The Saint: Issue 6, fall 2011

theSaintWe voted. Did you?

Stephen King writes againA&E Editor Stepahnie Giluk checks out the legendary horror author’s latest work, 11/22/63

Wednesday, November 16, 2011Volume 31, Issue 6

page 2

Women’s soccer ends record year | 7 Student Senate update | 2

>>NEWS

>>A&E

>>SPORTS

Greece tries to bail | 2Saint reporter Sarah Branz checks out Greece’s economic troubles, and what is being done to fix them.

The Jane Doe Project | 3Aquinas brings back the student-written and researched performance that has impacted campus and the community for the past three years.

Grand Rapids citizens chose their city leaders at the polls November 8. Two-term incumbent George Heartwell won the mayoral elections. Mayor Hartwell received 14,131 votes while opponent Michael-Paul Gionfriddo collected 3,228. This will be Mayor Heartwell’s third term, making him tied with John Logie for having the longest service as Grand Rapids mayor.

Mayor Heartwell, now 62, announced that he would be running again back in

Bringing them back

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss: Incumbent Mayor George Heartwell and Comptroller Donij o DeJonge will serve additional terms aft er last Tuesday’s elections.

COURTESY CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS

Lulu falls horribly flat | 5Reporter Brendan Hoffman subjects himself to listening to the tragic Lou Reed – Metallica collaboration, so you don’t have to.

The Dirty Hippie | 5Reporter Alyssa Frese checks out a neat little Grand Rapids cafe that’s cleaner than it sounds.

Congress reaffirms “In God We Trust” as U.S. motto

By Kaylee CooperThe Saint Reporter

Last fall, Aquinas debated whether or not smokers should be forced to move completely off campus to smoke. There were complaints about drift ing smoke near buildings, even if smokers did abide by the rules by smoking ten feet away. Finally, a compromise has been reached—smokers will have specifi c signs around campus indicating designated smoking areas starting January 1, 2012.

As bars and restaurants across Michigan banned smoking, the Aquinas community felt the need to restrict smoking as well. This brought about the action to place signs around campus.

Aquinas student Rae LaVoie likes the idea.

“As an athlete, I think this is awesome. People smoke too close to the buildings, and I don’t want to be breathing in their smoke from my dorm room. It will be great having designated

WHAC changes name | 7T h e W o l v e r i n e - H o o s i e r Athlectic conference has decided to let fans pick its new name. Get in on the action.

Men’s Soccer update | 6Aquinas’ men’s soccer team dominates, but comes up short in the end.

Election 2011:

Mayor George Heartwell and Comptroller Donijo De Jonge reclaim Grand Rapids government positions with other incumbents

December of 2010. “I love this city,” he said, “and I love being its mayor.” Determined to focus on the school-system, Heartwell gained a lot of support starting out. While a few mistakes led him to gett ing his share of critics, Heartwell said aft er reelection that he will use those mistakes to make good decisions as the mayor in his upcoming term. His focus will be on strengthening the relationship between Grand Rapids and its surrounding cities and although the city budget will be a big concern, it will not be at the top of the list.

Gionfriddo is a 28-year-old newcomer

to the political world. He ran in hopes of bringing media att ention to his ideas about restructuring the government. He based his campaign on reconnecting citizens to the government. As an active member of the Occupy Grand Rapids movement, he feels that things need to change. Many people feel that he did not run actively.

Other elections landed Donij o DeJonge another term as Grand Rapids comptroller with 10,161 votes over opponent Michael Sak. After previous comptroller Stan Milanowski resigned, DeJonge was selected to take his place until election time. Having

won the election, she will now carry on her service for another two years when another election will take place.

Incumbent Ruth Kelly, Incumbent Elias Lumpkins Jr., and Brian Miller were elected as city commissioners over city wards. Anne Armstrong Cusack and Roger McClary beat out Aquinas journalism professor Rob Kirkbride for the Library comission position.

Citizens also approved a $1 million, 5-year sinking fund that will help renew infrastructure in Grand Rapids public school buildings.

Congress voted 396-9 to keep “In God We Trust” as the national mott o of the United States on November 1, 2011. The House already declared the mott o in 1956, and affi rmed it in 2002. Now it has been reaffi rmed, and still remains in place.

Nine representatives, including West Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, voted against it. Aft er his vote, Amash posted on his Facebook page, “Displaying ‘In God We Trust’ on public property is appropriate in some circumstances. There is no need to push for the phrase to be on all federal, state, and local buildings.”

During the debates, President Barack Obama formed his own opinion of the

ways Congress has been spending its time. The Wednesday following the day of the vote Obama gave a speech. “You’ve had legislation reaffi rming that ‘In God We Trust’ is our motto,” Obama said to Speaker of the House John Boehner. “That’s not putt ing people back to work.”

It is suggested that the mott o was reaffirmed in part to bring Obama’s attention to what the national motto actually is. In a speech he gave in 2010, Obama said, “In the United States, our mott o is E pluribus unum — out of many, one.”

Having a single mott o to represent the entire diverse population of the United States has caused much controversy among lawmakers and citizens alike.

Many opposing the move claim that it is a violation of the separation of church and state. Other arguments claim that it is a violation of the freedom of religion the people of the United States are supposed to have according to the Constitution.

The reaffi rmation also taps into a

whole new controversy over whether schools should require their classes to recite The Pledge of Allegiance. The debate over whether “…under God…” should be removed from it has been going for quite some time and some people believe that since “In God We Trust” has been reaffi rmed, so should the Pledge in schools across the country.

Still others argue that it is all unconstitutional.

This decision in Washington drew various responses from local citizens.

Aquinas junior Brayden Scott feels that the passing of this bill needs to be viewed from several angles.

“As far as time wasted, I think it’s unfortunate, given that there are a lot of

issues that people actually care about that our government could be addressing. I mean, not that this issue isn’t of concern to some people, but it’s not a big enough priority to be addressing it right now,” he said.

“But I think overall re-affi rming it is a good move, and I think that you can view it that way not simply from a religious bias. The majority of our nation believes in God, and I think that to have removed that as the mott o of our country would overall be more off ensive to more citizens than keeping it as it is. To actively disaffi rm a trust in God would, to me, send a message that was a bit off ,” continued Scott .

Aquinas senior Charlie Merkel thinks that Amash’s response was justifi ed. “I don’t think it should be the mott o, since it’s exclusive and contradictory to the First Amendment, but clearly a waste of time as well. I guess I feel prett y content with [Amash’s decision to oppose the bill].”

“I’ll give him condescending liberal props for that,” he continued.

MI Representative Amash one of nine who voted against the bill

>> “THERE IS NO NEED TO PUSH FOR THE PHRASE TO BE ON ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL BUILDINGS.” << JUSTIN AMASH / U.S. SENATOR

areas so that this is no longer a problem,” she said.

The designated smoking areas have already been mapped out, but the signs have yet to be set in place. “We will be putt ing the restriction into action starting January 1st, and we will begin enforcing near the end of the school year,” said Brian Matzke, Dean of Student Services.

“Students are encouraged to remind smokers to move to the designated areas if the smokers are unaware of the new rules. If any problems should arise, Campus Safety can intercede.”

Smokers can be politely asked by other students to re-locate if they are smoking in the wrong areas. “It’s all about education,” Matzke said. “We want to encourage the smokers to learn about the new rules and eventually follow them.”

P u n i s h m e n t w i l l n o t b e a consequence early-on if the smokers move as they are told.

Joe Cracch io lo , an R .A . a t Dominican, said, “I think that is a good idea to create designated smoking spots on campus, because cigarette smoke truly does bother some people. So, those who are bothered by it can route themselves around those areas.”

However, Cracchiolo has some concern over how smokers will take the new policy.

“Smokers on campus might feel like they are being segregated because we are not a smoke free campus,” Caracchiolo continued.

“Some might feel like they are being discriminated against just because they smoke. . . .I mean, what if someone has a problem with people riding their bikes on campus, are we supposed to designate certain areas where people can ride their bikes? I believe either way someone will fi nd something to complain about. The new smoking policy has its advantages and its disadvantages.”

Mayor:George Heartwell (i): 14,131 votesMichael-Paul Gionfriddo: 3,228 votes

Library Commission:Anne Armstrong Cusack: 11,273 votes Roger McClary: 6,031 votesRob Kirkbride: 2,021 votes

Comptroller:Donijo DeJonge (i): 10,161 votesMichael Sak: 6,922 votes

2nd Ward Commissioner:Ruth Kelly (i): 5,210 votesNick Sanderson: 1,110 votes

3rd Ward Commissioner:Elias Lumpkins, Jr. (i): 3,205 votesKent Boersema: 2,021 votes

GRPS 1 Mil Tax IncreaseYes: 8,986 votesNo: 7,993 votes

From the Polls:

By Kaylee CooperThe Saint Reporter

BRIAN KELLY / AQUINAS

Aquinas College introduces new campus-wide smoking policy

By Rachael SteilThe Saint Reporter

Aquinas Cross Country doubles up on 2011 WHAC Championship titles

Conference Champs: Both men’s and women’s cross country teams pose with their WHAC trophies aft er sweeping the competition Nov. 5. Check out the full story on page 8.

COURTESY IKE LEA

news page 2THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

Aquinas: Taco Tuesdays are back, and here to stay

Grand Rapids: Deer season is of-ficially here–for 10-year-olds

Michigan: State officials look to combat “Obamacare” exchange <<

Student Senate Update

Student-led Jane Doe Project marks its

fourth year at Aquinas

Returning by popular demand, the Aqui-nas College Corner Cafe will now feature Taco Tuesdays on a regular basis. Get there early, these bad boys only come once week.

Firearm deer hunting season is now open throughout the state. Michigan has also passed a new law, stating that children as young as 10 are legally allowed to hunt on private property with an adult, as long as both have a license.

Michigan joined fi ve other U.S. states fi ghting the Aff ordable Care Act with MI Senate resolu-tion 0095. The resolution supports the Michigan Att orney General’s eff orts to question the ACA’s constitutionality in front of the Supreme Court . The Supreme Court announced earlier this week it will hear all oral arguments in March.

239 freshmen at St. Mary’s College in Mary-land were relocated to a cruise ship for their “on-campus” housing aft er two dormitories were shut down due to outbreaks of mold. The ship, the “Sea Voyager,” was previously used for research. It will now house students for the remainder of the semester.

By Laura RicoThe Saint Reporter

By Alyssa FreseThe Saint Reporter

Nation: Getting the full freshman experience, with a splash

On Wednesday, November 2, the Student Senate met to inform the student body of the new speed bumps that were added to the campus, the new smoking policy that would take eff ect early next year and a suspension of a by-law.

The fi ve new speed bumps that were added to campus came after many students, staff , and faculty have come close to gett ing hit by cars on campus that were driving too fast.

Since Aquinas College is an open campus, there are always individuals from the community that drive through campus and are not aware of or follow the speed limit. Thus, it was decided that in order to keep everyone on campus safe, speed bumps needed to be installed.

Also, a new smoking policy was announced that will go into effect on January 1, 2012. This policy would only allow people to smoke in designated smoking areas on campus.

The discussion for the afternoon centered on Appendix “A” of the by-laws of the Aquinas College Student Senate. Appendix “A” deals with budget guidelines for registered student organizations (RSO), but specifi cally how RSOs receive funds from Senate and are able to use them.

The non-partisan club P.O.L.I.S. asked and received funds that they could give to the Model United Nation class at the last meeting. However, Senate budget guidelines saying that money cannot be granted or allocated to fund a group who will be receiving academic credit. It was decided that in order to be fair to other clubs, the Senate would allow other academic clubs to allocate for money.

Senate Vice-Chair Sara Bouwkamp said, “It was discovered that granting P.O.L.I.S. funds did not follow the by-laws. Appendix “A” was motioned to be suspended until next semester (January 1, 2012) to create fairness across the board.”

The Political Aff airs Committ ee has reviewed and come up with a proposal that will be presented at the next Senate meeting on Decemeber 6 at 3 p.m. in the Wege Ballroom.

