THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929

FEATURES SPORTS

ECODEMIA
See supplement
insert for Earth
Come to Garvey Men’s lacrosse

Week events
Park for organic claims victory
fruits and over NYIT 8-6
vegetables
Page 4 Page 7

MERCIAD
Vol. 79 No. 20 Mercyhurst College 501 E. 38th St. Erie Pa. 16546 April 19, 2006
THE

Spring has sprung on campus

Students take advantage of warm weather and sun to melt away stress

Katie McAdams/Photo editor

Shakespeare once said, “Love’s gentle spring doth always fresh

remain.” Now that the nasty weather has gone, the warm weather
blooms fresh flowers, outside recreation and, of course, love.
To the left, senior Michael McLellan and sophomore Chris Petrillose
enjoy playing daily basketball on the court behind their Wayne Street
apartment. Above: sophomores Stephanie Alward and Dan Sterle
“playfully talk” outside their Lewis apartment.

Rotaract club helps eradicate polio

By Sarah Sheehan
Contributing writer
The fourth annual 5K Walk/Run for
Polio will be held on April 22 at 9:30
a.m.
The Mercyhurst Rotaract Club is
working with the Rotary Interna-
tional to help eradicate polio from the
world.
This event will commence at the
Mercyhurst Football field and end in
front of Baldwin Hall.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., the
to come out and participate.
There are many runners involved in
the club as well as the rotary members
from the local branch.
The field hockey team also always
participates. Faculty and students
always comprise the majority of the
participants.
It is $15 for Mercyhurst students
and faculty and $20 for all other par-
ticipants.
Prizes are handed out to the winners
of the race. A prize is given away to
the winner in each category of people
which is subdivided into eight groups
more throughout the event.
The raffle is held after the race inside
Baldwin Hall and the Rotaract Club
will be raffling off prizes such as gift
certificates and sweatshirts from the
bookstore.
Sara Houston, who helped organize
the event, commented about how much
Rotoract club hopes to raise.
“We hope to raise as much as possible,
what is important about this walk/run
is not the prizes or the fastest time but
the PolioPlus cause,” she said.
“There is a vaccine for polio. We can
get rid of polio and we just need the Contributed photos

actual race starts at 9:30 a.m. and will
conclude at about 10:30 a.m.
Everyone in the community is invited
Aerobathon combines workouts with wishes
By Alecia Guerra
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst College sports-
medicine department will sponsor the
second annual aerobathon that will
begin on April 24 and continue until
April 30.
The main day to participate is April
29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The event will take place in the
Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
The event is going to benefit the Make
A Wish Foundation in memory of Mat-
thew Milgate.
This year the sportsmedicine depart-
ment is trying to raise money to send
a young boy from Erie on a Disney
Cruise.
Through the Make A Wish Founda-
tion, terminally ill children can choose
anything in the world they would like
to do or see.
The people at the Make a Wish
Foundation will then do everything
they can to fulfill the wishes of these
young people.
Through fundraising efforts, the
by gender and age.
Each participant is given a raffle ticket
for participating and then they may buy
Students will fulfill their donations by working out in the Rec center.
sportsmedicine department has already
raised $1,500 towards purchasing the
Disney Cruise for this young man.
The boy has been diagnosed with
pediatric brain cancer.
To participate, please ask sponsors
for donations and then work out for
the equivalent amount of time for each
donation.
All participants should pick up a
sponsor form in the sportsmedicine
classroom area (MAC).
funds to do it. Any little bit counts so
any money that we raise will be help-
ful.”
Contributed photo
All donations sheets should be turned
into the sportsmedicine department
before your chosen date to work out.
Another way to help out with dona-
tions is by purchising a t-shirt.
The t-shirts are $10 and can be found
in the sportmedicine department class-
room area.
Please help sportsmedicine raise
money for the aerobathon and help this
young man achieve his dream of going
on a Disney Cruise.
Author Thomas Fleming has written numerous historical books.
Award winning historian Thomas
Fleming will discuss his new book
By Jessica Kocent
Contributing writer
Critically acclaimed historian Thomas
Fleming, will speak at the Walker Recital
Hall on April 26, at 7 p.m.
Fleming is a critically acclaimed
author of over 40 books.
He is the senior scholar at the
National Center for the American
Revolution at Valley Forge, a fellow
of the Society of American Historians
and former chairman of the American
Revolution Round Table.
He is also a contributing editor to sev-
eral magazines, including the Quarterly
Journal of Military History.
Fleming has written nonfiction stud-
ies on the battles of Yorktown and
Springfield and prize-winning biogra-
phies of Jefferson and Franklin.
Fleming is brought to Mercyhurst
through the Teaching American History
Grant directed by Dr. Michael Federici,
professor of political science.
The grant is facilitated by Mercyhurst
College, the Corry Area School District
and Erie School District.
Federici explained that this lecture is
a way to “Provide the Erie community
with the opportunity to hear first-rate
nationally recognized American histo-
rians discuss important aspects of the
American experience.”
This same grant will also bring Pulit-
zer-prize winning author Walter A.
McDougall, who will speak on May 12,
at 7 p.m. in Walker Recital Hall.
Both lectures are free and open to
the public.
Fleming’s talk will focus on his new
book, “Washington’s Secret War.”
The book takes away the mythology
of the events at Valley Forge and is
sort of an expose on profiteers and
ideologues who had failed to recognize
the severity of the weather and were
plagued by supply shortages.
Federici believes that it is important
to build educational excellence.
“We cannot judge the events of the
day with the benefit of experience
broader than our own,” Federici said.
He feels that “we exist to search for
truth about historical reality…and that
his presence on campus will be an
inspiration of what higher education
should be.”
PAGE 2 THE MERCIAD April 19, 2006

NEWS To contact: newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

World Briefs Police and Safety Log

International news
Compiled by Liquor Law Disorderly Conduct
Corrie Thearle Tel Aviv bombing Violation/Disorderly Old Main
Conduct 13 April
Israel holds Hamas responsible Parking Lot #15 Case closed
for a deadly suicide bombing in 8 April
Tel Aviv on Monday, but will not State citation/college
hit back against the Palestinian discipline
Authority, officials say.
A special cabinet meeting end-
ed with agreement to increase
security efforts but not launch a
military strike. Instead it backed Theft Theft
plans to revoke the Jerusalem 300 Mercy Suites Student Union
residency of several Hamas 12 April 14 April
M.P.s, adding to the group’s isola- Pending investigation Pending investigation
tion. Hamas described Monday’s
bombing by Islamic Jihad, which
killed nine people, as an act of Theft Criminal Mischief
“self-defense.” Israeli forces Katie McAdams/Photo editor
300 Mercy Suites Student Union
also arrested more than 20 Pal- Financial and economic journalist Stuart Varney spoke to 12 April 17 April
estinians in raids across the West a large audience of the Mercyhurst community on April 10. Case closed Pending investigation
Bank. The father of the Tel Varney spoke about the global economy and its numerous
Avivi bomber was reported to be implications on society.
among those detained.

Baghdad cafe explosion adds to violence

At least six Iraqis have been killed in a bomb explosion near a cafe
Edinboro University hosts job fair for teachers
in the capital, Baghdad, police say. Officials said the target of the
By Jessica Kocent
attack was a passing police patrol. Two of those killed were police-
Contributing writer
men. More than 20 people were injured in the blast.
On Monday, Iraqi and U.S. troops clashed for seven hours with
insurgents in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district. U.S. troops were also Edinboro University is holding
involved in intense fighting in the city of Ramadi after an attack on a teacher job fair on April 28.
a government building. The violence comes as talks are stalled on a Students are reminded that the
new national unity government. registration deadline is April 21.
Students attending the job fair
Quake’ Centennial should receive an average of
three interviews.
The people of San Francisco In the past, some have received
have been marking 100 years as many as 10, while others may
since a catastrophic earthquake only get one interview, depend-
levelled the city. ing on the demand for a student’s
Sirens were sounded across the specialty area.
city at 5:12 a.m., the time the 1906 These interviews are mostly
quake struck, as people, includ- screening interviews, not deci-
ing several survivors, gathered to sion-making interviews; however,
observe a minute’s silence. a few students have been offered
On April 18, 1906 a quake of contracts at this job fair.
about 7.8 magnitude shook the Students are reminded that KRT photo

