.”

The film screening is being held in lecture hall 1001 in Wiekamp Hall. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and is open to any students, faculty members, support groups and the general public.

“Since suicide is such a taboo subject,” said Burkus, “it’s not easy for people around here to step forward and talk about their loss. I think this documentary is designed to help those come forth and maybe even find others that are going through the same thing.”

Each suicide affects an estimated six other people. Those affected—family, friends and survivors—can together be an impermeable support system for others in the same situation.

To learn more information on suicide prevention and support, and to watch “Working to Disseminate Suicide Prevention Course Nationwide,” visit IUSB’s Suicide Research Team’s webpage at www.iusb.edu/suicide-research. n

Film screening: Suicide prevention

Photo courtesy of www.afspa.org

4 The Preface

Series: What’s that sculpture about? Campus art: the who, why, and how

FreedomBy KELSIE FERGUSONStaff Writer

Standing tall just outside the Administration Building near the playgrounds is a lovely work by Jon Pontius. The piece, titled “Freedom,” is a bronze sculpture of a tall, thin man standing arms open to the sky, legs together.

“The piece is nude, so the person doesn’t seem to be hindered by anything. He looks free,” said IU South Bend student Adam Wi-erzbicki.

While the sculpture’s creator Jon Pontius has passed away, his art remains. Pontius was a former student at IUSB.

“I think it’s sad that he’s gone, but it also makes the piece very unique and special now,” said IUSB student Adam Calhoun. “I didn’t know the work was there until now, but after looking at it, I wish I’d of appreciated it sooner. It’s definitely worth taking a minute to step out and look at.”

While the piece is away from the majority of campus traffic, it is still a beautiful work worth visiting.

This is the last work to be mentioned in the series. Looking back, there has been a very di-verse range of outdoor works contributed to this campus. The series took a journey along our campus sidewalks. First we saw “Temple

XX,” located outside the library, and learned about Austin Collins’ works and inspiration. This piece is only one of a series of works that we now have a part of.

Then we learned about the campus center-piece, “Crossroads,” and Tuck Langland’s creative plotting of not only the piece, but also the boul-ders around the campus.

After that, the story of the work “Memory” was published, another of Langland’s works which is dedicated to the memory each and every one of us here at IUSB.

Following this was the part of the series on Langland’s first IUSB work, “Ring Ribbons II,” which graces the lawn just outside Northside Hall. It was commissioned by one of our first official classes as a campus in 1973.

Finally, we heard the tale of “Gaia,” a piece that journeyed far and wide to come to IUSB, all thanks to the truly inspiring and dedicated art-ist, Dora Natella. She and her band of wonder-ful friends put much more than materials into the creation of the Goddess, including countless late nights, sweat, love, friendship, and on Natella’s be-half, even a broken leg!

There is no doubt that IUSB has some won-derful works on its campus. None of them were easy to create; they all took time, thought and commitment. Hopefully this series has helped the IUSB community to appreciate the works it has, and open its mind to filling it with more in the future.

To read previous parts of the series, visit our website at www.iusbpreface.com or find the IUSB Preface on Facebook. n

By JOE KUHARICStaff Writer

A lot of things have changed at IU South Bend in the last 20 years. Most students wouldn’t be able to tell you the differences, but Matt Beck, a senior in management and information systems, has seen it first-hand.

Beck originally attended IUSB in the early 90s and one of the most striking changes that he noticed was the layout of the university.

He explained that back in the 90s, the Student Activity Center (SAC), Wiekamp Hall and the park-ing garage were not a part of the campus. There was once a cross-road that ran straight through the center of campus and, as Beck described, the SAC used to be the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

Physical appearance aside, the classrooms were also quite differ-ent.

“There was no technology in the classroom,” Beck said.

Another difference is the way that past students used to register for classes.

“You had to stand in line with cards,” Beck said, recalling that the

Twenty years later: A non-traditional view of IUSB’s progresslines were often long, and it was possible to have to miss a class so students didn’t have to lose their place in line.