For the past few years, a small group of students have put on “The Jane Doe Project” at Aquinas to raise awareness about physical and sexual abuse. The project fi rst started four years ago by Aquinas College graduate Sheyna Roczkowski. Roczkowski originally wanted to perform “The Vagina Monologues” but received signifi cant opposition from campus administration.

In its place, she decided to write her own script. She conducted interviews with different Aquinas students, recording their experiences of sexual assault and domestic violence. She wrote the script and formed a cast of nine female Aquinas students.

The second year, the cast was composed of all seniors and one freshman. Aquinas junior Abigail Koprowicz was the freshman and she knew it was up to her to keep The Jane Doe Project going.

Last year, its third year in existence, The Jane Doe Project was led under new direction with a completely new cast. This year, junior Erin Lodes

For those of you who have younger siblings (or better yet, kids of your own), you are probably quite familiar with the word “chauffeur.” It is amazing how quickly one trip to the grocery store can turn into several hours of drop-offs, pick-ups, and waiting around for the next one to take place.

My older brother and I have three younger sisters, and being the loyal supporters of public transportation that we are, let’s just say that waiting to get our licenses until we were 20 and 21 years old was no accident (apologies to my mother).

This past summer, however, there was no hiding this small, plastic-coated card deemed by many as “freedom.” And with my sister Margie having reached the age of “the mall rules my social world,” Claire picking up a summer job minus a driver ’s license (family trend?), and Rachel making a splash at the community pool most days of the week, the time had come to be humbly crowned the summer chauffeur, or as I like to tell my sisters, “all hail Lady of the burgundy Suburban.”

One night as I was bringing Rachel home from swim lessons, driving duties coming to a day’s end, I remember thinking I couldn’t wait to pull into the driveway. Home was the final stop. On this night, however, the drive proved to be a little more eventful than usual. As I pulled up to one of the final stop lights before reaching home, Rachel called out my name, followed by a loud and confused, “What are they doing?”

Clear as day on the billboard located at the corner of the intersection was a new advertisement, a montage of 3 or 4 gay couples. Some were hugging, some were holding hands, while others were kissing on the lips.

It was ironic that she noticed this. Just the other day I had rented Brokeback Mountain for the f irst time. Claire and Margie, both high schoolers, watched it with me.

When Rachel asked if she could, I gave the blanket parent answer, “Sorry Rach, you’re not quite old enough.” On the surface, my immediate answer of “no” came from the fact that the movie is rated “R.”

Deep down, however, there was the lingering reality that I had no idea how much exposure she had to homosexual couples, and this maybe would have been a slightly overwhelming introduction.

That being said, I sat for a second waiting at that light before saying anything.

Would my response to her question be different than my parents? Should that even matter? Both my mom and dad are loving, accepting people. Not homophobics by any means, but then again they had no interest in watching Brokeback Mountain with me and my sisters.

Ironically, this billboard displaying happy, joyful gay couples stated, “ L O V E T A K E S C O U R A G E ” underneath the pictures, and in that moment I am somewhat ashamed to say that it took me courage to stand up for these couples. I have gay friends, both from high school and college, why should it be difficult to celebrate who they are in front of my 10-year-old sister and explain what it means when two males kiss on the lips?

This billboard in Portland, OR,

Summer lovin’

monica rischiotto |news editor

See SUMMER LOVIN’ page 3

Giving a voice and spreading awareness: The Jane Doe Project is back again with an all new cast and new stories . It is carrying on a four year tradition of raising awareness about sexual assult and domestic violence.

COURTESY ABIGAIL KOPROWICZ

has taken the reins of directing the production, as well as serving as a cast member.

“Last year went really, really well. We started to see substantial support in the Aquinas community so we decided that we would defi nitely try and stay as an annual event.” said Koprowicz.

The Jane Doe Project has come a long way since the fi rst year. The cast is a defi ning factor in the project and the continuation of what is increasingly becoming a much anticipated AQ event.

The Jane Doe Project originally started as a way for Aquinas women to break the silence about abuse, rape and similar topics, with the main goal of the performance to emphasize equality, justice, and empowerment. Last year, however, the first male joined the cast and this year the cast includes 2 males, juniors Vito Tennant and Stephen Wright.

“It was diff erent being the only guy in the cast last year. It was a lot of fun, though. It added a lot to the Jane Doe Project because it shows equality, that women aren’t the only ones who can face situations such as sexual assault or rape. Erin Lodes is a friend of mine

and we were in the Jane Doe Project together and she stepped up to direct this year so I decided to stay involved,” said Tennant.

This year’s show will be diff erent from the shows in the past. Lodes conducted all new interviews and rewrote the script. There will be 8 new monologues included. Also, the cast has grown from 9 to 12 people, the biggest cast yet.

The Jane Doe Project wil l be performed at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 17, in Wege Ballroom. The event is open to the community, with live music and beverages for all to enjoy.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the performance is free of charge. The original monologues will be displayed around the room to show that they are just as important as all the new monologues.

“We are expecting a large crowd and we will be having a talk-back session post-show with the actors and myself. People are invited to come forward and share their stories. We hope to get enough stories to have a new script every year,” said Koprowicz.

By Sarah BranzThe Saint Reporter

With Greece reaching 340 billion euros in debt, Lucas Papademos, former European Central Bank vice-president, was voted interim prime minister last week after George Papandreou’s resignation.

Papandreou lost the majority of his support when he announced that he would leave it up to public vote to decide whether to accept the European Union’s bailout terms, which included receiving 130 billion euros from the European Financial Stability Facility and banks losing 50% of their debt holdings.

Papandreou later backed down from

holding the referendum, stating that he would be willing to resign if it would aid the nation, despite winning parliament’s vote of confi dence on Friday, Nov. 4.

If the public had rejected the bailout package, or if Papandreou had not received the vote of confi dence, Greece would no longer be considered part of

On the march: Greek protesters in Athens stand behind a police line on October 20. COURTESY ODYSSEAS PAPAROUNIS

Greece looks for outside aid and resourcesthe euro-zone, forcing them to utilize an alternative currency.

However, according to an opinion poll, 70% of the Greek public would have been in favor of remaining a part of the euro-zone and accepting the EU’s bailout package.

Papademos was sworn in on Nov. 11, and said in his fi rst address to the cabinet that cooperation from all members of each party would be key to the nation’s progress. The cabinet is now made up of 48 members from three parties: Socialist, New Democracy and Laos.

The coalition government is seen as a positive step to the pubic. Markos Bolaris, the new deputy health minister, said that this transitional elimination of single-party government marks the start of a new era and bright future for Greece.

Yet, the nation is currently expected to hit bankruptcy mid-December.

Papademos noted his primary concern as the implementation of the European Union bailout program.

D e s p i t e h a v i n g n o p o l i t i c a l background, Papademos’ election was a major relief to members of the political and business cultures of Greece, which see Papademos as one of Europe’s fi nest experts in macroeconomics, given his previous role as European Central Bank vice-president.

However, the leftist group Syriza insists that if Papademos utilizes banking and marketing tactics it will only harm Greece’s chances of a successful bailout and further oppress the public.

3 THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

NEWS

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

125,000 Acts of Aquinas:Get your service on

By Morgan DanzerThe Saint Reporter

Continuing Aquinas College’s 125th Anniversary celebrations, the honoring of the second charism of service kicked off with the 125,000 Acts of Aquinas initiative, which was presented on November 1 in the Performing Arts Center during the All Saints Day Summit of Service. Director of Alumni Relations, Brigid Avery, and Director of Service Learning, Eric Bridge served as co-chairs of the event and hosts for the summit.

Newly inaugurated President Juan Olivarez, offered his thoughts on service and shared how volunteering specifically during his college years at Aquinas left a lasting impact and ultimately developed within him a committ ment to community outreach.

Following the President was Sr. Anna Maria Santiago, OP, Ph.D., who provided the keynote address showcasing the theme of “Serving the World in the Dominican Tradition.” The event concluded with four short refl ections from the Aquinas community who shared their personal stories of what service means to them and how it serves as a core value of the college.

First was senior Brianna Scott , who spoke about her time this summer assisting with tsunami relief clean-

up in Japan. Associate Professor of Sustainable Business, Deb Steketee, highlighted the passion of professors to serve the i r s tudents in hopes that students will in turn obtain the knowledge and heart to serve the world.

S t e k e t e e s a i d , “One of our greatest satisfactions is to see them graduate, but it’s not simply the earned degree that is the delight for me, it’s the student’s discovery of something real, something other than themselves that took place during their time here with us in our classroom and the community.”

A l u m n a a n d Executive Director of Local First Elissa Sangalli spoke next about her passion for providing resources for those in need here in Grand Rapids, and creating a community that is dedicated to giving.

Lastly, Linda Nash, AQ Women’s Basketball Coach, shared her service

reflections from a handful of service learning trips she participated in through Aquinas’s Campus Ministry department as well as service events she and her team have participated in.

Students, faculty, staff , alumni, and

friends of the Aquinas community are stepping up and demonstrating the Dominican val ue of service. There are already over 125 stories logged onto the website and over 4,250 participants involved. The majority of the acts that

have been logged come from the Grand Rapids area, including the Project Unite Service Day activities from earlier this year. Currently there are over a dozen international testimonies on the website, from places including Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

The event’s grand fi nale showcased a group of Aquinas choir students who sang their rendition of Rent’s theme song, “Seasons of Love.” It began, “125,000 acts of Aquinas...” To listen to the full song, check out the recording through the Aquinas webapge.

At the ceremony, President Olivarez said, “I’m going to ask everyone here and everyone that you might touch that’s not here to really get involved and participate in this 125,000 Acts of Aquinas so that we can demonstrate the power of paying it forward and also the infl uence that Aquinas can have on making the world a bett er place.”

A recording of the All Saints Day Summit of Service can be viewed through the Aquinas website. All students, faculty, staff , members of the Aquinas community and beyond are encouraged to share their stories athttp://www.aquinas.edu/125/service.html.

Below are acts of service already logged into the website, and placed on the virtual map

Uganda- I was working with a school in a small village in southwest Uganda. While I was there I handed out about 35 AQ shirts to those students and teachers who had very litt le of their own. I taught the choir a the song "One Day" by Matisyahu; I was able to play lacrosse and soccer with the children; I took 19 children into town (30 min. car ride) to get their HIV treatment, where they were able to play on the playground aft erwards and I was able to provide lunch for them as well; they taught me some traditional African dance moves.

I participated in the diocese youth day celebration, in which the Vice Pres-ident att ended along with 49 parishes; I also saw the need for education, school uniforms, food and medical care, so I started a child sponsorship program with the HOPEFUL-School. To fi nd out more about the program visit www.fi eldsofgrowth.org -Katy Mohr, Wom-en's Lacrosse Assistant Coach

Dominican Republic-A group of students from Aqunias College spent a week in the Dominican Republic working with an organization called FUMSIL. The students that particpated include Teresa Buiocchi, Ian Meldrum, Stori Ficeli, Samantha Rosenbrook, Zach Osborn, Meghan Cupka, Kali Pratt and Olivia Dorgan.

Throughout the week we were able to work in three medical clinics in the mountains and take care of severely malnourished children that we found through the clinics. We stayed in a house in the town of El Llano near the Haitian border.By the end of the week we had a total of seven children who we were helping recuperate. We had the pleasure of meeting Angel Valdez, the director of FUMSIL and a man who has donated his life to giving medical care to those who ordinarily would not receive it. -Olivia, Aquinas Student

Grayslake, MI -I am dedicating my volunteer teaching of "Bible Passages for Every Day Life" as an Act of Aqui-nas. Adults have requested a class that will familiarize them with passages from the Bible to address specifi c areas of living as "fear, being overwhelmed, faith, forgiveness, and anger." My four years at Aquinas studying Theology and experiencing the Christian com-munity there have inspired me all my life to do what I can to share my faith in community sett ings. Thank you, Aqui-nas!!! -Rev. Kathleen, Aquinas Alumna '64

Denver, CO- Each week I go to Mul-len Home, a nursing home for the elder-ly poor, that is maintained and staff ed by the Litt le Sisters of the Poor. While at Mullen Home I teach catechesis, serve at Mass, serve dinner and meet one on one with those residents that are bound to their room or are not able to interact socially with others. This ministry is all about seeing and serving Christ in the elderly poor.

