Recreational tennis play-ers now have to find off-campus options to hit a few volleys, as the Strohmeyer Varsity Tennis Courts at St. Edward’s University are of-ficially closed to the public.

The court closures come at a time when multiple facilities on campus have been closed either tempo-rarily or permanently for construction, including the library, the parking lot out-side Moody Hall, and the

road in between the science building and the Wood-ward building. Further-more, the tennis courts join the varsity soccer field, the gym in the RCC, and the baseball and softabll fields as athletic facilities on cam-pus that are not available for public use.

According to Greg Coo-per, associate athletic direc-tor, the decision to close the courts to the public was a tough one to make. How-ever, constant use from

HILLTOP VIEWSSt. Edward’s University • Wednesday, October 17, 2012 • Volume 32 • Issue 6 • hilltopviewsonline.com

9 | LIFE & ARTSWorried about a zombie apocolypse? Take a few tips from expert Max Brooks.

Shoes are no longer required for some marathons, like the Naked Foot 5k.

Austin may put the ‘hip’ in ‘hipster,’ but one writer suggests it comes at a price.

12 | SPORTS 16 | VIEWPOINTS

Founder’s Week is observed on campus every year to cel-ebrate St. Edward’s history, Father Sorin and the school’s Holy Cross heritage. Each year, the Friday closest to the Feast Day of St. Edward on Saturday, is designated as a school holiday.

This is why no classes were held on Friday.

Founder’s Week, Oct. 8-12, provided a chance for the

university com-munity to cel-ebrate its past.

In the 1870s, Mary Doyle of-fered Father Ed-ward Sorin her land, which ex-tended all along Woodward Street, to found a Holy Cross school, and Father Sorin accepted. The school first opened in 1878 as a high school for local farm children. The school was also a farm. It was tended by the

Holy Cross Brothers, and provided food and funding with which to expand the school. In 1885, St. Edward’s was chartered as a college, and in 1925, St. Edward’s of-ficially became a university.

On Oct. 7, Founder’s Day

masses were held in both the morning and the evening in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel.

In addition to the masses, the university had extra cause

University celebrates foundersRyan Coulehanrcouleh@stedwards.edu

Students to address relationship violenceMonique Morenommoreno8@stedwards.edu

CELEBRATION| 2

October is relationship vio-lence awareness month, and through various activities and guest speakers, the Health and Counseling Center is hosting events to ensure stu-dents are aware of the dan-gers of relationship violence.

For the month of October, red flags and posters placed around campus are part of a campaign to encourage col-lege students to step in and say something when they see

“Founder’s Week is observed on campus every year to celebrate St. Edward’s history, Father Sorin and the school’s Holy Cross heritage.”

RELATIONSHIP | 5Photo by Gabriellae Rodriguez

Red shirts and flags have been seen on campus to raise awareness on relationship violence.

Shelby Colescole2@stedwards.edu

TENNIS | 14

Public forbidden from tennis courts

Photo by Gabriellae RodriguezUntil this fall, the varsity courts were open to the public.

2NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

for celebration, welcoming the new director of Campus Ministry, Peter Walsh. On Monday, a Taizé prayer ser-vice was held in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel, and on Thursday, the Holy Cross Brothers held a rosary prayer service in the Grotto.

Tuesday afternoon includ-ed a special Founder’s Week event, the Brother’s Chal-lenge.

Held on Ragsdale lawn, the St. Edward’s Holy Cross Brothers challenged the en-tire student body to a series of light and fun physical activi-ties like horse-shoes and lawn bowling. Prizes were raffled off to those who participated.

“I didn’t par-ticipate in any of the games, but it all looked like so much fun,” said freshman Kaity Kerrigan. “By the time is was over I wished I had taken part.”

The event was co-spon-sored by Campus Recreation Center with fun and fitness in mind.

The university also hosted a series of guest speakers. The first was a lecture entitled “Thinking Globally, Learn-ing Locally,” which took place on Tuesday night. Rich-ard Bautch of St. Edward’s, Whitney Bodman of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Sarah Tobin of Wheaton College in Massa-chusetts comprised the panel. Each discussed the impor-tance of learning about and understanding various faiths of the world.

“It was really awesome to be

able to listen to people who knew so much about differ-ent religions,” freshman Katie Canales said after attending the event. “I feel like it gave me a whole new outlook on them.”

Another special guest speaker, Sister Helen Prejean, visited campus on Friday. This event was sponsored by the Texas Coalition to abol-ish the Death Penalty, and Prejean spoke on her beliefs about the injustice of capital punishment.

Brother Larry Atkinson of Campus Ministry and Holy Cross has been involved in organizing the events of

Founder’s Week for the past eight years.

“Our goal is always for ev-eryone at St. Edward’s Uni-versity to gain an apprecia-tion for our past and hope for our future,” said Atkinson. “We also want everyone to appreciate our Holy Cross heritage, and our Holy Cross community that is still very active today.”

In addition to the events held during Founder’s Week, the Founder’s Day Service Project will be held on Oct. 20, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The project is a a set of small projects all around Austin, orchestrated by the Office of Community Engagement and Campus Ministry.

The annual Brother Lu-cian Blersch Global Health & Infectious Disease Sym-posium will focus on patho-genic proteins this year, exploring the ways proteins interact with the human body and the impacts they have on disease. The sym-posium, orchestrated by the school of Natural Sciences and the Kozmetsky Center of Excellence in Global Fi-nance, will be held at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the Robert and Pearle Ragsdale Center.

Lucian Professor of Science and Chemistry Eamonn F. Healy not only organized this event and gathered speakers, but will also be speaking about his research at the symposium.

“I’m talking about an ap-proach to a disease called ataxia, which is a fatal neu-rological disorder,” Healy said. “The approach is based on the research of my un-dergraduate students in col-laboration with Peter King of the biology department. It involves investigating the body’s own protective mechanisms. This approach could potentially be used to treat disease like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s in the future.”

Larry C. Walker, research professor of neuroscience at Emory University, will speak about Alzheimer’s disease and exploring the character-istics of the proteins associ-ated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Also speaking will be Bri-an Cashman, professor of medicine and the Canada research chair in the Brain Research Center at the Uni-versity of British Columbia, presenting his research into degenerative diseases of the brain.

Other speakers include

veterans of humanitarian aid such as Kira Fortune, a scholar with experience in academia as well as sev-eral NGOs centered on the study of public health, and Elizabeth D. Gibbons, whose career in humanitari-anism and social develop-ment spans decades. A panel discussion on health as a hu-man right will conclude the symposium.

Fitting its focus on global health, particular effort was put into guaranteeing the symposium’s truly global focus.

“My primary purpose is to bring speakers in my topic who are leaders in their field,” Healy said. “This year in particular, two of our speakers come from Can-ada; I am attempting to in-ternationalize the global re-search of infectious disease through this symposium.”

The symposium also seeks to provide a substantial learning experience.

“It’s organized mainly for students and faculty to have the opportunity to be ex-posed to research questions to broaden their studies,” Healy said.

In fact, many students do plan to attend, taking advan-tage of this valuable learning

experience.“I am a chemistry major,

but my undergraduate re-search is in biochemistry, specifically ataxia,” senior Carley Little said. “Dr. Healy is my research advisor ... I did research with him this summer on the topic that he will be speaking on during the symposium, so naturally, I would like to see the public’s response to our research, and I believe this symposium will shed more light on the topic of degen-

eration.”Beyond getting the op-

portunity to see the public’s response to their research, Little also looks forward to the lectures themselves.

“I enjoy watching Dr. Healy present,” Little said. “He makes the topic animat-ed and interesting for the general public ... Also, the topic of neurodegenerative diseases is quite interesting. I would like to see what the other presenters have to say. on this topic.”

Continued from page 1

Celebration marksschool’s beginnings

Symposium to explore science, healthTyler Eldredgeteldred@stedwards.edu

“Our goal is always for everyone at St. Edward’s University to gain an appreciation for our past and hope for our future.”

-Brother Larry Atkinson

Hilltop Views ArchiveThe theme of this year’s Brother Lucian Blersch Symposium is pathogenic proteins.

9 a.m.—12:15 p.m.Global Health and Infectious Disease: Pathogenic ProteinsEamonn F. Healy: “De-solvated hydrogen bonds as amyloidogenic mark-ers: new avenues for the treatment of Huntington disease”Larry C. Walker: “Kochs postulates and infectious proteins”Neil Cashman: “Trans-mission of SOD1 mis-folding and familial ALS”Simonetta Sipione: “GM1: An Experimental

Approach for Hunting-ton Disease”

12:30—1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30—3:45 p.m. Global Health: What Are Some of Its Main Challenges?

1:30—2 p.m. Kira Fortune

2—2:30 p.m. Elizabeth Gibbons

2:30—3:45 p.m. Panel Discussion: Health as Human Right

BROTHER LUCIAN SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

3NEWSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

When walking into Mary Helen Specht’s office, the very first thing to see is a purple rhinoceros on the head of an iridescent man wearing a Shakespearean collar. Specht will explain that she is work-ing on her first novel and that it will explore the lives and stories of four people, one of which may be Specht herself.

She has been to Chile, Ec-uador and Nigeria, and she knows that when traveling to a foreign country, the fab-ric that makes your world is suddenly clear and visible in the context of a rich, novel world. She will say that it is impossible not to notice things for the first time, like the way light looks through a tree.