One thing that hasn’t changed too much at IUSB has been class size. Beck explained that the average size of a class was between 20 and 30 stu-dents. However, he described that some of the freshman classes could be large, recalling that his PSY-P190 class could have between 80 and 90 stu-dents.

The university has expand-ed in more subtle ways as well.

“They didn’t have my [cur-rent] major back then,” Beck said. He originally started out as an accounting major, and noted that there were really no computer-focused majors in the early 90s.

Beck also explained that there were far fewer interna-tional students on campus than there are now, and most of them lived in the houses that have recently been demolished to make way for more campus parking.

Student life on campus also stands in stark contrast to how it

did then.“There weren’t as many things

offered as far as extracurricular ac-tivities,” he said.

There has also been a dramatic

shift in the way sports are offered on campus. Beck explained that if students wanted to exercise or par-ticipate in sports, they had to head to the YMCA.

“It was a lot like high school,” Beck said.

One thing that struck Beck after coming back to IUSB af-ter 20 years was the familiar faces that he saw.

“Some of the faculty is still here, which is kind of amaz-ing,” he said.

He also noted that the ra-tio of women to men has re-mained about the same.

Looking back on his 20 year experience at IUSB, Beck takes a more discerning eye.

“I take it a lot more seri-ously than I did back then. Having had to repay some of those loans, it means a lot more to me now,” he said.

As Beck explained, a lot of the shifts he has seen have been for the better.

“A lot of the kids have their heads on straight compared to where I was in the 90s. Kids that are here [now] try more than we did,” Beck said.

To share your own college jour-ney, email [email protected]. n

Matt Beck stands in front of the once nonexistent Wiekamp Hall.Preface Photo/JOE KUHARIC

“Freedom” by Jon Pontius is a secluded, yet beautiful sculpture.Preface Photo/JOE KUHARIC

Wednesday, November 7 5

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Black Friday Special:

By MANDI STEFFEYStaff Writer

On Thursday, Nov. 8, from 7-11 p.m., the IU South Bend stu-dent housing Community Council will host another one of their “Night Club” events, a stoplight party in the lodge at River Cross-ing.

A stoplight party is a dance where the color someone is wear-ing indicates his or her relationship status. Green means single, yellow

Ready, set, go! Community Council Hosts “Stoplight Party”

By MANDI STEFFEYStaff Writer

Some students may wonder who is in charge of the music at the events on campus. This year, one DJ has worked the turntable at almost every event that required music. His name is Nich Sikorski and he’s a student here at IU South Bend.

“This is my first year doing events on this campus and so far it’s been good,” said Sikorski, whose stage name is DJ Slipstr3am.

Even though he started do-ing gigs here this year, Sikorski has experience DJing off-campus events. He does weddings, parties and other miscellaneous events, like an upcoming gig at the Penn High School Snowball dance. He also DJs at Tippy, a dance club in Warsaw, Ind.

Generally, DJs are hired to play music at different festivities, but Sikorski gives it more effort than that.

“People realize there’s a DJ there when I do events. It’s not just a song playing,” said Sikorski. “I’ll let a song go for 30 seconds and then I’ll switch it up and start

IU South Bend student Nich Sikorski doubles as DJ Slipstr3amplaying another song on top of it. I keep it moving constantly.”

Sikorski became DJ Slipstr3am when his brother-in-law, also a DJ, inspired him to try. Since then, he’s been enjoying his work.

“It’s like playing an instrument that isn’t an instrument. It has all the same creativity, and I can put two songs together that people wouldn’t expect,” said Sikor-ski. “I do it all. Scratch, mix…everything...I can definitely see this being my career eventually.”

Sikorski, a mass communica-tion major, is involved in much more than just DJing at events on campus. He’s a representative for the Community Council at stu-dent housing, plays for the Quid-ditch team and works for Titan Productions. He’s a third year col-lege student, but this is his first year at IUSB. His next on-campus event will be the Stoplight Party in the lodge at Student Housing on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m (story below).

