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Page 2, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 2

World’s First Air-Powered Automobile Makes a Splash

India’s largest automaker began producing the world’s first commercial vehicle that runs on nothing but air. The “Air Car”, first developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy NËgre, uses compressed air to push the engine’s pistons instead of gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models. It may seem a little extreme, but some six thousand zero-emissions Air Cars already hit the streets of India last August.

In Paris, a Luxembourg-based Motor Development International has scheduled the launch of the Air Car in France next year. Called the MiniCATS, the car is a three-seater and one of two models the company hopes to sell. A commercial version of a prototype of the compact three-seater showcased at the 2002 Paris Motor Show and was priced at $9,850, while the six-seater sedan will retail for $16,000. “It’s safe, doesn’t pollute, doesn’t explode, is not poisonous and not expensive,” said MDI representative Sabastien Braud.

The way it works isn’t rocket science, either. An electric pump inside the car compresses the air into the tank at a pressure of 300 bars. Years-old, off-the-shelf technology uses the compressed air to drive old-fashioned car engine pistons instead of combusting gas or diesel fuel to create a burst of air to do the same thing. The pump plugs straight into an ordinary household socket and takes four hours to complete the recharge… much more than your cell phone would. The Air Car’s pistons are pumped by the escaping compressed air that can take the car up to 70 miles per hour. It can travel up to 50 miles at top speed with a full tank, or further at lower speeds, and the only exhaust that comes out of the tail pipe is cold air. The modern and much pricier hybrid cars achieve higher speeds and longer ranges by running on a combination of compressed air and gasoline, or bio-fuels derived from organic matter. MDI claims that the air-only car models meet the needs of most urban drivers who average just eleven miles a day.

However, even environmentalists are wary about the Air Car’s claimed “benefits”. Converting energy from electricity to compressed air is inefficient, says Karsten Krause of the European Federation for Transport and Environment. Krause claims that by consuming more energy from the power plant than it delivers on the road, it could do as much environmental damage as a gasoline-run vehicle. Basically, there is no pollution being exhausted from the car itself, but the electricity used for upkeep of the vehicle might be just as much an environmental burden.

The catch, of course, is that the car itself is hideously ugly. However, if you are one of those people who can put “saving the environment” (that is, if it does what it claims) before fashion, you might be able to put the box-like appearance of the car behind you. The vehicle itself looks like a Playschool Power Wheel, and whether or not this Air Car will be a success in the gas guzzling and fashionable culture of America in 2010 is questionable. High gas prices make this idea a little more persuasive, but only time will tell in 2010.

Letter: Keep up the Theatre Coverage

As a representative of the Theatre Department, I wanted to thank you (and by extension, your staff) for your recent coverage of happenings with Arcadia Theatre. We put a lot of work into what we do, and the Tower hasn’t always been so keen to cover it in years past, so it was great to open up recent issues and read a thorough description of the season (although I already knew what it was) and a great, thoughtful review of Rocky Horror. I hope you plan on continuing in your trend of reviewing the productions.

Overall, great work with the Tower this year – being a Senior, I have seen where the Tower was, and I’m glad to see where you’re taking it.

-Steve Carpenter, Class of ‘09

From the Editor’s Desk…

To Our Faithful Audience,

Alright everyone, I know you are excited about Thanksgiving and so are we. That is why we at, the Tower, will be taking the Fall break that Arcadia isn’t giving anyone else. What I’m trying to say is that there will not be an issue for next week. So that means you’ll have to enjoy this one twice as much.

I think we put together an excellent issue this time around. We hope that our feature is timely and something that matters to you. We also took a break on covering President-elect Obama. I think if we ran anymore after the marathon we’ve been doing on the election, I might have had a serious Barack Attack (and not the good kind).  So you’ll have to settle for Sarah Palin this time around.

Also, we have two exciting things to mention. We received our first letter to the editor this past week, and it was positive as an added bonus. On top of that, last week’s issue was the first in recent Tower history to be completely sold out. I know they’re free,but usually we have a decent amount left over. This time there is only the handful we keep for our archives. So thank you for picking up The Tower and for your feedback. This is your student newspaper, and it doesn’t mean anything without your interest.

Tyler Peckham
Editor-in-Chief

Corrections:

The web address given in last week’s ad for our website was incorrect. The correct address is:
arcadiauniversitytower.wordpress.com.

The Tower’s weekly round-up of quirky, interesting and mildly relevant news.

Man Escapes Prison in Box

According to the BBC News, a 42-year-old Turkish citizen had escaped a German prison by mailing himself out: Express. The convicted drug dealer had been serving a seven year sentence in the prison. He too soon decided to make a mad dash for it out! A manhunt is underway in western Germany for the man who escaped unnoticed.

The BBC discovered that the convict had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops and, at the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier. The escapee cut a hole in the box and jumped out of the truck that was carrying packages. The driver alerted the police after he noticed the box flapping in the breeze!

Today, his whereabouts are still unknown. Chief warden of the prison, Beate Peters, told the BBC, “This is an embarrassing incident. He must have had accomplices outside the prison. We have no idea where the fugitive is hiding. We assume that he is still in the country and is lying low before making his move.” Employees at the prison have been complaining for the past few years that they need to beef up security and that the government needs to provide them with guards. For now, the prison will have to deal with one of their prisoners literally being shipped out!

-Elishia Peterson

Blue Man Group Opens School

Looks like the famous “Blue Man Group” is doing more than painting themselves in shiny blue paint, miming, and playing instruments. The performance artists Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman, who have made a name for their troupe worldwide, have since decided to take their off-Broadway stardom and go back to school.

According to The New York Post, the Blue Men have opened a private elementary school in the East Village of New York that uses black lights, yards of plastic tubing and a padded “wonder room” with a light-up floor to stimulate thinking. “It isn’t that we just think that teaching the arts would be nice. What all the professions out there need are creative thinkers and good collaborators,” said Chris Wink.

He and the other Blue Men occasionally come to the school as instructors and teach the kiddies to be creative problem solvers. There are certified teachers who instruct the students but don’t wear the blue paint. Though they do encourage their students to say good morning in foreign and fictitious languages when they come to school! The blue and bald men, along with their wives, started the Blue School back in September, with 61 kids in kindergarten and early-childhood classes. The New York Post reported that the independent school is set to grow by a grade each year through fifth grade.

But get this: tuition for the whole year is set at an astonishing $27,300 for kindergarten and first grade students! That’s a college education right there. With 27G’S, I bet the parents will be feeling “blue” by the end of the school year.

-Elishia Peterson

Man Arrested for Stealing Communion Wafers

A Connecticut man allegedly tried to steal communion wafers during a service. 33-year-old Samuel Ricci of Canton grabbed a handful of wafers from the priest during communion at St. de Porres Catholic Church in Jensen Beach. He was cornered by fellow churchgoers and the police were called. Deputies showed up and arrested Ricci. He was charged with theft, disruption of a religious assembly, and two accounts of simple battery as two churchgoers received minor injuries during the scuffle. He was being held at $2,000 bond at the Martin County Jail. The motive for trying to steal communion wafers remains unknown, but one can bet the Lord wasn’t pleased.

-Gina Merlino

Free Viagra for South of the Border

Viva Viagra! That is what men are saying in Mexico. Viagra and other impotence drugs are being given out for free in Mexico City to men 70 and older. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says that sexuality “has a lot to do with quality of life and our happiness” and is therefore implementing the plan. On December 1st, the government will start handing out doses. There will be three centers where the pills will be distributed and men will be examined before receiving the pills. These centers specialize in sexual health for the elderly.

-Gina Merlino

Page 3, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 3

Opinion: Forget the Sexism, Palin Simply Was Not Qualified

In politics, there is much going on with Barack Obama and him transitioning to the White House. At this point, it is obvious to everyone that Obama will be the face of the Democratic Party for at least the next four years. But what about the GOP? Sarah Palin has emerged as the new face of the Republican Party.

From the time she was announced as John McCain’s running mate to now, there has been a lot of curiosity about the governor of Alaska. Along with this curiosity came the other unavoidable side of politics: criticism.

Her wardrobe, her family, her accent, and her experience as an Alaskan governor were all scrutinized soon after she accepted the offer to become the first female vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party. The Republicans that remained faithful to Palin have complained that the treatment she received from the press has been sexist. To them and others it seemed like the only reason Palin was treated the way she was is because of her gender.

Throughout the time that Palin has been a part of the election, the reasons the so-called liberal media has been hounding her with questions isn’t due to her gender. When you are running for the second-in-command of the United States, scrutiny comes with the job. The simple fact of the matter was that Palin was unqualified for the Vice Presidency. She didn’t know important facts, wasn’t prepared for important questions, and couldn’t tell you what the Bush Doctrine was.

I know it sounds good to blame the media for Palin’s short comings, but this was the same person who defended her foreign policy experience by being able to see Russia from her house. Then, in place of the real answers, Americans got Palin bragging about eating moose burgers, and stories about being the mayor of a town whose city hall looked like a laundromat. I can keep going. The main idea here is that Sarah Palin was not qualified to begin with.

The interviews and $150,000 shopping spree showed the lack of judgment the McCain campaign had. The end results are no surprise. What the future holds for Sarah Palin is uncertain, but if there is one thing she did show us, it’s that she is ambitious, and she won’t be going away anytime soon.

palin started out as a long shot to save the McCain campaign when he needed a running mate. He needed Palin to get more conservative and evangelical voters but, in the process, lost many of the moderates that Obama was able to pull over to his side.

Her failure in this election is not due to her gender; to say  that would be an insult to the intelligence of American women. We are smart enough to see that Palin was not ready for the job. She was in way over her head, and the questioning that the press did shed light into a shoddy campaign. Here is a hypothetical situation: What if instead of Obama getting the nomination, Hillary Clinton won it? How would republicans have responded?

Although McCain kept it clean, there were more than a few instances of racist remarks at McCain and Palin rallies, plus a huge among of Republicans that actually believed that Obama was a Muslim (God forbid!).

So before you jump on the liberals and, the media that they supposedly reside in, ask yourself if things would have been different, or worse, if Hillary Clinton was in Palin’s shoes.

NASA Loses Spirit Rover

The Second Phase of NASA’s exploration of Mars  is slowly coming to an end as one of the two newest rovers to roam the red planet has ceased communication.  The Spirit rover which arrived on Mars in January of 2004 has the second longest period of time on Mars behind the nuclear cell powered Viking 1.  In early November the Spirit seemingly lost ability to communicate full messages back to NASA this after a dust storm damaged parts of the rover’s solar array power source.

The Spirit has a few notable firsts while on Mars.  It explored a crater known as “Sleepy Hollow”, an area of Mars NASA had been trying to get at for some time.  Also the Spirit was equipped with a panoramic color camera.  The pictures it took of the surface of Mars are the highest resolution color photos of another planet ever.  The Spirit as well as its twin Opportunity also had a Rock Abrasion Tool used to grind and bore through rocks and sand dunes.  It was the first time a rock from mars had ever bored through.  Maybe the biggest finding on Mars at the hands of Spirit came when the rover found a volcanic rock dubbed “Mimi”.  Mimi is one of the main reasons NASA has found the possibility of water on Mars.  The rock is the equivalent of a Volcanic rock here on Earth and the crystallized crevasses lead scientist to believe the present of water on the red planet as being totally possible.

Though the Spirit rover seems to be on its last legs, or at least to be loosing the ability to communicate, NASA has not yet given up hope.  Many feel that like the other problems the Spirit has had like memory malfunctions or power cell issues the communication break down maybe something that can be worked out.

Campus Bicycle Program in the Works

“I want to ride my bicycle —
I want to ride it where I like!”

Community Bicycle Programs have been a hot commodity over in Europe for many years now; however, it’s taken us quite sometime to catch on. Thankfully it’s a growing interest of a couple of cities in the US and, just as important, a couple of college campuses. That is why, here at Arcadia, we, the Class of 2012 officers are proposing a Bike Share Program that will essentially enable you pick up a bike from any bike rack, ride it around to wherever you see fit, and bring it back when you’re done. Seems pretty simple, right? Although this has many benefits, such as convenience, little or no negative environmental impacts, and heck, it’s free, the potential problems of safety and theft are a concern. That is why we’re asking anyone interested in furthering this great program to step up and let us know! The more interest shown and the more help we get, the sooner this exciting program can be implemented. We have some great ideas of our own, and we’re eager to hear some of yours. If you’re interested in getting this program rolling (no pun intended), please contact Niquelle Gebbia, Vice President of the Class of 2012, at ngebbia@arcadia.edu.

Weekly Green Tip

Recycle your old cell phone.

It may not sound like much, but tis the season for new tech gadgets, and cell phones are at the top of that list. If you’re planning on getting a new cell phone this holiday season, make sure you put your old one to good use. The waste that millions of tossed cell phones create contains mercury which is pretty bad for old Mother Earth.

Several companies will allow you to ship the used phone to them and get a coupon for some other accessories so check with your carrier before you toss it!

Page 4, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 4

Knights’ Nook

Dear Ms. Majestic,

I really like this girl. She’s really smart and she’s taught me so much. She’s really pretty and I don’t even think she knows it. She makes me laugh all the time and she even laughs at my jokes. My friends think she’s cool too but they think that she’s out of my league. When we see each other on campus it’s like there’s a connection—like I just feel it when she looks at me. The problem is I don’t know what I should do about it. I mean…she is my professor. What do I do?
-Student in Love

Dear Student,

WOW! I actually am speechless. First let me tell you that the feelings you have for your professor are not wrong. Thousands of students each year develop romantic feelings of some sort for faculty or staff members they interact with on a regular basis. As far as how you deal with the situation, there’s only one happy solution. You can NOT have a romantic relationship with a professor. I’m not sure if there are some written rules about it but I know for a fact that it looks really bad on the professor’s behalf. My guess is that this woman is more than a few years older than you, so a relationship with her would be pretty extreme even if she wasn’t your teacher. I think the only safe thing for you to do is leave her alone. That’s probably hard for you to hear and you probably don’t plan on following this advice, but know that dealing with her on any level past platonically is dangerous. Weigh your options—what may seem perfect just may not be.
-Ms. Majestic

Dear Ms. Majestic,

I’m an exec board member for a club in campus and we’re having some issues. The president of our club is really supportive but he’s also really good friends with everyone else on the board. He doesn’t like rocking the boat so he doesn’t like making hard decisions or telling people what to do. It’s kind of weird because as the president you would think that the person is prepared to do whatever it takes for the club but he cares more about his friendships than the club. I don’t know what to say to him because he’s my friend too and I don’t want to hurt his feelings. How do I deal with him? I care about the club and that’s my priority, but I don’t want to lose my friends either.
-Executive Friend

Dear Friend,

This is a sticky situation. If you’re too harsh, you may just lose your friends but if you don’t address the issues, the club will suffer. You have to find a happy medium and the only way is to talk to your friend. He probably has no idea that what he is doing is not only hurting your friendship but harming the club. Have a serious but light conversation with him and let him know how you feel. Tell him how his behavior is affecting the club and its members. Make sure you aren’t stern because it may come off that you’re only looking out for yourself and not the club. Whatever you do, make sure you keep your friendship intact. Good luck!
-Ms. Majestic

After the glorious week spent sleeping and doing some reading it was back to reality this past Monday. Monday not only brought a new week of classes; it was also the day I had to hand in my first bit of coursework. I was actually way more prepared to hand in my work this past Monday than I have ever been to hand in anything in my entire life. I had my cover sheet ready, the entire thing was printed, collated and stapled. I put it in my folder and even packed my stuff for school the night before. I was so ready.