San Andreas fault for just under
a minute.
About 3,000 people died, most
of them in fires that spread
quickly through the ruins.
Speaking at a pre-dawn me-
morial ceremony, San Francisco
Mayor Gavin Newsom paid
tribute to both the city and those
caught up in the disaster.
China trade talks
China’s fractious trade rela-
tions with the U.S. are likely to
dominate President Hu Jintao’s
agenda on the first day of his
U.S. state visit.
The high-profile four-day visit
comes as anger grows in Wash-
ington about the size of its trade
deficit with China.
Many U.S. politicians want
strong action unless China re-
values the yuan, which they say
enables it to export cheaply.
Hu’s visit, during which he will
hold talks with President Bush
and U.S. government officials,
this is only one method of job
searching.
Students should arrive early,
know which schools they would
like to interview with and be sure
to concentrate on those schools
that are high in demand for their
Harvard scholar lectures on segregation
By Zoe Contes
Contributing writer
Dr. Gary Orfield, a prominent
scholar from Harvard University,
will lecture on his study, “Racial
Transformation and the Chang-
ing Nature of Segregation” today
at 8:15 p.m. in the Walker Recital
Hall.
The Professor of Education
and Social Policy at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education
is also the co-founder and direc-
tor of Harvard University’s Civil
Rights Project.
Numerous school districts will conduct screening interviews at the teaching job fair.
area first. ship School District, Crawford questions or would like to see the
Schools participating in the Central School District and full list of participating schools
job fair are as far away as Florida Pressley Ridge Schools in Pitts- is encouraged to check out the
and the Carolinas, as well as local burgh. website at www.collegecentral.
schools such as Millcreek Town- Any student who has additional com/edinboro.
of Education.
Although the lecture will exam-
ine the changes that segregation
underwent over the past four
decades, it will primarily focus on
the 2003-04 school year.
Ignoring the issue of segrega-
tion is extremely dangerous and
one that Orfield feels needs to
be addressed; therefore, he will
discuss some measures that can
be taken to increase integration
during his speech.
In addition to his involvement
in the study of segregation,
Orfield has also written sev-
eral books, among them “Higher Contributed photo

will turn the spotlight on Sino- In addition to his study of Education and the Color Line: Segregation expert Dr. Gary Orfield will speak today.
U.S. trade relations, one of the civil rights, he is interested in College Access, Racial Equity
main areas of dispute between educational policy, urban policy and Social Change.” awarded the American Political
ology/social work departments
the two powers. and minority opportunity. He has also lent his expertise in Science Association Merriam
and funded by a Mercyhurst Col-
Orfield will discuss his findings several court cases involving civil Award for his “contribution to
lege Diversity enrichment grant.
Chernobyl deaths severely undercounted he researched with colleague, rights, such as the University of the art of government through
The speech is free and open to
Chungmei Lee, which examines Michigan Supreme Court case the application of social science
the public.
The health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine 20 segregation in public schools that upheld policy of affirmative research” in 1997.
years ago have been grossly under-estimated, says an environmental after the landmark 1954 Supreme action in 2003. Orfield’s lecture is sponsored
charity. Official U.N. figures predicted up to 9,000 Chernobyl-related Court decision Brown v. Board Quite notably, Orfield was by the political science and soci-
cancer deaths. But Greenpeace says in a report released on Tuesday
that recent studies estimate that the actual number of such deaths
will be 93,000.
Stressing that there is a problem with diagnosis, it adds that other AdPro recruitment
party set for April 27
illnesses could take the toll to 200,000. “Our problem is that there
is no accepted methodology to calculate the numbers of people who
might have died from such diseases,” Greenpeace campaigner Jan
van de Putte told Reuters news agency. more.
By Kelly Cofrancisco
Election of new officers will
Contributing writer
Civilians injured also take place at this meeting,
so please come out and see what
Six people, including a mother The AdPro group on campus the club is all about.
and her newborn baby, have will be holding a Recruitment Free refreshments will be
been injured in two incidents in Party on April 27 in the Stu- served, and the club will feature
eastern Afghanistan, reportedly dent Union Great Room (Time a special guest presentation on
by American forces. Both the TBA). “The Lucrative Field of Direct
incidents took place in Khost The club is for all students Marketing” after the club meet-
province. A six-year-old boy majoring in or interested in the ing.
was also injured in one of the fields of Advertising, Marketing, We encourage all students in-
incidents. The reports come as Graphic Design, Art or any other terested in learning more about
President Hamid Karzai has Business or Communications these creative fields to attend
ordered a probe into the killing majors. this party.
of seven civilians by coalition AdPro will be discussing the If you have any questions
forces over the weekend. The plans for next year including they can be directed to Ale-
U.S. military has also launched an talk about national design con- cia Guerra at ext. 3822 or
investigation into the deaths. tests, art competitions and much AGuerr01@mercyhurst.edu
MONTH DAY, 2004 THE MERCIAD PAGE XX

To contact: newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu News

April 19, 2006 THE MERCIAD PAGE 4

FEATURES To contact: featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu

The lessons Green living students learn...

Composting
Photos and articles by Katie McAdams
Photo editor

catastrophe
Even the smallest ecological improvement
impacts the world that surrounds us. Students at
Mercyhurst are learning that through a new way
of life.
A more ecologically healthy and environmentally
friendly way of life has influenced many students
to live in Green Living.
The building at 3807 Briggs Ave., is known as
Green Living. This apartment is specifically de-
signed to allow students to live more ecologically
responsible. “I have really enjoyed my experience
with green living. I have learned a lot about sustain-
ability and grown more aware of my own social
responsibilities,” said Angela Phillips.
She added that there is no difference between
living anywhere else on campus. It is what the
individual person makes of the experience.
“Our vision was to provide students to live
environmentally responsible and to model sustain-
able practices living on campus and have a good
time doing it. We (Green Team) believe that this
is ultimately the way more and more Americans
want to live. It is a healthier way to live. It is more
energy conscious and over time it will be more and
more cost effective as well. That was our hope
to give students an opportunity to point the way
towards the future here,” said Dr. Chris Magoc,
faulty advisor for Green Team.
“There are not many campuses around the
country that have this kind of a program,” said
Magoc.
He said that this gives students an opportunity
for their daily living. This also allows the Green
Team to encourage and educate more students
about this lifestyle.
Green Team provides these students with alter-
natives. “We were provided with bikes to encourage
alternative transportation, recycled goods such as
paper towels and toilet paper, eco-friendly cleaning
supplies: bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, dish
soap and laundry detergent, a membership to the
The style of Green Living apartments do not differ much from a traditional Briggs apartment.
Whole Foods Co-op, organic food, vitamins and
supplements,” said Phillips.
There is also a vegetable garden that is located
behind their apartment. Growing vegetables of
their choice would give the people that live in the
apartment the opportunity to use what they want
to grow.
Green Living has made more people conscious
of their decision-making around campus. The
organizations involved also learned from it. Orga-
nizations such as the Green Team, Residence Life
and maintenance all made this happen.
Many people do not realize who is involved
with this project. Much support comes from the
students who live there and from the Mainte-
nance department which helps create the proper
atmosphere.
Green Living has made a 15 percent reduction
in energy consumption rate compared to other
Katie McAdams/Photo editor
apartments on campus. “This translates to about
the same reduction in cost for electricity,” said
Magoc.
“If you prorated that over a full academic year
the reduction equals these savings: 180 pounds
of nitrogen oxide, 588 pounds of sulfur dioxide,
80,107 pounds of carbon dioxide. These are
numbers then that green house gas emissions that
are not going into the atmosphere because of the
students’ conservation,” he said.
These numbers indicate that Green Living here
at Mercyhurst College is working.
“We are pretty strict about recycling whatever
we can, as well as separating our recycled goods
appropriately to make sure that maintenance and
work studies do not have a difficult time, and to
be sure our recycled goods do, in fact, get recycled
and does not get mixed up with garbage,” said
Phillips.
Though successful,
some aspects of green
living get off to a
rocky start
Green Living on campus has turned out to be a
very successful project in the eyes of the beholder.
Green Living has given students on campus more
appreciation for the world that surrounds us. Every
day the residents live a life more environmentally
healthy and another day to be thankful for.
This was the first academic year with Green Liv-
ing apartments on campus, and not everything went
smoothly. One major upset was composting.
In the pre-planning of the apartments, Dr. Magoc
and his team were trying to figure out a good com-
posting system for the residents.
“We purchased interior composting systems,
because there are problems with doing it outside
during the winter,” said Magoc. The inside systems
they bought were too small, he said. They could not
handle all that vegetable waste.
The worm composting system originally planned
for Green Living called for a system in which stu-
dents placed all their waste into a separate bin, along
with the earthworms. “The worms help assist in the
decomposing of the wastes which can than serve as
food for soil,” said Angela Phillips, resident of Green
Living apartments.
Imagine how much waste is actually produced in
those apartments? Apparently, the residents pro-
duced more waste than predicted.
This created a bigger problem than expected.
First of all, many of the residents were very new
to the whole concept of composting so they had to
be taught what to do.
Second, the amount of food waste that would be

