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REMEMBERINGSHANE MONTGOMERY

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WCU COMMUNITY UNITES TO BENEFIT CHILDREN IN NEEDSTORY ON PG 2 | JOSE MESTRE/ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

WCUQUAD.COM VOLUME 108, ISSUE 01

JAN 2015

26THE STUDENT NEWS SERVICE OF WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY

NEWSPage 2 January 26, 2015

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WEIRD NEWSA New Hampshire woman got a surprise at a

fast food drive-thru: a bag full of cash instead of food. When the woman got home, she re-

alized she had the restaurant’s bank deposit, which totaled $2,631, instead of the chicken and iced tea that she ordered. Her husband said that they briefly considered keeping the money, but they are Jeho-vah’s Witnesses, and “Jehovah sees everything.”

A mannequin atop a billboard in Iowa prompt-ed several 911 calls from people who thought it was a person on a suicide mission. Sheriff’s

deputies arrived on the scene, but they eventually realized the mistake. The owner agreed to remove the mannequin as quickly as possible.

An underwater photographer leading a whale expedition in the Caribbean had a dive to remember when a sperm whale utilized its

defense mechanism and defecated--for several minutes. The photographer managed to take some memorable photos before swimming away from the cloud.

MLK DAY OF SERVICE PROVED TO BE A SUCCESS

Adam FarenceEditor-in-Chief

On Jan. 22, the Of-fice of Service-Learning and

Volunteer Programs hosted the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Day of Service, a project fo-cused on making blan-kets for children in foster care and in the hospital.

Working out of the Sykes Ballrooms, stu-dents, staff, faculty, and community members came together through-out the day to make handmade blankets. The project aimed at con-necting students with the community while providing a service.

“We don’t want to have something for the stu-dents to do that doesn’t

end up going anywhere, we want them to fulfill a community need, and connect the students to that community,” Jamie Williams, the Assistant Director of the Office of Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs, said.

Many of these chil-dren, Williams stressed, have few or no personal belongings. The quilts made during the event will give children in need a personal item they can hold onto wherever they go. “It’s to let them know there are others out there who care about them, that they’re not alone,” she added.

This was also the first year that the event was broken into two shifts. Participants had a choice of working 2:30 to 4 p.m., 4:30 to 6 p.m., or both. The move was designed in hopes of attracting more people to attend and participate, and in

a move that apparently worked. Despite being the first week of the se-mester, the MLK event attracted over 400 uni-versity students alone, some not even from West Chester University. They created 150 blan-kets for children in need.

Three speakers from non-profit organiza-tions, including Chester

“It’s to let them know there are others out there who care about them, that they’re not alone.”

County Hospital’s NICU and Pediatrics Depart-ment, A.I. DuPont Chil-dren’s Hospital, and Fleece for Keeps, spoke with blanket makers, telling them how the blankets they are mak-ing impact the lives of the children receiving them.Adam Farence is a fourth-year

student majoring in French and

history. He can be reached at

[email protected]. Jose Mestre/Photography Editor

Jose Mestre/Photography Editor

January 26, 2015 Page 3

WEIRD NEWS

MLK DAY OF SERVICE PROVED TO BE A SUCCESS

OBAMA DISCUSSES EDUCATION IN STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Clare HaggertyNews Editor

On Jan. 20, Presi-dent Obama gave his State of the

Union address, in which he proposed an idea that could change the face of higher education in the United States.

Early in the address, Obama pointed out that more kids are gradu-ating from both high school and postsecond-ary education than ever before.

“We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world, and today, our younger

students have earned the highest math and reading scores on re-cord,” Obama said.

The president pointed out that by 2020, two in three job openings will require higher edu-cation. But too many Americans, he contin-ued, cannot afford the education they need—which is why Obama is proposing to make com-munity college free.

9 million full- and part-time students could benefit from the $60 bil-lion proposal, but con-gressional Republicans say that it has almost no chance of support.

“The State of the

Union is a chance to start anew, but all the president offered tonight is more taxes, more gov-ernment, and more of the same approach that has failed middle-class families,” said House Speaker John Boehner.

Furthermore, Obama asked that the private sector offer more edu-cational benefits and paid apprenticeships, particularly in the STEM careers.

In reference to the growing alarm about Americans’ privacy, Obama said that no for-eign nation or hacker should be able to shut down American net-

works, steal trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families. Obama’s administration is likely to propose the “Student Digital Privacy Act,” which will ensure that any information collected about students by their schools is for educational purposes only, which would pre-vent private companies from buying or selling information about stu-dents. So far, 20 states have passed similar legislation and 75 com-panies have agreed to comply.Clare Haggerty is a fourth-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at CH757342@

wcupa.edu. npr.org

OP–EDPage 4 January 26, 2015

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A new year calls for a new look!

Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing break and managed not to cheat on the New Year’s resolu-tions too much. If you are a returning first-year student, get

ready for round two. If you are a second semester senior like myself, get ready for the bittersweet final semester of our college careers. Mark Twain once said: “Twenty years from now, you’ll regret what you didn’t do, more than what you did do.” So if you are in the same boat as my-self, let us make this semester one without regrets.

With that in mind, how we could pass up a chance to start out the new semester with a new look? We all enjoy creating a product you enjoy reading, and the start of the new year seemed appropriate to give The Quad a fresh lick of paint.

As always, we want people to get involved with the paper. If, by chance, your new year’s resolution included bettering yourself as a writer (or even if it didn’t) shoot me an email at [email protected]. Our staff meetings are open to everyone, so if you’re free Tuesday at 3:30 pm, stop by room 253 in Sykes.

Best wishes for the future,

Adam FarenceEditor-In-Chief


So It Goes.By Rachel Alfiero Staff Writer

There’s nothing quite like return-ing to school for

the spring semester, and here’s the reason why: Those five or so weeks known as “winter break” get really boring, really fast. Sure, the first week is a paradise after finals, but after that, things be-gin to blur together and the mood shifts to antic-ipation. Then before you know it, you’re waiting until the next holiday re-union party rolls around and you get to tell every single member of your extended family what you’re majoring in...for the fifth time. Needless to say it feels as though the second half of winter break is a waiting game until I can finally move back to West Chester. And now that the game is over, the fun can com-mence.

A lot has happened in the few weeks that I’ve been back. My room-mates and I have moved into our new apartment in the heart of down-town, we’ve hosted a few housewarming parties, and I had to say goodbye to my best friend Katie as she departed for France. The list has mostly ex-

citing things on it, but bittersweetness always seems to creep its way in. I mentioned that my friend Katie was going to France for a semester abroad in a previous edi-tion of “So It Goes”, and now that her departure has come and gone, I feel at odds.

My indecisiveness aside, the whole situ-ation got me thinking about distance in rela-tionships, both in the literal/physical sense, and emotionally as well. After thinking about it for some time, I came to collect the opinion that distance (in certain in-stances) can be the best thing for a relationship to grow.

I know that at first read, that statement might sound obtuse, or even kind of crazy. But when you think of “dis-tance” in two separate ways, then the stance makes more sense. What prompted this topic to formulate in my mind was of course being away from my friend, but also being away from my home. This year is different from any oth-er because now that I am living in my own

apartment and no lon-ger have the need to go back home, the distance between myself and my old life is more apparent. The physical distance is still there, but under-neath that is this sense of emotional distance that is beginning to grow. It’s bringing home the fact that I am turning into a fully-fledged adult, one that has bills to pay, and meals to make, and laundry to do (among other tasks of course).

That emotional dis-tance that I now get to experience along with the physical distance of being away from Katie is a lot to handle. I miss my friend every day, but with the help of Skype and Facebook bridg-ing the gap, 3,800 or so miles doesn’t seem that big. And hey, it’s only one semester. I know that the distance will ultimately strengthen our friend-ship. Plus, it will give me a great excuse to throw a huge, tacky welcome back party five months from now.

So after thinking and writing about it for a while now, I still be-lieve that distance can be beneficial for a rela-tionship. Granted, it will never be easy to realize you’re not a kid anymore or say goodbye to a dear friend for an extended period of time, but I think it will ultimately make you stronger and more sure of yourself as an individual. Till next time West Chester, so it goes.

Rachel Alfiero is a second-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at [email protected].

TNS

TNSTNS

Page 6 January 26, 2015

It’s difficult to imag-ine how frustrated the Philadelphia Eagles

were when they discov-ered their golden run to the postseason was sabo-taged due to the NFL’s complex tiebreaker sys-tem.

For the 2014 Philadel-phia Eagles, they were not as together as they appeared on paper, es-pecially at the brink of the season when they sat atop of the NFC East at 9-3. Instead of qualifying for the playoffs like many sports analysts predicted and potentially bullying around other contend-ers within the NFC for the conference champion-ship, the Philadelphia Ea-gles unfortunately spent their postseason evenings

sitting helplessly from afar at 10-6 watching their op-ponents square off against one another from their television set.

The Eagles quickly lost control of the division in a three-game skid when the squad fell might-ily to the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and their divi-sional rivals, the Wash-ington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys, in which the latter became the un-disputed division cham-pions at 12-4. As a result, the Eagles were unable to facilitate their 10-6 record in 2013 and became only the fifth team in a span of four years to miss the

playoffs with a winning record above .500.

Perhaps it was a sign the Eagles were not ready to take the next great leap under second-year head coach, Chip Kelly. Perhaps it was the longevity of in-cumbent signal-caller, Mark Sanchez who served as the team’s substitute after starting quarterback, Nick Foles, sustained a broken collarbone in a win against the Houston Texansfurther illustrating the Eagles’ instability at the position.

