The New Paltz Oracle, Volume 82, Issue 12

Village Mayor Terry Dungan enters local rehabilitation

center after strokeSTORY ON PAGE 6

NEW PALTZ ORACLEoracle.newpaltz.eduVolume 82, Issue XII Thursday, February 10, 2011

PHOTO BY MAXIM ALTER

Dog purchased with college funds to shoo geese from campus

SEE STORY ON PAGE 3

INSIDE THE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

THE

BORDER PATROLBORDER BORDER

After a two-day process to transfer the do-mestic geese living on college grounds to a new home, Director of Environmental Health and Safety Mike Malloy followed through with plans to establish a goose-free SUNY New Paltz using college funds to purchase a trained border collie.

Costing a total of $5,500 from the col-lege’s maintenance and repair reserve, Augie was picked up at Big Bend Farm in Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 15, by Malloy and will be used to herd Canada geese when they begin visiting the campus in early March.

Prior to Augie’s purchase, Malloy and a team of campus grounds workers, - as well as an-imal rescue volunteers and representatives from the New Paltz-based animal protection organiza-tion Wildlife Watch, - were tasked with rounding up the 25 domestic geese living on campus. They would be shipped to Nancy Pikulik, the owner of a waterfowl rescue farm in Delaware called Wings of Hope.

“Nancy not only said she could take all of [the geese], but we were happy to see that [Wings of Hope] was really the best place for them,” said Anne Muller, president of Wildlife Watch. “I know it will help with the border collie

This way, they’re in a place where they can be happy.”

During the “round-up” and shipment pro-cess of the domestic geese, Malloy said great lengths were taken to ensure the safety and hu-mane treatment of each bird.

After gathering them in a pen, Malloy said he remained overnight in the Student Union ad-jacent to the geese to keep guard.

The following morning, a horse trailer lined with hay for bedding was used to transport the geese to Delaware, where they were given leg bands to identify them amongst Pikulik’s 27 resi-dent geese.

“It was a sight to see our geese intermingle with her existing domestic geese,” Malloy said. “Understand these geese have never seen any other domestic geese besides their own group. It was loud and exciting.”

er, Malloy said veterinary care, including medi-cation and preventative costs, will be donated by Dr. Michael J. Halstead, owner of the Lake Katrine Animal Hospital. Food costs, however, will be paid for by the Environmental Health and Safety operating budget.

While Malloy believes the geese were not safe living on campus and were a constant prob-lem for the facility and cleanliness, others have disagreed.

Steven Berkowitz, the geese were welcomed members to the campus community and their re-moval was uncalled for.

“I cannot imagine a dog trained to be threat-ening being any less disruptive or noisy than geese that were just trying to live in a nice en-vironment,” he said. “Also, isn’t this school in debt? Why would an educational institution cut classes but buy an expensive and undoubtedly menacing dog?”

However, Malloy said costs will not be an issue and will quickly be recovered by savings resulting from discontinued clean-up expenses that were once spent on the removal of goose fe-ces from the school’s turf.

According to Malloy, purchasing Augie was also a much better solution for removing the geese than a possible alternative method.

“The previous proposal was $85,000 to ‘hu-manely’ destroy the domestic geese and feed the local human food shelters and have a dog service for three years,” he said. “I found an actual home where the domestic geese are being cared for, so I think it is a win win situation.”

Malloy said becoming Augie’s guardian was an adjunct function he volunteered for and he will still maintain his regular job duties as di-rector of Environmental Health and Safety.

Malloy plans to allow Augie time to patrol for geese during breaks in his own schedule, which will mostly be around 6:30 a.m. and later during the day at 5 p.m.

“His routine will be to herd any Canada geese that may land on campus, typically around the ponds,” Malloy said. “I will be joining him

with my kayak on the largest pond to help herd the geese. The geese look at him as a predator

Malloy said he has also taken steps in in-troducing Augie to students and members of the faculty during Resident Assistant (RA) training week over winter break.

“This will help people feel more comfort-able with a dog off leash running around our ponds,” Malloy said. “I wanted to ensure I fol-lowed up with my promise to the campus of ob-taining a dog to help with the goose problem, and to do what was right for our domestic geese.”

At the meeting, Malloy said he informed students and staff not to stare directly into Au-gie’s eyes because border collies have a tendency to use their stare to intimidate sheep and geese into herding.

Although Augie has a very friendly person-ality, Malloy said he recommends students only glance at his eyes and avoid long periods of con-tact so as to not make him feel intimidated.

Since there are currently no Canada geese on campus to shoo, Malloy said Augie might have a tendency to want to herd the duck.

But with some training, Malloy said, Augie will soon know to avoid them altogether.

“He will learn from me what I want him to herd, through voice, whistle, commands and food rewards for good behavior,” Malloy said. “He will understand after a while what I want him to do. He is a very smart dog.”

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The New Paltz Oracle Pg 3NEWS

By Maxim AlterManaging Editor | [email protected]

Augie the Border Collie Arrives on Campus

PHOTO BY LAURA LUENGASDirector of Environmental Health and Safety Mike Malloy demonstrated Augie’s abilities on campus ducks.


The New Paltz OraclePg 4 NEWS

The 51st student senate denied an appeal and elected two students to the Budget and Fi-

of the semester on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Club Soccer President Jonathan Reynolds

stood before the legislative body and appealed to re-gain access to the club’s line item bud-get this semester after the Student Associa-tion (SA) Executive Board (E-board) froze the club’s account in December 2010.

-ed hotel stay for a soccer tournament, the hotel

that at the time, the club members did not have the money to pay for it.

When the SA E-board was contacted by

it because of the collective opinion that it was unfair to use “student money to be paying for something they shouldn’t be doing in the

-chez.

members of the team paid part of the fee, Reyn-

SA, but Sanchez said the fee was paid on Dec. 10 after two deadline extensions and multiple attempts at contacting Reynolds were made.

prevented him from staying in contact with

Sanchez, Sen. Kaitlyn Day and other members of the legislative body thought he could have

“He should have delegated power if he

Day. Although the appeal was denied, the case

near future. After a brief discussion, the legislative

to BFC.SA Vice President Eve Stern announced

that gender-neutral bathrooms will be installed during Fall 2011.

The next general student senate meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 in Student

Student Senate Denies Club Appeal

By Pamela VivancoNews Editor | [email protected]

News

Briefs

National

An 80-year-old woman with a decades-long criminal history who was con-

victed of stealing a diamond ring worth -

partment store was sentenced Wednes-

was found guilty last month of burglary and grand theft in connection with the January 2010 incident at the Fashion Valley shopping center Macy’s. San Diego County Superior Court Judge

maximum sentence because she has several prior convictions for theft and

has been sent to prison twice.

*****

A health and gym teacher accused of sexual misconduct with several stu-dents at a southwest Ohio high school has resigned after being released from

-

32-year-old Stacy Schuler of Spring-boro on Tuesday on the condition that she wear an electronic monitoring

device and have no contact with unre-lated minors or high school students.

*****

suspected of holding up more than two

plead guilty. Prosecutors says 53-year-old Michael Francis Mara will plead guilty in a Richmond, Va., federal court

Thursday.

International Briefs on Page 5

PHOTO BY LAURA LUENGAS

Council of Orgs Fills Committee Positions

-ganizations meeting on Monday, Feb. 7, two representatives were elected to positions on the Budget and Finance Committee.

After a facilitated discussion and vote, -

to provide oversight to the Conference Line and the larger expenditures from General Programming, as well as write the initial draft to next year’s Student Association (SA) budget.