No rabbit fur will be used for these rugs

Katie McAdams/Photo editor
The lounge in the apartment complex was
designed by two interior design majors.
An unfinished lounge is like a blank canvas for
an artist. A 13’ x 23’ room was an opportunity for
two students to design their own masterpiece to
share with others.
This idea was under a joint direction with Dr.
Chris Magoc, the faculty member advisor for
Green Team on campus, and Analida Brager, an
adjunct faculty with Interior Design. The idea was
to design an environmentally friendly lounge for
the Green Living apartments.
“The idea for the Green Living Lounge was to
come up with a design solution that utilized ma-
terials that are friendly to the environment. This
meant doing research on items like carpeting, paint,
fabrics, countertop material that fit the eco-friendly
criteria,” said Brager.
Senior Kaitlin Robertson, and Junior Kelly Sig-
mund, helped design the Green Living Lounge.
Robertson and Sigmund were able to use the
techniques and skills they learned during the
architectural rendering class and apply it o com-
mon use.
They also had to consider the budget. These
people understood the metaphor money does not
grow on trees.
“Money always plays a major role in any design
project. It was my task to create a pleasing environ-
ment with limited funds. Nevertheless, I feel that I
accomplished what I set out to do,” said Brager.
“The project was a great learning experience
from an academic standpoint as well as from a
practical one. The students enjoyed seeing how
the project developed from the initial design con-
cept to fruition. Learning tools such as these that
address concrete issues that a student can readily
identify with are invaluable and in my opinion
should form part of the curriculum whenever
possible,” said Brager.
produced in the building was underestimated. When
the residents emptied their waste into the worm bins,
they actually suffocated the worms.
Each resident also had small bins located in their in-
dividual apartments that they were suppose to empty
their own waste into. Again, many underestimated
how frequently they needed to do that, which then
brought the fruit flies.
The next step taken was to spray the building to
get the fruit fly infestation under control.
“The severity of the situation was somehow blown
out of proportion,” Phillips said, “and while I am
sure those who decided to spray the building were
in fact trying to help us, we (the residents) felt that
spraying the Green Living apartment building with
pesticides was very contradictory and counterpro-
ductive.”
Even though this year composting seemed like an
unmanageable task the green team is rethinking their
plans for next year.
The residents though, will continue to recycle
throughout the reminder of the year.

Green pledge: seniors Farmer’s market to grace Garvey Park

have a ‘Hurst tradition
By Jen Helbig
Contributing writer
The coming month will be a
busy one for graduating seniors.
Amid all of the preparations,
students occasionally can find
a moment to reflect on where
they have been and where they
are going.
If the students have truly
earned a Mercyhurst educa-
tion, they will be able to extend
the college’s mission statement
into their careers, holding “in
highest esteem the qualities of
excellence, compassion, creativ-
ity, and service to others” while
promoting “the values of truth,
individual integrity, human dig-
nity, mercy, and justice.”
The pledge’s Website, www.
graduationpledge.org suggests
green employment opportunities
from working for a governmental
regulatory agency to a grassroots
environmental group.
If working in a large agency,
being environmentally aware
might be as simple as voicing
an opinion which stands against
the norm and questions current
policy. One person’s questions
and ideas can blossom into a new
policy for the entire company.
Even jobs such as lawyer or
doctor can turn environmental
by representing the environmen-
tal side of an issue in a court-
house or lab.
For a person who is shy or
does not aim at global changes,
local work is always needed in
By Katie McAdams
Contributing writer
In honor of this year’s Earth
Day, the Green Team is bringing
a farmer’s market to Mercyhurst’s
campus for one day. On April 24,
from 1-5 p.m. in Garvey Park,
eight different kinds of produce
will be sold on a first come, first
serve basis.
Students, faculty, administra-
tion and Mercyhurst neighbors
are all welcomed to come check
out the organic fruits and veg-
etables brought by the Erie Co-
op. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes,
broccoli, carrots, strawberries,
bananas, and gala apples will all
be offered.
Along with pesticide-free pro-
duce, this event will also include a
brief speech by Bob Sonnenberg KRT

This may seem to be a lot to
ask for a student to commit to
for life. However, for those who
have embraced the importance
of a morally and socially respon-
sible college career, they should
have no problem committing to
a professional career which sup-
ports similar standards.
Since 1998, Mercyhurst has
participated in the Graduation
Green Pledge, a national move-
ment to call students to environ-
mental and social responsibility.
Those graduates who sign
promise: “I pledge to explore
and take into account the social
and environmental consequences
of any job I consider and will try
to improve these aspects of any
organization for which I work.”
any community. A grassroots
environmentalist can assemble
and guide a community to sup-
port an environmental cause just
by holding a few meetings in his
or her home or incorporating an
environmental issue into conver-
sation with fellow employees.
No effort is too small when
dealing with an environment
which ranges from enormous
mountains to microscopic patho-
gens. All graduating seniors are
invited to consider their role in
the world by signing the Gradu-
ation Green Pledge.
For more infor mation on
pledge signing dates and loca-
tions, please see signs on campus,
check email, or visit Sr. Michele
Schroeck.
who is a local Erie environmen-
talist and is involved in the Erie
Whole Foods Cooperation.
Sonnenberg will be discussing
the health and environmental
benefits of organic produce from
2-2:45 p.m.
“From Joni Mitchell to Bono,
everyone wants healthier pro-
duce. We (the Green Team)
want to help provide Mercy-
hurst students with easy access
to fabulous food. This is not
about the money. This is about
education and helping support
those who are helping our en-
vironment,” said junior Chelsea
Boothe, who along with Green
Team president JoEllen Taylor
and academic advisor Dr. Chris
Magoc, helped put together the
Fresh fruits and vegetable stands will crowd into Garvey Park on Monday.
farmer’s market. by the amount sold. Hopefully, organic fruits and
As Boothe said, this is not They are also hoping in the vegetables will be a big selling
about raising money; in fact, the future to add free-range beef point for all those who are both
Green Team will not be making to the market from a local Erie environmentally and health con-
any money on this event. All the seller whose wife works at Mer- scious.
proceeds will go towards paying cyhurst.
for the food.
If successful, the Green Team
plans on having a farmer’s market
on campus several times a year. Want to take pictures for
They are using this Earth Day
celebration as an opportunity to
The Merciad next year?
see who is interested and how
much would be purchased.
Sports or otherwise?
The goal is to have such an
Contact Josh Wilwohl at
amazing turnout that in the
future they will need more food editormerciad@mercyhurst.edu
and more selection. Thus the
growth will be directly affected
April 19, 2006 THE MERCIAD PAGE 5

To contact: opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu OPINION

Whether you like them or not, the family unit is important
Families come in all shapes, colors and sizes.
Some are spread out vastly across the country and
the world; while some live within five miles of
each other. Regardless of geography, our families
are what keep us connected to home and some-
times even our sanity. One’s family unit influences
all facets of peoples’ lives, from the choices they
make, to physical traits.
When you
meet a friend’s
family for the
first time, you
gain a better Ellen
understand- Koenig
ing of the
person. How
they were
raised and the
physical and behavioral characteristics they share
with their parents, give an outsider a new under-
standing of the person.
The family and its members can explain certain
KRT vices an individual has and even their outlook on
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been the target of military scrutiny regarding life, politics and humor. Each person’s family may
his policies and planning in Iraq. be unique in their own sense, for example, some
people find their relatives to be obnoxious and
strange while others view relatives as their closest
may lead a life of uncertainty filled with question-
able tactics on an unsteady path.
Persons who are close with their families often
have a chance to lead a more stable lifestyle. Being
away at college we often lose contact with our ex-
tended families, leaving the holidays as a time when
multiple parties are attended in order for friends
and relatives to catch-up and reconnect.
While every family may be different in its own
way, most are similar in their structure and make-
up.
At family gatherings portions of the family are
usually seen as individuals or as a group. A prime
example of this is the crazy aunt/uncle/grandpar-
ent that no one takes seriously. Then there is the
relative that decides it is a good idea to have one
more glass of wine, when really, it isn’t. There are
groups of middle-aged men who try and out do
each other in the football game, despite warnings
from their chiropractors not to participate, while
the women usually convene in the kitchen doing
the dishes as tens upon what seems like hundreds
of cousins run around rampant.
This may not be true for every family, but it is
for most gatherings. Although each family has
their eccentricities and quirks, they are ultimately
essential to our existence and always make for