There were plenty of factors that led to the Eagles respectively bit-tersweet season. Some in which could have been preventable while others were simply out of reach for the hapless birds. What was even more dis-heartening for the proud

franchise was the dismal NFC South, whose divi-sion champion patheti-cally managed to qualify for the postseason with a record below .500. Ranked one of the worst divisions in the NFL at the time, the NFC South crowned the Carolina Panthers its di-vision winner, posting a laughable 7-8-1 record af-ter the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons collapsed at 7-9 and 6-10. While by no means a los-ing season by any loose definition of the term, the Eagles’ 10-6 record pois-es an alarming conun-drum entering 2015 as the league further evaluates playoff expansion, which

further begs the question – what rules and ramifi-cations merit a team post-season warranty?

There was no question the Eagles were the best team not to qualify for the postseason in the 2014. They won more than eight games in the regular sea-son like they did the pre-vious year, they held a modest record against in-tra-conference opponents at 6-6, and accumulated more points than any of the playoff-caliber teams in the conference tally-ing over 474. The same can be applied to the 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants who were both shy of making the playoffs at 10-6 as the NFL granted the sub-.500 7-9 Seattle Seahawks by rule to qualify for the Wild Card round. The Seattle Seahawks were notorious for being the first team in NFL history to accom-plish such a lowly feat as it was a feat that has been mocked and ridiculed for quite some time. With that being said, not only did both the Seahawks and the Panthers earn playoff berths, but by far the big-gest slap to the face was the grim reality that due to courtesy of divisional rules, the two teams were permitted home games as the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals who held superior records at 11-5 were forced to visit the former in Seattle and Charlotte.

From the evidence alone, two languished teams have qualified for

the postseason in a four-year gap and it is arguably safe to say that the Se-ahawks and the Panthers will not be the last to es-cape the cut-off date by the skin of their teeth. What is arguable is imploring the debate as to whether sub-.500 teams are wor-thy of playoff contention. It certainly appears that way with the lack of fo-cus towards the matter as the NFL despite its goal of achieving the Lombardi trophy annually is more than less blindly adopt-ing losing culture within its 32 conglomerates. Just from the aforementioned freak shows embossed in 2010 and 2014, the lack of candor, legitimacy, and ultimately fairness come to mind when examining the tiebreaker sequence and the overall layout of the playoff system.

The NFC West and the NFC South were dismissed as two of the worst divi-sions in the NFL in 2010 and 2014. In regards to the NFC West in 2010, the Se-ahawks placed 7-9, the St. Louis Rams finished 7-9, the San Francisco 49ers concluded 6-10, and the Arizona Cardinals plum-meted 5-11. By Week 17 of the 2010, the Seahawks were officially confirmed as division champions when most divisions an-nounce their winners for the playoffs around Weeks 10-15. Nevertheless, the NFL must make immedi-ate wholesome changes in order to prevent such earth-shattering incom-petency from continuing.

In a perfect world, if an entire division from what we have seen in the NFC West and South falls below .500 by the end of season, that division should be therefore be disquali-fied from playoff conten-tion and furthermore, the playoff spot is given

to the next best team in the conference hence the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles. While the NFL has sent lesser teams at 9-7 and 8-8 to the postseason, such as the 2011 New York Giants and the 2008 San Diego Chargers, the aforemen-tioned still maintained a balanced level of win-ning. The 2010 Seattle Seahawks and the 2014 Carolina Panthers how-ever were so undeserving of postseason qualifica-tion statistically that the poor marks themselves contradict the regulations of winning and organiza-tion in general.

In the NFL you play to win, and if a division made up of four or more profes-sional football teams each can’t even muster a post-season berth with a win-ning record, then what do you have to prove or show for? It’s one thing to have a highly competitive conference in NFL made up of two or three addi-tion 10-6 teams such as the 2012 Chicago Bears, for an example, who nar-rowly missed the playoffs due to a tight conference and divisional race. How-ever, when the league encounters a weak divi-

sion such as the under-achieving NFC West and South in 2010 and 2014, it is necessary to make proper adjustments to en-sure winning as opposed to following old school protocol and reward los-ers. Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL board

of directors must carefully address this issue without the slightest bit of greed or ineptitude because if the game continues to sail off course like it has over the previous four years, it is almost guaranteed that the next division win-ner will finish 6-10 by the end of the decade. Num-bers don’t lie whatsoever, and for the Philadelphia Eagles they were robbed of a playoff spot to a lesser yet inferior team whom they also slaughtered dur-ing the regular season. For fans around the league, I speak for everyone when I say that it wouldn’t be the utmost enjoyable to watch a 7-8-1 or a 7-9 team make the postseason while yours sat at home watch-ing the game at 10-6 or 11-5 uttering “woulda, coulda, shoulda.” The bot-tom line is, there must be a crucial reevaluation of the tiebreaker system. If not, do not expect to see tran-quility of any kind when the occurrence happens again. There may be blood.Drew Mattiola is a third-

year student majoring in

communication studies.

He can be reached at

[email protected].

By Drew MattiolaOp-Ed Editor

7-8-1 PANTHERS CONCERNS NFL

TNS

“2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants who were both shy of making the playoffs at 10-6 as the NFL granted the sub-.500 7-9 Seattle Seahawks by rule to qualify for the Wild Card round.”

“NFC South crowned the Caro-lina Panthers its division win-ner, posting a laughable 7-8-1 record after the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons collapsed at 7-9 and 6-10.”

[email protected]


Remembering Shane Montgomery

By Elizabeth ChioccoSpecial to the Quad

People always say that the friends you make in college will

be your friends for life. Freshman year, we were all thrown into a new world, so the only way to survive was to find people to share this new experience with, and these friends quickly become your family. I am lucky enough to say that in my home away from home, Shane was a vital member of my family.

I met Shane the first week of freshman year in Goshen Hall. It was im-mediately apparent that we would be friends. I was always in awe of his ability to connect to so many dif-ferent people. Shane was the guy who always made us laugh with his sarcastic remarks and hilarious sto-ries. He always had a way to put a positive spin on situations, and he helped those around him look at life in a more positive way.

As time went on and we all moved on to be sopho-mores, then juniors, then seniors, a lot of things changed. A lot of people came and went. Yet, Shane always remained. He was always true to himself, and loyal to his friends.

Coming into senior year, we all knew that things were going to change and all of our friends were well aware that the time we had together was precious and dwindling. We were apply-ing to grad schools, pre-paring for internships and jobs, and trying to get a grasp on how to be adults. We were ready for those changes, but we were not prepared for the biggest change of all — losing Shane.

On Thanksgiving, when we found out Shane was

missing, our worlds were flipped upside down, and in the coming days Shane’s friends and fam-ily showed their strength, hope, and love. We were all determined to bring Shane home.

I remember people say-ing to me, “I don’t know how you and your friends are being so strong.” My response was firm, “We have no other choice.” Shane was always there for us, so it was our turn to be there for him, and to stay positive for him.

The 36 days that Shane was missing were grueling to say the least, and while it sometimes made me feel cynical about the world, I also witnessed some amazing acts of kindness and love. From the amount

of students who came to-gether for the vigil here at WCU, to all of the people who hung up flyers, it was easy to see the outpouring of love and support from the community. That kind of support is what kept us going, along with the strength of Shane’s family.

We all finished out the semester, entered win-ter break, celebrated the holidays with our fami-lies, rung in the New Year, and we did all of this with a huge piece of our hearts missing. That piece was Shane. While heartbroken, we remained hopeful.

And then on Jan. 3, 2015, Shane was brought home. He wasn’t brought home the way we wanted, but he wasn’t alone anymore. He wasn’t lost. And we all found a sort of peace knowing that.

I wish we had more time with him. I would give anything to play basket-ball with him again and have him block my shot, or to hear him rag on me for loving country music, or watch him rap along to his favorite songs. Shane’s hugs always made me feel better, and I could sure use one right now.

Through all of the pain, tears, and heartbreak, though I have been able to find a silver lining. The way that Shane’s search and his death brought people together is the same way Shane brought us to-gether when he was still here with us. The group of friends that I am apart of is

truly amazing, and while it shouldn’t take a tragedy to appreciate what you have, sometimes it does.

Shane has shown us what it really means to have each other’s backs. He has shown us how to laugh when we can bare-ly force a smile. He has shown us that we need each other, and I think I can speak for all of Shane’s friends when I say we learned some pretty im-portant life lessons in the last few months.

Although nothing would be better than hav-ing Shane still with us, the silver lining is the new appreciation we all have for each other. When I was talking to Shane’s best friend Ryan the other day, Ryan said something pretty amazing. He said, “Shane was the glue that held us together, but now he is the cement that will keep us together.” That statement could not be more true, and will reso-nate with me forever.

My hope for everyone reading this is that you will take a step back and try to see the good in all of life’s tragedies. I know that what I wrote about Shane didn’t do his life justice, but I know he would agree with this advice: tell the people you love that you love them, smile a little bigger, laugh louder, dance like a fool, and never take any-one for granted. As cliché as all of this may sound, life really is short and you never know what tomor-row will bring.

Thanks for the memo-ries Shane. I know I’ll see you again someday. Elizabeth Chiocco is a fourth-

year professional studies

major. She can be reached

at [email protected].