Specht will share her work at the St. Edward's Univer-sity Visiting Writers Series on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Maloney room.

Valerie Huerta sat down with Specht to discuss her involvement in the Visiting Writers Series.Valerie Huerta: What is your role in the Visiting Writers Series?

Mary Helen Specht: The Visiting Writers Series brings novelists, poets, play-wrights and other creative writers to campus each year to read and answer ques-tions from students and the community.

I am an unusual speaker for the Visiting Writers Se-ries because I am not exactly

"visiting." However, Profes-sor Carrie Fountain asked me to read since I am the new fiction professor here on campus; we would like students to have the op-portunity to get acquainted with my creative work and to ask me questions about my process. VH: From where do you

draw inspiration?MHS: I draw inspira-tion from everything. I am one of those annoying people who will pull out a notebook in the middle of a conversation and write down what you are saying ... I hear or see something in life or on the news and then find myself imagining

what it would be like to be the person in that situation.

For example, the germ for a major plot point in the novel I am currently working on came from the radio. I was in my car lis-tening to NPR, and a man was discussing his family's experience with Hunting-ton's Disease, the genetic disease that killed Woody Guthrie. I was so moved by his description of what it was like knowing he would die from the same horrible disease that he had watched his father die from. I im-mediately created a charac-ter confronted by a similar situation. For me, it spoke to what we all experience watching our older family members age and die, but it was amplified by 100.

That is the sort of thing I am always looking for in fiction, a way to get at the common human experience through the specific story.VH: Why is storytelling important to you?MHS: One of my teachers years ago told me that sto-rytelling is what it means to be human. I believe that... Storytelling is how we

make meaning out of our lives; it is also how we first learn to empathize with the lives and troubles of others.

A good storyteller makes us understand people we have nothing in common with and places that we have never experienced.VH: Why do you teach?MHS: I love teaching writ-ing because it means I get to spend my days discuss-ing stories that I love with students who, somewhere along the way, have also caught the writing bug. I also love seeing what new and unique and imaginative things my students come up with.

In terms of my teach-ing philosophy, I think it is important to introduce stu-dents to the tools that can improve their craft. I do not tell them what to write or how to write ... However, I try to use the workshop as a setting where students can gain more control over their craft, where they can im-prove their skills at analyz-ing stories and using what they learned in their own work.

Valerie Huertavhuerta@stedwards.edu

Q & A

Fiction professor kicks off this year’s Visiting Writers Series

In the Oct. 3 edition of Hilltop Views, the story “President’s meeting de-tails campus growth” con-tained a factual error. The article incorrectly referred to the McNair Scholars Program as the McNair Scholarship, and stated that it “helps undergradu-ate students with finan-

cial need attain graduate degrees at other schools.” Rather, the program is called the McNair Schol-ars Program, and the pro-gram prepares students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activi-ties.

Two photos were cred-

ited to the wrong pho-tographer in the Oct. 10 issue. The photo on page 1 for the “Muslim prayer space expands” article and the photo on page 4 for “Muslim Student Asso-ciation increases campus presence” were taken by Gabriellae Rodriguez.

Wikimedia CommonsThe Visiting Writers Series brings novelists, poets, and playwrights to speak on campus.

CORRECTIONS

4 NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Virtually every religion has its own distinct version of communicating with a higher being, or prayer. Taizé prayer, however, seems to blend the lines be-tween Eastern and Western religions in a contemplative and meditative practice.

The practice started in an ecumenical group of Catho-lic brothers in the Taizé re-gion of France and is fairly young. The group was cre-ated during World War II as a place of peace in the chaos.

The practice of Taizé prayer itself consists of deep meditation and repetition. It encourages participants to simply be. Candles are lit, music plays and there is usually a short hymn to be repeated.

“Our services are simple and contemplative, seeking to provide quiet moments of prayer and reflection in the midst of our busy lives,” Assistant Professor of Reli-gious and Theological Stud-ies and Ecumenical Minister for Campus Ministry Jenni-fer Veninga said.

Veninga became interested in Taizé prayer during her graduate school years at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Califor-nia.

“I found [Taizé services] to be aesthetically beautiful with darkness and candles, and spiritually powerful,” Veninga said.

Veninga started and cur-rently leads the Taizé service on campus.

“When I thought of it, it suddenly made so much sense considering my exist-ing love of the worship style and my current work in

ecumenical affairs,” Veninga said.

Veninga endorses the idea that everyone could use a moment to relax and reflect.

“I think this is especially important on a college campus, where many of us tend to be overcommitted and need to re-store our spiri-tual selves,” Veninga said.

That was the theme of the message given at the Taizé service on Oct. 8 in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel.

Taking a break is not just a good idea for our physi-cal and mental health, it is mandatory under the Judeo-Christian faith.

“We are a people in need of

Sabbath,” Veninga said. “It is so easy to forget that peri-odic rest—a cessation from work—is not just a luxury or indulgence. Instead, it is

one of the Ten Command-ments. It is right up there with the prohibition against murder and idolatry.”

Services are held every sec-ond and fourth Sunday of the month at 7 p.m. in the chapel. The next service will be Oct. 22.

Religious conflict, study and integration are a few of several topics discussed by visiting scholars last week at the first of many Nostra Aetate lectures presented by the Religious Studies pro-gram at St. Edward’s Univer-sity.

On Oct. 9, the lecture con-sisted of a panel discussion with Whitney Bodman of Austin Presbyterian Theo-logical Seminary, Sarah To-bin of Wheaton College in Massachusetts and Richard Bautch of the Jewish Studies program at St. Edward's.

Religion was a discussion point for students before the lectures began, with many asking each other about per-sonal religious views.

“I did not come for a class,” freshman Diana Ramirez said. “I came because I was interested in what they would have to say about our school itself.”

The night began with the speakers introducing them-

selves and how they got their start in religious studies.

Although they each said they came by their studies through simple experience, each of them had a special story to tell.

Bodman said he came by his study from being exposed to religious diversity at a young age.

Tobin said his homogenous upbringing fomented a great interest in the differences of culture and religion.

Bautch described how he became a Jewish Studies pro-fessor after being raised Ro-man Catholic.

“Even at a very young age, I began to notice the simi-larities between the Catholic faith and ancient Judaism,” Bautch said. “I continue to be fascinated by the shared meaning behind the texts.”

Each professor had time to share personal opinions and discuss views as the night went on. They shared what they think is the problem with religious ignorance and how to combat it.

“We need to study media so

that we can be wary of how it distorts the events we are not witness to,” Bodman said.

Bodman recounted a story of a Muslim colleague in Is-rael who was outraged when she found out about the Terry Jones Quran burnings in 2010.

“She thought that Ameri-cans all over the country were burning Qurans,” he said. “This is just another example of how one group misinter-prets the actions of a small extremist group.”

The discussion then moved on to the importance of un-derstanding religious diver-sity on the St. Edward’s cam-pus.

“So many people are used to seeing the world in their own little ways,” Seth Robledo, a sophomore, said. “I think that discussions like this show a lot of promise for people, es-pecially St. Edward’s.”

The next Nostra Aetate lecture series will be on Oct. 29 in both Mabee ballrooms, and anyone interested in the study of diversity, culture and religion is invited to attend.

Mitch Harrisrharris7@stedwards.edu

Courtesy of SEU MarketingCampus Ministry seeks to promote appreciation and understanding of religious diversity.

Lectures explore the value ofglobal religious understanding

Austin Hestdalenahestda@stedwards.edu

Taizé services offer modernstyle of worship for students

“I found [Taizé services] to be aesthetically beautiful with darkness and candles, and spiritually powerful.”-Jennifer Veninga

Photo by Nikki HillCandles are lit during Taizé prayer services.

5NEWSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

campus for various speaking engagements.

SafePlace, a community that helps victims of sexual and domestic violence, also works to promote healthy relationships to prevent sex-ual and domestic violence. If people are in need of a safe place to go after experiencing domestic or sexual violence, they can get in contact with SafePlace and have some-where to go to escape their circumstances.

On Oct. 29, Annette Saenz of Safeplace will lead a simu-lation that will give students, faculty and staff insight into the difficult choices a victim of relationship violence has to think through. The simu-lation has been tailored to apply specifically to college

students.“It’s important for people

to be aware of these issues because not enough people speak up about it happening to them.” senior Jessye Padilla said.

Padilla credits people not being aware that they are not alone and that there are oth-ers that have been victimized as the reason why victims do not feel comfortable speaking up.

Not only is it important to know how to reach out for help should this situation oc-cur, but it is also important to be proactive as well. The activities that the university is promoting aim to be both proactive and reactive.

“I think it’s important so people can recognize red flags in their own personal relationships as well as in the

relationships of others close to them,” junior Anne Marie Hollonds said.

Hollonds said that if people can learn to recognize these signs and see these signals, they can be more prepared to effectively help someone in an abusive relation-ship.

Relat ion ship violence is preva-lent in other na-tions, an espe-cially important fact to consider since the univer-sity promotes global awareness.

On Oct. 25 in the Ragsdale Lobby, students can learn more about violence against women around the globe. A table will provide informa-tion about not only the prob-

lem, but about ways students can become part of the solu-tion.