War of words
comrades. No matter how one views their family, interesting conversation with friends when school
in the end they provide the foundation of our up- reconvenes.
bringing. If the foundation is faulty, an individual

This week in Washington, the wave of dissent
continued to rise within the Bush administra-
tion. This time, however, the mutiny is focused
on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, not our
Commander in Chief.
Six retired generals, including two Army generals
who saw combat in Iraq, have gone public voicing
criticisms regarding the planning and execution
of the Iraq war. These highly decorated, well
respected, men have accused Rumsfeld of ignor-
ing and stifling differentiating opinions during the
decision making process.
The gen- Opinion editor
erals cite
Rumsfeld’s
abrasive and
argumenta-
tive behavior
as creating Allison
a difficult Moore
work en-
vironment
resulting in
ineffective
tactics and our military/political situation. The six
generals are all calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation.
Some of the accusations have been harsh. Re-
tired Gen. Charles Swannak, described Rumsfeld
as carrying “way too much baggage. ... Rather than
admitting ... mistakes, he continually justifies them
to the press ... and that really disallows him from
moving our strategy forward.”
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton was even
more blunt, stating “Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed
forces. ... (He) has put the Pentagon at the mercy
of his ego, his cold warrior’s view of the world and
his unrealistic confidence in technology to replace
manpower.”
Remarks such as these have sparked a media
firestorm along with reaction from an already jaded
public. With a large majority of Americans now
questioning American involvement in Iraq and
President Bush’s approval ratings tanking, these re-
marks have understandably created debate and have
raised the question: Should Rumsfeld resign?
The American people seem to think so, according
to a QUICKVOTE poll on CNN.com indicating
that 85% of those polled feel Rumsfeld should be
replaced.
This week however, several generals and the presi-
dent expressed their full support of Rumsfeld.
Four retired generals published an Op-ed piece
in the Washington Post stating, “Much of the
acrimony expressed by Secretary Rumsfeld’s
military critics appears to stem from his efforts
to ‘transform’ the military by moving to a joint
expeditionary force that is lighter and more mobile
in nature to meet the nation’s current and future
threats. Many senior officers and bureaucrats did
not support his transformation goals -- preferring
conventional weapons of the past ... which prove
practically useless against lawless and uncivilized
enemies engaged in asymmetric warfare.”
Rumsfeld’s supporters admonished the generals
saying it was “inappropriate” for generals, retired or
not, to speak out against civilian leadership during
a time of war.
President Bush, taking time out of his Easter
vacation, also expressed his support for Rumsfeld.
He forcefully expanded on his position Tuesday
when questioned during a Rose Garden ceremony
concerning the growing criticism of the secretary.
“I hear the voices, and I read the front page and I
know the speculation,” the president said. “But I’m
the decider, and I decide what’s best. And what’s
best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary
of defense.”
This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone, considering
the president credited Michael Brown, or Brownie,
with doing a “heck of a job” handling Hurricane
Katrina and made Joshua Bolten, the former leader
of the budget office and designer of the nation’s
$9 trillion deficit, the new chief of staff.
Sometimes it seems as if failure or mistakes are
rewarded in this administration. As Jon Stewart
candidly stated on the Daily Show, “If someone
were to walk into a staff meeting and throw their
feces at the wall, Bush would probably name a state
after them.”
All joking aside, the Bush Administration is
facing some major challenges with the Rumsfeld
debate being the latest in a string of embarrassing
events.
Putting aside the war of words surrounding this
debate, some things are rather clear.
The American intervention in Iraq has not turned
out the way it was designed on paper. Critical errors
were made in planning and execution; I just don’t
see how that can be debated. Inadequate troop
numbers were on the ground during the initial
invasion, allowing a massive insurgency to take
hold. The Iraqi Army was disbanded and rampant
looting was permitted allowing for disorder to rule.
Whether these problems should be credited to
Rumsfeld is still being debated.
One thing, however, should not be up for debate.
If the accusations made by these six generals are
accurate, Rumsfeld should resign. The fate of
American troops on the ground in Iraq rest in
the hands of policy makers at the Pentagon. If
Rumsfeld is not the most qualified, he should not
be in charge, period.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Good
Police and Safety has issued a Timely Notification Bulletin concerning the campus flasher.
The Bad
It took Police and Safety 29 days from the last occurence and 41 days since the first, to officially
notify the student body of the existence of a campus flasher.
The Ugly
There is a sicko running around Mercyhurst. Enough said.
Anchors away: A solo woman on evening news
By Karen Heller
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Here it is 2006, and the big news is the old net-
works have gone and picked a woman to read the
news all by herself!
Many publications have devoted reservoirs of
ink to the business of Katie Couric jumping ship
from NBC’s ``Today’’ show to the CBS ``Evening
News.’’
This, mind you, is 85 years after the ratification
of the 19th Amendment.
Apparently, it takes that long for Americans to
accept hearing the news from someone in a skirt,
pearls and heels without a man sitting next to her
in case she gets the vapors and faints.
Couric, 49, will replace the estimable Bob Schief-
fer, who is 69 and has filled in since the retirement
of Dan Rather, now 74.
That’s TV math for you: XX-20 = XY.
Gawker.com, the ne plus ultra of snarky Web
sites, has something of an obsession with Couric
and Couric’s fantastic, never-to-be-encased-in-
hose-even-in-the-dead-of-winter legs and Couric’s
vacations and whether they include surgical touch-
ups.
Designed by founder Nick Denton as a superb
procrastinating tool for people who love to loaf
on the job, gawker.com loves being nasty about
pretty, successful, relatively youngish women (well,
Couric looks young) doing far better in life than
the people with not-so-great jobs and the time to
cruise snarky Web sites.
On gawker.com, there’s never any mention of
Schieffer’s ties, though there is furious love for
Anderson Cooper.
With a dwindling audience for broadcast evening
news, totaling about 29 million, and many of the
viewers candidates for Levitra, Couric seems a
smart, fresh move. It’s unclear whether this will
be enough to get younger people to detangle from
their devout love affair with the Internet, especially
when Couric may appear oldish to them but a
network exec can dream.
Still, it’s amazing that Couric is news. Women
are all over the place on the tube, covering wars,
floods, you know, the traditional guy flak-jacket
stuff, but back in the studio there’s a need to hear
the lead-ins from daddy or an avuncular sort in a
sweater vest.
It’s hoped that Couric will be judged as her
male colleagues have been, by her work and not
her wardrobe decisions (she has fabulous taste,
anyway), though I have my doubts. Life is a locker
room, as I’ve remarked before, and it’s hard for
many people not to get catty about women doing
better than they are, even those who are deserving
of such success.
Couric has put in her time, and she’s shown intel-
ligence, tenacity, charm and, yes, a certain amount
of sparkle required for the trade.
Sure, she’s done her share of dumb things on
``Today’’ but, then, hasn’t everyone?
In an ideal world, if she does her job well and
the ratings improve, Couric should be allowed to
keep the post well into late middle age, when most
women tend to mysteriously vanish from screens
small and large.
The true news would be that Couric is allowed to
mature, even wrinkle, and still be doing the news
at the same age as Schieffer.

The
Joshua Wilwohl
MERCIAD Editor-in-Chief editormerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Corrie Thearle News Editor newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Melissa Jack Features Editor featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Allison Moore Opinion Editor opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Ryan Palm Sports Editor sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Melissa Brandt A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Katie McAdams Photo Editor photomerciad@mercyhurst.edu
& Production Editor prodmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Melissa Brandt Advertising Manager admerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Chelsea Boothe Copy Editor sdowde80@mercyhurst.edu
Emily Crofoot Graduate Assistant ecrofo81@mercyhurst.edu

The Merciad is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College.