January 18th, 2015

To Our Supportive and Loving Family, Friends, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Community, and WCU Students, Faculty and Staff:

On November 27, 2014, our lives became a night-mare when our son, Shane Montgomery, disap-peared. During the six long and terrible weeks until we found and brought Shane home, one of our con-stant blessings was the support we received from others.

Many searched with us, prayed for and with us, shared meals, talents, and love with us. Every act of kindness meant so very much and we will be eter-nally grateful.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as the path ahead seems daunting. We will always love and miss our Shane.

With Deep Appreciation,Karen and Kevin Montgomery and Family

“Thanks for the memories Shane.

I know I’ll see you again someday.”

Photo provided by the Montgomery family


By Kirsty PaloStaff Writer

Volunteering with Long Way Home

There are many as-pects to love about West Chester Uni-

versity, but among the top reasons has to be the fact that we have one of the longest winter breaks among universities in this area, which means more time to do the things we want while we still have the freedom to!

Being that I am senior and that this was my last winter break of my academic career, I knew that this was one of my last chances of freedom to go and do something worthwhile. Except, like many with similiar am-bitions, I didn’t know what that something was until I spoke with my old roommate, who said she was returning to Gua-temala to do volunteer work. She had gone once before to help a nonprofit organization called Long Way Home, which is committed to building sustainable schools.

At this point she was leaving two days later, and at the last second, I asked if I could go with her. I booked an im-promptu flight, and was on my way out of the country 48 hours later. I had not a clue what I was getting myself into, other than it would be a great way to throw my-self into a culture I was not accustomed to and that it was a way to make a positive difference.

When we arrived in Guatemala City, we were quickly shuffled into our driver’s car since it is not a safe area, especially for those who stick out like sore thumbs (which we,

as three blondes, did). We were then driven to a small indigenous town called Comalapa that was about two hours away. We were driven up dark, windy dirt roads for a long time before finally stopping at a large met-al gate, where we were greeted so kindly by the

staff of Long Way Home. The volunteer house

was throwing a bit of a going away party be-cause a couple of the volunteers were leav-ing in a few hours in the middle of the night. All around ,there were peo-ple swinging from ham-mocks, sharing food, playing instruments and singing familiar tunes while drinking Brahva (a popular Central Ameri-can beer).

It was a little intimi-dating to walk into at first, but everyone was so welcoming. It died down shortly because everyone there goes to sleep around 9 p.m. ev-ery night. Wake-up call comes very early.

The work day begins at 7 a.m., so each day, everyone at the volun-teer house would get up around 6 a.m. and be ready to leave for work at 6:45 a.m. We would then collectively begin our 15-minute hike up the mountain, trekking through corn fields. The

work day was from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with one hour for lunch.

Our eight-hour work day was much like you would find on any other site, it was just more eco-friendly. Some of the tasks included shoveling and sifting gravel, pack-ing tires, organizing

wood, sanding, staining, building, etc.

The school itself is called Los Técnicos and it was founded by Matt Paneitz. Matt was origi-nally stationed in Co-malapa during his time in the Peace Corps, and ended up returning to the United States only long enough to raise

funds before going back to Guatemala to start this sustainable school that would aid in the areas of employment, education, and the environment.

The construction site sits on the top of a moun-tain that overlooks the small town of Comalapa, from which you can see the two distant volca-noes of Lake Atitlan. It is in every way aesthetical-ly pleasing, but it is even more beautiful because of the team that occupies the space.

Long Way Home em-ploys numerous Gua-temalan construction workers, and has a great staff of likeminded peo-ple who were either once in the Peace Corps or volunteered there and decided to stay.

The construction site itself is unlike almost any other construction site that could come to mind. First off, the kind of construction that is done there is called

“green building,” which deals with sustainable structures that are envi-ronmentally responsible and resource-efficient. For instance, they often build with used tires that they pack with dirt and trash to create walls and stairs. Trash is used in almost everything that they build. The team started trying to show the town better ways to dispose of their trash by teaching them to put it in plastic bottles that the organization would then build with to use as structures and designs.

The alternative to this for a lot of people in Co-malapa was just to burn their trash in their kitch-ens, which was causing a lot of respiratory prob-lems.

Another aspect that exists on the construc-tion site that is differ-ent is all of the many languages that you can hear ping-ponging around the site. Most everyone there speaks Spanish solely, or as a second language, but you also encounter other languages like French, for example. Since there are so many volunteers coming and going from

“I knew that this was going to be one of those experiences that would forever change the way I

saw the world.”

all over the world, you are exposed to so many languages and dialects while there. I met people from Australia, England, and Canada to name a few places.

There really was no greater feeling than to be a part of something that was so much big-ger than myself, and the ideas that I was previ-ously aware of. I was so inspired by all of the oth-er volunteers and staff that I met; I knew that this was going to be one of those experiences that would forever change the way I saw the world.

A week came and went too fast, and on our last day we only wished that we could have had stayed longer, living and working with these beautiful souls. I would highly recommend to anyone who has inter-est in Central American culture, green building, education, or volunteer work to consider Long Way Home. You can find more information about this organization by vis-iting www.lwhome.org Kirsty Palo is a fourth-year

student majoring in English with

a minor in journalism. She can be

reached at [email protected].

Photo by Kirsty Palo

February 17th, 2015Sykes Ballroom11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

WITH MORE THAN 80 GRADUATE PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM AT WCU,

YOU’RE ALREADY IN THE PERFECT LOCATION TO CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION.

JOIN USTO LEARN MORE!

Register at: wcupa.edu/grad

GRADUATE STUDIES OPEN HOUSE

RECEIVE A $50 APPLICATION

FEE WAIVER FOR ATTENDING!


THE QUAD CROSSWORD

Across1 “Say it isn’t so!”5 Slick9 Japanese poem

with 17 syllables14 More than simmer15 Natural skin soother16 Caravan stop17 ‘50s-’60s Ram-

blers, briefly18 Grand Prix se-

ries designation20 Brings in, as salary22 Geeky types23 Controversial Viet-

nam War defoliant26 Onetime Leno an-

nouncer Hall29 Salt, in France30 “__ we there yet?”31 Add to the staff33 Serving at Popeyes36 Gutter site37 Avon or Fuller

Brush work, e.g.42 Too43 Country bumpkins44 “I hope you’ve

learned your __!”47 Pro vote48 Little white lie51 “__-hoo! Over here!”52 What Al Capone led56 Collar attach-

ment for Spot

57 “MASH” setting58 “Shh! Don’t tell!” and

hint to what can pre-cede the starts of 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across

63 Cheesy sandwich64 Dance in a line65 Actress Garr66 Autobahn auto67 Like a truck climb-

ing a steep hill68 Flower part69 Tiff

Down1 White House family2 Respect that’s “paid”3 Coin with a buffalo, once4 Designer Mary-

Kate or Ashley5 Klutzy fellow6 U.N. worker protection gp.7 Doone of Exmoor8 Red Sea republic9 “Texas” poker variety10 Very small batteries11 Prefix with metric12 Kith and __13 Exploit19 Hankering21 Button that gets

things going

24 Sandwich cookie25 Raring to go26 Airline with fa-

mously tight security27 Symbol of peace28 Hair colorings32 Vegetables in pods33 The “B” in TV’s for-

mer The WB network34 “Your point being...?”35 Target city for Godzilla37 Tyne of “Judging Amy”38 Margarine39 __ buco: veal dish40 Scuba diving area41 Not tight45 Familiar adage46 Evening, in ads48 Inflame with enthusiasm49 Marcos with a

shoe collection50 “Take a hike!”53 Verifiable findings54 “Snowy” wader55 Sauce tomatoes56 “Othello” conspirator58 Here, in Le Havre59 Truck weight unit60 NBC late-night

comedy hit61 Before, in poetry62 Tiny Dickens boy

Solution will appear in our next issue.Copyright © 2015 Tribune News Service

Parking on campus remains difficult

By Beau Ryck Special to the Quad

On the night of Dec. 31,many revelers gathered

in West Chester to ring in 2015. The new year often brings introspection and resolution. We use the New Year as a clean slate and an opportunity to say the past is in the past, and to pledge to be bet-ter in the future. Well my friends, you might be vis-iting the gym more often, or hitting up McDonald’s for a late-night McFlurry less frequently, but I will tell you one thing that did not change – on campus parking availability.

That’s right! You may curse the parking gods perpetually, because the availability of parking on campus is scant as ever. Tuesday marked the first day of the new semes-ter and with that comes the never-ending game of “where the heck will I park?” The new semester means new classes, and new classes can mean different times than last semester, and remember that one spot in the very back of the Lawrence lot that apparently people didn’t recognize as a space so it was open every Tues-day-Thursday around 1 p.m.? Well, it’s gone now, because this semester, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Johnny Clownshoes has philosophy with Dr. Udell at 12:30 p.m., and Johnny Clownshoes knows about that secret spot too.

The problem is far more glaring for students who actually live out of town and can’t simply walk to campus. The commut-ers live this problem every day, students and profes-

sors alike. Between com-muting WCU students and professors, 29 million miles of roads are travelled every year on the way to campus. Even Keith Stone’s jaw dropped a little when he read that cold hard fact.

