St. Edward’s University’s fall president’s meeting up-dated students and faculty on the university’s progress and provided a glimpse into plans for the new academic year.

“If I was to summarize it in a phrase, I would say things are pretty darn good,” univer-sity President George Martin

said.The presen-

tation on Sept. 25 focused on the university’s growth in aca-demics around the world and on the home campus.

Martin began with a sum-mary of recent academic achievements. The U.S. World News Report moved

St. Edward's up to number 17 in the Regional Univer-sity West division. The uni-versity’s average SAT score climbed to 1130. St. Edward’s continues to be a top pro-

ducer of Fulbright scholar-ship winners, and was named once again to the President’s Higher Education Commu-nity Service Honor Roll.

The university also secured

$1.15 million for the McNair Scholarship, which helps un-dergraduate students with financial need attain graduate degrees at other schools. St. Edward’s has given McNair scholarships in the past, but there was some uncertainty this year as to whether na-tional funding for the schol-arships would be cut.

“I am so excited that we were funded again for Mc-

Nair. That was very exciting... I think it is a wonderful op-portunity,” English writing and rhetoric professor and Associate Dean Lynn Rudl-off said.

Martin said a total of $19 million, which will go to-wards scholarships and re-search on campus, was raised in the 2012 fiscal year.

“From this point on, almost the entire focus is on building

Various civil rights groups gathered at a landmark Aus-tin City Hall meeting to hear an announcement they have awaited for years–a resolu-tion to support marriage equality in the state of Texas. Under this amendment, the resolution made by the Aus-tin City Council will have no formal effects and the prac-tice will still be illegal.

Equality Texas, the Anti-Defamation League, the Human Rights Campaign, the Mexican-American Le-gal Defense and Education Fund and the NAACP were among those present in the

Council Chambers of Aus-tin City Hall last Thursday morning.

“It is very telling of the envi-ronment of the city we live in and sends a message to Texas that Austin stands with its LGBT citizens,” Austin Hu-man Rights Commissioner Elizabeth Brenner said.

Adviser to the P.R.I.D.E group on St. Edward’s Uni-versity’s campus, Professor Alexandra Barron, said this action will place Austin on the right side of history.

“My hope is their decision challenges other cities, states and institutions to think about how to support and value all of their constitu-ents,” Barron said. “And I am

glad to live in a city where council members come to the Pride parade and the mayor is one of the main propo-nents of a marriage equality endorsement.”

The resolution, sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and co-sponsored by Mayor Lee Leffingwell, re-ceived support from all seven members of the Council.

Austin is the first major city in Texas to formally endorse same-sex marriage, although mayors of several other cities including Galveston, Hous-ton and San Antonio have signed petitions in support of marriage equality.

HILLTOP VIEWSSt. Edward’s University • Wednesday, October 3, 2012 • Volume 32 • Issue 4 • hilltopviewsonline.com

8 | LIFE & ARTSCoverage and film reviews from Fantastic Fest, an annual genre film fes-tival hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse.

Major League Baseball draft and Hilltop-per Stephen Johnson dishes on playing ball in the minor leagues for the Giants.

The Editorial Board discusses avenues for providing feedback on Hilltop Views articles, including letters to the editor.

10 | SPORTS 13 | VIEWPOINTS

Hannah Thornbymthornb@stedwards.edu

Austin City Council unanimously support same-sex marriage

President’s meeting details campus growthJenna Jacojjaco2@stedwards.edu

CITY | 3Photo by Joe Arellano

Student organization P.R.I.D.E. marched in the Austin Pride parade Sept. 22.

“If I was to summarize it in a phrase, I would say things are pretty darn good.”-President George Martin

2NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

In the last few years, the cost of health care has risen, potentially affecting the fu-ture for many college stu-dents.

On Sept. 27, the St. Ed-ward’s University Econom-ics Club hosted a panel dis-cussion about the price of healthcare and its impact on individuals.

“We spend a lot of money on healthcare... and all of that spending only benefits 5 percent of the population,” club president and senior Gilbert Galindo said. “The U.S. is the only industrial-ized country without some kind of nationalized health-care system.”

Despite this spending ex-cess, the U.S. also falls be-hind in rankings of health-care effectiveness.

“Compared to other na-tions, the United States spends an unusually high amount of money on health-care, but we do not rank higher on things like infant mortality rate compared to other countries that spend less,” said Matt Clements, club adviser and chair of the economics department.

According to Clements, the problems with health-care costs lie in economic theory.

“People who have insur-ance do not understand the actual cost of care,” Cle-

ments said. “This creates an inflated demand... A doctor might have the incentive to do the most expensive treat-ment, even though it is the most invasive and poten-tially not the most effective one.”

Other students also sup-port revamping the current system.

“My dad used to work in the maternity ward, and he said it was really sad to see parents whose babies were born with problems that could be fixed with surgery but are not because the parents cannot afford it,” fresh-man Jeslyn Schuh said.

When it comes to rem-edying prob-lems in the system, Galindo is hopeful for the future that the Affordable Care Act of-fers.

“The short term conse-quences may cause prob-lems, but I think that, in the long term, it will be a good thing,” Galindo said.

Galindo also agrees that improved healthcare will af-fect the U.S. as a whole.

“It is only going to boost our economy,” Galindo said. “If you make people health-ier, they will just become more productive members

of society, and being healthy also means that they are more likely to spend money on things and further help the economy.”

Insurance companies play a visible role in the cost of medical care, as well.

“Insurance companies only spend 80 percent of the money they get from premi-ums on claims,” Clements said. “That means that 20 cents out of every dollar you

pay to your insurance com-pany is spent on keeping the company running.”

Processing insurance claims also creates work for employees.

“This artificially inflates the cost,” Clements said. Some students see health-care as a moral issue.

“I personally think that healthcare should be free,” Schuh said. “Healthcare is a basic human need. I just think it is wrong to make a profit off of someone’s life.”

St. Edward’s University moved up in the U.S. News and World Report 2013 rankings for top universities in the nation. This year, the university jumped four spaces to number 17 in the Regional University West category compared to last year’s spot at number 21.

Schools in the regional university category offer un-dergraduate and masters programs, but not many offer doctoral programs.

The university is ranked higher than several colleges and universities in the area, including St. Mary’s Uni-versity in San Antonio and Texas State University in San Marcos.

“This year's jump from number 21 to 17 is reinforce-ment that our continual ef-forts to improve and stay focused on the goals of our strategic plan are paying off,” university spokeswoman Mischelle Diaz said.

The U.S. News and World

Report ranks universities ac-cording to numerous factors, including retention of stu-dents, faculty resources, stu-dent selectivity and financial resources.

In the 2013 rankings, St. Edward’s improved in several categories, including alumni giving rate, faculty/student ratio, average graduation rate and freshmen who are in the top 25 percent of their high school class.

Students agree that the rise in rank reflects appropriately on a university that deserves to be acknowledged for its dedication to education.

“It just shows how we are just getting better all the time. I think a lot of it has to do with all of the changes the university is making to accommodate the rising amount of students,” senior Elizabeth Pelser said.

Pelser came for a campus visit almost four years ago and fell in love with the uni-versity. She did not apply anywhere else, and said she knew from the beginning that her heart was set on at-

tending St. Edward’s.“Hearing our rank went up

this year makes me feel really proud to be a Hilltopper. I look forward to increasing in rank as the years continue to go on,” sophomore Chassidy Smith said.

Smith said she applied to four other schools but, in the end, knew she wanted to go to St. Edward’s.

“The U.S. News and World Report rankings are only one measure of success for a uni-versity, but the rankings do indicate excellence and im-provement in key areas and the opinions of other higher education peers,” Diaz said.

Diaz also said the univer-sity is committed to provid-ing benefits and value to stu-dents through the addition of new facilities, improvements to existing facilities and the expansion of global opportu-nities through new partner-ships.

“St. Edward's has been rec-ognized for 10 consecutive years and we plan to continue our focus on being a top lib-eral arts university,” Diaz said.

Monique Morenommoreno8@stedwards.edu

Tyler Eldredgeteldred@stedwards.edu

University climbs to top 20 list on U.S. News and World Report

Forum encourages students to voice opinions on healthcare

Hilltop Views ArchiveThe rankings were determined by factors such as student/faculty ratio and graduation rate.

The article “School tra-ditions: the good, the bad and the downright made up” of the Sept. 19 issue contained an error. Father Paul Foik was incorrectly

referred to as Father Paul Folk.

In the Sept. 26 issue, a photo that accompanied “Updates give new life to residence halls” on page

3 was miscredited. Peter Beck took the photo.

The Police Blotter will return next issue while Hilltop Views awaits up-dates from UPD.

