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Page 1: Issue #8 Fall 2012

St. Edward’s University’s creative research center, Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, held a volunteer work day that gave students an oppor-tunity to help maintain the park's trails for visitors.

Four volunteers showed up for the Oct. 28 workday, none of whom were St. Edward’s students.

“We hold this event once a month, every third Saturday,” said Mitch Robinson, land manager and education coor-dinator of the preserve. “We

call it ‘land management.’ We have issues like putting down fencing and keeping the trails safe. A lot of what we’ve been doing is picking weeds and non-native species. We’ve also been dealing with trying to appease our neighbors and get them to understand what we’re doing here.”

Nature preserves in Aus-tin like Wild Basin face a struggle to preserve native plants like Texas Live Oak and Spanish Oak, especially with an influx of non-native species.

“We’re at a confluence of different ecosystems,” Rob-

inson said. “What happens is that if you have deer eating natural species, then non-native species have no preda-tors. This is a big part of our time here, to encourage our neighbors to plant native spe-cies.”

Robinson has made an ef-fort to encourage volunteers to aid Wild Basin in perform-ing management duties.

“Part of the problem is that we don’t have enough staff,” Robinson said. “We have about 30 staff members for 30,000 square feet.”

Despite that, Wild Basin

HILLTOP VIEWSSt. Edward’s University • Wednesday, October 31, 2012 • Volume 32 • Issue 8 • hilltopviewsonline.com

9 | LIFE & ARTSThere’s no better time than Halloween – other than orientation – to recount local legends behind hauntings on campus.

The men’s club soccer team advanced to the regional tournament for the first time in the history of the club.

Hurricane Sandy slams the East Coast and presidential candidates continue to stay tight-lipped about climate change.

15 | SPORTS 17 | VIEWPOINTS

Food trailers on South Congress Avenue may not belong to SoCo much longer. The popular mobile eateries are facing lease terminations intended to make way for hotel construction by March 2013.

However, these Austin staples will continue to be open for business and are looking for places to relocate.

The food trailers seem to be head-ing in separate directions, but they all intend to stay open and continue serving food to the Aus-tin community.

Chris Ruiz, the chef at Mighty Cone, said they have been looking at several locations, one in par-ticular in East Austin.

“It’s going to affect all of us,”

Ruiz said when asked how he felt the food trailers’ lease terminations would impact the SoCo community. “It’s going to take away from the atmosphere of being able to

eat outside and share expe-riences with out-of-towners that visit the food trucks on South Congress. They come back every year because they know where we are, especially around events like ACL.”

The Hey Cupcake! trailer, which is owned by St. Ed-ward’s University alumnus Wes Hurt, has not yet publi-cized plans for relocation, but will release information on

Lyanne [email protected]

Adam [email protected]

Food trailer park lease to expire, some vendors forced to move

Preserve hosts events for students, community

Photo by Emily BlasdellWild Basin Wilderness Preserve provides a resource for classes across multiple disciplines.

“It’s going to take away from the atmosphere...”

-Jamie Rice, Fry Baby owner

WILDERNESS | 3

TRAILER | 2Photo by Shannon Wilson

Vendors like The Mighty Cone might have to relocate in 2013.

Page 2: Issue #8 Fall 2012

2NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

With the Austin City Lim-its Music Festival (ACL) moving to a two week for-mat next year, organizers and parks officials say they are prepared to tackle whatever challenges lie ahead and uti-lize all the current strategies for cleaning up and refurbish-ing the Zilker Park lawn.

But while the festival may use "green" initiatives to re-duce environmental impact during and after the festival, some say the water usage the festival requires could be harmful to the springs and, at the very least, to the festival-goers.

The festival grounds on the Zilker Great Lawn take a beating every year when over 70,000 music lovers descend upon the park. Af-ter the weekend, the Austin Parks & Recreation Depart-ment shuts down the lawn for maintenance, re-sodding, watering and trash pick-up.

ACL devotees will remem-ber the 2009 festival, when the lawn was completely re-vamped because of an abun-dance of rain that left the grounds a mess. But Victor Ovalle of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department said that C3 Presents, the festival's organizers, has more than made up for the damage.

