We ask the questions that no one can answer.

Flu season is hereAquinas’ Health and Wellness services gives tips on how to avoid the bugs floating around campus.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012Volume 31, Issue 8

page 2

>>NEWSWelcome, Episcopalians | 2The Catholic Church opens up a new order just for Episcopalian converts. However, the order is controversial among some Catholics.

Rick Snyder cuts, again | 2In an effort to bolster Michigan’s floundering economy, Rick Snyder announced a new set of benefit cuts over break.

Two student workers discovered the body of Nathanael Pelkey, 29, in Willowbrook Pond, along Robinson Road, on the Aquinas College campus Wednesday, Jan. 4.

Pelkey’s body was found over winter break, when few students were on campus. There are no known witnesses of his death.

A c c o r d i n g t o A q u i n a s College Campus Safety Director K e v i n K w i a t k o w s k i , t h e b o d y was discovered around 2:00 p.m. Emergency services were called to the scene to investigate and remove the body, and all campus personnel were notified.

Invest igat ions at the scene revealed that a set of tracks led from Robinson Road to the pond. Although foul play was considered at first, investigators quickly ruled it out.

“You always suspect [foul play],” said Kwiatkowski. “You can’t rule anything out until you have facts.”

Investigators are still waiting on the results of a toxicology report on Pelkey’s blood.

“ We k n o w t h a t h e wa s o n foot, and we know that Mr. Pelkey stumbled into the pond,” said Sgt. Chris Postma of the Grand Rapids Police Department, “but other than that, the real reason how he ended up inside the pond is of question.

“That’s why we’re waiting for a toxicology report,” he continued.

Some Aquinas students were

>>A&E

B.F.A. on display | 3The AMC is currently displaying art from two of Aquinas’ own graduating seniors. Reporter Dale Domer checks it out.

Disney in 3D | 5Saint reporter Sam Swartout watches some childhood classics with extra dimensions. But is the ticket price worth it?

>>SPORTS

Break action at AQ | 4The Saint brings you highlights from Aquinas sports that you might have missed.

Pitiful Pistons | 4Reporter Brian Kalchik looks at how Detroit basketball is shaping up. Or rather, not shaping up.

Zylstra. “ It just didn’t make sense.” Police publicly identified the

body on Thursday, Jan. 5 , af ter Pelkey’s family was contacted with news of his death. Pelkey was originally from the St. Joseph area of western Michigan. He had moved to Grand Rapids searching for a fresh

start, with plans to enroll in college and find a job.

His family did not know exactly where he was living at the time of his death.

Funeral services for Pelkey were held on Jan. 9 at St. Gabriel Catholic Mission in Berrien Springs.

By Matt KuczynskiEditor-in-Chief

Found: Nathanael Pelkey’s body was discovered in Willowbrook Pond, pictured above, by Aquinas College student workers who were on the job January 4.

Searching for answers

taken aback when they heard of the body found on campus. “I was very shocked and surprised,” said senior Charles Merkel. “My initial reaction was, ‘ I don’t know what to say. This is messed up.’” he added.

“My first thought was that he was murdered,” said senior Joel

Republican primaries heat up

Party like its 1999 with the Lions | 4 Why the SEC should not win | 4

theSaintPolice still not sure about cause of death for

body found in Willowbrook Pond

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE / THE SAINT

Something diff erent: Aquinata Hall, a former Aquinas College dormitory on the Marywood campus of the Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters, is slated for a $4 million renovation to create an elder care facility that will serve both nuns and the public.

In Pictures:Aquinata Hall to be converted into

assited living facilities

By Laura FarrellThe Saint Reporter

After the increasing involvement o f y o u n g a d u l t s i n t h e 2 0 0 8 p r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n a n d u p s and downs of President Obama’s f irst term, the 2012 presidential election has been highly anticipated. There was no doubt that the 2012 Presidential elections would prove to be very competitive in the GOP and so far, the presidential primaries have proved just that.

The Iowa GOP primary, which took place on January 3, brought high hopes and anxiety as Michigan native and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney beat second place finisher Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator, by a marginal, but victorious 8 votes.

Ron Paul, Texan member of the House of Representatives, rounded out in third place with a respectable twenty-one percent of the votes.

Last Tuesday, the primaries in New Hampshire were held with a very different result. Mitt Romney took the lead with almost forty percent of the total votes. Ron Paul came in second this time with Jon Huntsman, former governor o f Utah, just behind in third place. Rick Santorum took a dive into fifth place with around nine percent of the votes. With several more GOP primaries to go, the next in South Carolina on January 21, there is still question as to whether or not Romney has secured his spot. There is room for Santorum to become more consistent at the top.

After the success of President Obama’s 2008 campaign, where social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter played a vital role, his 2012 campaign will have to be just as fresh in order to compete.

With most of his 2008 campaign crew back again, Obama is well underway with his campaign after he announced his re-candidacy.

With things l ike the Occupy Movements and the removal of troops in Iraq on everyone’s minds, voters will turn to specific points in the candidates’ agendas on issues like the economy and war. The Michigan Presidential Primary Election will take place on February 28 with the registration deadline on January 13.

Read us anytime, anywhere at

www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE / THE SAINT

World news updateOpposition to al-Assad continues, Greece in financial turmoil, Four dead in cruise

liner fiascoBy Dan MeloySports Editor

Syria: Protests continue against Syrian

leader President Bashar al-Assad and his government. Assad and his government are accused of continuing violent crack downs on dissenters. More than 5,000 people have died since the protests have begun. Demonstrators are demanding an end to al-Assad’s regime which began in 2000.