There must be another way. There has to be an-other way. There is anoth-er way: alternative trans-portation. For a lot of us, this is easy, and it means we make the conscious decision to just walk to campus. I know some of you fair weather birds are complaining about the cold, but if Dr. Hertel can cruise around town when it’s four degrees outside, then us 20-somethings can do it too. Plus, didn’t you just make a New Year’s resolution to exer-cise more often, stay in shape, and get healthier? Sacrifice those calories and take the extra steps! For those of you who live outside walking distance, here are a few additional forms of alternative tran-sit:

• Bike: There is a bike pledge online that pro-vides you with discounts at local bike shops: http://www.wcupa.edu/dps/Bi-cyclePledge.aspx There was even a student uni-cycling to campus this fall.

• Carpool: There are special parking spaces if you display two parking tags. There is also a new rideshare webpage: http://www.wcupa.edu/sustain-ability/rideshare/.

• SEPTA bus: Use routes 92 and 104

• SEPTA/Amtrak train: Travel to Exton from the east or west, then take the new WCU Exton shuttle to the WCU campus: http://w w w.wcupa.edu/_ IN-

FORMATION/AFA/Facili-ties/Transportation/Bus-es/ETSBus.asp (despite what the website says, this service is still available in the Spring 2015 semester)

• WCU shuttle buses: To/from south campus:

http://www.wcupa.edu/_I N FOR M AT ION/A FA /Facilities/Transportation/Buses/default.asp

To/from the WCU Grad-uate Business Center : http://www.wcupa.edu/_I N FOR M AT ION/A FA /Facilities/Transportation/Buses/GBCBus.asp

• SCCOOT bus from Oxford, PA: http://www.tmacc.org/public-trans-portation/sccoot/

• Krapf’s A Bus Line & Coatesville Link: http://www.tmacc.org/public-transportation/krapfs-a-bus-line/

Last fall, our Sustainabil-ity Coordinator in WCU’s Office of Sustainability, Dr. Fritschle, commuted to classes here from Con-necticut via Amtrak and SEPTA. These alternative modes of transportation are actually feasible, so if you’re looking for a way to keep that New Year’s reso-lution, save time search-ing for parking, or sneak some extra study time into your commute, go ahead and give them a try. The resources are all right here.

For any questions or help using these services, visit the information desk in Sykes or contact West Chester University’s Of-fice of Sustainability via Facebook at WCU Sus-tainability, or Twitter @sustainableWCU. Beau Ryck is pursuing a Masters

of Arts in Geography. He can be

reached at BR781389@wcupa.

edu or on Twitter @beaulogna.

CALENDARPage 12 January 26, 2015

EMAIL [email protected] TO SEE YOUR EVENT HERE

Weather OutlookSnow / Hi 27 / Lo 24

Ongoing New GalleryThe 24/7 Project By Darcie Goldberg and Rhoda Kahler on exhibit at the New Gallery in the E.O. Bull Center for the Arts through Saturday, Feb-ruary 28 For more info see www.wcupa.edu/cvpa.

Ongoing Knauer GalleryFather and Son Law-rence Welker III and Law-rence Welker IV on exhibit at the Knauer Art Gallery in the Swope Music Building through Saturday, February 21

4:30 PM Sykes BallroomsLGBTQA Annual Spring Welcome Back A reception to welcome back all students, staff, and faculty to the spring semester. Western fun, wear your flannels and cowboy attire. You can meet the LG-BTQA executive board, buy LGBTQA items and sing up for programs and events. Contact [email protected] for more information.


3:30 PM Sykes 225SAC General Meeting All WCU students are invited to the Student Activities Coun-cilice’s weekly meetings

7:15 PM Sykes 115SGA General Assembly-Meeting All WCU students are invited to this weekly meeting of your Student Government Association.

Weather OutlookCloudy/ Hi 27 / Lo 11

11- 2 PM Sykes BallroomsSpring Volunteer Fair Meet staff from local non-profit agencies and explore vol-unteer opportunities and in-ternship opportunities with a community agency. Open to students, faculty and staff.

7-8 PM VirtualTeach For America Vir-tual Info Session Kids from low-income communities aren’t getting an education that gives them choices in life. You have the power to change this. Application Deadline: Friday, January 30th at 11:59pm ET. Teach For America is growing the force of leaders committed to ensuring that all kids have an education that expands their opportunities and gives them more choices in life. By teaching for at least two years in TFA’s corps, you will join thousands of lead-ers helping students in low-income communities make the academic progress that will expand their opportuni-ties for the future.

2:30 PM Wilmington, DEVolunteer Open House at the Zoo Want to learn how to become a volunteer with the Zoo? Join us at an up-coming open house or inter-ested applicants ages 16 and up may complete an online Volunteer Interest Form at http://brandywinezoo.org/donate-time . Please note, volunteer opportunities are contingent upon success-fully completing application process, including a back-ground check. For more in-formation and for location of open houses, please visit our website or email the zoo at [email protected].



4 PM Ware Recital HallWind Symphony Concerto Competition directed by M. Greg Martin

5 PM SturzbeckerMen’s Swimming and Div-ing vs. University of Penn-sylvania

5 PM SturzbeckerWomen’s Swimming and Diving vs. University of Pennsylvania

8 PM Ware Recital HallSenior Recital Joshua Wal-lowich, voice

9 PM SykesSykes After Dark A night of laughs with Helen Hong: Comedian/actor/FrenchFry-Addict from “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “The Thundermans” on Nickelodeon, host of Geek vs. Geek. For informa-tion contact [email protected]

7:30&10PM Sykes TheaterSAC Movie of the Week Big Hero 6. The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes. Directed by Don Hall and Chris Wil-liams

Weather OutlookClear / Hi 25 / Lo 9

12 PM Ware Recital HallSenior Recital Erica Norris, flute

2 PM Ware Recital HallSenior Recital Sheldon Sut-ton, flute

4 PM Ware Recital HallSenior Recital Kyle Gautieri, bassoon

6 PM Ware Recital HallSenior Recital Jared Scheetz, guitar



1 PM SturzbeckerWomen’s Gymnastics vs. Ursinus College

1 PM SturzbeckerWomen’s Gymnastics vs. Cornell University

Weather OutlookCloudy/ Hi 23 / Lo 11

7:30PM Madeline Theater Faculty Recital Vincent Craig, piano

5:30 PM MillersvilleWomen’s Basketball vs. Mill-ersville University. WCHE 1520 Live Audio

7:30 PM MillersvilleMen’s Basketball vs. Millers-ville University. WCHE 1520 Live Audio

1 PM KutztownWomen’s Basketball vs. Kutztown University. WCHE 1520 Live Audio.

3 PM KutztownMen’s Basketball vs. Kutz-town University. WCHE 1520 Live Audio.

All Day Bison Men’s Track and Field at Bi-son Open and Multi

All Day Bison Women’s Track and Field at Bison Open and Multi

Weather OutlookCloudy / Hi 14 / Lo 1

Want to see your event listed on this page next week?

Send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Calendar Item.”

Note: All calendar items are published as a free public service at the discretion of the Quad. We reserve the right to edit any items submitted for this calendar.

1 PM UPennWomen’s Gymnastics at University of Pennsylvania

Weather OutlookCloudy / Hi 21 / Lo 5

5:30 PM Sykes BallroomWCU Graduate Open House Meet Graduate Coordinators, Talk to Financial Aid Coun-selors, Discuss Graduate As-sistantship Opportunities, and receive a $50 application fee waiver for Fall 2015.

Madeline Adler TheaterThe Yeomen of the Guard The Gilbert & Sullivan Soci-ety of Chester County’s light opera. January 29-31 at 8pm. January 31 and February 1 at 2 pm.

SATURDAY SUNDAY

ENTERTAINMENTJanuary 26, 2015 Page 13

[email protected]

“AMERICAN SNIPER” DISAPPOINTSRob GabeStaff Writer

Was there a better trailer in 2014 than “American

Sniper’s” initial pulse-hammering debut teas-er? The silent, intense build-up pulled us in straight away, suggest-ing the film would re-volve around a sniper’s moral anxiety and un-fortunate consequential PTSD.

For those that don’t know, “American Sniper” is based on the infamous Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, a four-tour serviceman with over 160 confirmed kills, giving him the title of the most lethal sniper in U.S. history. Kyle was honorably discharged in 2009, and during that time wrote a book on his experiences, en-titled “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.” He was also widely re-vered for his assistance in working with veterans struggling with PTSD.

Now, I’ve read several chapters (a solid half) of Chris Kyle’s autobiogra-phy from which the film is adapted. Explained in detail is his early life as a rancher, his recruitment into the BUD/S program (a program all SEALs must pass), his day-to-day job in Iraq inspect-ing (and sometimes taking down) oil tank-ers trying to smuggle il-

legal items that violated international sanctions, and his experiences in Baghdad, Ramadi, as well as his contribution during the second battle of Fallujah. There’s also a fair amount of revealing, personal information regarding his home life with his family between each deployment.

From all my reading about him, plus the doz-ens of interviews I’ve dug up, here’s my opinion on Chris: On one hand, his embodiment of God, family, and country val-ues is extremely noble, and something to be admired. There’s honor-able virtue in a man up-holding the preservation of America’s traditional principles, so I do have a soft spot for him. On the other hand, I’m a bit ambivalent towards his simplified, Bible-belting

“rah rah,” Texan black-and-white ideologies, especially in regards to some of his sweeping generalizations of the entire Middle East popu-lation. I’ve never been to the Middle East, though, so I can’t really dispute whether they’re “all sav-

ages,” as Kyle calls them, or not. I understand that Kyle likely had a hard-ened view of the world. Most of his deployment is based around facing and killing the ugliest forms of terrorism.