CORRECTIONS/NOTICE

“People who have insurance do not understand the actual cost of care... This creates an inflated demand.”-Matt Clements, Economics Club

3NEWSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

the entire focus is on build-ing the endowment so we can provide more scholarship money for students and more research money for faculty,” Martin said.

In addition to academic improvements, Martin also stressed the university’s evolving global perspective. Involvement with other cul-tures on an international level is one of the main tenets of the university’s Strategic Plan for 2015.

To highlight this commit-ment to global preparedness, Martin discussed a recent study abroad trip to Thailand and Malaysia during which Father Louis Brusatti led 25 students to learn about Asian religious traditions alongside students from Japan, China and South Korea.

“[The trip] achieved goals that we are really trying to achieve in education... We do not want our students to be in a bubble. We want them to be totally integrated with students from other cultures,” Martin said.

Martin revealed plans for a partnership with Curtin Uni-versity in Australia, which is meant to extend study abroad opportunities to students of all majors.

“It seems like an absolute first rate program, and I am

particularly pleased because it is a program that our sci-ence students can participate in,” Martin said.

Senior Ashton Robison, a global studies major, shares this enthusiasm for global learn-ing and cross-cul-tural experiences.

“I studied abroad in Tanza-nia and in France, so that is half of why I go to St. Ed’s, for that global perspec-tive,” Robison said.

Senior Patrick Dunlap feels the same way, having studied abroad in Uganda.

“As a global studies major, that was really important to me... It is becoming such a big part of campus, of the St. Ed’s community,” Dunlap said.

Martin said the 2012-2013 freshman class contained the

highest percentage of out-of-state students in the univer-sity’s history.

“That was a long and hard effort. We have been working at that for over 10 years, and

finally it is beginning to pay off,” Martin said.

The international student population has increased as well, Martin said, likely due to the university’s global con-nections.

“We have the largest inter-national class in recent his-tory... just about five years ago there were only 10 in-

ternational students in the freshman class, and we came in with 72 this year,” Martin said.

Besides the growing stu-dent population, one of the biggest changes on campus is the renovation of the Scar-borough-Phillips Library.

“It is going to be more than double the size of the library now. It will bring us into 21st century research,” Martin said.

Construction started last week. The new library is scheduled to open in Fall 2013 and will offer a brand new design and modernized resources for students.

“There will be two global classrooms in there initially and eventually four global classrooms and lots and lots of technology,” Martin said.

Martin ended the meeting honoring the five professors the university has lost in the past year, Cecil Lawson, Mar-cia Kinsey, Edward Shirley, Jean McKemie and Harald Becker.

“Even though we feel their loss... the real message in all of that is how fortunate we were, how blessed we were, to have those people as part of our community and how blessed we are to have so many others as part of our community,” Martin said. “We need to carry on their work with our students."

Three student organiza-tions on campus banded together to encourage people to register to vote and engage in a debate. SGA hosted a political debate between the Col-lege Republicans and the College Democrats Oct. 1. Voter registration was available for students who attended.

“From various discus-sions… with the College Democrats, we found that there was a significant lack of knowledge on campus regarding voter registra-tion among St. Edward’s [University] students,” said Le’Darrion Allen, chief of staff of SGA.

SGA has been work-ing to rectify this issue as part of its larger mission to connect with and in-vite participation from the larger student body.

“This was a good op-portunity for SGA to get involved with the student body by educating them about the upcoming elec-tions,” student senator Harrison Hadland said.

The College Repub-licans and the College Democrats may have dif-ferent political ideologies, but both groups share the goal of educating and in-volving the student body. John Wooding, president of the College Democrats, said that the main tool of this debate in getting stu-

dent involvement is voter registration.

“The cornerstone of any democracy is vot-ing,” Wooding said. “Even though we have a polar-ized system, we want to show some bipartisan-ship. We want to show that not everything has to be partisan... We can show each other that there is a human element to poli-tics. These are issues that matter to everybody, and everyone should have in-put.”

Meghan O’Garr, vice president of the College Republicans, agrees that educating the student body is important.

“I think this was an op-portunity to come and learn about each candi-date,” O’Garr said. “SGA has worked to make this debate unbiased, which is very important.”

SGA invites the stu-dent body to participate in public events and make their voices known.

“In terms of any future SGA politically motivated events, we are planning a public forum. This forum will provide students with the perfect opportunity to have their voices heard,” Allen said. “More detailed information regarding this event will be coming soon. SGA wants stu-dents to know that their values and ideas matter to us because without them we have no ability to take action.”

KNOWINGYOUR SGAContinued from page 1

Meeting highlights university’s progress

Documents used to support the resolution in the meeting cite recent studies including a University of Texas/The Texas Tribune poll which showed that 63 percent of Texans now support some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples.

These numbers were used to argue that there has been a major shift in public opin-ion on the matter of marriage equality since the Texas Con-stitutional Marriage Amend-ment.

Backed by Governor Rick Perry in 2005, the Texas Constitutional Marriage Amendment formally de-

fined marriage as the union of one man and one woman while making clear that no marriage or civil union be-tween persons of the same gender would be recognized by the state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which it was created.

Some say support from the City of Austin is symbolic.

“The action was symbolic given that the City of Austin cannot change statewide law,” Brenner said. “It means a lot to LGBT citizens of Austin to know that their city fully supports them and values equality for everyone.”

Continued from page 1

City council supports marriage equality

Graphic by Andrew HatcherThe freshman class includes 72 international students compared to 43 in 2011. The class of 2016 also has 102 students from states outside of Texas, up from 86 last year.

Debate aims toencourage votingAdam Crawleydcrawle@stedwards.edu

International Out-of-state Texan

FRESHMAN CLASS STATISTICS

2011 2012

78%83.5%

9%5.5%13%11%

“We want [students] to be totally integrated with students from other cultures.”

-President George Martin

4 NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

New to-go boxes offers sustainable option for diners in a rush

Diners on campus now have more environmentally friend-ly options when taking food to-go from the cafeterias–all part of a university initiative to encourage sustainable be-havior on campus.

This year, Ragsdale diners may have noticed an alterna-tive to-go box option. Green plastic boxes referred to as ‘clamshells’ have started circu-lating. The clamshells, which come in several different siz-es, are part of Bon Appétit’s new program to continue a tradition of sustainability.

“What makes them green? You can use them forever and it cuts down on waste. They are also 100 percent BPA free plastic, safe in the dishwasher and in the microwave,” Mi-chael Smith, general manager

for Bon Appétit, said.Although the new to-go

box program, which also in-

cludes compostable boxes, just started this year, Smith said 120 green to-go boxes

have already been sold. He believes more faculty than students seem to be buying the boxes, which sell for $6. Smith indicated this may be because faculty are more aware of issues relating to waste and living a more sus-tainable lifestyle.

Currently, the clamshells are only being used in the cafeteria in Ragsdale, but the program may expand to oth-er dining halls in the future.

On average, 60 people per day use the compostable con-tainers and end up eating in the dining hall, Smith said. Smith’s goal is to reduce the number of people who use compostable to-go boxes by motivating them to use the green boxes or normal dining plates to cut back on waste.

“I got the alternative green to-go box because it is better than the compostable box...

we waste less when we use these,” freshman Amanda Madrigal said.

Madrigal, an environmental science and policy major, said her courses have motivated her to partake in a greener lifestyle and have taught her the effects people have on the world when they waste.

Students for Sustainability (SFS) has also been doing their part to help keep Earth green. SFS is an organization that works with students and administrators to make the university more sustainable and environmentally aware.

“The easiest way to get in-volved is to do what you can," senior Ashley Shaw, garden coordinator for SFS, said. "Since most of us are con-stantly using technology and electricity, it might be easiest to start there. Also, recycling. It is really not that difficult

to recycle, and the more of us that do it the easier it will become.”

SFS meetings are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. in Moody Hall 306. Shaw emphasizes that anyone can and should join in as their work load allows.

SFS partakes in programs such as the Green Fund, Green Ambassadors, the on-campus garden and Hope Farmer’s Market. SFS also encourages students to par-ticipate in local movements such as community garden-ing through Food Is Free.

Cristina Bordin, sustain-ability coordinator for the university, said an easy way to get involved in the green movement is to follow some of the weekly sustainability tips released in the Student E-news emails.

“The best thing a person can do is be aware,” Shaw said.

Monique Morenommoreno8@stedwards.edu

A committee has begun plans to construct a memorial in honor of students and pro-fessors who have died during their time at St. Edward's University.

“The rapid number of deaths that we have had in recent months is signaling a change,” Father Louis Bru-satti said.