To hear DJ Slipstr3am’s work, visit www.soundcloud.com/dj_slipstr3am. To find out about up-coming events, visit www.facebook.com/SLIPSTR3AM. n

means “it’s complicated” and red indicates taken or in a relationship.

“When you go dancing, you have no clear indication if anyone is single or not,” said Nich Sikor-ski, who will be DJing the party as DJ Slipstr3am along with DJ TiTaN.

“It’s a great way to show your relationship status and it gets people mingling.”

The party will be hosted on the same night that housing is allowing

current high school students to stay overnight in student housing, and all students are welcome to come. Because minors might be in attendance, all guests will be asked to sign a waiver upon entering.

To RSVP to the stoplight party, visit www.facebook.com/IUSB-CommunityCouncil/events. n

Nich Sikorski is both an IUSB Student and a budding local DJ.Photo courtesy of DJ Slipstr3am

The Preface

Titan women’s basketball heads into a new season

In this Feb. 2012 photo, Leah Myer takes a shot. This year, the Lady Titans hope to show off what they’ve learned.The Preface Photo Archive

By JOSEPH GRAFManaging Editor

New year, new season, same attitude—to win on and off the court. The IU South Bend women’s basketball team looks to make a push forward from last year’s 12-20 record.

To be fair, last year’s squad was considerably less experienced than in previous years, with many of the key players from the 2010-11 sea-son being seniors at the time and having graduated.

But with the lack of age on the depth chart, many of the younger team members got the chance to take the court, which could actu-ally improve the program going forward.

“This year’s group has a valu-able year of experience under their belts,” said Head Coach Steve Bruce. “Freshman and sophomores received a lot of starting playing time last year. They have those min-utes under their belts. That should benefit us greatly this season.”

Still, the Titans have some seri-ous competition to face in the Chi-cagoland Collegiate Athletic Con-ference (CCAC). In Coach Bruce’s seventh season at IUSB, he has picked up on which teams typically have a target on their back.

“We have several teams that, over time, have become small rival-ries. In our league, Olivet Nazarene and St. Xavier are two teams that typically compete for the CCAC championship,” said Bruce.

The hometown rivalry of Holy Cross has also been given added significance since IUSB decided to switch to Division II of the CCAC. It also has a personal significance for Coach Bruce as well.

“Holy Cross, across town, is now also in our league,” said Bruce. “Also, their coach, Aimee Litka Niespodziany, was someone that I recruited to Valparaiso University back in the mid 2000’s.”

Ironic that he now must com-pete against a woman who he once taught — the whole “now the stu-dent has become the master” sort of thing.

But winning on the hardwood isn’t the only thing that the Titan women are focused on.

Despite last year’s losing record,

Team still young, but gaining valuable on-court experience

IUSB had five different players named to the CCAC All-Academic women’s basketball team. Through-out the years, the Titan women have gained a reputation for having high GPA’s and applying their hard work mentality to every aspect of college life.

“We have two team goals for this year. Academically, we want to have a 3.5 or better team GPA. From a basketball standpoint, our goal is to win our conference,” said Bruce.

When all is said and done, the Titans are in a much better place this year than last, being able to stay competitive in a slightly less chal-lenging division while having much more experience on the roster.

But how should the team be measured this year? Is there a cer-tain record that the team must achieve to be considered successful, or is it something more meaning-ful than that? According to Coach Bruce, it’s all about pride and effort.

“Our season will be success-ful if make a full-hearted effort as a team to reach our goals. This is a fabulous group of young ladies. I would expect nothing less from them.”

For more information on the Titan athletic programs, visit www.iusbtitans.com. n

By TAYLOR NEFFStaff Writer

If you’ve ever scurried through Wiekamp Hall, you may have noticed a table adorned with a bright red tablecloth, a spread of pamphlets and perhaps a small group of people settled around it engaged in discussion.