When I got to class I took notes and really enjoyed discussing “Paradise Lost” in my seminar. Afterwards I got the tube with one of my friends and thought I had had a great day. Needless to say that was not the case. I found myself seven stops away from my school on the Circle line, which happens to be the slowest line in the entire tube, and I realized I never handed in my coursework. Of course the most practical thing to do at that moment was cry and freak out so I did that. Getting off at the next stop I embarked on a taxi hailing adventure finally getting one after standing in the pouring rain for twenty minutes.

At this point the deadline for submission has nearly passed and I am a second away from hyperventilating. As we pulled up to the main building I ran out of the taxi and up to the English department so fast I almost took down an old lady in my rush. Luckily when I got there I was able to hand it in but it was just a terrible time. The woman asked me why I was running late, the only answer I had was blatant stupidity. She just said “fair enough.”

After that little incident I was very on edge. This coming Monday I have an essay due in that is 40 % of my grade. I am so terrified of this that I am nearly beside myself with fear. At least I also found out that my British counterparts are just as scared; that helped a little. So while all of my flat mates run around London this weekend I will be in my room writing a paper about how family dramas shape Victorian texts. I can’t really complain though; after all school work is the reason I came here.

It’s weird to think that after this paper I don’t have any work to hand in or any exams until January. I am so conditioned to do homework every week and hand it in that this is completely warping my idea of things. Well I should continue my productivity and move it along to my paper so I don’t spend my Sunday night cramming last minute thoughts into incoherent sentences.

Every hour I spend here seems to go by ten times as fast as it would if I were at Arcadia. Even right now I feel like I have only just gotten here and the semester is nearly over. Four weeks from today I will be at home on my couch with my family preparing for Christmas and studying for my exams. Hopefully the time is going by just as fast at home; it’s just so hard to comprehend how I will manage to do all of the work expected in the next few weeks, but oh well. If you’re feeling stressed just remember that you get a Thanksgiving break!

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
The stars will test your resolve this week when you will be offered a variety of different paths for the road you seek.  Fortunately for you, they all lead to a midnight hoagie run to Wawa.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
The independent style that the Sagittarius tends to embrace will take a turn for the worse this week when you decide to turn the triple you’ve been living in into a single, much to the despair of your two roommates.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
The stars show that the elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water are all in your favor this week. This explains why you do nothing but watch a “Captain Planet” marathon for two days straight.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
This week will be the dawning of a new Age of Aquarius.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
Although your sign is already that of the fish, your actions this week will give a whole new meaning to the phrases “slippery when wet,” and “drinking like a fish,” coincidentally in the same night.

Aries (March 23 – April 29)
You will find value in some things this week that many others have regarded as washed up and ill-conceived at this point. You will also buy the new Guns n’ Roses album and see the newest James Bond film.

Taurus (April – May 20)
The Taurus’ stubborn nature strikes again when you fail to heed the warnings of a sign reading “Caution: Electric Fence.”

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
Just when things start to look up for you, someone throws a stick in your spokes this week. Literally. Thankfully for the rest of us, someone caught it on tape and put it up on Youtube.

Cancer (June 22 – July 22)
The stars foresee the brakes of your car unexpectedly failing in the near future. Lucky color for the week is green. Unlucky is red..

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
The mighty Leo shows its gentler side this week when you opt to buy the lavender-scented fabric softener.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
It is usually wise to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Except in this case when you are entered into a tandem bicycle race as a team.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)
It’s true that Libras are quick to make new friends, except your roommates have started to wonder why you have to keep bringing your new friends back to your place every weekend.

Page 5, Feature

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Feature, Page 5

Feeling the Squeeze: How Arcadia is Feeling the Economic Crisis

For the most part college students expect to be poor. We understand that while we are off earning our degree we might have to drive a hand me down car, wait until Christmas to update our wardrobe, or settle for Ramen  noodles instead of a night out.

This is all part of the trade off we make for our future, because after we graduate, we expect to be able to make enough money for the things we want.  But with the economy in the state it is now, many students are starting to wonder if the grass is actually greener on the other side. Instead of preparing for a lucrative career in the workforce, many Arcadia students are wondering if they will even be able to land an entry level position coming out of college.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers these last few months have shown ominous signs for college grads. There was a decreased expectation in college hiring across almost all sectors of the economy in the months of August, September, and October. The only sector that saw a rise in hiring was government.
For some students, this bleak outlook has made them turn to graduate school as a way to wait out the troubled economy while developing a specialty to use for a job upon graduation. The problem with graduate school is that it adds another two years of college debt to many students that are already in the red financially.

“I’m thinking I’m going to have to work a year since I can’t afford to go to grad school,” says Arcadia senior Alex Timmons. For Timmons and others graduating this year, they feel that grad school might be the best option, but it is a costly one. “Grad school is my ultimate goal, but we don’t always get what we want,” adds Timmons.

Other seniors are looking to go into high paying jobs in medicine or law. Mark Keller is a biology major looking to get into medical school after graduation. “I’m going to medical school right after, so there will always be jobs there unless things get so bad where they have to start closing hospitals,” says Keller. “My big concern would come if I didn’t get into med school and then trying to get a job in the mean time.”

According to a recent ABC News  article, some college graduates can hope to slip into vacant spots left by retiring baby-boomers.  The article points to positions for students with Engineering and other applied science degrees as being sought after currently, despite the state of the economy. For those at Arcadia where there is not even a Physics degree offered, let alone Engineering, many students wonder if a degree in English, History, or some other social science will be able to land them a job.

“I’m worried about getting a job with any relevance to why I went to school,” says sophomore Political Science major, Chelsea Christiansen.  Christiansen and fellow underclassman, junior Christie Shaub, are worried even if they have a year or more until graduation.

“I’m $52,000 in debt, and I currently plan to go to grad school, so I don’t know how I’m going to pay for loans,” says Shaub. In addition to their worries about getting a job and student loans, both students saw their college funds almost disappear because of huge losses in the stock market. Shaub estimates her loss at around $13,000.

Perhaps some of the students most nervous about graduation are those that chose the Arts as a field of study. Although Art majors were never known for making huge salaries right out of college, things are starting to look especially bleak in today’s economic environment.

Senior Angela Kent is an Interior Design major graduating in May. “Just last summer trying to get a simple job at a restaurant was hard because a lot of older people were looking to pick up a second job to pay the bills,” says Kent. “Interior Design is already a hard job to get because it’s so competitive, but [with the economy] it’s already hard to get any job.”

Senior art education major Nicole Polizzi has similar worries. “With a lot of schools’ art budgets being cut, it’s going to be difficult,” says Polizzi. “I’m not trying to worry about it yet, I have another semester to come back to,” adds Polizzi.

To be sure, anxiety is natural among seniors no matter what the state of the economy, but the current situation only adds to the stress. Banking on the retirement of baby-boomers seems like a long-shot, and unless you are one the few students lucky enough to be interested in a job with the government, the best many of us can do is hope for some improvement between now and May. Until then we might just have to start getting used to the idea of driving that beat up Honda or Toyota and eating that steady diet of Ramen noodles.

View Points:

How has the downturn in the economy affected you?

Sarah Graybill, Freshman,
“My dad basically got laid off from his job, he’s having a terrible time finding another one, and the money is dwindling. And I’m stuck here at this college that’s really expensive and it’s hard on my family.”

Helen Dwyrer, Senior,
“The economy doesn’t affect me because I have no money anyways. I haven’t really noticed because I haven’t been paid enough to notice. Maybe it’ll affect me when I try and go buy a house in several months, but not now.”

Jacky Widger, Sophomore,
“Gas is more expensive therefore I can’t go home and have to stay on campus more and I can’t drive places.  You have to change your lifestyle, it sucks.”

Interview and Photos for Viewpoints by Photograph
Editor Ash Wise

Opinion: Personal Finance Key to Keeping Your Head Above the Financial Water

What would you do if you were given $5000? Would you splurge it all on material things such as clothes, video games, movies, and CDs?

Here’s a bit of math: let’s say that as a kid you get $10 a week for allowance—that’s $520 a year. If this has been your allowance since eight years old and stayed that way until you turned eighteen, you would have received $5200 from allowance alone. Let’s not even worry about birthday money, odd jobs, or the regular job you may already have. So, many of us have been given $5000 already. What have you done with it?

It’s probably safe to say that many of us, myself included, have spent most of their money on things such as new movies, hot games, and nice clothes. According to a survey conducted in 2006 by Charles Schwab Corp, an institution that specializes in finances, nearly a third of teens are already beginning to accumulate debt from credit cards and other means even before reaching the age of 18.

We need to be very careful and very wise with how we handle our money as we prepare to enter the working world. A lot of us, especially as college students, need to start focusing on our financial literacy as much as we focus on our midterms, the Phillies, and what concerts we plan to go to during the weekend.

We can all easily develop our spending habits by building up our financial literacy. Financial literacy is a person’s ability to manage their finances in a smart way that considers their present situation while taking future plans into account. Many of us can agree that with the economy’s recent downturn is making life harder for a lot of us. After all, our parents and friends are continually getting laid off, our grandparents are suddenly losing their retirement plans, and many of us will feel the hit as we find ourselves searching harder for financial aid. So many of us are probably getting our money acts together, right?

Not really. In reality, the average financial literacy of America’s youth is actually decreasing. According to the 2008 Jump$tart Financial Literacy Surveys of High School Seniors and College Students, high school seniors answered about 48.3 percent of the financial literacy questions correctly in 2008, which is almost 10 percent lower than the 57 percent from 1997.  All of the surveys’ average scores have been close to 50 percent since 2000, meaning that your average high school senior knows about half of what he needs to know about making good financial decisions.

Of course, some of us are luckier than others in the face of the changing economy, so the increase of financial literacy doesn’t seem as urgent. I remain fortunate enough to be able to go to college since my parents worry about all the finances, and they remain generous enough to pay for my phone and a good portion of my college tuition. However, as an English major in my junior year who is still undecided in my desired career path, I have a good reason to be worried about my financial stability and independence.

As tuition costs rise and student loans fall, families struggle more to pay for college costs. As more parents continue to lose jobs, students need to borrow more money from suffering companies and banks, which means there is not enough money to go around.
According to an article posted on October 25 in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education found that tuition costs have increased considerably in the last five years: 22.5 percent in two-year public schools, 31.1 at four-year public schools, and 14.1 percents at four-year private schools. In another Inquirer article posted on October 20, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will have PA colleges prepare for a budget cut plan that will likely raise tuition costs by about 4 percent. Regardless of whether you chose to go to Arcadia or not, paying is going to be difficult.

We’re all in college because of all the statistics and information you hear from your parents and teachers about going to college: high school grads on average will make about $30,000 a year, college grads with four years will make about $52,000 a year, and doctoral degree level grads will make about $89,000 a year.

If you’ve already been saving  and are miles ahead of me in planning your financial future, more power to you. But those of us who aren’t need to begin preparing our money so we can live easier in the future. Of course, we’re always going to buy things we like just because we want to, but we can practice a bit of foresight when managing the money we receive. Take a portion of your money and keep it off to the side so that you always have money should you ever really need it. Talk to parents, teachers, or friends to help increase your financial literacy in simple ways, like learning to balance a checkbook. Most importantly, be consistent with any system you choose to manage your money; money is hard to earn, but very easy to lose.

Page 6, Entertainment

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Page 6, Entertainment

Author Michael Crichton Dies at 66

To everyone’s surprise, the super-selling sci-fi writer Michael Crichton, best known for his novel Jurassic Park (for those of you who are not fans, yes, it was a book first) and for creating the TV show hit “ER,” has passed on unexpectedly after a courageous and private battle against cancer. Only 66, Crichton died of lymphoma in Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 4th. The author was diagnosed only last spring and loved ones were confident he would beat it, especially his brother Douglas Crichton, 59. “This is a shock to a lot of people, even his physicians,” Douglas told the press. Crichton’s brother claims he was not even worried for his older sibling until about two weeks ago, when his brother could barely speak due to stress from chemotherapy. “While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us – and entertained us all while doing so – his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend,” says a statement on Crichton’s website written by this family.

Michael Crichton’s suspenseful, page-turning, and sometimes horrifying sci-fi books include “Jurassic Park,” “Disclosure,” “Rising Sun,” and “The Terminal Man,” which have all sold more than 150 million copies. People knew and will remember him as an extraordinarily brilliant, gracious, thoughtful, and humorous man. “ER” producer John Wells, a close friend, says, “No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest. Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation.” Through his series of novels, Crichton became an inspiration for students, challenged fellow scientists in many fields, and with his creativity illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way that was universally understandable. He even has a dinosaur named after him, Crichton ankylosaur.

From an early age, Crichton eagerly displayed his talent. Douglas Crichton speaks fondly of the brilliance of his brother and recalls watching the sci-fi classic, “Forbidden Planet” with Michael, who used inspiration from that film to build his first robot in their childhood home of Roslyn, Long Island. Crichton was born in Chicago in 1942, with a journalist father, the influence which led to his own interest in writing. He attended medical school partly out of concern he would not make it as a writer, but the success of his first novel, 1969’s “The Andromeda Strain,” changed his mind. Though he was still an M.D. his whole life, he became a distinctive figure in Hollywood filmmaking and television along with his famous novels. He was also physically distinctive, standing at 6 foot 9 inches tall. “Michael’s talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of ‘Jurassic Park,’” Steven Spielberg said of Crichton. Throughout his lifetime, although short, the author won an Emmy, a Peabody, a Writer’s Guild of America Award for “ER,” to name a few.

Crichton married five times and had only had one daughter, with a supporting family that will hold a private funeral service, and no further details were released to the public. He has left behind a part of his brilliant mind for fans, his family, and the scientific world, and we will miss him.

Def Jam Exec. Commits Suicide

Sad news surrounds the Hip-Hop and R&B world, and this time it isn’t a rapper or a singer. Def Jam Recordings executive Shakir Stewart was found dead in his suburban Atlanta home. Officials say that Stewart committed suicide due to a single gunshot wound to the head on November 1st. It was very unclear why the exec would pull the trigger, for no suicide note was left. To those who knew him he seemed like a happy man.

Shakir Stewart signed famed songstress Beyonce’ before she was known to the music world, along with rappers Rick Ross and Young Jeezy, singer Ciara, and a host of other performers. The Def Jam boss had just filled the shoes of Brooklyn’s own Jay-Z back in June, so he had a tough act to follow. With Stewart running such a major business, there was probably little room for mistakes. Def Jam artists and fellow co-workers are still confused by the tragedy for he seemed to be doing a good job as the head of the company. The New York Daily News spoke to someone who knew Shakir Stewart well. “Whatever happened over the past 24 hours is not a testament to who we all know,” said longtime friend Christopher Hicks, a fellow music executive. He went on to say “He was a one-of-a-kind individual.”

Def Jam had this to say in a statement on November 2nd that described Shakir as “an amazing man, in every sense of the word.” There was no word on funeral arrangements to report as of yet from the record label. Police will investigate the suicide to be sure no clues were left out. The bright and talented young man leaves his wife and children to grieve his death. Could it be true that the more money you make, the more problems you see? Let’s hope not.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Brings the Fun

The New York zoo animals are back with a sequel full of laughs and more furry friends to add to the mix. Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe are on the scene again and still in Madagascar right where the first film left off. From the smart penguins, to lemurs King Julien and his side kick Maurice, and the hilarious chimps, the movie will have you laughing from start to finish. It’s a cute movie that keeps you singing the memorable song from the first movie: “I like to move it move it!”