Many times we overlook the elderly poor as those that are decayed and dy-ing and no longer serve a purpose in the world. With the care of the Litt le Sisters of the Poor, the elderly poor are able to live in dignity and spend the rest of their life in a wonderful community un-til God has called them to Heaven. As St. Jeanne Jugan, Foundress of the Litt le Sisters of the Poor, said "Love God very much, so that you can look aft er the Old People well. For it is Jesus whom you care for in them." --Drew, Aquinas alum-nus '10

Grand Rapids, MI- We surprised two Kentwood Police Offi cers at Moe's Southwest Grill by payng $10.00(all we had) toward their dinner. We gave the money and AQ coin to the cashier, ask-ing her to apply the $10.00 toward their meal and giving them the AQ coin; paying it forward.

The casher was so excited, saying "This is so cool!" We left with our take- out meal without seeing the offi cers reaction, but hope they do an act of kindness, moving the AQ coin into the hands of another. Thanks AQ for lett ing us be apart of your 125 year celebration! --Doug and Kathleen Penny(parents of AQ baseball players and students Michael & Brendan Penny)

Huntington, West Virginia- For a residence hall program, I challenged my residents to give up one aft ernoon of studying to help at Litt le Victories Animal Shelter. Not only did we have a wonderful time walking dogs and play-ing with cats that day, but several of us have made a promise to visit our new friends on a weekly basis.-Erica, Aqui-nas alumna '10

Tampa, FL- Donated blood, donated clothes to Goodwill, donated food to local community pantry, donated food thru Elks Club to EMS and law enforce-ment during holiday duty. -Gus & Ele-na, Aquinas alumni

Proposed child labor laws to affect local and national

farmers

By Kayla BurrellThe Saint Reporter

O n S e p t e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 1 , t h e Department of Labor proposed a change to the child labor laws for those who occupy themselves in agricultural work. These new changes would affect workers under 18 years old.

According to the Department of Labor, the legis lat ion serves to fur ther e f for t s to watch the regulations for non-agricultural workers, as well as put the spotlight on agricultural workers. This is the first time these provisions have been made since 1970. Changes being made to the labor laws apply to occupations in the farm that include the production of raw materials, wholesale and trade industries.

This includes grain elevators and bins, silos, feed lots and yards and working with livestock exchanges and auctions.

The Department of Labor is also planning to prohibit farm workers un der the age of sixteen from riding as passengers on all farm machines

when being moved on public roads, operating non manual means to remove timber or working inside a fruit s torage or grain storage structure.

F i n a l l y, t h e D e p a r t m e n t i s proposing to prohibit child workers under the age of e ighteen from being involved in construct ion, communications, roofing, wrecking,

demolition and pesticides. Working in manure pits, tobacco handling and any job requiring elevation greater than six feet high are also included.

The proposed regulations would not apply to those who work on farms that their family owns. The reasoning is that children employed on farms are more susceptible to injury.

Some traditional farmers say that the changes threaten the future of agriculture. Others view the efforts as a step in the right direction to preventing injuries and making sure that children are not being exploited on the nation’s farms.

COURTESY AQUINAS COLLEGEMaking a diff erence: AQ students Brianna Scott and Matt Banas travelled to Iwate, Japan assist-ing with earthquake and tsunami relief eff orts. A description of their service was uploaded to the 125,00 Acts of Aquinas site.

New federal laws significantly limit the work minors can do on farms,

unless certified

Want access to Regina Hall? Call Campus Safety

By Paris CloseThe Saint Reporter

Rumor has it that Regina Hall’s new card access policy restricts the admission of any non-Regina resident into the building. This could mean that any student who does not reside in the facility will no longer have access into the building or its amenities.

The circulating rumor has caused quite a st ir amongst the students of Aquinas College and has led many to blame Campus Security officials. C ommuter students have access to the main entrance of Regina automatically, allowing them a place to hang out during the day and visit friends.

“ We a l wa y s wa n t t o m a k e commuters feel welcomed,” says Dean of Student Services Brian Matzke, who decided to put the policy into effect. Matzke has considered the many anxieties that commuters often

face of having to go to class and then heading straight home. “We wanted to make sure commuters had a place to go between and before classes,” says Matzke,

F o r t h e r e s t o f n o n - R e g i n a residents, on-campus residents are able to have access to Regina as well. All that’s needed is a call to Campus Safety. “If any students would like access into the building all they have to do is call, we’ll activate your student ID,” said Campus Safety Director Kevin Kwiatkowski.

Students who have had their cards ac t iva ted are a l lowed to utilize the Regina Fitness Center and lobby. Regina Hall is available to all non-Regina residents between 7:30 a.m.–11 p.m. seven days a week. Kwiatkowski suggests that anyone who has any questions or concerns regarding their card access to contact the Campus Safety department.

Access is at your fi ngertips: An Aquinas student uses her ID to access Regina Hall. Many students have complained about no longer having access to Regina Hall. If students make a call to Campus Safety, they can request permanent access.

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/THE SAINT

SUMMER LOVIN’ from page 2

I later learned, was sponsored by two different local, gay rights non-profit organizations and inspired by two attacks of gay couples in the downtown area. Here in Grand Rapids, there are similar billboards that have recently been put up as well by CBS Outdoor media.

The billboard reads, “…with liberty and justice for _” and the website untiloveisequal.com is listed below.

It was reported that when the organization Until Love is Equal first approached the national media company CBS Outdoor, they refused to run the ad. The organization created the ad in response to Holland City Council’s recent narrow vote against expanding the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation.

Supporters of the billboard are hoping that Holland residents will take notice of the pro-gay message as they drive into Grand Rapids (billboard space in Holland was too expensive, according to members of Until Love is Equal campaign).

After collecting my thoughts, I told Rachel that like the billboard says, love does take courage, whether you are a man and a man, woman and woman, or woman and man. But for the first two, it often takes quite a bit more.

Then my soap box began. What all I said I don’t quite remember, but basically that these pictures are of human beings, human beings that love each other just like a man and woman.

She had no groundbreaking comments or questions that followed. Who knows if anything I said actually stuck. I can only hope that when she sees that billboard in real life form, her response will not take nearly as much courage as I needed to share the right, and ultimately, the celebration of love.

>> SOME TRADITIONAL FARMERS SAY THAT THE CHANGES THREATEN THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE. <<

from our view

>>FROM THE CROWDAPPLAUSE TO...Yet another block of break coming up (thank you, Thanksgiving); All of our military veterans; The cast and crew of the Jane Doe Project; Aquinas’ new sports teams;

The library staff , for reminding students to respect silence; The Corner Cafe, for bringing back Taco Tuesdays; Paint, for making Aquinas’ new speed humps visible.

HECKLES TO...Paint, for taking so long to appear on Aquinas’ speed humps; Aquinas’ lack of curling and billiards teams; Congress, for choosing to say what they’ve already said instead of working on the tough issues; The organizers of halft ime shows, for keeping Nickelback on the bill; The never-ending Republican debates. A few times before primary season is okay, this is ridiculous; Lou Reed and Metallica. What were you thinking?

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, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

***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] 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

> >It is the middle of Second Quad. The weather’s gett ing cold and

blustery outside. Papers and exams are stacking up again, as usual. All the Ramen noodle fl avors are starting to taste the same.

Then, towards the end of November, we get one Thursday to spend with family and friends; eat a fresh, full meal; and build up some strength for that fi nal push toward exam week. Thanksgiving might just be the most important holiday on the academic calendar.

It happens right aft er the candy-and-liquor-fueled commercial binge of Halloween , and right as shops start sending out fl yers for Christmas lights and garland. Something about it doesn’t drive businesses as crazy as the other holidays. It’s far quieter. There are no multiple parties for weeks on end, no constant consumerism.

Aft er all, the day aft er Thanksgiving is all about appreciating left overs. But more importantly, it gives us a moment to get together with those

that are close to us. We set aside our obligations and our worries for a few hours. We cook—together. We eat—together. We talk—to each other. Com-ing together with other people for no other reason than to celebrate life just doesn’t happen anymore.

And yet, the news reminds us of the problems going on in the world. The economy is in bad shape. Unemployment is high. Wars and politics continue to divide our lives. People’s rights are violated left and right, oft en within our own borders. We might wonder if there is anything left to cel-ebrate at all.

But we continue to move forward. We can make change. We can foster justice when it is needed. We have all the abilities to make the world bett er.

Although half of the Pilgrims that landed at Plymouth died during their fi rst winter here, something drove them to celebrate and give thanks aft er struggling to stay alive for a year. Perhaps it was seeing that potential for life that drove these emotions in them.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with the people around us, and we slip into turkey-induced comas, we’ll be thankful for all the good that exists in our lives. But more than that, we will be thankful for being able to make good happen, both for us, and for everyone around us.

Adviser Dr. Dan Brooks

Managing Editor Nick Signore Management E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

Have your say:

DUSTIN COON / THE SAINT

Letters to the EditorTo the editors of The Saint:

I would like, as respectfully as the situation calls for, to off er a dissenting opinion on the oft en praised “Occupy Together Movement.” I cannot speak for all those opposed to this movement, of course; and I can write only as it re-gards my economic and political biases. Yes, I’m another obnoxious college stu-dent with another innocuous opinion that will likely go unrecognized. Hav-ing said that, here are some qualms:

Primarily, this “Occupy” move-ment seems entirely too ambiguous. The mere idea of opposing a concept as nebulous as “corporate greed” is laugh-able – it seems just as ill-conceived as the legislative and moral bullying of the Prohibition Era (what a success that was!), though perhaps more so, because at least the anti-alcohol agenda was co-herent. The point is, striving to combat and end human vice is surely an ideal worth fi ghting for – but it will remain

just that as long as protesters are con-vinced that their hatred of “greed” is suffi cient enough to change anything.

This leads to the second qualm: instead of playing instruments and reading slam poetry, perhaps protest-ers should consider gett ing involved in the political process. I have never met an individual (except for those rare lib-ertarians) who didn’t oppose consumer greed and corporate exploitation, so, although the guitar sounds beauti-ful and a group chant is empowering, you’re merely preaching to the choir. In my assuredly naïve opinion, a protest should be less about artistic expression and more about practical action. Start up a petition, and get to work. But be-fore that…

Make your goals coherent. I know that there are people in the “Occupy” movement who deserve to be heard: exploited union workers, airline pi-lots, unemployed teachers, and so on. So far, however, I have heard only the

middle class, 20-somethings like myself who have barely worked enough to call themselves “laborers” – let alone “ex-ploited.” I don’t know much about eco-nomics, but I know that this recession is a hell of a lot more serious than these “communists” and “anarchists” make it out to be. (Side note: wearing a Guy Fawkes mask does not make you an an-archist any more than quoting Carlos Mencia makes you funny).

So, that’s about it. I’m not a Tea Party member or neoconservative – in fact, I’d say I’m quite the opposite. But I’d also say that I’m a guy who knows he doesn’t know nearly enough about the complexities of an economic down-turn to go out and bang a drum all day, then come home and criticize my friends for not gett ing involved.

Happy Thanksgiving,Jacob VandenHombergh

Speedbump Fun Italy who?

When politics and gameplay collide

By Matthea BrandenburgThe Saint Reporter

FIFA, the international governing body of football (soccer), was in recent talks with the Football Association of England over the English soccer team’s desire to wear poppy symbols to mark Remembrance Day, the British equiva-lent of Veterans Day, during their match against Spain this past Saturday. FIFA insisted that the English players could not wear poppies embroidered on their shirts in the game because they constituted a “political message.” Paper versions of these poppies were given out across England in return for a charitable donation to the British Vet-erans’ fund.