"Since 2006, [C3 Presents] contributed $6 million," Ovalle said. "C3 also reim-burses the city for repairs and post-event maintenance."

Next year, when the festival moves to a two weekend for-mat, both Parks and Recre-ation and C3 Presents plan to continue the current system but will also focus more on renovating and watering dur-ing the week off, in prepara-tion for the second weekend of music, Ovalle said.

"General trash pick-up is

managed throughout the weekend and after the festival by the employees," Sandee Fenton of C3 Presents said. "Weather will also be a deter-mining factor, and we won't know the impact of weather conditions until next Octo-ber."

Ovalle said that Parks and Recreation em-ployees will wa-ter after each night from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Ovalle added that employees use raw water, which costs the city and Austi-nites consider-ably less, instead of treated water, which the parks department used in previous years.

"When you [water] at home, you're hooked up to the city's water system," Oval-le said. "The pump doesn't use water from that system, it uses raw water."

Charles Porter, a history professor at St. Edward's University and water rights expert, agreed with Ovalle – the process does save money. But the maintenance follow-ing the festival often requires

Dillo Dirt, Porter said. The fertilizer, which has been manufactured by the City of Austin since 1989, contains trace elements of reprocessed municipal sewage and yard trimmings, according to the Austin Water Utility's web-site.

"I always ask my students,

'Do you realize what you’re splashing around in out there at ACL?'” Porter said. "I'm not saying that [it] shouldn't be used in that situation, but I think they should be aware of what you're in."

Porter's advice to students who attend the festival: throw away your shoes. The bacteria soaks into the shoes and is hard to get out, Porter said.

Besides potential fecal co-

liform risks, Porter said the festival's extension could add additional stress on the lawn, leading to further use of Dillo Dirt and, more importantly, water. Porter said the popula-tion boom in Central Texas will lead to further examina-tion of water conservation strategies by both the city and the state as a whole, but the water required to water Zilker is a drop in the bucket, comparatively.

Porter reckons that one inch of water on one acre totals approximately 27,154 gallons. With that in mind, the Zilker lawn, at 46 acres, would require just over 1 mil-lion gallons, 36 times less raw water than the city diverts from Lady Bird Lake every year, according to Lower Col-orado River Authority's raw water supply records.

Still, it was not the water use that concerned Porter but the potential impact on Lady Bird Lake.

"I think it's more of a worry of where that water is going when it drools back into the lake carrying Dillo Dirt," Por-ter said. "When it runs off, it soaks in the ground, it runs somewhere. So it's either Dil-lo Dirt or fertilizer."

Photo by Renee CornueThe Austin City Limits Music Festival uses large amounts of water to rejuvenate the grounds.

Festival presents sanitation, water issuesAndrew [email protected]

“...it’s more of a worry of where that water is going... When it runs off, it soaks in the ground, it runs somewhere.”-Charles Porter, professor of history and water rights expert

the trailer’s Facebook page.Other food trailers cur-

rently located on South Congress, such as Fry Baby, are unsure about where they see themselves in a couple of months.

“I don’t know yet,” Fry Baby owner Jamie Rice said. “We’ve known for a year that they’re kicking us out, but maybe it’ll fall through again.”

The food trailers are locat-ed in the middle of South Congress and feature long lines of customers most days of the week. They have become a SoCo landmark and a go-to eating place for St. Edward’s students, Aus-tinites and tourists alike.

Thai food, cupcakes, fried pickles, Indian dosas, snow cones, gyros, sub sandwich-es and fish and chips are just some types of food that can be found in the SoCo food trailers. Their variety and style make the food trailers an appealing concept that

carries out the “Keep Aus-tin Weird” maxim.

Junior Jordan Schmid is disappointed that the iconic South Austin trailer park may be forced to move from the current location.

“It’s upsetting because I think the trailers really represent this sort of area of South Austin. They’ve been there for a long time,” Schmid said. “I feel like get-ting rid of them would kind of ruin South Congress.”

Some trailers are already thinking about the future and looking for a new place to call home, but many do not have a new location yet. Even though the trail-ers may have to leave South Congress, they will not be disappearing for good.