“These two candidates chosen are going to be the people who decide if you get mon-

Organizations Chair Shayna Bentley. “So it’s

SA Vice President of Academic Affairs --

getary shortfall and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s

State University system. Referencing potential cuts in course of-

ferings, Ryan said students should continue to stay educated on the situation.

about which programs they may cut, but it

Ryan. “Regardless or not if a program gets cut, across the board you’re probably going

to see class sizes get bigger and you’re go-ing to see less course sections offered. This is something we as students should really get

SA President Jennifer Sanchez informed

year students, of the impending arrival of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

Sanchez said the NSSE will help the ad-ministration better understand what students gain from their attendance at SUNY New Paltz, by studying answers from those who have recently started or are concluding their college career.

The next Council of Organizations meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 21.


Over 30 students were in attendance at Tuesday’s budget forum, organized by admin-istrators who hoped to explain how they were

by the college.

scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Student Union Multipurpose Room, was hosted by Interim President Donald Christian and Vice President of Finance and Administration Jack-ie DiStefano.

comparing the college’s operating budget to that of a household. DiStefano said that after “the economy went to hell in 2008,” the col-lege saw a loss in state taxpayer support, help-ing to create a budgetary shortfall.

Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined his $132.9 billion plan last week, Christian said

system may face a 10 percent reduction in its operating budget.

“We are still trying to understand the im-plications of the governor’s budget proposal,”

-tion on top of this.”

DiStefano said that as of Dec. 8, 2010, over $2.3 million in potential savings have

-cent of these reductions coming from the non-instructional budget. Changes include the consolidation and reorganization of adminis-trative functions, $400,000 savings in energy and service reductions at both the Sojourner Truth Library and the Samuel Dorsky Muse-um of Art. Over $380,000 in reductions could come from the instructional budget. Christian said different departments have proposed de-

creasing section sizes and the number of sec-tions offered for certain courses.

Administrators presented other options that may be explored as the budget planning process continues, including program elimi-nation, changes in course scheduling and aca-demic unit consolidation.

Peter Brown, professor of foreign lan-guages and vice president for Academics of the United University Professions union, said he was discouraged to see program elimina-tion as a possible scenario when reserve funds exist.

“It is the union’s contention that no pro-grams should be cut when we are sitting on money that is un-allocated,” he said.

But DiStefano said the generation of sur-plus funds is not guaranteed to continue at a constant rate, citing a decline in summer en-rollment as an example of how the generation of certain revenues can change.

Brown then asked about the nature of the planning process, saying that he felt it was “designed to minimize discussion” since par-

until April 22. Christian said announcing what pro-

grams are being considered for reduction or elimination before this date would generate ill will on campus.

“I don’t mean to sound heartless, but we all need to live with some ambiguity as the process continues,” he said. “Those in pro-grams mentioned to be targeted for elimina-tion would feel as though they have cross-hairs on their chest.”

However, Student Association Vice Pres-ident of Academic Affairs and Governance Caitlin Ryan said she still felt administrators should be more forthcoming as they make de-cisions about the future of different academic programs.

“It doesn’t seem like this process is en-tirely transparent,” she said. “We want to be a part of the decision making process, and that is what has been vocalized here tonight.”

Christian said he hoped to hear from other students in future budget forums this semester.

Jonathan Talmi, a third-year sociology major who attended Tuesday’s forum, said he hopes more students will take interest in how

“I feel like I understand that, like every-thing else, it’s politics,” he said. “Hopefully, with more organization, student leaders can reach out to others who couldn’t be here to-night.”

Water damages in the Jacobson Faculty Tower (JFT) took four days to repair after a bliz-zard on Sunday, Dec. 2.

northwest and west side of the 10-story building caused ceiling damages and soaked carpets in a

-ties and Operations Brian Pine.

Funded by the campus reserve funds, the total cost of the repairs was $56,000 said Jackie DiStefano, vice president of Finance and Admin-istration.

coils were replaced and repaired, water was ex-tracted from carpets and damaged areas were de-

“In addition, staff from our utility, custodial, environmental health and safety and computing

to the effort,” said DiStefano. According to Pine, damaged heat coils cre-

the high-voltage switch gear enclosure at the Old Library.

“This High Voltage transformer failure at the Old Library, create[d] a disruption in electri-

provides electricity to several college buildings including JFT,” said Pine. “Without service and the severe, freezing high winds that night, several

and split.” Although Pine considers school being out

for break a contributing factor to the rapid clean-up, he also said there is a “dedicated staff willing to pitch in and get the operations back in shape for occupancy.”

All damages caused by the blizzard were re-paired by the time JFT was scheduled to open in January 2011.



WorldBriefsInternational Haiti’s decision to eliminate the government-backed candidate from a presidential runoff won praise from foreign powers Thursday, and the U.S. and others signaled they would agree with President Rene Preval staying in

his term. The move ended a weekslong standoff with international donors.

*****

More than 22,700 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug war since a U.S.-backed military crackdown on cartels began more than three years ago, according to a government report. The report said 2009 was the deadliest year in the drug war, with 9,635 peo-ple killed in violence tied to organized crime. That compares to 2,837 in

Calderon’s military-led offensive.

*****

any more military talks with South

intent to improve relations marked by months of high tensions. Pyongyang put forth its tough stance a day after

killed four people.

Compiled from the AP Newswire

By Pamela [email protected]

By Julie [email protected]

“-

”

Following a course of acute rehabilitation at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New Paltz Village Mayor Terry Dungan ar-rived at the local retirement and rehabilitation center Woodland Pond on Friday, Jan. 28, to continue receiving treatment for a mild stroke he had on Christmas Day.

Dungan, who was unable to use his right

stroke, said he is now able to walk indepen-dently with a cane.

“Everybody’s stroke is different,” said Dungan. “Sometimes they’re fatal. Some-times they’re not. I’m really lucky – all things considered – with how mild my stroke was. Just the fact that I can talk...there are people that lose that for good.”

While in recovery, Dungan said he has been in constant contact with Deputy Mayor Jean Galucci in order to continue having an active role in mayoral duties.

Despite having the responsibilities of a full-time job, Galucci said she will continue to manage village affairs during Dungan’s re-covery, but has no intention of taking up any long-term projects until the mayor returns.

“I’m in communication with him every day,” Galucci said. “I think that his move to a new location during his recovery was a very positive one. He’s always been very motivat-ed, and it’s easier for him being closer to us.”

Dungan said Woodland Pond was recom-mended to him by his physical therapist at

Helen Hayes and has been an ideal facility to receive treatment. The recovery center is also

the village.According to Dungan, there are many

important initiatives that he hopes to follow through with during the remainder of his term, including the grant-funded project to replace the village’s double-barrel sewer liner.

“The sewer system requires constant re-porting to the [Department of Environmental Conservation],” he said. “If it’s not immedi-ate, it tends to be put back. Some things are essential long term and they’ve been put back too much already.”

With mayoral elections occurring this year, Dungan said it is too early to tell if he will be able to run for the position again.

In approximately six weeks, Dungan said he should know for sure whether or not he will be among other candidates in May.

a better sense of what I’m able to do and what kind of time constraints I will be under with outpatient therapy – I’ll make a decision then,” he said. “For now, I’m moving on the assumption that I’m running.”

After he completes his treatment at Woodland Pond in the near future, Dungan

easier to climb stairs then to walk at a straight level. So the stairs at Village Hall will not be a problem.”



Mayor Receiving Treatment at New Paltz Facility

Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist John Larson has been named the 10th James H. Ottaway Sr. Professor of Journalism this semester.

Larson will teach a seminar specializing in narrative storytell-ing through the use of multimedia by having students write a se-mester-long project that will be reported through the use of video, audio and other mediums.

“My goal is simple,” Larson said. “I want to help [the stu-dents] elevate their projects and teach them the power of narra-tive storytelling in journalism while helping them explore different ways to tell their story.”

Larson, who has won the duPont-Columbia and Peabody awards, was a correspondent for “Dateline NBC,” “NBC Nightly News” and “The Today Show” and has won 22 Emmy Awards.

-perience and accomplishment” that he believes showcase some of his most challenging work.