Brusatti is in charge of a committee to procure the necessary funds and research to create the memorial.

“The faculty senate has asked that we give special consideration to the develop-ment of a memorial that hon-ors those of our faculty who have passed,” Brusatti said.

A campus-wide construc-tion plan, the Master Plan

2015, was first approved by the university’s Board of Trustees in 2011. The plan is set to finish a complete cam-pus-wide renovation of sever-al residence halls, classrooms and outdoor spaces by 2015.

According to the project's original agenda, the Master Plan 2015 did not call for a memorial to be built in honor of professors or students who had died while teaching or studying at St. Edward's.

But the recent deaths of five longtime members of the St. Edward’s community made many think there needs to be a change.

“I think that if a professor has dedicated 20 years of life to the profession of educating students, they wholly deserve to be honored,” senior Kim-berly Valmores said.

Brusatti agrees with Val-

mores.“A number of universities

have memorials for students and faculty who have died in the line of duty to their uni-versity," Brusatti said.

The new Memorial Com-mittee faces the challenge of integrating plans for con-structing the memorial into the current Master Plan 2015.

Receiving funding is anoth-er hurdle that Brusatti and the committee are facing.

“We will have to take ev-erything up with the Board of Trustees,” Brusatti said. “If we cannot get adequate funding, we will have to find some way of fundraising the money.”

Still, Brusatti remains op-timistic. Brusatti said he has received emails from a num-ber of people expressing in-

terest in a memorial.“The willingness of alumni,

students and faculty to send assistance is extraordinary,” Brusatti said. “But there is a slight debate over who we will choose to honor on the me-morial, whether it be a plaque or a statue or anything.”

With the Master Plan 2015 already in progress, the com-mittee's only option will be to add an amendment to the proposed replacement of the Campus Ministry Center and prayer garden that is go-ing to replace Mang House.

“That may be the only place we can really put a memorial on such a late notice,” Bru-satti said. “We just hope that we have enough time to draw up plans and talk to the ar-chitects.”

Plans for the memorial are in the early planning stages

and are not guaranteed. There is no current word on what this memorial will look like, who exactly it will honor

or where it will be located when it is finished. But Bru-satti hopes to be able to hon-or his fellow professors soon.

Austin Hestdalenahestda@stedwards.edu

Committee seeks to build memorial for students and faculty

Photo by Emily BlasdellDiners can now purchase BPA-free, plastic to-go containers.

Photo by Danny De Los SantosA bulletin board in Andre Hall memorializes some faculty.

5GAMESWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

check us out @ hilltopviewsonline.com

gameslook for the answers to both games in next week’s issue!

FOR WEATHER, SURVEYS, BLOGS AND ADDITIONAL COVERAGE FROM ALL OF OUR SECTIONS!

LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 6

The St. Edward’s Univer-sity TV Station has entered into the second phase of its revamp, which will focus on displaying creative content from students. They invite students with an interest in screenwriting, playwrit-ing, directing or any techni-cal aspects of broadcasting to contribute their talents to the station.

SEU TV aims to show-case students’ creative talents as well as pro-vide a medium for them to get their work out there.

“We’re look-ing to display student talent and be a cata-lyst for creativity,” senior Brandon Weber III, co-executive director of SEU TV, said.

This is the third attempt to revamp SEU TV, according to senior and co-executive director Kyle Nigro. How-ever, this phase focuses on harnessing the strengths of St. Edward’s.

“This is a young liberal arts college renowned through-out the country for its the-ater program,” Nigro said. “We want to reach out to the theater program and film classes, get them to feel free to submit their work in class as well as individual work. There are college stu-dents out there making You-Tube channels as we speak. This would provide them with the additional medium of broadcast.”

Sophomore Zach Busby,

creative director of SEU TV, would like to extend the invitation to St. Edward’s students for an open casting call.

“We want people to sub-mit creative content,” Busby said. “Some examples of content we’ve worked on are ‘The Hill,’ a three-camera show in the style of ‘The Of-fice,’ mock newscasts, and dramas. Everyone is wel-

come to pitch ideas and sub-mit content. We can provide equipment.”

This focus on student body participation is what Nigro believes will lead to the station’s success.

“We’re trying to film full-fledged productions,” Ni-

gro said. “We’ve abandoned the idea of doing the same thing, sticking to routine... We want to build a demand for new content.”

Once the station is up and running with shows and productions, Nigro plans to open an SEU TV website to provide further channels for students to submit creative content. This will also allow off-campus students to ac-cess the channel. Until then, the members of SEU TV encourage any students who want to showcase creative works to get involved with SEU TV.

“I’d like to get the word out to the entire campus that there is a TV station, and that anyone can get in-volved in any way, shape, or form,” Nigro said. “We want to help people with a dream or an idea.”

SEU TV is available on-campus on Channel 10.

If you would like to get involved with an SEU TV production, there is a cast-ing call on Thursday, Oct. 4. Students wishing to submit creative content can e-mail seutv@stedwards.edu.

Adam Crawleydcrawle@stedwards.edu

Ryan Coulehanrcouleh@stedwards.edu

SEU TV seeking new orginal content for station revamp

Common Experience to hold events all semester

As exciting an experience freshman year may be, it can also be particularly nerve-racking.

In an attempt to bring all these wide-eyed, enthusiastic students together, the univer-sity implemented the Com-mon Experience.

This experience consists of every incoming freshman reading the chosen common text, which will later be used in their respective Freshmen Studies courses.

The Common Experience has been implemented at St. Edward's for seven years ago.

In the past, St. Edward’s was much smaller and need-ed only one freshmen studies course for all of its first-year students.

Now that the university has grown, a total of eight lecture courses are offered each year.

“We lost the sense that the students had something in common with one an-other and had something to share with each other once they came to St. Ed’s. That is why we started the Com-mon Experience,” Director of Freshmen Studies Alexan-dra Barron said. “We wanted something that would bring all the first-year students to-gether, and generate some sort of conversation. We want something that will stimulate some sort of talk.”

The chosen common text varies yearly, from fiction to nonfiction, and from educa-tional to thought provoking.

This year’s book is Max Brooks’ "World War Z," cho-sen to fit the theme of “Dys-topia and Sustainability.”

Each year, a committee meets with a list of about twenty different books, which they narrow down to only a few. Of these finalists, the committee selects a book that fits the chosen theme.

“The biggest criteria in choosing a book is a strong story that will grab people’s attention. It helps if it can be used in a variety of disci-plines too,” Barron said.

The selection commit-tee consists of members of Campus Ministry, Academic Planning and Support Ser-vices, library staff and faculty from various departments all around campus.

Several campus events are being held this semester with the common theme in mind.

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve hosted a work day on Sept. 15, and will have an-other on Nov. 17, in support of the sustainability aspect of the theme.

An assortment of dystopic films are set to be screened on campus, including "The Hunger Games," "Sun Come

Up," "Juan of The Dead," and "No Impact Man."

On Oct. 17 and 18, Transit Theatre Troupe will present a short play festival in which all of the plays will explore dystopia.

Campus Ministry will be hosting its annual Miles for a Mission 5K on Oct. 28, but this year’s event will be a Zombie Apocalypse run.

Possibly the most excit-ing event is the lecture Max Brooks is set to give on Oct. 10. The talk will be geared towards freshmen, but all are welcome to attend.

Finally, Freshmen Studies will be holding a short story contest, called “The Great St. Edward’s University Zombie Flash Fiction Writing Con-test-palooza.” The contest is open to freshmen and the prize is a dinner with Brooks.

In truth, St. Edward’s has come alive with the spirit of the walking dead, making this year’s Common Experi-ence hardly common at all, even though it is shaping up to be quite the experience.

“I’d like to get the word out to the entire campus that there is a TV station and that anyone can get involved...”-Co-excecutive Director, Kyle Nigro

Wikimedia CommonsMax Brooks (left) is the author of this year’s zombie-themed com-mon text “World War Z,” and will give a lecture on campus Oct. 10.

Hilltop Views ArchiveSEU TV aims to return to new and original student content.

7LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Jewish students on campus have being celebrating two very important holidays late month, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These holidays are two of the High Holy Days that are celebrated by the Jewish community.

Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration that occurs on the first day of Tishrei, the first month in the Jewish calendar. The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle and the specific dates change yearly. The occasion this year occurred on Sept. 16.

Jackie Schicker, the presi-dent of Hillel Hilltoppers, a

Jewish student group on cam-pus, had much to say about

this year’s Rosh Hashanah celebrations.

“At New Year’s, Jews atone and apologize for the past year face to face and symbolically. We practice a ritual called Tashlich that involves reciting a number of prayers of for-giveness, quiet reflection and then the throwing of bread crumbs in a flowing body of water to ‘cast off ’ one’s sins and regrets,” Schicker said.