Fear of sett ing a precedent for symbol wearing at Remembrance Day matches caused FIFA offi cials’ hesita-tion in permitt ing England to wear poppies, fearing that if England were to play against Germany for example, and Germany chose to don a commemora-tive symbol, controversy might arise.

Both Prime Minister David Cam-eron and Prince William, in his role of President of the FA, wrote to FIFA asking for reconsideration. Aft er fur-ther negotiation, FIFA came up with a pragmatic solution, agreeing to let the players wear armbands bearing poppy symbols.

I think this situation is a prime ex-

ample of unnecessary FIFA regulation. Although I am happy FIFA was able to reach a compromise with the FA, I don’t believe denying the wearing of poppies should have ever come into question. By wearing a symbol to honor one’s fellow countrymen who have died in combat, one is neither showing support for a war eff ort or protesting against it. He/she is simply recognizing the sacri-fi ce given by many men and women. FIFA’s aim to remain neutral is main-tained when allowing teams to don the poppy symbol.

I do, however, agree with FIFA’s goal to remain neutral. The English team’s wearing of the poppy may po-tentially open the door for other sym-bolically natured requests. The soc-cer pitch is not the prime place where political, economic, or social issues are debated or solved. Therefore, I don’t believe teams should be given license to take a stance on such topics, espe-cially ones on which opinions greatly diff er. FIFA has long been committ ed to a campaign of anti-racism, but this of course is diff erent, considering racism is widely recognized as being wrong. If teams were to begin wearing symbols or endorsing ads which took a clear stance on highly debated political, eco-nomic, or social issues, I believe FIFA would be justifi ed to step in. But in the case of England’s National Team, no such infringement has occurred.

Consistency or going on a hot streak? Being the best over time or win-ning at the right time?

This has become a major debate amongst sports circles as to what should be used to determine who the best team is.

Unfortunately, in American sport-ing culture, the answer is the second one. We love the team who makes the late run. We have watched Hoosiers so much that we have lost face with what a true champion really is.

Yes, the underdog winning in the fi nal week of the season and going on an amazing run is something special to watch. But does that really mean they are the best team?

What about the team that practiced hard and was focused on their goals from the very onset of the season? Is that not something to be valued?

For American sports, and especially our beloved Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (they are changing the name, WHAC just had to go), we tend to value the team that wins late and abandon the teams who did a superior job in the regu-lar season.

This year the team that will repre-sent the WHAC in men’s soccer won one league game.

Yep, that’s right. One lousy game. However, this is a practice that is

carried out by a majority of conferences across the country.

And why? Because we as a culture appreciate the short att ention-span of tournament play over the longevity of winning a league. And that is a sad truth.

When you think about it, it is a lousy message we send to the country by doing this: “Hey we don’t care how you start, just fi nish strong. That’s all that matt ers.”

I’m sure that excuse will fl y well with our professors and future bosses.

Against the underdogBy Dan MeloySports Editor

matt kuczynski | editor-in-chief

Last week, I got to see Herman Cain in person during one of his campaign stops in Grand Rapids.

Yes, I went to see Herman Cain talk. Yes, I know his campaign has become a running gag. I’ve heard all about him: “The 9-9-9 tax plan sounds like a pizza deal.” “Do we want the Godfather of Godfather’s Pizza running the country?” “He doesn’t know what happened in Libya!”

So, in the interest of being a well-in-formed and entertained citizen, I stopped by the Kent County GOP headquarters in the midst of big busses and TV trucks during the fi rst November snow.

Turns out, Herman’s one gregarious dude.

The crowd kept cheering him on dur-ing the tale of his parents pulling them-selves up by their bootstraps. They cried for more when he brought up his tax plans, and laughed along when he said that Democrats don’t like 9-9-9 because it’s “too simple.”

However, Cain’s most poetic mo-ment came when he moved away from economics and tax codes, and jumped to international politics.

Let’s make something clear here: Mr. Cain knows cash. Taxes, effi ciency and budget balancing are his domain. We’re talking about a guy who was Chairman of the Federal Reserve branch in Kansas City aft er he got out of the restaurant business.

But when it comes to the world out-side of our borders, well, let’s say that candidate Cain’s not quite on board yet.

“I was asked in the debate last night, ‘What are you going to do about Italy?’” he quipped, “And I said, ‘Italy? Italy who?’ ”

Cain kept going, making an analogy between the emergency directions for putt ing on one’s own oxygen mask in an airplane before helping children next to you, and the U.S. economic situation.

He then followed up his foreign eco-nomic strategy with his diplomatic strat-egy, which was as simple as 9-9-9 and putt ing on our own masks fi rst.

Ready for it?During his fi rst week in offi ce, Mr.

Cain will fi gure out who our friends re-ally are, who our enemies really are, and stop paying out money to our enemies.

I know he was pandering to the audi-ence. It’s easier to get people on your side when you promise them a Cold War-era, Soviet-style bogeyman to fi ght against.

But in the real world, international relations aren’t as simple as putt ing our masks on fi rst, taking a few huff s of oxy-gen, and lett ing the guy next to us pass out because he can’t put his on.

Hell, in the real world, on real planes, those masks rarely, if ever, actually fall.

The problem with Cain’s mental-ity, and, I think, many candidates’ ideas about the international situation, is that they think it isn’t relevant to America. If the people who go to the polls in Novem-ber don’t care about fi xing the interna-tional economy, why bother?

What some candidates and many people miss is how connected we are to the international economy. All our masks run from the same tank. While we can’t be responsible for other states’ money trouble, we can at least off er advice and listen to others’ advice.

The solution is hard to fi nd, but I don’t think we will fi nd it from making a naughty-or-nice list of foreign countries or asking “Italy who?”

Maybe we should be asking “Italy? How?” instead.

<<arts & entertainment

Television: Howard Stern in talks to host America’s Got Talent

The outspoken radio personality has been in talks with NBC to host the network’s talent show now that judge Piers Morgan is gone. If he accepts, rumor is he would command around $15 million dollars to fill Morgan’s seat. It would certainly make for interesting television.

Movies: Quentin Tarantino’s read-ies latest insane-sounding movie

So far, Tarantino’s in-the-works Django Unchained is star-packed and sounds as crazily awesome as most of his other fi lms. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) is in talks to join the ranks of Jamie Foxx (Dreamgirls), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), and Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception) for Tarantino’s tale about a slave and his cruel owner.

Music: Jay-Z strikes wrong chord with Occupy movement

Jay-Z, through his clothing line Rocawear, tried to market Occupy Wall Street apparel, but was met with criticism and removed the clothing from his website. Apparently, people weren’t happy the extremely wealthy rapper was trying to make a profi t off the 99%.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT>> JENNIFER LAWRENCE

page 5THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

The young Winter’s Bone actress is making news with the new Hunger Games trailer that premiered Monday. Fans of the books got a fi rst look at Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, heroine of the sci-fi trilogy by Susan Collins.

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Zombies are prett y awesome. Not just because they represent mindless, ravenous society, feeding off anyone that doesn’t act or think like they do. Not just because they’re scary, dogged-ly pursuing anything with a still-beat-ing heart and tasty fl esh. Zombies are awesome because of The Walking Dead. Well, and because of Norman Reedus.

When TWD fi rst premiered on AMC last October, AMC only ordered six episodes for the entire fi rst season. Executive producer, writer, and direc-tor Frank Darabont was the one who really got the show off the ground and made it as successful as it is. The fi rst season was strong and incredibly well-done, and Darabont’s infl uence is clear in the writing and pace of each epi-sode. He even got TWD comics writer and creator Robert Kirkman to pen an episode for season one, and Kirkman has already writt en an episode for sea-son two.

Darabont, however, left TWD team before season two premiered on October 16. The reason he left was never explicitly revealed, but budget and scheduling issues might have played a role in his departure. Execu-tive producer Glen Mazzara took over as the new showrunner. Even though Darabont is gone, the show seems to be holding true to his vision.

The season opener was a kicker, following our favorite group of rag-tag survivors, including former sher-iff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs), Rick’s best friend, Shane (Jon Bernthal), suicidal Andrea (Laurie Holden), her guard-ian angel, Dale (Jeff rey DeMunn), and loveable redneck Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus). Things started off relatively okay, with the group road tripping out of Atlanta, but soon took a turn for the worse when the group stopped to look for supplies. The fol-lowing scene was an exercise in slow-building, well-shot suspense, but things soon took an even darker turn.

The following episodes (fi ve so far) have been about dealing with the repercussions of everything that hap-pened in the fi rst episode (SPOILERS AHEAD!). Sopia (Madison Lintz), Carol’s (Melissa McBride) daughter, was chased into the woods by a few hungry zombies, and when Rick fol-lowed and killed the zombies, he couldn’t fi nd Sophia. As of this writ-ing, the group is still searching for So-phia and hoping she’s still alive, or, at best, not a zombie. The only clues that indicate she might be alive include a litt le hidey-hole in an abandoned house and a doll left in a river, both found by Daryl.

At the end of the fi rst episode, Rick and Shane were out in the woods with Carl when they came across a deer. The deer didn’t run away, so Carl edged closer and closer to it, in awe of its deer-ness (not the best idea to ogle food, but whatever). He got prett y close to the deer, and then, BAM! A shot rang out, and the bullet passed through the deer and hit Carl in the side.

Aft er Rick and Shane found out who had pulled the trigger, the shoot-er, a man named Otis, directed them to the farm where he came from, tell-ing the two men that Hershel Greene could save the boy. The second epi-sode opened with Rick running to-ward the farmhouse, a limp Carl in his arms.

The last few episodes have been short on action and a bit heavy-hand-ed in the existential speeches depart-ment (the deer equals life, everyone!), but the shockers in each episode keep the series going strong. When Shane (a much longer lived character in the show than in the comic series) travels to the local high school turned zombie infested FEMA outpost with a guilt-ridden Otis to get medical supplies for Carl, he shoots Otis so that he can get away and save Carl. Lori might be pregnant, and since she thought Rick was dead when the zombie apocalypse

We need more gutsstephanie giluk | a&e editor

J. Edgar an intriguing look at the notorious FBI director’s life

By Asa WoodbeckThe Saint Reporter

What happens to a man when he is denied the freedom to express love? Apparently, he turns into J. Edgar Hoover, the power-hungry, attention-craving genius who made the FBI what it is today. J. Edgar is a well-made biopic which hopes to discover the man behind the myth. Admittedly, though, it stumbles as well as soars on its own glossy pro-duction.

Still engulfed in controversial affairs well into his seventies, an el-derly Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) dictates his memoirs to a typist. This narrative device launches the film back in time to the key moments in Hoover’s life: how he literally put the “Federal” in the Bureau of Investigation, invented the finger-print system, solved the case of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s baby, and arranged the demise of John Dillinger. The constant jump-ing back and forth in time simulta-neously shows the ambitious young Hoover devoting his entire life to the FBI and the effects that this profes-sionally-centered (and socially iso-lated) existence had on him until his

The Dirty Hippie: Come in to kick back and relax,

manBy Alyssa FreseThe Saint Reporter

As I walk through the door of the small cozy cof-fee shop located in downtown Grand Rapids, I look to my left and make eye contact with a giant cardboard fi ger cut out. Up-beat reggae music plays in the back-ground and three paint splatt ered chairs are aligned next to the tiger. Tables fi lled with merchan-dise rest against the wall. The goods include various articles of ethnic ap-parel, like poncho bags and diff erent colored handmade ponchos, gloves and hats. There are sunglasses in ev-ery color and unique items such as the Tibetan Prayer Flag and hacky sacks. Aft er browsing through all the mer-chandise, I approach the small counter where two very friendly college age guys are working.

The menu is quite small. It con-sists of a few options: coff ee drinks, retro soda, teas and smoothies. There is a special for strawberry shortcake, but the only food option on the menu besides the shortcake is pita chips with hummus. I fi nally decide on a small vanilla latt e. I make conversation with the baristas while my drink is being made. The coff ee used is organic free-trade along with most of the ingredi-ents in the drinks.