Many on-campus clubs are alike, with the focus centered on students voluntarily signing themselves up to run their tables. One club that seeks to add members day in and day out, with its bright red tablecloth, is the Campus Bible Fel-lowship (CBF).

Even though they set up in various locations on campus, the CBF is most likely to be seen in Wiekamp Hall.

“I would describe us as active and caring,” said Steve Giegerich, a CBF International staff worker. “We have monthly activities and do nursing home services every four to eight weeks besides having a Bible study for students.”

Several years ago, the Student Activities Di-rector told clubs to make themselves more vis-ible on campus. Giegerich took the effort to show students the interest he has in them and the willingness the club has to extend any advice, counsel or prayer.

“We inform the students about the club, when the meetings are held and information

Campus Bible Fellowship: Offering fellowship and prayer to all who pass

about CBF,” Giegerich said. The club meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at

11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the University Grill. If students are unable to meet during those times, he is willing to schedule one-on-one time with students.

“Some students want more than a small group study, so they schedule a discipleship study with me.”

When asked what he talks about with the stu-dents who approach his booth in Weikamp, Gieg-erich said the most popular topics were how stu-dents can have a relationship with God, spiritual life, answering Biblical questions and asking the students for their prayer requests. If students have prayer re-quests, they can fill out an index card and the club will spend time in prayer for those needs.

“Our mission’s statement is ‘Jesus said to his followers: Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you and notice care-fully, I will be with you even to the end of the world.’ (Matthew 28:19-20).”

Giegerich extends his beliefs to students around him, while many of them continue to hurry to class.

Next time you see him, stop by and take a look at the free literature at his booth or perhaps engage in a theological discussion; you never know what you’re missing on this side of heaven. n

Wednesday, November 7 7

Sincerity: “Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly”

Guest Column: Titans of Virtue

SteffeyMandi

By MANDI STEFFEYColumnist

Years of extreme fandom? A huge, complex story with equally developed characters? General awe-someness? Yeah, George Lucas, just sell it all to Disney.

I have absolutely nothing against Disney. They can’t be argued with—they’re obviously a hugely successful company. Likewise, I don’t have strong opinions on Star Wars or Lucasfilm, but doesn’t this seem wrong?

In an interview posted on You-Tube, George Lucas explained why he made the decision to sell. He said that now he could finally be a fan of Star Wars instead of being the one in charge. Fair enough, but I bet the money didn’t hurt, either. Disney agreed to pay a whopping $4.05 billion for the entirety of Lu-casfilm, Ltd.

I think the biggest worry here is that, according to the Associ-ated Press, Disney plans to release not one, but three new Star Wars films. The first one, unofficially titled “Episode 7,” is set to release in 2015. Supposedly, it’s supposed to pick up right where “Return of the Jedi” left off. Normally, people probably would have been excited about a new Star Wars film coming

Disney buys Lucasfilm: Smart move or travesty?

out, but the fact that Disney is mak-ing it might turn some people off.

Disney is historically known for producing movies targeted at kids. This is all fine and dandy, but I don’t think this makes them qualified to produce the next Star Wars film, let alone the next three. Disney doesn’t have the nerd cred that Lucasfilm has, and that might upset the die-hards.

I just hope Disney knows when to stop. Since big entertainment companies are usually after the al-mighty dollar, I wouldn’t be sur-prised if Disney milked this for all it’s worth. My hope, though, is that it won’t get played out. There are already six hugely popular movies in the franchise. How does that old saying go? Quit while you’re ahead? The last thing Disney wants is for people to become bored or an-noyed with Star Wars, and that’s ex-actly what might happen.

The cool thing about Star Wars has always been that it was its own boss—it essentially defined Lucas-film, not the other way around. It’s going to be disappointing to see a big ol’ Disney stamp on Episode 7.