Moreover, past the of-fensive statements and downright xenophobic outlook that permeate the first half of the book, Kyle seems to have a pro-pensity to toot his own horn a bit, chiefly when it comes to petty bar fights over women. These seg-ments really add nothing to the book and, most likely unknown to Kyle, cast him in a negative light as someone boast-ful, egocentric, and ob-sessed with childish brawling. Yet, he seems to apply all these traits to all SEALs and service-men, as if they’re some inherent character trait.

I don’t think all men who’ve served would agree with that. In fact, I’m sure a more sophis-ticated bunch would find it downright embarrass-ing.

This leads me into even more controversy surrounding the legend.

Kyle has been caught outright lying on a num-ber of occasions. Most notorious was the defa-mation lawsuit filed by Jesse Ventura. In the book, Kyle told a story in which he got confron-tational with another military celebrity who had been bad-mouthing America, the troops, and President Bush. He then proceeded to teach him a bit of a lesson. In Kyle’s words, he “laid him out” and claims the guy “ended up on the floor.” Kyle later confirmed the SEAL to be Ventura. After Kyle’s death, Ventura still pursued the high-profile lawsuit, claiming it was a lie. Ventura ended up winning $1.8 million in defamation.

In a separate story Kyle told, he and another SEAL sat atop the New Orleans Superdome after they’d been sent down

by the Blackwater Se-curity Firm to help with the Post-Katrina assis-tance. Kyle claims they shot and killed over 30 looters. The incident was all swept under the rug. In another far-fetched story, Kyle was at a Tex-as gas station when two men tried to rob him. He shot them both dead and immediately afterwards, contacted the Pentagon where he claims they recognized him as a SEAL, and thanked him for “keeping the streets clean.” Yet for both sto-ries, there are no bodies, evidence, or documen-tation, nothing to prove that they even occurred. It seems Kyle had a habit of conceiving tall tales. The very fact that Kyle intentionally lied in his autobiography about the incident with Jesse Ven-tura calls into question how much of his autobi-

ography we should even believe.

But can I talk about how much I do like Kyle? Here’s the thing: Chris Kyle may not have been a perfect person, but his contributions to his country should never be dismissed. Chris Kyle did serve his country brave-ly. Most importantly, he was the best at what he was trained to do (al-though he personally argued that he wasn’t the best sniper, only a decent one who just so happened to be given the most opportuni-ties to kill.) His personal hero was Marine Carlos Hathcock, who served in Vietnam and has a confirmed record of 93 kills. I stand behind the man in every shot that he took, even if some of

EASTWOOD FAILS TO EXPLORE THE COMPLEXITIES OF CHRIS KYLE AND THE TOPIC OF PTSD

“Bradley Cooper’s scarily on-point performance as Kyle is about the only thing that

anchors Eastwood’s politically and morally problematic film.”

“SNIPER” cont. on pg. 14

patdollard.com


those shots may have involved innocents. As a country, we grant sol-diers a certain authority because we recognize that the choices they have to make are chal-lenging and difficult. He’s taken out some real high-target threats, not only threats to us, but to his fellow comrades to whom he had the utmost allegiance.

When Kyle returned home, it wasn’t the hun-dreds of human lives he put an end to that haunted him: it was his fellow soldiers that he wasn’t able to save. There’s something poi-gnant about his patrio-tism, even if some of it is falsely built around deluded conservative, Christian fundamental-ism and blind flag wav-ing. It’s pretty disgusting to hear people call him a murderer without be-ing prepared to put their lives on the line. He’s a protector and defender in the truest sense of the word. I truly am fasci-nated by Kyle, his imper-fections included, which is why I was very excited to see Clint Eastwood’s film treatment of his life.

Bradley Cooper’s scar-ily on-point perfor-mance as Kyle is about the only thing that an-chors Eastwood’s politi-cally and morally prob-lematic film. Otherwise, this is another directo-rial semi-misfire from Eastwood, who seems to not have much interest other than exulting old-hat values and gung-ho American exceptional-ism. If anyone hopes Eastwood’s “American Sniper” seriously focuses on PTSD, they’ll surely be disappointed. Per-sonally, I was looking for something that was a deconstruction of the

American myth of what it means to be a soldier, a film that broke down the archetypal, Hollywood golden-era John Wayne-esque characters, and revealed that not every hero is some indestruc-tible superhuman. In no way did I want to see the film villainize our pro-tagonist, but I did want to see the real Chris Kyle, flaws and all.

What we get is a film undercutting some ob-vious and important themes, discounting a lot of potentially interest-

ing subject matter, and most offensively, being completely dishonest in segments. In the book, Kyle makes the state-ment, “I don’t shoot peo-ple with Bibles. I’d like to, but I don’t.” However, in the movie, after Cooper comes under judgment for making his own call on pulling the trigger, he tells his commanding officers, “I don’t know what a Quran looks like.” Some areas of the film grossly misrepresent the Kyle from his book. He may very well have had a hateful agenda towards Muslims, even though he still earns and deserve a massive amount of re-spect for going out there and doing a job most of us wouldn’t. What’s sad is that Eastwood is white-washing Kyle, afraid to make him anything less than the perfect em-bodiment of heroism. Heck, the movie doesn’t even acknowledge the three previously stated, proven false fabrications.

The truth is lost some-where in between.

There are portions of “American Sniper,” however, that make it worth revisiting. This is a passion project for Cooper, his dedication never being anything less than a direct hit on target. Cracking at the seams and in denial about his mental scar-ring, a long-suffering and wounded Kyle tries to uphold the same sto-icism his father passed down to him through a metaphor about sheep,

wolves, and sheepdogs. His therapist asks, “You ever think that you might have seen things or done some things over there that you wish you hadn’t?” Cooper re-plies, “Oh no, that’s not me.” When PTSD really does start to hit Kyle, it’s all the more tragic be-cause he’s been refus-ing to believe it’s been with him for so long. The poor guy has it bad, and he can’t admit it to him-self although he is self-aware enough to know that he’s been affected by the war, carrying a mental anguish that he feels the need to save his brothers-in-arms from. Kyle’s PTSD and his aid to his discharged com-rades are arguably more noteworthy than his confirmed kill count, I’d dispute at least. It’s un-fortunate that Eastwood only dedicates the last 15 minutes of the movie to these segments, and even then, only does he ever scratch the sur-

face of the makings of what could have made “American Sniper” truly a resonating film above the rest. Most of Kyle’s heroics with vets on the homefront are bookend-ed or omitted entirely.

It’s at least better than 2013’s “Lone Survivor,” another interesting story based on real-life hero Marcus Luttrell turned into a heavy handed, jingoistic “Call of Duty”-resembling picture that came troublingly close to glorifying war and fetishzing violence.

You don’t have to be a troop-hating, America-disrespecting scumbag to see that, but what can anyone expect when we have directors from such acclaimed works as “Battleship” direct-ing our war films? The notion of someone’s service, suffering, and trauma becoming a form of throwaway en-tertainment is a real shame. “Lone Survivor,” the film, only perpetu-ates the myth that war is an action flick where you get to jump off rocks with your buddies while huge, theatrical-looking explosions go off in the background making you look like pop-stars.

“American Sniper” has sufficient thematic merit to keep it from resem-bling a mindless video-game, and it has scenes with enough emotional punch that hopefully some troops will find solace in. It also helps that the combat is real-istically shot. Perhaps

it’s not as tastefully done as the incredibly au-thentic raid sequence in the 2012 apolitical-near masterpiece “Zero Dark Thirty,” but in no way is it trigger-happy, roman-ticized nonsense.

Perhaps whoever ed-ited the teaser trailer for “American Sniper” would’ve done a better job directing and assem-bling the film. Eastwood is a passionless direc-tor. This is all the more unfortunate since it’s apparent this is a huge passion project for Coo-per and nearly everyone that knew Kyle. East-wood has no intention of making an “art” film, only a movie. Like all of his recent films, the de-livery of the dialogue from his actors, with the exception of Cooper, is oddly stilted. Some of the actors spitting military lingo sound like early teens who have learned to curse for the first time. Part of the reason for this is Eastwood’s unwilling-ness to shoot more than one take for each scene. I’m sure Warner Brothers is loving him for saving money on that front, but he never allows his cast to get some convincing back-and-forth rhythm going. The consequence of such neglectfulness on Eastwood’s part is a horrible performance on behalf of Sienna Miller as Taya Kyle, Kyle’s wife. I’m sure Miller is a good actress, but she couldn’t generate any genuine emotion likely due to the expedited shooting schedule. I wonder if audiences are even sup-posed to like her char-acter. Her opening lines to a SEAL before darting towards the exit to puke her guts out from alcohol over-exposure involve her swearing, saying that SEALs can lie, cheat, and do whatever they

If anyone hopes Eastwood’s “American Sniper”

seriously focuses on PTSD, they’ll surely be disappointed.

want. Say what you will about this piece, wheth-er readers find some of it offensive or not, I would never say anything that resembled such vicious-ness to a serviceman. Trust me, I’m forever grateful to live in a coun-try that doesn’t behead my family, put a gun in my hand, and make me a soldier at a very early age.