“The Paper Chase,” a 15-month investigative report for “Dateline NBC,” highlighted State Farm Insurance’s employment

to decrease costs.The report, which according to Larson affected thousands of

people, was awarded various journalism awards including a du-Pont-Columbia Silver Baton, a George Foster Peabody, the George Polk, the IRE for Investigative Reporting, the Loeb Award for Busi-ness Reporting and the Edward R. Murrow Award, among others.

Larson said he contacted SUNY New Paltz about the Ottaway Professorship after being contacted by the Poynter Institute.

This semester, students in the seminar will work on a semes-ter-long project of their choice, investigating their stories and col-lecting data while Larson helps them craft work assignment into different formats.

“The thing I am most excited about is to help these journalists

not only to them, but their audience,” Larson said. “I want to help them sharpen their tools in both reporting the information and tell-ing the story.”

Larson said that the students have approached him with dif-ferent ideas, which he called “compelling” and “out of the box.”

Third-year journalism major Julia Amberg said Larson has al-ready helped her with the interview process as well as with techni-cal issues in their one meeting.

“I think I can learn a lot from him,” Amberg said. “I went into there with two less than great ideas and he shaped them in a lot of different ways.”

Amberg said she will be working on a project called “Search--

ter and the The Nocturnals. Students’ stories will be told through various mediums includ-

ing audio projects, video and documentary. The use of multimedia is something Larson believes is important but doesn’t change the core element – writing.

“Good writing is good writing regardless of the medium,” Larson said. “The shape and size of the writing changes depend-ing on the platform you’re choosing but the thought and the sense of what a powerful story can be is something that stretches across mediums.”


Emmy-Award Winner Teaching Ottaway SeminarBy Andrew WyrichSports Editor | [email protected]

PHOTO BY MAXIM ALTERAfter a mild stroke on Christmas Day, Mayor Dungan is recovering at Woodland Pond.


New York state is facing a $6.3 billion

students.

relocated.

John [email protected]

tions.

separate entities.

John [email protected]

Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, was faced with large crowds of protesters on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

After weeks of unrest and calls for a revolution on Facebook, the people of

-try has seen, and rapidly took to the streets, calling for Mubarak to step down as presi-dent after holding the title for 29 years.

“I’m excited about it, and I’m very proud,” said Reem Khedr, a fourth-year international student from the American University in Cairo who came to study jour-nalism at SUNY New Paltz on Jan. 19, less than a week before the revolution began. “I have never seen anything like it.”

The people of Egypt have had to deal with many setbacks that began shortly after the protests.

Since nearly 40-million Egyptians took to the streets, the Egyptian government took away the ability to access social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, which left many citizens enraged and brought the rev-olution to national attention, thus urging po-litical commentators from all over the world to give their assessments of the issue. The United States in particular, has had many people asking why its people should care.

“Why should people care? Oh my goodness, there are so many reasons,” said Professor Lewis Brownstein of the political science department. “First off, Egypt is the center of the Arab world, and it makes up two thirds of all Arabs. It’s a country that has a history that goes back 5,000 years…

treaty with Israel, it controls the Suez Ca-

least in the Arab world. The United States has invested billions of dollars since their peace treaty with Israel and we have very

close ties to the regime.”While the revolution in Egypt has in-

spired hope amongst many, it has also left many with anxiety, uncertainty and a con-stant fear that they may never see loved ones again.

“Unfortunately, the situation is that my family is hiding out in places that aren’t their own homes and if they need grocer-ies they can’t leave the house. If they leave,

--

dent who has family in Egypt. While the outcries for Mubarak to step

down are mainly geared towards political anger, Arsanious said the religious aspect is important as well.

“What the news doesn’t tell you is that [Hosni Mubarak is] actually saving all of the Christians who live in Egypt. The only thing the news is telling you is the political aspect, but people should also look at how Mubarak has also protected the Christians for so long,” said Arsanious.

Additionally, there is the televised idea that if Mubarak were to refuse stepping down, he would be taken out by force by the Muslim Brotherhood (which is and has been a large presence in Egypt) who could take over, resulting in Israel being completely surrounded by enemies, which according to Brownstein is “entirely too speculative.”

“We don’t know what’s going to hap-pen tomorrow, much less what’s going to happen down the road,” said Brownstein. “If I were forced to the wall on this ques-tion, I would doubt very much that Egypt could become a Sudan or an Iran for exam-ple. It just doesn’t have the same traditions and it is not the same kind of society.”

Khedr agrees and said he does not think it will ever happen.

“...Egyptians are now very aware of what’s happening, and I don’t think they will let an Islamist regime come into power. I think it’s an over-exaggeration,” Khedr said.



Egyptian Protests Raise DiscussionsBy Cat TacopinaCopy Editor | [email protected]

ACROSS FROM THE BUS STATION

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PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.1.BP.BLOGSPOT.COMEgyptian citizens began protesting on Tuesday, Jan. 25 in an effort to create politcal change.

The GUNK

Dr. MARY BOYLELifetime Achievement Award and Scholarship Dedicated to Music Therapist

Story on page 6B

PLUS...STUDENTS IN DEBT

Credit cards create fi nancial trouble

VALENTINE’S DAYTips for cost-friendly,

low-pressure datesREGIONAL POETRY SLAM

Schools compete with words at SUNY New Paltz

‘BLACK SWAN’Aronofsky keeps

audiences on their toes

AND MORE!

Thursday, FEBRUARY 10, 2011

PHOTO COUTESY

OF PETR

A KERN


With the passing of the 2010 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (also known as the Credit CARD Act) new laws are now in place designed to protect consumers from common tricks and schemes credit card com-panies employ to pile on debt to unsuspecting consumers.

Not the least of those consumers are college students, who typically show a disregard for the seriousness surround-ing credit card debt, and the effect said debt can have on their credit.

In fact, a recent Sallie Mae study showed that debt among college students is averaged at just over $3,000, with a whopping 82 percent of college students revolving debt each month.

Professor Theodore A. Clark, whose area of expertise is in market research and consumer behavior, warns against the dangers of abusing a credit card, and the lasting effect that it can have on one’s credit.

“If you have access to a credit card and use that credit card ineffectively or incorrectly, it can cause a mountain of debt that will stick with you for years after you’ve left col-lege,” said Clark. “Students need to understand whether it may be employment, getting a home or going to school, it’s your everything. It’s the one thing, I think, that will follow you your whole life.”

Navigating safely through the world of credit cards, interest rates, fees and credit scores can be tricky, but there are a few things that students can do to avoid being

trapped in a cycle of debt.“Many students make the mistake of accepting cards

with credit limits that are too high,” said Clark. “A card with a manageable limit makes sense. In addition, students need to either pay the balance in full each month or pay more than the minimum because the minimum creates too many interest charges and increases the debt if not paid monthly.”

Clark said another mistake students make is to have more than one credit card and use cash advances to pay the second card.

Dan Sistarenik, director of Financial Aid agrees, said credit cards should never be used for large purchases, and should always be paid off by the end of the month.

“Some use them for convenience or small emergencies but they can easily add up and get out of hand if not re-paid in full, monthly,” said Sistarenik.

Jacqueline Bahr, a fourth-year electrical engineering ma-jor, is not a stranger to the trouble that can go along with having a credit card.

When she got one shortly after she graduated from high school, she thought having it would make her more respon-sible, but was never made aware of exactly how damaging credit card debt could be.

“I was aware of that possibility, but I didn’t understand how serious it was,” Bahr said. “I was only 18 and I was too immature to care about my credit score. I thought it could

Another way credit card companies prey on uninformed consumers is through fees. The new Credit CARD Act re-

duces the amount of fees that a credit card can apply to any given billing cycle;; no charging over-limit fees unless the cardholder elects to allow purchases which go over their limit and can only charge one over-limit fee per billing cycle, no charging cardholders for paying a balance i.e. over the phone,

cannot exceed 25 percent of the card’s limit.Still, Bahr said these new regulations do not, and will

not, stop credit card companies from slyly charging fees for reasons only they can explain.

“People should watch out for that,” Bahr said. “After I paid my bill in full, they tried to add additional late fees and interest. I guess they didn’t think I was smart enough to ar-gue about it because it was very easy to get them to waive the fee. They will try to get away with anything that you allow them to.”

Credit cards can be excellent tools to use when trying

cardholder does not appraise themselves of the user agree-ment they sign when they open the account. Also, students should never consider charging their education to a credit card.

“Student loans are far better choices than any credit cards

in-school deferment of payment and even some cancellation -

terest is also tax deductible. Grants are the best form of aid as they don’t have any re-payment. We never recommend credit cards.”

2B | FEATURES The New Paltz Oracle

Despite regulation passed in the 2010 Credit CARD Act, credit card debt for college students remains at an all time high. PHOTO BY MAEVE HALLIDAY

By Samantha Huertas

Copy Editor | [email protected]

STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME DANGERS OF SPENDING

College Credit

Crisis

COMMUNITY FEATUREFEATURES

SUNY New Paltz played host to the Regional Po-etry Slam this past Saturday, Feb. 5. Along with the New Paltz team, emerging in fourth place, slammers came from Wesleyan, SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Geneseo to compete.

The slam opened with a performance by renowned Slam Poet Jeanann Verlee, who presented from her

book through Write Bloody Publishing, titled “Racing Hummingbirds,” and has since earned the Indepen-dent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal in Poetry.

Verlee said that though she has new material, she’s planning to take her time before releasing another full manuscript. However, readers should look for her new chapbook “Calliope” at the end of the month.

The Master of Ceremonies for the night was Ian

Khadan, a veteran slam poet and coach from New Jersey.

According to Khadan, what is important to note for non-slammers and writers alike when they take to

explosive, engaging and often accessible art form in the moment, there’s a lot of work that goes into the writing and performance of a poem.

Khadan said the featured poet, Jeanann Verlee, drew attention to the virtues of the art.

“You have to be in awe of what she’s doing on the stage,” Khadan said, “it’s because she spends so much time carefully crafting every one of those minutes.”

Each of the four teams sent up scores of writers and performers who held their hearts out to the ran-domly selected judges. Each judge would give the poem a performance score between one and 10 and the team with the greatest number of points ended up victorious.

At the end of the night, the all women team from

second, SUNY Geneseo taking third and SUNY New Paltz in fourth.

EVENT FEATURE

Slam is a Feast, Poetry ServedNEW PALTZ WELCOMES RIVAL TEAMS AND GUEST POET JEANANN VERLEE


By Katherine SpellerCopy Editor | [email protected]

The New Paltz Oracle FEATURES | 3B

...she spends so much time carefully crafting every one of those minutes”

-IAN KHADAN

“

For a holiday focused on love and affection, Febru-ary 14 is a day often looked upon with profound disdain and a sense of dread. Besides

Hallmark holiday, Valentine’s

expectations and a stressful

its bad reputation, Valentine’s Day can be a fun occasion for

tionship – the trick is remov-

aren’t necessary. Unless you two lovebirds are pretty seri-

there’s no need for roses or

just as romantic and far less

on a laid back date. To break it down a little further, here are

date ideas.

Blockbuster or on s

each other’s tastes and sense of humor bet-

compatible movie taste, because as John Cusack tells us in the classic ‘90s

“...what really matters is what you like, not what you

want to reevaluate your date.

is another fun way to spend

meal, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper. Choose a meal that’s delicious and uncomplicated,

serve the dual purpose of

in food (unless that’s what you’re into). If you feel like

dessert. For those who feel completely lost in a kitchen, have cheese fondue for dinner and chocolate fondue for des-sert.

If dinner or a movie sounds far too humdrum, opt

will provide a nice rush of endorphins to help smooth

jitters, and the experience

later. New Paltz’s

place, the Inner Wall, located

in the Rite Aid Plaza, is of-

the Sunday before Valentine’s

fordable as it is fun. Even if neither you or your date have ever rock climbed before, have no fear;; the Inner Wall caters to all levels of experi-

perience. Call The Inner Wall at 845-255-ROCK for more information.

Our last alternative date idea comes courtesy of third-

Reutershan who recommends

with your Valentine. While seasonal snow play is always

frostbite in any sensitive ar-eas. Afterwards, head into town for some hot chocolate at slash/Root or Valentine’s-

themed Moxie cup-cakes at Caf-eteria.

HOLIDAY FEATURE

Love Don’t Cost A Thing YOUR GUIDE TO A LOW-BUDGET, STRESS-FREE VALENTINE’S DAY

By Maeve Halliday

Features Editor |

The recipe below is ridiculously simple and calls

This recipe makes 12 cookies.

Ingredients:

Directions:

handle, make a heart-shaped indentation in the cen-ter of each. Fill each with 1/4 teaspoon preserves.

Optional addition: Melt white or milk chocolate chips and a little canola oil in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, and drizzle over cookies for extra oomph. Recipe adapted from

4B | FEATURES The New Paltz Oracle


Maeve With L ve

By Maeve Halliday

Features Editor

on a laid back date. To break it down a little further, here are

s

because as John Cusack tells us in the classic ‘90s

“...what really matters is what you like, not what you

want to reevaluate your date.

is another fun way to spend

jitters, and the experience

later. New Paltz’s

place, the Inner Wall, located

themed Moxie cup-cakes at Caf-eteria.

Maeve With L

PHOTO COURTESTY

OF

PHOTO COURTESY OF BESEN-

When “Dead Space 2” was released, something mi-raculous happened — video games actually became scary again.

Ever since “next generation” consoles be-gan spewing out generic survival and action hor-ror titles, each masked with equal layers of testos-

actually make you squirm with fear became almost impossible. “Resident Evil” turned into “Gears of War.” “Silent

Hill” devolved into that bad episode of “General Hospital” where Robert fell into a coma. And don’t even get me start-

Wake.” I still have nightmares from the boredom.With its predecessor “Dead Space” lacking in variety

and requiring the main character Isaac Clarke to constant-ly backtrack his way into the same scripted scares, Elec-tronic Arts and Visceral’s newest installment does the opposite. “Dead Space 2” keeps you moving through

with some of the scariest monsters only a team of incredibly sick human beings could invent.

vilian bubble built into one of Saturn’s moons.

doned “planet cracker” like the USG Ishimura from the initial installment, Isaac must navi-gate a massive station that was once home to happy families, supermalls and daycares. That’s right, there are evil babies.

Isaac hasn’t escaped from what he thought was once destroyed. His nightmare has

his own sanity while trying to destroy the illusion of his dead girlfriend that haunts his mind. Is she really talking to

tion? Or perhaps, is it an alien marker trying to trick him so he can’t foil its evil plot a second time?

In this round, Isaac isn’t only equipped with a full arsenal of goodies. He has a voice and it’s an incredibly interesting one. The player can now not only become Isaac, but care about

him as well. He’s smart, clever and has balls of steel. But best of all, his gadgets get the job done as long as you’ve got the ammo to use them.

What really makes “Dead Space 2” so frightening is its incredible design. There is absolutely no way to tell when and where the next baddy is going to jump out at you. The level structure is so intricate and detailed, not a single moment can be predicted. But best of all, it’s not the enemy that’s in front of you that you should be worried about. It’s the one you can’t hear that’s slowly sneaking up behind you that always man-ages to require you to pause the game and rush to your un-derwear drawer.

All of the best necromorphs – or reanimated corpses – are back and they’re even a few extra foes to look out for. The scariest of all are called “stalkers” and they do exactly what you think they do. When Isaac enters a big room, you can al-

They hide behind boxes and other large structures just wait-ing for you, watching you like easy prey. You can only see them if you look carefully enough to notice their heads peek-ing over, begging you to make the next move. If you don’t time your movements perfectly, these Jurassic Park-inspired creatures will dash at you faster than you can say “Steven Spielberg.” And not surprising in the least, when you survive

“Clever Girls.” Another nice addition to the franchise is the improve-

ment of zero gravity gameplay. Isaac can now move through the vacuum of space with more freedom than ever before. But, like many things in “Dead Space 2,” space can also pro-vide a very painful death. Windows located throughout envi-ronments are incredibly fragile and when shooting at necro-morphs, it’s wise to carefully aim your shots. One misplaced

attribute and contains some of the greatest detail of any video game to date. Somehow, the masterminds behind the sound

noise like a morning alarm clock or a drippy faucet to make the player sweat with pure, unadulterated fear.

“Dead Space 2” can only be experienced one way: with the volume turned way up and lights turned way down. Not even the bravest person would be able to leave that room emotionally intact, and that’s a guarantee. It’s a true test of character to see how long one can last without whimpering when navigating the sadistically designed hallways of the Sprawl. Visceral has now set the standard for how horror games should be made. Bring on “Dead Space 3.”

VIDEO GAME REVIEW



The New Paltz Oracle ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 5B

‘Dead Space 2’ Reanimates GenreEA AND VISCERAL’S NEWEST VENTURE ENHANCES THE SURVIVAL HORROR EXPERIENCE

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT&

PROFESSOR FEATURE

After teaching music therapy for al-most 30 years at SUNY New Paltz, Dr. Mary Boyle was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Music Therapy Association this past November in Cleveland, Ohio, something Boyle said she never expect-ed. She was also completely unaware of the nomination.

“I didn’t think I would receive the award but I’m really happy,” she said. “I feel wonderful. It is a wonderful award recognizing what my contribution was

therapy.”Boyle has been a part of music ther-

apy in some way since high school, after her piano teacher insisted she become a music therapist. Although Boyle was un-aware what a music therapist did at the time, she received a grant to study at The University of Kansas one summer. She studied with B. Thayer Gaston there, who Boyle said is considered to be the founder of music therapy in America. Afterwards, she studied at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University where she received both her Master’s and Doctorate degrees.

She began to teach at SUNY New Paltz in 1981 after working at a few hos-pitals, becoming a professor and eventu-ally the director of the Music Therapy Program. She became involved in many different areas, including head of the Mu-sic Therapy Graduate Program as well as chair of the Music Department.

In December 2010, Boyle decided to retire;; however, she is still currently working with some students to help them with their theses. Boyle is assisting them in their research, including working with music to replace medication for anxiety issues.

“We help people choose their favor-ite music and breathe with it, almost like hypnotizing yourself,” she said. “You have to think about breathing with the rhythm of the piece. It takes a little while to do but then it’s really refreshing. It’s

almost like a nap.”With Boyle’s retirement, the Music

Therapy Graduate Program and the Mu-sic Department held a celebration honor-ing her on Dec. 15, 2010. At the recep-tion, Boyle learned that SUNY New Paltz formed the Dr. Mary Boyle Scholarship. Although all of the criteria for the schol-arship have yet to be determined, it will be granted to a music therapy student se-lected by Boyle.

“I’d be looking for a person who re-ally cares about people, is a good musi-

cian and who has a vision to create new things,” she said. “A lot of music thera-pists are very creative and some are or-ganized and some aren’t. Organizational ability counts. I’d think there are so many people who would be great but we haven’t got that much money. Hopefully we can get more money into the fund.”

Third-year music therapy major Emma Hempel worked with Boyle in a number of settings, as Boyle was her pro-fessor and advisor, as well as assisting her with Music Therapy Club, which Hempel

is now president. Hempel said Boyle was the reason she decided to attend SUNY New Paltz after meeting the professor during her music therapy audition and Boyle answered questions and gave her a tour of the music building.

“I ended up speaking with her for

knew New Paltz was the place for me. Dr. Boyle made me feel at home and at ease with my new career choice,” said Hem-pel. “Dr. Boyle was the backbone of the music therapy department. I know that I am not the only one who is grieving the loss of her as a professor and advisor here at SUNY New Paltz.”

With the scholarship and the award, Boyle said she didn’t realize how happy it would make her.

“It was really moving. It was one of the biggest moments of my life, actual-ly,” she said. “With the audience cheer-ing, someone started a wave while I was speaking in the end — it went all over the

was great.”-

apy graduate student, also studied with Boyle. She said that she is extremely lucky to have studied with her.

“Upon going to a conference last year, I found out that Mary Boyle is a very popular name among a lot of music therapists everywhere. Her contribution

as I take on my future career, I will feel lucky to have gotten to study with her,”

her retire and move on from SUNY New Paltz, but she has laid the foundation for an amazing program for both under-graduate and graduate studies in music therapy.”

After three decades, Boyle said she really loved teaching at New Paltz.

“I think that New Paltz is a very open place with different ideas and is a lot of fun. I think the arts element is really great,” she said. “It’s beautiful geographi-cally, and that creates an ambiance where you can really create and feel free. I really love that about New Paltz.”


The New Paltz Oracle6B | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SUNY New Paltz recently began the Dr. Mary Boyle Scholarship in the professor’s honor.

By Zan StrumfeldA&E Editor | [email protected]

PHOTO COURTESY OF PETRA KERN

A Lifetime of Music and HealingMUSIC THERAPY PROFESSOR DR. MARY BOYLE RECEIVES HONOR & ADMIRATION

For those of you who might have decid-ed to dismiss The Decemberists after 2009’s Hazards of Love (myself included), it’s time to jump back on the winter train and listen to The King is Dead. Released in January 2011, this album is an orgasmically great start to the new year. The 10-track record is

additions – including paying homage to The Smiths and R.E.M., as well as sounding ri-diculously like Neil Young with smooth trac-es of Bob Dylan. It’s beautifully collaborated folk, dance and bluegrass that is uncontrol-lably addicting.

The Decemberists offer a refreshing taste of a more American roots-based album with The King is Dead. Because they turn to a folkier sound, they’ve traded in their lyri-cal ballads of fantastical metaphors for some simpler one-liners, like “You were waking/ Day was breaking/ A panoply of song/ The summer comes to Springville” off “June Hymn.” This works, and shouldn’t be seen as lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy’s attempt

to dumb down his lyrics. It just tends to work better in the sort of genre they’re going for on this record.

“Don’t Carry it All” begins the record with a blaring harmonica and Meloy’s nasaly voice introducing, “Here we come to a turn-ing of the season.” It is such an inviting track to open with, drawing the audience with its repetitive drum beat and soothing strings. Perfect harmonies enhance each vocal line, especially on tracks like “Calamity Song” and “This Is Why We Fight.”

Like a typical Decemberists theme, “Rox in the Box” sounds like splashy days at sea, swarming with pirates and scurvy;; however, the lyrics depict the working class

socks/This bulkhead’s built of fallen breth-ren’s bones.”

Two tracks on the album, “January Hymn” and “June Hymn” bring about pas-toral ballads that older Decemberists can be known for, like “California One/ Youth and Beauty Brigade” off of 2002’s Castaways and Cutouts. Slowing down the pace of the

album, these songs are classic beauties. “Down By The Water” is very reminis-

cent of R.E.M’s “One I Love,” with a simi-lar melody that works out pretty well, taking in the fact that R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck plays on three tracks on the album. Since R.E.M. is littered all over the album, you can’t help feeling that plentiful nostalgia of the early ‘90s.

Although there are no fairies or allegori-

something that many Decemberists fans may be upset about, The King is Dead is a solid release. It’s riding high on that neo-folk/blue-grass ship that new artists are drowning in ev-eryday. And even if this album’s not working for you now, oh man, think about how sick it’s going to be in the summer. Car windows down, shorts, suntans. Yes.

“Rox in the Box’s” catchy chorus sings, “And if you ever make it to 10 you won’t make it again,” but that’s bullshit because hell yeah, Decemberists made it to 10 and I have no doubt they’ll make it again.

MUSIC REVIEW

Darren Aronofsky is a gifted destructor. I’ve come to realize that no one can maim, dis-

cally and mentally, like he can. He takes them to a level seldom attained, stressing mind and body to their breaking point, all for our en-tertainment. It’s his calling and his latest cin-ematic venture “Black Swan” is a crowning example.

“Black Swan” tells the story of a wom-an’s struggle to master the coveted lead in a professional production of “Swan Lake,” all the while pushing herself further into insanity.

of the ballet it portrays, creating a dark mir-ror between the two, distorting reality from art and art from reality. A visceral, visual delight with Tchaikovsky’s iconic and haunting score a la Clint Mansell backing it all up, “Black

Swan” makes a day at the cinema physical

ther tears them apart and the viewer feels it as well. The striking, almost alien motions they go through can only be described as hypnotiz-ing and shudder-inducing.

Natalie Portman takes on her role with maddening grace;; losing herself in the strict demands of her art all the while slowly los-ing herself. She is challenged at every turn, whether to come out of her innocence and supersede her fellow dancers or to achieve in-dependence from her creepily severe and cod-dling mother. The chemistry between Portman and co-star Mila Kunis is readily apparent and the two successfully pull off one of the most seductive scenes in recent cinema history.

ematic companion piece, “Black Swan” is a tale of one’s art becoming one’s life, and in many ways more important than life itself. It

is this devotion to a craft, even to the point where all else is secondary, that is a power-ful concept and Aronofsky has taken his spe-cialty to another level. The erotic and dramatic wardrobe of the dancers is gorgeous and has successfully transformed me into a ballet man.

“Black Swan” skillfully disturbs as it entertains, blowing away any preconceptions that ballet is anything but a beautiful, ardu-ous art of struggle. Portman portrays a young woman’s downfall stunningly and the physi-cal lengths she went to for the role, including mastering ballet in such a short period of time, are worthy of much note.

senses and simply bleeds an engrossing creep-

comfortable, a feat hard to achieve, but I hap-pily embraced it. See “Black Swan” and watch someone raze themself with poise.


The New Paltz Oracle ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 7B

Decemberists Deliver‘THE KING IS DEAD’ CONSTRUCTS A CONCEPT-FREE ALBUM

By Ryan Patrick Hanrahan

Copy Editor | [email protected]

By Zan Strumfeld

A&E Editor | [email protected]

1. What is your instrument of choice? Why?Guitar, mainly gypsy guitar. I didn’t really think about

it when I picked it up but I’m glad I did because it’s

capable of a lot of things. It’s used to play harmonies

and melodies and percussion, in some cases.

2. When and how did you start playing? 2004, when I was a sophomore in high school. My

friend had a guitar and I wanted one so I got one. I

took lessons from this guy who was really into metal.

When I was a kid I never thought I could play like

people on T.V. but he really inspired me to play and

then I went to Schenectady Community College (SCC)

after I took lessons with him.

3. Do you write your own music?Not really, no. I don’t write songs but I’m constantly

making up music when I play with people.

4. Who are you currently listening to? Do you incor-porate them into whatever music you play?Jim Hall, Bill Evans and David Bowie. I’ve been lis-

tening to them a lot and learning their solos by ear.

5. What are you involved in on/off-campus that is music related?I’m in a trio with Vince Tampio and Chris Day-

ton called the Post-Modern Jazz Trio and we play at

Mohonk and Beacon and 36 Main, places like that. I

play with Ben Basile in his groups too. I’m also do-

ing Tommy in the Spring. I was also involved with the

2009 SUNY New Paltz Holiday Special. I’m currently

planning my senior recital. It’s going to be at Shepard

Recital Hall featuring Vinnie Martucci.

6. What do you plan on doing with your degree?Right now I’m trying [with a group of musicians] to

get jobs at resorts and cruise ships. I want to travel and

play and go somewhere. That’s about it though, as far

as I thought about it.

MUSICIAN OF THE WEEK:

YEAR: FourthMAJOR: Jazz StudiesHOMETOWN: Albany, N.Y.

Mike Marchese

Check out video foot-

age of Mike Marchese

playing guitar at

oracle.newpaltz.edu or scan the QR code

with a free app on any

smartphone!

Dancing With Madness‘BLACK SWAN’ SPREADS ITS WINGS GLORIOUSLY IN THEATRES

MOVIE REVIEW

Heather Loveland


The New Paltz Oracle Pg 9OPINION

Take a look at your Tumblr dash-board. Visit your favorite blog. Or, dare we say it, read a newspaper. In all of

-ful, iconic images of Egyptian protest-ers, voicing their dissatisfaction with their leader of nearly 30 years. You will see people standing for a cause on a large scale level. You will see history in the making.

Was Mubarak an Americam ally? Is he still? What is actually happening in Egypt? What news outlets can we trust? These questions have been debated for weeks on end. However, there is one sig-

coverage of the Egyptian protests that

young people around the world should take note of: a cause was promoted on a large-scale level through Twitter, Face-book and other forms of social media.

It’s all well and good to update your Facebook status when your classes are canceled because of snow, or tweet about how sick you were all week. But think about who is reading these updates: your best friends, that girl you saw in high

even people you don’t know.Why not use this lightning-fast form

of communication to promote something you believe in?

Social media outlets allow for mem-bers of the global community to become

connected to create a group, invite your virtual friends, who can invite their friends, who may invite theirs...chain re-actions, made possible by a few clicks of a mouse.

This almost frightening, fairly new power we have to reach one another can be used for something we believe in. We should admire our Egyptian peers for their persistence and spirit to orga-nize. But, let us recognize that it can all start simply.

Maybe we young Americans don’t want to call for an overthrow of our gov-ernment (but, maybe some of us do). But maybe we do have problems with the management of our national debt,

or Gov. Cuomo’s proposed cuts to the SUNY system or the possible elimina-tions of programs here at our own col-lege. If we do, let’s speak out - even if it is online. If our words are powerful enough, we can’t predict who will read them and if they will take action.

Letters to the editor can be submitted to [email protected] or via mail to Student Union 417 by 5 p.m. on Sundays.

We ask that letters are no more than 250 words, due to spacial limitations.

Editorials represent the views of the majority of the editorial board. Col-umns, op-eds and letters, excluding editorials, are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The New Paltz Oracle, its staff members, the campus and university or the Town or Village of New Paltz.

CARTOON BY DEREK ZIMMERMANN

A WORLD OF SOCIAL CHANGE

Feb. 11-12 Nazareth Tournament Feb. 15 v.s. Hunter College Feb. 17 at SUNYIT

Even though it’s only February, the Men’s Volleyball team has their sights set on March and hopefully a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Division championship. The Hawks, who are currently 4-5,

needed to adjust to their new division and rules in addition to working on their team chemistry in their young season.“We started off well,” Head Coach

Radu Petrus said. “It’s a long season, anything is possible.”

comers, - two or three of which are start-ing, - Petrus said creating team chemistry and game-like situations have been a fo-cus of early practices. In addition to the new players, the

Hawks have had to adjust to a new rule changing the winning point total of a match from 30 points to 25. Petrus said

that this adjustment has been “tricky” because losing possession of the ball can now make or break a match. Due to this new rule, Petrus believes

that putting pressure on his players as if

player’s development into higher level players, but admits that this aggressive

“Some players are not comfortable with the pressure,” Petrus said. “But we have to prepare for the higher level teams.” The Hawks will head into the Naza-

reth Tournament on Feb. 11 and face top ranked teams such as Medaille College, Thiel College and the University of Cali-fornia, Santa Cruz. After the tournament, the Hawks will have six games before they head to the Vassar Crossover in ear-ly March. During their practices, Petrus said that

the team has been working on perfecting their defense, and taking advantage of

the team’s height. According to Petrus, this year’s team is the tallest in SUNY New Paltz history. “My expectation is high because we

are taller,” Petrus said. “We work on blocking everyday in practice, and my expectation is to be better.” Petrus said that practices have con-

sisted of him having players try different positions, a puzzle he hopes will lead to a perfect combination and a UVC cham-pionship.

put together the best group of six to eight players,” Petrus said. Besides working on their technique,

Petrus said that he has been relying on the upperclass players to help create a sense of identity and unity on the team. Third-year captain Kevin Stross be-

lieves that to achieve the goals set out early in the season the team needs to re-alize it’s talent, and work on their chem-istry.

“We have to play together, we aren’t clicking,” Stross said. “We have a lot of talent, once we establish some chemistry we should be better.” Petrus agrees on the team’s potential

and believes that over time and practices each individual player will elevate their play to what he believes it can be. “We lost some games by one ball,”

and defense, if we elevate that we can be winners.”


The New Paltz Oracle Pg 11SPORTS

SIGHTS

SET By Andrew Wyrich Sports Editor | [email protected]

Swimmer Becky Baker

SETS PERSONAL BESTS

Page 13

PHOTO BY ANDREW WYRICHThe Hawks will face Medaille College, Thiel College and the University of California, Santa Cruz in the Nazareth Tournament.

SPORTSTHE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

UPCOMING GAMES



Wellness and Recreation Events and Activities

12 p.m. - Cycle with Corinna 12:30 p.m. - Yoga with Sara 5 p.m. - Cycle with Briana 5:30 p.m. - Yoga with Lana 7 p.m. - Cycle with Lauren 7:30 p.m. - Yoga with Michelle C.

12:15 p.m. -R.I.P.P.E.D with Corinna 5:30 p.m. - Cardio Martial Arts wirh Jess and Yoga with Elisa 7 p.m. - Cycle with Brianna 7:30 p.m. - Zumba with Amanda

WEDNESDAY: 10/6

11 a.m. - Yoga with Michelle C12:30 p.m. - Pilates with Molly 5:30 p.m. - Yoga with Lana 6:30 p.m. - Zumba with Michelle 7 p.m. - Cycle with Steph 7:30 p.m. - willPower & Grace with Michelle H

THURSDAY: 9/30

11 a.m. - Yoga with Sara 12 p.m. - Cycle with Corinna 4:30 p.m. - Zumba with Amanda 5:30 p.m. - Yoga ith Lana 6:30 p.m. - Dance Groove with Elisa 7 p.m. - Cycle with Courtney 7:30 p.m. - Turbo Kick with Emily 8:30 p.m. - Belly Dance with Amy

12:30 p.m. - Cycle with Courtney 4 p.m. - Total Body Worls with Cat

Ice Climbing Feb. 26 - $25.00Ski/Snowboard March 6 - $25.00

Top Rope Rock Climbing April 9 - $25.00

Horseback Riding April 10 - $12.00

Mohonk Mountain House Day April 30 - $15.00Kayak Trip May 1 - $25.00Flying Trapeze May 7 - $15.00

MONDAY: 2/14 TUESDAY: 2/15 WEDNESDAY: 2/16THURSDAY: 2/10 FRIDAY: 2/11

OUTDOOR PURSUIT TRIPS

lenge has begun!

“BE ACTIVE” CHALLENGE

Monday - Thursday: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.Fridays: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.Sundays: 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.

WINTER HOURS

Register for Spring Session Intramurals online NOW!

Spring Session 1 Intramural registra-tion is now closed and beginning! Check back fro session 2 registration

dates and times.

INTRAMURALS

Upcoming Games ADVERTISE IN

Full page: 11.5” x 12”Half page: 11.5” x 6”Quarter page: 5.75” x 6”Eighth page: 5.75” x 3”

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MENS

WOMENS

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10 a.m. SUNYAC

Championships

6 p.m. vs SUNY

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8 p.m. vs SUNY

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6 p.m. Nazareth

Tournament

8 p.m. vs SUNY Oswego

6 p.m. vs SUNY Oswego

7 p.m. vs Hunter College

vs SUNY Oswego

7 p.m. vs Hunter

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7 p.m. vs Hunter

College

Kaitlin Clifford



Becky Baker, a senior member of the New Paltz Women’s Swimming squad, said certain habits set her apart. She does the same stretches before she gets in the pool, in fear that she’ll “swim slow” otherwise. She eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at every meet. And she cites her greatest strength as a swimmer as sometimes being a weakness in other aspects of her life - her tendency to put pressure on herself to win.

But Baker’s coaches said her competi-tiveness and passion for racing have helped her deliver record-breaking performances and swim on the national level.

Baker, who was recruited by the Hawks during her senior year of high school, broke three Elting Pool records in a meet with SUNY Cortland at the end of January. Ac-cording to Head Coach Scott Whitbeck, she was the breaststroke leg of the school record 200 medley relay and a part of the pool-record setting 200 freestyle relay.

During New Paltz’s 142-115 vic-tory, Baker also reset her 100 breaststroke pool record, covering the four-lap event

2:33.30. “It was probably the greatest dual meet

of my college career - to go out with a bang like that was awesome,” she said. “I was honored to be a part of those relay teams and so excited to be swimming that fast at such a tough part of our season.”

-tor that he met when he took over coach-ing the team in June 2008 is no stranger to accomplishments in the pool. He said he hopes she will continue to add to her list of achievements, which include being a two-time NCAA All-American, the 2010 SUN-YAC champion in the 100 breast, a six-time

The veteran’s personal accolades have made an impact on the entire swimming

team, according to the coach.“It has helped give a national focus to

the women’s team. Our women have quali-

great opportunity to do that again this year,” Whitbeck said. “Her ability in breaststroke [also] makes us the front runner to win both medley relays at conference this year.”

Calling the 100 breast her signature event, Whitbeck said Baker has what is now referred to as “old school’” breast-stroke, dependent on power rather than a wave style.

Her strength, which Baker said she de-veloped through different training methods

her move very fast in the 50 and 100 dis-tances

of a 100 breast,” he said. “There is no one I would rather have in the pool in a close race at short distance than Becky.”

Baker hopes to defend her title in the

100 breast as she and her “family” of team-mates prepare for the SUNYAC Swim-ming and Diving Championships begin-ning Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. She said her medley relay team, which also consists of Yuka Suzuka, Carly Marshall and Christine Reith, are aiming to take the conference title.

Whitbeck said Baker and the other swimmers will also look to compete at the national level with times that would qualify them for the NCAA Championships begin-ning on March 23 in Knoxville, Tenn.

After having earned an NCAA Consid-eration time for nationals in the 100 breast every year as a swimmer, Baker said she and her teammates are ready to show the conference and the nation what they are made of.

“The team hopes to improve just by swimming fast. Everyone wants to win, of course,” Baker said. “But if we each indi-vidually reach our best times that will be enough to be happy about and celebrate.”

By Julie MansmannEditor-In-Chief | [email protected]

Baker Swims To Success

Third-year Men’s Volleyball captain Kevin Stross won the UVC Player of the Week honors.

Stross Aces Award

-leyball Conference (UVC) Player of the Week honors for the week ending in Jan. 23. Stross currently leads the Hawks in kills per set and total blocks for the team.

Stross also leads the Hawks with 10 service aces. “It feels good,” Stross said about winning the award. “It’s humbling, but I am trying

to do my best.” PHOTO BY ANDREW WYRICH



Normally, a distinction such as being named the No. 4 team of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball

anyone in their path. This distinction doesn’t mean so much as a nice nod of encouragement to Head Coach James Seward and his basketball team.

“Yeah, it was nice to hear,” said Kaitlin Clifford, one of the team’s captains. “But we know that in order to keep that and still have respect from other teams, that we have to back it up.”

Coach Seward feels the same way.“We didn’t play well Saturday at all,” said Seward.

“We’re more or less tied with Cortland at this point, and we kind of blew our chances of winning the division reg-ular season title with Saturday’s loss…We’re just looking to go in and win our next few games.”

The Lady Hawks are currently 12-9 in total play and 10-4 in SUNYAC competition, putting them behind SUNY Geneseo in the conference, two places below SUNY Cortland, the team they lost the conference title to

last year, and one spot below SUNY Oneanta. The team knows that at this current point in time,

they’re treading on thin ice as far as standings go. After a long practice Monday night however, the Hawks are

that they can maintain their chances at being a tourna-ment team that poses a threat come tournament time.

“Basketball is a long season, and sometimes it be-

sometimes when you’re frustrated because it’s not work-ing for you individually, you tend to lose sight of the fact that the team needs you still,” said Seward.

Individual play has been a key factor for the fourth-place SUNYAC squad as of late. This past Friday at SUNY Fredonia, Shanay Bradley was the driving force for the Hawks, clocking in 16 points and 24 rebounds in a 70-61 win for New Paltz. While the personal achieve-ments of teammates are always smiled upon, it is clear to see that what Seward and his team want is all-around great play from every individual.

“We need to bring it every single game we play,” said Caitlin Irwin, also a team captain. “We didn’t bring any-thing;; especially our physicality to Saturday night’s game

and it was a tough loss.”The team spent their Monday night practice not play-

ing basketball, but discussing what they need to make better. Coach Seward said there were lots of team build-ing exercises and that he gave the girls video for them to watch and see what they did well and see what they need to improve upon. Clifford and Irwin spent some of that time talking to their team about how they need to keep pushing with a possible championship in sight.

“After losing on Saturday, we kind of took a step back and re-evaluated ourselves and what we’re doing wrong,” said Clifford. “Me and Caitlin have been pushing the idea that we have the best ‘team’ team and when we come ready to play then no one will be able to play with us. We actually have to go out there and do the work.”

Irwin agreed with Clifford. “We can’t just show up four out of the six days we

work, we have to be there every single day,” she said. “When we all play with energy, it’s unbelievable what we can do.”

The Hawks will play at home against SUNY Brock-port on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.

By Cat TacopinaCopy Editor | [email protected]

Hawks Hope To Fly To SUNYACS

The Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the Packers’ Hall of Fame coach af-ter winning Super Bowls I and II, is going home. After a phenomenal postseason, Su-per Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh

seasons and fourth Super Bowl win.The Packers exploded to an early 14-0

lead after scoring twice in 24 seconds and held a 21-3 lead in the second quarter thanks to two Rodgers’ touchdown passes and a pick-

six by

safety Nick Collins, one of two interceptions

half. The Steelers drew closer with a touch-down to close out the half, leaving them be-hind 21-10.

By halftime, Packers’ veterans, wide receiver Donald Driver and cornerback Charles Woodson, last year’s defensive play-er of the year, were ruled out for the game with injuries. Steelers’ receiver Emmanuel Sanders was also ruled out with a foot injury at the half.

After forcing the Packers to punt on the opening drive of the second half, the Steel-ers scored another quick touchdown to bring themselves within four points early in the third quarter. After being forced to punt four times in the third quarter, the Packers would

force Steelers’ running back Rashard Mendenhall to fumble the ball on the

plays later, Rodgers threw an eight-yard pass to Greg Jennings for his sec-

ond touchdown catch of the night.

Pittsburgh would an-swer quickly once again. The Steelers drove 66 yards and would cap the drive-off with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to

Mike Wallace. The Steelers would convert on a two-point conversion, narrowing the gap at 28-25. The Packers killed more than

up three more points. The Steelers were giv-en one last chance with about two minutes left in the game, down six points. After two completions, Roethlisberger would throw three straight incomplete passes, clinching the game for the Packers.

The Steelers gave the game away right from the start. The Packers scored 21 of their 31 points off of turnovers, answering on all three of Pittsburgh’s giveaways. The Packers did not turn the ball over once. Aaron Rodg-ers earned his MVP award with three touch-down passes and a very impressive 111.5 quarterback rating. Defensive player of the year Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison were almost invisible after standout seasons for the Steel-ers.

The Packers became just the sec-ond team to ever win the Su-per Bowl as the sixth seed in the playoffs. The 2005 Steelers were the last to do so after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

The Packers won two

of the season to earn the sixth seed with a 10-6 record. They went on to win road play-off games in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chi-cago to earn themselves the chance to take on the Steelers for the ultimate goal.

This Super Bowl set a record for Ameri-can television viewing for a second straight year. An estimated 111 million viewers watched as Green Bay took home the Lom-bardi Trophy. This Super Bowl will be one to remember after two of the most storied franchises in NFL history competed for the c h amp i on -ship.

By David SpiegelContributing Writer | [email protected]

The Lombardi Comes Back To Green Bay

to two Rodgers’ touchdown passes and a pick-six by ers scored another quick touchdown to bring

themselves within four points early in the third quarter. After being forced to punt four times in the third quarter, the Packers would

force Steelers’ running back Rashard Mendenhall to fumble the ball on the

plays later, Rodgers threw an eight-yard pass to Greg Jennings for his sec-

ond touchdown catch of the

31 points off of turnovers, answering on all three of Pittsburgh’s giveaways. The Packers did not turn the ball over once. Aaron Rodg-ers earned his MVP award with three touch-down passes and a very impressive 111.5 quarterback rating. Defensive player of the year Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison were almost invisible after standout seasons for the Steel-

The Packers became just the sec-ond team to ever win the Su-

franchises in NFL history competed for the c h amp i on -ship.

COURTESY OF RIDELL.COM



This Offseason: A New Hope

CHRIS CAPUANO

With spring training quickly approach-

ing, the end of baseball’s long winter season

waiver wire pickups, contract negotiations and

sunshine, grapefruits and cactuses is about to

franchise, added players to their roster with the

General Manager Sandy Alderson preached

Alderson has stuck to a warped version of

the “Moneyball” techniques he is credited with

they think of on-base percentage hitters, draft-

ing college players only and being creative

Alderson has plucked Chris Capuano,

the scrap heap with hopes of unearthing an

Of those players, a few actually have a

signing this offseason was the addition of

right-hander and the Mets agreed to a one year

Young had a strong 2006 season, going

which could translate nicely into Citi Field’s

Other interesting signings by Alderson

the additions of Chris Capuano and Taylor

The American Journal of Sports Medicine found that 82

in which Capuano’s velocity levels returned

ise last season, where he went 4-4

average and will be nearly

the price at which they

were acquired and could be

sleeper signings wherever

they end up on the pitching

Alderson continued to

for the Astros last season and had an average

The other players acquired by Alderson

this offseason all have stories like the players

potential, and will, at the very least, give the

pete for bullpen slots this spring and all

We are witnessing a

drastic change in

the Mets’ front

Mets have

progressed

Minaya’s

big spending, foolish

contract-giving ways

concerned with a player’s

a breath of


We are witnessing a

drastic change in

the Mets’ front

Mets have

progressed

Minaya’s



CHRIS CAPUANO


a breath of


were acquired and could be

they end up on the pitching

Alderson continued to






CHRIS CAPUANO







We are witnessing a

drastic change in

the Mets’ front

Mets have

progressed

Minaya’s




a breath of

2010 STATS 4-4 3.95

66

54 Strikeouts 21 Walks

Or you can scan

this QR code with

a free app on any

smartphone!

SPORTSTHE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL STARTS THEIR SEASON: PREVIEW ON PAGE 11PHOTO BY ANDREW WYRICH SIDE PHOTOS COURTESY OF STOCKTON PHOTO

Becky Baker Breaks Personal Bests

PAGE 14

Women’s Basketball Team Continues Season

PAGE 13

WHAT’S INSIDE GOING FOR THE

KILLPACKERS AND RODGERS BRING

CHAMPIONSHIP TO GREEN BAY

PAGE 14

Documents

The New Paltz Oracle, Volume 82, Issue 12