The first Madagascar ended with the animals about to take their journey back to New York. This film begins with the animals off to their Big Apple home with the help of the penguins and the cool chimps. Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman have enjoyed their stay on the shores of Madagascar and are ready to go home. The military style penguins repair an old plane and have found a way back to the U.S. King Julien and small sidekicks Maurice and squeaky voiced Mort tag along on the adventure and are ready to fly. Once on the plane, things seem to be going good. But not for long. The plane makes an abrupt landing and the bunch are not in NYC, but Africa.

This strange land is foreign to the New York animals and the others. They encounter Africa and more animals just like them. Marty finds zebras that look and sound exactly like him. Gloria hangs with girl hippos and thinks she’s found her male hippo match, with a hippo named Moto-Moto. Melman is a big hit with other giraffes, and Alex finds more than he bargained for; he finds his mom and his dad. The mane man lion had forgotten his African roots and he finally gets to see where he came from. Alex and his family have some trouble communicating, for Alex is known as “Alex the King of New York,” the dancing, friendly animal at the Central Park Zoo. His parents, especially his dad, want him to act like a real lion and toughen up. All of the animals experience a change of scenery and try to adapt to this new world they are in.

Madagascar is filled with celebrities, but you don’t see them. These actors and actresses are the voices of the characters brought to life on the big screen. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Cedric the Entertainer lend their voices yet again for the cartoon. Newcomers who keep the animalistic flavor going is the late comedian Bernie Mac who plays Alex’s father Zuba. 30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin, daytime show The View’s Sherri Shepard, and even “The Black-eyed Peas” front man Will i am play animals in the movie. The movie’s stardom allow the cartoon to be what it is…. funny!

The jokes in the movie kept you intrigued, but maybe a little too intriguing for the kid in the front row of the theater. Some of the jokes in this movie are not kid friendly. There is a lot of adult humor that a kid wouldn’t get, or if they do, that makes it worse! A lot of the “under the table” jokes were slid in, I’m guessing for the enjoyment of the parent taking their kids to see it. At one point during the movie, lemur King Julien asks for his “nuts on a silver platter,” and the hippos have more junk in the trunk that jiggled occasionally in slow motion. That might be why the movie is rated “PG,” so parents can witness the grown-up funny business.

All in all Madagascar is a great movie to see with family, friends, or all by your lonesome. The animals have escaped their crates and are running wild! This a movie you don’t want to miss. If you like to “move it, move it,” then move it to see Madagascar. The animals are in the house, and at a theater near you.

Page 7, Entertainment

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Entertainment, Page 7

The Scramble

A Brief Look at New Media

In 2006 Taylor Swift did something you don’t see much of today.  Her debut album sold 3 millions physical copies, and at 18 she dominated the boys club that is Nashville.  Now two years later, Swift opens up her book of secrets on Fearless.  The album is packed with Swift’s pop power and the southern drawl that keeps things “down home.”  The best part the scorching hot Swift isn’t only a pretty face (or a killer bod).  Her songwriting talent seems infinite and the fact that she plays her own instruments packs twice the sexy.  Songs like “Fearless” and “The Best Day” are crafty pop tracks minus the bubble gum, while others like “Hey Stephen” sound like they jumped off the pages of Swift’s diary.

I’m going to let a Philadelphia crowd do my review of Nickelback’s latest album Horse Shit….I mean Dark Horse. At the 2001 Y100 (R.I.P) Feastival Nickelback came on second right after Lit (yes, Lit). After about two songs Nickelback lead dickhead Chad Kroeger started yelling at a fan in the front row.  (The exact phrase I couldn’t make out but I’m sure it was something really clever…) Kroeger then proceeds to say, “Get this asshole outta here.” So security pulls the fan out of the front row, and the crowd immediately starts giving Kroeger the business.  From that point on the crowd booed Nickelback before during and after every song.  Later on Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus commented on it saying something along the lines of  “Man, you guys were rough on those Canadians.” (it’s hard to remember back to 2001)  What’s the moral of the story?  Fuck Nickelback.

In the first James Bond movie not to be based of the iconic book series Daniel Craig returns as a Bond on the edge as much as ever.  For the 22nd installment to the series, Casino Royale Producer Michael G. Wilson came up with the plot in which Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd.  It looks like Quantum of Solace is doing the same thing to James Bond that the Dark Knight did to Batman; it’s showing a hero as a human.  Craig is a solid Bond and the movie looks to up the action in the series.  I won’t say anymore, expect a review next issue.

Game of the Week: Resistance 2

The whole war against some crazy alien race taking over the world thing is a big deal on consoles.  Games like Unreal and Halo brought the idea into popularity while others like Gears of War and Half-Life brought it into its prime.

When the first Resistance (Fall of Man) launched with the Playstation 3, developer Insomniac (Twisted Metal: Black is one of my all time favorites) took the general formula and tweaked it just enough in the right places,  not to mention the addition of hordes of kick ass weapons, to make PS3’s only legit launch title.  In Resistance 2 the story of the first is picked right up.  You play Lt. Nathan Hale an American soldier infected by the deadly Chimeran virus, but unlike the masses, Hale’s body resists the infection, giving him the heightened physical abilities of the Chimera while maintaining his humanity, for now.  In the second installment Hale is brought back to America to help cripple the mass of Chimera making their way across the nation.  Insomniac amped up pretty much everything from the last game to come up with an experience of perfect story telling and stunning visuals.

Resistance 2 looks a lot less like the alternate World War II you play through in the first game. With that said the colors and attention to detail make the art style and graphics some of the most solid on the PS3.  Another strong point is the scarily intelligent A.I. who constantly try to out flank, out maneuver or out think you as you play through the grit heavy levels, not to mention some pretty cool boss fights.   Guns like the “tag, you’re it” Bull’s-eye appear again along with a revamped version of favorites like the Auger, and the M5A2 Carbine, but unlike the first Resistance the emphasis isn’t on ammo but on weapon choice since the player is only allowed to carry two weapons at a time.   Other guns like the midrange Marksman and brutal saw gun Splicer are fun new additions that work better in a combo than on their own.

Insomniac also revamped their duck and cover system making the gameplay even faster than the blistering pace of Fall of Man.  Online you can either go into one of the huge multiplayer games (try 60 players….totally insane) or the online co-op where you play as different characters in the same universe.  If you own a PS3 I suggest you get 60 bucks together, take the weekend off from studying or work (as if you needed another reason) and enjoy an enthralling white-knuckle experience you won’t be able to Resist.

Animal Crossing: City Folk-Wii

Characters interact with a cartoonish city the same way they did on a farm in previous games.  The selling point is Wii Speak, which allows players to talk while playing on the internet.  Just remember, Skype is free and about as entertaining.

Gears of War 2- XB360

While I don’t have a 360 I can tell  you this.  Gears of War 2 is the front runner for game of the year. Just go get it.

Page 8, Sports

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Sports, Page 8

Arcadia Men’s Basketball Wins Thriller over Rowan in Triple Overtime

Knights Need Triple Overtime to Nab Season Opener

Glenside, PA: 11-15-08:  It wasn’t an easy victory but Arcadia Men’s Basketball escaped with a 94-90 victory after three overtime periods were needed to decide the non-conference season opener between the Knights and the Profs of Rowan University Saturday afternoon in Glenside.  Playing just five minutes shy of two back-to-back regulation contests, the Knights allowed Rowan to chip away at their 8 point halftime lead, with the Profs scoring 17 second half points off of Knight turnovers while using 23 points from their bench in the second half to force extra minutes.

Rowan gradually built up a 9 point lead after ten minutes of play but the Knights hung around and with the first of five three point buckets from senior Blaise Pepitone, the Knights took a 19-17 lead before finishing out the half leading 36-28.

That lead would grow to 14 as sophomore Darrell Mills worked hard under the glass to make it 44-30 with three minutes gone by in the second stanza.  But just as the Knights did to them in the first half, the Profs chipped away with near perfection from the charity stripe and a dominating presence in the paint, going on to erase the Knights 14 point advantage as Rowan senior Kevin Darby hit the back end of a one-and-one with 2 ticks remaining in regulation, sending the game into overtime tied at 67-all.  While Darby would go on to finish with a game high of 31 points, the Profs couldn’t solve the red-hot junior Damien Palatino, who not only led the Knights with his career high of 29, but poured in 17 points through three overtime stanzas.

Palantino swished a trey to open the first overtime and Darby finished for Rowan on a pair of free throws with seconds remaining to force the second overtime, tied at 75-all. Rowan’s Dan Reddan put the Profs in front with one minute left in the second overtime but Pepitone took the ball into the paint and made it 83-all. The Knights failed to get off a shot in their final possession thanks to swarming defensive play by the Profs and the two resiliant squads gladly kept playing until a winner was decided. Palantino hit another triple and then a jumper to open the third extra stanza, giving the Knights the 88-85 edge but Rowan would again tie it with 37 seconds left thanks to a triple from Aaron Spellman.  Palatino hit another jump shot and a layup underneath from first year Khalief Trawick, putting the Knights in front for good 94-90.

Palantino finished with 29 points, 3 boards and 5 assists to lead Arcadia. Pepitone poured in 21 on 5-8 from behind the arc and added four assists. Senior Bobby Mulholland added 11 and nabbed 5 steals.  Senior Terrell Varnado added eight points and a team high 10 rebounds.  Three other Knights would finish with 7 points apiece, including Mills, who also added four steals and 3 assists, Trawick, who pulled down 4 caroms and first year Andrew Vose who pulled down 8 caroms while blocking a team high 3 shots.

08 — 09 Men’’s & Women’’s Swiimmiing Season Preview

Arcadia Swimming. There are both men’s and women’s events, but all play for one entity: Arcadia Swimming. They pride themselves on their unity and this year, both teams have something to prove. Second year Head Coach Stephen Rote agrees: “Last season was a stepping stone towards the future we would like to build for Arcadia Swimming.  We broke numerous school records and showed the conference that we are one of the up and coming teams.”

Both the men and the women lost four-year standouts due to graduation which will no doubt be a big early season void to fill. The women will miss Michelle McCandless ‘08, who was named to the MAC Second Team and graduated with several school records. For the men, the Knights say goodbye to the lengthy and strong Brendan Peters ’08, who backboned the men’s lineup for the past four years.  Other graduated swimmers include LJ Morgan ’08 and Bryan Alexander ‘08, both of whom, along with Peters, placed in the 2008 conference championships. As a team, Arcadia Swimming set 14 new school records at the championships in 2008, with the women finishing in 9th place (60 points) and the men in 7th (167) in the nine-team field.

For the 2008-09 season, they would like to continue building on that success with 14 returning to the team, all with experience in both short and long distance. Four are featured on the men’s squad, and Coach Rote expects all of them to qualify for conference playoffs and place. They include senior and team captain John Konieczny (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan), junior Steve Neafsey (Admore, PA/Lower Merion), and sophomores Jason Sharpe (Burlington, NJ/Shawnee) and Will Ruocco (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp. Memorial).  Konieczny and Sharpe helped to lead the men’s relay team into the MAC championships, culminating in a new school record in the 800 Freestyle Relay.  Neafsey and Ruocco bring even further consistency to the Knights team in short, distance and relay events.

The women have ten swimmers returning this season, including an intact 200 Free Relay team that competed consistently with each other last season.  The women’s squad, flanked by four juniors and six returning sophomores give this team depth and experience against the many competitive conference teams.  The juniors feature Jen Alfano (Reading,PA/Sinking Springs) who Rote expects to qualify for the post-season, Tamar Paltin (King of Prussia,PA/Upper Merion), C.J. Lacy (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area), and Nicole Henninger (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman). The sophomores are Steph Bartolotta (South Brunswick,NJ/South Brunswick), who Coach Rote also expects to both qualify and place in conference playoffs, Danielle Disanto (Sickerlerville,NJ/Timber Creek), Gina Ruppert (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown), Sam Sunbury (Southington,CT/Southington), Lauren Meyers (Lancaster,PA/Hempfield), and Holly Hamilton (Blackwood,NJ/Triton).  Myers, Ruppert, Alfano and DiSanto led the relay teams well into last season, and with Hamilton and Paltin also returning with relay experience, the women’s squad will look to place a relay team in the conference championship in 2009.

The men and women both have quite a few newcomers to the team as well, many of whom are expected to contribute to the team and even qualify for conferences. On the men’s side there is junior Benjamin Zee (Beachwood, NJ/toms River-South), sophomore RJ Perzinski (Forest Hill, MD/York Country Day School), and freshmen Steve Haasis (Ridely Park,PA/Ridley) Andrew Buczkowski, Aaron Knock (Glenside,PA/Abington), and Adrian Chan(Lincoln,RI/Lincoln). For the women, Rote names juniors Kayla Kroll (Middletown,DE/Middletown), Amanda Ricci (Robbinsville,NJ/Allentown), and Melissa Yaeger (Stratford,NJ) and freshmen Jessica Parker (Hillsborough,NJ/Hillsborough), Caitlin Culhane (West New York,NJ/Memorial), Amalie Kreitman (Hillsborough,NJ/Hillsborough), and Elly Fernandez (Bernville,PA/Tulpehocken).

The 2008-09 Knights had their opening meet against Ursinus College on Wednesday, November 5th. While both the men and women came back with losses, freshman Jessica Parker showcased two first place finishes in the 50 and 100 Freestyle races for the women while for the men, John Konieczny just missed a first place win in the 200 Free. Both teams travel to FDU-Florham on Saturday, November 8th for their first Middle Atlantic Conference meet of the year at 1 PM.

All Knights Athletics Articles courtesy of Arcadia
University Athletics; Photos courtesy of University
Photographer Josh Blustein

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Front Page

Page 2, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 2

New Age, New Era: A Black President

For as long as I shall live, will I remember where I stood on November 4th, 2008. I will remember how I clenched my teeth as I flipped through news stations that reported different electoral vote winnings. Forever will I remember seeing the smile of a man whose visage reflects my own and who stood proud before a country he was destined to lead. And I will always remember the moment in history that will change American society-whether she’s prepared or not.

When I watched the celebrations around the world as people celebrated a deserved victory, I was speechless. What could I say that would express the joy that enveloped me at that momentous time? What could I say that would equate the humongous sigh of relief I felt? What words could compare to the amount of honor I felt for the hundreds of ancestors who died and fought so that one day something of this magnitude could happen? There are no words to match this triumph and I’m thankful for the silence. The silence has helped me to examine the enormity of Obama’s success, not just for himself but others alike.

There are many citizens that have worked earnestly to erase this day in history and all that accompanies it. One element that can not be erased is the ethnicity of the president-elect. I hate to burst the bubble but, let’s face it…This is a race thing. It’s a race thing because as soon as Obama mentions the melanin in his skin, he’s accused of playing the race card. It’s a race thing because as soon as Obama announced his intent to campaign, that’s all media agencies could talk about. It’s a race thing because for the millions of voters who voted for Obama, there are millions who did not-because of his race. Understand that in a nation where the idea of race and status was birthed, we can not escape those histories.