“American Sniper” is an enjoyable, albeit frus-trating experience. This is me at my most critical as a result of wanting to rave about this film. It’s a movie that will ruminate in my head for what it could have been, rather than what it turned out to be. 2014’s superior American war film is Da-vid Ayer’s WWII tank drama “Fury.” If audi-ences were expecting a film focusing on PTSD with “American Sniper,” they’re better off check-ing out “Brothers” (2009), “The Messenger” (2009), “Jarhead” (2005), and Michael Cimino’s clas-sic “The Deer Hunter” (1978). Someday they might make another Chris Kyle biopic, and it will be unfortunate that Bradley Cooper won’t be at the forefront of it. Chris Kyle was, without a doubt, a complex person. This is hardly a complex or challenging film, but it’s one worth seeing, if only to witness promis-ing and brief snippets of what could have been an extraordinary film about one of America’s most extraordinary soldiers. In its boldest moments, it manages to capture what is both honorable and dangerous about be-ing persuaded by Ameri-can myth. Rob Gabe is a fourth-year student

majoring in communication

studies. He can be reached

at [email protected].

“SNIPER” cont. from pg. 13

SPORTSJanuary 26, 2015 Page 15

[email protected]

GOLDEN RAMS FIGHTING FOR .500 Ryan Calpin

Sports Editor

The West Chester University’s men’s basketball team

has had a very up and down season thus far. They are currently sport-ing a 9-11 record, and a 7-7-conference record.

After they started the season 2-0 beating Millersville and Kutz-town the team started to struggle as they went on a six-game losing streak. They lost to two out of confer-ence teams, Lincoln University and Phila-delphia University in close games. They then fell to four straight PSAC teams, again three of the four games being very close con-tests. That included a one-point loss to Gan-non University, when Gannon’s Matthew Dogan hit a go-ahead three pointer with a minute and a half left, which would eventu-ally become the game-winning basket. Those six losses dropped West Chester to a 2-6 record, and coach Blair search-ing for answers.

Temporarily they found some answers as they bounced back from their six-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak. They defeated Clarion University, Chestnut Hill College

and University of Pitts-burgh at Johnstown to try and pull back to .500 on the season. This is a recurring theme on the season, where the team has gone through rough patches, and then tries to bounce back and get back on track to salvage the season.

After the three-game winning streak they went on to lose four of their next five games including two blow out

losses to Indiana (Pa.) University and East Stroudsburg University by 20 plus points each game. At this point in the season their record fell to 7-11 and they were really struggling to find a way to win basketball games.

However, over the past two games they have seemed to pick up

the pace of the games, and have found more success, as they have won both those games. They defeated Cheyney University on Wednes-day night in front of a home crowd at Hol-linger Field House. They then went on the road and took out a de-cent Mansfield team by double-digit points. In both of these games they scored at least 90 points, and they have

only done that two other times during the season, with one of them being a double-overtime loss to Phila-delphia University. In their game against Mansfield on Saturday, junior Avery Brown, who has been strug-gling from the field this season had a breakout game. He had 18 points

on 6-7 shooting from the field including 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Matt Wiseley led the Golden Rams with 12 rebounds. Matt Wise-ley and Cory Blake each added 14 points in the victory. It was a game where West Chester controlled the entire time from start to fin-ish, with the lead only switching once early in the first half.

It was very similar in their game against Cheyney, which they won 95-62, against the basement team of the PSAC. Blake led all scorers with 16 points, while Mike Wilson added 15 points on five three-pointers. Wiseley stuffed the stat sheet as he had ten points 7 as-sists and four steals in the biggest win of the season for the Golden Rams. Not the biggest win in terms of im-portance, but more in terms of point differen-tial.

Junior transfer Logan Stumpf was installed in the starting lineup for the past two games. He brings an outside scor-

ing threat along with a tough, defensive men-tality that so far has

paid off for the Golden Rams.

Their offense is start-ing to pick up some traction, and their de-fense is creating turn-overs, which leads to fast break points and a better offense.

Cory Blake leads the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game while junior Matt Wise-ley leads the team in rebounding and steals, with 8.2 and 2.3 re-spectively. The problem the Golden Rams have is the excess amount of turnovers they commit and the lack of assists they dish out. Having said that they are 17th out of 18 teams in the PSAC in assist to turn-over ratio. Their lead-ing assist man is Par-rish Grant with three assists per game, while the next closest is Ra-heem Hall with just over two a game. “We have to focus on play-ing smart basketball in order for our team to be successful. We have shown that we can do

Junior Matt Wiseley takes the ball off a rebound during a

fast break situation in Wednesday’s win against Cheyney

University.

Colleen Goldhorn/ Asst. Photography Editor

“We have to focus on play-ing smart basketball in or-der for our team to be suc-cessful. We have shown that we can do it, we just need to be more consistent.”

it, we just need to be more consistent.” stated Wiseley. If they can find a way to switch their trend with assists and turnovers then they will have a good chance to bounce back the rest of the season and make the playoffs. They are a very talented team, they just need to find which pieces fit where, and I believe they are en route in doing that.

They have eight games remaining, with five of them being at home. Right now they are sporting a 9-11 re-cord, and if they can find a way to win five or six of the final eight games then they will more then likely find a way into the PSAC playoffs, and who knows what can hap-pen. A team is always most dangerous when playing their best bas-ketball at then end of the season. So the only question remaining is can they build off of this two-game win-ning streak that they are currently in, or will they revert back to their ways earlier in the season and continue the roller coaster ride? With a couple impor-tant conference games approaching, you will have to watch to find out. Ryan Calpin is a third-


communications with a minor

in journalism. He can be

reached at RC784188@wcupa


GOLDEN RAMS FALL IN NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

This year’s Super Bowl has all the qualities that one

could ask for in the fi-nal National Football League game of the season. The two num-ber-one seeds in their respective conferenc-es, the New England Patriots from the AFC and the Seattle Se-ahawks from the NFC will square off on Feb. 1.

Having two number- one seeds is a pretty enticing scenario for any sports fan. Keep in mind, this is the Su-per Bowl after all, so even non sports fans will find themselves in front of a TV the first day of February at 6:30 p.m. tuned into NBC just to be a part of the fun. Or maybe they will be there just to watch the commercials. Re-gardless of reasoning all viewers are in for a great game, but it isn’t just because of the cal-iber of the two teams fighting for the Lom-bardi trophy.

What’s truly entic-ing about this game is what the result implies for whichever team comes out victorious.

On the one hand, if the Patriots win, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady will become, al-most unarguably, the greatest head coach – QB duo in the his-tory of the league, winning their fourth Super Bowl together.

By Billy ReardonStaff WriterAfter advancing

into the NCAA national tourna-

ment for the second time in the past two years, the West Chester University football team continued to build on the awards and accomplishments of the blossoming program in the home stretch of this season.

On the shoulders of nationally recognized quarterback Sean Mc-Cartney, the Golden Rams fell to host Con-cord University, 51- 36, in the Super Region semi-final. Although not the goal they set their sights for, the Rams can be proud in all of the achievements and ac-complishments made this past season.

Against the no. 10 ranked Concord, West Chester put up an im-pressive 691 total yards of offense, led by the duel QB performance of McCartney and Andrew Derr. McCartney went 25-43, throwing for 341 yards with three touch down passes. Derr also stepped in nicely, show-ing Ram fans a glimpse of what to expect under center next year. Throw-ing for 87 yards on 5-11 passing with a touch-down was a nice lead up into the big shoes to fill for next year.

The Rams’ usual stars were on their game for the matchup with Con-cord, especially McCart-ney’s favorite target Tim Brown. Brown reeled in nine catches for a to-tal of 216 yards. Brown caught a TD pass from both quarterbacks and

dominated the defen-sive back system of Con-cord, an impressive end to his already incredible season.

C o m p l e m e n t i n g

Brown, seven other Golden Rams caught passes. Mike Doty caught seven passes and added a score for West Chester, while Eddie El-liot and Erick Brundidge added four apiece.

The passing game was strong, but the running game was equally as ef-fective. Elliot exploded

for 116 yards and a touch down on 21 carries, aided by Brandon Monk who carried the ball 15 times for a total of 122 yards. The dynamic duo

finished their season on one of their most im-pressive bouts.

On defense, senior All-American Ronell Williams finished his collegiate career with an eight-tackle game. Wil-liams, who has been a cornerstone in the Gold-en Rams’ defense for the past few years, will

certainly be a missing piece in a young Golden Rams’ defense next year.

Corey Scott, a Golden Ram defensive back, finished just behind Wil-liams with seven tackles. Scott had an impressive season himself since transferring to West Chester from Delaware State University this past season to play out his fi-nal year of eligibility.

William’s wingman in the line-backing core, Mike Labor, finished with six tackles in the game. Without the two outstanding players next year, West Chester will certainly be looking for others to fill the roles of defensive leaders and star players, which the two held for the past few seasons.

Despite the loss, the Golden Rams pieced to-gether another strong and successful season, continuing to grow the name and respect of the West Chester football program. With a final record of 11-2 (8-1), the Golden Rams are begin-ning to claim the title as one of, if not the most, dominant football pro-gram in the PSAC.

Recently, West Ches-ter was selected as the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) DII team of the year. The ECAC contains over 300 different schools rang-ing from Division I to Division III.

“It is a great honor and a nice reward for our entire program and especially for our se-nior class, which has worked tirelessly to maintain a high-level of excellence,” stated head Coach Bill Zwaan when asked about winning the presitgious award.

A.J. Arcaini Asst. Sports Editor

Jose Mestre/ Photography Editor

Eddie Elliot will lead a young offensive cast for the Golden

Rams next season.