“This year in Austin…I got to do the Tashlich service at Lady Bird Lake. It was more about nature, calling off school stress and truly celebrating the future,” Schicker said.

Tashlich is often performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

Another tradition that oc-curs during Rosh Hashanah

includes blowing the Shofar, which is a ram’s horn tradi-tionally. The horn is blown for several lengths of time, each one representing a certain line from the Torah, the Jewish holy book.

Yom Kippur occurred on Sept. 25 and ended on Sept. 26. This holiday is the holi-est day of the year to Jewish people. It also is known as the Day of Atonement. Yom Kip-pur occurs on the tenth day of the month Tishrei of the Jew-ish calendar.

Traditions include fasting and spending time in the syn-agogue praying. Yom Kippur completes the celebrations included in the High Holy Days. During this period Jew-

ish people seek ways to amend his or her behavior and receive forgiveness from wrongs com-mitted against God or an-other person. By the end of Yom Kippur, a Jewish person should have already atoned and received forgiveness ide-ally.

Traditionally Jewish people will take this day off of work or school to fully celebrate the day of rest. In many highly populated Jewish areas, the High Holy Days may be days that schools observe like na-tional holidays.

“It’s the simple rituals, like Tashlich, that have a different twist everywhere that often touch us (the Jewish people) most deeply,” Schicker said.

Willa Goldbergwgoldbe@stedwards.edu

Students celebrate culture and welcome the Jewish New Year

Wikimedia CommonsThe blowing of the Shofar commemorates Rosh Hashanah.

WEEKLY ‘FLIX FIX|Ping Pong Playa [slapdash]

Weekly ‘Flix Fix takes the legwork out of wading through thousands of film choices on Netflix, bringing you the most truly bizarre, quirky and out-right amazing gems instant streaming has to offer.

There are few movies that can leave the viewer with a de-sire to take on the world and change it for the better and to change their own lives in or-der to become the best person they can possibly be.

This is not one of those movies.

“Ping Pong Playa" (2008) follows Christopher “C-Dub” Wang, who leads an average life trying to make it to the NBA. He finds himself at odds with his ping-pong ob-sessed family.

Mr. Wang runs the fam-

ily store selling ping-pong equipment while Mrs. Wang teaches ping-pong. They do not relate to their son, whom they feel does not appreciate the finer sports in life.

The plot thickens when Mrs. Wang’s car accident prevents her from teaching ping-pong. C-Dub is forced to ditch his basketball dreams and teach

his mother’s students how to play ping-pong. Of course, C-Dub approaches the situation with disgust.

Eventually, he grows to like the sport, and he even enters a competitive tournament where he is forced to face his fears in order to bring pride to his family.

The fact that the soundtrack incorporates old-school hip-hop songs with names such as “I Like Cereal” only adds to the unique vibe this movie gives off.

Where else will ping-pong and hip-hop combine to form such a beautiful piece of art?

This film is definitely a hid-den gem , and though you may not feel compelled to change the world after watching it, you will be left with a new ap-preciation of not only cheesy hip-hop, but the lovely sport of ping-pong as well.

Hip-hop ping-pong film falls flat

“Lazy burger, lazy life”

Monique Morenommoreno8@stedwards.edu

YouTube.comC-Dub wields a swift paddle when playing ping-pong.

8 LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Rebecca Perry Cutter wrote and directed “Besties,” which stars Olivia Croicchia as Sandy and Madison Riley as Ashley.

“Besties” is as predictable as it gets. Meant to be a coming-of-age story, “Besties” was formulaic and unoriginal. The characters were clichéd and the plot has been seen before.

Sandy is a loser freshman and Ashley is a popular se-nior. Sandy is brunette and pubescent while Ashley is blonde and perpetually lip-glossed.

Sandy asks Ashley to baby-sit her while her dad goes out of town. Ashley has a party and it ends with somebody’s head being smashed with a frying pan.

The rest of the movie fol-lows the two girls dealing with the aftermath of the trauma.

During a Q and A session after the screening, Cutter

admitted that they rehearsed for three days and the en-tire production only took 21 days.

According to Cutter, she was going for the realism ap-proach.

“I wanted to tell the story in the most honest way possi-ble,” said the writer/director.

What was meant to be raw and realistic translated as awkward and cheap.

“Besties” falls short on the thriller scale.

There was a general sus-

penseful feel, but nothing terrifying.

For example, the frying pan scene, where one would ex-pect crushed skulls and pro-jectile bleeding, was surpris-ingly tame.

Despite all of the flaws, “Besties” had a warm qual-ity to it. You could identify with these characters that are just in way over their heads. Viewers may find themselves feeling for the two girls and hoping, after it’s over, that their lives turn out all right.

Peter Strickland’s “Berbe-rian Sound Studio” is slow and disturbing, similar to the deterioration of the main character’s mental health.

When Gilderoy, played by Toby Jones, travels to Italy to work on the sound effects of a horrifying and violent film, his timid demeanor turns dark as the brutality of the film seeps into his subcon-scious.

“Berberian Sound Studio” is a beautiful and shadowy film full of plump, juicy pro-duce used as sound props. Until the produce begins to rot and Gilderoy begins to confuse reality with the film.

The British film is slow-moving but intense. It does not follow the conventional rules of suspense. “Berbe-rian Sound Studio” is moved along by the gradual progres-

sion of the witch movie and the protagonist’s psychologi-cal descent.

The audience experiences the witch film through the sound effects, including

blood-curdling screams, wa-termelons being chopped, water sizzling on a hot stove.

Jones is terrific as the frag-ile character who is pushed aside. He makes the viewer sympathize with his situa-tion, and by the end, the au-dience can thoroughly relate to his mental state.

Many critics argue that nothing really happens in “Berberian Sound Studio.” This may be true. Viewers waiting for a dramatic twist a may be disappointed, but the filmmakers never promised a shock. Try to forget your ex-pectations and experience the film as it is.

To introduce the film “Cold Steel,” an Alamo Drafthouse employee said, “If you like Japanese people and Japanese people being shot in the head by Chi-nese people, you’ll like this movie.”

The Chinese film was written, directed and edited by David Wu.

It follows a romantic yet immature sharpshooter, Mu Liangfeng, as he is re-cruited to a sniper team by the Chinese army. Mu must find a balance between his responsibility to his country and his romance with a local named Liu Yan.

“Cold Steel” was aestheti-cally beautiful. The actors were handsome and the scenery was picturesque.

The war action did not hesitate to portray the true gore of war. If you were not watching, you could hear the squirts and sprays of blood.

“Cold Steel” had all the

workings of a great story, leaving the viewer desper-ately hoping for happiness among tragedy for Mu and Liu. The actors had fantas-tic chemistry. He showed it in his facial expressions that spoke volumes and she in her development from timid crush to passionate lover.

Viewers who are not well-versed in Chinese history may find themselves con-fused about the who’s and why’s of this Chinese war. Distinguishing the numer-ous soldiers from each other and keeping up with the

subtitles is difficult and can distract from the technical masterpiece that is “Cold Steel.”

In a Q and A session, Wu expressed his excitement about showing his film in America after it premiered in China last December.

“I’m so happy that it’s here in Austin…I always love to be in the theater with the audience…my most favorite people.”

Although he has been in the business for decades, Wu admitted that he is “still learning every day.”Courtesy of Prodigy Public Relations

The two “besties” share a special relationship–and a secret.

Courtesy of Arnold WellsThe director answered questions after his film’s screening.

Film disturbs with haunting audio effects

“Besties” murder thriller is unoriginal, lacks shock factor

Chinese heartthrob finds love and loss in action war film

YouTube.comGilderoy works in a sound studio with disturbing techniques.

FA N TA S T I CF E S TFantastic Fest is

held annually at Al-amo Drafthouse’s South Lamar location and showcases hor-ror, science fiction, fantasy, action and downright weird and

fantastic films from all over the globe. This festival is the largest of its kind and was founded by Ala-mo Drafthouse CEO Tim League. Check out further coverage on Fantastic Fest on-line at hilltopviewson-line.com.

Brooke Blantonbblanto@stedwards.edu

9LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Excitement was palpable as over 200 people sat on the edges of their seats, poised to jump up and run just in case their names were called followed by "Come on down!"

Of them, twenty-five peo-ple were not disappointed and played for cash and prizes at "The Price Is Right, Live!" on Sept. 21, at the Long Center for the Per-forming Arts.