The barista hands me my drink and a wrapped Andes mint, which is given free with each drink purchase. I take a sip. The drink is not very hot and the vanilla taste is overpowering, but the texture is creamy and wonder-ful.

There are only a few tables dis-

Peace and love: Stop by The Dirty Hippie for coff ee and fun.MIRIAM PRANCHKE/THE SAINT

NaNoWriMo slams novels for a good cause

By Laura RicoThe Saint Reporter

It’s that time of the year again: stores are bring-ing out Christ-mas decorations, Michiganders are hauling out their winter gear, and ordinary folks are rushing to write their novels for 30 days and 30 nights.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) gives any individual, young or old, the chance to write a 50,000 word novel about anything their imaginations can dream up

Junior Erin Lodes is partici-pating this year and her goal is to complete a full 50,000 length novel. “I’m participating because it really is great to be able to have an ex-cuse to put off homework, or sleep, and just write to write, not write for class. The idea of so much writing in so little time, although it drives you absolutely insane, really is great be-cause there isn’t time to worry about editing, which is agonizing.”

When asked about the progress of her novel, Lodes said, “My novel is about... four days’ worth of writ-ing behind ... most of it is utter non-sense, my characters flip flop and my scenes are confusing... but some of it is good, and that is all worth it.”

While there is still plenty of time to write, participants should also be aware of a great opportunity that is in store for them after they finish writing their novels.

The Aquinas National Liter-ary honor society, Lambda Iota Tau Club (L.I.T), invites all students and faculty writers who are participat-ing in NaNoWriMo to come together and take part in The Novel Slam on Sunday, December 4, at 3 p.m., in the

COURTESY LATIMESBLOGS

The clock’s ticking: Aspiring writers have until Nov. 30.

Moose Café.Once there, writers will share

their best two excerpts and a one-liner. The audience will vote for their favorite piece by putting money into that writer’s box. The writer who col-lects the most donations wins, and all the money collected will go to-wards Kids Food Basket to support Sack Suppers for children.

Currently, the prize for the per-son who raises the most money is still undecided, but the winner and all others who read are sure to feel very proud of themselves after com-pleting their novel and helping a charity.

Jarrod Irwin, Vice President of L.I.T. and one of the organizers of The Novel Slam, said the idea behind the event was to “promote writing. I thought that tying the event with Kids Food Basket would be a good incentive. [The writers] are getting something out of it, but they’re also helping to promote a greater cause.”

Irwin is also a second time par-ticipate of NaNoWriMo. This year he hopes to write a 150,000 word novel.

For updates on The Novel Slam or to meet other Aquinas writers, check out The Novel Slam on Face-book.

See Gutspage 6

death in 1972.Working from a (mostly specu-

lative) script by Oscar-winning Milk writer Dustin Lance Black, director Clint Eastwood once again creates a world of quiet introspection where his characters are emotionally vul-nerable. It helps to have an actor like Leonardo DiCaprio, who challenges himself anew in each of his widely varied roles. DiCaprio slowly dis-appears behind Hoover’s dark eyes. The prosthetics and makeup caked on for his later years, as well as the “solid weight” for which Hoover is known, change DiCaprio into a dif-ferent man—a plausible and emo-tionally-stirring version of Hoover.

But Eastwood’s signature de-saturated color (it looks almost black and white), as well as the slow-mov-ing narrative, might be too much this time around. It lacks the energy Invictus offered and is unevenly told at first. Only when the story turns to Hoover’s relationship with FBI as-sistant director Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) does the story fully engage the audience. The subtle chemistry between DiCaprio and Hammer cre-ates a gripping and convincing rela-tionship arc that sets J. Edgar apart

from other films.The movie is an analysis of the

man behind the mask of his own power and how, as one character puts it, “All the admiration in the world can’t fill the spot where love goes.”

Well, at least the talented film-makers do their best —and most-ly succeed—in this regard, filling Hoover’s past with sympathetic ex-planations of what drove him to be-come the titan of law-enforcement Hoover is infamous for.

COURTESY WARNER BROS.Most wanted: Leonardo DiCaprio becomes J. Edgar Hoover.

persed throughout the small shop, but the colorful tabletops, matching the rest of the café, are streaked with vary-ing bright colors of paint. There are books everywhere, ranging from The Giver, by Lois Lowry, to regular school textbooks. There are also board games like Twister and Apples-to-Apples, which anyone is welcome to play.

An empty stage sits in the center of the shop, and it is there that Open Mic Night, held every Wednesday night, starting at 7 p.m., unfortunately I had just missed the show. Also, ev-ery Tuesday night at 7 p.m., a movie is shown free of charge.

I fi nish my drink and make my way towards the exit. Before I step out, my eye catches something that I missed walking in. A large fi sh tank stands against one of the walls, fi lled with colorful hermit crabs for sale. The shells are hand painted in many beautiful designs and fi t right in with The Dirty Hippie’s atmosphere.

Overall, I found The Dirty Hippie to be a very cool environment. I would not go there to study because there is so much going on, but it is, however, a great hangout spot that I would rec-ommend to anyone looking for a fun, chill atmosphere.

THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

6 A&E

By Stephanie GilukA&E Editor

Stephen King rarely disappoints. With 11/22/63, his latest magnum opus, King delivers. Like most of his many, many books, 11/22/63 mixes the ordi-nary and the supernatural, the seen and the unseen, with great success.

In Lisbon Falls, Maine (where else?) divorced high school teacher Jake Epping lives peacefully in the year 2011. Peacefully, that is, until Al Tem-pleton, the owner of an old diner that is about to be turned into an L.L. Bean outpost, reveals that a rabbit hole into September 9, 1958, exists at the back of the diner’s pantry. Jake, of course, thinks Al’s crazy, but the man is dying of lung cancer, so Jake decides to hu-mor him.

He travels down into the pantry and is at once thrilled and horrifi ed when he appears outside a weaving factory, spewing foul smoke that is certainly not EPA approved. He wan-ders to the Kennebec Fruit Company, where he meets the ancestor of Kenne-bec’s 2011 owner and drinks a root beer fl oat. He returns to Al, shaken but still not wholly convinced what he saw was real.

Al explains some of the fi ner points of time travel, including the well-known grandfather paradox (“What if you killed your grandfather?” “Why on earth would you do that?”) and in King’s world, the rules of time travel are simple. Every time someone goes through the rabbit hole, Al explains, the past resets itself. It is possible to change things, but as Al has learned, trying to

Calvin’s futurist Anti-gone doesn’t dissapoint

ByAsa WoodbeckThe Saint Reporter

Calvin College’s innovative pro-duction of Sophocles’ Antigone rein-vigorated the Greek classic, bring-ing fresh insight to the perennially portrayed story. The 2500 year-old tragedy came alive again over the past two weekends at Calvin’s Ge-zon Auditorium.

Classical languages professor U.S. Dhuga penned a new transla-tion of the tale in which Creon, king of Thebes, forbids the burial of An-tigone’s brother, on pain of death. Antigone, played with full-bodied emotion by Dena Nederhood, defies Creon’s decree. The friction between the obstinate Creon and “honor-able” Antigone then plays out to its tragic conclusion, but there is no formal resolution of ideologies for the audience. Director Michael Page utilized this ambiguity for dramatic effect.

“This play is restaged over and over again,” he said. “The question needs to be asked over and over again because it’s never resolved.” The staging of the chorus was in-tegral in creating the play’s time-less essence. “The basic thing was to make it like a ritual,” Page said. Even before the play begins, ten statue-like Thebans stand dispersed throughout the theater. When the play ends “they stand there ready to

Let’s do the time warp again

By Katheine MataThe Saint Reporter

Immortals full of gods, action and gore

Drake aims to take care in lyric heavy

albumBy Jarrett ArdellThe Saint Reporter

To put it simply, Drake’s latest al-bum Take Care (out Nov. 15) is uncon-ventional for a pop album from 2011, and that is really a good thing.

In a world fl ooded with “club” songs and auto-tuned electronics, Drake’s album is vocal-heavy with minimalist background instruments, much like slam poetry with studio level quality behind it. Drake states from the very fi rst song that he doesn’t want to sing the same “Forever” of the past few years, but more personal lyric songs in-stead.

Drake’s emphasis is still on ris-ing to stardom from nothing, advanc-ing due to his own struggles and hard work. This is a welcome change from the usual Top 40 schlock right now, but it does oversaturate the album’s tone and becomes grating by the time the fi nal track ends.

Drake consistently speaks to an ex-lover that did him wrong, which leads to a lot of verbal slams against her, right down to the title of Take Care. This isn’t such a bad thing from song to song, but repeated all the way through it shows a bitt erness in Drake’s personality.

Musically, the album favors piano, light strings and electro-percussion to highlight the singing and lyrics. There’s not a track that stands out for its catchy beat or memorable hook; the songs will be memorable because of its words, not its instrumental style. This may be a turn-off to people that prefer melodies to lyrics, but for such emotionally driv-en music, Drake is defi nitely in a league of his own.

Take Care is hopefully a sign that the music world is shift ing away from the LMFAO’s and Pitbull’s of dance mu-sic and valuing lyrics instead. If Drake set out to prove an album can contain soul and spirit, this album is a success.

A little jazz is good for the soulBy Katherine MataThe Saint Reporter

On Thursday, Nov. 10, students were able to visit Kretschmer Recital Hall to fi nd a performance fi lled with soothing, revitalizing, and toe-tapping music performed by Aquinas’ jazz band.

The band members’ hard work and dedication paid off as the audience became absorbed in the melodies. The music was appropriate for all ages. Stu-dents, elders and young children alike could not keep still while the band per-formed standard and original music. Any stress, any worries, any problems melt away as the trumpet, the bass or the trombone awed the audience with solos.

The jazz band is known for some classic songs that are recognizable. The band, however, had added some new songs to their show that ended up be-ing a hit with the audience. “‘Doxy’ is a song we have played in the past,” explains sophomore Ray Kalinowski, “We have also [added] two new songs, ‘Solar’ and ‘St. Thomas,’ which I am

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/THE SAINTOn a high note: The jazz band performed fl awlessly.

GUTS From page 6

hit she had a tryst with Shane, so this baby might not be Rick’s. To top it all off , Hershel Greene isn’t exactly the great guy he fi rst seemed to be, and his barn holds more than just horses.

Rick, the show’s protagonist, is struggling to deal with everything that is being thrown at him, and in one of the saddest conversations to take place on a TV series ever, he has to convince Lori that Carl’s life is worth saving, even if he must live in a bleak, zombie-ridden world. Will Rick be able to hold up under the pressure of leading a group of people, trying to fi nd a missing child, dealing with his own wounded child, and hearing that his wife may be pregnant with another man’s baby? We’ll see.

TWD is as much concerned with all-out nasty zombie gross-outs as it is with dealing with heavy questions about living in a post-apocalyptic world. It is well worth watching for any horror, sci-fi , or zombie buff .

change the past is hard. It fi ghts back, as if “something doesn’t want it to be changed.”

Despite this, Al enlists Jake to do something that could change the course of history: stop Lee Harvey Os-wald from assassinating John Fitzger-ald Kennedy. “Save Kennedy, save his brother. Save Martin Luther King. Stop the race riots. Stop Vietnam, maybe…Get rid of one wretched waif, buddy, and you could save millions of lives.” It’s an incredible idea, and Jake is the perfect person to go, because he has no family, he’s young, and he’s strong.

Jake agrees, mostly because he wants to change the life of Harry Dun-ning, a GED student of Jake’s whose family was murdered horribly by Har-ry’s alcoholic father. If Jake can save Harry and his family, then he’ll know for sure that it is possible, if diffi cult, to actually change the past.

Jake assumes the name George T. Amberson and goes about making a new life for himself, complete with cool cars, delicious, preservative-free food, and suits and ties. Before he can take Oswald out, however, he has to make sure Oswald acted alone. Jake has to be absolutely sure of Oswald’s guilt before he can justify killing another man.