Along with the whole team earning this award, quarterback Mc-Cartney was selected as Co-ECAC Offensive P.O.Y. McCartney ranked among the tops in all

major quarterback cat-egories in Division II, while throwing for 42 touchdowns and over 3,700 yards. Four other players joined McCart-ney on the All-ECAC team, including Derek Schatz, Brown, Andrew Cohen and Al-Hajj Sha-bazz.

The awards did not stop there. McCartney continued to rack up numerous awards, along with more players from the Golden Rams being recognized. Nine Rams were selected to the Don Hansen FB Gazette All-Region team. Mc-Cartney finished fifth in Harlon Hill voting. Also, McCartney, Brown, Wil-liams, and Shabazz were selected to the All Super Region 1 team.

The list of awards and recognition for the play-ers and Coach Zwaan this postseason is as long as they come. It is great, but if the Golden Rams could trade it all for another chance at a national title, I’m sure they would.

A few historical sea-sons and careers ended when the Rams fell to Concord. A quarterback who has led one of the most successful Golden

Ram teams in history will be gone, along with key players on both sides of the ball who have had career best seasons. Players like Williams and Shabazz are play-

ers that will forever be remembered in West Chester football history. Their mark the past two seasons has rejuvinated the Golden Ram football team back to being on of the best in the country.

Despite the loss of a few huge pieces, the success the Rams found came from hard work and heart, which this team is loaded with. Al-though it will take time, West Chester has shown their talent and will cer-tainly continue to reach new heights in their achievements on the gridiron in the upcom-ing season.

On the shoulders of returners like Elliot, Monk, Derr and Cohen, the Rams will stop at nothing for more suc-cess. They are hungry for a championship, and have the heart to do it. As the offseason approach-es, things will begin to fall in place. Who will take the pen from Mc-Cartney and write the next page in the history of West Chester football?AJ Arcaini is a third-year student


studies with a minor in

journalism. He can be reached

at [email protected]

“It is a great honor and a nice reward for our entire program and especially for our senior class, which has worked tirelessly to maintain a high-level of excellence,”


WEST CHESTER’S PRO TALKWHICH CHAPTER WILL BE WRITTEN ON SUNDAY?

This year’s Super Bowl has all the qualities that one

could ask for in the fi-nal National Football League game of the season. The two num-ber-one seeds in their respective conferenc-es, the New England Patriots from the AFC and the Seattle Se-ahawks from the NFC will square off on Feb. 1.

Having two number- one seeds is a pretty enticing scenario for any sports fan. Keep in mind, this is the Su-per Bowl after all, so even non sports fans will find themselves in front of a TV the first day of February at 6:30 p.m. tuned into NBC just to be a part of the fun. Or maybe they will be there just to watch the commercials. Re-gardless of reasoning all viewers are in for a great game, but it isn’t just because of the cal-iber of the two teams fighting for the Lom-bardi trophy.

What’s truly entic-ing about this game is what the result implies for whichever team comes out victorious.

On the one hand, if the Patriots win, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady will become, al-most unarguably, the greatest head coach – QB duo in the his-tory of the league, winning their fourth Super Bowl together.

The duo has been to the biggest stage in Ameri-can sports six times now, winning their first three trips, and losing their last two.

A Pats win would also bring Belichick into a tie for the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach with Chuck Noll. Noll won his four Super Bowl championships with Terry Bradshaw as his quarterback for the

Pittsburgh Steelers dur-ing their Steel Curtain days. A Patriots win would also tie Brady with Bradshaw and Joe

Montana for the most Super Bowls won by a quarterback, and sub-sequently tie the duo of Brady and Belichick with the duo of Noll and Bradshaw for the most Super Bowls by the same head coach and QB.

What about if the op-posite happens, and the Seahawks come out on top for the sec-ond straight year? They

would be the first repeat champions since Brady and Belichick led the Patriots to two straight Super Bowls against the

Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 and 2005, each of which, coinciden-tally, were only won by a field goal.

A Seattle victory in Super Bowl XLIX would represent much more than just a Super Bowl championship. It would show the NFL that, even in the most of-fensively friendly time in NFL history, with all of the rules that pro-tect the quarterback and give receivers the upper hand, that de-fense can, and still does, win champion-ships. Not only once, but twice. Last year they found a way to shutdown the best of-fense in the league, the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, result-ing in a blowout 43-8 victory. Through the play of individuals like Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman, Kam Chan-cellor and Cliff Avril, just to name a few, this defense has grown to-gether over the past fou years and trans-formed into an abso-lute machine. Thriv-ing on confidence and big-play ability, the Se-ahawks defense is still continuing to grow.

A Seattle win would put the Seahawks into the discussion as one of the greatest defenses in NFL history, right up there with the Chicago Bears of the mid-80s, the Steelers’ Steel Cur-tain, and the 2000 Bal-timore Ravens, among others. Last year they stopped Manning. If

By Billy ReardonStaff Writer

they were able to come anywhere close to do-ing the same to Brady this time around, there’s no doubt they would be in the discus-sion as one of the best defenses of all time, es-pecially since the Patri-ots led the NFL in points per game in the regular season this year. Man-ning and Brady are al-

most guaranteed to be Hall of Famers as soon as their eligible to be enshrined in Canton. Shutting those two down in two straight Super Bowls is nothing to sneeze at.

Despite the known talent and history be-hind Mr. Brady, Russell Wilson is slowly creep-ing his way in to the list of elite quarterbacks in the NFL right now. The statistics prove them-selves, and there is a million to look at. One stands out though, 10-0. With Wilson under center, the Seahawks are 10-0 against oppos-ing Super Bowl quar-terbacks. When push comes to shove, foot-ball is about winning. Wilson does that, and he inspires his team through his actions, on and off the field. In the words of all pro safety Earl Thomas, “If guys didnt believe in him, I bet they believe in him now.”

This game could also mark the beginning of a new dynasty in the

NFL, while simultane-ously marking the end of the most dominant team in recent memo-ry, if the Seahawks can outlast the Pats on Sun-day. Seattle, led by the Legion of Boom, and third year quarterback Wilson, have a young core that have all of the pieces in place to be, at the very least, a

Super Bowl contender for years and years to come. If they find a way to win another Super Bowl against the al-mighty Patriots, it could very well represent a passing of the torch. The well-polished vet-erans versus the fast and driven newcomers, already experienced way beyond their years.

So, both teams have much more at stake besides the ability to hoist the Lombardi tro-phy above their heads to a downpour of con-fetti and cheers from their faithful fanbases. Both teams have lega-cies on the line, players and coaches from both teams have legacies on the line. NFL history will be changed on the turf of University of Phoenix field in Glen-dale, Ariz. on Sunday evening, and how it is changed, well that will all come in time.Billy Reardon is a third-



in journalism. He can be reached


Ram teams in history will be gone, along with key players on both sides of the ball who have had career best seasons. Players like Williams and Shabazz are play-

ers that will forever be remembered in West Chester football history. Their mark the past two seasons has rejuvinated the Golden Ram football team back to being on of the best in the country.

Despite the loss of a few huge pieces, the success the Rams found came from hard work and heart, which this team is loaded with. Al-though it will take time, West Chester has shown their talent and will cer-tainly continue to reach new heights in their achievements on the gridiron in the upcom-ing season.

On the shoulders of returners like Elliot, Monk, Derr and Cohen, the Rams will stop at nothing for more suc-cess. They are hungry for a championship, and have the heart to do it. As the offseason approach-es, things will begin to fall in place. Who will take the pen from Mc-Cartney and write the next page in the history of West Chester football?AJ Arcaini is a third-year student


studies with a minor in

journalism. He can be reached


“If guys didnt believe in him, I bet they believe in him now.”

Photo by: mctcampus.com


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GYMNASTICS SEASON UNDERWAY

The West Chester University gym-nastics team (1-

1) started their season Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 with a loss over Ursi-nus College 188.1-187.55. Majesta Valentine, a sophomore from Wilm-ington, Del., picked up right where she left o� following a successful freshman season. The USAG All-American won the uneven bars with a strong 9.55 and tied for fi rst on vault with her 9.65 performance. Her stellar performances on both the balance beam and fl oor exercise landed her in the runner-up po-sition. Valentine’s 9.525 on the balance beam was

just 0.1 behind the win-ner. Selena Swanger, a sophomore for the Gold-en Rams, also had an impressive performance in the season opener, registering a 37.250 all-around placing second behind teammate Val-entine in the all-around competition. Swanger also placed fourth on bars behind Valentine with an excellent 9.35 performance.

Freshman Rachel Blair also had a strong perfor-mance in her West Ches-ter debut. Blair showed her strength on the vault where she placed fourth with a 9.575 per-formance. Freshman teammate Meghan Chan scored a 9.15 on the bal-ance beam to place fourth in her West Ches-

ter debut as well.Junior teammates

Lindsay Knapp and Meghan Brannon each tied for fi fth on the un-even bars with a 9.175.

The Rams were able to display their team’s great depth on the fl oor exer-cise with all six girls on the line-up, posting 10.0 start values and scores all above the 9.5 mark. This is the fi rst time in seven seasons of coaching that head coach Barbara Cor-dova’s entire fl oor line-up posted 10.0 start val-ues.

Following an unfor-tunate loss at the teams’ fi rst meet of the season, the Golden Rams contin-ued its season-opening road trip and second meet of the year on Sat-urday, Jan. 17, against

SUNY Cortland in a dual meet in upstate New York.