“We know it’s going to happen,” Ruiz said. “We can’t prevent it. But we have strong followers, and our people will follow us wher-ever we go. We’ll stay close. Maybe we’ll just start keep-ing Austin weird on the east side.”

Continued from page 1

Trailer restaurants driven to relocate

Photo by Shannon WilsonNomad Dosa is a food trailer located on South Congress.

Page 3: Issue #8 Fall 2012

3NEWSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER31,2012•HILLTOPVIEWS

has managed.To continue this track re-

cord, Robinson encourages St. Edward’s students to lend a hand at Wild Basin, and states that it can be a valuable learning experience.

“It’s a good opportunity to see what managing a preserve system is like. A lot of people buy all the development [the preserve land] and then they think they’ve won. It’s a big issue. This place wouldn’t run without volunteers,” Robin-son said. “You can not only do a good deed, but you’d be surprised on how much you can learn from two to three hours on the trail. I consider

some of these people my fam-ily. It’s interesting to see even if you don’t have a science background.”

John Barr is one of the volunteers who helped out during the work day. He con-siders the volunteering expe-rience a valuable one.

“One [benefit of working at the basin] is you get to know a place. When you walk the trails, you only get to know a little bit about it. But when you volunteer, you get a deep-er understanding. Volunteer-ing has started a process that helped me learn about the Hill Country. I started volun-teering here, and all of a sud-den, I started taking classes,” Barr said.

Barr is now a regular volun-teer at the basin.

Volunteering is only one of the activities that the Basin involves itself in, however.

“I always try something new,” Robinson said.

Such activities include guided and unguided hikes. Barr leads hikes every sec-ond Saturday. Stargazing and moonlight hikes are other ac-tivities.

Wild Basin also hosts events for groups such as the Native Plant Society and the Girl Scouts of America.

Wild Basin is also involved in environmental education, one such effort being collab-orative courses with ACC that reach out to high-risk

upper elementary to middle school youth.

Casie Parish-Fisher, profes-sor of forensic science at St. Edward’s, helps to teach these classes at the Basin.

“Wild Basin is a great place to bring kids to get them out of the city. They can enjoy nature and learn about recy-cling and reusing to help pre-serve our environment,” Fish-er said. “It’s really important to go out to Wild Basin and volunteer whether it’s with a children’s group, girl scouts or just to volunteer to help clean up. It’s a great place to enjoy nature and to give back to the community without going too far from home.”

The preserve is located on

the east side of Loop 360 at 805 North Capital of Texas Highway. The turn is about one mile north of Bee Cave

Road. The offices are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the trail is available for hiking from morning to sunset.

Continued from page 1

Wild Basin preserve offers volunteer, education opportunities

POLICE BLOTTERDate Time Incident Location Resolution

Oct. 1 1:55 p.m. Theft $50-500 Moody Hall Closed

Oct. 7 3:20 a.m. Minor alcohol consumption East Hall parking lot Closed

Oct. 11 3:35 a.m. Graffitti Ragsdale Closed

Oct. 5 3:17 a.m. Criminal trespass warning Parking garage Closed

Oct. 8 3:26 a.m. Burglary Basil Moreau Hall Closed

Oct. 12 3:38 a.m. Graffitti Woodward Closed

Oct. 16 11:29 a.m. Theft $500-1500 Dujarié Hall Closed

Oct. 22 3:54 a.m. Criminal trespass Library Closed

Oct. 1 10:56 a.m. Theft $50-500 Casa Closed

Oct. 5 3:18 a.m. Abandoned vehicle/property Woods behind East Closed

Oct. 11 3:33 a.m. Theft < $50 Holy Cross Hall Closed

Oct. 4 3:16 a.m. Burglary Johnson Hall Closed

Oct. 7 3:21 a.m. Driving while intoxicated n/a Closed

Oct. 12 3:36 a.m. Verbal altercation Apartments Closed

Oct. 14 3:18 a.m. Driving while intoxicated Visitor parking lot Closed

Oct. 22 2:42 p.m. Assault Physical Plant parking lot Closed

Oct. 23 2:37 p.m. Accident Premont parking lot Closed

EDITOR’S NOTE

Hilltop Views typically publishes a bimonthly po-lice blotter. The events in the blotter are recorded from events listed in the crime log made available to the public by the St. Edward’s University Police Department (UPD).