“Awareness is the first step in the process of decreasing the incidence of relationship violence on campus. If you’re

not aware that there’s a prob-lem, the process to ameliorate it never begins. If you are aware that there is a problem, you can make a conscious choice to do something about it,” said Erickson.

It is also important for stu-dents to participate in the relationship violence aware-ness month activities to clear up any misconceptions they may have about relationship violence.

One of the biggest miscon-ceptions, according to Erick-son, is that verbal or physical abuse is somehow the victim’s fault.

“No one has the right to verbally or physically abuse

you,” Erickson said.Another significant mis-

conception among the public is that most sexual assaults are perpetrated by strangers. The vast majority of offend-ers are known to those they assault.

“You can help. Come to the workshops or information ta-bletops during Relationship Violence Awareness Month and get suggestions on how to intervene safely when you witness verbal or physical violence,” said Erickson.

This year’s relationship vio-lence awareness month events are hosted by the Health and Counseling Center and the Hilltop Peer Health Educa-tors.

SafePlace and Phi Alpha, the Social Work Honor Soci-ety, also co-sponsored several events.

Relationship violence awareness raised with on-campus eventsContinued from page 1

The university is working to increase academic involve-ment in and public awareness of Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, a nature preserve managed by St. Edward’s University in West Austin. Part of the initiative includes renovations to infrastructure and renaming the building at the preserve Wild Basin Cre-ative Research Center.

Currently, Wild Basin con-sists of 227 acres of wilder-ness managed by the univer-sity, 65 of which are owned by St. Edward’s. St. Edward’s also owns a building on the property that contains class-rooms, visitor information, and office space for employ-ees.

“Everything that happens at Wild Basin begins in the

building. That is where hik-ers come in to pick up pam-phlets. That is where classes originate,” said Tom Mitzel, dean of the School of Natural

Sciences and interim director of Wild Basin.

Wild Basin was designated as a preserve in 1974 and managed by a non-profit or-

ganization until 2009, when St. Edward’s took over man-agement. Since then, student research conducted at Wild Basin has been primarily sci-ence based and includes stu-dents from either the School of Natural Sciences or the School of Behavioral and So-cial Sciences.

“The goal is still to utilize academically as much as pos-sible,” said Allan Hook, biol-ogy professor and interim academic director of Wild Basin.

The name change also re-flects the university’s goal to use Wild Basin as an inter-disciplinary laboratory for all five schools at the university.

“We have this preserve. Why not use it, why not learn from it? And the thing is you do not have to be from the sciences to use it,” Mitzel said.

Over the summer, the Wild Basin cirricula expanded to include a drawing class, and this semester’s Art in Public Spaces course is designing a new gate that backs to the surrounding neighborhood.

“Our hope is to really start to work with the public enti-ties within our own academic program,” Mitzel said.

Next semester, the Human-ities department will offer an art class called Wild Ba-sin Wanderings as well as a photocommunications class. Both will be taught entirely at the preserve. A research class out of the School of Behav-ioral and Social Sciences will also be held at the preserve.

The building, now the Wild Basin Creative Research Cen-ter, underwent renovations in spring 2012 in preparation for the change in use—from a visitor’s center to a small

extension of the university’s main campus.

Renovations included re-wiring phone lines and a com-plete overhaul of the heating, ventilation and cooling sys-tems. Six computers hooked up to the St. Edward’s server and wireless network are now in the classroom on the sec-ond floor.

“St. Edward’s has put an incredible amount of money into the infrastructure to make sure it works and that it works well,” Mitzel said.

Though the university in-tends to increase the number of students and faculty using the preserve for academic reasons, Wild Basin remains a protected nature preserve and a piece of the larger Bal-cones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP), a patchwork of pro-tected lands in Travis County.

Kristina Schenckkschenc@stedwards.edu

University increases involvement, role in local nature preserve

Photo by Emily BlasdellWild Basin is located on North Capital of Texas Highway.

“Research indicates that relationship violence is prevalent on college campuses, and as a result it’s important to work to ameliorate the problem.”

- Pete Erickson, Wellness and Outreach Services Coordinator

8 GAMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 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 & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 7

Transit Theatre Troupe's New Works Festival is a chance for young writers on campus to have their work produced by student direc-tors, actors and designers.

Students from all depart-ments on campus submitted short plays and the Transit of-ficers selected the six that best fit the theme of the festival.

For the past two years, New Works has been centered on the year's theme for Freshman Studies. The theme this year was "Sustainability and Dys-topia."

Freshman Bret VerVoort is

making her debut as a director in the New Works Festival.

“Theatre is something I have been involved in since high school … Here in Transit, the interaction between play-wrights and directors is inter-esting. It is challenging, being a director–you are always thinking ‘How can I bring it to life?’” VerVoort said.

VerVoort will be directing “The Last Drag,” written by junior Meagan Solis.

“The Last Drag” is about a couple–the boyfriend has been wounded in the zombie apocalypse and the girlfriend finally gets a chance to share the resentment she has felt now that she is equal with

someone that has held control for so long.

“I want to experiment with my writing, to challenge my-self. I think short stories are where I want my writing focus to be, but theatre writing was a really different experience,” Solis said.

Solis went on to explain what the festival means to her. “It's student-written, student-directed," Solis said. "It’s by the students, for the students.”

To get students excited about the New Works Festi-val, one of the short plays was featured at the Max Brooks Freshman Studies lecture in the Recreation and Convoca-tion Center on Oct. 10.

Taking a spin on Franz Kafka’s "Metamorphosis," the short play "The Metamorpho-sis: 2059," written by Mitch Harris, directed by Krissi Reeves, is about a teenage boy that becomes a cockroach just in time for the nuclear apoca-lypse.

From the British narrator to the cannibalistic cockroaches, the short play was an overall success.

If this sounds appealing, disgusting or interesting at all, the community can join the Transit Theatre Troupe Oct. 17 and 18 for the New Works Festival in Mabee A Ballroom at 7:00 p.m.

When "Bernie" hit the big screen earlier this year, audi-ences everywhere were treat-ed with laughs, courtesy of an extremely talented cast and crew. Richard Robichaux, assistant professor of acting and director of Mary Moody Northen Theatre's commu-nity outreach, worked along-side actors Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew Mc-Conaughey.

Robichaux graduated from Stephen F. Austin State Uni-versity with a BFA in 1995 and Rutgers University with his MFA in Theatre Arts in 1999. He recently received the distinguished alumni award from Stephen F. Aus-tin State University. Other accomplishments include being recognized as the key-note speaker at Southeastern Theatre Conference earlier this year and presenting at the Educational Theatre As-

sociation’s National Teacher Conference (EdTA Confer-ence).

Robichaux is also known as the artistic director and founder of the Robichaux Studio and teaches during the summer at the University of Northern Colorado’s Mas-

ter’s Program. At St. Edward’s University,

Robichaux teaches a profes-sional preparation class and camera acting classes to the-atre students.

For a man with such a bud-ding acting career, Robichaux is extremely down to Earth.

A painting made by his wife hangs in his office and reads, “I am willing to be the artist I am.” Robichaux explains that a picture of the art piece ap-pears on his phone whenever his agent calls him, to remind him that he is first and fore-most an artist.

In his recent speech at the EdTA Conference, Robi-chaux spoke about having a teacher that helped shape his future.

Mrs. Fleck was Robichaux’s fourth grade teacher and she greatly impacted him by having him do speech drills during recess. Robichaux explained in his speech that every person has had a "Mrs. Fleck" who positively influ-enced them.

Robichaux’s quick shift from college in 1999 to the TV screen in 2000 on "Spin City" was very influential and necessary for Robichaux.

He discussed the neces-sity of going through college instead of just trying to go

into acting right out of high school.

“It’s not enough in this busi-ness to have ‘it’ … you have to have ‘it.’” Robichaux said.

Robichaux thinks it is much better to make mis-takes in front of a professor than CBS.

Recently in his professional preparation class, Robichaux told his students to come prepared to audition. When his students arrived, he had them audition in front of two unknown women. Not until after the audition did Robichaux reveal that the two women had been casting directors for "Breaking Bad."

Students in his classes have learned many things from Robichaux’s style of teaching.

“Richard teaches his stu-dents that acting–good act-ing, that is–is always about being truthful to the world you're in and the person you're playing,” senior Linds-ley Howard said.

Another student described

Robichaux’s impact.“He has made such a posi-

tive impact in my life by giv-ing honest, concise advice about the realities of the industry we work in,” senior Tyler Mount said.

When Robichaux first told his parents he wanted to be an actor, he received plenty of support. He jokingly ex-plained their response.

“[They said] 'Of course you are' … I think at times they were afraid for me because I’m not ripped form the pages of GQ,” Robichaux said.

Robichaux met his wife, Natalie, while acting on stage in California and they have two children, a 4-year-old son named Gus and an 8-month-old daughter named Vivian.

Robichaux will be directing Oscar Wilde's "The Impor-tance of Being Earnest" at St. Edward’s. He had one thing to leave students interested in acting for a living.

“It is possible,” Robichaux said.

Professional actor provides practical teachingsWilla Goldbergwgoldbe@stedwards.edu

New Works Festival: original play scripts produced by studentsBryanna Estradabestrad@stedwards.edu

Courtesy of Transit Theatre TroupeThis year’s festival takes on the eerie Freshman Studies theme.

Courtesy of Richard RobichauxRobichaux’s most notable role came in the summer hit “Bernie.”