And Jake takes the steps neces-sary to be sure: he rents houses near Oswald, he bugs Oswald’s apartment with 50s-style listening devices, and trails Oswald when he can. He learns mostly that Oswald was an overly emo-tional, violent man, living in an uncer-tain world he is deeply unhappy with. King does an excellent job of making Oswald a real person, showing him in

confl ict with his Russian wife and over-bearing mother and in quiet moments with his young daughter, June.

King tackles a lot of big questions in his novel, the least of which are what would actually happen if someone suc-ceeded in changing the past. As the novel repeatedly says, “the past is ob-durate.” Is the past too big to change? What balances are upset when even litt le things change (the butt erfl y ef-fect)? Everything Jake does is harmo-nized, another way of saying what goes around, comes around. There are no accidents in this book, just time, work-ing to right itself.

Despite the weight of such ques-tions hanging over the novel, Jake’s story is compelling and touching, as King has Jake simply living his life as a teacher in Jodie, Texas, and falling in love with a woman named Sadie for much of the novel. Jake’s time with Sadie, the school’s librarian, gives the novel life, showing how Jake infl uences the lives of everyone he meets during his stay in Jodie.

11/22/63 is, in the end, not about the “what ifs” of time travel. It’s about love, loss, memory, responsibility, and choices. And it makes the book King’s best in a while. The novel manages to be optimistic about true love and pes-simistic about almost everything else. Though there are some unsett ling hap-penings in the book, it’s not King’s usu-al horror fare. The enemy here is time, and time is indiff erent and inescapable. That’s plenty to be scared of.

begin the play all over again,” said Page.

As an eccentric guard, ac-tor Brian Alford garnered several laughs from the audience. Andrew J. McClelland’s portrayal of Creon grounded the dilemma in a dra-matic reality. He uttered his lines with conviction and control of the heightened language. His laughable outfit, reminiscent of the original Star Trek series, served to be a foil to the strong authority figure he portrayed.

The bold makeup and costume design suggested a futuristic vi-sion, though the setting remained the ancient past. The makeup, all in vibrant purples and greens, varied from tribal lines to feathered strokes covering the eyes. The costumes—men in jumpsuits and women in draped toga dresses—were a com-bination of turquoise and purple hues with flashy zippers and silver ringlet accessories. Antigone’s was the most elegant, made of a delicate grey fabric with subtle hints of lav-ender, evoking her attractive yet ill-fated defiance.

A well-balanced use of both classic and modern elements, Cal-vin’s production of Antigone kept the age-old story alive for today’s audiences.

Lulu dam-ages all that

is velvet

By Brendan HoffmanThe Saint Reporter

COURTESY WARNER BROS.

Out of tune: Lulu is a fl op.

In a collaboration that perplexes the mind, art rock pioneer Lou Reed has teamed up with metal mainstays Metallica to release an album. Entitled Lulu, the project is writt en in follow-ing the themes of German playwright Frank Wedekind’s work.

Centering on the theme of two related Wedekind plays, 10 tracks de-scribe the fatalistic life of a German dancer who has many romantic trysts with wealthy men, but eventually falls into a life of prostitution and desola-tion. The concept alone is interesting in itself and enticing to many who are familiar with Wedekind’s work. Sadly, the worthy concept is one of the only shining aspects of Lulu.

What is most notable about Lulu is that it is frustrating to listen to. The type of organized chaos that is Lou Reed simply refuses to line up with Metallica’s guitar onslaught. Another frustrating characteristic is the average song length for the album is around eight minutes. The listener is forced to sift through these elongated songs and will most likely become tired by track fi ve.

Opening with “Brandenburg Gate,” the album begins with acoustic guitar and Lou Reed, which is enjoy-able for those who are followers of Reed. However, around the one min-ute mark, the unholy cacophony begins as the signature Metallica guitar sound rings and James Hetfi eld sings while Lou Reed answers. It is a confusing aff air that will leave any listener com-pletely baffl ed.

Things begin to really thicken with “Pumping Blood.” More trademark metal guitars blast as Reed describes in great detail a violent sexual aff air that will leave even the most grizzled listener feeling uncomfortable. The un-easiness that starts at the beginning of the album never quite goes away. This is because the shift ing characteristics of sounds discourage any sense of musi-cality.

On a positive note, Kirk Hammett of Metallica does a quite successful job in “Dragon” making a guitar tone com-pliment Reed’s unique musical abilities.

As a whole, Lulu is a thing that should not be. Mainly, this is due to the fact it is hard to listen to. Lulu is musical exploration, but many explorations, in-cluding this one, are failed endeavors.

COURTESY RELATIVITY MEDIANot for Sparta: Henry Cavill is convincing as Greek warrior Theseus in Immortals.

There is something about Greek mythology that appeals to every-body’s inner Hellenic. The mystery, the immortal-ity and the power of the Greek gods help to create a familiar ad-venture audi-ences know and love.

Immortals follows the story of The-seus, a young man chosen and trained by Zeus to pro-tect his people from the brutal King Hyper-ion. Like other Greek heroes in previous fi lms, Theseus is physically strong, att ractive and defends the ones he loves. King Hy-perion, played by an intense Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Iron Man 2), is bent on avenging the deaths of his family and the lack of intervention by the Olympian gods. He plans to re-lease the Titans, immortal being that are capable of destroying mankind and the gods themselves. Theseus is called to lead his people to avoid

complete annihilation of his race. While the plot provides a sense

of adventure, it is one that has been seen over and over again. The whole

story is based around a struggle many other protagonists have faced: good versus evil. In all of these stories, it’s no secret the protagonist achieves victory over evil. If the plot was not cliché enough, the excessive use of blood and violence could be seen in movies like 300 or Clash of the Titans. Then again, maybe the only excuse to see this movie is to see the violence and bloodshed.

That being said, director Tarsem

Singh (The Cell) chose fairly unknown actors to give a good performance. Henry Cavill, known for his televi-sion role in The Tudors, delivers a warm and inspiring performance

as Theseus. However, his c o - w o r k e r , Freida Pinto (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), does not add a n o t e w o r t h y presence on-screen. Her lack of com-fort and ease playing the role of the virgin oracle leaves audi-ences unsatis-fi ed.

Immortalsas a whole is neither sat-isfying nor

unsatisfying. The special eff ects, the fi ghts, and the actors leave a fairly good impression. The lack of a new and interesting plot, however, is a questionable storytelling choice. Movie-goers intrigued by Greek my-thology should check out Immortalsif they have some money and time to spare.

sure will please the crowd.” The jazz band is not limited to old classics, but also experiments with diff erent styles of music. Jazz, for these performers, is not limited to the quiet, slow beat that many think equals jazz music.

Every musician is supportive of each other. “We have a lot of new performers this year,” said junior Hayley Howe. “Sometimes it takes us longer to fi nd the right groove, but once we fi nd it… we are ready for anything!” The musicians complement each other so well that the audience became absorbed into the music. Not only are the musicians dancing to their tunes; the audience is moving along with them.

The jazz band is Aquinas’ greatest musical talent. Besides playing on cam-pus throughout the year, the band also

plays within the community. “We have performed at the Amway Grand,” re-calls Howe. “In my opinion [that] was an experience I will never forget!” Ev-eryone, at any age, can lose themselves in the band’s performance. “Even at the end, when you are critiquing yourself,” admits Kalinowski, “It is nice to have someone come up and say how much they enjoyed the music. It makes it all worth it.” Come support the jazz band the next time they perform. It will be a night well spent.

<<sports

WHAC: Aquinas leads in the All-Sports Trophy after the fall seasons.

After the completion of the fall sports season, Aquinas is in first place in the All-Sports Trophy competition with 45 points. Both the men’s and women’s cross country team earned eight points, and women’ soccer earned seven points in the competition. Davenport and Indiana Tech are in second with 40 points.

Boxing: Smokin’ Joe Frazier dead at 67.

On Nov. 7, former Hearvyweight champion Joe Frazier died under hospital care in Philidelphia. Frazier won the gold medel in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and went on to post a 32-4-1 professional record. Frazier was best known for his tenacity and his lifelong rivalry with Muhhamed Ali, including the epic clash, “The Thrilla in Manilla.”

MLS: LA Galaxy and Houston Dy-namo square off for the MLS Cup.

page 7THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

WHAT TO WATCH>> WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The women’s basketball team hosts a pair of games this weekend as part of the Aquinas College Classic. On Friday at 8 p.m. the Saints will host Calumet College of St. Joseph. Then on Saturday at 3 p.m. Aquinas will host Cardinal Strich.

Supporters’ Shield and Western conference champions Los Angelas Galaxy will host East-ern conference champions Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final this Sunday. The Galaxy are favored to win in the Home Depot Center, and boast all the star power with the likes of Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane.

Above all else, adults need to

be adults dan meloy | sports editor

This past week in State College, Pennsylvania has been one full of tur-moil, distress and shame.

The tainted legacy of a legendary coach, the tarnished image of a univer-sity and, worst of all, the shatt ered lives of young children are being revealed for the fi rst time.

Amidst all of this all sorts of emo-tions have been expressed by the nation. Remorse for the actions that have taken place, sorrow for the victims of unspeak-able crimes, and pity for a coach who has, and in some circles is still, revered for his character and commitment to higher education.

While investigators, the media, and the rest of the public scramble around asking those involved what they knew, when did they know it and who did they tell. One question seems to be evad-ing everybody’s conscience.

Why did you not do enough?While the details of the story are

still being worked out, here is what we do know.

Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been accused of sexual misconduct with underage boys, rang-ing from the ages of nine to 12.

These accusations began when then graduate assistant, and now assistant coach, Mike McQueary saw Sandusky allegedly rape a boy in the Penn State shower room

McQueary reported this incident to head football coach Joe Paterno who in turn told his boss, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley.

Curley discussed the matt er with then University president Graham Spanier. It was at this point that San-dusky was no longer allowed on Penn State’s campus.

And therein lies the problem. A crime had been committ ed on

Penn State ground. It is the duty of all those who are involved with the univer-sity who knew about it to report this hei-nous crime.

I’m not talking legal or civic duty, I’m talking about their duty to humanity. Their duty to the victim’s parents who promised them that they would look af-ter their kids the minute they set foot on Penn State’s campus.

Reporting an incident to your boss is fi ne, but if it looks like it is not going anywhere then report it to the police.

Mike McQueary and Joe Paterno knew about these crimes and told their superiors. But at what point did they get suspicious that nothing was happening? Aft er all, the alleged rape of a child at your workplace is hardly something any responsible adult to just shrug off . Did they ask more about the matt er, and if so when?

Above all else coaches, athletic di-rectors, and college presidents are teach-ers. Not only in teachers in education, but teachers in ethics and character. And it is their primary duty for teachers to look aft er their students.

Let me reiterate that again. Above winning football games, above keeping the image of the university intact and above managing alumni donations to the school, it is the primary job of teach-ers to look aft er students, and in this case young, defenseless children.

Now, I am not saying that all in-volved are guilty, and that anybody as-sociated with Penn State deserves to go to prison.

But I will state that all involved grossly failed their responsibilities as adults.

Yes, Joe Paterno was a great foot-ball coach, and a honorable person. Along with winning championships for the school Paterno has been a generous donor to the university and has long preached winning with class.

But that still does not reconcile what he and what others involved in the Penn State football program failed to do.

Jerry Sandusky will face a trial by his peers for the actions he took.

But all others ivolved need to face themselves and ask themselves what ac-tions they didn’t take.

Before Penn State can even think about forgiveness, they fi rst must pon-der reconciliation and crimes they have committ ed collectively, whether actively or inactively against those young boys.

Adults failing to act like adults and protecting young children.

That’s the real crime.

Bitter end to a sweet season

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINTSliding in: Freshmen midfi elder Elizabeth Vaughn makes a slide tackle on an Indiana Tech player in the WHAC Tournament Semifi nal.

By Morgan DantzerThe Saint Reporter

The Aquinas women’s soccer team won the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference championship with the best record, but fell short in the confer-ence tournament.