However, this week’s crime log is only the second blotter to be published this semester.

Under the Clery Act, pub-lic and private institutions that receive federal financial funds are legally obligated to keep a daily crime log and update it for the public.

UPD’s crime log is avail-able to the public in a folder in the UPD office. This folder contains a chrono-logical log and description of all events involving UPD

on and around campus. The log is normally kept up-to-date, and Hilltop Views publishes the police blotter every other week to chron-icle such happenings.

Since the beginning of the semester, Hilltop Views has been checking these public records for use in the blot-ter. However, until Oct. 26, the crime log folder was only updated with incidents through the month of Sep-tember.

Chief of Police Rudolph Rendon said the crime logs were available online during this time.

For the remainder of the semester, Hilltop Views will continue to check and run the police blotter every other week in both the print and online edition.

The Police Blotter returns on paper

Photo by Emily BlasdellWild Basin hosts events and classes throughout the year.

Page 4: Issue #8 Fall 2012

4 NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Her room has posters from popular movies tacked to the walls. Papers and books are balanced on her desk. Over her door hangs a single cruci-fix along with one picture of the Virgin Mary and another of Jesus. All these things and more fill her room, but the eye is drawn to a stock photo portrait of a mother and daughter standing side by side with arms looped over each other’s shoulders. Beneath the photo reads, “Mother and Daughter…Truest sisters of the heart.”

Melinda Szabo is a sopho-more at St. Edward’s Univer-sity. Her mother, Elisabeth Szabo, is currently enduring her second breast cancer di-agnosis.

During Melinda’s 7th grade year in 2005 her mother was diagnosed with breast can-cer for the first time. By late 2006, her mother was cancer free. But in her senior year of high school in 2011, her mother was again diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. This September, her mother stopped chemotherapy be-cause it had ceased having an effect on the tumors.

Her mother’s wish is to return home to Hungary in case her condition continues to decline. With one teenager in college and two teenagers in high school, Melinda’s par-ents, who were both nurses until her mother had to stop working in 2011, do not have money to spare for a ticket home.

In an emotional phone in-terview with Elisabeth, she explained in a thick Hungar-ian accent why she wanted to visit her home country.

“I want to see my momma,”

Elisabeth said.In an effort to grant her

mother’s wishes, Szabo has created an account on the GoFundMe website entitled “Get Mommy Home.” Me-linda hopes to raise $2,500 for a ticket for herself and her mother to return to her mother’s home country of Hungary. As of press time, she has raised $1,922 in do-nations from a total of 56 people in 29 days.

Elisabeth did not come to the United States until 1991. She was visiting her sister in New York when her friend went to visit someone in California. Elisabeth ended up living in California work-ing as a nanny where she met her future husband, Laszlo Szabo, who had immigrated to the United States from Hungary.

The cause of the breast cancer that affects Elisabeth is not definitive, but she and many scientists speculate that because she was in Hun-gary during the Chernobyl disaster, toxic radiation may be to blame. The disaster oc-

curred in April 1986 when the reactor melted down and caused radioactivity to spread all over Europe.

Since her initial diagnosis, Elisabeth has undergone a double mastectomy and had her lymph nodes removed from under her left arm. Survival rates based on five-year overall survival statistics place individuals with stage IV breast cancer with just a 15 percent chance of sur-vival, according to American Cancer Society and National Cancer Data Base materi-als. Just last year, Elisabeth’s 46-year-old sister was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

Melinda explained that her mother has begun to grow tired from her nearly constant battle against cancer. Melinda also talked about what she wanted for her mother.

“What I want for her [is]… peace… to not have inner tur-moil with any decisions she makes or what will happen with my brothers and [me]and my father… to know that we’ll be taken care of,” Szabo said.

Willa [email protected]

Sophomore raises money formother’s journey back home

Courtesy of Laszlo SzaboMelinda Szabo’s mother has fought breast cancer since 2005.