O n D e c e m b e r 2 6 , t h e A r a b League sent in monitors to observe the Assad regime’s actions in the country. However since the monitors were sent into Syria, 400 people have been killed.

P r e s i d e n t B a s h a r a l - A s s a d

made an ‘impromptu’ appearance in Damascus where thousands of people attended in support of al-Assad. Critics of al-Assad said that the rally was not impromptu but only a ploy by the Syrian government to make it appear that he has support.

Greece:T h e G r e e k g o v e r n m e n t

i s c u r r e n t l y i n t a l k s w i t h t h e International Monetary Fund and the European Union over a deal that would have the IMF and the EU bail out the bankrupt Greek government.

In return the Greek government would have to agree with its private lenders to write off 50 percent of the

outstanding loans given to the Greek government.

Without the funds from the EU and the IMF, Greece may be forced to leave the European Union.

The Greek government has been working on some austerity measures at the request of the EU and the IMF in order to make the country more financially solvent. However these measures have been met with domestic unrest throughout Greece.

Italy:The cruise liner Costa Concordia

hit a reef last Friday night, creating gash in the ship’s haul causing the cruise liner to sink and resulting in six people dying.

Problems arose when the ship’s

captain Francesco Schettino piloted the ship close to the shore of Giglo Island off the coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea.

A f t e r t h e c r a s h , S c h e t t i n o abruptly abandoned ship and made it to shore while passengers will still trapped on the sinking ship.

Costa Cruise’s CEO stated the captain deliberately changed the course of the ship to show off the ship to people on the island. The Schettino is currently being detained on charges of manslaughter.

As of press time, seven deaths have been reported and 28 people still remain missing from the incident.

>> SINCE ARAB LEAGUE MONITORS WERE SENT INTO SYRIA, 400 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED <<

news page 2THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail saint.editor@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

Aquinas: Service Learning trip deadline is approaching

Flint: Get a tattoo before church at The Bridge

Michigan: Protests move to Rick Snyder’s doorstep this week <<For all those looking to make plans for

spring break, be aware that the applications for spring service learning trips are due Fri-day, January 20th. Options for students to consider are the Christian Appalacian Proj-ect in eastern Kentucky. Applications can be found on Course Connect.

An upstart church called The Bridge, lo-cated in Genesee County, has opened a tat-too parlor inside the church. Tatt oo artist and Bridge member Ryan Brown used the art as a form of recovering from alcoholism. The church provided space for Ryan to move his studio.

Buses from Flint, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Benton Harbor dropped off protestors at Gov. Rick Snyder’s private home in Superior Township. Members of Occupy protestors were upset over Snyder’s policy for emergency fi nancial managers to lead fi nances of at-risk school districts.

On Wednesday, Jan. 16, Wikipedia, along with several other websites, will be shutt ing down for 24 hours to protest the anti-piracy bills Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Pro-tect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). The bills were created to block access to websites con-taining unauthorized copyright material.

Nation: Wikipedia and others pro-test SOPA proposed policies

Lighting the fire

monica rischiotto |news editor

Rome is opening its doors to married priests: The Vatican recently established a new order for ex-Episcopalian priests, many married with children, to join the priesthood and still continue their married life.

I’ll be the fi rst to admit it. During the academic semester, keeping up with world news is not always number one on my priority list (Matt Kuczynski please don’t fi re me). I fi nd myself more engulfed in medieval literature, twentieth century writers, and just how exactly to calculate Excel spreadsheets.

Being from out of state, keeping up with news from my home back in Oregon is even further down that list.

This past weekend, however, my brother called to tell me our alma mater’s men’s high school basketball team beat our cross town rival for the fi rst time in over 10 years. For anyone who went to Catholic schools, you know the rivalries can be prett y extreme. And when it comes to Holy Cross vs. the Jesuits, watch out.

As I was reading an article about the game, highlighting the star players, I noticed the head coach’s name was nowhere to be seen.

Curiosity got the best of me. I quickly Googled Mike Petrino. Four years ago when I was a senior he couldn’t have been more than 35. He just had his fi rst baby. Both he and his wife were Montana natives, having moved to Oregon so she could fi nish her doctorate at the renowned Oregon Health and Science University. For all stretches of the imagination, he seemed to have “sett led down.” He loved coaching the men’s team, found a best friend in my high school soccer coach of the time, was popular in assembly movies, and (sorry for the stereotype) for a coach, was not a half bad teacher.

Yet despite what seemed to be success through the eyes of most, he never quite seemed satisfi ed. It is diffi cult to explain, but he was one of those people who had that look of intensity in their eyes, like their gears were always turning, observing and absorbing information.

I had heard once through the grapevine he had dreams of coaching for a college program, but it was hard to imagine at that time someone like him moving up (and away). At my high school, there was a joke that once you started teaching, coaching, janitoring, whatever it may be, the community tended to suck you in, and you literally became a Central Catholic Ram for life.

That being said, when I Googled Petrino’s name, my mouth nearly dropped. Portland’s most prominent sports columnist, John Canzano, dedicated a column just for Coach Petrino, who had accepted an assitant coaching position with the women’s basketball team at University of Wyoming. Petrino said it was an off er he would have never expected.

The column was titled “Petrino must go.” It wasn’t because our guys team was unsuccessful (they fi nished third in state twice during Petrino’s 5 years and he fi nished with an overall 97-37 winning record). “Petrino must go” because it was clear to everyone around him he had the capability of doing even greater things, and deep down, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, greater (or perhaps diff erent) things were in store.

Why is this relevant? Well , particularly to all my fellow seniors, I would imagine that most of you like me, went home for break and were bombarded with that question: So what are you doing aft er you graduate? And if you’re anything like me, your mind helplessly translated this into, “What are you doing with the rest of your life?” Hmm.