Not to be confused with the actual game show that has been on air since 1972, "The Price is Right, Live!" is a mobile version of the show that is touring the nation with various celebrity hosts in celebration of the show's 40th anniversary, offering contestants the chance to win over $25,000 in prizes playing the same popular games as on the show.

Sounds pretty amazing, but the chance to win came at a hefty price for some.

Tickets range from $30 to $70 per ticket, leaving only a lucky few with a profit from the night's festivities.

"It was a little more than I would have liked to have paid, seeing as how I wasn't picked," audience member and University of Texas stu-dent Jake Alexander said. "Overall, the night was to-tally a blast and I don't re-gret the money I paid."

Some players had better winnings than others. A University of Texas student managed to leave with an extra $800 in his pocket af-ter playing the fan favorite game of Plinko.

One Austin man came within $400 of the total cost of various products and ser-

vices in the Showcase Show-down but, unfortunately, guessed too high and lost.

However, every contestant and some lucky audience members left with t-shirts to remember the night.

Unfortunately, Bob Barker and Drew Carey were not available to host the Austin event, but Todd Newtown of Hollywood Showdown and E! fame kept the crowd entertained and invested in every player, while kindling every individual's hope that their name would be the next to be called.

He succeeded in the dif-ficult task of turning awk-wardly excited, confused and probably intoxicated elderly people into charm-ing and endearingly ador-able players everyone could root for.

In fact, the most intense moment of the entire eve-ning was the drawn-out re-sult of one woman winning a trip to Las Vegas, as op-posed to a robotic vacuum. Every audience member cheered with joy for her suc-cess.

Although contestants were chosen at random, rather than by enthusiasm, the ma-jority of audience members dressed up in true Price Is Right fashion.

There were go-go boots, brightly-colored wigs, preg-nant bellies decorated with "Momma needs a new car!" and t-shirts that said "All my pets are spayed and neu-tered," that signified that this audience was a commu-nity of life-long fans of the classic game show which is a veteran supporter of con-trolling the pet population.

"Honestly, I wish I had known that people were still going to dress up," senior Kollin Brandenburg said.

"When I heard players were chosen randomly, I figured people wouldn't try, so I didn't dress up. I had so many ideas that would have put everyone else to shame."

Texas was the first stop of many for "The Price Is Right, Live!" The tour will continue until Oct. 28, where it will have its grand finale in Westbury, N.Y.

Landry Taylorltaylor5@stedwards.edu

The Price is Right fans given chance to “come on down”

Creative CommonsCommemorative shirts were available to fans in attendance.

SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 10

Stephen Johnson would have been a senior at St. Edward’s University this year completing his crimi-nology degree and prepar-ing for the 2013 Hilltopper baseball season. Instead, he is playing professionally at the minor league level in the San Francisco Giants’ farm system.

The Giants picked the for-mer St. Edward’s pitcher in the 6th round of the draft. After the draft, Johnson flew out to Scottsdale, Ariz., to the Giants’ spring train-ing facilities and then to Sa-lem, Ore., where he played in the Class A Short Season League. This is a league for newly drafted players like Johnson.

Johnson explained how baseball is a whole different game at the professional lev-el and compared his experi-

ence in the minor leagues to his time at St. Edward’s.

“You can’t get away with any mistakes like you can in college,” Johnson said. “Ev-eryone seems to be the best from their college. I’m play-ing with all-stars.”

However, skill level is not the only difference Johnson

has noticed. “College baseball is more

of a team structured sport. In the minors, you do not know if you are going to be with the team for a few weeks, a few days or the rest of the season,” Johnson said.

The minor league system was designed to be very in-consistent. Players often get moved to higher divisions, knocked down to lower level leagues or even called up to play in the big leagues.

Johnson said he does not have the same support he found at the St. Edward’s baseball program.

“Each person [in the mi-nors] does his own job rath-er than a team working as a whole. You just care about yourself now,” Johnson said.

Rob Penders, head coach of the Hilltopper baseball team, was a big part of the support that Johnson had during his time at St. Ed-ward’s.

“I have been around a lot of programs, and I took all that experience and brought it to St. Edward’s. I make the guys the best they can be,” Johnson said.

Penders says that he saw potential when Johnson threw pitches at 93 mph his freshman year. After three years at St. Edward’s, he was throwing 97 to 100 mph.

“He is a talented kid and I’m very happy for him,” Penders said.

Over the course of his 14-year career, Penders has coached 81 players that have been drafted. He has been at St. Edward’s since 2006.

Johnson could have played at St. Edward’s another year if he wanted.

“It was a big decision: fin-ishing my degree or start-ing my professional career,” Johnson said.

Both Johnson and Pend-ers noted that the extra year

Johnson had left gave him leverage to get a better con-tract with the Giants.

“Having the leverage of being a junior and having another year to come back definitely has an impact on being drafted higher and the amount of money they can offer you. The seniors I talked to did not have that leverage of playing another year. The offers made to them were simply yes or no,” Johnson said.

The San Francisco Giants clinched their division last week and will be heading to the post-season.

“I want to get called up to the pros next year, but that all depends on how hard I work. I really have to do what I can to get myself there,” Johnson said. He plans to be back at St. Ed-ward’s next fall to finish his degree and graduate before fully committing to profes-sional baseball.

Jacob Mooneyjmooney2@stedwards.edu

Hilltopper pitcher drafted to Giants SPORTS CALENDAR

MEN’S GOLFMon. 10/8, - Tues. 10/9 Ryan Palmer Classic, Amarillo, TX

MEN’S SOCCERThurs. 10/4 | 3:30 p.m.at St. Mary’s Sat. 10/6 | 2:30 p.m.at TAMU-International

WOMEN’S SOCCERThurs. 10/4 | 1:00 p.m.at St. Mary’s Sat. 10/6 |12:00 p.m.at TAMU-International

VOLLEYBALLThurs. 10/4 | 1:00 p.m.at St. Mary’s Sat. 10/6 |12:00 p.m.at TAMU-International

RUGBYSat. 10/6 | 10:00 a.m.SWC Invitational Tournament at Burr Field

MEN’S CLUB SOCCERSat. 10/6 | 3:00 p.m.at Rice University

CYCLINGSat. 10/6 - Sun. 10/7 Mountain Bike Race hosted by Baylor University at Waco City Park

SEU Sports InformationJohnson was drafted to the Giants’ farm team.

Oh, Shaun. I remember 2006 like it was yesterday. You had just won your first gold medal at the Tu-rin Winter Olympics, and Rolling Stone deemed you the coolest kid in America. Now I heard you were ar-rested on charges of vandal-ism and public intoxication. Not so cool. What hap-pened?

White was arrested in September in Nashville af-ter attending Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney’s wedding.

White allegedly pulled a fire alarm and broke a

phone at the at which he was staying. While trying to flee the scene of the crime, White fell, and was taken to a hospital before being arrested.

Is White lowering the standard for how other Olympic athletes should act? Though White may be among the slightly more re-bellious Olympic athletes—like Michael Phelps, who was photographed smoking marijuana in 2009—he is not the primary example-setter, especially for Ameri-can athletes.

Instead of focusing on bad-boy antics committed by White, we should focus on awesome acts of sports-

manship by other athletes. Take American sprinter Shawn Crawford, for ex-ample. At the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics. After two other competitors were disqualified for minor in-fractions, Crawford went from fourth place to win-ning a silver medal. He then gave his medal to one of the disqualified competitors, Churandy Martina.

Though sports media cov-erage can sometimes over-emphasize the darker side of competition, we should not forget that most ath-letes at the Olympics are highly aware that they are representing their countries, so they refrain from making

poor choices.Though White has apolo-

gized, we should put him at the back of our minds until Sochi 2014, where he will hopefully compete and re-

sponsibly represent the U.S. If we continue giving this incident attention, others might get the idea that mak-ing trouble is a good way to get in the spotlight.

Wikimedia CommonsGold-medalist White was arrested for public intoxication.