So, George Lucas, if you’re reading this: shame on you. You had a good thing and you blew it. Also, does this make Leia a Disney princess now? n

By JOSHUA STUMP

As I sit here with my morning

cup of coffee pondering this week’s virtue, sincerity, I cannot help but think about my own experience with it.

Some of the earliest life advice I can remember getting from my mother was something like “be yourself,” and I have endeavored to do just that. To me that idea has al-ways seemed so simple, but as time continues to pass, I’m starting to understand the importance of that advice and just why Ben Franklin decided to include this in his pres-tigious list of virtues.

These days, Sincerity is often synonymous with the idea of being genuine in one’s public conduct and the level of earnestness with any self-identified interests. While this take on sincerity is somewhat true, it is short-changing the virtue. You just cannot be sincere with others if you are not sincere with yourself.

When Franklin said “think in-nocently and justly,” he was not just talking about being lawful and fair with others. He was likely speak-ing more about being honest and fair with oneself. It is quite hard to

imagine being sincere with anyone if you have built yourself around something ingenuine.

Once you achieve that foun-dation of self, “and, if you speak, speak accordingly” should be fairly straightforward.

Getting back to that sage advice from my mother, I have lived most of my life trying not only to figure out just who I am, but who I want to be. I’m not sure we ever really figure out that first one, but in my attempts I strive for these things: Be genuine. Be authentic. Be hon-est. It all sounds quite simple at first glance, but practicing them is any-thing but. Time goes by, our inter-ests change, social settings change, friends change, culture changes, etc.

It is easy to get caught up in trends. Am I listening to the right music? Am I fashionable? Material things are often used as signifiers of the self. Having myself been one to buck the current fashion trends in lieu of something that just felt like me (read: comfortable) or hav-ing never cared much about being a scenester, I just have never put much stock in material possessions or social trends when it comes to defining who I am.

Instead, I rely on learning from life’s lessons. I try to be as honest with myself as possible. We know

this is not exactly an easy task, yet I think a healthy portion of the battle is just being aware of it in the first place.

I’m sure that the task of order-ing these virtues was most likely a difficult one for Franklin, but I cer-tainly would have listed sincerity in the top three, if not first. It has to be the foundation of self. It has to be the first solid step out the door and onto life’s long road.

Franklin once said “A man is never so ridiculous by those Quali-ties that are his own than those he affects to have.”

In other words, be yourself and maintain your identity when you have dealings with others. Ask your-self some hard questions. Did I pick this major because it fits me or be-cause I want it to fit me? Am I tak-ing on too much work to complete things effectively? Am I really happy with my various relationships? Am I living within my means?

These questions, when an-swered honestly will go a long way in helping you be sincere. As far as being yourself, I do not profess to have the answers for everyone, but I am certain of one thing—you can-not go wrong if you start by being completely honest with yourself. n

Cryptographer seeks answers at IUSBBy SARAH E. WARDStaff writer

Kryptos and Voynich sound like Vulcans from the planet Romulus, but one happens to be a sculp-ture and the other a cryp-tic codex. These two very unique novelties were the topic of discussion at the Unsolved Codes Talk at IU South Bend on Thurs-day, Nov. 1.

Award-winning cryptographer and video game developer Elonka Dunin was the guest speaker at the event, where almost every seat was full. The focus of the talk was on the Kryptos sculpture that sits at the center of the Central Intelli-gence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Va. and the mysterious Voynich codex.

The Kyrptos is an encrypted sculpture that was created by Amer-ican artist Jim Sanborn specifically for the CIA to try to crack.

There are four encrypted mes-

sages embedded in the sculpture and only three have been cracked. Dunin was allowed access to the sculpture, with permission to pho-tograph and study it.

She now dedicates much of her time to sharing everything she knows about Kryptos with the public and asking for others to get involved in cracking the so-far un-solvable cryptic message.