What we can do is be proud of a nation that, amidst all of its transgressions, elects someone who they truly believe can get the job done. We can be proud of a black man who has not lived up to the emasculating stereotypes of the media rather he has exceeded some of our wildest dreams. We can be hopeful that he will make such a deep impression on American politics and the folks up in Washington that they’ll name a building after him. We can believe in the promise for a better tomorrow and devote ourselves to doing our part. After all, politics is supposed to be about the people.

While we count down the glorious days until Bush is out of town and back in the Lone Star state, many of us can only imagine the perils that Obama will face in the coming months, days and years. If he chooses the wrong dog for little Sasha, he’ll never hear the end of it. If Malia matures during their time at the White House, the world will speculate on her future. And if Obama does not live up to the expectations set before him, the world will not forgive him. For the sake of young Black Americans who live in the age of racism 2.0, where we are asked to be more “Obama-like”, pushing our blackness aside to please our threatened white counterparts, we need him to be the change. We hope that he does not bring more shame to a group that for centuries lived beneath a permanent cloak of such. We hope most off all that the next president, Barack Obama, just proves us all right.

From the Editor’s Desk…

To Our Faithful Audience,

Hold onto your hats, Arcadia Scarlet Knights and Beavers, this issue is going to make your day. As you can tell, we have the whole presidential thing under control, and it looks like I will not have to eat the words I wrote about Obama winning.

I know everyone is probably tired of the electio, and so are we, thankfully this is the last of it until another four years. Make sure to check out this weeks feature story on the new University Commons. Our very own Tim McLaughlin landed an interview withthe head architect of the project, and in the process landed us some exclusive pics.

We also have an article from London this week from foreign correspondant Jen Pacheco. And, perhaps best of all, we have a High School Musical 3 review (I was convinced I was going to cancell the issue unless I got one). So kick back, relax, and enjoy this week’s Tower.

Until our next installment,

Tyler Peckham
Editor-in-Chief

Corrections:

None to mention.

The Tower’s weekly round-up of quirky, interesting and mildly relevant news.

Mariah Carey Consimates Marriage with Class

Superstar singer Mariah Carey decided not to belt out an intimate high note with boyfriend Nick Cannon until after they were married. Carey made the decision to wait for the special night to give her all to celeb Nick Cannon.

Mariah revealed to London’s Daily Mirror newspaper saying “It’s not that we had no intimacy, we just didn’t have complete intimacy. It’s just me, and my feelings. I definitely won’t want to push it on anybody else. But we both have similar beliefs, and I just thought that it would be so much more special if we waited until after we were married. And it was, and it still is.” The couple tied the knot back in April in the Bahamas after their two-month romance. Looks like Mr. Cannon didn’t have to wait that long!

Carey insists that she wanted to wait until they took their relationship to the next level before she got it on with her man. The pair met back in 2005, but at the time they were both dating other people. They met again a few years later on the singer’s video shoot. Maybe it was just meant to be, and the long two month wait is finally over!

-Elisha Peterson

McCain Giths Until the Very End

Yes, the Presidential election is over, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t have a little fun about a special candidate. It’s been a long road for McCain and during his campaigning he couldn’t stop using a certain f-word. It’s not the one you are thinking of. The word McCain repeatedly destroyed was the word fight! Video that online newspaper The Huffington Post presented was a minute piece of how many times the senator said fight. The video shows the white haired gentleman claiming that he intends to fight during the election. “I am an American and I choose to fight” or “I’m not afraid of the fight” were his choice of words at almost every appearance he made. The hilarious video shows McCain saying the word fight, fight, fight, back to back like he’s a tape recorder. McCain may have intended to be a fighter, fight the fight, and win the fight, but he lost, lost, lost! Let’s see if he can make a speech using the horrifying L-word. Nah, he’d probably rather go out fighting!

-Elisha Peterson

Page 3, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 3

U.S. Election Big Across the Pond

As the election of Obama still incites both cheers and tears of joy, for the newest president elect it is more than just his campaign for change that got him here. He was able to take his new ideas and convince not only people around the United States to vote for him; he owes his win to the Americans living outside the mainland US as well.

The number of people living abroad that were eligible to vote by absentee ballot in this election, otherwise known as expats, is numbered at about six million people.. Whether a person is just studying abroad during an election or has never held a permanent residency in the United States, if they are a citizen they have the right to vote abroad as well as pay their taxes to the IRS.

Both candidates targeted expats in this election as well as in the previous few elections. According to SKY News UK, thousands of Americans held result parties across the UK; both Republicans and Democrats, American and British alike, watched the results in unprecedented numbers.

Though election coverage surely took over the American media, the foreign press also picked up this election like none other. Splashed all over the front pages of British, Irish, French and countless other European newspapers were photos of both McCain and Obama; coverage began to quadruple every day as the election loomed closer. This election wasn’t just for the American public to enjoy; the whole world was watching.
For Americans studying abroad this election was an opportunity to take part in something distinctly American with a foreign perspective. Daniel Rockoff, junior political science major from Northwestern University studying in London, was able to take in the election the Danish way. Spending the big night watching the coverage in a pub called The Happy Pig in Copenhagen, Denmark he found that in Western Europe people were very aware of what was going on with the election. “The European view is that US presidential elections affect them to an extent that I think Americans really don’t stop and think about it,” said Rockoff.

He found that people were very positive when discussing the results, while asking for directions a Danish woman even stopped to congratulate him on the election of Obama. “I think Obama’s victory really instantly changes a lot of people’s perceptions of America, and that’s a good thing,” added Rockoff.

Jared Salisbury, junior mathematics major from Northwestern University studying in London, also felt the positivity as election night came and went. “British people were so excited about our election. Everyone was asking questions about who we had voted for and they seemed to be really invested in the results. It was covered in the same way it would be at home, the BBC only covered the results all night and there were a lot of places where you could watch it with other Americans. It was a really cool experience; one I’ll never forget,” said Salsbury.

Arcadia junior Erin Gilbert who is studying at the University of Greenwich also enjoyed the election abroad. “It was different than it would have been if I was at home. It was almost more exciting. We went to an election night party at the London School of Economics student union and it was packed with way more British people than Americans. They were excited that I voted for Obama; there were a lot of boos for McCain and cheers every time Obama won a state” said Gilbert on her election experience. “I didn’t realize before hand how much this election meant to other countries but it seemed to really resonate with all of the British people I was with.”

Many British students took notice of the election, not only on the big night but beforehand as well, watching the debates and following the campaign. Alexander Sanné of Sturry, England who is a second year theology student at King’s College London began following the candidates early on. “I was more interested in the external issues of their platforms. I found that it was hard to separate John McCain from President Bush. He didn’t seem to bring any fresh ideas to the table. Our countries are so closely related economically and your [American] foreign policy has a large influence on ours. As far as I’m concerned Obama’s foreign policy and ideas for the economy fit better with what I would want to influence the UK; his attitude on the issues is way more important that his experience.”

Amber Smith, first year geography major from Preston, England found solace in the election of Obama as well. “I feel reassured in the United States now that Barack Obama has won. The decisions and actions made by the Bush administration had made me personally lose a bit of faith in your government and this gives me a bit of faith back. I really trust Obama to make the right decisions.”

Whether American or British, everyone agreed that this election was a major turning point for the world’s view of the United States. It sparked a lot of interest and got people really excited for the future of the US and what that could mean for their respective countries. The streets of streets of London were full of headlines celebrating Barack Obama’s victory and five days later the BBC is still closely following the progress of Obama, having set apart a whole segment of their website just for his presidency. As President Bush’s days are numbered the Obama administration has already been pushed to the forefront of global politics. The question now is not only can he deliver at home, but abroad as well?

Obama’s Grandmother Passes Before Victory

Barack Obama winning the election was without a doubt a huge triumph and a new chapter in American history. Unfortunately, the woman who helped raise him died the day before the election.

Madelyn Payne Dunham, or “Toot” as Obama referred to her, died in her home in Hawaii at the age of 86. She had a long battle with cancer thatsadly came to an end. Obama was informed and shed tears as he told a crowd of 25,000 about her death. Obama’s grandparents raised him while his mother was an anthropologist studying in Indonesia. Her nickname Toot was a version of the word “tutu”, which is Hawaiian for grandmother.
During his acceptance speech in Denver, Obama paid tribute to her.

“She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.” Dunham never entered the campaign spotlight due to her ailing health. All people saw of her were from old photographs.

Obama has often described his grandparents as true American heroes. Obama’s grandfather served in WWII and his grandmother worked on a bomber production line. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility, said in a joint statement by Obama and his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng Obama. Two weeks ago, Obama halted his campaign to fly to Hawaii and be by her side. It was the last time he would ever see her. Many people including John McCain extended their condolences to Obama and his family.

For Obama, winning the election was bittersweet. He made history, but his grandmother wasn’t there to see it. We can imagine, somehow, she is smiling down at her grandson and his family, loving and proud of what he has accomplished.

Going Green Tip

No one wants to be the smelly kid in class so we aren’t telling you to conserve water by showering once a week BUT cutting your shower time in half could help save thousands of gallons of water. Are you one of those people who let’s the water run for a few mintues before you hop in? Just imagine how much MORE water you’re wasting. So this week, try to skim a few minutes from your shower. The planet thanks you!

Page 4, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 4

Knights’ Nook

Arcadia’s Own Miss Majestic answers ALL of your questions about love, life, and the library.

Dear Ms. Majestic,
My roommate is suffocating me with SMOKE! When we met during Transfer Orientation I had no idea that she smoked but she seemed really cool so I asked her to be my roommate. AT the beginning of the semester she told me she only smoked when she was stressed out and now it seems like she’s stressed out everyday. She smokes outside but when she comes inside, it’s as if the cigarette was still stuck to her lips. I HATE THE STENCH! Like really…it’s disgusting. I smell it on our couch and it doesn’t come out. I don’t have any medical conditions but I don’t want my life to be shortened but inhaling her bad habits. Other than smoking, she’s a fabulous girl. What should I do?
Secondhand Smoker

Dear Secondhand,
I know exactly what you mean when you mentioned the stench that returns when your roommate comes back from smoking. For some odd reason, the scent just carries. I don’t know what its like to have a roommate that you really love hanging out with but who has a terribly (and life-altering) bad habit but I know what its like to feel helpless in stressful situations-which I suppose is how your roommate feels. You said she only smokes in stressful situations and maybe she really is going through something and smoking is the only relief. If you confront her about the smoking and point the blame at her instead of trying to help her deal with it, it may get worse. Try talking to her. Even though you’re having a hard time dealing with her habit, unlocking the reason why she’s smoking may cure the entire situation. And if she’s as cool as you say she is, everything from there will go smoothly.

Dear Ms. Majestic,
Someone is stealing my panties! Sounds crazy I’m sure but someone in my suite is stealing my panties.  What the hell am I supposed to do?
Panty Victim

Dear Victim,
The only logical thing to do is tell someone. Tell your RA or AA about it because maybe they have some definite solutions. BUT before you go around accusing people of raiding your drawers, figure out how you realized your undies weren’t there. Did you recently do laundry? What exactly do these panties look like? Could they be hidden from your eye’s view? Not that you should keep an inventory of what your panties look like but you should be able to identify which ones are missing and if you can’t do that, try cleaning up. They could be right under your nose!
-Ms. Majestic

Another week has come and gone… this one which was meant for reading was spent sleeping more than anything. The one week that should be spent being productive was wasted away on Facebook and trying to get motivated to do work. I knew it was coming; I just kind of ignored it and pretended that the next day I would get some work done. I can’t say I didn’t do anything over Reading Week; I just didn’t do everything I was supposed to.
For once I wanted to spend my weekend doing nothing that had to do with work but I know I will spend my Saturday trying to catch up on some reading while I spend my Sunday toiling away on the computer to finalize my first actual bit of coursework that is due in on Monday.

It’s so hard to believe that it is now November and once this month is over I will be taking the flight home for winter break. Unlike my fellow Arcadians, my winter break won’t be carefree because I will not be finished. King’s College has exams in the beginning of the second term so I will get to study and write papers while I am at home visiting my family and friends!

Part of me keeps thinking that maybe if I do more work now I will have a less stressful last few weeks before break but I can’t help myself get motivated. I feel like if I admit that I only have about a month left before winter break than I will become very stressed but if I kind of just coast along the first semester can’t come to an end right?

I have to say, outside of not doing work I have done some other stuff this week. On Tuesday I spent my night traveling around London trying to find a place covering the election. My student union had coverage but it was mobbed; they were enforcing a one-in-one-out policy and it was impossible to see/hear/sit/think so we tried to go to a bigger student union. To no avail when we got to the London School of Economics student union it was even more crowded. At this point my British companions decided to throw in the towel and head home.

There was no way I was going to miss the coverage so I luckily found one other person to keep on the search with me. After finding our way to Piccadilly Circus we ended up in Planet Hollywood of all places. I haven’t been in a room full of so many Americans for awhile and it was really cool to be in the middle of a group of people who were feeling the same thing as you. We didn’t stay there until the end but the entire time we were there it was very exciting. Riding home on the bus everyone was asking me about the results and my mom was calling to let me know how the big states were coming in.

It was really great to see how interested British and European people were in the election. The newspapers were all covering it and the BBC was streaming the coverage on the internet. It was really great to be here for the election because people are so excited for us.
The next night I got to experience Bonfire Night which was really cool. It’s kind of like a 4th of July type of celebration. Unfortunately there are no more big events to keep me procrastinating so I will have no excuse not to do work anymore. Enjoy your week while I read the rest of mine away!

Sex and Candy

AN INSIDER’S VIEW OF WHAT SEX REALLY IS

Sex, Sex, and MORE SEX
Have you ever stopped to wonder just how many kinds of sex you can have? No, I’m not talking about how many positions you can twist your body into. (Although if you can turn yourself into a pretzel, let me know!)   There are countless reasons for having sex. If you just started counting, stop that, and if you finished counting, well you need to experience more!

LoveMaking: Sex for love.  A beautiful human interaction.  Expressing how you feel through touching, groping, and being “together.” Nothing says love like being hot and sweaty tangled together for hours and hours.

Break Up: Sex because you just broke up. This has its up and downs.  If they are a good lay, it’s a great last hurrah, but otherwise you might just want to collect the stuff they just threw out the window and book it! It can complicate matters, you want them to leave because you are truly done with them, but they want to stay because they still want you. The best break up sex though, when you both know it’s over and just really want one last roll in the hay. In which case it’s probably a little rough and dirty, just to get any left over feels out of your system, of course.

Make Up: Sex to show you love each other again. *ROLLS EYES* You’re sorry, they’re sorry. So you go at it. It’s good, it’s passionate and usually full of pent of emotions. Rough here, soft and sweet, to normal, just to feel the sense of being together.
Reunion: Sex because you haven’t seen each other in a long while.  Mad, crazy, longing, and yearning. You can’t stop touching because if you do they may disappear again. Using every surface possible to go at it, regardless of the consequences. Sex every which way, emotions flowing (along with other things!)  Enjoying each other in every manner possible.

Group: Groups sex, as Wikipedia defines it, may involve three or more people of any gender or sexual orientation. Did you know that humans aren’t the only ones who have group sex? Animals like bighorned sheep and bonobos also participate in group sex. Group sex has it’s advantages. Lots and lots of parts to play with and touch, never ending activity, always something or one to do! Just watch the jealousy, none of that is needed here.