8 LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Learn more at: stedwards.edu/lucian

10.19.20129  a.m.  |  Jones  AuditoriumRobert  and  Pearle  Ragsdale  CenterSt.  Edward’s  University

EAMONN F. HEALY, PhD St. Edward’s University

LARY C. WALKER, PhDEmory University

NEIL CASHMAN, PhDUniversity of British Columbia

SIMONETTA SIPIONE, PhDUniversity of Alberta

KIRA FORTUNE, PhDPan-American Health Organization

ELIZABETH GIBBONS Harvard University

A  joint  event  brought  to  you  by  the    Brother  Lucian  Blersch  Endowment  and  The Kozmetsky Center of Excellence in Global Finance

GLOBAL  HEALTH  &  INFECTIOUS  DISEASE  SYMPOSIUM

PATHOGENIC  PROTE INS

WEEKLY ‘FLIX FIX | “DeadHeads”

It seems over the years, Holly-wood has shuffled zombies from rotting corpses to rage infected marathon sprinters. Nearly every type of zombie imaginable has been done.

Fortunately though, every once in awhile, a truly original zombie movie comes out–one like "Dead-Heads.” A love story and horror movie in one, “DeadHeads” takes the saying “true love never dies” to the extreme.

After waking up in a room full of medical equipment, geeky Mike Kellerman (Michael McK-iddy) wakes to find himself with no memory, full of bullet holes and quite dead.

Stumbling out of the strange room and into the woods, Mike is surrounded by a horde of creep-ing cannibals. He soon meets Brent (Ross Kidder), another self-aware zombie with a pen-

chant for the gross and inappro-priate.

When the two find an engage-ment ring in Mike’s pocket, they set off on a road trip to track down Mike’s lost love, Ellie. Bonding and decomposing along the way, Mike and Brent are un-aware that they are being hunted.

“DeadHeads” is independently produced, directed and written by Brett and Drew T. Pierce, but that does not stop it from being well-done.

For one, the Pierce Brothers are no stranger to horror. Their dad, Bart Pierce, was the photographic FX artist for Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead.”

While “DeadHeads” is not as hilarious as more well-known zomb-edies like “Shaun of the Dead” or “Zombieland,” it still brings the laughs. McKiddy and Kidder, although unknown ac-tors, are a near perfect comedic duo. Kidder, especially, is laugh out loud funny with his loser

zombie act, and the bearded Ben-jamin Webster is on-spot as the loud, obnoxious goon McDinkle.

“DeadHeads” might not have you rolling on the floor or wide-eyed at the effects, but its original storyline, witty cast and quirky happy ending will not disappoint.

Nikki Hillnhill2@stedwards.edu

[slapdash] “Dog On It”

Wikimedia Commons“DeadHeads” blends the horror, comedy and romance genres.

Zombie love story provides laughs

9LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Max Brooks' first experi-ence with zombies was when he was thirteen years old, and it left him utterly trauma-tized.

“It was an Italian cannibal zombie film,” Brooks said. “And I’m 99 percent sure they edited in real cannibal foot-age from indigenous cultures from New Guinea ... That tends to stick with you when you’re thirteen.”

This experience led to a life-long fascination with zombies and zombie culture that ultimately led Brooks to write works such as "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z," this year’s common text.

Brooks spoke at St. Ed-ward's University on Oct. 10 to share tips for surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Prior to becoming a New York Times best selling author, Brooks was a self-proclaimed super-nerd who was bitten by the writing bug early in life. He wrote his first

short story as child on vaca-tion with his parents and kept moving forward from there.

Brooks wrote for "Saturday Night Live," and although he described his experience there as having “crushed [his] soul,” he did win an Emmy for his work.

Upon leaving the world of

screenwriting, Brooks took to writing books, a change he describes as “awesome and fulfilling.”

Brooks’ first literary venture was "The Zombie Survival Guide," and while it was writ-ten as a sci-fi/horror book, the only horror involved was Brooks’ horror upon learn-ing it was being marketed as

a comedy.Nevertheless, Brooks perse-

vered and began giving zom-bie survival lectures in order to publicize his book and reach out to fans.

“People seemed to like [the lectures]," Brooks said. "And it just sort of snowballed.”

After the success of his first book, Brooks kept at it, and

so came "World War Z," an oral history of a fictional war between mankind and zombies.

Brooks chose to write his novel in an interview style because he was so profoundly influenced by another novel, "The Good War" by Studs Terkel.

“Oral histories are very important to me. I am very dyslexic, so I learned a lot about history from oral histories, because I could literally listen to them on audiobooks,” Brooks said.

Also, Brooks wanted to “tell a big story,” and the best way to do that, he thought, was from the perspective

of many different zombie apocalypse survivors, from all over the world, with very dif-ferent stories to tell.

“As many fake interviews as I did, I did real interviews, and talked to real people. For the chapter about organ transplants, I talked to real doctors, and for the military stuff I talked to people in the military. The laser weaponry that I talk about, I researched it directly from the compa-nies that designed them, and that actually determined how I wrote," Brooks said.

After years of research, personal struggles, and some tough cuts, "World War Z" was finally published.

The book spent four weeks atop the New York Times

Best Seller list, peaking at number nine, and is now set to become a major motion picture produced by Brad Pitt. Brooks is not involved in the making of the film and prefers it that way.

Following the success of "World War Z," Brooks wrote a graphic novel entitled "Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks." Brooks has also done some work for the "G.I. Joe" series and has a World War I graphic novel in the works, which will hope-fully be released next year.

In addition to being a re-nowned writer, Brooks de-scribes himself as a history nerd who enjoys gardening, with an uncontrollable pas-sion for what he does.

Zombie survival expert Max Brooks speaks on literary success Ryan Coulehanrcouleh@stedwards.edu

Photos by Renee CornueBrooks stayed after the lecture to sign autographs in this year’s common text “World War Z.”

Common Theme Events 2012New Works FestivalOct. 17-18 | 7:00 p.m.Mabee A, Ragsdale

Lecture: Zombies in Afro-Caribbean Culture by Chris MicklethwaitOct. 18 | 6:00 p.m.Fleck 305

Founder’s Day Service ProjectOct. 20 | 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Various Locations

Battle of the Saints: Double HeaderOct. 25 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.Lewis-Chen Soccer Field

Miles for a Mission 5K: Zombie ApocalypseOct. 28 | 8:30 a.m.Campus

Film: Jean of the DeadNov. 13 | 6:00 p.m.

Wild Basin’s Land Man-agement Work DayNov. 17 | 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.Wild Basin Preserve

10 LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Music festival by the #s

cumulative rain of .55”

91ºFHIGH on Fri.

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12ACL started 10 years ago

46 acres of Zilker Park is used exclusively for ACLstatistics from

aclfestival.com

more than 130 acts performed over the three day weekend on six stages

a regular three-day pass costs $200

$50 $ $50 $$50 $$50 $

more than 70,000 fans crowded the park each day

FRIDAY

Los Campesinos! is an in-teresting act and not only be-cause they have an exclama-tion point in their name.

Los Campesinos! seems to defy all stereotypes. They have a Spanish name, were originally formed in England, but are more popular in the United States than the UK.

Los Campesinos! blend not only cultural lines, but musi-cal lines as well.

After their first indie-pop album "Hold on Now, Youngster" in 2008, Los Campesinos! decided to head in a different direction.

Instead of teen pop songs, they began to produce darker, more post-hardcore music–a style they stick with today.

This blend of styles and cultures was evident at their ACL show on the Bud Light stage. There were dancing

pop numbers, darker head-banging numbers and the oc-casional scream, all of which culminated in frontman Ga-reth David jumping into the crowd during the last song

The show was high-energy, unpredictable and, despite the afternoon heat, quite re-freshing.

Their latest album is en-titled "Hello Sadness" and seamlessly blends their early teen pop sound with their later post-hardcore sound.

Although they were unac-customed to the heat, Los Campesinos! had fun on stage and the crowd could not help but do the same.

For such an influential group, England's Florence + The Machine is fairly new to the music scene.

Their debut album, "Lungs," was released in 2009 and quickly rose to the top of the UK charts. In 2011, their second album, "Ceremonials," debuted at number one in the UK and number six in the U.S.

Songs like "Dog Days Are Over" and "Shake It Out" quickly made their way into pop culture, being featured in several American televi-sion shows and films.

The group is led by Flor-ence Welch, a fiery redhead who seems to perform not only for the audience, but to the heavens as well.

Throughout her show at ACL's Bud Light stage, Welch would look upwards

and gesture towards the sky as her black and green gown flowed behind her.

Florence + The Machine was passionate yet playful. Welch demanded the au-dience lift others on their shoulders and dance. She even held a dancing contest

in which the best dancer won a kiss with the key-boardist.

The band is quickly be-coming a standard in the genres of rock and soul with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

England brings the hardcore pop through Los Campesinos!

Florence + The Machine equals an unforgettable performanceMitch Harrisrharris7@stedwards.edu

Mitch Harrisrharris7@stedwards.edu

LosCampesinos.comLos Campesinos! is comprised of friends who met in college.

Courtesy of Matt Ellis/aclfestival.comFlorence took on a character as she belted her soulful songs.