The Saints’ season came to an un-expected halt aft er being upset in the WHAC Tournament Final by Siena Heights University 2-1.

Aquinas ends the season with a 16-4 record, one of the best seasons in school history.

On November 5, Aquinas College took on Indiana Tech on their home fi eld in the WHAC Tournament Semi-fi nal. The Saints were victorious with a score of 3-1.

Scoring for the home team was sophomore midfi elder Madeline Ram-mal unassisted, senior forward Jamie Tomaszewski with an assist by fresh-man forward Chelsea Dennis, and Dennis who scored off an assist from Tomaszewski and senior midfi elder Matt hea Brandenburg.

With the scored tied 1-1 and less than six minutes left on the clock, To-maszewski scored to put the Saints ahead. Dennis scored three minutes later to give Aquinas the 3-1 win and send them to the WHAC Tournament Final. Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duley had eight saves in the match.

Aquinas’ 13-game winning streak ended when Siena Heights University traveled to Aquinas for the WHAC

Women’s soccer season ends in an untimely fashion, despite record year and a conference championship

WHAC grows, changes nameBy Hillary NajorThe Saint Reporter

The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference is undergoing some chang-es with the addition of two new schools to the conference and with consider-ation to adjust the current name.

In the past two years the confer-ence has added two Ohio schools, as the University of Northwestern Ohio and Lourdes University joined the WHAC. Now two more schools from Michigan will be added to the confer-ence. Marygrove College and Lawrence Technological University are set to de-but in the conference in the fall of 2012.

Marygrove College is located in De-troit with an established athletic pro-gram, and Lawrence Technological University is a school from Southfi eld with a fairly new sports program.

This will off er Aquinas athletics a chance to more regularly schedule op-ponents and broaden the competition base for all sports teams involved.

With the schools from Ohio added to the conference, the league felt it was time to reconsider the current name and have it represent all schools involved considering Wolverine and Hoosier are nicknames for Michigan and Indiana.

To fi nd the new conference name, the league is having a contest open to any-one over 18 to create a clever name for the conference. The winner of the con-test receives a $100.00 cash prize.

Go to whac.net for more details about the competition.

Volleyball team falls in opening round of WHAC Tournament

By Ajla Alisic The Saint Reporter

The Aquinas College volleyball team fell in the opening round of the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Confer-ence Tournament, ending their season with a 26-12 record.

The opening round of the WHAC Tournament was November 5 at the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center.

In the fi rst game of the tourna-ment, Aquinas faced Concordia Uni-versity. The Saints won in straight sets (25-14,25-18,25-10). Allison Griffi ths led the team with ten kills and Sarah LeClair was critical to Aquinas’ defense recording 18 digs.

Unfortunately, the Saints fell to Madonna in their second match, elimi-nating them from the tournament. Aquinas won the fi rst set of the match 25-19, but then lost the next three (25-16, 38-36,25-22). A key moment in the match was the third set that went for 77 points as neither team could manage to win by two. Finally, Phillips manages with tears in her eyes at the loss to ar-ticulate, “The team reaching its poten-

tial is what truly made me proud.” Phillips led the Saints with 19 kills,

and Jessica Bredeweg recorded an as-tonishing 23 assists and ten digs.

The support students have shown for the Volleyball team is one of the biggest tokens the players appreciated this season. With the end of the second season at the Sturrus, the women have truly put their hearts out on the court.

Volleyball head coach David Raw-les holds his head high with pride in the women who represent him, and the school, on the court.

“The student body has shown great support with every game,” said Rawles. “Thanks! Get out and support the athletes, all athletes!”

This is the fi ft h year that Coach Rawles has been with the team and they did not disappoint. Rawles had a way of inspiriting his team as well as calming them during the time outs and breaks.

The Saints fi nished 6-3 in the league, good enough for a three way tie for third place in the conference.

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINT

Teaming up: Senior middle blocker Chelsea Phillips and sophomore outside hit-ter Kelly Fliestra pair up to block an incoming shot.

Tournament Final on Nov. 11. The Aquinas College Saints fell short los-ing 2-1. In a repeat of last season, the Aquinas was once again eliminated by Siena Heights to end their season. Siena Heights scored for the fi rst goal for game in the 52nd minute but Ram-mal tied it up shortly aft er. It was a very physical game, Siena Heights had 17 fouls and Aquinas ended up with 14. Duley recorded six saves in the loss.

This was an upset for the soccer team and fans as it was the fi rst loss Aquinas suff ered since Sept. 7 against Spring Arbor University. Since that match Aquinas went on to 13 straight games, a school record for longest win-

ning streak. “Siena played a good game,” said

Brandenburg. “But considering the great success we experienced in the regular season and the conference tour-nament, we feel we deserved a much bett er outcome.”

The Saints are losing many valu-able seniors, including Tomaszewski and Duley. However, they have strong underclassmen who will look to step up.

“The seniors were a big contribu-tor to success and will be missed next year but we have a lot of young talent and will have a strong team,” said Den-nis.

Men’s basketball has high hopes for season,

despite slow startBy George Van Den DrisscheThe Saint Reporter

The Aquinas College men’s basket-ball team ends the weekend by suff er-ing defeats at the hands of Spring Ar-bor University and Indiana Wesleyan University. This puts the Saints on a four game losing streak.

Aquinas is looking to rebound from last year’s season, the fi rst step in turning the program around was through the addition of four transfers and fi ve freshman to the program.

The transfers should bring ex-perience and fl oor leadership back to the Saints. Senior forward Joe Powers transferred from Northwood Univer-sity, senior forward Cole Moore trans-ferred from Ashland University, junior forward Tyler Moreland is a transfer from Oakland Community College, and junior Ken Gordon who trans-ferred from Kalamazoo Valley Com-munity College.

This season, the Saints have two main goals. “Every year our two goals are to win the WHAC and receive a na-tional title bid,” said men’s basketball head coach David Hammer.

Aquinas plans on achieving these goals through unselfi sh play and al-lowing any player to step up on any given night and win. “We aren’t a team who every night someone will score 30 points, we have about fi ve guys who could lead us in scoring on any given night,” said junior forward John Hor-nak.

The Saints opened the season by defeating Goshen College 69-60 at home. Moreland lead the team by scor-ing 16 points and seven rebounds. Ju-nior forward Zach Eddy followed by scoring 14 points and six rebounds.

This promising start would not last however as the Saints would then go on a four game losing streak.

Aquinas went on the road and fell to St. Francis (IN) 66-62 and again at home to Bethel 81-79 on a buzzer beat-er. Powers would lead the team in scor-ing in both games, securing 18 points and fi ve rebounds against St. Francis and 23 points and six rebounds against Bethel.

The woes continued for Aquinas as the Saints lost to Spring Arbor 71-63 and then to Indiana Wesleyan 74-63 in Marion, IN as part of the WHAC/MCC Challenge.

“It is very encouraging to know that we are playing right there with some great teams and still have plenty of room to improve,” said junior guard Brett Pfahler.

The Saints look to end their losing streak when Aquinas takes to the road to play Olivet College and Hunting-ton University this Saturday. Though the Saints are off to a rough start, this has not dampened their spirits or their goals for the season.

“The season is having its ups and downs on the fl oor, we fi nally just to-day put a full game together against Indiana Weslyan, number-two in the nation, but fell a litt le short of the win,” said Hornak. “Lately we have only been playing one half the way we really can. If we can complete games and play like we did today, we will be a huge contender in the WHAC.”

The Saints do not host a home game until November 30, when they square off against Lourdes College in the WHAC season opener.

Spartans takes control of Legends Division; Lakers crush Cardinals By Alyssa Frese

The Saint Reporter

#12 Michigan State Spartans (8-2)The Michigan State Spartans have

been very successful the past two weeks. Starting with a 31-24 over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell rushed for his season high of 96 yards and also scored the game winning touchdown.

The Spartans made their way to Iowa City on Nov. 12 to face the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Spartans played hard and came out with a 37-21 victory. The Spartans won their fi rst win in Iowa City since 1989. They will face the Indi-ana Hoosiers on Saturday.

#20 Michigan Wolverines (8-2)The Wolverines fell 24-16 against

the Iowa Hawkeyes on Nov. 5. How-ever, Michigan wide receiver Junior Hemingway made his way into the top 20 on Michigan’s career receiving yards list. Hemingway had 64 yards on fi ve catches to pass Adrian Arrington with 1,453 career yards.

Aft er their defeat against the Hawkeyes, the Wolverines were back in action and came out with a win on Nov. 12. The Wolverines defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 31-14. Michi-gan recorded a season high four sacks which came from defensive end Ryan Van Bergen, linebacker Kenny Demens

and defensive tackle Mike Martin. The Wolverines will play the Nebraska Huskers on Saturday.

#24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3)The Fighting Irish have a lot to

celebrate aft er two solid victories the past two weeks. On Nov. 5, the Fight-ing Irish faced the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Quarterback Tommy Rees threw for two touchdowns in the sec-ond half which led the Fighting Irish to a 24-17 win.

Notre Dame was ready for action on Nov. 12 against the Maryland Ter-rapins. The game led running back Jo-nas Gray had a career high 136 yards to lead the Irish. The Fighting Irish

were victorious with a 45-21 win. Notre Dame will play the Boston College Ea-gles on Saturday.

Grand Valley State Lakers (8-3)The Lakers had a successful past

two weeks. With a 35-10 victory over the Northwood Timberwolves, junior wide receiver Charles Johnson was on fi re with three receptions totaling 59 yards.

The Lakers played the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals on Nov. 12 for the fi nal game of the regular season. The Lakers crushed the Car-dinals 49-24 to end the season with a seven game winning streak.

8 THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail [email protected] Phone (616) 632-2975

SPORTS

Passion for soccer is what inspires senior Matthea Brandenburg

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINTStill grateful: Senior Matt hea Bran-denburg thanks her parents for push-ing into sports.

By Alyssa FreseThe Saint Reporter

Many athletes have inspirations or certain people that they look to in order to stay committ ed and improve their game. For senior midfi elder Matt hea Brandenburg, the love of the game is all she needs to stay motivated.

“I started soccer in kindergarten when it was co-ed. My parents signed me up and did a great job of keeping me involved when I was younger whether it was soccer, basketball, or gymnas-tics, I always had something going on. I really owe my parents for gett ing me involved because if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said Brandenburg.

Matt hea has been involved with the Aquinas women’s soccer team all four years of her college career. She has played midfi elder and has been a really big part of Aquinas’ success this season.

“Matt hea is very competitive and is a very skilled player. She fi ts in quite well skill wise and speed and probably reads the game a litt le bett er than most,” said women’s soccer Head Coach Mark Fales.

“Matt hea continues to improve with her decision making and the type of balls she plays. She is very accurate. I feel we owe our success this season mainly because we are all on the same page and Matt hea has played a very big part in that success. I have enjoyed watching Matt hea’s game improve and witnessing her mature on the soccer fi eld and in life. She has been a very de-pendable player this season and a valu-

able part of our team.” Matt hea stayed committ ed to soc-

cer throughout middle school and high school. She knew that soccer was something she wanted to be a part of when she continued on to college, so she looked for a college where she would still get that opportunity to play.

“I chose Aquinas because soccer was very important to me. I knew that if I went somewhere like Michigan State that I probably wouldn’t get the oppor-tunity to play. I also just really like the smallness of the school. I fi gured that there would be a lot of options to stay involved. Plus Aquinas is just slightly

bigger than my high school so it was an easier transition,” said Brandenburg.

The fact that Aquinas was a liberal arts college also appealed to Matt hea. She came to Aquinas undecided but she will graduate in the spring with a dual major in Political Science and Ger-man.

“My German major just started out with me having to fi ll my language re-quirement,” said Brandenburg. “How-ever, I really enjoyed it so I continued to study German. I have relatives in Germany so I knew it would come in good use. I got to participate in the study abroad program the spring se-mester of my sophomore year. I lived in Tübingen, Germany and it was the most wonderful experience. I loved be-ing immersed in the culture and expe-riencing a world in another language.”