Phone: Simulating sex on the phone. It’s late, you’re horny, your partners horny, and you’re miles apart. Find a private spot with good signal and tell them all the naughty things you want to do. Go ahead and have some fun with yourself, let them know you’re “thinking” about them. Just watch where you are because walls are very thin and avoid using home phones, because you don’t REALLY want Mom to interrupt that conversation!

Cyber: Simulating sex online.  Very much like phone sex, but using the computer.  This is also great for some relatively safe fun with strangers. No touching of people you don’t know, but lots of touching yourself. Just be careful, computers weren’t made to have fluids on them, so play nice.

Public: Sex in public. Risky, dangerous, full of excitement. If you love having people watch this is for you! Try having it in discrete locations first, until you get the hang of it. Like parking lots, or public restrooms (You may want to lock the door….or not). If you want to be more adventurous, try someplace where there is a lot of expose like a park, or an open baseball field.  I might suggest to keep at least your shoes on, if the cops come you don’t want to worry about tying up your laces!

Quicky: Sex very fast.  Only have twenty minutes before class? Don’t know when your roommate is coming home? Well jump on it already! Get going. Have sex and quick.  Foreplay is nice, but when it cums down to it, get the job done.  Or if you want to combine types of sex have a quicky public sex. Try an elevator.  Not a lot of time, but a lot of pleasure. Get in on the bottom floor and hit the top floor button and go to town. (Though this won’t work on campus, there are only three floors anywhere and no one likes a one pump chump).  Quickies are great for those of us with very busy schedules. As I sometimes say, “WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU MA’AM!”

There are lots and lots of other types, but if I keep going I’m not going to have time for any of them! Haven’t tried something and you want to? If you have a partner, talk to them about it. If not, go to town and find out what really turns you on!

*Kiss Kiss*
Sex and Candy

Page 5, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 5

Arcadia’s Evolution: The New University Commons

Frances Halsband knows Arcadia. Her architecture firm, Kliment-Halsband, designed the Landman Library’s expansion and her design for the University Commons will soon come to life in front of the Kuch Center. We spoke with  Ms. Halsband about her vision for Arcadia and the future of Beaver Beach.

Tower: This is the second major project Kliment-Halsband has designed for Arcadia. What architectural themes have you maintained or improved upon from the Landman Library?

Frances Halsband: For the Landman Library we were designing a building that wouldn’t compete with the castle, but would hold its own as an anchor on the other side of campus. The library is kind of a serious limestone building. When we got to thinking about the University Commons, we were trying to make a building that would connect and reach out to the library and the grey towers castle. So the building as a design, and an architectural organism, is meant to connect the campus. There is a bridge that connects the castle to the upper levels, there is an entrance on the ground level near the soccer field and a rear entrance, so we’re hoping it connects the different areas of the campus. The goal was to make this building permeable and welcoming visually.

Tower: Does Kliment-Halsband specialize in a particular architectural style?

Frances Halsband: Most of our work is on university campuses, so we specialize in the problems of college life. We needed to make this building a place of the future. Focusing on making it a green building and letting a lot of natural light in.

Tower: What specific elements about the design make it a green building?

Frances Halsband: Well, the obvious ones: using as much light as possible, and as many recycled materials as we can. Right now, we’re doing a study to see if the building could be geothermal. We will drill under the soccer field to see what type of heat could be collected for geothermal uses.

Tower: The soccer field is a beloved landmark on AU’s campus, becoming a social center (lovingly nicknamed Beaver Beach) during the warmer months. What steps have you taken to respect or enhance that environment?

Frances Halsband: Well, first of all, let me just say if the building is geothermal, it will all be under the grass. They will not prevent anyone from playing soccer. Soccer players will not disappear into the wells. But, more than that, the student lounges all look out on the field and there is an outdoor deck that we really see as a place to watch games, or hang out and watch whatever other event is going on. So we really see the University Commons as an extension of Beaver Beach.

Tower: Arcadia has a long history with distinctive architecture, the Castle being the most obvious example. What do you think makes the University Commons distinctly Arcadian?

Frances Halsband: Well, when we started designing the library the curve design came up as a way to tie the buildings together. It had a resonance in the circular shape of castle. When we looked at the student center, we thought doing another curved building would be too much, so we tried not to make such a drastic curve design. But the roofline is still a distinctive curve. The curve on the inside is actually a delineator between the lounge areas and the meeting rooms. We’re also using similar materials to tie the buildings together. Near the castle, we are using the same grey stone the castle is made out of. Then near the library, it changes to glass along with a similar stone as the library, but it’s a darker stone.

Tower: Glass is also a major element in the University Commons’ design. Why did you decide to use glass?

Frances Halsband: Well, for two or three reasons. First, bringing daylight in. And second, making connections with things inside the building and outside. It’s really about making connections between the different sections of campus.

Tower: Is there anything else you would like Arcadia students to know about the building?

Frances Halsband: I would just tell them there will be many smaller meeting rooms of various sizes, but I think what will make the building useful are big rooms that can be designed by students over time. There is a big student activities space on second floor and considering the nature of student clubs I think it will really evolve and develop in the future.

AU Students get Pumped at Knight Madness

And they say Arcadia isn’t big on sports. On Thursday, Nov. 6 Arcadia students came out to the gymnasium in the Kuch Center to support its athletic teams at the annual Knight Madness Pep Rally.

The night consisted of several audience participation relays and activities, such as the traditional basketball game between faculty and staff and students selected from the audience. Attendees at the event watched intently as both teams went head to head. The game was tight but students scored a basket in the last few minutes of the game resulting in a winning 8 to 6 game.

You didn’t have to participate in an activity in order to win big. There were several raffles drawn throughout the evening that gave students the chance to win big value prizes such as tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philly Soul, and even a Nintendo Wii.

As always the Knight Club had a chance to show off some of the moves they’ve been working on for the upcoming Knight Performances, and like years in the past, they were a huge crowd pleaser.

The newly vamped Knight Cheerleading Squad also took the floor getting the crowed amped as they showed off their acrobatic skills and enthusiasm for the school.
All sports teams, Fall, Spring, and Winter had the chance to come up and give their Seniors a send off in front of the student body.

The night was also used to debut new Sweatshirts that are being sold by the Senior Class in order to raise money for their Senior Week activities and the newly designed Arcadia mascot. Both the sweatshirts and the Knight were designed by Graphic Design Major Dan Sypolt ‘09.

The evening ended as the Arcadia Student body welcomed the basketball team prepping for the start of the 2009 Winter season and the opportunity for students with eligible raffle tickets to win $500. Selected students were given the chance to make a basket from half court for the chance at this Grand Prize. Unfortunately, no one walked away with this prize this year.

Page 6, Entertainment

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Entertainment, Page 6

Get Pumped: High School Musical 3 Review

Wait no longer High School Musical fans! The big screen version of the Disney musical, hit theaters October 24th, and is available for your enjoyment. The gang is back at it again and this time it’s to say goodbye. High School Musical 3: Senior Year is all about the last year for the chipper, dancing, singing bunch. In the movie, the teens stage a spring musical for the school play to depict their experiences throughout high school and their hopes for the future. Surprisingly, having only seen parts of the previous installments, the big screen debut wasn’t half bad!

If you’ve seen the Disney High School Musical movies, you kind of know what to expect. Of course, there is lots of singing, dancing, and corny one liners. You also know that Zac Efron who plays the main character “Troy Bolton,” is every pre-teen and teenage girls fantasy. His long brown hair with bangs in his face make him so dreamy! Wait, what am I saying?! I’m past the teeny bopper years, but boy did Mr. Efron make me want to be a teen in the movie! Though in real life Zac is not a teenager, he is still the object of a teenage girl’s affection. But he’s taken ladies as you know by Vanessa Hudgens who plays “Gabriella Montez,” his sweetheart in the movie. To Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats gang, Troy is the center of their “East High School,” and everybody loves the basketball playing god! Troy is a multi-talented specimen who can play ball, sing, and dance, there’s nothing he can’t do! But he has a few set backs during the movie.

It’s senior year so all of the characters are excited about graduating and going to college. Troy’s best friend “Chad Danforth” played by wild haired fellow Corbin Bleu, is going to a school where he can keep playing basketball, and everyone else knows where they’re headed after high school except Troy. His high school love Gabriella already knows where she’s going, and it’s not where Troy will be. Gabriella is prepared to leave her BF. and enjoy college, but Troy is confused with where he should go. His father is the captain of the school’s basketball team so of course he wants him to go to school where there is a basketball team. Torn between living his father’s dream and being with his girlfriend, Troy has a decision to make.

The movie did a good job with keeping me entertained, for there was no way you couldn’t enjoy even a sprinkle of the sequel. At an hour and fifty-two minutes, I thought the movie was a bit long, but luckily I have the attention span of a college student who can handle a little length. However, for the seven year old in the theater watching it, it may have been a tad bit too long. Even with the singing and bright colors, it could have been hard to sit through all of that. When the movie was on the Disney channel there were commercials, this time around it’s all in one shot!

Another thing I noticed was the rating of the movie. It was rated as “G,” but maybe the film company should have added a “P” in front of the “G.” There was one scene where Troy comes to Gabriella’s bedroom at night with a surprise. He brings her favorite pizza and get this, chocolate covered strawberries. You see why the “P” needs to come in the picture? Then, after they have downed the pizza, there is one chocolate covered strawberry left on a plate. Troy asks her “Are you going to eat that strawberry?” Gabriella responds no. Troy informs her that she ought to eat it for it could be the best strawberry in the world, but she wouldn’t know because she didn’t eat it. So Gabriella agrees to eat it, but Troy helps her. Troy proceeds to feed her the strawberry and Gabriella adds a nice long “Mmm” as she tastes it. Yes, that’s right! Where’s that “P” when you need it?

Despite the strawberry tasting session, the movie was bearable. I am not a crazy High School Musical fan with Zac Efron pictures on my wall, but out of curiosity I was a movie goer who wanted to see what all the hype was about. As the first movie’s theme song says “We’re all in this together!” Mission accomplished. Now I can go back to being a grown up!

Page 7, Entertainment

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Entertainment, Page 7

The Scramble

A Brief Look at New Meda

When you have a debut album as big as Bloc Party did the rest of your career can be an uphill battle.  After the huge success of Silent Alarm (hit single, commercials, video game… the list goes on) their sophomore release Weekend in the City got tons of hype but failed to deliver the relevant Brit-rock Bloc Party have been known for.  On Intimacy, Bloc Party combined the whirlwind rock of Silent Alarm with some of the atmospheric drone of Weekend in the City.  The result is a thumping album of jittery rock with tales of life in London.

The clubs must be on fire, T-Pain is back with some new jams.  If you don’t know T-Pain here’s a quick recap.  In 2005 T-Pain, who was a rapper, needed to find some success.  Thanks to a computer program known as Auto-Tone, T-Pain found fame as a singer (not really though).  Auto-Tone took T-Pain’s shitty voice and turned it into a robotic sounding cyber R&B hit.  With Thr33 Ringz T-Pain brings more of the same.  Big beats, big hooks, and a sense of leather clad style (he wears a top hat people).  So if you’ve ever imagined C3P0 holding a forty, wearing grills, and hanging out with Plies, then Thr33 Ringz is the freak show for you.

Anyone who has seen the commercial for Role Models knows there something just a little off with the movie.  It looks like Seann William Scott is in a funny movie, and he’s not playing Stiffler.  In Role Models, Scott along with Paul Rudd (Knocked-Up) end up mentoring kids for community service.  The combination of Rudd, Scott, and Christopher “McLovin” Mintz-Plasse mesh together in comedy harmony, but they seem to be overshadowed slightly by middle-schooler Bobb’e J. Thompson. Role Models promises some hilarity and tons of one-liners to quote with your friends.

Game of the Week: Tome Claney’s EndWar

In the gaming world strategy games are a niche subject.  They are mainly a staple of the hardcore “sit down and watch my day melt away” type gamer do to their complex controls and think ahead style gameplay.  With the introduction of Tom Clancy’s EndWar the status quo seems to be changing.  EndWar takes place in the year 2030 during a third world war, this time Russia, Europe, and the United States are all at each others throats.  The campaign mode allows the player to play as any of the factions.  Using different battalions like riflemen, artillery, tanks, and choppers the player takes on enemies while trying to capture control points.  The control points allow the player to bring in airstrikes, electronic scramblers, or even a non-nuclear WMD.  While most of these factors are familiar to real time strategy games the controls for EndWar are what set it apart.  The entire game can be played through voice command.  The player simply goes through a series of commands to make the on screen battalions do any number of bad -ass duties.  This feature makes EndWar easily accessible and while bringing the player even further into the experience.  So if you have a dad like mine who’s into video games but cant really get the whole buttons on a controller thing down, Tom Clancy and Ubisoft has the problem solved.

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift- PS3
Slip and Slide physics make this all-terrain racer unique but its the crashes that make it entertaining.  Think Jet Moto  for the next generation.

Wii Music- Nintendo Wii
Own a Wii? Finding it to be less fun than you thought it would be? Check out Wii Music, it’ll be cool for about a week.

Stonewater Rapture Gives Haunting Performance in The Chat

If you’re like most people, there is someone you know in your circle of friends that everyone wants to get laid. Maybe they’re a late bloomer, maybe they’re a little bit awkward around the other sex. The bottom line is that they want to get some, and everyone’s rooting for it to happen, everyone wins right? Enter Doug Wright’s Stonewater Rapture to decimate any positive thoughts on this, or sex in general.

At first this play, held in the Chat from November 7 to the 9th, felt a bit like a cliché coming of age story. The first half of the play consists of a couple of teenagers struggling with ideas of sex and religious values. Well into the first twenty minutes it starts to come off as if the biggest conflict in the play will be between the young Whitney’s libido, played by senior Steven Carpenter, and Carlyle’s religious prudeness, played by sophomore Kimberly Rossi. What eventually amounts to some awkward kissing and touching, which personally made me as an audience member feel a wee bit naughty, Carlyle storms off all in a tizzy about God. Leaving the audience to assume that the second part of the show would consist of the two getting back together and finally getting it on, or round two of the Libido vs. Jesus matchup.

What happened next, however, blew me the hell away. The plot suddenly takes a turn for a much, much darker side of  both sex and religion. Without going into graphic detail about what exactly happened…Cough Group Rape, Cough Cough Male to male penile contact…We learn some very dark secrets from the two characters. What started off as a play about a couple 18-year-old kids walking the hormonal tight rope turns into the disgusting truth about the small town of Stonewater. The play offers little foreshadowing of the events to come other than a celestial vision of naked angels surrounding Carlyle and Whitney’s occasional gay-bashing.

For my part I was blown away by the twist of this play. In the acting department, the dialogue between the Carpenter and Rossi was awkward at times, but each hit their high points as well. Rossi’s nailed Carlyle’s disillusioned religious interpretation of what happened when the football team got her drunk in a way that made me cringe more than once. Carpenter’s revelation of Whitney’s homoerotic contact was just as strongly played. This play definitely saved its best stuff for the last part of the show, which still lingers long after you’ve left.

2007 alumnus Delante Keys returned to direct Stonewater Rapture following a stint of successful acting parts in the area. The show ran smoothly with no obvious hang-ups, although it once again proved how inferior the Chat is as a place to put on a play. I often found myself maneuvering my head to see the action on stage. For his part, you could tell that Keys came back to Arcadia with the goal to impress, and he did not come up short. This play masked its intent well, luring the audience in with a relatively benign tale that goes horribly awry.