Dunin also spoke about the rare Voynich manuscript that contains an unknown language and uniden-

tifiable plant species. The codex has been

studied by scientists, scholars and cryptogra-phers, but so far, no one can crack its code.

Dunin is very clearly not giving up the continu-ous search for these dis-guised messages.

“The secret to suc-cess is pathological persis-tence,” said Dunin.

Her persistence was clear when she invited the audience to join in with her on the hunt for the secret mysteries that lie within the cryptic messages of Kryptos and Voynich.

“I have no desire to crack the code myself. I just want to see it solved,” said Dunin.

For more information on Kryp-tos and the Voynich manuscripts go to www.elonka.com/kryptos.

To read more about Dunin and her work, visit www.elonka.com. n

Elonka Dunin ponders uncracked codes. Photo courtesy of Suzy Gorman

George Lucas’ decision to sell Lucasfilm and the Star Wars saga has been met with skepticism.Photo courtesy of cartoonbrew.com

Wednesday, November 7 8

“I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.” - Harun Yahya

By CECELIA ROEDERDesign Editor Column

There may be minor spoilers.

You’ve been warned.

When I began to play Assas-sin’s Creed 3, I’ll admit, I was a bit disappointed. When the other As-sassin’s Creed titles had introduced us to the historical protagonists, it was right from the beginning of their lives. In Assassin’s Creed 2, the player witnesses the character Ezio’s birth in an interactive way, prompted to press buttons for the child’s first movement.

I had pretty high hopes for the opening of Assassin’s Creed 3. I had paid enough attention to the previews of the game to know that the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed 3 was a half British, half Native American man living in America.

So when the story opened up with a middle-aged man named Haytham Kenway in an English Opera, I was a bit disappointed. Sure, the setting was a vivid histori-cal portrait that I admired, but I re-alized the game was going to insert me halfway into Kenway’s life. I had wanted to see his origins, how this man had come to England, how he was raised.

An hour or two later, after Ken-way takes a ship to Boston, I began to realize my original surmising of the beginning had been all wrong.

A review of Assassin’s Creed III: Bigger and better than ever

The man I had been playing for all this time, exploring and undertak-ing various missions with, was not the main character. As I watched Kenway meet and begin to inter-act with a Native American woman named Ziio, it dawned on me that I was watching the events that led to the birth of Ratonhnhaké:ton “Connor” Kenway, the real pro-tagonist of the game. I had been

playing as his father the whole time without realizing it. I’ll try not to give too much away, but there are plenty of plot twists in this story that will truly catch you by surprise.

The more time I spent playing, the more I truly appreciated what the makers of this game had craft-ed. The setting is more real and vivid than ever. The graphics have been improved to the point that it

could truly be mistaken for video footage at some points. The peo-ple walking the streets of Colonial Boston are not clumsy crowds of similar-looking computer-generat-ed bodies. They act like real people of all types, unique in the way they walk and talk. The detail given to the details truly impressed me.

The game is also, in my opin-ion, more difficult. In some of the earlier games, it was easy for me to hack and slash enemies. No more. Fighting is more complex, prompt-ing the player to be more cautious, to try to hide and sneak more.

This area of Assassin’s Creed is also more realistic in the art of de-ception. Guards are not that easy to lose. In earlier games, if I was be-ing chased, all I had to do was run around a corner or two and hop in a bale of hay. ACIII makes you work harder. It’s not so easy to get away now. Blending in crowds has become more of a necessity, and less of an option. While at times the difficulty can frustrate me, it makes the reward of passing a hard mission sweeter.

The sheer amount of land the game has covered still amazes me. I’m not completely through the game, but so far, I’ve discovered Colonial Boston, a large homestead that serves as a home base, Mar-tha’s Vineyard and a vast area of land called Frontier, which includes the historic areas of Concord and Lexington.

I’ve only had the game a few days, and I know I’m not even close to discovering all of the vast open world area. Not everyone enjoys an open-world setting, but for those who do, it will be a treat. You could spends hours simply examining your surroundings.