The Lady Rams con-tinued to show their strength as a team this past weekend by posting a 188.0-185.225 victory over SUNY Cortland in a non-league women’s gymnastics meet. De-spite a shaky start in the Rams’ fi rst meet of the season, it was a solid team e� ort all the way around and West Chester was able to eliminate the number of counting falls.

Valentine had an-other outstanding per-formance claiming the top spot on vault with a strong score of 9.625. Teammate Alyssa Hult, a junior from Fremont, NH., also had a quality outing placing fi rst on

the uneven bars with a 9.475.

Behind Valentine on the vault was se-nior teammate Melissa Prisco from Old Bridge, NJ. Prisco showed her strength on the event scoring a 9.475 to place third. Sophomore team-mate Swanger, from Gettysburg, Pa., posted the highest all-around score with a career-high 37.800. She topped teammate Valentine, who registered a 37.275.

Meghan Chan, a fresh-man from Northvale, NJ, was runner-up on the beam with a strong 9.65 performance. Swanger tied for third with a 9.625 as well.

The Golden Rams’ depth continued to shine on the fl oor ex-

ercise where they took third, fourth, fi fth, and sixth place. The area of greatest improvement for the Lady Rams from their fi rst meet was on the balance beam where West Chester cleaned up their performances and eliminated the number of counting falls.

The West Chester Uni-versity women’s gym-nastics team will have traveled to Towson Uni-versity on Sunday Jan 25 to face The College of William & Mary, Univer-sity of North Carolina, and Towson in a quad meet. Check back for next week’s issue to see how they did! Lauren Bilenki is a fourth-year

student majoring in accounting

and fi nance. She can be reached


By Lauren BilenkiSta� Writer

By Dylan HarrisonSta� Writer


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LADY RAMS FIGHT-ING FOR TOP SPOT IN

PSAC

The West Chester University women’s basketball team

continues to impress this season, riding a four- game win streak with a pair of victories against Cheyney University and Mansfi eld University.

After opening the sea-son with a pair of wins in the Carol Eckman Me-morial Tournament, the Golden Rams continued their hot start to the sea-son, reeling o� six straight wins to open the regular season, highlighted by an overtime thriller against Shippensburg.

The Raiders came out hot, opening up the game with a 16-5 lead. West Chester answered right back with huge 13-0 run to get them back into the game. Dallas Ely scored 17 of her 28 in the second half, including fi ve three-pointers. In the fi nal min-ute, Ely drove to the basket for a score to bring Ship-pensburg’s lead to two. Forcing a turnover on the other end, the Golden Rams had a chance to bring the game to a tie, and they did just that. Junior Chikisha Steele-Hook made a jump-shot with 25 seconds left, tying the game for the fi rst time since the 7:55 mark in the fi rst half. The Rams car-ried that momentum and secured the win in over-time.

Chemistry is the key to success for this Golden Rams squad, as a major-ity of these players have been together for the past three season. Led by lead-

ing scorers Brittany Si-cinski and Ely, alongside an excellent supporting cast with Steele-Hook and Anna Kuntz at the four and the fi ve, and Jasmen Clark rounding out the usual starting lineup, the Golden Rams have one of the most complete teams in the PSAC. Porscha Speller, Mariah Powell, and Serifat Junaid pro-vide excellent scoring and rebounding o� the bench.

The hot streak to open the season for the Gold-en Rams fi nally came to a close with a 69-61 loss to Gannon, a loss start-ing a 3-3 rough patch for West Chester. West Ches-ter bounced back o� the 76-65 loss to Blooms-burg with a 72-62 vic-tory against Philadelphia University on Jan. 13. The highlight of the game was the milestone set by ju-nior Ely, who surpassed 1,000 points for her ca-reer. She is the 18th player in school history to reach the milestone, and her fel-low leading scorer Sicins-ki will join the 1,000-point club alongside her soon. Sicinski had 19 in the vic-tory, putting her at 946 for her career. Steele-Hook and Kuntz each grabbed 11 rebounds down low.

The Golden Rams rolled o� the win over Philly U with their second straight victory against East Stroudsburg. Steele-Hook registered her second straight double-double, while Sicinski added a double-double of her own with 21 points and 10 re-bounds to put her at 967 points on her career. Four players were in double fi g-ures for the Golden Rams in the victory to put them

at 13-3 on the season. West Chester returned

home this past week on Jan. 21 against Cheyney University. In a dominant victory for the Golden Rams, the bench put in extended minutes in the victory. Speller scored a team-high 14 points, nine in the second half, to go with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Junaid matched a sea-son-high with 13 points in the victory.

On Saturday, the Golden Rams traveled to Mansfi eld for a PSAC matchup riding a three-game win streak. It was a great example of the depth scoring from West Chester as fi ve players scored double-fi gures for the team. Powell scored a season-high 13 points o� the bench, with 10 of those coming in the sec-ond half. Steele-Hook and Speller added 12 points each and combined for seven rebounds. Kuntz added 11 points and six rebounds of her own.

The Golden Rams look to ride their four-game win streak with a pair of divisionial games on the road this week against Millersville and Kutztown University. Millersville University is 10-9 on the season and was defeated last meeting by the Gold-en Rams in the fi rst game of the regular season 89-69. Kutztown is 6-11 on the season and was also defeated by West Chester in the fi rst meeting by a score of 76-52.Dylan Harrison is a third-



in journalism. He can be reached


By Dylan HarrisonSta� Writer

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SEASON UNDERWAY

The West Chester University indoor track & fi eld cam-

paign is o� to a great start for both the Men and Women this season. The men’s squad opened the indoor season with three standout performanc-es from all-conference members from a year ago.

Colin Vannicolo starred for the Golden Rams breaking the school record in the heptathlon with 4,398 points last month at the Fast Times Finals meet hosted by Lehigh Univer-sity. Miles Ransom and Collin Mascola also got o� to a spectacular start in multiple events lead-ing the way for the Golden Rams.

Vannicolo placed fourth in the long jump leaping 20 feet, 3 ¾ inches long. Vannicolo also placed fourth in the 60m dash in a time of 7.44 seconds and cleared 5-7 ¼ in the high jump. Ransom earned sixth in both the 60m and the long jump. Mascola tied for second in the high jump in 5-9 ¾ while plac-ing fourth in the shot put with a distance of 36-9 ½.

Senior Ricky Bruno placed in the top fi ve in three events also high-lighting West Chester at the Fast Times meet. Bru-no earned runner up in the 200m with a time of 22.76 seconds while also placing third in the 60m in 7.13 seconds.

Last Friday Shawn Young won the 400m, pacing an impressive showing for West Ches-ter at the Golden Bear Invitational of Kutztown University. This was the team’s fi rst competition

since the calendar turned to 2015.

Young posted a win-ning time of 51.63 sec-onds, leading a contingent of Golden Rams to the fi nish line in the event. West Chester claimed fi rst, second, fourth, and sixth places in the 400m. Ghassan Dix was runner up to Young in 51.86 while Chris Stancil and Sybrim Medina earned fourth and sixth, respectively, in 52.36 and 52.64.

D’Andrew Gursey was also a winner Friday night, taking fi rst place in the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet, 1 inch, West Ches-ter’s eighth- best e� ort in school history. Teammate Joey DeCecco placed third in the triple jump, clearing 43-10 ½.

West Chester’s 4x400m relay team consisting of Dix, Ryan Heimbach, Bro-dy Honeycutt and Masco-la was the other fi rst-place winner for the Golden Rams Friday. The group crossed the line in 3 min-utes, 26.94 seconds.

Greg Raudenbush earned a pair of PSAC qualifying distances in the fi eld events at the in-vitational as well. Rauden-bush put the shot 47-5 ¾ to fi nish runner up while also tossing the weight throw 48-2 for a fi fth place showing.

The Golden Rams then took their talents to the Tiger Open at Princeton Saturday. West Chester placed three runners in the top 13 of the 400m and Zack Musselman was nearly PSAC qualifi er in his fi rst indoor meet.

The West Chester Women’s track and fi eld has also had an excep-tional start. During the season opener at Lehigh University, senior con-

ference champion Kayla Owens picked up where she left o� a year ago by winning both the shot put and the weight throw. For her achievement Owens received Corvias ECAC co-athlete of the week honors for Division II women’s track & fi eld.

Owens is coming o� a junior campaign a year ago that saw her capture the PSAC Championship during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. This is the fi rst weekly honor for a West Chester track & fi eld athlete this year.

Sarah Kosenske placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 36-8 ¼ while also placing eighth in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet even.

As the Lady Rams took their talents to the Golden Bear Invitational at Kutztown University Owens came back with a pair of event wins, set-ting a school record in the weight throw.

Owens posted a toss of 52 feet, 2 ¾ inches.

Freshman Kosenske continued her impres-sive start to her collegiate career with a fi rst- place win in the long jump. She leaped 17-0 ¼. Emily Du-sellier won the 800m in a time of 2 minutes, 23.68 seconds which was fair for qualifi cation into the 2015 PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships next month.

West Chester returns to action for both the men and women Saturday, Jan. 31 for the Bison Open & Multi’s hosted at Bucknell University.Gianna Seeney is a third-


communications with

a minor in journalism.

She can be reached at

[email protected]

By Gianna SeeneySta� Writer

MEN’S BASKETBALL FIGHTING TO GET BACK TO .500 -PAGE 15

Colleen Goldhorn/ Asst. Photography Editor

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