When I read the article about Coach Petrino, I a rush of excitment, a sense of hope. He represents what Dr. Durham once said a World in Crisis class: Whatever you end up doing, “Find that thing that lights your fi re.” For Petrino, it was coaching basketball, whatever level it may be, and always looking to improve.

Maybe it’s okay if we haven’t had a supernatural experience of our computer blackening out and a deep, James Earl Jones-esque voice declaring, “This is what you’re supposed to do with your life!”

Maybe we just need a spark. Something that gets us up in the morning and doesn’t place our childlike curiosity on a no-carb diet.

Aft er all, there is something spitirually comforting in realizing we can only plan ahead so much. When it comes down to it, the change we least expected just might be what we were always shooting for.

As America celebrates its diversity in culture, it also has to deal with the tensions between the many diverse groups. In the midst of economic strain and war overseas, the Catholic church has taken a small but signifi cant step in promoting peace and understanding.

At the start of the 2012 year, the Catholic Church announced that they have created the Personal Ordinate of the Chair of St. Peter. The new order will be a nationwide diocese of former Episcopalians, including former Episcopalian priests who are married with children.

Although the Catholic Church has always welcomed new members, this ordinate allows former Episcopalians to share in their new faith together. It also allows for large groups of ex-Episcopalians to join in the Catholic faith all at once. The base of this new diocese will be in Houston, Texas and will be headed by newly appointed Bishop Jeff ery N. Steenson. Bishop Steenson, who has a family himself, left the Episcopalian church in 2007.

There has always been tension between these two churches, as these issues are serious to many people. In recent years, the Episcopalian church has faced many diff ering views between its members on allowing their priests to be women and homosexuals, as well as other changes within the church.

Among diff ering teachings on the Pope, Mary, divorce and abortion and contraception, one of the main concerns of this new order deals with the clergy. Episcopalian priests are allowed to be married and have children. Because of this, the Catholic Church has decided that ex-Episcopalian priests, now in the Catholic order, who are already married do not have to follow the Church’s rules on celibacy, but they will never be able to become bishops.

Dr. Dennis Marshall, professor

By Laura FarrellThe Saint Reporter

To en d 2011, Governor Rick Snyder made some changes in Michigan. First, Snyder signed a measure excluding public employees with unmarried partners from being able to provide benefits for them. In addition, Snyder signed a law constraining the over 400,000 unemployed workers in Michigan to select low wage jobs after ten weeks of benefits, regardless of if the jobs pay less than they were making before and whether or not the job is outside their previous experience. Snyder claims, “It’s to encourage people to work. It’s not to have them go backward.”

These laws may also potentially make it more difficult for someone to collect jobless benefits if they’re fired or leave a job voluntarily. Political Science major Taylor Ellison commented on the changes.

By Yasmeen AhmedThe Saint Reporter

Winter has sett led in, and so has the possibility of coming down with the unwanted aches and pains of the cold or fl u.

Dr. John Walen from the Health and Wellness Clinic said, “Typically each year’s infl uenza activity starts on the west coast and moves east over several weeks. Usually, we begin to see infl uenza activity in west Michigan in early January, with peak activity in mid-Febuary.”

There have been no “warnings” from the Kent County Health Department or the Center for Disease Control about a particularly bad season, nor any warnings about dangerous new flu strains – unlike a few years ago when the warnings about H1N1 Influenza came out.

“This year’s flu vaccine protects against both the ‘regular’ fl u and the H1N1 strain, so there’s no need for these agencies to specifi cally warn about H1N1 this year,” said Dr. Walen.

Walen added, “We get a handful of sick kids returning from Christmas break, who then generously spread their infections amongst their friends, so things stay prett y steady with viral illnesses for the next month or two.”

Physician assistant Audrey Keller said the best way to reduce the chances of contracting the flu or cold is by “washing your hands for more than 20 seconds,” and advises students who are feeling ill to “stay at home so as not to spread their illness to others.”

Sophomore Kelsey Moellmann makes sure to “stay clean during the [cold and fl u season] by using hand sanitizer a lot.” Moellmann also recommends students read the AQ Student Health 101, the online student health magazine and says it’s full of “good health advice.”

Students should rest assured that it isn’t too late to stop by the Health and Wellness Clinic, located in lower Wege, to get their fl u shot or fl u mist for $25.

The clinic is open Monday thru Thursday from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (closed 12:45 p.m.-1:15 p.m. for lunch) and Friday from 11:30 a.m. thru 3:30 p.m.

COURTESY ANNIE BURCH

of theology, explained just what this means: “Because the practice of priestly celibacy is a disciplinary rather than a doctrinal issue, exemptions from practicing priestly celibacy, as in the case of the former Anglican priests returning to Roman Catholicism, can be granted by the Pope.”

All of these new members of the Catholic Church will be expected to follow and uphold the Catholic traditions and teachings.

Married Episcopalian priests welcomed to the

Catholic priesthood

AQ Health Center to

the rescueBy Laura RicoThe Saint ReporterThe Personal Ordinate of the Chair of St.

Peter for ex-Episcopalian priests causes controversy over the vow of celibacy

Governor Snyder shortens benefits for unemployed

New policies focus on getting the unemployed back on their feet, some argue they lack the

resources to do so

Students walking past the Academic Building on Aquinas’ campus last Wednesday might have been surprised to see water gushing out of the ground.

A water main burst that occurred Wednesday evening at around 9:00 p.m. fl ooded the lawn area outside the north wing of the Academic Building.

The pipe leak affected water supplies to the Academic Building, the Arts and Music Center, Wege Student Center, the Campus Safety building, St. Joe’s hall and the maintenance buildings. However, regular campus activities were unaff ected: classes were still held, and Wege was able to stay open and feed students.