It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms
week and finals week. Our office is in the Old Main, room 314. Our telephone
number is 824-2376.
The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and
names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the letters
for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Letters are due the
Thursday before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit
KRT letters to box PH 485.
PAGE 6 THE MERCIAD April 19, 2006

ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT To contact: entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

‘Good...’ features red issues in black & white

By Christina Ferranti
Contributing writer
The Academy Award nomi-
nated film “Good Night and
Good Luck” has been praised
and acclaimed by many.
Chris Barsanti of FilmCritic.
com elaborates on the occur-
rences of a 1950’s political battle
and the magnificent cinematog-
raphy utilized to keep this film
clear-cut and interesting.
“Edward R. Murrow taking
on Senator Joe McCarthy (at the
height of his power), crisp black-
and-white cinematography, the
clink of ice cubes over scotch,
voluptuous clouds of cigarette
smoke hanging in the air, a
nation’s conscience dangling in
the balance.
“So it is with George Clooney’s
‘Good Night, and Good Luck,’ a
film where the mood – just shy
of too cool for its own good
– sets the scene for Murrow, the
patron saint of journalism, to
cajole and castigate the audience
in a time of complacency.”
Shot in black-and-white, direc-
tor, George Clooney captures
the 1950s bitter conflict between
renowned CBS television broad-
caster, Edward R. Murrow, and
Wisconsin Senator Joseph Mc-
Carthy.
Clooney wanted to pay particu-
lar attention to the historical facts
of the time period and the details
of how the studio appeared.
The title, “Good Night and
Good Luck,” is taken from the
phrase Murrow closed his CBS
television show with every night.
The film has several pivotal men
and women that used television
to reveal the intentions of Mc-
Carthy.
Murrow, played by David
Strathairn, confronts the audi-
ence with a bold statement
against McCarthy’s c ommunist
accusations.
For these confrontations, Cloo-
ney decided to incorporate a
large portion of the original
broadcasts of Murrow.
Plus, Clooney opted to use the
archive footage of Joseph Mc-
Carthy instead of using an actor
to portray the senator to continue
with his focus on the historical
facts of this debate.
Clooney remarked that when
the movie had undergone test
screenings, audience members
felt that the McCarthy character
was overacting the role, not real-
izing that it was the actual Mc-
Carthy through archive footage.
Among the various themes in
the movie, Clooney concentrates
on the importance of the media
and how these sharp, aggressive
professional news reporters re-
search and gather information,
evaluate its merits, and determine
the important aspects of news to
portray to the public.
Since television was a fairly
new commercial medium, there
were many risks such as cipher-
ing through material to judge
what the media should reveal to
the public and what not to, and
at what point the media has the Photo courtesy of the PAC
power to disclose information Clooney and Strathairn star in ‘Good...’ the film adaption of Murrow’s fight with McCarthy.
without the government over-
shadowing them. infiltration of communists in 1950s and the chaos it surged Arts Center on April 26 at 2
Murrow viewed McCarthy’s America by terrorizing anyone throughout the nation with p.m. and again at 8 p.m. Ticket
House of Un-American Ac- who criticized McCarthy’s tactics the power of one man from prices are as follows: Adult: $5;
tivities Committee as abusing the of pinpointing specific people. Wisconsin and the strength of Student/Senior Citizen: $4; and
power of television and radio by This film is a riveting depic- the media. It is coming to the Mercyhurst Student: FREE w/
creating a crusade to destroy the tion, of what occurred in the Mary D’Angelo Performing ID (one ticket per ID).

‘Thank You for Smoking’ snuffs out criticism

By Sarah Caram
Contributing writer
Director Jason Reitman brings
to the screen the novel by Chris-
topher Buckley, “Thank You for
Smoking,” a witty, intelligent
and politically incorrect comedy
about the tobacco worlds’ war
against the health industry. Aaron
Eckhart’s plays divorcé Nick
Naylor, a lobbyist, “the face of
cigarettes,” for The Academy of
Tobacco Studies.
Naylors’ main job is “spin con-
trol,” he “spins the truth” about
cigarettes in a very entertaining,
hilarious, but smart fashion.
Naylor works for “BR” (J.K.
Simmons), a controlling and de-
manding man who takes all the
credit for Naylors’ ideas.
When Senator Finistirre of
Vermont (William H. Macy) de-
cides that he wants to put a poi-
son sign (consisting of skull and
crossbones) on every cigarette
package to tell users and potential
smokers that cigarettes will defi-
nitely kill you, Naylor comes up
with an idea in response.
He tells the board that Hol-
lywood needs to sell cigarettes
as a sex symbol by smoking
on-screen. To make this hap-
pen, they will bribe the actors’
producers.
Taking credit for Naylors’
Photo courtesy of http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/thankyouforsmoking.
Light up with Aaron Eckhart in ‘Thank You for Smoking.’
answer to their new threat of
their industry presented by the
Senator, “BR” sends Naylor on a
plane to see “The Captain” (Rob-
ert Duvall), a big cat who holds
the power to get The Academy’s
$50 million campaign off the
ground.
In the midst of being in charge
of this campaign, Naylor is try-
ing to get closer to his son, Joey
(Cameron Bright), and decides
to take him along. Joey sees this
trip with his father as a learning
experience.
Naylor tries to build a good
relationship with Joey by trying
to teach him how his job as a
lobbyist works and that it takes
“flexible morals” to be successful
in his business.
While building the campaign,
Naylor and Joey meet some very
unique individuals along the way,
who includes Jeff Megall (Rob
Lowe), who works with movie
stars and has the power to book
a famous actor or actress as the
campaigns’ spokesperson, and
his quirky assistant, Jack (Adam
Brody).
But, most importantly, Naylor
and Joey meet “The Morlboro
Man” (Sam Elliot), who, after
developing lung cancer from the
product that made him famous,
asked “BR” to lessen the adver-
tising of cigarettes in the past and
was refused.
Naylor presents “The Morl-
boro Man” with a case full of
“hush money” from “The Cap-
tian” to keep him from talking
against the people of The Acad-
emy during the campaign.
During Naylors’ whole experi-
ence with creating the campaign,
he is sought out by reporter
Heather Holloway (Katie Hol-
mes) of The Washington Probe
who, after interviewing many
people who have anything but
good things to say about Naylor,
“…wants to know how [he] sees
himself…[and] what motivates
him.”
Despite the fact that his friends
have warned him that Holloway
will seduce her interviewees to
get information, Naylor lets his
guard down and has a repeated
affair with her.
This affair results in a printed
story that reveals and blackens
the name of all involved in the
campaign. Holloway’s story ac-
cuses Naylor of “…grooming
his son for the job…” and it
causes him to lose his job and to
be named “The Sultan of Spin”
by Newsweek.
Even though Naylor is faced
with bad publicity, he continues
to keep his face known by go-
ing on television shows, one of
which he receives a death threat
from a caller while on the air
because of all the people his
product has killed.
Naylor’s image soon changes
when he survives a kidnapping
in which he is taken in a van,
covered in nicotine patches
(resulting in an overdose) and
left in a humiliating state to be
discovered.
Naylor learns that if he were
a non-smoker, the amount of
nicotine he received from the
kidnappers would have definitely
killed him, so he claims that ciga-
rettes saved his life.
This whole experience gives
Naylor “…public sympathy on
our side,” as “BR” puts it.
After recovering from his
ordeal, Naylor goes to the
meeting by the U.S. Senate, in
which it will be decided whether
or not Senator Finistirres’ plan
to put a poison label on cigarette
packages will be enforced. It is
during this meeting that Naylor
must stand up for himself and
straighten out his image.
This humorous meeting chang-
es Naylors’ life and the lives of
others in a very unique way (you
will have to see the movie to
discover how).
“Thank You for Smoking” is a
very interesting and smart com-
edy that has a strong and witty
plot about a real life issue, as well
as an all-star cast.
“Thank You for Smoking” is a
film that everyone can appreciate
and enjoy in one way or another
and it is definitely worth seeing.