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8,220, 000 pounds of carbon dioxide offset in

the past 5 years due to ACL’s green efforts

11LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

SATURDAY SUNDAY

What is the one thing that will make hundreds of smashed-together, dancing dubstep fans go absolutely crazy? Ice-cold pouring rain.

The weather was ominous the entire day but decided to finally release some pre-cipitation the moment that Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken of Big Gigantic be-gan their set.

Big Gigantic produces electronic music with the help of on-stage saxophone and drums.

It takes a particular type of fan to enjoy a show from Big Gigantic because it is so much more than just mu-sic–it is the lights, the fans, the atmosphere–that make the experience. But for those that are fans of that type of specialized experience, then Big Gigantic is an incredible show.

The use of saxophone in their music really sets them apart from their EDM (electronic dance music) counterparts and provides a refreshing element to the heaps of bass they offer.

The two-man group from Boulder, Colorado was the perfect show to be watching during the downpour, and they handled it beautifully, thanking the crowd after the show for sticking around de-spite the weather.

Andrew Bird's music is dif-ficult to describe and might best be explained by the way the stage at his ACL show Saturday afternoon.

The stage was bare, save for a sock monkey sitting in the back wearing a suit and tie, sitting on an old pho-nograph with two speakers spinning like a helicopter.

These classical elements with a slightly strange and eerie twist mirror Bird's brand of indie-folk perfectly.

Bird plays classical violin, plucks his violin like a banjo

and layers the two sounds on top of each other as he whistles along.

Bird's music is often viewed as rather mellow, but during his set, Bird was whimsical, fun and earnest.

However, the highlight of the show came during his song "Clouds for Moun-tains," in which the overcast skies finally began to sprin-kle. It did not bother crowd, though. It was simple, beau-tiful and serene.

Bird has nine studio al-bums and six live albums, including a live recording of his 2007 appearance at ACL.

South Africa's Die Ant-woord takes pride in being incredibly zef–an Afrikaans word describing a counter-culture movement in which the lower classes fake wealthy lifestyles.

Comprised of Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek, Die Antwoord is a sight to see. They took the Honda Stage Sunday afternoon with neon orange sweatsuits, booming bass and incredible amounts of vulgarity.

Unlike most ACL acts who had live video streaming on the large display screens, Die Antwoord brought their own footage containing aliens, cartoon phallic symbols, self-

sketches and clips of live bugs crawling out of their mouths.

Die Antwoord’s shows are an experience. One does not go to listen to music, but rather to be a part of the in-sane environment.

Yo-landi, whose voice sounds like a high-pitched chipmunk, changed outfits four times during the show,

each more ridiculous than the last. Ninja, who looks like an older, lankier Emi-nem, had a song about rub-bing his genitals on things he cannot afford.

Although the songs were half English and half Afri-kaans, the crowd did not care. The atmosphere was enough to sustain the dancing.

Wrap your head around something for a minute: An-thony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is 49 years old. The band’s first album came out when some of our parents were still in college.

RHCP has been around for a very long time and de-served every second they had on stage while headlining the last night of ACL 2012.

And they are not done yet. The Chili Peppers’ most re-cent album, “I’m With You,” was released in 2011 and the guys are currently on a world tour.

Their stop in Austin con-sisted of almost two hours of nonstop energy and talent.

They were sure to play plen-ty of their older, well-known songs such as “Under the Bridge” and “Suck my Kiss,” and along with songs from new album like “Monarchy of Roses” and “Look Around.”

The highlight of the entire set came during the encore performance, however, when the band’s unique, funky personality came out while performing “Sir Psycho Sexy” and “Give it Away.”

The musicians, particularly Kiedis and Flea, who are the only two original members, have clearly made their amaz-ing music their life’s work and

all we can hope is that they never, ever stop.

Mitch Harrisrharris7@stedwards.edu

Mitch Harrisrharris7@stedwards.edu

Brooke Blantonbblanto@stedwards.edu

Brooke Blantonbblanto@stedwards.edu

Andrew Bird whistles along to his unique brand of indie folk

Die Antwoord brings the zef to ACL with eccentric performance

Electronic group Big Gigantic plays through the downpour

Veteran rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” at ACL

Courtesy of Andrew BirdAndrew Bird performs some songs completely by himself.

Courtesy of Big GiganticBig Gigantic is a unique EDM group because they play musical instruments while on stage..

Orlando Sentinal/MCTRed Hot Chili Peppers were the final act of the festival.

Wikimedia CommonsYo-Landi Vi$$er dons skimpy and strange outfits during shows.

SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 12

One of the most steadily growing trends in the fitness world at the moment is the adoption of barefoot running. Austin, one of the nation’s fit-test cities, has welcomed the trend with open … feet.

Barefoot races are popping up all over, one of the more recent races being the Naked Foot 5k. A “shoes optional” event, the race boasts a 5k cross country run, paddle-board race and obstacle course.

Geared towards beginner and intermediate barefoot runners, there is a two-hour mini expo that educates run-ners on the technique and ad-vantages to barefoot running, as well as tips for avoiding common injuries.

St. Edward’s University se-nior Walter Anderson has embraced barefoot running and was a volunteer during the Naked Foot 5k on Oct.

6. Hilltop Views interviewed Anderson to get his take on what goes on between his toes. Hilltop Views: What benefits does running barefoot give you? WA: The barefoot running trend comes from history. Until recently, most long dis-tance running has been done either barefoot or in very thinly soled shoes. There is a lot of evidence that says cur-rent padded athletic shoes are actually detrimental to the health of our feet. Wear-ing athletic shoes has been shown to increase the risk of ankle sprains, knee pain, shin splints, as well as a lot of other chronic injuries. Padded athletic shoes have also completely changed the way we naturally run. The now traditional “heel strike” stride ends up increasing the impact on your feet to some-thing like two to three times your body weight. Barefoot running relies more on land-ing on the ball of your foot and taking advantage of the natural “springy-ness” of your

arches. Personally, I have no-ticed a very distinct decrease in aches and pains after run-ning a long distance after changing my running stride.HV: What are the drawbacks?WA: Of course, running without shoes also increases the likelihood of stepping on sharp rocks or pointy things.HV: How does it change your style of running?WA: You need to be a little bit more aware of your sur-

roundings and what surface you are running on.HV: What got you into this movement? WA: I got into the barefoot running movement from training parkour. A lot of people in the parkour com-munity advocate more natu-ral ways to condition and train your body, so there is a lot of support for minimalist shoes and barefoot training. Actually, my absolute favorite

shoes to train in—or do any-thing really—are minimalist wushu shoes called Feiyues. They are very cheap—albeit they last about three to four months—and protect my feet from anything danger-ous I might step on while still giving me a good feel of the ground.HV: If you could tell anyone one thing that would convince them to run barefoot, what would it be? WA: Honestly, it is pretty tough convincing people about barefoot running; it is the same with parkour. Most people are set in their ways and are afraid of change and afraid of hurting themselves. People think that running barefoot is somehow unat-tainable. “Oh I’m just not ready to do something like that.” Like hell you are. Just take your shoes off and walk around in the grass.HV: Where do you prefer to run? WA: I always prefer to run outside. Anywhere that is not flat and changes scenery,

running uphill and downhill, basically anything that makes running an adventure. Be-cause, honestly, I do not like running. The way the average person views running is so boring. Run around a track four times with your iPod on and looking at the ground. How is that fun? How will you muster up the motiva-tion to do that again when the first time was so boring and painful? The key to doing anything is make it fun.HV: What running events will you be competing in the future?WA: Not planning on any-thing in particular right now. The Zombie Run looks really fun, and I think some friends are running it so I might join them for that. I am really not too competitive when it comes to these things, so I will continue to run, but for myself. My ultimate running goal is to have a sub 1-hour half marathon. I think that is pretty attainable. It is all about progression. Slow and steady will get you there.

The women’s tennis team competed in the NCAA Division II Regional tennis tournament held in Abilene, Texas. During Sept. 29-Oct. 1, all the doubles teams won their first matches but were defeated in the second round by the tournament’s top com-petitor.

Singles player and sopho-more Sasha Khadzhyan made it to the round of 16, winning her first two singles matches. She lost her third match to the tournament’s

second seed player.“Overall, we felt that we

could have done better at the regional tournament, but we are now aware of what we need to work on to prepare for next season,” senior Paige Rachel said about the team’s performance at the regional tournament.

The women’s tennis season officially starts in the spring, but the team is taking advan-tage of these fall tournaments to try out different doubles partners and to gauge what they need to work on for the upcoming spring season.

The team has welcomed

two new members this year, including Katherine Sullivan, a freshman from Houston, Texas, and Florence Boinon, a freshman from France. Ac-cording to Rachel, the team is very close and works together very well.

“We all trust each oth-ers’ abilities and rely on one another to succeed,” Rachel said.

The girls feel that they have improved on their doubles play.

“We are all significantly more aggressive at the net,” Rachel said on the ladies’ ability to rally at the net and

volley to close out points and win games. “I think the play-ers to look out for this season are Rafa Haegele and Sammy Siegel. They both have im-proved over the summer and have the drive and passion to do well.”

The team is already work-ing hard to prepare for the upcoming season. This year, the women are aiming to win conference again and make it to the national tournament in the spring. They are also very keen on beating Cam-eron University and Abilene Christian University, some of their toughest competitors.