I suppose if there is one silver lining to this dark cloud of moral destruction that was Stonewater Rapture, it’s that in the end Whitney and Carlyle cast aside their initial qualms and get down and dirty. But it’s the price they pay to do it that you won’t be able to get out of your head.

Page 8, Sports

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Sports, Page 8

At the beginning of the season things couldn’t look better for the Philadelphia Flyers. They were coming off of a season where they had knocked off Montreal, the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. Ultimately they fell to Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals, but not before raising some eyebrows. All in all, it was a very impressive season after the dismal showing they had the year before. So after a start of six consecutive losses to open the season (three counted for an overtime point), which has turned into a 4-4-3 record to start the season, many Flyers fans are rightly asking the same question. What the Hell is going on here?

Personally, my problems run deep due to the fact that my fantasy hockey team is cornered around Simone Gagne, Joffrey Lupul, and Martin Biron. But I’m sure I’m not the only one that expected more from the Flyers to start the season.  For my part, I’m just glad I didn’t invest in the injured Danny Briere as well.

It is hard not to blame the usual suspects for the Flyer’s underperformance, that is, defense and goaltending. For the Flyers these problems are starting to resemble a chronic illness more and more. Martin Biron has simply not come through thus far. A .874 Save Percentage is not close enough to the .900 threshold a starting goaltender should have at minimum, and the 3.79 Goals Against Average is on the verge of embarrassing. When Philly picked Biron up from Buffalo two years ago I thought they were stealing the better goaltender from the Biron and Ryan Miller tandom. Buffalo seemed like a team that never gave Biron the chance to shine by forcing him to play under Miller. But here we are two years later with Miller’s star rising and Biron struggling to hold his position from Flyers’ backup Antero Nittymaki.

To be fair, it is not entirely Biron’s fault (although most of it is), Biron takes an average of 32 shots a game in his starts so far, including a whopping 45 from San Jose on October 18th. With an extremely young defense led by Kimmo Timonen and 23-year-old Braydon Coburn it is hard to imagine Philadelphia’s defense coming together without bringing in some more experience before the season is out. The Flyers have shown themselves to be top-heavy on the offense with Gagne, Richards, Briere, and Carter all capable of hitting the thirty goal mark- but no big name in defense to hold it all together.  Teams built only around an offense can fail easily, just look at Tampa Bay’s last season. And now with the rumors floating around of trying to bring sniper Brendan Shanahan to Philly, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what is going through GM Paul Holmgren’s head.

Two things need to be fixed for the Flyers to have any realistic chance in going far this season. First is an improved defense in front of Biron, and second is for Biron to step up his game.  He can still be the number one- he proved that in the playoffs last year- but he can’t do it alone. Nittymaki cannot be a reliable starter, and Biron is not worth anything unless given that number one spot. His stint in Buffalo proved that. Until something is done internally or someone brought in to keep the shots seen by Biron to fewer than 30, I sadly see the Flyers struggling to even reach where they fell short last season.

Arcadia University Women’s Basketball Season Preview

First year head coach Crystal Gibson arrived on campus just weeks before the first practice, but she is more than ready to lead the Knights into their first of many seasons of Commonwealth Conference competition.  A former player and assistant at Commonwealth school Lebanon Valley College, she most recently served as the assistant coach at Frostburg State University (MD) during the past two seasons. She is excited and focused for her first season at Arcadia and will look to the five returning players to provide leadership, and to some key newcomers to bring an added spark to the team.

Coach Gibson and the 2008-09 Knights look to improve on last year’s season where they finished 8-17 overall, 4-8 in the Freedom Conference. Returning players from last season include graduate student Caitlin Sparks (Harleysville, PA/Souderton) back for her fourth season of eligibility, senior Shannon Bustin (Glenolden, PA/Interboro), junior Kim Milligan (Crofton, MD/South River), and sophomores Kim Lomas (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) and Corrine Geiger (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge). While the team loses their physical and emotional leader from last year, point guard Stephanie Bates ‘08, Coach Gibson is expecting Sparks to bring key leadership inside the paint.  At the end of last season, Sparks netted her 1,000th career point, led the squad with 13.2 ppg and 8 rpg, and was named to the Freedom Conference first team and to the D3Hoops All-Mid-Atlantic second team.

In the back court, Gibson expects Milligan and Bustin to use their experience to fill the void at point guard this year. Milligan returns to her role as a starter and brings consistent scoring; in 2007-08 she averaged 9.2 ppg, nailed 40 triples, dished out 32 assists and grabbed 20 steals.  While Bustin saw limited minutes last season, coach Gibson is relying on her quickness and scrappy defensive play to generate turnovers that the Knights hope to convert into points. The team will also look to Lomas and Geiger along with Sparks for strong post play and rebounding. Lomas started 23 of 25 contests as a first year averaging 7.7 ppg while leading the squad in blocks with 17. With one season under her belt, Geiger will be called upon for consistent rebounding on both ends and providing points in the paint.

Three transfer students will be joining the Arcadia Women’s Basketball team this year, including sophomores Brittany Bontemps (Yardley, PA/Villa Joseph Marie), Liz Plum (Deptford, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), Chanel Murphy (Merion Station,PA/Lower Merion). Bontemps, who helped the University of Scranton to an NCAA berth last season, and Plum should see immediate action at the point, off guard, and small forward positions.  First years Brittany Selleck (Selinsgrove, PA/Shikellamy), Samantha Olgesby(Torrance, CA/North High), and sophomore Stephanie Buohl (Parkesburg, PA/Octorara) will provide much needed energy, hustle, and explosiveness. Murphy as the lone incoming forward will provide great leaping ability, rebounding, and hustle down in the post position.

Although the team has more newcomers than returners, experience will be the Knights strength, with all but three players having at least one year of collegiate basketball experience and a coaching staff well seasoned among the ranks of the Commonwealth Conference.  Joining Coach Gibson on the sidelines this year will be Erin Nemshick.  Nemshick is a 2005 graduate of Widener University, where she helped the Pride to a Commonwealth Conference championship in 2004.  She also sports experience on the sidelines, having served in a pair of two-year assistant coaching stints at Cheney University and Manhattanville College.  Coach Gibson boasts of the team’s court awareness and basketball IQ as well as their shooting potential and describes this season’s expectations as “limitless.”

The Knights will open their season at home against Wilkes University on Saturday, November 15 at 2:00 PM.  And it seems only fitting that Coach Gibson and her team open their 2008-2009 Commonwealth slate hosting her Alma Matter, Lebanon Valley College on January 6.

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Phillies Celebration Turns Ugly

This past Wednesday Philadelphia saw its first major league sports championship since 1983, and the Philadelphia Phillies saw their first World Series Pennant since 1980. After Lidge threw the strike out pitch to end Game 5, I did what many others did in Philadelphia- yell, high five whoever was nearby, and then go downtown to celebrate.

After the Phillies clinched the game, the City of Brotherly Love erupted in celebration. Thousands of Philadelphians poured out of the bars and their homes to celebrate. The impromptu place to meet was Broad Street where a sea of fans swelled. Chants of “Let’s Go Phillies!” could be heard from William Penn’s statue to Temple University. I came into this atmosphere like the rest of them, beer in one hand, a machine gun high five hand with the other, and chanting all the while for the home team.  For awhile it was peaceful. I remember a bizarre Phillies congo line and the pictures with strangers as clear as day. But at some point, for one reason or another, things started to go bad.

In my mind the turning point will always be the image of a guy standing on top of a moving SEPTA bus with a bottle of vodka in his hand (which he eventually threw to his admirers below). It quickly escalated to people scaling light poles to get  the World Series banners that had been put up all along Broad Street. I’m not going to say I was condemning these acts, in fact, I had my own choice words to say to McCain’s Straight Talk Express, which was unlucky enough to be rolling through the mob. Where things really got bad was the destruction that started to take place all along Broad Street.

Planters were knocked over, spilling their contents and breaking them in the process. Newspaper boxes were also a primary target- the streets were littered with  countless Philadelphia Inquirer’s and CityPaper’s. The attacks then began to be directed towards local businesses. Bottles were thrown through the window at Commerce Bank, and people streamed into the lobby before being removed by police. A luggage store was also looted, with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise taken from the store. At least three cars were turned over, and dumpsters were lit on fire. Eventually riot police were called in and I found myself on the front lines of the crowd and the police. The police struggled to contain a crowd that was becoming increasingly hostile and throwing bottles at the officers from afar.

For the most part I was impressed with the way the police handled the crowd. They chose their battles wisely- being outnumbered severely- and only intervened when a fire was set or a store broken into. The worst acts committed by the police were perpetrated by two plain clothed “officers” that went into the crowds to start fights. What should be to the embarrassment of those officers handling the crowd responsibly, I saw a cop of at least thirty years start a fight with a man in his early twenties and then pull his gun out when he retaliated. Later, the same cop and his partner went back into the crowd to start another fight, only this time one of them left with a bloody nose and wounded pride. “Can you believe this?” he asked his partner. “They broke my fucking nose,” he said with a sort of sick laugh. It was one of the laughs a  mobster would have in a movie before he unloaded a clip into someone. Like the worst of the rioters, these two cops were out just to cause destruction.

At this point I would consider it a full-blown riot. No longer could you high five the person standing next to you and a mob mentality began to take hold (on the bright side I think that congo line was still chugging along). The apex of this riot  came when people tried to flip the bus that the police drove  in on, and nearly succeeded in doing so. Soon after the pepper spray came out, and the police were more aggressive in splitting up the crowd.

Shortly afterwards I left the scene and the crowd, which had begun to disperse. Judging by the news coverage in the following days, I had seen the worse of what had happened. Overall, I am still glad I went to the city. When else will an entire city be one big party? And even though that party turned sour, it will  remain a positive memory to me. Besides, now I can check off being in a riot from my list of things to do before I die.  But it will also be a reminder that even the most positive of celebrations can still turn dangerous.

From the Editor’s Desk…

To Our Faithful Audience,

By  this time today you will have already been informed by who the next president of the United States is. Hopefully it is Barack Obama, if not I will be extremely upset and probably skipping all my classes as a day of mourning. In any case, this is going to be an issue that is worth your while.
True, we don’t have the new president on our cover, but we have something easily as important to the rest of the world- the Phillies’ victory. We’re also including a horoscope for the first time in the Tower since 2005, so get excitied.  We’ve launched a new Tower website as well, which can be found at arcadiauniversitytower.blogspot.com. Sure, it’s a mouth full, but our online editor Brittani Ross has really put together something special.  So enjoy and give us some feedback on the new site, which I might add, has a feature to make comments.

Until our next installment,

Tyler Peckham
Editor-in-Chief

Corrections:
-Last Week’s article on Fort Dix was written by Entertainment Editor Jake Scalici, not Mike Smith.

The Tower’s Weekly round-up of quirky, interesting and mildly relevant news

Did you figure it out???

Last week’s Breast Exam Article was False. Not a Bad Story Though…

Couple Travels 9,300 Miles to Vote

Susan Scott-Kerr and her husband flew in Wednesday from India to vote in Tuesday’s presidential election.  The couple has been working in India, but when their absentee ballots did not arrive in the mail, they decided to get on a plane and fly back to New York.

This election has been declared as one of the most important elections in this nation’s history, so important that two people who just became citizens a year ago spent thousands of dollars and endured two lay-overs to make sure their vote counts. Susan is orignally from New Zealand while her husband is from Morroco.  These two citizens care moreabout their civic duty than most “natural born” Americans. I guess immigrants aren’t so bad after all.

-Danielle Trout

Hostage Crisis Solved by Pizza

A prison guard at Risdon Prison in Hobart, Tasmania was taken hostage for two days by prisoners.  Twenty inmates took the guard prisoner, ironically, over conditions in the maximum security prison.  Originally, the inmates made twenty-four demands to authorities, but after two days, they agreed on one: 15 pizzas, Coke-a-Cola, and garlic bread.  The inmates actually controlled the negotiations and demanded that the pizzas be delivered, which was the final tipping point for release of the guard.

-Danielle Trout

College Campus Gives Squirrels Birth Control

It seems that the squirrels on the UC Davis college campus in California have gone wild! The familiar, furry friends that are known on Arcadia’s campus are known to the California campus, but much worse! California’s News 10 station reported on the animals being a hanful and that something had to be done.

According to UC Davis officials, researchers will launch a birth control program to put a stop to the growing population of the squirrels. The school claims that seven years ago none of the animals existed on campus. They also believe that there has to be at least 400 squirrels now! Wow! Looks like the squirrels have been getting busy up in the trees. “They’re cute. They seem great to have around,” said Ecology graduate student Sara Krause. “But what happens is, they get very aggressive when people feed them.” She adds that they can also disrupt campus buildings and nearby farm fields. So, faculty wildlife experts and their students plan to trap the squirrels, mark them and study their behavior through the fall and winter. The squirrels will be recaptured next summer, some will be given hormone birth control injections, while some will only get a placebo as scientific control for comparison. Officials don’t want to harm the animals, but to help them along to stop making baby squirrels!

-Elishia Peterson

Chase Utley Says a Naughty Word

As Philly fans celebrated the Phillies World Series win in Citizens Bank Park on this past Halloween, their favorite baseball player was having a little too much fun on his own. Chase Utley dropped the “F” word while being interviewed on live TV! He proclaimed “World Champions!” to the screaming fans. Though Utley added a nice little f*&%#@$ in between those two words.  The fans cheered for minutes for the remark.

Networks and radio stations who caught the f-bomb while taping, issued their apologies immediately. Though fans didn’t seemed to be disturbed by the comment, it still is looked down upon by the Federal Communications Commission. Unfazed fans commented on cursing Chase, “They hear worse stuff in school,” said Ivette Centeno, 44, of Northeast Philadelphia, was who was there with her two children and two grandchildren. “As a parent, we can explain that is was just excitement, and that we don’t want them to say that.”

Later, Utley claimed he hadn’t planned to throw a curve ball with the profanity. “I was told I had to talk 10 minutes before I talked. Short and to the point.” Well looks like you did just that, didn’t you Chase? Whether Chase got caught up in all the hoopla or he really intended on cursing, what’s done is done. He’s still a f*&%#@$ winner!

-Elishia Peterson

Page 3, News OP/ED

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News OP/ED, Page 3

Weekly Green Tip

Weekly Green Tip: The facts about reusable bags

Have you ever really thought about plastic shopping bags?  According to www.chicobag.com, the average American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year. Some plastic bags are reused or recycled, but many end up blowing around or floating in the ocean.  The world’s largest landfill can be found floating between Hawaii and San Francisco. Wind and sea currents carry marine debris from all over the world to what is now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This “landfill” is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and contains thousands of pounds of our discarded trash, mostly plastics. Each year hundreds of thousands of sea birds and marine life, including sea turtles, die from digested plastics mistaken for food. What can you do to help?  Find or buy a sturdy cloth bag (or one of those $1 bags sold in many stores) and start using it!

More than Just Parking Tickets: How Public Safety is Looking Out for You

On October 2nd, at approximately 11:00 pm, two males robbed an Arcadia student in Oak Summit apartments.  One of the males was armed with a knife, which increases the chance of serious injury on the victim.  In addition, the night before there was an incident at the Hess Gas Station on Easton Road in Glenside where there was an attempted robbery of someone else.  Arcadia’s Public Safety unit was informed of both situations and is doing their best to fix the problems.  However, safety is the most important aspect at college, especially when Arcadia is close to the city.