Walk away from ‘Footprints’ Math Lab

By Joe Fidago
Contributing writer
When I listened to “Foot-
prints,” I expected to hear a CD
that was full of “a mix of moods
and styles about obsession and
mortality…songs of unrequited
love and loss;” as the PR card
for David W. Jacobsen described
his music.
This CD may very well have
been full of that type of music,
but instead of finding myself
listening to a Dashboard Con-
fessional replica (which I could
definitely deal with), or even a
second rate Death Cab for Cutie,
I found myself struggling just
to understand what David was
saying half the time.
I listen to all kinds of music,
so I’m not going to try and tell
you that Underoath’s Spencer
Chamberlain has the most crystal
clear vocals, or Alex Varkatzas
of Atreyu is easily understood
either.
However, this CD could be
compared to John Mayer’s “In-
side Wants Out,” or a Dashboard
Confessional CD in most places,
so clear vocals are pretty impor-
tant; however, you can’t chill out
and be intently listening to try
and decipher the lyrics at the
same time.
Besides that, the disc does clock Located
in at just over 70 minutes, which in the Library
seems to be a little overkill. 204 A and D
To his credit, he does have
a very creative take on songs,
throwing in many different styles Open:
on the CD. The instrumentals are Sundays
pretty strong for the most part. through
Also, the CD does have a very Thursdays
clever and funny song, “Batter-
ies,” which has the premise of
David trying to pick up different CALL:
girls at a bar, and continually get- Ext 2078
ting shot down. For Exact hours
The girls tell him that rather
than going on a date with him,
or going home with him, they TUTORIAL HELP FOR
would rather stay home with ALL YOUR MATH
their batteries…I’ll let you piece NEEDS!
together what that really means.
Mozart’s
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Saturday @ 7:30p.m. and
Sunday @ 2:30 p.m. at the PAC
$1/students and $12.50/adults
Presented by the Mary D’Angelo
Department of Music
April 19, 2006 THE MERCIAD Page 7

Final Four bound?
Men’s lacrosse ranked in top four for the first time this season
By Jim McCann
Contributing writer
For the second week in a row,
the Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse
team took the field against a
team that was ranked No. 3 in
the nation.
For the second week in a row,
they beat the No. 3 ranked team
and moved one step closer to
their goal of competing in the
Final Four in May.
Coming off of an upset of
then-ranked No. 3 Adelphi, the
Lakers set their sights on Long
Island when they took the field
against the defending National
Champion and current No. 3
NYIT Bears.
After the Lakers fell behind
1-0, Jim Mullaley scooped up
an offensive ground ball and
fed Andrew Schuster, who hit
the back of the net to knot the
game at one. Fortunately for the
Lakers, this would not be the last
big goal that Schuster would have
on the day.
That goal started a string of
four consecutive scores for the
Lakers and, during the same time
frame, Mercyhurst stepped up its
defense, holding the Bears score-
less for the next 26 minutes.
Greg Stocks gave the Lakers
their first lead of the game, 2-1 at
11:08 of the second quarter off
of a feed from Mullaley.
Adam Mulherin then teamed
up with Mullaley as the West
Genesee combination scored two
consecutive goals less than 40
seconds apart to give the Lakers
a 4-1 advantage.
The Bears refused to go down
easily though, as they battled back
and scored three straight goals at
the beginning of the second half
to tie the game at four.
The see-saw battle waged on
as B.J. Lindner and Mike Bartlett
each scored goals to give the
Andrew Schuster (2) was named the Division II Offensive Player of the Week by the Eastern
Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) after scoring three goals in a win over NYIT.
Lakers a 6-4 lead with just under
three minutes remaining in the
third quarter.
Tech then notched two quick
goals to set the stage for a dra-
matic and pivotal fourth quarter
that allowed the Lakers to utilize
a mixture of late-game heroics
and spectacular goaltending to
come away with a crucial NY-
CAC victory.
Andrew Schuster scored the
only two goals of the quarter
as Mike Bringley made three of
his eight saves on the day as the
Lakers spoiled Tech’s alumni
weekend and championship cele-
bration with an 8-6 win. Schuster
and Bringley were honored as the
NYCAC Player and Goaltender
of the Week for their efforts.
When asked to comment about
the win, Bringley showed his
enthusiasm, but remained cau-
tious saying, “We are all definitely
excited about the win, but we re-
alize that we have to look at what
got us to this point and make sure
that we continue to prepare for
each game like it is the biggest of
the season.”
With the win, the Lakers
moved from No. 5 to No. 3 in
the National Rankings that were
released on Monday.
The Lakers will now have three
home games in a row as they face
Wheeling Jesuit on Wednesday at
To contact: sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Katie McAdams/Photo editor
4 p.m., No. 2 C.W. Post on Satur-
day at 1 p.m. and No. 7 Molloy
a week later.
-------
The team will be without the
services of freshman John Paige,
who has been suspended from
the team for disciplinary reasons
for the remainder of the aca-
demic school year. The suspen-
sion was confirmed Tuesday by
Mercyhurst Director of Athletics
Pete Russo. “The suspension will
last until we see the dispensation
of the case,” said Russo. Paige
has seen limited action in eight
games this season, tallying three
ground balls and one shot on
goal.
Dan Kick sets
school assists
record in loss
Compiled from Sports
Information Web site
Senior Dan Kick recorded 45
assists against Juniata Thursday,
making him Mercyhurst’s all-
time assists leader with 3,467 in
his career.
Unfortunately for Kick and
the Lakers, the record came in
a 3-2 loss to Division III Juniata
in Mercyhurst’s final game of the
regular season.
Nate Keegan performed well
in the loss with 18 kills which
moved him into fourth place
on the school’s all-time kills list
with 634.
The loss dropped the Lakers to
3-20 overall.
The Lakers will enter the MIVA
tournament as the No.6 seed and
will play the third-seeded Ball
State Saturday.
Flood places 23rd
Junior Brendan Flood led the
men’s golf team with a 23rd place
finish at the District 4 Regional
Qualifier held at the Timberlak
golf course in Edinburgh, Ind.
Flood finished with a 76-70-
146, 11 strokes behind first-place
Chris Robertson of Ashland.
Other golfers participating for
the Lakers were Sal Vella (37th),
Kyle Waddell (54th), Steve Barr
(77th), and Craig Bishop (94th).
The Lakers finished 14th over-
all out of 19 teams with a 600..
Indianapolis won the event
with a 575, one stroke ahead of
second-place grand Valley State.
Women’s golf second after
one day of competition
Lynn Hylwa fired a 96, good
enough for seventh-place, to lead
the Lakers to second-place after
one day of competition at the
four-team Cal Golf Tournament
at Cedarbrook Golf Club.
LAKER
SPORTS
The Lakers are 36 strokes be-
hind host California (Pa.). Amy
Natalie and Kaitlin Brody are one
stroke back of Hylwa and are tied
for eighth place.
Alanna Kirwin is tied for 10th
place with a 98.
Mattye Lauer rounds out the
Mercyhurst participants and fin-
ished with a 104.
Men’s rowing sweeps
University of Buffalo
The Mercyhurst men’s rowing
team were close to perfect in a
sweep of the University of Buf-
falo at Findlay lake Saturday.
The Lakers won all five events
which included the varsity 8,
Freshman 8, Varsity 4, Freshman
Novice 4, and Lightweight 4.
Both the men and the women’s
team wil ltravel to Indianapolis,
ind. this weekend for the India-
napolis Invitational.
Women’s water polo
headed to Western Division
championships
The women’s water polo team
will finish their season this week-
end at the Western Division
Championships in Bloomington,
Ind.
The Lakers enter the tourna-
ment as the No. 3 seed, behind
powerhouses Indiana University
and Michigan University, and will
open play against sixth-seeded
Grove City.
The Lakers have defeated
Grove City three times this sea-
son, the most recent being a 5-0
win in which goaltender Gina
Mieras stopped 12 shots.
Coach Robinette’s squad enters
the tournament winners in 11 of
their last 14 games.
No. 4 Slippery Rock, No. 5
gannon, and No. 7 Washington
and Jefferson round out the par-
ticipating teams.

Softball drops three of four

conference games in Michigan
By Andy Tait
Contributing writer
Mercyhurst softball returned
from Michigan this weekend with
mixed feelings regarding their
performances this past week.
After two solid performances
in midweek against Clarion, the
Lakers had high hopes of win-
ning two tough doubleheaders
in Michigan.
However, it wasn’t meant to be
as the Lakers lost the first three
games before grinding out a win
in the weekend’s final game.
The Lakers cruised past Clarion
in Tuesday’s home opener, win-
ning both games comfortably,
9-1 and 5-1.
The Lakers opened their home
season in spectacular fashion.
They flew out of the blocks to
take a 6-0 lead by the end of the
second inning.
This superb Lakers start did
not end there as they relentlessly
continued to tear apart their
opponents.
Junior Kim Griffin stifled any
offensive efforts the Golden
Eagles tried to muster, while
Melissa Rizzo and Erin Ratajczak
hit three runs apiece to help put
the runs on the board for the
Lakers.
The game ended swiftly by
means of the eight-run rule.
Something the Lakers themselves
would fall victim to only a few
days later.
In game two the Golden Eagles
responded instantly with a solo
homerun. A bright start faded
quickly for Clarion as the Lakers
went on to win 5-1.
Despite a great start to the
team’s home campaign the cele-
brations could only be short-lived
as the team traveled to Michigan
for four crucial GLIAC confer-
ence games.
Third-year coach Sara Headley
knew the games were going to
be tough, but felt if her team
played to its potential they could
be successful.
Unfortunately, the team was
brought crashing back down to
earth as Grand Valley State over-
powered the Lakers by scores of
10-0 and 4-0.
An incredible period of play
in the first game for GVSU saw
the home team score all 10 runs
in the last of the fourth.
The Lakers masterminded their
own downfall in this contest as
nine of the runs they conceded
were unearned.
Some strong hitting from the
GVSU offense and some poor
softball on the Lakers part led to
the fourth inning blowout.
The Lakers raised their game in
the second contest but couldn’t
muster the offense to really
threaten GVSU.
GVSU scored off of four
singles all coming in different
innings.
The Lakers hit seven singles but
were unable to find a way to put
runs on the board against their
opponent’s stubborn defense.
The win improved GVSU
to 31-13 overall and 5-3 in the
conference.
On the back of a tough pair of
games on Friday, the Lakers faced
a Ferris State team that has en-
joyed mixed fortunes themselves
this year.
The Bulldogs scored a pair
of unearned runs in Saturday’s
opening game that proved to be
all that were needed to condemn
the Lakers to a third consecutive
loss.
Despite the loss, the Lakers
showed great character in the
day’s second game and rebound-
ed well.
Laker Spring Term I n n
After three scoreless innings
the game sprung to life. The Bull-
dogs scored another unearned
Coffee Bar
run and from this point on many
would have predicted another NEW ADDITIONS New syrup flavors, coconut and
Lakers defeat. sugar free raspberry!
However, despite showing the
Columbian Coffee
frailties that had cost them in pre- Peanut Butter Pie NEW SPECIALS
vious games, the Lakers bounced Snickers Pie
back with a run on a pair of bunt Flavor shot for 25 cents!
singles, a double steal and an RBI
Premium cakes $3/slice
base-hit by Griffin. Zen Green Tea
In the bottom of the sixth the
Lakers picked up the split after
Monday-Friday 7:30am-9:00 p.m.
scoring two unearned runs of
their own to restore confidence Hours of Operation: Saturday 10:00a.m-8:00 p.m.
ahead of another big week of Sunday 2:00pm-9:00 p.m.
games.
The 3-1 win meant the Lakers
left Michigan with a 1-3 record, NEW DEAL:
which was not ideally what the
team was hoping for prior to
Laker Express Buy nine lunches ----
and get the tenth FREE!
the trip. New Wraps
But coach Headley has a lot Buffalo Chicken
of belief in her team and is op- Request receipts and
timistic about the remainder of Chicken Caesar
present them to receive the
the season. chicken cordon blue
“If we raise the level of play free lunch.
and rid half of the errors we are
making at the moment then we Hours of Operation:
could do damage,” said Head- Monday-Thursday 11:30-8:00 p.m.
ley.
Board Equivalency Available: Friday 11:30-3:30 p.m.
Junior Kim Griffin echoes the
sentiments of her coach and she 11:30-8:00pm Saturday & Sunday Closed
too feels this team has the poten-
tial to be successful.
“It’s just a matter of bringing
our ‘A’ game to the field each FEATURES:
day and executing, and being
confident in our ability to win,”
Subconnection
Chicken Parmegian
said Griffin.
Griffin, like fellow pitcher Jen
Feret, has shouldered a lot of
6” Sub $3.50
responsibility for the team this
year according to Headley. 12”Sub $5.50 Hours of Operation:
The Lakers play host to four
doubleheaders this week. They Monday-Friday 11:30-9:00 p.m.
take on Wheeling Jesuit on Make it a combo for $1.00! Saturday 1:00pm-9:00 p.m.
Wednesday in a non-conference Sunday 5:00pm-9:00 p.m.
match up. The games are sched-
uled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
 PAGE 8 THE MERCIAD April 19, 2006

LAKER
SPORTS To contact: sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

Laker Sports “Quick Hits”

Red-hot baseball wins six straight
This Weeks Results... Team sweeps doubleheaders from Hillsdale and Clarion
Men’s volleyball...........................................April 13, L 3-2, Juniata
Women’s water polo...............April 12, W 5-0, Penn St. Behrend By Bjorn Alnaes
Contributing writer
Baseball....................................................April 14, W 5-1, Hillsdale
April 14, W 3-2, Hillsdale
On Easter weekend the Mer-
April 15, W 6-4, Hillsdale cyhurst baseball team found
April 15, W 8-2, Hillsdale six straight wins in their Easter
Men’s lacrosse.........................................April 15, W 8-6, NY Tech baskets.
Women’s lacrosse.......................April 15, W 15-10, Philadelphia
The Lakers were superior to
both Hillsdale and Clarion and
Men’s tennis...............................................April 14, W 5-1, Findlay thereby racked up their third
April 14, L 5-3, Lake Superior State winning weekend in a row.
April 15, L 5-1, Wayne State Their record is now 25-11, and
Softball......................................April 14, W 10-0, Grand Valley St.
the Lakers have already matched
their total number of wins from
April 14, L 4-0 Grand Valley St. last year’s season.
April 15, L 2-1, Ferris State The Lakers started their week-
April 15, W 3-1, Ferris State end Friday, with a trip to Hills-
Men’s golf.......................April 14, 17 of 19, NCAA Regional Qual.
dale, Mich. for a four game series
against their GLIAC rivals the
April 14, 14 of 19, NCAA Regional Qual. Hillsdale Chargers.
Women’s golf.......................April 13, 2 of 3, Behrend Invitational In their first game the Lakers Katie McAdams/Photo editor
April 17, 2 of 3, Calif. Univ. Invitational came out on top with a narrow Playing small ball has been successful for the Lakers in winning close games.
Men’s rowing..............................................April 15, 1 of 2, Buffalo
6-5 win.
After being down 3-1, the Lak- turned to 3-2 win in favor of Eagles in both games. 9-0 win.
ers managed to turn the game the Lakers. In the opener, sophomore Da- Josh Schmidt recorded a per-
In the news... around and create a 6-3 lead with Junior Adam Nine (5-1) worked vid Lough had two homeruns for fect 4-for-4 at the plate with
a pair of doubles from Joe Luli the first six innings to pick up the the Lakers. three doubles, and Lough con-
and Walter Wieczorek. win while sophomore John Mor- Mercyhurst went on to win the tinued his good form and went
Men’s volleyball heading to playoffs The Chargers then came back ris closed out the Chargers in the game comfortably by a score of 2-for-3 at the dish with three
with a two-run homer in the bot- seventh for his sixth save. 7-4, with good performances by runs scored, a double, a triple,
The men’s volleyball team will take on Ball State University tom of the seventh to reduce the The two teams met again Sat- Sean Weayant, Joe Fuli and John a stolen base and a pair of runs
in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Lakers lead to 6-5. urday for the second and last Morris. batted in.
(MIVA) playoffs on April 22. Ball State is ranked No. 3 in the This was as close as the Char- doubleheader of the weekend. Lough’s multi-homer game was The Lakers are now 25-11 over-
tournament, boasting a 20-6 overall record. Mercyhurst is gers got to the Lakers, Mercy- Mercyhurst remained hot and the first for a Laker since Tim all and 11-5 in the conference.
currently ranked No. 6 in the tournament, concluding the hurst celebrated their first win looked convincing as they swept Stacey hit a pair against Indiana The team’s recent run of good
regular season with a 3-20 record. The winner of the contest of the series. Hillsdale again with a 6-4 win in (Pa.) on April 6 of last season. results has converted into a jump
will take on the winner of the IPFW/Carthage match-up on In the second game of Friday’s the opener and an impressive 8-2 In the second game of the day up to No. 6 place in the North
April 27. doubleheader, Mercyhurst again win in the nightcap. it seemed like the Lakers were Central Region.
found themselves behind from After resting Sunday, the base- cruising on the confidence and The baseball team continues
the start. ball team was back in business momentum they worked up dur- their busy week on Wednesday
Athletes of the Week This time the Lakers were on Monday with a road double- ing the last three weekends. when they go off to play arch-
down 2-1, but the determina- header against the Eagles from Jamie Pochatek, Adam Stewart rivals Gannon with a double-
The Mercyhurst Athletes of the Week award went to two tion and winning instinct from Clarion University (10-26). and Greg Tellex all combined on header.
lacrosse players, Andrew Schuster and Breanna Haggerty. the first game seemed to kick in The Lakers proved that they a seven-hit shutout as the Lak-
Schuster took home the Male Athlete of the Week Award again and the score was quickly are on a roll and dominated the ers picked up the sweep with a
for his play in the Lakers’ upset of No. 3 New York Tech on
Saturday. Schuster scored three goals on only four shots,

Women’s lacrosse upsets No. 10 Philadelphia

including the final two goals of the game which gave the
Lakers the 8-6 win over NYT.

Haggerty also played a major role in an upset, with the Lakers bined for 11 goals and an assist
By Jimmy McCann
upending No. 10 Philadelphia University 15-10 on Saturday. as the Lakers celebrated “Senior
Contributing writer
She scored seven goals on the afternoon. She also set a Day” with a 15-10 win.
Mercyhurst single-season record with 73 points, eclipsing the Mercyhurst opened two-goal
previous record set in 2001 of 71 points. She now has 44 The Mercyhurst College Wom- leads twice in the first 30 minutes,
goals on the season, just six shy of that single-season record of en’s Lacrosse team walked away 4-2 and 6-4, before settling for a
50 set in 1998. with two victories this past week 7-6 advantage at intermission.
and improved their record to Haggerty and French com-
The red-hot baseball team took home the Team of the Week 8-7. bined for six of the Lakers seven
award. The Lakers have won six in a row, including four On Tuesday the Lakers traveled markers, three each, after fresh-
conference games. They now stand at 23-11 overall, 11-5 in to Latrobe, Pa. to take on the man Jessie Horeth opened the
the GLIAC, and were recently positioned in the No. 6 spot in the Bearcats of St. Vincent College. scoring at 25:47.
region. Mercyhurst held a 5-2 lead at The Lakers owned a slight 21-
intermission and were seemingly 20 advantage in shots.
on their way to a convincing vic- Haggerty’s seven goals gives
Men’s lacrosse moves up to No. 4 tory. her 44 on the season, just six be-
But St. Vincent opened the hind Nadia Shabanza’s one-year
After two straight weeks of upsetting the No.3 ranked team, second half by scoring four suc- record of 50 set in 1998.
the Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse team has moved up again in cessive goals to grab a 6-5 lead. Her 73 points surpassed the
the polls. In the most recent United States Intercollegiate The Lakers then took the game prior one-season high of 71 set
Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll the Lakers moved up to No. over by scoring five goals in just by Amy Perry in 2001.
5, up one spot from last week and two from where they stood under four minutes. They took Katie McAdams/Photo editor French finished with five points
at the end of March. a commanding 10-6 lead that Freshman Breanna Haggerty scored seven goals in the (4g, 1a) and moved into fourth
would never be surrendered as Lakers’ 15-10 upset of No. 10 Philadelphia. place for points in a season with
For the second straight week Mercyhurst upset the No. 3 the Bearcats mustered only two 61, just one back of Laurie Sien-
ranked team. This week it was New York Tech; last week it more goals against a stingy Mer- each added solo markers. Kathryn Ball, Kim Johannig- kiewicz’ third-place total of 62
was Adelphi. The team is now 8-2 overall, and 2-1 in the New cyhurst defense. Freshman goaltender Megan man, French and Lindsay Jack- set in 1999.
York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC). Breanna Haggerty led Mercy- Foley was credited with nine son could not have asked for a Mercyhurst will close the sea-
hurst with four goals, including saves and the victory. better gift from their teammates son Monday and Tuesday, April
the game-winner. On Saturday the Lakers cel- than the upset victory that they 24 and 25, with contests at Gan-
Baseball at No. 6 in region Kelsey French and Kristen ebrated “Senior day” at Tullio received in the last home game non and IUP respectively.
Toomey scored twice while Jessie Field when they hosted Nation- of their careers.
The Mercyhurst men’s baseball team has moved up to No. Horeth and Courtney Olevnik ally ranked No. 10 Philadelphia. French and Haggerty com-
6 in the North Central Regional poll released April 17. The
poll is conducted by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’
Association (NCBWA), and the ranking is two spots better than
last week’s standing. Mercyhurst swept games from Hillsdale
and Clarion over the Easter weekend.
Laker tennis programs wrap up regular season
but ultimately fell. the GLIAC Tournament. of 5-1, but this time with Mer-
The team now stands at 23-11 overall, 11-5 in the Great Lakes By Brady Hunter
Likewise, sophomore Jennifer On Friday, they squared off cyhurst on the losing side. Only
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Contributing writer
Daly stayed close in her second against Lake Superior State in the Fava and Hersh pulled out a vic-
game, but finally lost 6-4. quarterfinal round. tory in doubles play, and the Lak-
Kick sets assists record The men’s and women’s tennis Junior Jamie Sutyak, sopho- The match would end in a 5-3 ers were blanked in singles com-
teams have officially finished more Christine Mersch and loss for the Lakers, but saw the petition against Wayne State.
Men’s volleyball senior setter Dan Kick broke the program’s all- their regular seasons, and both freshmen Maria Franco and continuance of a theme that has Strangely enough, three singles
time assist record last week the team’s non-conference game stand near the .500 mark. Kassie Leuschel also suffered run through their season. sets were left unfinished, with
against Juniata. With an assist on a Nate Keegan kill in the The women’s team concluded losses in singles play. Sophomore Mariano Fava was Krakowski, Fowler and junior
third game Kick tallied his 3,451st career helper. Greg Beato their campaign with a match The Lakers fared no better in exquisite, winning his singles and Lee Michael Marnik left high
held the old record from 1998-2000 with 3,450 assists. against a formidable Division III doubles, with the pairings of doubles (pairing with graduate and dry.
opponent, while the men’s season Mersch/Sutyak, Daly/McLean student Dan Hersh) sets. In the end, these three sets
Kick has at least one more game in his career to add to his was capped by the Great Lakes and Franco/Leueschel all drop- Fava continued to play well could not have swung the match
record; the Lakers square off against Ball State this week in Intercollegiate Athletics Confer- ping at the hands of Carnegie throughout the day, as the Lakers at any rate, but they would have
the MIVA Playoffs. ence (GLIAC) Tournament in Mellon. faced Findlay in the first consola- made the final more respectable
Midland, Mich. The women’s team finished tion match. had they culminated in Laker
Russo contract extended On Tuesday the women faced the regular season with a mark En route to a 5-1 win, Fava, victories.
off against Carnegie Mellon Uni- of 11-10. Hersh, seniors Lucas Krasowski All in all, the men took sixth
Mercyhurst President Dr. Gamble announced recently that the versity, ranked No. 14 in Division They will be anxiously await- and Rick Fowler and sopho- place at this weekend’s tourna-
contract of Pete Russo, Director of Athletics, has been renewed III competition. ing a forthcoming decision as to more David Smith all picked up ment, and finished the season
three years through 2009. Russo has been at the position for Carnegie Mellon proved too whether they will be participat- victories. with a record of 10-10.
17 years, the longest tenure of any AD in school history. much for the Lakers, completing ing in the playoffs in early May Doubles play was also quite Like the women, they are on
a nine-set sweep. or not. successful, with only the team of the edge of their seats, waiting
Quick hits are compiled by sports editor Ryan Palm. Any- Freshman Jaclyn McLean put The men’s team found a bit Smith and Fowler failing to put for a decision as to whether or
thing worthy of being a “quick hit” should be emailed to up a fight in her first game, forc- more success at the end of their away their opponents. not they will be competing in the
sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu. ing her opponent to seven points, season, traveling to Michigan for Saturday brought another score GLIAC postseason.