Aft er spending four years at Aqui-nas, there are defi nitely a lot of things Matt hea will miss. But as with any oth-er graduating student, she is looking forward to the opportunities she will receive in her future.

“I currently have an internship in Grand Rapids and I absolutely love it. I am open to possibility of having to move out of state or even out of the country. The job I want to pursue which would be in foreign services which would most likely require me to move. I haven’t decided if I am going to go straight into graduate school or if I want to take some time off and get a job. If I choose to go to graduate school my top choice would be Georgetown,” said Brandenburg.

Women’s basketball starts year off 2-2

By Hillary NajorThe Saint Reporter

Aquinas women’s basketball has begun their season accumulating two wins and two losses thus far for the year.

The Saints played their fi rst game on Friday, November 4, against Marygrove College. Aquinas won 79-51. Senior guard Anne Marie Shumaker lead the team with 22 points and nine rebounds. With lots of defl ections and grabbing some key steals during the game from pressuring Marygrove, the Saints were able to seize their fi rst win of the season.

Next up on November 5, the Saints played Taylor University Aft er being tied at the half Aquinas missed some vital shots as the Saints lost 74-63.

“We kept trading baskets and lost some critical free throws and bunny shots,” said junior forward Liza Flewel-ling.

Junior guard Taelor Sanders led the team with 17 points. The Saints had a total of 26 fi eld goals, 33 rebounds, and four free throws.

On Wednesday November 9, the Saints lost to Huntington University 69-60. The Saints shot 42 percent from the fi eld, and collected 26 rebounds. Let-ting Huntington get to the free throw line too many times was an issue in the game as Huntington shot 31 of 40 be-hind the stripe.

The Saints have a goal of placing top three in the conference and heading to nationals. For the Saints to do that they know they have to perform hard

in practice, work relentlessly for the en-tire 40 minutes of each game, and con-tinuously encourage one another.

“This season is going to be diff er-ent because we are a completely dif-ferent team,” said Shumaker. “We are running a couple diff erent sets in our off ense that will be quick hitt ers and at-tacking the other team.”

Last Saturday Aquinas traveled to Goshen and defeated Goshen in a 72-56 blowout. The Saints never trailed in the game and were up 46-26 at halft ime shooting 43 percent in the fi rst half. Taelor and Shumaker led the Saints with 17 and 12 points respectively.

This is a much more experienced team than last year, but the roster is still features freshmen and transfer student who will bring new energy and excite-ment to the team.

“Our team this year is a family,” said junior guard Clare Conway. “From the leading scorer to the last person off the bench, we are all in it for our team’s common goal: compete harder than anyone else and win.”

The Saints are excited for confer-ence games to start up. Davenport and Cornerstone are two teams that always bring the best out of the team, but Ma-donna and Concordia will prove to be exciting games the team is also looking forward to.

Aquinas will host Calumet College of St. Joseph on Friday at 8 p.m. and Cardinal Stritch at 3 p.m. on Saturday as part of the Aquinas College Classic in the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center.

The following week the Saints will face Hope College and Grand Valley State.

So close . . .

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINTStaked Claims: Freshmen defender Jon Malecke clears the ball in the match against Concordia.

By Dan MeloySports Editor

The Aquinas College men’s soccer season ended in heartbreak and disap-point last Saturday as the Saints fell to Madonna University 1-0 in the WHAC Tournament Final.

The Saints dominated the match for over 110 minutes before Madonna scored on a corner kick in the second overtime period of overtime.

“They put it in play real quick, we were hesitant to set up,” said men’s soc-cer head coach Joe Veal. “Give them credit, they executed.”

The fi nal score was a real injustice for Aquinas, who thoroughly controlled the match, outshooting Madonna 34-8, and forcing the Madonna goalkeeper to make some amazing saves.

Over the course of the match Aqui-nas struck the post three times and forced Madonna to make 12 saves in the match.

Aquinas ends the season with a 15-4-2 record and second place fi nish in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Con-ference. Had the Saints won the tourna-ment fi nal, Aquinas would of received the WHAC’s automatic berth to the Na-tional Tournament.

Aquinas defeated Siena Heights

Despite dominating Madonna, men’s soccer season comes to a halt in WHAC Tournament Final

University 1-0 in the WHAC Semifi -nals thanks to a goal from junior mid-fi elder Heath Somers who scored off a

free kick in the fi ft h minute.“Me and Billy [Cremeans] usually

discuss where keeper was standing,” said Somers. “I told him I like taking them from that side. The keeper was cheating to the left so I took it, bent it over the wall.”

Siena Heights outshot Aquinas 20-9 in the game, but senior goalkeeper Jesse Guevara-Lehker was suburb for Aquinas, making six saves to keep the clean sheet.

In the WHAC Quarterfi nals Aqui-nas easily dispatched of Concordia University, rolling to a 5-0 victory.

Sophomore midfi elder Tyler Fisch-er scored a pair of goals and sophomore midfi elder Michael Gagnon and senior midfi elder Ian Slinger also scored in the match.

The Saints were also aided by a Concordia own goal which cemented the win for Aquinas.

Despite the unfortunate ending to the season there were still many high-lights for the Saints.

Fischer, Gagnon, and Guevara-Lechker were named fi rst team all-conference, and Kyle Haverkate, and Somers were named to second team all-conference.

On to nationals Men’s and women’s cross country teams sweep

WHAC ChampionshipsBy Paris CloseThe Saint Reporter

It was a great day to be a Saint as the Aquinas College men’s and wom-en’s cross country teams dominated the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Con-ference Championships at Riverside Park. Both teams conquered top spots in the conference at the event on No-vember 2.

Senior Devin Lea was Aquinas’ front-runner at the event, scoring fi rst place for the Saints with a time of 24:57. Lea does not disregard the team’s true strength which is winning together. “I’m really thankful for all the seniors, because of their dedication we won as a team” said Lea.

Seniors Dustin Heiler and Nick Thelen are no strangers to fi nishing up front. Their impressive performances placed them into the top fi ve.

Aquinas won the meet with 25 points, with Siena Heights University being their closest competitor with 49 points.

Heiler’s focus was defending his spot on the course. “I had to lock my position [against Siena] down,” he said. Heiler placed in third with a time of 25:24. Thelen treated the race like any other but was prepared for the challenge. “I was in a batt le with [a] Si-ena [runner] those last three miles but I had to beat him,” said Thelen, who came in fi ft h with a time of 25:44.

The women had an astonishing outcome as well. Freshman Caitlin Ri-etsema fi nished with a time of 18:43, securing the second place slot. “Com-ing in second was a big surprise to

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINT

Pass with care: Senior Nick Thelen passes another runner in the WHAC Championships.

HILLARY NAJOR / THE SAINT

Full Speed: Sophomore Brendan Mo-loney speeds by in the WHAC Cham-pionshps.

me,” says Riestema, “I really focused on staying with the front pack and not slowing the pace down.”

Senior Alina Dhaseleer and Junior Carly Plank drove it home with marks of fourth and seventh place.

Dhaseleer says she was out of her comfort zone, which was hardly no-ticeable with her time of 18:59. “It was a very emotional day for me but it’s also given me a lot of confi dence,” said Dhaseleer.

Plank came through with a top ten fi nish with a time of 19:10. “This was my best performance yet,” says Plank “My mantra before a race is ‘don’t back down and run the best you can.’”

Head Coach Mike Wojciakowski could not be more pleased with his

teams’ performances. “We went into the meet with a plan and accomplished it,” said Wojciakowski.

The women’s team dominated the conference championship with 30 points, 37 points bett er than their clos-est competitor Cornerstone University.

The men’s team is ranked tenth in the most recent national rankings, while the women are ranked 18th in the country.

Both teams will advance to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships in Vancouver, WA. On November 19.

Aquinas athletics–trust, agape and comradery

This weekend has not only show-cased the athletic ability of many Aqui-nas students, but also their character. I am a member of the cross country team and this past weekend I was able to witness something truly magical. Go-ing into the meet we had a predicted fi ve-ten point lead (not much) over Cornerstone, the team looking to take the title that we were defending. The race started out with a literal “bang” (of the gun), just like every other meet, but for Aquinas runners it began with a fi gurative bang as well, as the ladies ran boldly, establishing their position and assuring Aquinas domination from the beginning. I will never forget what happened in the fi rst 500 meters of that race.

I was with our lead pack and I yelled “trust,” our signal word to one another in order to locate each other in the race. It is also a way of saying “I’m running for and trusting you and I know you are running for and trust-ing me.” The four other girls in front of me responded as they quickly moved up in the ranks. Then from behind me, I heard one more. My best friend since the fi rst weeks of our freshman year, and someone who this year was considered a “non-factor” relative to the team score was right behind me. I smiled a huge grin and it was in that moment, hardly being in the race at all, that I knew we had it what it took to win again.

The race progressed, and while the Aquinas ladies continued to gain more momentum, the competitors began to panic. It was confi dence and the com-mitment to one another that carried AQ to the fi nish and to victory. There is a bond on this team that is strong, deep, and ultimately immovable. Evidence of that bond could be seen at the fi nish when some of these Aquinas runners would fi nish their race and then turn around and go back out on the course to cheer on their teammates. It proves that commitment does not grow tired.

That bond played another inter-esting role in the end of the meet. One girl who usually factored into the team score did not fi nish. That girl was me. With about 800 meters to go, I frac-tured my foot and could no longer run, or even walk. Instead of the rest of the team celebrating and gett ing caught up in the excitement of success, they went back out on the course to fi nd me and when they did and heard what hap-pened they took my pain on as their own. Their agony on my behalf showed more about the outstanding character of the team than any trophy or award could ever do. They cried for me and gave ME, the girl who didn’t even fi n-ish the race, the trophy to hold in the team picture. That is what athletics is all about –creating a community of support and selfl ess love for each other. My team helped turn one of my worst nightmares into a great memory and I am so thankful to and for them.

Lions blown out in rivalry game with Bears

Now tied for second with 6-3 recordBy Brendan HoffmanThe Saint Reporter

In a very physical game, the Chi-cago Bears topped the visiting Detroit Lions 37-13.

The Chicago defense led by the amazing performance of defensive backs proved to be the biggest trouble for Detroit.

Detroit quarterback Matt hew Staff ord looked very frustrated in the pocket. For the day he threw a total of four interceptions. This number matched his entire number of intercep-tions in all games leading into Sunday. In the fourth quarter frustration took its eff ect as Staff ord started a brawl amongst players aft er throwing an in-terception.

Animosity seemed to be the most evident feeling between both teams throughout the game. A total of 53 yards in penalties was amassed by the Lions throughout the game. They also gave up four fi rst downs to penalties.

Matt Forte looked confi dent for Chicago running the ball. Forte had 18 carries for 64 yards and scored the fi rst touchdown of the game.

In receiving, Detroit wide receiver Nate Burleson had eight receptions for 83 yards and seemed to be one of the

few fl ashes of brilliance for Detroit’s of-fense.

Detroit’s normally crushing de-fense played with something to be desired in early stages of the game. In particular the rushing game of Chicago seemed to be fi nding all the right ways to gain yards.

The Lions won the fi rst encounter between these two teams I a command-ing fashion winning 24-13.

The Lions face the Carolina Pan-thers in their next game and will look to avenge their dismal off ensive play by capitalizing on the lackluster Panthers. Carolina boasts some fl ashy numbers with their number one draft pick quar-terback Cam Newton who has a total of 2,393 throwing yards. Detroit led by defensive tackle Nadamukong Suh and defensive end Kyle VandenBosch will be ready to welcome Newton to the league with a ferocious pass rush. It will be interesting to see how Detroit regroups aft er their loss in Chicago.

The Lions are now 6-3 and are tied with the Bears for second place in the NFC North.

The Green Bay Packers still lead the division with an 8-0 record. The Bears and Lions are tied with 6-3 re-cords and the Vickings are in last with a 2-7 record.

By Rachel LuehmThe Saint Reporter, Aquinas XC

On the Field: