The Saint :: Issue 14

Is ready for summer. So ready.

Heartside Pride is coming up!Aquinas’ largest community volunteer effort takes place on April 21. Look inside for all the details.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012Volume 31, Issue 14

page 2

>>NEWS

Commencement info | 3The Saint has everything you need to know about coming graduation celebrations at Aquinas.

Costa Rica speaker at AQ | 3Wege Foundation speaker Dr. Daniel J. Janzen is slated to speak on tropical rainforests in Costa Rica and their place in the environment.

>>A&E

Isle of Marvels | 5Aquinas’ theater department’s l a t e s t e f f o r t f e a t u r e s steampunk science fiction strangeness.

Student art on display | 5The All-Media Student Art Show is on display at the AMC. Get The Saint’s take on Aquinas’ student artists, inside.

>>SPORTS

Women’s Lacrosse | 8The Aquinas Women’s LAX team heads to Rome, Georgia to compete in the national tournament.

AQ Cheer goes national | 8Aquinas’ cheer team competed at nationals in Daytona, Florida. Read how they did, inside.

New technology at the library

Summer fitness tips | 4 Men’s tennis keeps on winning | 7

theSaint

By Alyssa FreseStaff Writer

As the 2011-2012 school year comes to a close, so do the 125th Anniversary celebrations of Aquinas College.

Over the past year, the four Dominican charisms of Prayer, Service, Study and Community were emphasized with huge events on campus.

The last pillar, Community, will be celebrated on April 24, 2012, with a benefi t dinner and concert. The event, called “One Enchanted Evening” will celebrate the donors and benefactors of Aquinas. Tickets will cost donors $175 each and will help to further benefi t students of Aquinas. This event will feature a strolling gourmet dinner through campus with live music at each stop. On Monday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. there will be a free concert for students and faculty to enjoy. Alumni Sara Jakubiak (’02) and Dr. Andrew Fleser (’00) will be performing at the Performing Arts Center.

“The whole year went extremely well. Our two years of planning paid off beautifully and the entire board is very happy with the results,” said Gary Eberle, Aquinas English professor and Master of the Revels for the 125th Anniversary Planning Committ ee who has spearheaded the year’s events. “Along with the larger events were smaller events that also deserve recognition. The Scott Turow event raised $40,000+ alone and we are hoping to raise at least that with ‘One Enchanted Evening,’” said Eberle .

The pillar of Prayer was highlighted on Sept. 14, 2011, with a formal blessing and rededication of the college and campus. There was a vast array of speakers representing each of the pillars from students to professors to Marywood Sisters. Students representing on-campus

JONATHAN TRAMONTANA / AQUINAS

Since Aquinas is a leader in the sustainability education movement, i t is only f i t t ing that the entire campus should work to create a more susta inable environment . To do this, some members of the Aquinas community who are highly committed to sustainable practices have devised a plan to eliminate all municipal waste generated by the college by May 2014. This team, composed primarily of dedicated students, has been meeting three times a week in order to brainstorm and get the zero-waste plan into action.

The goal of the plan is to decrease the capacity to hold waste on campus by 10 cubic yards per semester. The same method was used at Cascade

AQ SIFE claims another victory in Chicago regional competition

Working toward zero waste on campus

Aquinas’ 125th wraps up

The year-long anniversary celebration of Charisms concludes with “Community”

By Samantha SwartoutStaff Writer

iPads for your use: Junior Brianna Harris holds one of the new iPads available in the Grace Hauenstein Library’s Media Department. The library has been updating their collection of electronic media devices for students to use.

clubs, organizations, teams, music groups and Aquinas in general met at the Cook Carriage House for a memorable march to Touchdown Mary where hundreds gathered for the blessing ceremony.

In October and November the pillar of Service was highlighted. In October, a special commemorative token was mailed to thousands of Aquinas alumni and friends. The recipients of these coins were asked to share their stories of service. Along with the mailing of the tokens was the All Saints Day Summit on Service held on Nov. 1. Sr. Anna Maria Santiago was the keynote speaker and spoke of the Dominican tradition of service. Hundreds of stories were shared on the Aquinas website, with a map showcasing locations of service done by Aquinas students, alums and community members across the world.

On March 13, 2012, Eberle gave a speech about his 60 years in the Catholic intellectual tradition. This was followed later in the month and into April with lectures by Sr. Barbara Reid on the Dominican Intellectual Tradition and renowned Catholic theologian George Weigal, who discussed the future of Catholic higher education. The final Study event was a student “Talk Back” which consisted of a panel of fi ve students representing various clubs on campus who discussed their personal views on the identity of Aquinas College as a Catholic school on Tuesday, April 17.

The goal of these events was to not only take a look into the past, but to get everyone excited about the future of the college. “We wanted to look to the past and build a future,” said Eberle. “We have laid a great foundation this year–we gave the college a lasting eff ect and will go into the future with a united story and history with the celebration of our charisms.”

Focus on the Charisms: Aquinas students process with banners listing the Dominican Charisms in St. Andrew’s Cathedral during the 125th Anniversary Mass, celebrated by Bishop Walter Hurley on Sept. 18, 2011.

In an always technologically advancing society, it is important to stay up to date and familiar with new devices. Codirector of the Grace Hauenstein Library Shellie Jeffries and the rest of her library staff have taken great measures to make sure that Aquinas College students and faculty have access to popular devices and digital formats such as Nooks, Kindles, and e-books. “Last August, the library began subscribing to a service that provides access to electronic books and we were able to add 72,000 new titles to our online catalog,” she said. “All those e-books are searchable in TomCat and many are defi nitely gett ing used by students. We are also buying many individual reference books as e-books.”

According to Jeffries, a survey of students, staff and faculty last fall showed interest in electronic books, but not as a priority. “As we’re able to

add more e-books to our collection and more people use them, this att itude may change,” she said.

The Media Department’s iPads, Nooks, Kindles, Wii consoles and most recent Kindle Fire come with books preloaded onto them. The uploaded literature is composed of mostly non-fi ction titles. However, for those who are loyal print readers, fear not: the library will continue to purchase print editions alongside electronic ones, according to Jeff ries.

The library plans to add more to their technology collections as new concepts and inventions gain student att ention. “Our intention with all of these gadgets is to provide students with the opportunity to play with them and, with the e-readers, a chance to read popular books that the library doesn’t usually buy for our collection. We’re happy with the usage we’ve seen for all our new ‘toys’ and hope to expand our off erings in the future,” said Jeff ries.

By Rachel LuehmStaff Writer

Engineering, a Grand Rapids-based sustainable engineering firm, to eliminate all waste over the course of five years.

The plan will be put into action incrementally. “Basically, it’s a nine-step process that will be used every year until we get to zero-waste,” said senior Stephanie Krajnik, who is one of the leaders of this plan.

This new zero-waste policy will mean that the students, faculty, staff and campus dining will need to rethink their use and disposal of the items they purchase, use, and come in contact with. It will also mean that there will need to be more education on how to dispose of waste other than using the trash can. Recycling, up-cycling and composting, as well as thinking about how much and what a person is buying before they buy it,

and simply using objects creatively rather than just tossing them will need to be implemented.

Some waste reducing measures have already been implemented and successful for Creative Dining Services , Aquinas’ food service provider. Two large trash dumpsters and a single compost bin for Wege waste have been replaced with two compost bins and only one dumpster. This saves on waste going to the landfill.

Although these initiatives were s tar ted by the on-campus c lub Students Striving for Sustainability (S3), it does not mean that others cannot get involved. Anyone is invited to help out with the effort. All interested in joining can contact Krajnik via email at [email protected].

By Laura RicoStaff Writer

On Monday April 16, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE)attended the Regional Competitions in Chicago, Illinois. The team took home it’s 11th win, earning a spot in the SIFE national competition in Kansas City May 22-24.

Ten students presented on five projects that SIFE has worked on throughout the year. “Our projects this year have met all judging criteria, which were qualitative and quantitative factors of economic, environmental, and social empowerment of people in need,” said AQ SIFE’s President Tom Olson.

Hopes were high going into the competition. Before the competition, Aquinas professor and SIFE advisor Masato Yamazaki said, “We have been winning every year since 2009. Of course, we hope to win this year again. This is our

tenth anniversary year.” The team did not disappoint. Senior

Brianna Scott, presenter for the Help Japan Volunteer Program, was proud of the team’s accomplishments. “We represented Aquinas well and brought honor to the school,” said Scott .

Despite technical malfunctions, with movie devices failing to work during her group’s presentation, Scott said she and her peers were able to pull off a presentation that was, “straight to the point, just what the judges wanted.”

The projects discussed included: the Steepletown GED and Fitness Project which assists GED students at Steepletown through tutoring and providing physical fitness programs, and the Help Japan Volunteer Program which contributes to the KIE Kintetsu International’s Volunteer Program,

Kizuna, and helps to send more volunteers to Japan for rebuilding eff orts.

The other three projects presented were the The Magnanimous Salsa Project; the Energy Project that supports successful energy conservation education at Congress Elementary School; and the If The Shoe Fits Project, which provides athletic shoes to students in Grand Rapids and a Malawi microfi nance eff ort.

Even with this victory, Aquinas’ SIFE team is not taking a break. “Aft er having a widely successful year, AQ SIFE will throw themselves into next years projects with even more fervor,” said Elizabeth Ochs, AQ SIFE’s president-elect for 2012-2013. “We are excited about our win at regionals and it has only motivated us to work even harder to place higher at nationals than ever before. “

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE / THE SAINT

news page 2THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

Aquinas: Roger Durham presents on Saudi Arabia excursion

Grand Rapids: New movie theater coming your way

Michigan: Holland and Greenville hospitals in top 100 nationally <<Aft er two weeks in Saudi Arabia, Aquinas pro-

fessor Roger Durham will be presenting insights he gained from his experience with the Aquinas College community on Tuesday, April 24 at 12:30 p.m. in the Wege Ballroom. He will focus on the topics of gender, religion, culture, environment and political economy in relation to oil resources.

The owners of Celebration Cinema have an-nounced that a new multi-purpose movie the-ater will be built downtown on the south side of the Van Andel Arena on the corner of Ionia and Oakes streets. There is currently a city parking lot in the location. Developers have proposed a two year project, hoping for an open by 2014.

Holland Hospital and Spectrum Health Unit-ed in Greenville received national awards, rank-ing 7th in clinical care and organizational perfor-mance. Mercy Hospital in Cadillac and Munson Medical Center in Traverse City were also select-ed as outstanding medical facilities that placed in the top 100.

Korean-American health expert and president of Dartmouth College Jim Yong Kim was chosen to serve as World Bank chief. Kim’s tenure will begin on July 1 and last fi ve years. Although the position is traditionally fi lled by a U.S. citizen, Kim faced a strong challenge against Nigerian Finance Minis-ter Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

World: Dartmouth president elect-ed as new World Bank chief

monica rischiotto |news editor Heartside PrideOn April 21, Aquinas students, faculty and staff

will join the Heartside neighborhood downtown for spring cleaning and beautification

By Brian KalchikThe Saint Reporter

The ladies of Casa Hogar (left to right): Students Gabriella Cicantelli, Ana Cujar, Erin Miller, Jennifer Kalchik, Taylor Spellis, Ariel Timm, and Paige Shesterkin pose for a photo.

COURTESY JENNIFER KALCHIK

On Saturday, April 21, students from all across Aquinas College will be participating in service projects in and around the Heartside area as part of the annual AQ service tradition Heartside Pride Clean-Up, sponsored by Aquinas’s CAVA ( C o m m u n i t y A c t i o n Volunteers of Aquinas) on- campus student group. Some of the projects will include cleaning leaves, debris, a n d g a r b a g e f r o m s t r e e t s and parks o f the Heartside neighborhood in downtown Grand Rapids.

“ 1 9 8 4 w a s the f i r s t year o f Hear t s ide . A small group o f s t u d e n t s from Aquinas came with the ‘Hunger Clean-Up’ (now known as Heartside Pride), and they cleaned up the Heartside area and raised money that was donated to diff erent organizations,” said Eric Bridge, the CAVA advisor. “The rewarding part of this experience is the personal connections that you can develop with the residents.”

This movement is now a city-wide event with colleges and universities p a r t i c i p a t i n g . A r o u n d 1 5 0 - 2 0 0 volunteers from Aquinas are expected

to participate. According to junior Abby Samotis,

CAVA president, this is the biggest and most rewarding event of the year for the CAVA group. “I’m very excited this year, we have had a lot of community help and sponsors that are helping make this project a success. We also

caliber shows how much commitment and appreciati on I have for the Aquinas College community. I can’t wait to spread this same appreciation to my fellow Saints!”

Sophomore Madison Gabriel has plenty of experience with helping out others. “I have been on the Selma and

K e n t u c k y Spring Break trips, being on both of those events w a s a w e -i n s p i r i n g , and now I c a n m a k e an impact in t h e G r a n d Rapids area. This will be my second H e a r t s i d e a n d b e i n g a b l e t o work wi th a different g r o u p o f people than l a s t y e a r will also be a rewarding exper ience for me,” she said.

The day will start at 8:00 a.m. with breakfast in The Moose. Aft erwards the groups and their student leaders will head to Heartside to begin their projects. Degage Ministries will be providing lunch. Participants will receive free t-shirts for their involvement in this event.

Casa Hogar’s impressive comeback year


Casa Hogar is a Aquinas College student club on campus that sponsors children who live in an orphanage in Peru. The club has been in existence on campus since the early 2000s. H o we ve r, a f t e r a s n a f u a f e w y e a r s a g o , t h e club lost many of its members and campus attention unt i l th i s year. After a few years of keeping a low profi le, Casa Hogar is making a huge comeback.

C a s a H o g a r participated in Fall Fest last semester with a small booth se l l ing caramel a p p l e s . T h i s semester, however, C a s a H o g a r i s putt ing themselves on the map. On Tuesday, April 10, Casa Hogar put on an event at the Pyramid Scheme o n C o m m e r c e S t r e e t c a l l e d LalaPERUza. This event featured Aquinas talent like singer/guitarist RJ Nordlund and local bands, as well as musicians such as Jake Simmons and the Litt le Ghosts.

The event was a huge success overall. “We were very pleased with the turnout of the event. It was our fi rst time hosting an event like that off campus and it

was very successful. There was a lot of interest in putt ing on another show like it so we are looking to do another LalaPERUza in the fall,” said Casa Hogar vice-president and next year’s president-elect Ana Cujar.

After a couple years of ceasing to exist, Aquinas students resurrect the club whose primary mission is to raise money

for two children living in a Peruvian orphanageraising we do as a club raises money to sponsor these two kids. We have to raise $1,000 a year per child so we try and put on events that will raise these necessary funds,” said Cujar.

Casa Hogar had collaborated with the Service Learning department to put

on a trip to Peru in the springtime. Aft er a few years of the trip not being active, the trip is happening again. In May, 10 students will travel to Peru for 10 days to work in a maternity clinic a n d t h e J u a n Pablo orphanage. Students who go on the Peru trip are encouraged t o j o i n C a s a Hogar, but it isn’t required.

“Gett ing to travel to Peru is a really cool thing b e c a u s e I ’ v e always wanted to travel there. The most amazing thing though , is getting to meet a n d a c t u a l l y interact with the kids that we only

know through lett ers and pictures. If this trip goes well, the Service Learning department may put the trip up as an annual thing,” said Cujar.

Casa Hogar also sponsored a 5K Run/Walk during April 14 at Spring Fest. The walk cost $20.00 and included snacks and a t-shirt. The raised funds will go to the children that the club sponsors. “We sponsor two kids from the Juan Pablo orphanage in Peru, all the fund

ACS takes awards in San Diego

By Chuck HydeThe Saint Reporter

On March 24, the Aquinas College Chemistry Society went to San Diego to att end a chemistry fair and award ceremony along with groups from all over the country and the world. The group received the Commendable Chapter Award from the National Chemistry Society for the eighth time. They hope to earn the Outstanding Award in the future.

Dr. Elizabeth Jensen, the group’s advisor, was eager to provide the students with this opportunity. She said that she “enjoys associating with other chemists and likes watching [her] own students get excited.”

The fair had many different components, ranging from a poster exhibition to sessions showcasing chemistry demos. The group put together their own poster to go up alongside the numerous graduate and undergraduate schools in att endance. From the demo portion, Junior Sara Bouwkamp hopes that what they saw there will provide “new experiments to engage the students” during Aquinas’ annual St. Albert’s Day events, where chemistry students show fourth graders diff erent science experiments.

The convention also featured numerous speakers and lecturers. “It is a great feeling when you can understand what they are presenting to you in some kind of detail,” said Bouwkamp.

Dr. Jensen agreed the trip was a success and said, “I really hope we can continue to send a group every year.”

By Sam SwartoutStaff Writer

AQ scholars look forward

to summer projects

For summer 2012, three lucky Aquinas College students have been awarded stipends to follow up on research that holds both interest and meaning for them. These three students are junior Rachel Bartels and sophomores Jarrod Irwin and Molly Cook. All three students have very diff erent topics and are excited about the opportunity they have been awarded.

“I’m defi nitely excited! It took a really long time to fi nd out, but once I did, I was pumped. This scholarship will really allow me to go in depth with my research,” said junior Rachel Bartels. Bartels will be doing market research for a company from her hometown called Blue Star Sportswear. “I’ll be creating a customer profi le and looking at what kind of things they sell, how they sell and what the best avenue for reaching those customers is.”

Another eager recipient of this award is Irwin, whose research will focus on 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. “I’m looking at religious themes in the novel Notes from Underground—unlike Dostoevsky’s later novels, it doesn’t openly discuss religion. I want to fi nd out how it fi ts into the bigger picture of his treatment of religion in his novels,” said Irwin. He added, “I’m really excited to work on this project. Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors.”

Sophomore Molly Cook will be working in partnership with Park Church of downtown Grand Rapids to complete her research about meeting the needs of the homeless in the Heartside Neighborhood. “My goal for this project is to really focus on the homeless population, fi nding out from them what they need and what is currently available to them,” said Cook.

Look for these student’s results reports in August and join The Saint in wishing them all luck on their projects.

The research projects are funded by the Student Senate Research Foundation. A committee of student senators led by the vice-chair review the submitt ed proposals and vote on students to receive research funding.

have great leaders this year who are working very hard! We have many neat projects planned for the event including planting, painting, rebuilding, and cleaning in the Heartside District!”

Sophomore Alexander Atwood, a first-time leader, shares the same excitement. “I’m super excited! This is such a great opportunity to give back to the city of Grand Rapids. To be a student leader for an event of this

Get your clean on: Students from the 2011 Heartside Pride Clean Sweep gear up with shovels galore to work with the Heartside Neighborhood community for some spring cleaning.

COURTESY ABBY SAMOTIS

This is prett y typical. It is 2 a.m. on a Monday night, roughly 12 hours before sending this issue of The Saint to print. When it comes to writing my column, procrastination consistently seems to get the best of me. I admit to experiencing a slightly repulsive adrenaline rush from reserving these late Monday nights every other week. They are complete with excessive coff ee drinking, late night thinking, pizza ordering, Pandora blaring hours that for me subconsciously defi ne the heart of the college experience. They make for stories I can salvage and share with my grand kids, with my sparkly clean dentures and all, stories that begin with, “Back in the day…”

It is nights like these when Sports Editor Dan Meloy and I are fi rst in line for Wege breakfast at 7:15a.m, strolling in with baggy eyes, disheveled looking, ready for a morning nap. And it’s hard to believe it is coming to an end.

Refl ecting on the last four years of writing for The Saint, whether as an editor or a writer, there seems to be a common thread. I spent many late nights in the fl oor lounges of Regina fi nishing articles my freshman year, scrolling through emails of interview responses, looking up cross country, baseball and basketball stats that felt like reading a different language. Also included were regurgitating Mlive articles and organizing Recyclmania results into a reader friendly format.

Writing for The Saint provided the stepping stones to meeting new people, learning about events, clubs and traditions on campus. And by writing about them, I felt like I was a part of something. I wanted to be in the know at a place I started out hardly knowing at all. I wanted to meet the leaders, the cool kids on campus, talk with the professors who were praised and make connections with those who worked behind the scenes.

That being said, the late nights felt like saving the best for last. Writing articles for the paper is almost like entering a different world. Trying to provide the most accurate form of truth becomes the task at hand. And whether it is about sports, an event on a campus, or world news, there is a heavy load of responsibility that goes with sharing the “right” information in the “right” way.

Yet when it comes to writing my column, this gets a litt le complicated. My goal at hand is not to be neutral, but rather to choose a side. And yet, more oft en than not, the experience of trying to refl ect on my own views and ideas has led me to realize the world we live in is not always so black and white.

That being said, countless numbers of times I have writt en a column, read it over, and questioned myself. Does it make sense? Did I consider all sides of the argument? Who am I to write on this issue? And the questions go on and on until I fi nally convince myself that time has become a factor, and I must go with whatever falls on the page.

The opportunity to write a column has perhaps more than anything allowed me a chance to learn about myself. It can be a rude awakening when your world is at one time neatly organized into a list of rights and wrongs and then when given a chance to wholeheartedly support (or criticize) a particular side, it can be more challenging than expected. And perhaps more than anything, it can be a somewhat unsett ling experience to observe where the process of writing down your beliefs takes you.

Professor Gary Eberle once said during class, “The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know.” That was oft en my experience with writing this column. I would start off having a concrete answer, a strong-willed stance on a certain issue, and by the end, the grey side began to immerge, questioning the exclusivity of my point, challenging me to doubt the limited knowledge I have and construct an opinion off of it.

And yet at the same time Alexander Hamilton’s quote, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” (thanks to my seventh grade teacher) is always consistently fresh on my mind, reminding me that the grey zone can’t become a halt to analytical and critical thinking, both with the mind and the heart.

Without further ado, my sincere appreciation for those who entertained my att empts to explore my own views, and a warm welcome to sophomore Laura Farrell who will be thoughts will be gracing this space for the 2012-13 year.

Bidding adieu

3 THE SAINT WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

NEWS

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

Celebrating mother earth and a healthy

dose of AQ prideA recap on SpringFest and a look forward to Earth Day on April 22

By Chuck HydeThe Saint Reporter

COURTESY RONI RANVILLE

Spring is in the air: With SpringFest successfully kicking off the end of the year, Earth Day is just around the corner on Sunday, April 22.

Last Saturday, Apri l 14 , was Aquinas’ annual springtime bash: S p r i n g f e s t . C a m p u s organizations got together to put on various events in and a r o u n d t h e Cook Carriage House. Food a n d d r i n k s were supplied all day in the Moose, with several clubs present. AQ Sound had a table and were g i v i n g o u t CDs with the c o m p l e t i o n of a survey; Ukeknighted was present, g i v i n g f r e e u k u l e l e lessons; and AQPB hosted their Style Your Sole event, based around the recent Toms shoes that they put on sale.

The day began with a 5k run/walk put on by Casa Hogar to raise money for the Peru trip. It was sophomore Anastasia McRoberts’ fi rst 5k event; she seemed happy with how it turned out: “It was a nice way to wake up.”

Ukeknighted, a fairly new club on campus, was perhaps the most lighthearted and friendly of the groups. Their lessons were fun and informative for anyone wanting to

Exploring the rainforests in Costa Rica

The Wege Foundation Lecture Series brings biologist Dr. Daniel J. Janzen

By Samantha SwartoutStaff Writer

On Thursday, April 19, from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. the 16 annual Wege Foundation Speaker Series will take place. This year ’s topic is “Tropical Conservation t h r o u g h B i o d i v e r s i t y Development” and will be presented by Dr. Daniel H. Janzen.

Dr. Janzen is advisor to international political leaders and is a world-renowned conservation biologist. He has devoted h i s l i f e t o h i s c a r e e r and has a pass ion for t ropica l environments and the species that live i n t h e m . H i s p a s s i o n has led him all the way t o C o s t a R i c a , w h e r e he has been devoted to protecting and preserving the biodiversity in the tropical forests. Through h i s dedica t ion to th i s pro ject , i t has become

The new Duncan in town

the o ldes t , l a rges t and most successful ecosystem restoration project in the world.

This project and others have established Dr. Janzen a s a w o r l d - r e n o w n e d , highly awarded biologist. H e h a s b e e n a wa r d e d t h e C r a f o o r d P r i z e i n Sweden, the Kyoto Prize in Japan and a MacArthur Fellowship.

While speaking at the Wege Foundation Speaker Series, Janzen will discuss his work to restore the ecosystem in Costa Rica, why he chose his career path and why it should matter to the rest of the world what is happening in the rain forests of Costa Rica.

The l ec ture ser ies i s open to the public and is free. To hear Dr. Janzen speak, head over to the Wege Ballroom at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 19.

Native GR news reporter and

CBS anchor Mike Wallace dies

By Cassandra LaMacchiaThe Saint Reporter

M i k e Wa l l a c e , t h e l o n g t i m e CBS newsman, died on Saturday surrounded by the company of his family. Only a month shy of his 94birthday, Wallace lived a long and respected life working for CBS since 1951, and later earning the spot as the newsman for TV magazine “60 Minutes” in 1968. Mike Wallace draws his roots back to Michigan where his broadcasting career kicked off.

A f t e r g r a d u a t i n g f r o m t h e University of Michigan in 1939, Wallace worked for WOOD radio station right in Grand Rapids. After six months working with WOOD, he relocated and worked through successive promotions in Detroit and then Chicago. Eventually, the opportunity arose for Wallace to work with CBS where he planted his feet for 38 consecutive seasons.

He became known as the tough guy who asked interesting questions that often led to game-changing responses from the interviewee. Grilling his subjects, Wallace once stated he walked “a fine line between sadism and intellectual curiosity.” The length of his career with CBS news resulted in many interesting interviews with many interesting people, from Jack Kevorkian, the controversial assisted suicide proponent, to Nixon’s right-hand man John D. Ehrlichman after the Watergate affair.

In the 38th year of his career, Wallace earned his 21st Emmy for interviewing the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“ABC World News” anchor Diane Sawyer publicly commented about the death of Wallace: “Mike’s energy and nerve paced everyone at ’60 Minutes.’ He was the defining spirit of the show.”

2012 Spring Commencement infoThe Saint Editorial Staff

AQ Chef receives city

award

Rainforests we should care about: With only a handful of Aquinas students studying in Costa Rica each year, Dr. Daniel J. Janzen will share why everyone should get to know the country’s rainforests.

Welcoming baby Leo to the AQ community: Aquinas College history professor Jason Duncan and his wife Amy Richards had their fi rst child, Leo Jason Duncan, on April 9. Leo weighed in at seven pounds and 15 ounces. Congratulations!

COURTESY JASON DUNCAN

learn more about ukulele. The club president, sophomore Marin Haff ey, started to group to unite the many ukulele players and would-be players

something up. The rest of the day was fi lled with other fantastic events. AQPB hosted a band in the Moose, Scratch Track. There were even more

music-related a c t i v i t i e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e e v e n i n g . There was also L a x a p a l o o z a going on at the same time, with Lacrosse games all day.

Wo o d wa r d Area Counci l m e m b e r s a n d R A s collaborated to put on “Rock the Block.” An evening of free food, including cot ton candy and snowcones, wi th musica l performances by Taylor Nefcy, J e l l y, a n d a performance by the improv troupe ICE.

Coming up on April 22 is another spring-themed event. Earth Day is bringing about more festivities, including yoga, Ada bike repairs, a batt le of the bands by AQ Sound, and another band, the Bergamots.

A c c o r d i n g t o s e n i o r P a i g e Shesterkin, there will also be “an Introduction to Baptiste Power Vinyasa Workshop with Gazelle Animalia.” The 125 Mile Dinner was also that day, with all ingredients being harvested within 125 miles of campus.

By Yasmeen AhmedThe Saint Reporter

InPictures:

Andrew Eggert, who received the award for Chef Professional of the Year from the American Culinary Federation, is also a chef at Aquinas College’s very own Wege Cafeteria. Eggert started cooking and baking at a young age with his mom. Going to college, he never lived on campus so he always had a chance to cook. He graduated from Grand Valley State University, but also attended Grand Rapids Community College for the culinary program. Eggert started working at

Wege about two years ago. In addition to cooking some of Wege’s fi nest meals, Eggert also assists signifi cantly with on-campus banquets. He was nominated and voted for by his peers in the American Culinary Federation. Eggert really enjoys cooking, especially the art of it, and is also extremely fl att ered by this award. “Something that is great about this line of work is that it is very rewarding and I also really enjoy the creative aspect, as well as the problem solving that comes with cooking. It is a very humbling experience to be recognized by my peers,” he said.

Recyclemania results are in


Rec yclemania, a national competition for colleges to “greenify” their campuses, has come to an end and the results for Aquinas College are something to be celebrated. According to Jessica Eimer, Director of the Center for Sustainability at Aquinas, “Overall, our waste to landfi ll is down by 14% and our composting is up by 700%.”

The signifi cant increase in composting is greatly thanks to the Students Striving for Sustainability on-campus group who placed composting containers in all the houses on campus. An eff ort to make using the large green bins more user

-friendly. The group is currently working

on a zero-waste plan proposal that sets goals working for a no waste campus beginning in 2020. Students Striving for Sustainability along with the participation of Aquinas students, faculty, and staff placed Aquinas at 162

out of 605 colleges across the country in the Grand Champion category with an overall campus recycling rate of 25%.

“Aquinas community members have really pulled together to seriously address the waste issue on campus over the past year, and we need your continued involvement and interest,” said Eimer.

on-campus. She hopes to further expand the club next year.

One of the more moving events was put on by sophomore Nicole Klco. She was at a table in the Moose with a simple request: she wants your handprint. She was having students dip their hands in paint and press onto a piece of paper. People would then write notes before giving the fi nished product to her. The fi nished stack of prints is going to Spencer, a six-year-old boy with cancer. She did this as a project for Lent, rather than giving

COURTESY MIRIAM PRANSCHKE

The Commencement ceremony is Saturday, May 5, starting at 2 p.m. and will be hosted in the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center. This event does require a ticket prior to arrival. Each graduating senior is given fi ve tickets to disperse to family and friends.

Starting at 10 a.m. that same Saturday is the Baccalaureate Mass at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. This event does not require a ticket, but has limited seating so students wishing to att end are encouraged to arrive early.

The speaker for this year’s Commencement is Fred P. Keller Jr. Keller is an East Grand Rapids High School alum of 1952 who went on to graduate from Cornell University in 1966 with a degree in material science and engineering. Keller is founder, CEO, and President of Cascade Engineering. Located in Grand Rapids, Cascade Engineering is dedicated to business with focuses on recycling and sustainability.

Honorary Degree Recipients are Marilyn Drake, Sr. Marjorie Vangsness, Paul Nelson, Harry J. Knoopke, and Edward Balog.

Several changes have been made to the Commencement ceremony. Jan Sommerville, Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary to the Board of Trustees, said, “The biggest change to the commencement ceremony is we are trying to keep the entire program to 90 minutes. Since most of our guests have to sit in the bleachers, we are doing everything we can to shorten things up for them. Some things we have done toward the 90-minute goal: the president’s remarks will be shortened; the honorary degree recipients will not address the guests aft er their degree has been bestowed, and students will wear their hoods to the ceremony rather than have “hooding” be part of the ceremony.”

Students are encouraged to att end the Baccalaureate Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Cathedral on Saturday May 5 and to att end Commencement at 2 p.m. at Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center on the same day.

from our view

>>FROM THE CROWDAPPLAUSE TO...The Saint’s editors, for cranking out this issue in record time;

Leo Jason Duncan, for making his way into this world;

Professors who hand out study guides;

Dan Meloy, for providing us with intriguing historical facts and constantly cross-referencing the AP Style Guide;

Nicholas Signore, for closing financial loopholes like a boss and having mad whiteboard skills;

Monica Rischiotto, for putting names with faces while fighting sleep deprivation, and staying awesome while doing it.HECKLES TO...

Trees that fall down in the street;

Pre-test stress;

Arizona, for defining “pregnancy” as starting “two weeks before conception;”

North Korea’s wholly unimpressive rocket launch;

Catastrophic laptop failure right before a paper is due;

Post-graduation plans, or lack thereof.

The Saint has worked diligently for the past 30 years to produce an informative, entertaining and journalistically-correct student publication. The Saint is distributed by students at Aquinas College and in the surrounding community. Our goal is to continue to provide an open forum for the ideas, views and concerns of the Aquinas community.

M I S S I O N

All letters must include a signature, typed or handwritten, and include a phone number for the sole purpose of verification. The Saint reserves the right to edit letters to the editor based on content, punctuation, length and libel issues. Letters should not exceed 300 words. We will not print anonymous letters to the editor and will not accept letters to the editor over the phone.

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

theSaint

page 4THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

***Please note that the views expressed on this page are those of their

respective author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of The Saint as a whole.

opinion

>>write us a letter! e-mail — [email protected], or use the form on our website.

physical copies – AB, Room 2

2011-2012 E D I T O R I A L B O A R D

Editor-in-ChiefNews EditorA & E Editor

Sports EditorPhoto EditorManaging Editor

Matt KuczynskiMonica Rischiotto

Stephanie Giluk

Dan MeloyMiriam Pranschke

Nick Signore

> >A new, excellent president. An entire cycle of events to celebrate

125 years of Aquinas, year-round. A complete restructuring of Stu-dent Senate. Even new bowling and hockey teams. It is easy to see that this has been a big year for Aquinas, loaded with changes, chal-lenges, and celebration.

As the leaves turn greener and the weather gets warm, papers are being written and exams are inching closer. For a lucky group of seniors, another big change, challenge, and celebration is approach-ing: graduation, and life after college.

With that, The Saint is having some of its own changes, too. Some of the best editors we have ever had are taking off into the real world and graduating: News Editor Monica Rischiotto, Sports Editor Dan Meloy, and Managing Editor Nick Signore. They have taken countless hours to keep our campus informed and connected, issue after issue. Their dedication has been astonishing, the fresh ideas they have brought in have been huge, and it is truly bittersweet to see them leave.

However, a new cadre of editors that is just as capable is stepping in. Laura Farrell will be taking over the News section, Alyssa Frese will be heading Sports, and Katherine Mata will be our new Manag-ing Editor. They have some big shoes to fill, but we feel confident in their skills, and trust their knowledge and experience.

Congratulations to those editors that are graduating! It has been great having you at The Saint, and we will all miss you and your work dearly. And, to our new editors, congratulations as well! We cannot wait to see what you will bring to The Saint.

Adviser Dr. Dan Brooks

Managing Editor Nick Signore Management E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

Staying healthy for the summer

By Monica RischiottoNews Editor

The lone moviegoer

Deadlines have a good side

Exam week is fast approaching, and that final push of research, pa-per writing, and studying is becom-ing the norm for students. Pretty much all over campus, the same complaints are heard:

“I don’t have enough time!”“I wish we could get an exten-

sion on this project. . .”“Why is this due so much soon-

er than my other papers?”“I’ve been in the library ALL

DAY.” Granted, I understand these

complaints, being a student myself. There have always been bushels of things to do in these last three weeks: papers to write, research to finish, projects to complete. It seems like so much stress to make that deadline. Social lives disap-pear. Reading “for fun” becomes some sort of far-off dream. Finding time to go out anywhere, or even finding time to leave the library, seems like an impossible quest to find a long-buried treasure that may or may not exist.

It is at this point in the year that

even the healthiest among us turn to ramen noodles for a quick carb burst to keep us going and to keep our stomachs happy.

But is there any chance that having these deadlines imposed on us helps us in any way? Do dead-lines function as more than just a way to make us freak out the night before something is due? There has been academic research done on just these questions. The evidence, un-fortunately, points in favor of our strictest deadline-enforcing profes-sors.

A 2002 study, published at MIT, took groups of people and gave them proofreading tasks to do over the course of 21 days. One group had a rigid progress deadline ev-ery seven days, another chose their own deadlines during the course of the project, and a third group only worked with a general final deadline in mind. As it turns out, those with the strictest seven-day deadlines made the fewest mistakes, had the fewest late submissions, and earned the most from the project. Those with self-imposed deadlines came in second, and those with no deadlines

By Paris CloseThe Saint reporter

By Matt KuczynskiEditor-in-Chief

placed except the end one ended up scoring the poorest in earnings, late submissions, and errors made.

So maybe, just maybe, there is something to be said for all these worn-out, caffeine-fueled nights catching up with those benchmark deadlines for all the projects and as-signments. Maybe those seemingly brutal turn-in-or-else days actually help us. Granted, I could go with-out the havoc of this last month’s staggered due dates, trying to re-member to eat and sleep as I type away the hours, but I’m starting to realize that these deadlines help me stay afloat.

Never in my four years of col-lege education did I think I would say this, but kudos to those profes-sors who make drafts and project proposals due ahead of time, and are willing to suffer our futile pleas for extensions. You keep us on our toes, and, according to academics at MIT, anyway, you’re helping us get better grades in the process.

That said, can I get an extra week for my term paper?

Tips to keep your body happy, even during exams

Imagine this: You’re a hungry college student heading for the cafe-teria. You’re considering something healthy, perhaps the chef’s salad or maybe even the veggie wrap.

Suddenly, you’re there and the smell of greasy food tempts you to reassess your options. But keep in mind, cheeseburgers and French fries won’t help you get the body you want. Beat your cravings by snagging a veggie wrap with pita chips instead and you’re off to a great start. But eating is only half the battle; you’ll need to start exer-cising too.

After a long day of school, you get to your dorm and either fall asleep or procrastinate with Face-book and television. You never real-ize the load of homework that needs to be done until it’s almost mid-night. By the time you finish, 3 a.m. is already approaching. That essen-tially means that whole “working out” idea for tomorrow isn’t going to work out after all.

Between classes, school activi-ties and those dreaded late nights

of studying—the idea of exercising rarely seems to cross your mind. So how can you escape this college clutch?

Well, by eat healthier snacks and exercising regularly, you’ll be in shape in no time. Easier said than done, right? Not necessarily. Although adjusting to a healthier lifestyle can be difficult for college students, it’s not at all unachievable.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started on your quest to a more fit and confident you:

First, get motivated by setting goals. Looking to achieve a six-pack, tone up or just shed a few pounds all together? Have a clear focus. Goals are self-motivators that push you to achieve.

Eat in moderation, by setting limits. This means you’ll have to sacrifice certain foods, but remem-ber you’re working towards some-thing: a better you.

To get started, substitute those candy bars with energy bars, ham-burgers with veggie burgers, and snack on fruits and vegetables. These switches give protein boosts which help you burn fat by gaining

muscle.Don’t rob yourself of the foods

you love, this can make you de-pressed and less motivated to con-tinue with your journey. So reward yourself with a Snickers bar every now and then, but don’t make this habitual in your diet. Remember you have limits, so save the snack for the weekend.

For those who can’t make it to the gym, utilize your resources. If you don’t have weights, lift those heavy textbooks and do exercises that don’t require fitness machines, like push-ups, sit-ups and even jumping jacks. Create a routine; ex-ercise three times a week for at least 20-30 minutes.

Last but not least, hydrate your-self by drinking water. You’ve prob-ably got a pile of soda cans stashed somewhere in your dorm. What about water bottles? Drink eight 8-ounce glasses a day to flush out those toxins responsible for the ex-tra baggage you’re carrying around.

Use these tips regularly, keep your goal in mind, and you’ll beat the bulge in no time.

Before I delve into the core of why a movie should be an artistic experi-ence shared with another, let me first establish that I have nothing against solitude. Even though Myers & Briggs overwhelmingly defines me as a self-proclaimed extrovert, I appreciate soli-tude just as much as the next person. Merton, Thoreau, and Ms. Dickinson have a happy home on my shelf. Yet while hiking, cycling, or going for an evening stroll by one’s self can serve as a spiritual, meditative, and clarifying experience, movie watching falls into a separate category.

Unless you watch movies for a living, take physical notes on special effects, study the diction of actors, or analyze the inconsistencies that lie be-neath the surface, then movie watch-ing is very much rooted in the joy of a shared experience with another. Think about the first time you watched your favorite movie. The real life emotions of elation or sorrow that built up in your chest and were ready to burst when you walked out of the movie theater, emotions not meant to be kept inside.

Similarly, it is the worst feeling af-ter you read a book and there is no one to talk to about the new ideas that have consumed your mind. The reading ex-perience almost feels unfulfilled until I’ve had the opportunity to discuss its contents with someone else.

There is no escaping the influence of social norms and expectations, but it’s not the fear of sitting by myself in a packed movie theater that leaves me longing for a movie watching partner. It’s after the movie. The beauty and art of film, whether it be Oscar worthy or tasteless humor, seems lost, even insig-nificant if I walk out of the movie the-ater by myself, without the opportunity to discuss, to share the experience, to disagree and argue over what has just been witnessed.

Experiencing art, at both its highs and lows, can be a solitary event. The experience of watching a movie for the first time is parallel to reading a book, or looking at a painting. It is not to be interrupted, but as for the after party, you want someone to dance with, even if you step on each other’s toes.

Tying my shoes and grabbing the car keys before heading out the door, I announce to my parents that I am head-ing out to the movies. “Are you going with somebody?” my mother asks. I reply no and that I just want to go to the movies. “Oh,” my mother replies, “well, have a nice time.”As I make my way out the door and drive to the the-ater I ponder my mother’s comments. Is she disappointed that I go to things by myself?

Anyway, as I approach the ticket counter and order one ticket for The

Point Counterpoint

Movies are social affairs

By Daniel MeloySports Editor

Give me room to think at the movies

Hunger Games, the ticket vendor gives me the most peculiar look. As I order my popcorn and drink and make my way to the theater, I notice this cold feeling from the theater employees who notice that nobody is accompanying me to the silver screen.

As the trailers to the movie roll a question lingers in my head: Is society looking down on me for doing things by myself?

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being social. I love going out with my friends and being part of the social “scene.”But is it so wrong that I like to do things by myself and have certain thoughts just in my head and nowhere else?

In an ever-connected world where we are always on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, it seems that we never have time to ourselves. It’s a sad day when you have to actively set your status as idle. In the good old days that was just called taking a walk by yourself. It seems we as a society have lost the ability to be by ourselves and do an old pastime—thinking.

I’ll ask my friends and others if they want to go out and do something, but if they are all busy and just don’t want to go, I am not just going to sit in my room and twiddle my thumbs. Why should we let the plans and schedules of others dictate what we are doing?

There is a saying that if you can-not be good for yourself, you will never be good for others. Well, consider me in that first part of the phrase. And allow me to go to the movies in peace.

<<arts & entertainment

Books: Pulitzer Board gets picky with fiction

No Pulitzer Prize was awarded to a fi ction book for the fi rst time in 35 years. The Pulitzer Board failed to reach a majority necessary to pick a winner. The finalists included Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace and Train Dreams by Denis Johnson.

Music: One album is not enough for Green Day

The rockers Green Day have announced they will be releasing three new albums between September of this year and January 2013. The albums will be titled ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, and will be the band’s fi rst releases since 2009. Though the band has not spoken about the albums’ sound, they have no doubt of its epic-ness.

E-books: Amazon owns your Kindle and your soul

Amazon’s hold on the e-book market grew stronger last week due to a lawsuit fi led by the U.S. Dept. of Justice against Apple and fi ve other publishers for trying to fi x the price of e-books. Apple claims it was trying to break the monopoly Amazon held and still holds over e-books, but failed to convince the court.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT>> TUPAC SHAKUR

page 5THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

Deceased rapper Tupac Shakur made an appearance at the Coachella music festival last Sunday. Shakur’s hologram appeared onstage to give a performance with Snoop Dogg that also featured appearances from Eminem, 50 Cent, and Wiz Khalifa.

COURTESY MTV.COM

This past Saturday, I had the good fortune to att end the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, or C2E2. While there was, of course, plenty of awesome nerd stuff going on, there were also several signings and panels throughout the day. I was excited to get some swag signed by a group of paranormal romance/urban fantasy authors that were doing both a signing and a panel that day. The authors there included Karina Cooper (Dark Mission series), Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntressseries), Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stack-house novels), Christina Henry (Black Wings series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires series), and Pamela Palmer (Vamp City series).

First, I must confess I have a weak-ness for vampire books (excluding Twilight, of course). I love the whole urban fantasy genre and I’d pick a Laurell K. Hamilton book over, say, Jonathan Franzen’s new opus any day. So when I say I’m only familiar with Harris’s and Frost’s books, it’s only be-cause I haven’t had the time to buy and read everyone else’s books. But I will.

Meeting authors I read in person is a very strange experience. I tend to idealize the writers I like, thinking they’re these perfect looking, artistic, eccentric and brilliant people who sit in front of their laptops/desktops and pound away at the keys, producing the esteemed literature I pick off the shelf. I don’t think of a writer as a normal (well, semi-normal) everyday person like me. They are a higher class of be-ing, a person who has batt led through the ever-crowded and competitive market of all the various sub-genres of fi ction and produced something bett er than average.

Take Harris, for example. She was arguably the most well-known author at the event, and the Sookie Stackhouse books are (in)famous for their humor, violence, and vampy sex scenes. Har-ris, in real life, looks like a Sunday school teacher or someone’s matronly grandmother, but she writes vampire novels that were edgy enough to in-spire HBO’s True Blood, also known for its sex and violence. She was incred-ibly nice and sweet and sassy, but she was also a real person.

Frost, whose books I also enjoy, was very nice as well, but it was still weird for me to see her in person. As she signed a litt le bookmark for me, I told her I couldn’t wait for her next book to come out, and she seemed happy I said something. While this was gratifying for me, I was also very aware that I was one of at least a couple hundred people gett ing things signed, and while she might remem-ber the sentiment, she won’t remem-ber me personally. I like to think what I say matt ers to this highly successful author, but in reality, I know I’m just a fan.

Being a (sort of) writer myself, I tried to place myself in these ladies’ shoes. If I achieved the level of suc-cess that they have, I would be ec-static and very lucky, I know. It would also be strange for me to talk to and meet people that have read and liked my work. Writing is such a personal and risky thing, done by many other more talented people that it would be incredible to fi nd even a small fan base. I would like to think fans’ com-ments and excitement would stick in my memory and make me feel prett y awesome, but I just can’t imagine what it would be like to have the amount of fans these authors do.

Maybe they see us, their fans, as unreal. How crazy is it that people like their books so much they’ll stand in line for hours just to meet the people that craft these incredible worlds for them? I can only hope they enjoy talk-ing and interacting with their fans as much as the fans get a kick out of meet-ing them in real life, not just through the pages of a book.

Because even writers need a litt le encouragement sometimes. Proof that they matt er to people, and that making up stories and writing them down isn’t crazy, that people really do need ways to escape their own lives and enter a world they wish existed. That’s what good entertainment’s all about, aft er all.

I’m your biggest fan

stephanie giluk | a&e editor

Steampunk is coming to Aquinas in Isle of Marvels

By Laura FarrellStaff Writer

Known for their excellence in pro-ducing top quality plays and musicals, the Aquinas Theatre department, un-der the direction of Randy Wyatt , may have set a new standard for theatre at Aquinas College. Inspired by various minor novels by Jules Verne, Wyatt wrote the latest performance’s original script, Isle of Marvels.

Set in a steampunk fantasy world, this original play is sure to impress and enlighten audiences of all interests. Steampunk is a genre and culture that combines the elements of science fi c-tion, horror, fantasy, alternative history, and speculative fi ction, all of which are found in this intricate story.

Isle of Marvels tells the story of the “Persian Marvels,” a talented string quartet, played by the skillful group of seniors Owen McIntee and Duncan Mc-Cargar and sophomores Rachel Varley and Louis Allen, who fi nd themselves suddenly displaced aft er trying to make their way to San Francisco, CA. The man of mystery that off ers such hospitable service to them turns out to be Dr. Calistus Munbar, played by se-nior Jason De Jager, who has brought the musicians to his man-made Clock-work Island of invention.

This island, run on steampunk technology is inhabited by the world’s

Nicki Minaj has reloaded

By Sam SwartoutStaff Writer

SARAH BRANZ/THE SAINT

Whether you like abstract art, modern art, or beyond, you are bound to fi nd something to enjoy at the Annual All-Media Student Show held at Aquinas’ Art and Music Center.

Extending its usual limita-tions of a single room, the gal-lery includes the whole upper level, fl ush from wall to wall with a variety of photography, paintings, ceramics and much more, showcasing the talents of AQ art students from soph-omores to seniors.

Portraits are a popular theme at this year’s show. Black and white photos of sincere looking individuals speckle one wall, while paint-ings of fall- and spring-themed self-portraits balance out the other end of the gallery.

There was also a large group of an oft en overlooked type of portrait, the ceramic bust. The expressions varied from whimsical to serene to foreboding, covering nearly every inch of the emotional spectrum.

Teapots, bowls and plates also had their place. Most were colorfully designed with patt erns reminiscent of either the orient or nature, though some were decorated only with a sim-ple gloss.

The gallery also certainly does not lack in paintings and prints.

In particular, Triptych I by Liz Maxian, who is a senior double major-ing in Spanish and art, was eye-catch-ing in that it was the only triptych, a three-panel painting, on display.

Completed during an indepen-

By Sarah BranzThe Saint Reporter

With the perfect mix of outra-geously explicit raps, upbeat songs for radio airtime and empowering songs for women, Nicki Minaj’s sec-ond record, Pink Friday: Roman Re-loaded, has risen to the challenge of being better than her first.

Released on Tuesday, April 3, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded sold over 253,000 copies in its first week and sat comfortably at the top of the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. Minaj beat Adele in sales by over 100,000 copies and while the rap-per was rising to the top, Madonna was dropping to number eight, with only 48,000 copies sold that week.

There is one negative thing to be said about Minaj’s second record. “Roman Holiday” is one of the stu-pidest songs ever heard. Normally Minaj’s different voices, inspired by her numerous alter egos, are some-thing to be praised, but in this song, not only does she sound terrible, the opening lyrics and chorus take away from the different verses that could have had some power if the chorus sounded better.

Student art show a display of talent and skill

On-campus art: Aquinas students get a chance to present their skills at the AMC for the All Media Student Show. Pictured: Triptych I by senior Liz Maxian.

dent study, Triptych I shows the pro-gression of a painting, starting with a stark and simple portrait of a woman on one panel and ending with a lay-ered and paint-saturated rendition of the same portrait on a third panel.

The project began as a speed exer-cise in which she was only allowed to work one hour for the fi rst panel (far right), 30 minutes for the middle, and 15 minutes for the last (far left ), said Maxian.

“The series was a challenge for me to get away from obsessing over details and to be able to work more ac-

curately, quickly and fl uidly,” she said.Though the color scheme remains

the same throughout the three panels, the progressing defi nition and intrica-cies give the two successive panels a feeling akin to watching a time-lapse video. “The regression from a more solid form to gesture can be interest-ing for viewers to see,” she said.

Another prominent piece, titled From the Nature Journal of Bernadett e Po-irier, was done by Bernadett e Poirier, a senior dual major in biology and art.

A series of four mixed media pieces, the nature journal records the

temperature, weather, and ambiance of locations around campus, such as Wege pond.

The pieces include print, hand-writing, and sketches of the location, accurate right down to the ducks and elegantly drooping fl owers. The colors were natural and calming, a refl ection of the campus that emanated a certain stillness and loyal att ention to detail.

The Annual All-Media Student Show opened Sunday, April 1, and will run until Sunday, May 6. Go to aqui-nas.edu/art/gallery for gallery hours.

most affl uent characters. Some of these characters are the leaders of the two separate parts of the island, Nat and Jemma. Sophomore Catie Berg shines as southern, outspoken Jemma while sophomore Anthony Emery, as Nat, struggles against Dr. Munbar for the future of the island.

Diana, Nat’s bright daughter, was perfected by senior Lindsey Hansen. Diana falls for Jemma’s strapping son, played by sophomore Neil Steichen. The rest of the characters make their way to the island by sea and a steam punk elephant. Freshman Taylor Nefcy and sophomore Robert Bennett play Colett a and Vasquez, who mysterious-ly make their way onto the island and cause some commotion.

Besides the excellent acting, Isle of Marvels showcases the excellent back-ground work of the Aquinas Theatre Department. The detailed costumes and intricate sets bring the audience into the world of the marvels. From vampires to robots to a classic story of young love, the cast and direction of Isle of Marvels does not disappoint, of-fering something for everybody.

The show will be at the Perform-ing Arts Center April 19-21 at 8 p.m. and April 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for students and $6 dollars for Aquinas faculty and staff .

Marvelous: Sophomore Louis Allen takes to the stage at an Isle of Marvels re-hearsal. Performances will take place April 19-21.

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/THE SAINT

With the bad, however, comes a lot of good. There are a ton of huge names with featured raps on Minaj’s album: Lil Wayne, Drake, Nas, Chris Brown (good or bad, you choose), Rick Ross, Cam’ron, Young Jeezy, C h a r l e m a g n e and Bobby Val-entino are just a few of the guests repre-sented on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

One of the great tracks on this album is “Champion.” This is not only a great song for airplay, it is also one of Minaj’s songs aiming to help empower young women with less fortunate upbringings. In the first verse, Minaj raps, “This is for the hood, this is for the kids/This is for the single mothers.” This song is dedicated to the champions who have overcome what life has thrown at them.

Another female-empowerment song is “Marilyn Monroe.” Minaj uses part of one of Monroe’s famous quotes in her lyrics, singing, “If you can’t handle my worst/ You ain’t get-ting my best” and “Take me or leave me/ I’ll never be perfect/ Believe me I’m worth it.” This song sends the positive message that young women should know not to settle for a man who doesn’t know what they are worth.

This is a fantastic album with 19 phenomenal songs (the first song be-ing the only exception). Hot tracks to listen to include: “Fire Burns,” “Sex in the Lounge,” “Right By My Side” and “Young Forever.”

COURTESY UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC RECORDS

Roman’s turn: Minaj’s latest album is a crazy, fun ride.

THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

6 A&E



Spring Jazz Night

Titanic in 3D might just be worth seeing

It has been one hundred years since the tragic ending of the “un-sinkable” RMS Titanic. And it has been fifteen years since director James Cameron brought the story of the ship to life, creating a mas-terpiece of a movie and pushing the limits of special effects and budgets. So naturally, when new blockbusters began to test the records of Titanic, Cameron had to bring back Jack and Rose to the silver screen somehow.

COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

True love: The epic story hasn’t aged a day in the 3D remastering of Titanic.

American Reunion fails to live up to expectations

COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Pied: The latest Pie movie is a litt le stale.

Hearing about the fourth American Pie movie, this fan was extremely ex-cited, having enjoyed all the previous movies in the se-ries. The American Pie fi lms were a product of this gen-eration, so many fans may be eager to see what the outrageous gang would do next.

The main character Jim (Jason Biggs) sets things off , as usual, by being accident prone and up to his inappropriate antics. As the boys reunite on the eve of their high school reunion, there is an abundance of madness, caused by none other than Stiffl er (Seann William Scott ) who goes all out with his performance and be-comes the heart of the movie. While Stiffl er is stuck in the past, the rest of his old friends are tied down to a job or/and a signifi cant other.

As the weekend goes on, Stiffl er somehow gets the boys into damaging others’ property, going to a high school party and preying on under-aged girls, which places Jim once again in tricky situations while he is already having troubles on the home-front with his wife.

The next door neighbor, Kara (Ali Cobrin), whom he used to babysit as a litt le girl, shows up and presents some problems for Jim. While Cobrin at-tempted to play a charming young girl, her acting was atrocious and diffi cult to


On Thursday, April 12, the smooth sounds of the AQ Jazz Band filled Kretschmer Hall for AQ’s an-nual Spring Jazz Night. Directed by Dr. Paul Brewer, the band consists of fifteen talented musicians. The fif-teen student ensemble is made up of freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors alike.

The program started off with a delightful song, “C Jam Blues” by Duke Ellington, a favorite of the night. The piece featured senior Jus-tin Dore on the trumpet and fresh-man Alex Martinez on the alto saxo-phone. Dore and Martinez were quite impressive and were not afraid to im-provise their solos. The group played a few more hits before switching it up, featuring the many guitarists of the group. Dore was again featured

Instrumental Ensemble

had students making

wonderful music together

MORGAN DANTZER/ THE SAINTAQ gets jazzy: Spring is a time for fl owers, fi nals and jazz.

As spring struggled to get a foot-hold next to winter’s cold shoulders and summer’s hot fl ashes, members of the Aquinas community were able en-joy performances by the instrumental ensembles. Students musically skilled at all sorts of instruments proudly took the stage and performed classics for the audience.

Aquinas’ music department never fails to dazzle the community with performances. The spring concert of the instrumental ensemble was no ex-ception. The students who put in hard work and dedication can be proud of their performance. From the moment the guitars warmed the audience’s hearts to the last note the brass ensem-ble held proud, not a single soul could sit still. “I liked the concert because it was incredibly peaceful,” said junior Colin Farley. “The students performed very well.” The audience, which was made up of all ages, was able to fi nd a rhythm within his or her-self rekin-dled as toes tapped, heads bobbed, and smiles lit the performance hall.

Much of the music performed were classics that audiences have cher-ished over time. The guitars strummed beautifully to Celso Machado. The gui-tar ensemble started the concert with a Brazilian beat. The beat was hard to resist and the audience was ready for more. The fl ute ensemble joined the guitars as they won the audience with music by Nicolás Luis Cuccaro

By Katherine MataStaff Writer

The answer: 3D. For those of you who have nev-

er seen it, Titanic tells the story of the maiden and sadly final voyage of the massive ship Titanic. Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate Winslet is a seventeen year old be-trothed to rich man, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). Having everything in life, Rose should be more than con-tent, but instead she is searching for more excitement and meaning. Jack Dawson, a strapping young Ameri-can, wins his fateful ticket in a pok-er game minutes before launch. He ends up saving Rose from her at-

tempted suicide and the rest is history.

I must admit, like a lot of people, I have always been a sucker for anything Leonardo DiCaprio, and Titanicis no exception. As one of the most popu-lar love stories of the modern age, Titanicpulls at just about ev-ery heartstring.

As much as I love the story, I was more than skeptical about all of this 3D business. It is no secret that bringing Titanic back to theaters is nothing more than trying to save Cameron’s pride and records. And be-ing 3D, a college stu-dent nearly has to pay an arm and a leg (around $12) now to even get in. So, going in with little to no ex-pectations, I was quite surprised.

The movie be-came so real looking, it seemed as if I was actually there, watch-ing it all go down. The 3D effects made the characters look ridicu-lously real, as if you

could reach out and touch them. It made the whole story, especially the ending, incredibly more sad and tragic. I have seen this movie up-wards of twenty times, but I felt the most touched by it after seeing the 3D version.

So, the main question, is it worth spending the money? If you are a Ti-tanic fan, absolutely. If you are just a movie fan, absolutely. Most of us have never seen it on the big screen and it makes the movie a whole new experience. Cameron’s work paid off and Titanic 3D pushing the ever growing limits of cinema.

and Juan Ventura Cuccaro. A favorite for many audiences is Mozart. Play-ing Mozart’s Divertimento No. 1 in D Major K. 136 was the string quartet. Generally, Mozart never fails to inspire the audience as they enjoyed every second of the performance. “The Irish Suite performed by the Saxophone en-semble was my favorite,” reveals Far-ley. “It had an upbeat tempo and was lively.” The students proved to the au-dience that they can master any style of music.

The performers have every right to be proud. Their hard work and dedication to the music department is clear. The love the performers have for their music resonates strong as soon as the fi rst note is played. Audiences responded joyfully to the music and wanted more when the performance was over. Concerts put on by the Aqui-nas music department are always spe-cial for the community. Not only do Aquinas students have the opportuni-ty to watch their fellow students per-form, but members of the Grand Rap-ids community can come appreciate the performances Aquinas has to off er.

The music department has more concerts coming up before the end of the year is here. Students are strongly encourages to check out a concert or two before the semester is over. The hard work and dedication the per-formers put in to each concert pays off . Aquinas’ music department will never fail to surprise and inspire audiences of all ages.

but with Justyn Kirchner this time. They played “Manha de Carnaval” by Morgan Lewis and “Sugar” by Stanley Turrentine.

Accompanied by percussion, this section of the concert was one of the highlights of the night. Senior Chel-sea Funk, who also plays the flute, was then joined back on stage with the whole band as she sang vocals to “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” by Ellington. Funk was excellent and her voice only added to the great sound of the band. The band rounded out the night with the funky sounds of “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. The other two seniors in the group, senior Kyle Tomcyzk, who plays the drums, and Dore, who plays trumpet and guitar, truly made their last jazz concert one to remember.

Of his final AQ band perfor-mance, Tomcyzk said, “I have to say that playing with Doc Brewer, Justin

watch. All the while Jim’s dad, played

by Eugene Levy, is still coping with the death of his wife until Jim pushes him to join an online dating service. Everything comes together in the end, although the movie brings up many messy circumstances in the form of old feelings, the diffi culty balancing family life and a romantic life, the importance of friendship and moving on from a loss.

The humor did not quite meet ex-pectations. There were some very funny parts, but there was also some very bad acting, as well as some seriously corny dialogue. Is it worth paying to go see some of your favorite characters? If you consider yourself a part of the American Pie fan-base, then yes, go see the movie and judge for yourself. Many, however, might feel let down by this lackluster reunion.

and all the other members of the Jazz band throughout the last five years has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at Aquinas College. While I am incredibly grate-ful for the experience I have had I am excited to pursue new endeavors that may prove equally rewarding. I really hope that I can come back in a few years and see how the group has continued to grow and evolve in its style. Also, no one may have told you but our official name is the interga-lactic psychedelic Jazz Band.”

The band had a great time along with the audience and it showed on stage. Junior clarinet player Kaitlin Koett said, “Jazz Band is a lot of fun-we just get together and have a good time!” The Jazz Band always wel-comes new members and will start back up next year.

Final jazz concert of the season went out on a good note

<<sports

Red Wings: Detroit trails 2-1 to the Nashville Predators in NHL playoffs

Aft er losing 3-2 on Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings now trail the Nashville Predators 2-1 in the NHL Western Conference Quarterfi nals. The Wings fell behind by two goals twice in the game and were unable to overcome the defi cit. Detroit played game four last night and will play game fi ve Friday night in Nashville in the best of seven series.

Sturrus Center: Construction on phase two set to begin–seriously

At the April 4 Student Senate meeting, Aquinas College president Juan Olivarez announced that construction of the second phase of the Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center will begin this summer. President Olivarez announced that the construction time line was made possible by securing a multi-million dollar donor.

Tigers: Detroit takes an early lead in the AL Central

page 7THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

WHAT TO WATCH>> MEN’S TENNIS

The Aquinas College men’s tennis team will be competing in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Rapids this Friday and Saturday. The Saints are 21-1 and 4-0 in the WHAC. The team is currently ranked 13th in the NAIA and are favorites to win the WHAC.

It is never too early to think about division races. At least, that is what Tiger fans are think-ing aft er Detroit has started the season with a 7-3 record. The Motor City Kitt ies are a half game up on the Chicago White Sox for the division lead. Third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been shining of late with three home runs and nine RBIs.

Reporting the passion

of othersdan meloy | sports editor

Wrapping up my fi nal days at Aquinas College, I have been in a rather refl ective mood as of late. Yes, I know that opening was a cliche amongst cli-ches but hang on, it’s going somewhere.

During my four years of covering sports at Aquinas College, I have been pondering several questions, oddities and moments that seem to stick out in my mind.

College sports is a great part of the American cultural conscience, or rather NCAA Division I sports are part of the American cultural conscience. The truth of the matt er is that outside of schools such as Michigan, Michigan State or even Central Michigan, not many tend to care about small college sports.

You would notice this by simply polling Aquinas students on campus about how savvy they are about Aqui-nas sports. You’ll notice that they’ll know more about the SEC football sea-son then about the WHAC men’s soc-cer outlook, and if you are one of those people, shame on you for not reading The Saint.

But it is easy to understand why more people follow the big schools more, even those who att end Aquinas. Big schools equal big budgets, and big budgets equals big talent. The competi-tion level of the Big Ten and ACC for outstretch that of the WHAC and the MIAA. Therefore more people pay at-tention to what happens on the “na-tional” collegiate sports scene. It also doesn’t hurt to have a nice, fat contract with ESPN.

But I will say that it is an utt er false-hood to say that small college sports are not worth watching. Take away the big names, the corporate endorsements, the media hype and what you get is one of the most remarkable things in all of humanity: The pursuit of perfection, the drive to succeed, the harnessing of individual or collective eff orts in order to achieve an objective for the sake of achieving the objective. And for me, that is why I follow sports. That is why I chose to write about sports in the fi rst place.

There is nothing bett er as a journal-ist than write about people who genu-inely have a passion for what they are doing. And in NAIA athletics that is what you mostly fi nd, passion.

In college athletics, only a slim ma-jority of student-athletes will play pro-fessionally and an even smaller num-ber of student-athletes from the NAIA ranks will play in the pros.

This leaves you with a bunch of athletes who participate in a sport for the sole enjoyment of what they do. Yes, they do get scholarships, but full rides are unheard of at the small college level.

And I would say that covering sports at the small school level has to go down as one of my favorite pastimes during my stay at Aquinas College. There’s a great feeling in seeing one of your friends score the winning goal of a championship game, knowing that the school’s star point guard lived in your residence hall and goes through all the fi rst-year rigors as you do, or yacking up on Facebook about the basketball team beating Calvin and making it as big of a deal as your friends who go to Michigan and Michigan State about their sports teams.

One of the biggest things that infu-riates me is the statement that Aquinas does not have “real” sports. If that is the case, then the only logical conclusion is that Aquinas is not a “real” college. And if you are one of those who submit to this thinking, then might I ask you leave this school because Aquinas is bett er off without you.

I am proud of the work I have done over my four years with The Saint and I hope to continue telling other people’s stories sometime in the future. I’ve cheered, I’ve heckled, I’ve yelled and I was threatened by a deranged parent from Madonna aft er I suggested that her son was a mile off side and had the mental prowess of a mineral.

So thank you Aquinas, you have provided with me with a lot memories both in athletics and in life in general.

Now time for my fi nal passionate rant: Go Saints. Calvin is predestined to lose. The MIAA schools won’t play Aquinas out of fear of losing. Dav-enport should not qualify for college sports since they fail to meet half the requirements. And most of all,

Go Aquinas! For life.

Women’s tennis on a roll heading into WHAC

ChampionshipsBy Laura RicoStaff Writer

Aft er a pair of 9-0 victories the Aquinas College women’s tennis team is 11-7 and 2-2 in the Wolverine-Hoo-sier Athletic Conference heading into the WHAC Championships this Satur-day.

On March 31, the Saints hosted the University of Northwestern Ohio and lost 6-3. In the singles competition sophomore Lauren Ramey and fresh-man Gina Kukulski defeated their op-ponents 6-0, 6-2 and 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Dur-ing the doubles competition freshman Daniela Fonseca and Kukulski won their set 8-4.

“The competition was very good. Even though we lost we had close matches and we can beat them,” said Ramey.

On Thursday, April 5, the women went against Alma College and won 6-3. In the singles competition Ramey won 6-0, 6-4, sophomore Jessica LeMire won 7-6, 6-0, Kukulski won 7-5, 6-4 and sophomore Jen Staup won 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8). In the doubles competition Ra-mey and Fonseca won their set 8-3 and LeMire and Kukulski won 8-4.

Next Aquinas dominated Indiana Tech with each Saint recording a victo-ry in their match. Ramey won 6-1, 6-0, Fonseca 6-3, 6-0, LeMire6-0, 6-1, Senior Emily Decker 6-0, 6-0 and freshman Jes-

sica Gast 6-2, 6-0. Aquinas won all three of the doubles competitions aft er Indi-ana Tech withdrew from the meet.

The winning streak continued when they women played rival Cor-nerstone University on April 11 and won 9-0. Ramey won 6-0, 6-0, Fonseca 6-0, 6-1, LeMire 6-1, 6-1, Decker 6-1, 6-3, Kukulski 6-2, 6-0,and Gast 6-0, 6-0 in the singles competition. In the dou-bles competition Ramey and Decker, LeMire and Hendrick, and Fonseca and Staup all won when Cornerstone with-drew.

“In preparation for the WHAC and regional tournaments, which are just around the corner, we have been solidifying our doubles play and trying to keep everyone healthy and injury-free,” said LeMire.

“I think that the team has a really great chance of succeeding in the com-ing conference tournament and region-als,” said sophomore Kelsey Moell-mann. “We are playing the best tennis of the season and are ready to have some competition in our near future.”

The WHAC Championship is scheduled for this Saturday April 21. On Wednesday, April 25, the women will play against Grand Rapids Com-munity College at 3 p.m. and will com-pete in the Regional Championship will take place on April 27.

Men’s lacrosse looking for back to back playoff berths

The Aquinas College men’s la-crosse team has had a prett y balanced season. The Saints have a record of 7-7 going into their fi nal games of the regu-lar season against Ferris State Univer-sity on Tuesday, April 17, and Oakland University on Saturday, April 21.

In recent games, the Saints won against U-M Dearborn 8-2, Northwood University 17-7 and Siena Heights Uni-versity 7-4.

The Saints are determined to win these fi nal two games and return to the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association Tournament which has only been done once in school history, last year. The Saints need to stay motivated as a team and be willing to help each other out and push the boundaries. With a win over Ferris State the Saints will have qualifi ed for the CCLA Playoff s.

“My goals for the rest of the season are to motivate the team as much as I can with my play and my actions,” said senior midfi elder Jordan Matheny. “I hope that through senior leadership we can help the younger players see that we can make it deep into the playoff s and overcome the obstacles that lay be-fore us.”

The Saints have had to rely on up-perclassmen leaders to take the reins and work really hard, as there are a lot of freshmen who are new to the team this year. “We have a group of fi ve se-


Softball team looking for continuity


Coming into their doubleheader against Hope College on March 29, the Aquinas College women’s soft ball team was 14-9.

Unfortunately, the Saints were not able to sustain their momentum, losing both games to Hope by scores of 6-2 and 4-3 respectively. Outstanding per-formances included senior shortstop Whitney Stratt on with three hits and the only runs batt ed in during the fi rst game. In the second game, sophomore infi elder Ashley Milheim had two hits and two RBIs respectively. “We only played six and a half innings that day,” said junior fi rst baseman/outfi elder Re-nae Tuburgen.“We left a lot of people on base.”

The Saints started off slowly in a doubleheader against Indiana Univer-sity Southeast, losing 5-3. A four run third inning put the Saints in a hole they could not climb out of. A high-light included a two-run home run by Stratt on. The Saints bounced back in the second game as they beat IUSE 9-3. Two four run innings in the fourth and sixth helped the Saints pull away. High-lights included a solo home run from Tubergen as well as a solid pitching performance from sophomore Rebecca Shineldecker. “We defi nitely struggled and didn’t hit in the fi rst game, but in the second game we were on fi re, hit-ting anything and everything. We just need to fi nd a way to play two complete games rather than one,” said senior outfi elder Taylor Turcott .

The Saints continued with a dou-bleheader against Davenport Univer-

sity and just like the past two series, the Saints started off slowly in the fi rst game, losing 6-4. Notable individual performances included sophomore catcher Torie Lowe, who notched a home run and junior outfi elder/catcher Lindsey Stewart, who had two RBIs. The Saints found their stride in the second game, winning 6-4. Notable performances included junior pitcher Carlie Giarmo throwing a four hitt er through seven innings, as well as soph-omore third baseman Sadie Stowell, who had two RBIs.

As of now, the Saints are 18-17 overall and 1-3 in the Wolverine- Hoo-sier Athletic Conference. Soft ball head coach Crystal Laska is pleased with the team so far. “We are still trying to fi nd ourselves and our identity, our biggest obstacle is being contagious, if one person is doing well, everyone else is doing well, but if one person is not doing well, the whole team feeds off of that. We are still trying to fi x these is-sues, but there is some time to correct them before the conference tournament starts,” said Laska.

The Saints split a four game Easter tournament with wins against Judson University and McKendree University, as well as losses to Davenport Univer-sity and Olivet Nazarene College. On April 11 Aquinas came back from the break with a doubleheader loss to Cor-nerstone University, losing 4-1 and 7-2. In the fi rst game, the Saints were shut-out aft er the fi rst inning. In both games, the Saints left a total of 12 runners on base.

Aquinas will host U-M Dearborn this Saturday at 1 p.m. and Madonna this Sunday at 4 p.m.

niors who have been at this for three years. They want to win. We have a large group of freshman all over the fi eld and they are willing to learn what it takes to win,” said men’s lacrosse head coach Luke Griemsman.

The freshmen in return have had to work really hard and be very att en-tive and willing to do extra work and learn new techniques to be successful. “We have a nice crop of hard working freshman. Don Boyer, Mitch Ringer and Austin Ensing are just a few that have been really great this season,” said Griemsman.

The biggest challenge for the Saints this season has been staying con-sistent throughout each game. “I hope the team continues to strive towards greatness. We must continue to work towards putt ing together a complete off ensive and defensive game for four quarters,” said assistant coach Doug Seites. “At this point in the season, it’s all or nothing for the team. These last two games are extremely crucial.”

“I have had a great experience as a freshman this far. I am learning a lot more about lacrosse and fundamentals. If we play the way we know we can there’s no doubt that we can make it to the CCLA Tournament,” said freshman defender Mitch Ringer.

Aquinas will close out their regu-lar season this Saturday against Oak-land at 1 p.m.

Evading the defense: Freshman midfi elder Zack Brancheau tries to juke his way around a Grand Valley State defender.

MORGAN DANTZER / THE SAINT

Men’s tennis set to win WHAC and regional

championships

KATHERINE MATA / THE SAINT

The return volley: Sophomore Nik Artaev forehands a return shot across the court. The men’s tennis team is an astonishing 21-1 this season, crushing big name opponents like Grand Valley State University and Lake Superior State University.

By Rachael Luehm Staff Writer

The Aquinas College men’s ten-nis team is on a hot streak as they have won 20 out of 21 meets and are 4-0 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Confer-ence.

The Saints have won all fi ve of their April meets, three of which were shut out victories. Currently Aquinas is ranked 13th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

On Wednesday, April 11, the Saints beat school rival Cornerstone University 9-0 with sophomores Aaron Hendricks and Nik Artaev and junior Kyle Masteller all winning straight sets against their opponents. Then Hen-dricks and Artaev paired up to defeat their opponents in the doubles matches along with Masteller and senior Travis Wolfe, both winning straight sets yet again.

The team is looking to make the national tournament this May, which is located in Mobile, Alabama, on May 13-17 as well as win the WHAC Champi-

onships. In order to qualify for nation-als the team must win the regional title or get an at large bid which is based on their ranking at the national level. In order to win the regional meet they must beat schools like the University of Northwest Ohio.

“We played [Northwest Ohio] this weekend and it was a very close match,” said Artaev. “We ended up winning but we weren’t happy with the result.” Aquinas defeated North-west Ohio 6-3. Artaev later said that the UNOH “fans created a hostile environ-ment for us.”

The men will have to focus on what they need to do to overcome the environment that may await them with the next game against Northwest Ohio and move on to the championships.

The team will travel to Indiana to face Valparaiso University today at 4 p.m.

This weekend the Saints will take part in the WHAC Championships in Grand Rapids. The following weekend Aquinas will head to Lima, Ohio for the Regional Tournament.

8 THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

SPORTS

Women’s lacrosse prepares for playoffs


At the conclusion of regular sea-son, the Aquinas College women’s la-crosse team is 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the National Women’s Lacrosse League.

Riding a seven game winning streak and winning their fi nal three league matches, the Saints are heading to Rome, GA, for the NWLL National Tournament.

On April 14, the Saints defeated Missouri Baptist University and Siena Heights University in their fi nal two league games to secure the fourth seed in the NWLL Tournament.

However, the most pivotal game of the season came on April 13 when the Saints defeated Shorter University 16-10 to leapfrog the Hawks for fourth place in the league. From the opening whistle the Saints were ready as Aqui-

nas jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the half. Haley Jacob, Alexandria Burns and Lauren McCarty all scored three goals in the Saints crucial win.

With a fourth place fi nish the Saints will once again face Shorter in the NWLL Tournament quarterfi nals.

On March 31, the Indiana Tech University game turned into a shoot-out with goals coming everywhere and from everybody. Unfortunately, the Saints were on the short end losing 20-15. Seven diff erent Saints scored.

“We played a tough game, but we only played for 50 out of the 60 min-utes, we need to play a full 60 minutes every game,” said junior midfi elder Liza Flewelling.

The Saints had no problems with an 8 a.m. start against Ferris State Uni-versity on April 1, thrashing the Bull-dogs 27-1. Aquinas had a well balanced att ack, with 15 Saints scoring during

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/ THE SAINT

Looking towards the tournament: Freshman defender Meaghan Farrell and the rest of the women’s lacrosse team are heading to Georgia for the NWLL Tourna-ment.

the game. According to sophomore de-fender Alisa Skluzacek, everyone got involved on both sides, off ense and de-fense. “Usually the defense never gets to play off ense, but in this game, every-one played every position and that can help us in the long run. It was super fun,” said Skluzacek.

In their second game of the tour-nament Aquinas had a tougher test, but defeated John Carroll University 16-2. Six diff erent Saints scored in the game. “We came out strong, everyone was on point and this was one of our best games of the year,” said sophomore at-tacker Bailey Terebinski.

In the championship game against St. Mary’s College, the Saints had an even tougher matchup but pulled away late in securing the championship with a score of 14-9. Five diff erent Saints scored in the match. “This is the best we’ve played this year and we put it all together for a full 60 minutes. We played strong defense, with our goalie [junior captain Breanne Stockall] mak-ing save aft er save for us. We played together and moved the ball up and down the fi eld really well,” said fresh-man att acker Alexandra Burns.

Overall, women’s lacrosse head coach Frank Rogers likes the Saints’ progress throughout the season. “If we keep this type of intensity and purpose of play up for the rest of the year,” said Rogers. “We have a really good chance of gett ing to nationals.”

In another shootout, the Saints pre-vailed over Hope College 25-16. Aqui-nas jumped out to a 19-6 halft ime lead and cruised the rest of the way. Ten dif-ferent Saints scored and Aquinas out-shot Hope 41-30.

Aquinas will face Shorter on April 19 in the NWLL Tournament.

Senior Jacob Jeffers sets an example with all the

right moves

MORGAN DANTZER / THE SAINT

Pushing the boundaries: Senior Jacob Jeff ers’ leadership on the fi eld translates off the fi eld.By Alyssa FreseStaff Writer

For many student-athletes, the stress of being a team player and a student can be overwhelming, but se-nior men’s lacrosse player Jacob Jeff ers makes it look eff ortless. Jeff ers has been on the Aquinas College men’s la-crosse team since his freshman year at Aquinas and is still playing as hard as ever.

“I got my start playing lacrosse my freshman year of high school,” said the Grandville native. “I grew up playing hockey and a lot of the hockey players played lacrosse so it seemed natural for me to go out for lacrosse as well.” Jeff ers played the midfi elder posi-tion throughout high school, however, when he arrived at Aquinas the team was in need of a face-off midfi elder. Jef-fers willingly took up that role. “It was a transition but we made it work,” said Jeff ers.

Jeff ers has had a successful la-crosse career thus far. It took much dedication and hard work on his part but he would not have been able to do it all on his own. “My high school coach helped make me the player I am today. My junior and senior year, he took me under his wing and helped me work on fundamental skills,” said Jeff ers.

Jeff ers has used his leadership and skill to be a leader on the fi eld to both his coaches and teammates. “Jacob is a rarity in today’s game of lacrosse, a complete midfi elder. Not only is he one of the best face-off men around, all-con-ference in fact, but he is a big part of our off ense and a strong defensive player as well. As a coach it’s great to have a player like Jacob who you can trust at all times and who would stay on the fi eld the entire game if we asked,” said assistant coach and former teammate Doug Seites.

“Jacob has been a team captain for

the past two years. He does the right things and sets a great example to the younger players on how to work hard and get into the type of shape needed to be a great player. Jacob is a classic lead by example type of leader. There are not many people who work harder on the lacrosse fi eld than Jacob Jeff ers does. Jacob never gives up on a play or takes a play off . He is one of the best face-off midfi elders around and really can control a game in the middle of the fi eld with his face-off ability and nose for ground balls. When he leaves, he will hold a lot of records for face-off s and ground balls, but he has meant more to this program than just statis-tics,” said Seites.

Lacrosse is not the only aspect of college that Jeff ers excels at. The biol-ogy/math double major has achieved academic success in the classroom and has completed two summer research projects. “The summer aft er my sopho-more year I got to study woodpeckers at a nature reserve. I looked at their eating and nesting habits. The project dealt with deforestation,” said Jeff ers. “My other research project last summer was at Hope College and it was more mathematically based. It was a math-ematical model involving sand dunes. It was nice because I got to spend a lot of time at the beach.”

Jeff ers has a premed focus with his double major, however he is in no hurry to get off to med school just yet. “I want to get a job for at least a year then potentially apply for med school,” said Jeff ers.

The fi nal part of his college career and lacrosse season is winding down quickly. Jeff ers hopes to fi nish off strong and make very minute count. “I really want us to make it back to the CCLA tournament this year. Last year was the fi rst year we made it and I know if we work hard we have the potential as a team to do great things.”

Aquinas outdoor track and field off to

a quick start By Chuck HydeThe Saint Reporter

In the last three weekends, the Aquinas College men’s and women’s track and fi eld teams have had a mod-erate amount of success.

The Saints opened the year up with a home meet at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids. The teams followed their opener with two away meets: the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing and the Don Kleinow Memorial in Adrian.

The team opened strong on March 31, despite the cold and rainy weather that caused the previous day’s events to be moved to that day. There were many great accomplishments from Aquinas athletes. One of these was sophomore Alicia Dorko’s performance in the pole vault that qualifi ed her for nationals. The Aquinas women’s 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams took fi rst, along with fresh-man Erika Heston in the 100-meter hur-dles. On the men’s side of the meet, the Saints swept the fi rst three places in the 100-meter dash with fi ft h year senior Rumeal McKinney taking fi rst place. The Saints also took the top places in the 1000-meter run.

When asked about his feelings on the coming season, McKinney said that aft er they “get the rust off ” from the off season he thinks that the team will be going to very good places. He had hopes for the 4x100 relay team to make it to nationals and for him to possibly make it to the Olympic trials.

The next weekend, on April 7, McKinney’s hopes were shown to be

valid. The relay team qualifi ed for na-tionals with a time of 41.80 seconds. The Spartan Invitational went fairly well for the men, though the women did not fare quite as well. Junior throw-er Emily Smith did however take sec-ond in the discus. Senior Samantha DeStefano also set the school record in the 200. McKinney took fi rst in the 100 again and freshman Brad Perschbacher took second in the 5000.

On April 14, the Saints traveled to Adrian and put in a good eff ort. The men and women’s 4x100 meter relay teams both took fi rst. Junior Ryan Hel-miniak took fi rst in the high jump and the women swept the fi rst three places of the 100.

Aft er several meets, both teams feel fairly confi dent about the upcoming season. Senior Maddie Koenig thinks that with this good class of freshman they have a lot of potential. About the Grand Rapids Open, she said, “[They] do well even in these bad weather con-ditions.”

With much of the season still ahead of them, senior Mike Gravelin think that these fi rst meets are “the fi rst step to take back the WHAC.”

The Saints go to Houseman Field once again for the Ernie Mousseau Track & Field Classic this Saturday, April 21.

The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships will take place in Adrian for both teams on May 4. The Aquinas Twilight meet will take place at Houseman Field on May 9.

Baseball team looking to make a run at the WHAC Tournament

By Dan MeloySports Editor

Two weeks before the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tourna-ment, the Aquinas College baseball is 17-23 and 7-13 in WHAC play.

Last weekend, the Saints lost four games against league leaders Indiana Tech University. Aquinas never led in any of the games in the series.

With the four losses the Saints are now in seventh place in the WHAC. Aquinas needs to be in the top fi ve in

the WHAC in order to qualify for the WHAC Tournament.

“We haven’t played our best base-ball yet and are hoping to get the bats hot soon,” said baseball head coach Doug Greenslate. “We hope to make a late season run to secure a spot in our post season tournament. Our league is the most competitive it has ever been. Every team has a chance to win.”

On the weekend of March 31-April 1 the Saints split a four game series with Concordia University. Junior infi elder

and pitcher Nick Kissane led the Saints with four runs batt ed in during the se-ries.

Aft er splitt ing a series against Purdue North Central University, the Saints took home two of four games against city rival Davenport University on April 7 and April 9. Senior fi rst base-man Michael Wood had fi ve RBIs in the series to lead Aquinas in off ensive pro-duction.

On April 11, Aquinas defeated Olivet College 6-5 in 10 innings. Junior

outfi elder and pitcher Michael Penny scored the winning run aft er Olivet threw a wild pitch.

Yesterday the Saints faced Hope College at Fift h-Third Ballpark in their annual crosstown showdown at the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps.

“The game at Fift h/Third Park is going to be a good experience for us,” said Kissane. “Not only do we get to play at a professional stadium but we get to play for a great cause. The money we raise is going to cancer awareness

and the players get to play for a loved one they may have that has batt led can-cer.”

Kissane currently leads the Saints off ense with a .331 batt ing average and 26RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Kaleb Ort is Aquinas’ leading pitcher with a 3-3 re-cord and a 3.95 ERA.

The Saints return home today to face Purdue North Central at 4 p.m. and return to conference play against Lourdes College on April 21-22 at 1 p.m. at Kimble Stadium in Wyoming, MI.

Cheer team places seventh in the nation

COURTESY LAUREN MCCARTY

Taking home the hardware: The Aquinas College cheer team poses with the tro-phy they won at Nationals on April 11-15 in Daytona, FL.

By Dan Meloy Sports Editor

The Aquinas College cheerleading team competed at the National Cheer Association Collegiate Championships in Daytona, FL, on April 11-15.

The Saints, under the direction of second year head coach Emily White, fi nished in seventh place in the Nation-al Association of Intercollegiate Athlet-ics Small Coed Division.

Nine teams qualifi ed for the na-tional championship in Aquinas’ divi-sion and fi ve teams got to advance out of the preliminary round. Aquinas fi n-ished in eighth place in the preliminary round and was placed in the Challenge Cup.

The bott om four teams of the pre-

liminary round were placed in the Challenge Cup.

The winner of the Challenge Cup got to advance to the fi nal round along with the top fi ve in preliminaries.

However, Aquinas fi nished second in the Challenge Cup and fi nished sev-enth overall in the competition.

Aquinas did well in the competi-tion but still rued some of their mis-takes.

“Aft er going over our score sheets,” said junior Amy Stover,“if we had got-ten zero deductions on Thursday we would have placed fourth in prelims and would’ve gone straight to fi nals.”

The competition was a great end-ing to a fantastic year for the cheer team as they look forward to another year

The Saint :: Issue 14

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