The pipeline was repaired and operating normally around noon the next day, aft er Aquinas’ maintenance crews called in a contractor to fi x the damaged water main.

Campus Safety Director Kevin Kwiatkowski said that the pipes in that area burst on occasion. However, according to Kwiatkowski, the damages from this leak were minor, with the only real issues being the “pipe [repair] cost, and the inconvenience for students and staff .”

Students should still exercise caution walking the paths in the area of the repairs, as sidewalks that were above the pipeline have not been replaced yet.

Damaged water main

leaves many without

By Matt KuczynskiEditor in Chief

COURTESY FLICKR.COM

Finding answers for the unemployed: Gov. Snyder hopes that cutt ing back benefi ts will push unemployed individuals to seek job opportunities.

classifiedadvertisingWant to win a 50 dollar gift card to Barnes & Noble? Philosophy Club would like YOUR refutation of the following argument: 1. Everything has a cause. 2. If a person’s choice has a cause, then that choice is not free. 3. Therefore, every person’s choices are not free. 4. If a person’s choices are not free, then they don’t have free will. 5. Therefore, no person has free will. 6. If things do not have free will, then they are not morally responsible for their actions. 7. Therefore, humans are not morally responsible for their actions. Come up with an argument against the conclusion (number 7), using any method you wish. There is no minimum or maximum word length. Email all submissions to jjv001@aquinas.edu. Deadline is February 8th, by midnight. One winner will be decided by club leaders, based on originality, clarity, and cogency.

“This sounds more l ike s tarv ing the state of revenue as it limits the amount of money placed back into the economy,” she said. “Whether or not t h e s e t a x - c u t s translated into job growth has yet to be disclosed... “Personally, I f e e l l i k e p l a c i n g c o n s t r a i n t s o n u n e m p l o y m e n t b e n e f i t s a t a t i m e w h e n u n e m p l o y m e n t i s h i g h e s t i s a s much, if not more problematic then the amount of money t h e g o v e r n m e n t pays out in these benefits.”

<<arts & entertainment

Internet: New sci-fi web show watches out for Big Brother

Tom Hanks and Yahoo have teamed up to create an animated sci-fi web series called Electric City. The show sprang from Hanks’ mind after he read about the controlling techniques used in the former Soviet Union. Electric City will air this spring in four- to six-minute episodes.

Movies: Lionsgate and Summit have exchanged vows

Lionsgate, an independent movie studio, has acquired Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million. Both studios have been, as of late, marketing toward young adult audiences. Lionsgate is releasing The Hunger Games later this year and Summit has the rights to the Twilight franchise and the movie adaptation of Ender’s Game.

Books: Lil Wayne to release memoir

Dwayne Carter, bett er know as Lil Wayne, is set to release Gone Till November, which will detail the rapper’s fi rsthand account of his time at Rikers Island in 2010. The book, which will be released this November, will be based on the diaries Wayne kept while incarcerated due to a gun charge.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT>> BLUE IVY CARTER

page 3THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail saint.editor@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975

Beyonce and Jay-Z’s fi rstborn is already causing controversy. The newborn had been the subject of rumors claiming she is one of the Illuminati or possibly Lucifer ’s daughter. Blue Ivy has also had a strain of marij uana named aft er her.

COURTESY FACEBOOK

Lately it has become rarer for me to fi nd a heroine, whether in books, movies, or television shows, that I can honestly and unashamedly say I like. She can’t be a damsel in distress and the whole story should not revolve around her making the agonizing choice of picking between two guys. If I’m going to like a female protago-nist, it’s because she’s smart, imper-fect, and kick-ass.

I found one such heroine reluc-tantly, and she might just be the most contradictory and interesting charac-ter I’ve stumbled across.

The fi rst time I tried to read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tat-too, I couldn’t get into it. The minute journalistic details bogged me down and I put it in a dusty corner of my bookshelf. Not even the enthusiastic reviews of friends and family who had managed to charge their way through the rough beginning made me want to pick up the book and try again.

What really prompted me to give the books a second chance was direc-tor David Fincher’s adaptation of Gwt-DT (in theaters now, by the way).

It was dark, suspenseful, and fas-cinating. What really sold me on the series, though, was Rooney Mara’s take on the titular Lisbeth Salander. Mara gives Lisbeth a quiet edge, and coupled with her scar-like piercings, choppy hair, and bleached eyebrows, a menacing power that manages to encompass all the character’s contra-dictions.

Because when I fi nally gave in and devoured all three books over the course of about a week, I realized how contradictory Lisbeth really is. She’s a brilliant hacker but almost everyone else sees her as both mentally unstable and stupid. She’s strong, able to over-power men twice her size and weight, but she’s also fragile and easily forced into the role of victim. Her emotions are tightly locked down, but she can’t help connecting to and caring for oth-ers that make an eff ort to help her. Lisbeth is also very androgynous, as if she is a gender unto herself. In Finch-er’s movie, Lisbeth goes undercover in several scenes as a woman, and not one person recognizes her.

Perhaps the most interesting con-tradiction is the way Lisbeth must deal with the constant sexism drag-ging her down and victimizing her. The original title of GwtDT was Men Who Hate Women, aft er all. Lisbeth is the victim of very violent sexism and has been throughout her whole life, but has this made her sexist too? Does the violence perpetrated against her by certain men make her hate all men indiscriminately? I would argue that while she might be guilty of sex-ism, she is nowhere near as awful as those men who have hurt her. Lisbeth acts out violently only in self-defense, aft er provocation, and she does trust certain men.

These mysteries are part of the reason Lisbeth is such a compelling character. I never feel like I know exactly who she is, even aft er three books, three Swedish fi lms, and one American fi lm. The complexity of her character is the challenge, and based on the popularity of the books, many other readers feel the same way I do.

I have seen both the Swedish and American takes on GwtDT, and I think that Mara’s take is neither bett er nor worse than Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth, but is, to me, at least more representa-tive of what Lisbeth, if she were a real person, would truly be like. There are several reasons Mara’s take works.

Mara’s style becomes an extension of her character. Lisbeth is so wound-ed by what has happened to her in the past that she has armored herself, by way of painful-looking piercings and a style that’s genderless and metallic. It says clearly, “Stay away from me, or I will hurt you.”

The way Mara handles the charac-ter is vital, because she keeps Lisbeth from being too hard to relate to. Mara manages to show Lisbeth as both vul-nerable and brutal, naïve and worldy. Though Mara, Lisbeth can both play with fi re and feel for those she tries to keep herself locked away from.

The girl of the moment

stephanie giluk | a&e editor

B.F.A. exhibit at AMC displays Aquinas artists’ talent

By Dale DomerThe Saint Reporter

Aquinas seniors Michaela Far-ley and Jaymes Miller showcased their best work as they welcomed the many family members, faculty and students that came to support the two graduating art seniors. The B.F.A. Gallery exhibition, which took place Sunday, January 15, in the Art and Music Center, was a huge success. The atmosphere was alive with a sense of community that was only made possible by the stun-ning artwork of Farley and Miller.

Pieces included several three dimensional works that provided a nice contrast to the many two dimensional works that occupied space on the gallery walls. Miller, who has spent considerable time working with Professor Kurt Kaiser, claimed the majority of the three di-mensional works.

Kaiser has been one of Mill-er’s greatest inspirations. “He got me into a lot of found object stuff through his 3D course,” said Miller. “He helped me think about using different materials.”

Miller’s work includes the ab-stract use of cassette tapes, card-board and even slide images of den-tal photos.

Miller said that he likes to “al-low the materials to govern them-selves.” His understanding of de-sign and amazing creativity are reflected in his work. His untitled

Rifkin’s Revolution demands a commit-

ment to sustainabilityBy George Van Den DriesscheThe Saint Reporter

The world appears to be on the verge of a crisis. Oil prices are con-stantly shift ing and the economy is down-spiraling. Quite simply, anar-chy looms near. However, one author has a plan to save all of humanity–a plan that fi ts into the sustainable busi-ness belief at Aquinas College.

Jeremy Rifk in, in his non-fi ction novel The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming En-ergy, The Economy, and the World, tells all.

Rifk in explains how the world is leaving the Second Industrial Revolu-tion (also known as the oil age) and on the brink of enter-ing a new age: the Third Industrial Revolution (TIR), or the era of re-newable energies. He predicts these new energies to be independent from petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power, etc.

T h r o u g h o u t the book, Rifk in focuses on a plan called the Five Pil-lars. Essentially, a TIR cannot occur unless all pillars are completed. The pillars are: shift -ing to renewable energy; transform-ing building infrastructures to mini-power plants; deploying hydrogen storage technologies in every build-ing; creating an energy smart grid similar to the internet; and change the transport systems to electric plugs in vehicles.

Rifk in emphasizes how impor-tant it is for both communications and energy sources to adapt and change together. He says “…they [commu-nication regimes] are the mechanism that manages the fl ow of activity made possible by new energy sys-

Is Beauty and the Beast worth the 3D

price?By Sam SwartoutThe Saint Reporter

Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time: a beautiful young girl whose father gets lost in the woods is held prisoner by a beast in his castle. Belle (the beauty) off ers herself in her fa-ther’s place and the plot thickens from there on out.

Beauty and the Beast was origi-nally released on November 13, 1991, as a Walt Disney Movie. This fi lm almost instantly turned into a classic for children of all ages to enjoy. In its box offi ce earnings around the world, the movie grossed over $403 million.

Now, 20 years later, Disney is re-releasing all of their “classics” in 3D. Is this a good idea? Probably not. It is en-couraging that Disney is trying to keep up with new technologies and that they do not want to be left in the dust by all of the 3D movies Pixar and other com-panies are making, but can these mov-ies still be called classics if they are in 3D?

The idea of re-releasing all of Dis-ney’s older fi lms is a wonderful idea. Children are still watching the Disney classics today from the comfort of their own homes. Why not let the kids enjoy actually going to the movies and seeing their favorite princess or prince on the big screen?

However, throughout Beauty and the Beast, the 3D special eff ects were hardly noticeable. For instance, in the scene where Belle and the Beast are fi ghting off a pack of wolves, instead of having the wolves leap out at the audi-ence, they stayed static on the screen.

DALE DOMER / THE SAINT

No need for 3D glasses: The B.F.A. exhibit lets Aquinas students enrolled in the Bachelors of Fine Arts program present their very best work to the public.

Apocalypse now: Rifk in plans ahead.

tems.” In this instance the communi-cation regime developed fi rst, as the Internet, and the new energies he dis-cusses will work in a manner similar to the Internet. Rifk in is talking about an interactive smart grid that both produces and consumes renewable energy in much the same way the in-ternet is able to process data.

Rifk in off ers explanations as to why the economy fl uctuates so easily. He believes that fl uctuation occurs from oil pricing per barrel, not from the stocks or investors.

He covers philosophy as well. A topic Rifk in con-sistently reiterates is the need for a storyline or narra-tive in all aspects of politics or sciences. He points this out several times, once in the second chap-ter when discussing some shortcom-ings of President Obama’s att empts to create renewable energy sources: “We are left with a collection of pilot projects and siloed programs, none of which connects with the others to tell a compelling story of a new eco-nomic vision for the world.”

There is a sig-nifi cant amount of science fi ction oc-curring within this nonfi ction. Rifk in paints the perfect picture of a utopian world in which the poor and rich are on equal footing due to the easy ac-cess of renewable energy sources. Also, in the middle of the book, a few daydreams occur with the creation of a manmade Pangaea with deep ocean rail systems connecting the conti-nents.

Rifk in’s TIR is a must read for anyone wanting to witness the birth of a new era, or, more specifi cally, the birth of the Third Industrial Revolu-tion.

COURTESY WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

installation demon-strates his expressive quality as the piece engages the viewer. It comes to life as the unreeled tape that hangs from uniform boxes attached to the ceiling is moved by the gentle breeze as people walk by and look.

In contrast, Farley’s focus is in drawing and photog-raphy. Her eleven stunning portraits adorn the walls and reveal her skill and creativity. Four are photographs while the remaining seven are charcoal draw-ings. They each por-tray Farley’s appreci-ation of human form.

“The way she does her charcoal drawings, it’s hard to distinguish the drawings from the photographs,” Kaiser said. When asked how she accomplished this, Farley responded, “I started off doing pinhole photography. It was the quality of the pinhole photogra-phy that brought about my ‘scrub-negatives.’”

She went on to explain what she meant by “scrub-negatives” and how she found this distinctive tech-

nique. “I take the paper and I gesso it,

or prime it, and it creates a rough texture underneath while making the paper stronger. Then I tone the entire thing black using charcoal. I take Windex and a cloth and rub off the charcoal where I want the image to be.”

When asked how she discov-ered such an interesting method of portraiture, she explained,

“I was experimenting in my stu-dio and I got Windex on one of my drawings. I tried to wipe it off and it came off perfectly so I started using that as my technique.”

“People might be surprised that this is a student show,” said Dana Freeman, Aquinas art professor and gallery director. “It has the work of professional working artists.”

True love: This one’s a Disney classic, just not in 3D.

The only time the 3D was recognizable was when Belle was playing with a fl ower and the petals blew out towards the crowd.

If the 3D is not noticeable, why re-lease the fi lm that way? Is this a ploy to get more people out to the movies? Does Disney think more people will buy tickets if it is 3D instead of 2D?

The cons of having Disney Classics re-released in 3D are much higher than the pros. Making these fi lms into 3D takes the “class” out of “classics.” Walt Disney did not intend for his movies to be altered or changed, especially not for the worse.

Although Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney’s fi nest, I prefer for the fl owers to stay on the screen and not to have to wear face-pinching glasses for 90 minutes. I say keep the classics clas-sic. Stick to 2D, Disney.

COURTESY PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

<<sports

NCAA: Syracuse ranked first in the nation

The Syracuse Orange are on top of the AP Top 25 poll receiving 60 fi rst place votes. The Orange are 19-0 and are 6-0 in the Big East. Elsewhere, four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 15 with Ohio State ranked fi ft h in the country. Michigan State and Illinois lead the conference, with both teams boasting 4-1 Big Ten records.

Hockey: Aquinas accepted into MCHC for 2012-13 season

Aquinas was granted full membership by the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference during the league’s winter meeting. Gaining acceptence into a conference was the fi nal step for Aquinas to establish an offi cial hockey program. The Saints will be in the MCHC West Division and compete against the likes of Calvin, Hope and Davenport.

NFL: Weekend Championship games set

page 4THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2012

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail saint.editor@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint

WHAT TO WATCH>> MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Aquinas College men’s basketball team will try to recover from a loss to #4 Davenport by hosting Madonna tonight at the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center at 7:30 p.m.

Only four teams remain on the road to the Su-per Bowl as the conference championship games are set. This Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to Foxboro to play the New England Patri-ots in the AFC Championship. Later in the day, the New York Giants will head west to face the San Francisco 49rs for the NFC Championship.

Sick of the SEC

dan meloy | sports editor

“And Alabama are kings of college football.” The moment those words left Mike Tirico’s mouth a sharp ringing sen-sation entered my ear.

It’s not that I am against Alabama. On the contrary, I love the ESPN “Roll Tide” commercials and oft en I fi nd my-self saying that joyful phrase throughout the day. My problem is, well, I have an SEC problem, and a major one at that.

Now it may seem odd to hate an en-tire conference (if the word “hate” puts you off , just replace that with “passion-ate despisal”) but I just do. I can’t put my fi nger on it, but I just cannot wrap my arms around Dixie being the best at col-lege football.

The Southeastern Conference has won the last six National Championships in college football and there are plenty of good reasons why we probably will be talking about number seven next year. But I don’t necessarily despise the SEC because of their success on the gridiron, even though that plays a huge part in it all.

Rather, it seems that the SEC goes against everything the Big Ten, the be-loved conference for all Midwesterners, stands for and for the most part they get away with it.

Let’s start with the weather. It is no wonder that the best athletes in the coun-try want to go to school in the South.

It’s nice down there. Imagine you are a star athlete and

you got to pick anywhere you wanted to go to school. You can go to a place like Wisconsin where it snows in October and you will be lucky to wear shorts past September, or you can go to a place like Florida where the pool is always open and it is a sunny 80 degrees outside.

The SEC has an inherent recruiting edge over the rest of the country because it is nice outside all the time.

That’s great to draw kids to come to your school from far away, but what about home grown talent? Well...

Schools in the South get to play foot-ball year-round. Whether it be the ability to practice outside or the ultra-extreme of Texas where they have a fall, winter and spring football league (because who doesn’t want to win 12 state champion-ships in one sport?), the fact is kids down South have the ability to play football year round.

Students in the North focus on mul-tiple activities growing up like football, basketball, band, student newspaper or hockey. In the South there is one main activity-football. Hey, if you are only go-ing to do one thing, might as well do that one thing well.

Maybe this is a litt le Big Ten envy fl owing in me, but I much prefer schools and students to focus on multiple events and activities and try to create well-rounded student-athletes. Oh, speaking of that whole student part of the equa-tion, perhaps the biggest reason why I despise the SEC is for this simple reason: The Big Ten on average are bett er schools than the SEC.

According to the most recent U.S. News college and university rankings, the Big Ten on average ranks head and shoulders above SEC schools in terms of quality of education. Call me old-fash-ioned, but I like college with my college athletics.

But above all, above their nice weather, above the fact that for the most part the SEC only cares about one sport and above that when it comes to academ-ics the Big Ten is clearly superior to the SEC, perhaps the biggest reason why I hate the SEC is that everyone else seems to be in love with them.

The SEC has a contract with CBS to broadcast their games. As a result of that, everytime you turn on CBS another sportscaster is on the air talking about how the SEC is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

That would be all fi ne and dandy if it was not for the fact that ESPN, the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports” does the same exact thing. I swear, if I have to hear Kirk Herbstreit tell me how the SEC is the strongest conference in the country one more time a large object will be fl ying through my television screen. It will not be prett y.

So this year I shall make a resolu-tion. Beside rooting for my favorite teams I will do my part to root against the con-ference I do not much care for.

In 2012 any team can win the natio-nial title. But dear God please don’t let it be an SEC team.

Party like it is 1999

Lions make it to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years

but fall to the Saints 45-24By Sam SwartoutThe Saint Reporter

With a winning regular season record of 10-6, the Detroit Lions were able to secure their place in the wild-card round of the NFL playoff s. This was the fi rst time since 1999 that the Lions have made the playoff s.

Helping to lead the team to vic-tory was quarterback Matt hew Staf-ford, who threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns. Leading the team in rush-ing were running backs Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith. Best had 390 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith had 356 yards and four touchdowns. Also lead-ing the team in receiving were wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pett igrew. Johnson had 96 receptions for 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Pett igrew had 83 receptions for 777 yards and fi ve touchdowns.

Johnson was also the only Lion to be chosen to play in the Pro Bowl on January 29 in Hawaii. However, due to an injury, he will not be able to make his appearance in the game.

The Lions fi nished their regular season strong winning three of their last four games.

In their December 11 home game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Li-ons came out on top with a 34-28 win. Throughout the game, the Lions were able to maintain the lead and fi nish strong. The following week, the team traveled to Oakland for a nail-biting game. The Lions were able to secure the win in the fi nal minute of the game,

Red Wings begin 2012

on the right foot

By George Van Den DriesscheThe Saint Reporter

The Detroit Red Wings enter 2012 second in the Central Division and fi ft h overall in the NHL with a record of 28-15-1.

Detroit started January with a 5-4 victory over the Dallas Stars on the road. The Wings played three more road games, falling 4-3 to the Toron-to Maple Leafs, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime, and con-cluding the road series with a 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders.

Next, the Wings hosted a two game home series, fi rst playing the Phoenix Coyotes and then the Black-hawks. Phoenix fell to Detroit in an exciting shoot out, 3-2. The next game versus the Blackhawks would also en-ter overtime where the Wings topped Chicago 3-2.

Pavel Datsyuk leads the team in assists with 33 and has 13 goals so far this season. Johan Franzen leads the team in goals with 17 and also has 20 assists. Other team leaders are Henrik Zett erburg with eight goals and 24 as-sists and Valtt eri Filppula with 15 goals and 22 assists.

Protecting the Wings net has been a dual eff ort by Jimmy Howard and Ty Conklin. Howard is 26-10-1 on the sea-son, facing 987 shots and only allowing 75 goals. Conklin is 2-5-0 this season af-ter facing 214 shots and only allowing 24 goals.

The Wings currently sit in third place behind Chicago and St. Louis in the Central Division with 57 points which puts them fi ft h in the Western Conference. Detroit plays Pheonix tom-morow night at 9 p.m.

Pistons stalling out of

the gatesBy Brian KalchikThe Saint Reporter

The Detroit Pistons have had a slow start to this shortened NBA sea-son, posting a 3-10 record, one of the worst records in the league. Detroit kicked off with three straight losses, losing to the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. The Pis-tons rebounded with two consecutive wins over the Pacers and the Orlando Magic. However, three straight losses have sent the Pistons in a spiral and to the bott om of the Central Division.

With no Piston averaging more than 17 points per game, it is hard to fi nd one true scorer to help lead Detroit every game. Some Pistons who have been performing well are center Greg Monroe, who is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game. Ben Gor-don is averaging 14 points and three assists per game aft er taking Richard Hamilton’s spot on the starting lineup. Rookie Brandon Knight is averaging 12 points per game which is good, consid-ering there was a shortened training camp where the rookies were not able to learn the ins and outs of the game.

This has to be considered a re-building year for the Pistons. With the team being sold to a new owner and fi rst year Head Coach Lawrence Frank trying to clean up internal problems from last year, expect more of the same for the Pistons this year.

The Pistons face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 8:00 p.m. as they look to climb out from the bott om of the Central Divison.

Bama rolls while Spartans and Wolverines claim bowl victories

By Brian KalchikThe Saint Reporter

This bowl season has been one of the more memorable postseasons in recent memory, with amazing indi-vidual and team performances, as well as some shocking moments that have made us scratch our heads. Here are some memorable moments from this bowl season

BCS National Championship- Alabama 21-LSU 0: Behind the

strong running of Trent Richardson and perhaps one of the all-time great-est college defenses, Alabama topped Louisiana State to win the National Championship. Alabama not only shut out LSU, but absolutely dominated them, not allowing the LSU off ense to cross midfi eld until late in the fourth quarter. Alabama avenged an early sea-son overtime loss to LSU to claim the school’s 14th National Championship.

Alamo Bowl- Baylor 67-Wash-ington 55: If you are a fan of defense, the Alamo Bowl was not the game for you. Baylor running back Terrence Ga-naway scored fi ve touchdowns to up-stage Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffi n III as Baylor completed a his-toric season for their program.

Rose Bowl- Oregon 45-Wisconsin 37: Both off enses combined for over 1,000 total yards as Oregon’s speed out-lasted Wisconsin’s size and strength in this year’s Rose Bowl. Wisconsin had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but poor time management by the Badgers led to Oregon sealing the win for the Pac-12.

Saints in action over winter break

By Dan MeloySports Editor

While students were relaxing over break aft er a grueling series of ex-ams, Aquinas athletes were still hard at work competing over the holiday season. Here is a rundown of how the Saints fared over winter break.

Men’s basketballRight before Christmas, men’s

basketball competed in the St. Xavier Holiday Classic in Chicago. The Saints opened against Saint Ambrose Uni-versity. Aquinas was even with the Fighter Bees at the end of the fi rst half, but Saint Ambrose pulled away in the second half for a 76-68 win. In their next game, Aquinas fell behind early to Columbia College and did not recover. They fell 66-57.

However, the Saints would not leave the tournament empty handed, as Aquinas beat conference foe Siena Heights University 71-58. Junior guard Ken Gordon led the Saints with 15 points.

Following the tournament, Aqui-nas won a pair of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference games against UM-Dearborn and once again over Sie-na Heights University. The Saints were in control of both games that were well in hand by halft ime.

Following a win last Wednesday over Concordia and heart-breaking loss to crosstown rival Davenport last Saturday, the Saints are 9-11 and 5-3 in the WHAC.

Women’s basketballThe Aquinas College women’s bas-

ketball team had a very successful win-

winning 28-27. On Christmas Eve the Lions faced off against Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. Detroit dominated the fi rst half, shutt ing out the Chargers until the third quarter. In a blowout the Lions won 38-10. In the fi nal game of the regular season the Lions travel to Lambeau Field to play against the Green Bay Packers and backup quarterback Matt Flynn. This was an extremely close game, with both teams matching the other score for score. Aft er a controversial call that cancelled a late Detroit touchdown, the Lions lost their last regular season game 41-45.

Despite their fi nal loss, the Lions were amped up and ready to take on the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round of the playoff s. Detroit took control of the fi rst half of the game with a halft ime score of 14-10 the Li-ons seemed on their way to another win. However, in the second half, the Lions’ playoff dreams faded away. In a key play, the Saints fumbled the ball and the Lions recovered and ran the ball back to the end zone for an appar-ent touchdown. However, the offi cials had blown the play dead and did not allow for the Lions to recover and run the ball. Detroit never recovered from this set back and fell apart as the Saints rolled to a 45-24 victory.

Although the 2012 playoff run for the Detroit Lions was not long, it has given fans hope and a dream that one day soon the Lombardi Trophy will be in Detroit.

Capital One Bowl- Michigan State 33-Georgia 30: Michigan State defeat-ed Georgia 33-30 in triple overtime to claim the Capital One Bowl. The Spar-tans overcame a 16-0 halft ime defi cit to outscore Georgia 33-14 during the sec-ond half and three overtime periods. Quarterback Kirk Cousins and a host of other seniors capped off their careers with Michigan State’s fi rst bowl win since 2003.

Sugar Bowl- Michigan 23-Virginia Tech 20: Both teams were questioned as to whether they deserved to be in a BCS game, but Michigan proved that they belonged as the Wolverines topped Virginia Tech 23-20 in overtime in the Orange Bowl. The Michigan defense and special teams dominated the Hok-ies, claiming Michigan’s fi rst BCS bowl game since 2006.

ANDRIS VISOCKIS / AQUINAS

Face off : Senior forward Jo e Powers stares down a Calvin defender. Powers and the rest of men’s basketball team went 3-2 over break.

ter break, winning two of their three games over the holiday season.

The Saints hosted Trinity Interna-tional University on Dec. 17 and defeat-ed the Trojans 73-67. Freshman guard Allison Heberlein and junior guard Taelor Sanders led the Saints with 14 points apiece.

On Jan. 4 the Saints thrott led UM-Dearborn 86-58. Four Saints scored in double digits in a game that was never close. Aquinas shot for a staggering 52 percent in the game and thoroughly dominated the Wolves.

Next, Aquinas traveled to Adrian to face a much tougher Siena Heights University team. Aquinas kept it close, only trailing by three at the half, but in the second half Siena Heights began to pull away, winning the game 75-60.

Since returning from break the Saints have dropped games to Concor-dia and Davenport, both of which are in the Top 10 nationally.

Aquinas is 11-8 and 4-4 in the WHAC.

Indoor track and fi eldAt the beginning of break, both the

men’s and women’s indoor track and fi eld teams competed in the Grand Val-ley State Open.

Senior Rumeal McKinney won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.83 sec-onds. Senior Caitlyn Bonney fi nished second in the 600-meter run with a time of 1 minute, 44.05 seconds.

On January 6, both the men’s and women’s teams faced Calvin College in a duel meet. The men won 60-47 while the women also won 61-44.

Both teams will run at the Mike Lints Open in Allendale on January 20.