Also new to the game is a hunt-ing aspect. While reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption’s hunting style, ACIII is clearly a more realistic style of hunting. You can stalk prey from treetops and bushes, throw poison darts, and even kill animals with bare hands. Large predatory animals are lethal if unprepared, which is an element I feel might have been missing in other games with a hunting aspect.

Another new element added is naval warfare and missions, which I thoroughly enjoy. While some older games in the past have struggled to portray water in a realistic way, when you pilot your vessel through the crashing waves, it looks more realistic than ever.

I know that it’s still early, and that I have many hours left before I near completion of this game. De-spite this, I feel it’s safe to say that ACIII is a worthwhile buy if you have to hours to put into it. It’s a deep story that deserves to be rec-ognized for the masterpiece that it is.

I would say more, but there’s a mission I’m determined to finish! n

By DANIELLE MILLERStaff writer

You’re at a party and your friend has had a few drinks. A guy she met there wants to drive her home. Should you intervene in the situa-tion, and if so, how?

Watching out for your friends while respecting their choices can be very confusing. This is an issue addressed in an upcoming campus-sponsored bystander intervention training.

Health and Wellness Nurse Practitioner Laura Hieronymus and Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies April Lidinsky are leading an effort to bring awareness and prevention of sexual violence against women and men to the IU South Bend campus.

On Thursday, Nov. 15, the first bystander intervention training will take place in the student housing

Bystander intervention training: Preventing sexual violenceLodge from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

“Bystander intervention train-ing teaches ways to intervene in a non- confrontational manner when [people] see someone at risk of sex-ual assault. It also alerts people to be aware of their surroundings, es-pecially at parties, and to watch out for their friends. ” sais Hi-eronymus.

According to the website for the Indiana Campus Sexual Assault Primary Prevention Project, bystander intervention training is part of a “compre-hensive approach which aids Indiana colleges and universities in the primary prevention of sexual violence through training and tech-nical assistance.”

A grant was given to IU South Bend to campaign for a year, ac-cording to Lidinsky.

“Prevention training focuses on involving everyone to become part of the solution rather than to ad-

dress problems as they occur,” she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five women and one in ten men have been victims of sexual violence in their lifetime. An over-

whelming majority knew their at-tacker—usually a classmate, ex-partner or acquaintance.

“Alcohol is the number one date rape drug. Many people think it’s roofies but it is by far alcohol,” said Lidinsky, adding that this fact will be part of the conversation on Nov. 15.

The campaign defines consent

as not merely the absence of “no.” but rather a clear, affirmative, verbal and freely given “yes” without the influence of alcohol or other sub-stances.

While it is hopeful that one will never need to utilize the skills they

learn in intervention train-ing, preparation can play a key role in prevention.

Even though IUSB is a relatively small campus, Hieronymus points out that sexual violence is rel-evant to everyone.

“We have had several reported assaults of our students on and off campus,” she said. “We also had an episode here on campus where a young woman was assault-ed in full view of many students. Although the students responded to stop the violence, it took time for them to take action because they were so shocked.”

“With the addition of student

housing and younger students on campus and at parties, we are very likely to have more sexual assaults with our students. We would rather be proactive than wait until we have a major episode” she adds.

Sexual violence statistics are high, and unfortunately most of these incidents go unreported, ac-cording to Hieronymus.

“I am a specialist in prevention when it comes to health,” she said. This is one area that I feel needs a lot more attention, especially on college campuses.”

If you have been a victim of sexual assault, you may contact the Health and Wellness Center at IUSB for referral and counseling at 574-520-5557.

You can also visit the IUSB Health & Wellness Center on Face-book and at www.iusb.edu/well-ness. n

“Alcohol is the number one date rape drug. Many people think it’s roofies, but it is by far alcohol.”

-April Lidinsky

Play as Connor Kenway in the latest Assassin’s CreedPhoto courtesy of the ACIII website