Sara Sanchezssanchei@stedwards.edu

Shaun White: snowboarder is golden boy no more

11SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Last fall, senior Jenna Emerick started mountain and road cycling because of her twin sister, who cycles at Texas State University. She wanted to bring the sport to St. Edward’s University and start cycling competitively. With the help of Student Life and Andy Lemons, the director of Campus Recre-ation, Emerick re-founded the Cycling Club on campus as a group for students to cy-cle socially and competitively. Until this weekend, Emer-ick was the only member to compete through the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference, but competitive membership tripled this past weekend in the University of Texas at Austin Mountain Bike Weekend 2012 at Flat Rock Ranch in Comfort, Texas.Shelby Sementelli: What is training like and how often do you do it?Jenna Emerick: I bike at the Barton Creek Green-belt several times a week, but I especially love riding at Madrone Trail at Can-yon Lake. I have a relaxed attitude about riding and prefer to do so socially. In between rides, I like to run a couple miles on the treadmill if I can. Lately, I have been trying to work out my arms more, because that is where I begin to fa-tigue first on long rides. It takes a surprising amount of upper body strength to control and maneuver the bike.SS: What events do you do?JE: For each race weekend,

there are three events, two of which are always the same format. Those are the short-track and the cross-country. The short track is a three to five minute loop with a little bit of every-thing (climbing, straight-aways and some technical single-track) that is raced for a set amount of time. The cross country is an endurance race of about 15 miles and includes lots of technical sections. The other event is whatever the hosting team decides to do. So far this season, we have had a downhill race and a hill climb. The downhill race was extremely fun.SS: If you could cycle in one place in the world, where would you choose?JE: Although I absolutely love mountain biking on Texas hill country lime-stone, I would like to see what the trails are like in the Rockies or in Moab, Utah. I have always been really curious about down-hill riding in British Co-lombia, although it seems a little too dangerous for me.SS: What is the most diffi-cult trail you’ve ever ridden?JE: It would definitely be the cross country course at Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in Angel Fire, New Mexico last October. It had just snowed, mak-ing the trails slushy and frozen, it included a 2 mile long 1400 ft climb, and my body was not used to the elevation change.SS: I saw that you are ma-joring in biology and have worked at Baylor doing medical research. Do you have future plans related to medicine?

JE: This summer I worked at the Children’s Nutri-tion Research Center con-ducting plant physiology research. That lab is also affiliated with Baylor Col-lege of Medicine. Confus-ing, I know. I loved work-ing with plants. I am still exploring my career inter-ests, but I am keeping an open mind right now.SS: Do you plan on con-tinuing cycling after college?JE: Definitely. It is my all-time favorite hobby, and it motivates me to become stronger and more fit. I plan to continue racing through Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association as

long as I live in Texas. The people I have met through mountain biking are some of the coolest and nicest people. I want to continue being a part of that com-munity.SS: Do you have any unex-pected interests or quirks?JE: My twin and I race against each other...we are each other’s biggest com-petition.SS: If you were a of bike, what bike would you want to be?JE: I would be a full-sus-pension 29er because they are the most fun and are well suited for a variety trail types.

Column as I see ‘Em is your weekly fix for all things NFL. Here’s the Sports Editor’s take on how teams may fare during Week 5 of National Football League play.

ThursdayCardinals at RamsThe 4-0 Cardinals have sur-prised everyone so far. Look for it to continue. Cardinals by 14.

SundayDolphins at BengalsAndy Dalton continues to put up big numbers. Ben-gals by 10.

Packers at ColtsPackers are slumping, but not as far as the Colts. Pack-ers win by 3.

Ravens at ChiefsJoe Flacco is having an MVP year. Ravens by 14.

Falcons at RedskinsMatt Ryan and the Falcons continue their perfect sea-son against RG3. Falcons by 14.

Browns at GiantsGiants lost a heartbreaker to the Eagles last week, it won’t happen two weeks in a row. Giants by 14.

Eagles at SteelersEagles continue their im-possible run of winning late. Philly by 7.

Seahawks at PanthersSeahawks surprised ev-eryone, but no more. Cam Newton has a field day. Pan-thers by 14.

Bears at JaguarsBears defense will shut down MJD, limiting Jack-sonville’s offense. Bears by 10.

Titans at VikingsOn top of the NFC North, the Vikings are hot. Minne-sota by 14.

Broncos at PatriotsDefensive grudgematch between two solid AFC teams, look for Matt Prater to make a few field goals. Denver on top by 3.

Bills at 49ersSan Francisco wins the ground battle. 49ers take it by 7.

Chargers at SaintsAFC West Division leaders roll over the no-win Saints. Chargers by 20.

MondayTexans at Jets Tim Tebow may get his chance, when the Texans are up by 14. Houston wins by 21

Nolan Greenngreen2@stedwards.edu

Shelby Sementellissement@stedwards.edu

ATHLETE PROF I LE

Cyclist shreds on Hill Country trails Column as I see ‘em

Photo by Erin ReasEmerick’s bike is a full-suspension with 29 inch wheels.

Predictions for week 5 of the NFL

12SPORTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

The men's golf team, ranked 14th nationally, recently add-ed a new player to its arsenal. Drew Bell, a 27-year-old re-turning student, has already made several tournament appearances his first season with the Hilltoppers.

Bell made his first appear-ance at the season opener, the 36-hole Brickyard Invi-tational on Sept. 17-18, and finished the tournament as the No. 2 player.

After graduating in 2003 from Westlake High School in Austin, Bell enrolled in Austin Community College (ACC) and began studying biology. After three years, Bell decided to take another path. Bell then worked odd jobs, from Starbucks to the Barton Creek Resort to the Austin Country Club.

The Austin Country Club provided easy access to its 18-hole golf course, where Drew would drive as a hobby. Eventually, Bell had a change of heart about education and decided to enroll at St. Ed-ward's University.

“My sister, who graduated

in 2001, played softball, so I would come to the campus for her games," Bell said. "I liked the atmosphere, cam-pus and the class size."

Bell and the head coach of the men’s golf team Todd Ohlmeyer were in touch be-fore Bell came to the hilltop, but it was not until he won the Central Texas Amateur tournament that he caught Ohlmeyer’s eye. Bell was of-fered a spot on the team in December of 2011.

“I think the team is getting along with him awesomely. He is a great person and a great golfer,” junior golfer En-rique Livas said.

Being added to the roster was not easy, though. To ob-tain eligibility, Bell had two options: he could either have graduated from ACC with an associate's degree in biology or wait a year until he could play at St. Edward’s.

Bell was not sure what to expect after being added to the roster. He is nearly a decade older than his team-mates and the only one above junior status at St. Edward's. While Bell believed his team-mates "felt weird" about the age gap and did not know

what to expect, Bell has found ways to contribute to the team outside of his golf swing. Bell has been able to offer advice and guidance to his younger teammates with decision-making and life les-sons.

“I do not think there is any problem with the age differ-ence. In golf, you get to play with a lot of people older than you," Livas said. "[Drew] is older, but the little I've talk-ed with him, I can tell how cool it is to be his teammate."

The Hilltopper men's golf team faced off against Divi-sion I Ivy League schools this past weekend in the Mac-donald Cup at the Yale Uni-versity golf course. The team placed 8th in the tournament and was the only Division II team playing in the tourna-ment. The Hilltoppers beat out teams like Columbia, Temple, Brown and Yale's second team. Bell ended the tournament tied for 63rd.

As to the future of the team, Bell is extremely optimistic. “I expect good things com-ing from these good players. I hope to make it to nationals and bring a national trophy back home,” Bell said.

Austin native and golfer brings experience, age to the course

Courtesy of Todd OhlmeyerDrew Bell poses for a team photo with his younger teammates at the Brickyard tournament.

Daisy Baccadbacca@stedwards.edu

The St. Edward’s Univer-sity Rugby Football Club (SEURFC) recently became the first Division I team at St. Edward’s. The team , whci competes as a club sport, started off as Division III and climbed to Divi-sion I status, and is the only small college rugby team to have done so.

After reaching Division I status, officers decided to compete in two con-ferences—the Division I Southwest Conference and the Division II Lonestar Conference—with a mix of fifteen-man and seven-man matches. The team had an undefeated season last year and is currently undefeated this season.

“A lot of our winning has to do with our fitness,” said senior Captain and Vice President Zach Chad. The team added bi-weekly cross-

fit training to their daily practices.

Rugby has become a sort of unofficial St. Edward’s football team. The team has seen hundreds of fans at some of their home games, which can equal—or even outnumber—some of the NCAA teams’ fan turnout.

The roster has grown with the popularity of the sport, and the team’s presence on campus has even been a sell-ing point for freshmen and international students in-terested in attending St. Ed-ward’s. According to Chad, the team doesn’t turn a single member away, regard-less of physical or financial abilities.

Members from the team come from all over the world, including Spain, Thailand and Zimbabwe, and the roster currently hosts about 45 players and two competitive teams.

Club members also par-ticipate in many other extra-

curricular activities outside of rugby.

“There’s some guys who ... don’t even know how to touch a rugby ball,” said freshman Daniel Lane, who starts on SEURFC’s second team. “But the coach builds your skill level. The first day of practice, you don’t have to know everything...every-one learns more and more, and then he’ll give you game time. His mentality is to build, slowly.”

Being a part of SEURFC gives members a network of on-campus connections.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” said Lane. “It’s a lot of hard work and commitment… you know you’re working just as hard as the other forty guys on the team, so it bonds you.”