Many colleges around the Philadelphia area have had problems with safety in recent years.  For example, Temple and La Salle Universities have had their own trouble in the past with safety, and that automatically raises the awareness of the campus police patrols.  San Fran Scavuzzo of the La Salles Collegian states in their July issue that; “La Salle has had three murders and six shootings from January 1st to June 30th compared to eight murders and 16 shootings at Temple University in the same period.”  In contrast, Arcadia has statistically been a safe campus this year for the most part.  There have been no recent incidents or problems concerning robberies or anything remotely close to that in the past year.  According to Frank DeMeo, the Operations Supervisor of Public Safety at Arcadia University, there are currently 27 security personnel that patrol the entire campus throughout a daily and nightly basis.

But some wonder if, now that there have been a few incidents at Arcadia and Glenside, shouldn’t there be more security? “These incidents will not force us to patrol the campus anymore then we already do.  We always do our best day in and day out to ensure the safety of everyone on campus.  As for the incidents that occurred at the Hess Gas Station in Glenside, the Cheltenham Police were informed and are patrolling that area to the best of their abilities,” said DeMeo.

This issue at Arcadia has grabbed the attention of  some students.  “As soon as I heard about the robbery, I haven’t gone to 7 Eleven or Dunkin Dounuts,” says Arcadia Junior Nikki Adler.  “I feel like I could be the next victim.”

Since the robbery on campus, there was a Public Safety Alert to all students.  The problem might be getting handled at this very moment, but what if it happens again?

“It is up to the students to be aware of what is happening around them and when they do enter a housing facility at Arcadia, that they watch to see if someone entering the building has a key or swipe card.  Suspicious people must be watched out for when entering a building and it is up to the students to take charge and say no to letting just anyone in the building,” added DeMeo.

Whether or not students live in dorms, apartments, or in a house, there are many procedures that should be performed to ensure the personal safety.  Public Safety encourages students to make sure all doors are locked, along with windows and car doors.  Also, make sure nobody that looks suspicious is let into housing units because this could lead to an incident similar to the one that occurred on October 2nd.

The idea is that the only worries students should have to deal with at college are their future and how to better their education, not if they are going to get robbed or hurt. Public Safety cannot prevent all of the instances that occur, but the simple solution is a better effort by all.

View Points:

Did you see the Phillies win the World Series? What was your reaction?

Andrew Hutz,

“Yes I saw it, I screamed and yelled and after it sunk in I got tears in my eyes,”

Al Harrbon,

“It sounded like the entire town was screaming.”

Stephany Rosario,

“Well, not being a baseball fan in the first place I didn’t know what was going on. There was some guy [around Cheltenham] honking [his] horn and making a riot. Others were doing the same andI just assume that Mischief Night started early. It was creepy.”

Page 4, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 4

Keeping Pace with the Times: ‘The Tower’ Launches arcadiauniversitytower.wordpress.com

Miss picking up a copy of The Tower and can’t find it floating around anywhere on campus? Feel the need to comment or critique any of the subjects you’ve found in the paper? It’s all been made much easier to the reader to do all of the above–The Tower’s gone online!

By visiting the site http://arcadiauniversitytower.wordpress.com/, you can find all of the articles, photos, and notices that have been featured in the newspaper. The site is easy to navigate and browse through to find the article you’re looking for. The opening page will lead you to the first page of the paper as well as the leading articles, and, by clicking on Archives, linked below the site’s heading, you will be lead to the rest of the issue’s articles.

Above the title of each separate post will be a short list of tags (i.e. ISSUE 4, SPORTS, DEREK TRACEY). By clicking on any one of them, you’ll be lead to a list of titles of all the separate posts that contain material regarding that particular subject. If you’re looking for all the articles written by a certain author, or you want to read things strictly on Barack Obama, just click on the tag!

Another useful feature in navigating through the site is the Search option at the bottom of the Archives section. It works similarly to any Search option. Just type in your keywords and you’ll be directed to the post containing that search criteria.

The most important feature of The Tower’s new website is the Comment section at the bottom of each post. All comments are posted anonymously, unless you choose to leave a name, and will be available for everyone to read. A comment option will also appear on those separate posts that contain a picture of the entire page, a link to which you’ll find below the preview picture.

The site http://arcadiauniversitytower.wordpress.com/ is open to everyone, and will have each Wednesday’s issue posted by midnight that night. Please stop by and drop us a comment to tell us what you think!

This week has been very interesting. For one thing, it snowed in October for the first time in 70 years. Better yet, the snow stuck and, instead of doing work, I, along with everyone I know, had an extremely messy snowball fight. That was great. Even better was that one of my lecturers got married last weekend so he canceled class this week. That gave me a nice four day weekend. Even better was when I turned up to class the next day only to find that the construction work going on around the campus cut out all the power and classes were canceled all day!

After my five day weekend it was really hard to drag myself out of bed and get to class. Although I am in class for a lot less time than I am at Arcadia, I find them much more exhausting. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself to use this next week, my reading week, productively. After the whirlwind nights I have spent celebrating Halloween, I plan to turn over a new leaf and become a contributing member of academic society this week. I’m really hoping it works but I’ll have to make myself actually do it.

It’s really hard to know that I’m meant to be doing work but I honestly don’t have to. This week also brings a lot of exciting stuff, most notably Election Day and Bonfire Night. One being distinctly American and the other distinctly English, I think it will be a pretty good cultural contrast. Although I’m living with British students and obviously interacting with them every day, I don’t get the chance to do a lot of things that would be very British as opposed to very American. Most of the stuff we tend to do is stuff that we just have in common so it wouldn’t really belong to either culture. I’m very interested in politics to begin with and I’m afraid this election is going to give me a heart attack. If it goes the way I am hoping then Bonfire Night can be a celebration. If not, it may be a pity party, but I am hoping it will turn out well.

Surprisingly, the election is being covered everywhere here, although I am sure it is definitely being shoved down everyone’s throats in the US much more. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to watch the coverage live but the King’s College student union is hosting an Election Day gathering; the only unfortunate part is that the coverage begins at 11:15 p.m. my time and ends at 6 in the morning! I’ve been fielding a lot of election questions from people that I meet lately. Usually people want to ask a few things about the US and maybe Bush but I’ve met a few people recently that had conversations beginning with “Hi, What’s your name?” with that being immediately followed by “McCain or Obama?!” I somehow feel the questions will get more intense after the election, depending on the results.

Well, I hope everyone votes this week! I sent in my absentee ballot two weeks ago and, I have to admit, I am a little upset because I have never actually been to the polls. I spent 18 years waiting to pull the levers inside the little booth and I have yet to do it! Oh well, I guess maybe I’ll have to take a trip home to New Jersey for the big day next year but I can’t help thinking how much cooler it would be to vote for the president in the booth. I guess I’ll have to wait another four years for that moment (unless Palin somehow gets elected and decides to take away women’s suffrage along with our rights!) Excuse the small joke! Anyway whether you’re voting Democrat, Republican or any other way just make sure you vote this week. It’s a right everyone in the world doesn’t have so make the most of it!

Each week Arcadia Junior Jennifer Pacheco gives students a peek into her study abroad journey in London.

Distinguished Speaker Dr. Debra Rowe Drops Some Eco-Knowledge

Dr. Debra Rowe called students to take action to “make the world a better place” by learning about sustainability development and being engaged in solutions to our environmental problems.

Rowe spoke as a part of Arcadia University’s Distinguished Speaker Series on Wednesday, October 29th at 7:30 p.m. in Murphy Hall’s Stiteler Auditorium.
Rowe is president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainability Development as well as integrally involved in many other organizations for the promotion of sustainability. She is interested in helping higher education organizations, such as Arcadia University, to integrate sustainability in their missions and curricula.

The goal of her speech, “Sustainable Future: Going Green in a Global World,” was to “…talk about how to make the world a better place, how to improve the quality of life.”
Rowe gave the United Nations’ official definition of sustainability as “…meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

She said that education for sustainability “…enables people to develop knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the resources for the future.”

Rowe talked about the importance of higher education organizations and their students in the changes going on in the world in relation to sustainability. She said that taking action, rather than just talking about ideas, is the only way that change can happen, and that students are sometimes the only people who can make an impact and cause change.
According to Rowe, calling elected officials, joining environmentally active organizations, or starting environmentally aware groups on campus are a few ways that students at Arcadia University can make a difference. Think.mtv.com was one website that Rowe suggested for students to find information on becoming involved in volunteering, voting, recycling, or signing a petition.

Careers in sustainability and energy are increasingly in demand, but information about them is not always available in career offices at universities.

“Education to action – that’s the key,” Rowe said about the importance of colleges and universities in the movement towards sustainability.

Rowe said that the “emphasis on critical thinking is producing ‘armchair pontificators.’” She thinks that teaching critical thinking in colleges is a waste of resources because college is supposed to be a time where students try new ways of thinking and move to action.

“When you get out of higher education you should be aware of sustainability problems and engage in the solutions,” Rowe said.

For Rowe there are two main things that everyone needs to do in order to improve the quality of life: changing private choices or habits, and influencing public choices and laws. According to Rowe, if these changes are made, “We can reduce human suffering, environmental degradation, and social ills now, while creating stronger economies.”

Rowe said that educational organizations need to require sustainability development as a general education requirement in order to promote knowledge and action about sustainability. If students become more engaged in solutions then “we can move from materialism as a goal to reduced human suffering,” Rowe said.

The environmental aspect of sustainability is so important because “we’re in trouble”, according to Rowe. “Rivers are drying up, fish species are dying out, every ecosystem is stressed and in danger.”

Rowe briefly mentioned the greenhouse effect as the cause of the shifting climate, which she thinks is one of the worst effects of our materialistic society.

Climate shifts are responsible for disrupting the food chain, extreme weather events, disruption of water supplies, spread of disease, and the submersion of land masses. She referred to climate change as “civilization disruption.”

“This is not about saving the planet,” Rowe said. “The planet is going to be fine. It’s a only matter of what species are going to be living on the planet.”

Students were intrigued by Rowe’s information and seem interested in seeing Arcadia become a greener campus.

“I think she had a lot of excellent information,” said Susan Annette Holeman, an Arcadia University grad student. “I think that, as a community, country, and world, we need to do something about this. It was overwhelming, but, like she said, you just need to pick a place and start.”

Other websites that Rowe suggested students to visit throughout her speech were powervote.org, playagreaterpart.net, and AASHE.org.

Her slideshow can be found at Heasc.net/sustainablefuture, where she lists many economic ways to promote sustainability, many resources for information on sustainability, suggested sustainability-based curricula and resources for careers in sustainability.

Page 5, Student Life

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Student Life, Page 5

Knights’ Nook

Arcadia’s own Miss Majestic answers ALL of your questions about love, lfe, and the library!

Dear Ms. Majestic,
My roommate is really cool but sometimes she worries me. She goes out a lot with some other friends and she always comes back wasted. She’s 21 and she never lets anyone forget that. She goes out and loses count of how many drinks she had. I used to go out with them, but my GPA was slowing shrinking so I quit partying as much, but she hasn’t slacked up a bit. We both agreed that the partying was becoming a problem but as soon as we came back to school, she got started over again. She’s my friend and I don’t want anything to change but I’m really worried about her. What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to let her go out and get messed up and suffer? I mean, our friends keep asking like I’m doing something wrong but I don’t know what else to do?
-Worried Bystander

Dear Worried,
I understand where you’re coming from and you have every right to be worried. If your friend doesn’t lighten up on her behavior, she may end up in a place she doesn’t want to be like the hospital or at home. Maybe you should talk to her again and let her know how you feel and, if that has no effect, talk to someone from Counseling Services. The Alcohol and Other Drug Program will also have great resources for your friend, but she may not be willing to go. It sounds like something else is going on with her. She may be dealing with issues that she doesn’t want to talk about, which makes her drink them down. Either way, you should definitely consult the pros because you care about her and you don’t want things to get worse.
-Ms. Majestic

Dear Ms. Majestic,
I want to start a cooking club but I don’t know what to do. How does that work? Where should I go? Who should I talk to?
-Chef-in-the-Making

Dear Chef,
Student Activities has all of the answers for you but here’s how you get started. You need about 6 people to start a club here at AU, which shouldn’t be hard to find for a cooking club. Someone reading this right now may want to be a part of it. You’ll need to draft a constitution that describes the purpose of the club, among other important facts. From there, you’ll probably have to meet with Dian in Student Activities before you present the club before Student Government. After that’s done, your cooking club should be an official club. Good luck!
-Ms. Majestic

Questions about life? E-mail us @

KnightsNook@gmail.com

Jasper Redd Brought the Jokes but Forgot the Laughs

The eve of Halloween was met with much fright. On Thursday, October 30th, comedian Jasper Redd graced us with his presence. A crowd of about 50 people, myself included, sat ready, waiting to laugh. Though to be honest, sadly I’m still waiting on that laugh.

Dry humor has always been something I’ve grappled with. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it-in small doses, and with very specific comedians. Throw me a Carlin or a Carrey (Drew!) and I’m sold. But don’t talk a good game and not back it up.

Redd is a scrawny black man with a twangy voice. This presentation would seem to lend itself to being, oh shall we say…Chappelley?-A true provoker of comedy. And I’ll admit, I gave plenty of leeway based on how he looked, because, lets face it, if a comedian looks funny he usually is.

He was a sort of Chappellesque-Andre3000 wannabe rambler. Oh, that was a bit harsh. But I did wait for him to get me to laugh. I waited, and waited and waited. I painfully waited and to little avail.

From the beginning he dove in with his comparison of McDonald’s and life…yawn. Then he moved on to race jokes, liking dental floss and teeth to lynchings, which was slightly rousing.

He talked of his experiences as someone originally from Tennessee and living presently in Los Angeles, as well as the humor between he and his gay, white roomate. There was an initial connection between he and his roomate for their placement in society as black and gay. Redd explained to his roomate how the difference between the two is that his roomate can be in the closet and hide his gayness, whereas he being black cannot do the same. He could never say “Surprise, I’m gay!”–Get it! Ha ha.

Do you get the idea that if you were a fly on the wall of their actual apartment, you’d get more of a laugh?

There were some high points though. For me there was the one joke about sex and comedy. Redd said to us that he recounted to a friend once “Sex is not like comedy. When I’m about to bust out laughing, I don’t take back the laugh like ‘oh I laughed too soon, sorry.”

There was also a solid joke within the corny McDonald’s material. In this case, Redd explained how McDonald’s is the perfect way for a parent to explain sex to a child. “Son, when two patties love each other, they make a Whopper Jr.” That was an interesting line of thought, and I’ll admit that it was funny.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m used to comedians who pack a bigger punch. And to his credit, Redd is young, and up-and-coming. He needs someplace, and any opportunity he can get to get his feet wet and hone his skills.

And this wasn’t a gaffe on the part of the clubs involved in sponsoring the guy. Hell, I was convinced before he started speaking, given his apparent appearance on Comedy Central. Impressive.

Wait, what am I talking about? Give me that laugh I’ve been waiting for!

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
This is the favored month of the intense, Scorpio lover. Your successful search for new romantic partners will lead to several pleasant evenings, followed by some very unpleasant test results from Student Health Services.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Your love of life and concern for others guides you to make changes in your routine of yelling slanderous comments at pedestrians from the window of your car.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
This is a bad month to go out into the world. You should stay inside and not go to any classes- it’s OK, the stars said so.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
Your sometimes shy way of dealing with others will take a turn for the worst when you don’t say anything to the Public Safety officer putting the boot on your car.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
Your  trouble with concentrating will really lead to problems this week when you fall asleep while studying all night for your biology test, but it turns out alright when you wake up with the brilliant idea to buy those sunglasses with the mirrors in them and sit in front of the only kid who got an A on the last test.