Women’s tennis starts early at regional tennis tournament

Courtesy of Sports InformationThe women’s tennis team got a leg up on its spring season.

Courtesy of Walter AndersonIn addition to barefoot running, Anderson also trains parkour.

Shelby Cole scole2@stedwards.eduNolan Greenngreen2@stedwards.edu

Student lends his feet to help barefoot running

Kelsey Acostakacosta@stedwards.edu

13ADVERTISINGWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Get to campus the quick and easy way. Just take a car2go when you need it, and leave it when you’re done. No mandatory reservations, no late fees. For a limited time, students get free registration and 30 minutes free at Austincar2go.com with student ID (promo code: COLLEGE).

Must be 18 years or older and have a valid U.S. driver’s license to register. Free minutes of driving time are valid for 60 days after credited to an account, unless otherwise noted.

14SPORTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Column as I see ‘Em is your weekly fix for all things NFL. It has been a tumul-tuous six weeks so far with only one undefeated team remaining and major upsets in both the AFC and NFC. Look for the chaos to con-tinue in week 7.

Thursday

Seattle at San FranciscoSan Francisco and Frank Gore will not go the route of New England last week. 49ers by 3.

Sunday

Tennessee at BuffaloBuffalo dominates Ten-nessee’s weak pass de-fense. Bills by 10.

Washington at NY GiantsGiants are dominating the NFC right now. New York by 14.

New Orleans at Tampa BayBucs will keep the Saints from getting win #2. Tam-pa Bay by 3.

Dallas at CarolinaCam Newton takes down the struggling Cowboys. Panthers by 14.

Baltimore at HoustonBasically a playoff match-up, this game is big. With Ray Lewis hurt, Texans take it by 7.

Cleveland at IndianapolisLook for the Colts too keep depending on luck and Luck. Indy by 10.

Green Bay at St. LouisPackers are back on track and ready to finish strong. Pack by 10.

Arizona at MinnesotaClash of the surprisingly 4-2 teams. Cardinals by 3.

NY Jets at New EnglandJets don’t get near New England. Patriots by 20.

Jacksonville at OaklandJacksonville, ranked 20+ in all aspects of their game cannot handle Oakland. Raiders by 10.

Pittsburgh at CincinnatiAlmost forgotten, the Steelers roll. Pittsburgh by 10.

Monday

Detroit at ChicagoBig NFC North Matchup, look for Cutler to throw a few interceptions. Lions by 10.

Week 7 Predictions

Column as I see ‘em

She glanced to her side and slithered her way past the op-posing team’s defenders be-fore shooting the ball directly into the goal, sinking what would be the first of many goals to come.

The St. Edward’s Univer-sity women’s club soccer team has had a successful year, spe-cifically in comparison to the previous one.

“We are playing a lot of dif-ferent teams this year,” Vice President and sophomore Erica Ann Panado said. “We have played teams like Baylor and UTSA, and we have won against Texas A&M-Texar-kana and SFA. Last year, the teams we played from the be-ginning were strong and well established, but this year it is better competition. We also

have a lot of great forwards on the team, along with six freshmen. In the game against Texarkana, three of the goals were scored by freshmen.”

Along with making a name for itself among competing teams, the women’s club soc-cer team is also developing recognition for itself on cam-pus.

“This is only our second real season,” President and junior

Nicole Wellman said. “We were so new last year. this year we had way more people come to tryouts, and we have an actual coach this year.”

More than anything, this team has tasted success.

“When we play other teams and actually win, it is a good feeling,” Wellman said. “Our first games with UT and Texas State just blew us away, but with teams we can actu-

ally compete against, our suc-cess is really encouraging.”

The members of the team share memories of their past season but only have time for positivity moving forward.

“It is only our second year, and we are only going to keep getting better,” Panado said. “I’d really like to see us quali-fy for an out-of-state tourna-ment this year.”

Club soccer improves on previous recordTyler Eldredgeteldred@stedwards.edu

Courtesy of Nicole WellmanThe club soccer team traveled out of state for the first time in the club’s two-year history.

NCAA athletes, non-NCAA players and even non-stu-dents from the neighboring area left Athletics with no choice.

“The number of non-SEU users of the courts was be-coming a major concern, and we had no way to monitor this. On any given morning, there were between 10 and 20 people not from the SEU community using the courts, and that is a huge risk man-agement issue,” Cooper said.

The courts were renovated last year and according to Cooper, the courts have al-ready started to deteriorate.

“We had to minimize the foot traffic on the courts, and the best decision was to limit it to ... scheduled use only. This means the courts are only available for use by kine-

siology classes, Campus Rec.-organized events and Ath-letics. This was not an easy decision, but a necessary one nonetheless,” Cooper said.

Some students were blind-sided by the courts’ closures. Senior Gerald Llorence often played on the courts with his friends recreationally, and is upset by the court closure.

“I feel betrayed by St. Ed-ward’s. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth,” Llorence said. “It would be much easier to be able to [play tennis] on campus right after class. I don’t see how the ‘public’ a.k.a student body is some sort of hazard to the quality of the courts. I feel like quite a lot of people played on those courts

besides the tennis team. It’s a shame to see that community have to move elsewhere.”

When asked whether or not he would find an off-campus venue for his tennis playing, Llorence cited an important barrier that many students grapple with on a daily basis: money. Or, more specifically, a lack thereof.

“I am looking to play off-campus somewhere,” Llor-ence said. “Unfortunately it costs a bit of money at some other places off campus, but I still do want to play tennis so I will look around.”

Athletics said the courts will remain closed for now.

“[The Athletics department is] always open to finding ways for more scheduled and monitored use of the courts, but it has to be under [cur-rent] circumstances for the time being,” Cooper said.

Photo by Gabriellae RodriguezThe tennis courts on campus are now closed to the public.

Tennis court closure causes controversy

Nolan Greenngreen2@stedwards.edu

Continued from page 1

15SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

During high school, ju-nior Ellie Meyer was not into sports. In the spring of 2011, this changed, when Ellie joined the rowing team at St. Edward’s University. She liked the idea of relying on a team in a setting where having an MVP is virtually impossible. After three semes-ters of rowing, Ellie is now the club’s president and wants to bring renown to her club.

SS: What do your duties as president entail?EM: Basically, my job is to delegate and make sure ev-eryone is enjoying the team and enjoying the commu-nity. We do not just want to be a team that practices together. We want to be a group of friends that row together. I also choose which regattas to attend

and make the choices that are too little for the whole team to make.SS: Where and when are the rowing team’s practices, and what are they like?EM: We practice on Town Lake. It is really awesome because we get to see the

sun rise. We practice Mon-day, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. A lot of rowing teams do mostly erg (ma-chine rowing) workouts, and getting in the water is only a treat. We do not work that way. We like to be out on the water pretty much the whole time. If it is raining, we will do a land workout.SS: How do people get in-volved? Does your club hold tryouts?EM: We thought we would have to have tryouts be-cause we had about 100 people sign up at the in-volvement fair. Twenty-eight ended up coming out to practice, so we did not have to have tryouts. We basically have a “learn to row” week each semester. Anyone can come out and decide if it is something they want to do.SS: If you could row in any

body of water, where would you choose?EM: Honestly, I love Town Lake. It is a really pretty place to row, and I am so happy we row there. It does not freeze in the winter. It is wide and beautiful. Competitive rowers from the northeast even come to Town Lake when their riv-ers freeze.SS: What is the coldest wa-ter you have ever rowed in?EM: Last February in the Winter Warrior regatta, we did an 8-kilometer row from Redbud Island past Mopac to Fire Island past I-35. It was in the 20s out-side. It was crazy. Nobody warmed up the entire time.SS: Which competitions does the rowing club do?EM: We try to attend two regattas each semester. We went to Waco this past weekend and had our most successful regatta as a team

ever. Later this semester, we will compete in the Pump-kin Head regatta here in Austin. In the fall we com-pete in long distance races, but in the spring we have much shorter races. We are for sure competing in the Heart of Texas regatta in Austin and one more that I have yet to decide out of town.SS: What are your goals for the rowing team?EM: I want to work on keeping members and mak-ing sure they join again in the spring. I would really like to win some golds in the Pumpkin Head and in the spring. We have never won a team gold before, only in individual races. Also, I want to make a name for our club. Rugby and lacrosse are club sports, and everyone knows about them. I want everyone to know about us, too.

SPORTS CALENDAR

MEN’S GOLFMon. 10/22-Tues. 10/23Otter Invitational, Seaside, CA

MEN’S SOCCERThurs. 10/18 | 7:30 p.m.at UT-Permian Basin Sat. 10/20 | 3:30 p.m.at McMurry

Thurs. 10/25 | 3:30 p.m.vs. St. Mary’s

WOMEN’S SOCCERThurs. 10/18 | 5:00 p.m.at UT-Permian Basin

Sat. 10/20 | 1:00 p.m.at McMurry

VOLLEYBALLWed. 10/17 | 7:00 p.m.vs. Dallas Baptist

Fri. 10/19 | 6:00 p.m.at Tarleton State

RUGBYSat. 10/20 | 10:00 a.m.SWC 7s Championship at Burr Field

CYCLINGFri. 10/19 - Sun. 10/21 Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, at Angel Fire, NM

MEN’S CLUB SOCCERSat. 10/20 | 3:00 p.m.vs. SMU

WOMEN’S CLUB SOCCERSat. 10/20 | 11:00 a.m. vs. UT-Pan-American

ATHLETE PROF I LE

Rowing president earns her stripes at the helmShelby Sementellissement@stedwards.edu

Courtesy of Ellie MeyerMeyer did not play sports until she joined rowing.

The time of year when it seems like the entire campus is sick is finally upon us. For-tunately, modern medicine allows you to protect your-self against most strains of the flu.

According to Megan Springer, a family nurse practitioner at St. Edward’s University Health and Counseling Center, flu sea-son starts around November and can run all the way to February or March.

Springer adds that right now is the perfect time to get a flu shot.

“[The shot] is an activated vaccine, so there’s no live virus in it,” Springer said. Anyone can get the shot, but she does not recommend it for people with egg allergies because of a preserva-tive contain-ing trace amounts of egg.

S p r i n g e r also does not recommend getting the shot if you are running a fe-ver.

Flu shots are recommended every year because the strain of flu changes frequently, so

the vaccine must be updated. Your flu shot from last year will not protect you against this season’s strain.

If you think getting a flu shot is right for you, the

Health & Counseling center is currently offering shots for $20 for students and $30 for faculty and staff. If a student has the university health in-

surance plan, however, the shot is covered.

The Center for Disease Control recommends the flu shot as the most impor-tant step to preventing the flu. But if you feel like the shot just is not for you, there are other things you can do to keep yourself and those around you healthy.

Be sure to wash your hands frequently. If you find your-self in a rush, carry hand san-itizer in your purse, pocket or backpack. You can assure you will always be ready to get rid of germs.

Additionally, watch how you sneeze. Always sneeze into your elbow, rather than

your hands, to slow the spread of germs. Carry tis-sues that will help you take care of your runny nose and coughs.

If you sre already sick, treat your symptoms. Do not drag yourself to class, especially if you have a fever: the health center can give you doctors notes. Give yourself time to rest before trying to tackle stressful obligations. Stay hydrated, and eat foods that will boost nutrition. Avoid contact with others to re-duce the chance of spreading germs.

Health on the Hilltop: how to combat flu seasonSara Sanchezssanchei@stedwards.edu

“[The flu shot] is an activated vaccine, so there’s no virus in it.”-nurse practitioner Megan Springer

VIEWPOINTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 16OUR VIEW

Like it or not, Austin is a pretty hip town. From South Congress to Hyde Park, lo-cals can be recognized by their skinny jeans, fixed-gear bikes and iced lattes.

People outside Austin have even taken notice of its emerging hipster culture. Forbes recently published its list of “America’s Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods,” with East Austin taking the number seven spot. The list was based on number of cof-fee shops, food trucks, music venues and other indicators of hipness.

It is not surprising that an Austin neighborhood made Forbes’s list, but until re-cently, East Austin is not the

neighborhood most people would expect to make the hip list. East Austin, roughly bound by I-35, Airport Blvd., Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Lady Bird Lake, has his-torically been home to many Hispanic and African-Amer-ican families with established culture and businesses. The food trucks are relatively new.

East Austin has cultural roots that one does not usu-ally associate with hipster culture. Forbes even men-tions the great Mexican food in East Austin in its list, but the writers fail to realize that the Mexican food was there before it was hip. But with the influx of hip food trucks and and new residents with fleeting tastes, the great Mexican food may not stay in East Austin.

Forbes’s list seems applaud “America’s Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods,” but is hip-ness at the expense of long-standing culture really worth celebrating? In recent years, East Austin has been central to the debate over gentrifica-tion in Austin.

Gentrification occurs when high-income people, often white people, start buying or renting property in low-income neighborhoods like East Austin, which are often not predominantly white. Although gentrification has mostly to do with high in-come people in low-income neighborhoods, the discus-sion of race cannot be left out of the conversation.

The problems associated with hipsters moving into low-income, non-white

neighborhoods are many. Neighborhoods like East Austin were built by families, but young hipsters often live alone. Thus, the neighbor-hood becomes less about the community and more about the individual.

While hipsters might ap-propriate pieces of a neigh-borhood’s culture, like East Austin’s Mexican food, they do not fully engage in the es-tablished culture; they most-ly replace it with their own. Taco stands and bakeries are replaced with food trucks and coffee shops.

Furthermore, gentrification drives up the price of living in low-income neighbor-hoods, making it hard for long-time residents to keep their homes and businesses. Wealthy people come in and

flip houses, making property values and taxes rise, forcing low-income people to leave their neighborhoods because they cannot afford to live there anymore.

Forbes is not mistaken–East Austin is hip. But what the writers of Forbes’s list fail to understand is that hipness happens at the expense of es-tablished communities.

Wikimedia CommonsThis East Austin mural exemplifies established culture.

Chloe Kirkpatrickckirkpa@stedwards.edu

Hipster culture comes at a price in East Austin neighborhood

Last week, flyers for an event called “Eggs on the Neg’s” perplexed the St. Ed-ward’s community.

“Egg’s on the Neg’s” was a St. Edward’s University Mul-ticultural Leadership Board (MLB) sponsored event that was to take place on Oct. 11 on the Ragsdale lawn. MLB is a chartered student orga-nization within St. Edward's Student Life.

According to the event’s now-defunct Facebook page, the event planned to “dis-cuss and analyze the differ-ent words that have become normalized by society despite having negative connota-tions.” Some of these words included, gay, queer, bitch and the n-word, according to the event description on the St. Edward’s calendar site.

On Oct. 10, one day before the scheduled event, Student Life posted a status update on their Facebook page ex-plaining that “Eggs on the Neg’s” was “postponed until further notice.”

The event was met with consid-erable criticism from students before it was set to happen, espe-cially on its Face-book page.

The purpose of the event was not clearly stated, which was one cause for criticism. The brief explanation of “discussing and analyzing” words did not give a clear representation of what the event would entail. Some might have thought

“Egg’s on the Neg’s” was a type of lecture or an open as-sembly where ideas could be exchanged.

The event flyers posted around campus did little to clarify its purpose. They

failed to convey the intent of the event. Aside from the date and place, the only in-formation the flyer gave was a poem that said, “smash and trash what has been said, rip

the negative words to shreds.” The egg graphics on the post-er were perplexing with the lack of an actual description of the event. The vague fly-ers made people question the credibility of the event.

If “Egg’s on the Neg’s” actu-ally occurred, students would have thrown eggs at posters with words like “retarded” or “queer” on them. No discus-sion or exchange of ideas would have occurred.

Throwing eggs at posters is not an act of empowerment, nor is it a way to foster pro-ductive discussion. In fact, it is more like a carnival event. Such an activity would trivi-alize the oppression of differ-ent communities. If students walking past the Ragsdale lawn saw this event, they would have difficulty telling

what was going on. The mes-sage would be lost.

Furthermore, some of the stigmatized words, like “gay,” are not offensive when taken out of an offensive context. Thus, throwing eggs at these words could send the oppo-site message than intended. The violent act of throwing an egg at a word that is al-ready stigmatized sends an unnecessarily violent mes-sage.

“Eggs on the Neg’s” seems like a sensational version of a noble cause. Instead of actually fostering discus-sion or analyzing oppressive language, it would capitalize on the oppression of minor-ity communities. MLB may be a small group of people, but they work to represent a distinct portion of the St.

Edward’s student body, and “Eggs on the Neg’s” would not have represented stu-dents appropriately.

The event was postponed for reasons unknown, but the fact that it was ever planned raises concerns. According to their website, MLB hoped to “facilitate productive dia-logue,” but throwing eggs at posters does not encourage proper discourse.

“Eggs on the Neg’s” could have been an academic panel. St. Edward’s has resources that could have turned the event into a beneficial pro-gram for the community. Be-cause the problematic event was postponed indefinitely, the St. Edward’s community does not get the benefits of a “productive dialogue.”

Multicultural Leadership Board postpones perplexing event

“MLB hoped to ‘facilitate productive dialogue,’ but throwing eggs at posters does not encourage proper discourse.”

17VIEWPOINTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Recently, the University of Texas at Austin has gained national attention. No, the Longhorn football team did not win another conference title. There have been a string of racially motivated and cul-turally insensitive incidents in West Campus.

It is an accepted fact that the Greek system dominates a majority of West Campus. The sheer number of stu-dents who are members, ac-tive or alumni, is startling. It is undeniable that the Greek system brings revenue to the university.

The Delta Delta Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha sororities have recently come under condemnation for the cultur-ally insensitive "fiesta" themed parties. Sorority members and their guests dressed up in stereotypical and inflam-matory outfits they thought were traditional attire. You know, if traditional Mexican attire was skimpy. Some par-ticipants even dressed up as border patrol cops.

The Alpha Tau Omegas planned to throw a party entitled "A Border to Cross."

The party planned to have an obstacle course that was sup-posed to symbolize the cross-ing of the Texas/Mexico bor-der by immigrants. One side of the party was supposed to be Mexico while the other was Texas. Revolting.

Thankfully, many UT stu-dents expressed outrage to-wards the event. The frater-nity cancelled the event and issued a public apology.

Bleach balloon attacks oc-curred on campus. Minority students reported incidents where balloons literally filled with bleach were dropped on students as they walked through West Campus. Let that digest. Balloons filled with bleach dropped on stu-dents of color. As of now, university officials say it is difficult to prove that these are hate crimes.

These isolated incidents are disgusting in and of them-selves. However, reaction of the university officials and a majority of students is truly appalling.

The response to these inci-dents have ranged from com-munity outrage to apathy. It seems as if a majority of Longhorn supporters, alumni and students are equally de-

tached and apathetic. Keep in mind, this university has the ability to put on superstitious rally attended by thousands of people every even though some do not even attend the school. This university cen-ters itself around the idea of community connection.

Yes, there have been march-es, meetings and rallies, but it is not enough. Consider how big the student population and alumni network are at UT. Also, consider how many of your Facebook friends go to UT. Did they post any articles about this? Did they express any outrage? Did you even know about it?

Public condemnation of these racist acts has been lacking. Remaining silent is almost as worse as the act. UT as an institution and a student body is not racist so why have they not publicly voiced utter opposition to these acts? UT should not let the actions of an ignorant few taint the undeniable prestige and influence of their institu-tion, students and alumni.

Every student should yell at the top of their lungs that their school is not defined by racism.

The year was 1999. It was Christmas day, the day I was to become a “cool kid,” the day I got my first CD player and CD. Although her lyr-ics were a bit provocative for a six-year-old, my parents chose Christina Aguilera’s debut album, the one fea-turing "Genie in a Bottle," to have the honor of being called my first CD.

For years after that, it was all about buying up the lat-est CD and keeping up with the Joneses. Sharing CDs replaced trading Pokémon cards, and envy was felt upon seeing racks and racks of CDs at friends' houses.

That was a different time.Flash forward to 2012,

and the concept of the CD seems prehistoric. The CD, now 30 years old, no longer gets VIP treatment.

A new CD now gets an eye roll and comments such as, “You went out and actually bought a CD?”

Or, “You actually wasted your money?”

Most people agree that CDs are overpriced, bulky, and that it is simply more convenient to go online to obtain the latest songs. Whether those songs are obtained legally or illegally is up to the consumer.

Everyone knows that downloading music from the Internet without paying for it is illegal. Tales of ab-surdly large fines slammed down on little old ladies and young teenagers alike for il-legally downloading music have circulated the media since file sharing sites like Napster first became popu-lar.

Despite these horror sto-

ries and the takedown of Napster and other sites, the illegal downloading persists.

Much like speeding on an empty freeway or littering a banana peel when there’s not a trash can around, there are some laws that people seem to not take as seriously as others. Illegal downloading seems to fall into this category of “laws that no one really follows” for several reasons.

Some people argue that the music industry makes enough money that they will not notice if there is an illegal download or two. Others state that music costs too much and that il-legal downloads are too easy to come by to pass up.

That being said, illegal downloading hurts both new and lesser-known art-ists. These artists should earn every cent they can from their music because they are the true talents of the industry–unlike other people who call themselves artists and just repeat words such as “swag” throughout their meaningless songs,

believing all the while that they are lyrical geniuses.

However, BBC recently quoted musician Ed Sheer-an, who said, "There's a de-cent balance–you can live off your sales and you can allow people to illegally download it and come to your gigs. My gig tickets are £18 and my album is £8, so it's all relative."

While illegal downloading hurts music sales, Sheeran has a point in saying that if illegal downloading gets fresh ears to concerts, then he is not too upset about it.

If an established artist is truly concerned about ille-gal downloading, then they should lower the costs of a music download. Other-wise, they should take the matter lightly.

At the end of the day, es-tablished and popular musi-cians are still rich, and they are getting new fans that they would not have got-ten otherwise. Even if it is through illegal downloading rather than digital sales or physical CD sales.

In the digital downloading age, CDs are a novelty itemMonique Morenommoreno8@stedwards.edu

Wikimedia CommonsChristina Aguilera was popular during the time of CDs.

Lesli Simmslsimms2@stedwards.edu

Racially-motivated incidents at UT should be a call to action

Wikimedia CommonsThe University of Texas at Austin has recently been the site of racially-motivated incidents.

18VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 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

Although Austin has an-nounced its support of same-sex marriage, there are still incidents of homophobic crime in the city.

Andrew Oppelman and Nick Soret were attacked downtown during Austin’s Pride Weekend on Sept. 21. Oppelman was visiting Aus-tin for the weekend. Soret is an Austin native and has lived in the Austin for over 20 years.

The men were meeting for pizza downtown, when Soret got into a verbal altercation with their attacker, who he described as a tall, muscular Asian man with a medium build. The man was suppos-edly upset by the way Soret looked at him, according to KVUE.

When Oppelman tried to intervene, the man punched

him in the face, knocking out five of his teeth. Both men were treated that night at the hospital for their inju-ries, including missing teeth, numerous contu-sions, busted lips and a possibly fractured jaw.

The police have yet declare the at-tack a hate crime, saying that it is up to the district attorney, accord-ing to KVUE. Oppelman and Soret are both convinced that homophobia motivated the attack because they can see no other reason why the man would attack them so brutally.

Whether or not it will be tried as a hate crime, this at-tack is a blemish on the city of Austin.

Fights between people hap-pen, but there should not be

people attacking and beating anyone for any reason. It is completely inappropriate and uncalled for.

However, it is important to

remember that these individ-uals are not representative of Austin as a whole. Austin has a large LGBTQ community and numerous allies who are dedicated to ensuring peace and equality.

Two weeks after the attack, members and allies of the LGBTQ community met at City Hall and marched to the Capitol building in protest,

according to The Advocate.Austin’s city council also re-

cently unanimously voted to endorse gay marriage, which directly opposes the state’s stance. While this act has no effect on the marriage laws in Texas it is a symbolic act and shows that Austin backs the LGBTQ community.

What happened to Andrew Oppelman and Nick Soret was terrible, but their assail-ant's actions do not represent the spirit of Austin. The re-sponsibility for this attack rested squarely on the shoul-ders of the attacker.

It is important to remember that while Austin is a friendly and liberal place, it is still in Texas, which is an infamous-ly conservative state.

There is still a long way to go until Texas is less polar-ized on LGBTQ issues. Re-gardless, Austin will continue to lead the fight for equality in Texas.

Next month, Americans will vote for the people who will lead the country for the next four years. These people will decide which path Amer-ica will take for the future.

One vote can decide wheth-er the country moves into the future or dwells in the past. Voting is one of the most important rights Americans can exercise, and it is not very hard.

Many naysayers of voting have said that a single vote does not matter. It does mat-ter.

In the 2000 presidential election, the candidates were Vice President Al Gore and then-Governor of Texas,

George W. Bush. The elec-tion came down to Florida, where 6 million people voted, and by a margin of 537 votes, Bush won the presidency. That election proved that ev-ery vote is important, and it could decide who occupies public office.

One of the most important voting groups is young peo-ple. This group overwhelm-ingly supported Barack Obama for President in 2008, and pushed him over the top to win the White House. In 2008, between 21.6 and 23.9 million votes were cast from 18 to 29-year-olds, accord-ing to The New York Times. Those millions of votes could decide who becomes presi-dent this election.

Young people must vote

because the fate of programs that affect them will be up in the air. Some candidates have said they will cut programs such as Pell Grants and

guaranteed student loans to balance the budget. If young people care about these pro-grams, they should go vote, their future is at stake.

Voting is a right in this country. It has been in the Constitution since its incep-tion. Not all groups were eli-gible to vote when the Con-stitution was put in place, but after many generations, all Americans over the age of 18 can vote. Many people fought for the precious right to vote.

Voting is not just some-thing that can be tossed out and forgotten like a piece of trash. People must vote or face the consequences of not voting. It is the easiest way a person can make a difference in their state and country.

Some states around the country have passed laws that require photo ID when voting to prevent voter fraud. Many people are angry with these laws because to them it

is a solution without a prob-lem and it suppresses some people’s right to vote.

Most of the laws were passed after the 2010 mid-term election, when many states elected Tea Party poli-ticians to office. Voter turn-out was about 37.8 percent of eligible voters, which is lower than the turnout in 2008, where 56.8 percent voted, according to George Mason University’s United States Elections Project. If more people had voted in that election, then these laws that people dislike may have not been put in place.

Voting can make a differ-ence in the United States. It can mean the country pros-pers or fails, but that cannot be decided without voting.

Jacob Sanchezjsanchen@stedwards.edu

Every young person’s vote counts in the upcoming election

Kelsey Acostakacosta@stedwards.edu

Homophobia is not the norm in Austin

Wikimedia CommonsStudents are an extremely important voting demographic.

“Whether or not it will be tried as a hate crime, this attack is a blemish on the city of Austin.”

19PHOTO ESSAYWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

CITYLimits

Photos by Matthew Nuñez, Joe Arellano and Brooke Blanton

AUSITN The ACL music festival gathers musical talents from all over the globe. It is an opportunity for some artists to debut new songs and for others to end tours. Guests enjoy light shows, merchandise and a plethora of food and drink.

20PHOTO ESSAY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

making it home On Oct. 5, 49 St. Edward’s freshmen headed to T Bar M in New Braunfels for a weekend long retreat themed “Making It Home.” It was put on by Campus Ministry and led by a team of 12 upper-classmen. Freshmen made connections, relaxed, reflected, danced, laughed, and listened to the team of upperclassmen share their thoughts and experiences about finding a home in themselves and at St. Edward’s.

-Photos by Emily Blasdell