The team is hosting its second home tournament this Saturday, October 6, starting at 10 A.M., against Lamar, U of H and UT at Burr Field.

Sara Sanchezssanchei@stedwards.edu

Rugby makes history as first SEU team to reach Division I

Courtesy of Andrew HellerPlayers huddle together at a particularly muddy game during a tournament in Dallas.

VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 13

In response to “The Inno-cence of Muslims,” a 14-min-ute low quality, low budget, satirical movie featured on YouTube, people from 18 countries in the Islamic world have taken to the streets in violent protest.

According to Islamic tradi-tion, depicting Muhammad is one of the worst acts a hu-man can do. It is against their faith to portray the prophet in artwork even in a positive light.

The short-film not only uses a man to play the part of Muhammad, but he is de-picted as a ruthless killer and uneducated pervert.

After watching the You-Tube video, I can understand why Muslims are upset and

offended. The movie has no merit or storyline. Its only function serves to make fun of the beginnings of Islam. Muhammad is shown having adulterous relationships with other men’s wives and speaks about bringing harm to wom-en and children like it’s a nor-mal day’s work. Islamic men, in general, are also depicted as cruel barbarians uncon-trollably running around the streets wreaking havoc.

However, the response to this video is unjustifiable and ultimately hurts the world’s perception of Islam.

One example, of how a group should act when their values are generalized, de-picted in obscene ways and laughed at is the Mormon Church. The Broadway mu-sical, “The Book of Mormon,” targets this group of people.

This show degrades the Mor-mon missionary practice, de-picts the faith’s followers as uneducated and mocks their faith. Instead of revolting or protesting the Mormon Church released this state-ment:

“The production may at-tempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

Regardless of an individu-al’s opinion of Mormonism, it is nearly impossible to criti-cize the poise and maturity in which the Mormon Church and its followers responded to this musical.

Broadway is an iconic American symbol with award-winning, legitimate productions that one cannot

ignore.However, if the violent

protests in North Africa and Asia did not occur, “The In-nocence of Muslims” would never have reached over 14 million views. It would have instead been lost amongst a multitude of garbage videos that are rarely viewed because that is what the video is: gar-bage.

This topic is inherently controversial and deals with issues much deeper than just the video that are not go-ing to be solved over night. With that said burning flags, defacing western establish-ments and violent mob-style protests are not productive means of communication and will only perpetuate the ide-ology the video conveys. Even though these actions do not define the Islamic faith, they

are difficult to overlook and ultimately taint the world’s view of Islam.

These rioters have every right to express their opin-

ions. Those who are protest-ing though need to under-stand the damage that they are ultimately causing to people of their own faith.

OUR VIEW

Student newspaper encourages civil discourse

YouTube video sparks Muslim protests throughout the worldShelby Sementellissement@stedwards.edu

Wikimedia CommonsProtests have erupted in the Islamic world.

Recently, Hilltop Views published several articles that garnered criticism from read-ers. As journalists, we expect and encourage discussion over the content we publish, especially when this content is published in our “View-points” section, which is re-served for opinion pieces on a variety of topics.

That being said, we have re-ceived a considerable amount of feedback as of late. “View-points” pieces reflect the opinion of their authors, and, for that reason, readers may simply disagree. A difference of opinion does not warrant a personal attack–Hilltop Views provides several out-lets for civil, productive dis-cussion of our content.

In our second issue of this

semester, we published an article in the “Viewpoints” section of Hilltop Views that has become increasingly con-troversial. In the article, enti-tled “School tra-ditions: the good, the bad and the downright made up,” the author examined several traditions at St. Edward’s Univer-sity, some which he believed were valid and others he believed were infrequently fol-lowed or unheard of.

Several readers have voiced opinions about this article, many disagreeing with the author. However, the media used to protest the article’s

intentions have been inap-propriate, rather than a civil discussion of the issue. The media used to express dissat-isfaction with the article did

not promote a healthy com-munity discussion.

Facebook and Twitter are valuable social media tools. We maintain Hilltop Views accounts on both Facebook

and Twitter in order to con-nect with our readers. Social media provides an easily ac-cessible outlet for readers to discuss Hilltop Views sto-ries, which supports the in-tentions of a college newspa-per–to inspire civil discourse. Although the newspaper is easily accesible via social me-dia, the scope of social media is limited for not all our read-ers have a Facebook or Twit-ter.

Readers who have criti-cisms or feedback on articles can reach a broader audience by writing letters to the edi-tor. We encourage readers to write letters to the editors whenever they feel passionate about an article. In doing so, the entire St. Edward’s com-munity can be more involved

with the discussion, and nu-merous sides of an argument can be heard. Readers can also provide feedback by us-ing the ‘comments’ feature on the Hilltop Views website.

Student journalists at St. Edward’s are in a unique po-sition to connect with their community of readers. We are a small community, and for that reason, our journal-ists are more accessible than journalists at larger universi-ties or journalists at major newspapers.

For this reason, we publish student writers’ names and e-mail addresses on every article in Hilltop Views. If readers have concerns, they can discuss these concerns directly with Hilltop Views writers or editors. We pub-

lish e-mail addresses to fur-ther encourage discussion between writers and readers. In doing so, we ask that read-ers uphold academic integrity when contacting writers via e-mail.

Additionally, all St. Ed-ward’s students are welcome to write for Hilltop Views. We hold weekly budget meetings on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in Moody 209.

The newspaper is a forum for exercising First Amend-ment rights to freedom of speech, therefore we welcome various points of view and do not censor articles based on the writer’s opinion. Some readers may disagree with an opinion we publish, but that is the nature of free speech.

“We encourage readers to write letters to the editors whenever they feel passionate about an article.”

14VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

At a private fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla. in May, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was secretly recorded telling his audience that supporters of President Barack Obama are people who do not pay taxes or assume responsibil-ity for their lives.

Instead, according to Romney, they believe that the government should take care of them. He estimated that this is about 47 percent of the country, and it was not his job to worry about them. Romney's comments are wrong. He is running for President of the entire United States, not 53 per-cent of it.

The 47 percent Romney is talking about is made up of key voting groups such as the elderly, the poor, vet-erans, and college students. The elderly and college stu-dent vote are two large de-mographics that can greatly affect the election.

For example, the youth vote propelled then-senator Obama into the presidency. By alienating these groups, winning the White House for Romney has become much harder.

Romney is correct when he says this group pays no income tax. Some do not pay an income tax because they are retired–the elder-ly–or do not have a steady job yet–college students.

The other groups do have payroll taxes deducted from their paychecks, which fund Social Security and Medi-care.

Some people in the 47 percent receive welfare from the government; these wel-

fare recipients, according to Romney, are guaranteed Obama supporters. Romney forgets to tell his audience that his own father, George Romney, was on welfare for the first years of his life, and would go on later in his life to amass a fortune. So through Mitt Romney’s log-ic, his own father would not vote for him because George Romney was apart of the freeloading 47 percent.

When the video was leaked, Romney hastily had a news conference to explain the video. He said that his comment on the 47 percent was “not elegantly stated,” but he stood by his com-ments, according to USA Today.

Instead of standing by his comments and pandering to the base of the Republican Party, Romney should have apologized for making the comments.

An apology about the re-marks could have convinced some of the 47 percent to support Romney, possibly

giving him enough votes to win the presidency.

Romney's rejection of such a large demographic in America is quite shock-ing. These are people he is talking about, not toys that can be tossed around and forgotten.

These comments reveal Romney’s true intentions for running for President—to serve the rich and no one else.

With these comments and current foreign issues be-coming the main focus of the election, Romney’s cam-paign is in a free fall. Every poll since these comments were leaked has shown Romney falling behind in every key battleground state. The only way for Romney to save his campaign is to surprise the nation at the debates.

This election will be decid-ed by one key group— the 47 percent—without them, no candidate can win the White House.

Last October, New Orleans passed an ordinance forbid-ding “aggressive solicitation” on Bourbon Street after dark. The ordinance forbade people from loitering or con-gregating on Bourbon Street with the purpose of deliver-ing any social, political or religious messages between sunset and sunrise. Violating this ordinance was punish-able by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

This ordinance was brought to national attention after several pastors were arrested earlier this month for preach-ing at Southern Decadence, an annual weekend long festival that celebrates the LGBTQ community. Since those arrests, two federal lawsuits have been filed by the individuals who were ar-rested.

A federal judge recently ruled to temporarily block the ordinance, but the coun-cilwoman who sponsored the ordinance defended it even after the controversial arrests were made, stating that the ordinance was put in place

as a public safety measure to aide with crowd control, ac-cording to the Huffington Post.

The ordinance was origi-nally proposed by residents and business owners of the French Quarter, where Bour-bon Street is located, to cur-tail the harassment and in-timidation of residents and tourists, which has become a problem on Bourbon Street. Such “aggressive solicitation” has driven customers away from local business and made residents feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in their own neighborhood.

The fact of the matter is that the ordinance is undeni-ably unconstitutional. It vio-lates freedom of speech and the right to assembly that are guaranteed to American citizens in the Bill of Rights. However, that does not mean that agressive solicita-tion is unproblematic. The problems that these divisive demonstrations create are the reasons why residents and business owners felt they needed this ordinance.

The issue of aggressive so-licitation is not just confined to New Orleans’ Bourbon

Street. Similar demonstra-tions happen here in Austin, especially on Sixth Street and South Congress. While the demonstrators may not be hateful, it can be annoying or uncomfortable to be asked if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior at every street corner.

A much more extreme example is The Westboro Baptist Church, which has attracted national attention by protesting LGBTQ events and funerals of soldiers, among other events. The dif-ficult part is that no one can stop them since their speech, however hateful and disre-spectful it may be, is protect-ed by the Constitution.

Even in the best-intentioned cases, these demonstrations can make people feel uncom-fortable, unaccepted and even hated. They can harm busi-nesses by driving away much needed customers. In one of the New Orleans lawsuits, a pastor stated that he believes that a great number of the people on Bourbon Street need to be saved, and that it is his duty to spread the gospel. What these demonstrators fail to understand is people on Bourbon Street do not necessarily want to be saved, though granted some might, but most just want to party and not be bothered.

Aggressive solicitation can leave people feeling margin-alized or even victimized, but there is no way to keep agressive street preaching away from businesses, neigh-borhoods or even funerals. Communities must choose between keeping people safe from aggressive solicitation or freedom of speech and as-sembly, and it appears that the two have issues coexisting peacefully.

Romney’s comments on the 47 percent were in bad taste

Aggressive street solicitation: free speech or verbal attack?Kelsey Acostakacosta@stedwards.edu

Wikimedia CommonsBourbon Street is in the French Quarter in New Orleans, La.

Jacob Sanchezjsanchen@stedwards.edu

Wikimedia CommonsMitt Romney is the Republican presidential nominee.

15VIEWPOINTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

3001 S. Congress Ave.#964, Austin, TX 78704Phone: (512) 448-8426 Fax: (512) 233-1695

hilltopviewsonline@gmail.comwww.hilltopviewsonline.com

Hilltop Views is a weekly student newspaper published by the School of Humanities and serving the community of St. Edward’s University. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the university, whose mission is grounded in the teachings and doctrine of the Catholic Church.Letter Policy: Hilltop Views welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters may be edited for space, grammar and clarity. Letters will be published at our discretion. Anonymous letters will not be printed.

HILLTOP VIEWS

Kristina SchenckEditor-in-Chief

Jenna JacoNikki HillNews EditorsChloe KirkpatrickJonathan CokerViewpoints EditorsMitch HarrisBrooke BlantonLife & Arts EditorsShelby Cole Nolan GreenSports Editors

Willa GoldbergSara SanchezStaff Writers

Andrew HatcherDesign Chief

Hannah Smith Lisa RodriguezDesigners

Daniel De Los SantosMatthew NuñezPhoto Editors

Lesli SimmsCopy Chief

Travis RiddleCamille EslickHeather FaschingCopy Editors

Cindy MoraAdvertising & Business Manager

Hannah ThornbyWeb/Social Media Marketing Manager

David CrawleyLandry TaylorAlex BoudreauxInterns

Jena HeathFaculty Adviser

Amanda Bynes is the latest victim of the child actor curse

“I’m doing amazing,” Aman-da Bynes recently claimed in an official statement to Peo-ple magazine. The media begs to differ.

Bynes has been charged with two counts of hit-and-run accidents and driving under the influence. Also, the young actress has recently displayed bizarre antics like talking to herself in public.

Bynes’ downward spiral was inevitable, due to the pres-sures and disadvantages of entering show business at a very young age.

Although never quite mak-ing a mark on the big screen, Bynes’ early success on tele-vision certainly made note-

worthy airtime. At the age of seven, her role in the Nick-elodeon show, “All That”, led her to rise to stardom with

her hit series, “The Amanda Show”.

At the fresh age of 13,

Bynes was one of the young-est hosts to ever run a variety show, and her likable person-ality and undeniable comedic talent instantly attracted a large fan base.

Bynes also starred in hit teen comedy “She’s the Man” and a Golden-Globe nomi-nated film rendition of the musical “Hairspray.”

However, her appearance in the limelight eventually be-came scarce, as she performed in fewer movies–most nota-bly, the recent success, "Easy A"–and television shows over time. Unfortunately, her next significant appearance in the public eye would be her mounting charges with the law since this April.

The curse of child actors has become all too familiar.

The constant necessity to perform well can leave an im-mature child emotionally and physically vulnerable to criti-cism, leading to early fears of failing to meet the expecta-tions of others.

Eventually, the issues of be-ing labeled as a “has-been” in Hollywood serve as a struggle for child actors due to the early peaks in their careers This leads to a lack of drive and struggle with identity as an adult.

Child performers are often stripped of their childhood and exposed to heavy respon-sibility compared to their peers. This early exposure can garner success in the acting world, but child actors can be pushed to grow up too fast.

Childhood is the only time

in a person’s life that can be described as carefree, unaf-fected by the hormonal drives of teenagers and untroubled with the responsibilities of adults. A sudden lunge into adulthood can strip a child actor of the learning founda-tion of a normal childhood, exposing them, without ap-propriate coping mecha-nisms, to drug addiction and substance abuse.

Allegations of mental in-stability and impractical be-havior continue to worry the friends and family of Aman-da Bynes, as they continue to seek help for her. The transi-tion of Bynes' career from the spotlight to tabloid covers of her run-ins with the law serves as another example a child actor gone wrong.

Joanna Capanzana jcapanz@stedwards.edu

Wikimedia CommonsAmanda Bynes has been acting since she was very young.

New course could promote citizenship

St. Edward’s University should create a new course that is required of any degree plan. St. Edward's should institute a course called Ap-plied Citizenship, which may sound benign or silly but re-ally would make a change in our community, both local and national.

The 2008 presidential elec-tion was a high water mark in our national voting records as 64 percent of registered voters cast a vote. This un-precedented turnout was due largely to the excitement surrounding the candidacy of Barack Obama, which spurred the participation of many demographics that tend to turn out in lower per-centages.

People age 18-24 have the lowest voter turnout of any demographic. To continue prospering in the 21st centu-

ry, it is more important than ever that young people par-ticipate in government.

In an Applied Citizenship course, students would learn to be informed adults, fully capable of participating in a modern democ-racy. The course would begin with local govern-ment. Students will get to know all of their local representatives from city and state govern-ment. The goal of this portion of the class is an effective understanding of Austin politics.

The class will then move on to Congress and Federal elections. This portion of the class will spend a great deal of time studying how federal elections work and what it means to participate in them. This includes in-depth study of representatives’ policy po-

sitions and the demographics that support them as politi-cians.

This will lead into a very underrepresented area: fund-ing. Time would be spent on studying exactly what the re-

cent Supreme Court ruling means in terms of elected of-ficials and their backers.

Money is king in American politics. Without a functional knowledge of how money af-fects public policy, we are in-capable off making informed decisions.

By the end of the course, students would study money in politics and the history of

social services. Hearing people talk about

cutting Medicare funding, increasing aid or reducing the defense budget does not equate to comprehension. Students should be aware of the cost and history of these programs. Every citizen has a responsibility to know how their money is being spent and to use their powers as voters to have a say in that spending.

It is more important than ever for us to be highly in-formed participates in the democratic system. In the face of corporate interests that can now spend essen-tially unlimitedly and un-disclosedly to elect individu-als who are sympathetic to their causes and values, our only power as individuals is knowledge and organization. It is for these reasons that St. Edward’s should offer a course in Applied Citizen-ship.

Wesley Stewartjstewar9@stedwards.edu

“It is more important than ever for us to be highly informed participates in the democratic system.”

16PHOTO ESSAY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Students from St. Edward’s University, the University of Texas and elementary schools across Austin gathered at the UT track for a Marathon Kids event on Sept. 29. The Marathon Kids program supports health and fitness for children in kindergarten through fifth grade by encouraging them to run a full marathon over the course of several months. Despite the rain, parents, students, volunteers and workers kept a smile on their face as they stayed motivated for the run.

Photos by Amy Barrientos

marathon kids