Filmmaker Josh Fox visited St. Edward’s University to speak with classes and host a showing of “Gasland,” a documentary that chronicles the impacts of natural gas extraction throughout communities across the United States. Natural gas is promoted as a clean energy alternative, but Fox is firmly against a process known ‘fracking’ after witnessing these impacts firsthand. Here are six points about fracking Fox made during a class lecture and a Q&A following the screening of “Gasland.”

Facts about fracking, as told by filmmaker Josh Fox

Fracking fluid consists of water, chemicals and sand. Over 500 different types of chemicals are used in fracking, including known carcinogen Benzene.

Oil and gas companies, like Halliburton, are able to use toxic chemicals in the extraction process because fracking operations are exempt from environmental regulations under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Superfund Act.

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process used to extract natural gas and petroleum from underground reserves. Pressurized ‘fracking fluid’ is injected into wells to fracture shale and release natural gas that is trapped in spaces underground.

The oil and gas industry paid $247 million to get exemption from the Clean Water Act in Congress.

Oil and natural gas wells are prone to leakage because a well is basically a pipe coated in cement that extends up to two miles underground. Over a 30 year period, 50 percent of injection wells fail.

Nineteen percent of oil and gas wells in the world are leaking, and 40 percent of these leaky wells are located near the Gulf of Mexico.

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Page 5: Issue #8 Fall 2012

5NEWSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

ETHICS & GUIDELINESHilltop Views serves as the voice of St.

Edward’s University’s students and as a forum for discussion for the entire univer-sity community. The newspaper holds in-dependence, fairness, accuracy, honesty and transparency as core values. The pa-per’s first obligation is to report unbiased information on topics of interest to the uni-versity community. Its second obligation is to provide a tool for student journalists to develop the necessary skills and knowl-edge to become ethical professionals. Re-porters and editors are solely responsible for the news articles, editorial and opinion columns, photos and videos that appear in Hilltop Views. We take this responsibility seriously and pledge to follow the ethics guidelines set forth in this policy.

IndependenceCertain conflicts of interest may violate the

reporter or editor’s ability to be fair. While students should be encouraged to explore a range of interests, it is critical that campus journalists balance their loyalties to outside organizations against their obligation to be fair and impartial.To that end, reporters and editors for Hill-

top Views should not cover any event or issue concerning a student organization to which they belong. Reporters and editors should not cover an event or issue relat-ing to their employment outside of Hilltop Views or relating to an internship. For ex-ample, an editor should not assign a story about the library closing for renovations to a student who is employed at the library.Reporters holding office or serving in off-

campus organizations should avoid cov-ering stories relating to their positions. Members of the Student Government Asso-ciation should not cover issues relating to SGA, including legislation, policies, mem-bers or events.Reporters and editors should refrain from

posting opinions about issues, events or-ganizations and people the newspaper cov-ers on social media sites, including but not

limited to personal Facebook and Twitter accounts. Reporters and editors should as-sume readers will consider their re-tweets endorsements, unless stated otherwise in their Twitter bios. Journalists should as-sume that everything they post to social media sites can be viewed by the general public even if accounts are set to private.Reporters should not cover stories in

which close friends or family members are directly involved. For example, if a report-er’s best friend wins an award, the reporter should not cover the story. However, the reporter can pitch coverage of the event to the appropriate editor.Reporters should inform editors of any

conflicts of interest before accepting as-signments. Editors should inform the edi-tors-in-chief and, when necessary, the fac-ulty adviser before assigning stories that may pose conflict-of-interest questions.Hilltop Views does not grant sources pri-

or review. Reporters and editors may read direct quotes, in context, back to sources. They may also read back particularly techni-cal or complicated portions of their articles. In both cases, the goal is solely to check for accuracy.Reporters and editors may not accept gifts

from the people they interview or cover. Reporters should pay for tickets to enter-tainment events, such as a films or sports games. Reporters reviewing movies or con-certs should apply for press credentials, but they may not accept free passes. Hill-top Views critics are reimbursed for meals, tickets and entry fees at the restaurants and events they cover.

Fairness and Accuracy

Hilltop Views reporters and editors en-

deavor, above all, to be fair and accurate. When we stumble, we correct our mistakes clearly and as soon as possible after an er-ror has appeared in print or online. Report-ers are responsible for notifying editors when corrections need to be made. Editors are responsible for working with reporters

to write and publish corrections. Readers may report the need for a correction to the editor-in-chief. Contact information is pub-lished in each weekly print edition and on hilltopviewsonline.com.Journalists plagiarize when they use ver-

batim material without crediting sources. Cutting and pasting material found in print or online without attributing the source is plagiarism. Any verbatim statement made by a source must appear in quotation marks with proper attribution. Publishing false information, i.e., making up quotations or other facts, is fabrication. Hilltop Views has a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism and fabrication. Both are firing offenses and the newspaper will publish a front/homepage editor’s note explaining any such incidence.

Honesty and TransparencyHilltop Views reporters writing articles for

publication in the print or online editions must identify themselves as such when covering a story. Reporters and editors tape record interviews only with the consent of the person being interviewed. All interviews are on the record unless the reporter and source expressly agree, before the inter-view begins, that some material may not be used at all or may be used without naming the source. Reporters cannot grant sources anonymity or use material without attribu-tion unless they have received permission from an editor. In the rare instances such anonymity may be granted, all information provided by that source must be indepen-dently verified. Reporters are obligated to make these standard rules of journalistic engagement clear to the people they inter-view. The Hilltop Views staff regularly reviews

and revises these guidelines and the tech-nology and practice of journalism evolves.

Interested in learning about how Hilltop Views strives to cover the news fairly, accurately? Read our Ethics and Guidelines policy.

Page 6: Issue #8 Fall 2012

6 GAMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

check us out @ hilltopviewsonline.com

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

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

Page 7: Issue #8 Fall 2012

LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 7

Professor Casie Parish-Fisher is not only an instruc-tor of forensic science and a Senior Forensic Scientist, but she also used to work full-time at the Combined DNA Index System (CO-DIS) Labora-tory.

Parish-Fisher received her undergraduate degree from Baylor Univer-sity. At Baylor, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Fo-rensic Science.

A little over a year later, Parish-Fisher attended the University of Central Lan-cashire, UCLan, in Preston, England where she obtained a Master of Science in DNA Profiling.

From September 2008 un-til last summer, she worked at the CODIS Laboratory for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

At CODIS, Parish-Fisher worked in a lab studying various forms of DNA that are found in specimens such as saliva or urine.

She was also a finalist for the 2010 Outstanding Ad-junct Faculty Award.

Parish-Fisher has also been working on her Ph.D. at UCLan. She flies between Austin and England, and is expected to finish her doc-torate in Forensic Genetic Research by May.

Parish-Fisher said that her biggest accomplishment career-wise was getting her workbook “Crime Scene Processing and Investiga-tion” published with fellow

author Christine Ramirez in 2011.

Parish-Fisher said that both of her crime scene classes use this book and that other schools have been ordering the book as well.

Parish-Fisher believes that being straightforward is one of the best tools that she can

use when it comes to teach-ing.

“I don’t sugarcoat things or make them glamorous,” Parish-Fisher said.

She also discussed how real-life forensic science is a lot different from what you see on TV.

“It’s not like people die when it’s 60 degree weather in a clean room,” Parish-Fisher said.

This extensive background and straightforward attitude has helped Parish-Fisher bring her real world experi-

ences to her teaching.“She prepares her students

for the real world of foren-sic science. She has given me opportunities that will help me better my career before I have even received my di-ploma," Natalie Medders, a senior forensic science ma-jor, said.

Medders described an ex-ample of the guidance re-ceived from Parish-Fisher: "[She has me on a] pierc-ing removal program. One piercing each semester is removed, leaving me pierc-ing free as I walk across the stage for graduation.”

Another student of Par-ish-Fisher’s respects her teaching style.

“Her classes are very struc-tured. I admire and respect that a lot,” Austin Duncan, a junior forensic science major, said.

Parish-Fisher discussed how she will be doing mock crime scenes all over campus this semester because the library is currently located where her mock crime scenes used to be.

“If you randomly see crime scene tape on campus, odds are it’s me–nothing serious,” said Parish-Fisher.

Kelsey [email protected]

Professor widely renowned for outstanding forensic expertise

Photo by Shannon WilsonParish-Fisher has a background in forensic science.