Aries (March 23 – April 29)
Your need to take control of the situation will end disastrously this month when you take over the conductor’s controls of the SEPTA train.

Taurus (April – May 20)
Your grounded nature allows you to relax in the face of stress. Unfortunately, you were too busy playing video games and “chillaxin’” that you never got off your ass to write those three mid-term papers.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
Your capricious personality leads you to drop all of your classes and switch your major, much to the dismay of Bruce Keller and your senior advisor.

Cancer (June 22 – July 22)
Uncontrollable guilt is in store for the Cancerian this month after you are compelled to go to the all-you-can-eat crab leg buffet.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
This is a good week to go out and make powerful new friends to expand your circle of influence.  Thankfully George Bush will have more time to schedule that meeting with him you’ve been asking for.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
Today is an excellent day for the beautiful sign of Virgo. Bask in your glory and do not be afraid to try something new- unless it involves doing anything that deviates from your normal routine.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)
Your flirtatious acts will catch the eye of a wandering Leo this month and will mark the end of a long-established romantic relationship. It will also result in a bar room fight and no ride home.

Page 6, Entertainment

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Entertainment, Page 6

‘Saw V’ Tries to Get Things Right… Again

It’s Halloween again, and to many of us that means trick-or-treating (for those of you channeling to your inner child), candy corn, and of course, the newest Saw. Some think the Saw series has become redundant, which can be argued of any film series that has extended further than three. Some say the first and original Saw was, undoubtedly, the best and nothing could ever compare. Although that is hard to argue, it is also true that the latter films in the series, including this brand new addition, are becoming progressively more ‘creative’. With each Halloween, Saw’s plot thickens with more complex storylines, although they all seem to run along the same tired, bloody vein as the first. It seems almost as though the Saw series has lost its former glory and film writers are trying too hard to recapture the hit that was the first.

People are drawn to movies like Saw for the intense shock value, but this fifth movie might be considered slightly less of a ‘gore fest’. That is not to say, however, that many scenes are better watched through the cracks of your fingers or under a blanket. However, the third and fourth film focused more on excessive gore, while the newest went back to its storyline roots and into the personal life of the now deceased Jigsaw.

Saw V picks up where the fourth left off. Jigsaw’s new “apprentice” has taken on his role after he died; basically mirroring exactly what had happened in previous Saws. When his secret identity is threatened, the new Jigsaw must go on a hunt to eliminate all loose ends. He learns how to carry on his mentor’s ingenious and careful work through one-on-one lessons and, later, through a series of confusing flashbacks. This, of course, is all painfully predictable. It seems as though all the suspense that made Saw such a thriller years ago has been stretched to the limit. The most (and perhaps only) suspenseful aspect of the film was following Jigsaw’s student’s new game, in which he traps five people in a room that are all somehow connected. All five must work together to survive and learn what holds them all together through a series of gruesome traps. This part of the storyline is intriguing only because there is no way to know who is going to die, and what is the missing puzzle piece to hold the five seemingly different people together.

The movie lost its momentum when it ran back and forth erratically between present day and flashbacks in a very confusing, zig-zag fashion. Because we have seen these “games” before, the film itself seemed flat and unfolded at a snail’s pace until the anti-climactic ending that leaves you wondering if the anticipation of next year’s Halloween is worth it. The Saw films have always been known for their “twist endings”, but when they use the same cliffhangers in each film, it tends to become repetitive.

Many will argue that the Saw movies are less “horror movies” and more thrillers with tons of unnecessary, mindless, sick and twisted gore. However, it is hard to find a horror movie these days that does not strive for the same shock value and uncensored violence that only nightmares are made of. It is true that Saw has been  revolutionary to the entire horror genre and deserves credit for its ingenious originality. It has spawned many wannabee Saws and thus changed the history of horror movies forever. You can only milk it for so long, however, before people become bored with the same predictable storyline.

Saw V does not earn five stars, but maybe three. It was mediocre at best, but is still a good Halloween flick. It’s downfall was not standing out as unique from any Saw before it, and although the suspense is still going to make you bite your nails, it’s not quite what it used to be. There was nothing shocking about the fifth addition to this series if you have seen the first four, or even just one of them. This series has come down to the sad fact that if you’ve seen one,  you have seen them all.

Metallica Goes Vintage on Death Magnetic

The mark of any great band or group is longevity.  Many musicians have found lightning in a bottle and have had brief success in the music industry, but for most, their moment in the spotlight is over before they even blink.  Some artists find a way to push through the ups and downs of the business and stay driven under any circumstance to make it to the top.  One legendary band that has followed this blueprint is Metallica.  The group just released its much anticipated, highly publicized, new album Death Magnetic, on September 12.

For all Metallica fans, Death Magnetic has many underlying stories that create the amazing amount of excitement.   One of the newest songs that has caused the most discussion among the Metallica faithful is “Unforgiven III”.  The original song appeared on the band’s most famous work, 1991’s Black Album, and “Unforgiven II” debuted in 1997’s release Reload.  The latest version of “Unforgiven” does not begin with Metallica’s patented great first note, but the song is sung extremely well by James Hetfield, giving it the possibility to become a huge hit just like the first two .  On the first listen, it sounded like it had more substance than “Unforgiven II”, but still does not quite have the same pop and power the very first “Unforgiven” brought to the table back in 1991.

All Metallica fans were extremely excited to hear new bassist Robert Trujillo’s album debut.  Trujillo has been touring with the band for some time, but has yet to make an appearance on an album.  His performance was more than excellent.  He was so good that it could be argued that one down-fall to the album may be the lack of use of Trujillo. If he was involved in more of the songs and possibly given a couple extra solos it could have taken this already very good piece of work to the next level. Trujillo is an accomplished, versatile bassist, but no song on the album features his great abilities. With so many long songs and so many different parts on the album, I think they could have found a few times to feature some vintage Trujillo.

My two favorite songs on the track were “Judas Kiss” and “My Apocalypse”.  Both songs were different, but very good at the same time.  “Judas Kiss” is a longer song with a very solid verse, up-beat chorus, and many interesting tempo changes.  The song takes a dark turn near the end which really makes it work.  The final song on the album, “My Apocalypse” is both the shortest and heaviest song on the album. This song has been extremely hyped by both the band and the fans and, after listening, it lives up to the hype.  This song is all speed and aggression, with great drum work.  It was a great decision to end the album with this song, because it definitely concluded on a high note.
Metallica is a band that refuses to die and keeps going out and recording smash hits.  Death Magnetic is just another example of this heavy metal quartet from San Francisco with-standing the test of time and prime on making more great music in years to come.

Page 7, Entertainment

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Entertainment, Page 7

The Scramble

A Brief Look at New Media

In 2005, Ryan Adams released three different, somewhat interesting, somewhat unfocused full-length albums.  Now, three years, a drug problem and a few public tirades have  marred the image of the alt country guitar god.    His latest release Cardinology has Adams baring his teeth and going for the neck with barnburners and floating prose.  Sliding into his influences, Adams goes classic rock like some odd version of the Grateful Dead touting the stadium savvy of U2.  Cardinology may be one of the most solid things the on-edge Adams has ever done. Tracks like “Born into a Light” and “Go Easy” have all the proof you’ll need.

Ahhh Hinder.  You know them. Their 2006 album, Extreme Behavior, went three times platinum behind the song “Lips of an Angel”.  You know the song blaring for the 5 millionth time at Chicks after someone just played “Crazy Bitch” for the 10 millionth time.   Still having trouble? They’re like Nickelback except they say they play 70’s rock, and their singer sounds like he’s had strep throat since Limp Bizkit graced TRL… is any of this ringing a bell?  Well either way they’re putting out a new album, Take it to the Limit, and judging by the cover art expect more mindless “We want to sound like Guns and Roses, we have tons of money and bang countless bikini clad models every week” type stuff. If you have a tribal tattoo or think drinking a case of Natty Light makes you the shit, this is what you’ve been looking for.

Kevin Smith returns to his down-and-out, raunch-driven, stoner comedy roots.  This time Jay and Silent Bob are nowhere to be found. Same goes for everybody’s favorite clerks Dante and Randal.  Instead, Smith took aim at Hollywood’s unsuspecting comedy “it” boy, Seth Rogen (Zack), and Elizabeth “I play a slut in every movie” Banks (Miri) to tell the story of life-long friends with a cash problem.   When their funds start to dwindle Zack and Miri, who have been platonic friends since their teens, find themselves brainstorming for a solution to their empty pocket syndrome.  The answer: make a porno.  The plot takes the obvious twist as Zack and Miri start to find feelings for each they never had before.  Despite the somewhat sappy plot line Smith can always deliver on crude sex jokes and with Rogen, whose Superbad was a super hilarious look at teen sex lives, the punch lines promise to pound even harder. No pun intended.

Game of the Week: LittleBig Planet

Since it was released in November 2006, the Playstaiton 3 has always been under scrutiny for its titles and library.   Sony’s black box is more powerful, more flexible, and, surprisingly, more dependable than the 360 but it hasn’t been able to boast exclusive titles to draw people into its lofty price tag.  In the past months Sony has started to up its stock as the failure rate for first generation 360s reaches 70% and with Blu-Ray putting HD DVD out to pasture very early on in the XBOX’s life span.  Add in Sony’s holiday titles and the future looks brighter and brighter for the PS3.  Spearheading Sony’s attack is one, if not the most inventive title on the next -generation systems, LittleBigPlanet.  This inventive platformer from   Media Molecule is wildly entertaining and infinitely creative for people of all ages.  LittleBigPlanet uses classic platformer side scrolling style of game play while keeping things interesting through crazy level design and online gameplay.  Up to four players can run through the games’ levels, jumping through the paper cut out style environments as “SackGirl” or “SackBoy” characters made from a burlap bag.  The most interesting part of the experience is designing and displaying levels that the player can create.  Once the levels are created they can be posted online for others to play, making LittleBigPlanet almost endless.  This is the reason many people need to make the PS3 a holiday purchase.

Fallout 3 (PS3, XB360)
This RPG finishes off the Fallout series with Next-Gen flair.   Some point to the games shotty graphics and slow gameplay as a downside but others don’t see the issue.  Bottom line, its Oblivion with guns.

Guitar Hero: World Tour (PS3, XB360)
Activision adds drums, amps up the graphics, and gives people the ability to create their own songs in the game.  Who needs real music anyway right?

Friends Reach Out to Help Hudson

Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning actress of Dreamgirls and American Idol fame has had recent tragedy come upon her family. Her mother, Darnell Donerson and brother, Jason Hudson were killed in their Chicago home and her nephew’s body, Julian King was found in an SUV. It was a sad turn of events for the 27-year-old, star who earned her fame through talent and hard work. Hudson has a new movie out, The Secret Life of Bees, and her first solo album. Instead, she is in the public eye for the horrible tragedies that have occurred in her family. So far, no charges have been filed in connection with the murders. Hudson began singing in the church choir in Englewood, located in the South Side of Chicago. Many celebrities and friends have reached out to Hudson in support, including Queen Latifah, Simon Cowell, Ryan Seacrest, and Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama. Fans have also expressed their condolences. It is heart-breaking for Hudson to lose three beloved family members. It will take time to heal. Hudson is a talented star who can help others with her story. It could put a spotlight on dealing with grief and ending violence. Our thoughts and prayers go to her and her family.

Page 8, Sports

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Sports, Page 8

The Phils are the 2008 World Champions

I’ll never forget last Wednesday night.  Sitting in G&G Brewers on Keswick Ave. is pretty normal; I go there almost every Wednesday.  The people I’m with are the people I’m always around. The beer is the same beer I have every week, a golden glass of Laughing Wolf.  This Wednesday was different for me and for a lot of people here at Arcadia or in the tri-state area because around ten o’clock the words Philadelphia and World Champions were one in the same.   Phinally.

I like many other Phillies or Philadelphia fans had the common “not this again” feeling after the rain out of game 5.  The Rays tying the game up, our savior Cole Hamels being reduced to half his normal self thanks to the weather, and the unfortunate timing as the Umps and Bud Selig called for the tarp over Citizens Bank Park’s infield.  I’ve been a Philly sports fan all 21 years I’ve been breathing(or since I’ve been able to comprehend it) and once again I found myself, for a split second doubting the Phillies upper hand on the Tampa Bay Rays.  Unlike other chances I’ve watched swirl down the tubes, I quickly realized there was nothing to be worried about, I quickly realized it was just our time to win.

So I settled in at Brewers to watch the three-inning drag race that was the end of game five.  Wincing at every pitch, sweating out every play, I sat with my hands over my mouth and my heart pounding through my now unwashed Phils tee.  With Eric Hinske down 0-2 to Lidge I like every other Philly sports fan under 25 was prepared for something totally foreign, and with one 86 mile per hour slider the eruption began, as the streets of Keswick flooded for the Phils..  Every year it seems o be about next year, but last Wednesday 2008 was about 2008, about being the best in 2008.  From there I made my way to Broad St. for the inevitable party/riot.  Never in my life have I seen or felt anything euphoria like I did in at Broad and Arch, running around the streets as people climbed on anything they could find. The cheers never stopped. The sea of red continued to grow the entire time I was downtown.   The feeling of Philadelphia World Champion city seemed to good to be true.

Looking back on the Phils playoff run there are plenty of moments I will never forget.  Cole Hamel’s absolute domination, Brett Myers sudden hit-streak, Matt Stairs doing his best Mark McGuire impression, Jamie Moyer walking off the mound at 45 after owning the Rays in game three, or maybe most importantly Chase Utley’s fake to first throw out at home in the second half of game 5, a play that may have saved that game for the Phils.  All of those moments and more were part of a run that was nothing short of magical for this area. My childhood friend Pete called me not even 5 minutes after Lidge finished off Hinske.  For me there is no bigger Philadelphia fan than Pete.  Obviously crying when he got on the phone all I could understand was “Bro we finally did it, we finally finished it.”  I don’t think there is a better way to put it really.   Sure the joy of the Phillies win is about victory, about being the best, but it is also about taking the massive weight off of the shoulders of an entire city of people.

So for the next year enjoy Sports Center, listen to 950, check out all the clips of game 5 on Youtube because Philadelphia, in the words of Chase Utley are “ World Fucking Champions” (see Page 2). It’s something to bask in for as long as you can, to relive and talk about for the rest of your lives.  Foreign territory for sure.

KNIGHTS of the WEEK

Ashley McCarthy ‘11

Field Hockey

Ashley helped the Knights to a home victory last week with a pair of goals against the Bryn Mawr Owls, a 4-2 win for the Knights.  Ashley put herself in scoring position in front of the Owl’s cage and tipped home a pass from Morgan Hasson in the first half and then stuffed in a pass from Ashley Griffith to open the second half.  Her two goals were her fifth and sixth of the year, and came on just 4 shots against the Owls.

Sam Schad ‘09

Volleyball

The senior helped the Knights to a 2-0 record on the week, including their tenth win of the season in a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Immaculata and Valley Forge Christian College.  Impressively, Schad led the offense hitting a resounding .516 overall including 22 kills with just 1 error on 41 attempts.  She also contributed 21 digs and one solo and one block assist.

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