Mexican holiday honors rather than fears death

The construction of the Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, altar is coordinated by the College Assistance Mi-grant Program, CAMP. On Oct. 29, the altar debuted in the Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel.

Though the holiday has pagan roots, it also been in-tegrated into the Catholic re-ligion in Mexico. Day of the Dead is a national holiday in Mexico.

Day of the Dead is also cel-ebrated throughout the Unit-ed States and other Latin American countries.

The holiday allows family and friends to honor those who have passed away.

Recently, the Hispanic Stu-dent Association, HSA, con-structed an altar dedicated to the professors who recently passed away.

“We wanted to honor the community of St. Edward's and they were a huge part of what makes St. Edward's that tight-knit community,” senior Vanessa Gonzalez, president of HSA, said. “It helps put the event into perspective for the lives that were touched by the professors.”

The construction of the al-tar coordinated by CAMP coincides with the two holi-days Día de los Inocentes on Nov. 1 and Día de los Muertos on Nov. 2. On these days, the veil between the liv-ing and the dead world is the thinnest; therefore, souls may cross over.

Though the holidays are around Halloween, the holi-days are completely different.

“Death is not something

that should be feared,” Linda Valdez, senior secretary for CAMP, said. “It is an oppor-tunity to celebrate anyone in your life who has moved on. It is a chance to honor them.”

The altar on campus spans six 6-foot tables in the chapel. Traditionally, the altar has to have very specific decorations and items on it. The coordi-nators of altars strove to in-clude traditional aspects of the altars while incorporating some new elements specific to the St. Edward’s Univer-sity community.

Traditionally, the altar must have three tiers that are fully decorated with “papel picado” which is brightly-colored tis-sue paper with designs cut out on them. Each color has specific meaning. For exam-ple, the most important pa-per colors are purple, which stands for pain, white, which stands for hope and pink, which stands for celebration.

Candles are traditionally placed all over the altar, while the top level of the altar must have four candles that signal the four cardinal points. The light of candles are said to il-luminate the way for the dead

soul upon their return.Perhaps the most recogniz-

able aspect of the altars is the candy skulls. Three candy skulls are placed on the sec-ond level to signify the Holy Trinity. On the third level, a large skull is placed to repre-sent the Giver of Life.

Students, staff and fac-ulty are encouraged to bring personal photos and items belonging to deceased loved ones.

“Although it deals with som-ber events, in Latin American countries this is a time of cel-ebration of the people who have left our world,” Gonzalez said. “We celebrate their life and the time we got to spend with them.”

By allowing students, faculty and staff to take part in this annual event, the university will continue to build a global community on campus. Some students look forward to the construction of the altar.

“I think it is a good idea to represent a lot of cultures and to give a lot of people the chance to express themselves,” junior Erica Sanabria said.

The altar will remain in the chapel until Nov. 5.

Photo by Danielle DaltonHSA created an altar to honor deceased faculty members.

Lesli [email protected]

“If you randomly see crime scene tape on campus, odds are it’s me – nothing serious.”

-Forensic Science Professor Casie Parish-Fisher

Page 8: Issue #8 Fall 2012

8 LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Monique [email protected]

Unknown horror film creates a terrifying vibe on low budget

Wikimedia CommonsThe creepy plot of “Halloween Night” was based on a true story.

As winter approaches, pumpkins start cropping up everywhere: front porches,

store displays, and most im-portantly in food and drinks around Austin. The city’s eclectic collection of brewer-ies, ice cream shops and oth-er dining options puts out a

wealth of pumpkin related specials. It was hard sort-ing out the best of the best, but you certainly can not go wrong with my top five picks, in no particular order, of pumpkin greatness.

1. Pumpkin Seed Pesto Marinated Chicken Breast – Jack Allen’s Kitchen

Known for its locally-sourced food, Jack Allen’s may be a more pricey option for college students, but the food is always great to share and this seasonal addition is just as filling. The dish is served with portobello mushrooms stuffed with artichoke gratin and goat cheese drizzle. Jack Allen’s nearest location only takes about 15 minutes to get to from campus and can be found in Oak Hill just off of Highway 71 West.

2. Pumpkin Cheesecake – Walton’s Fancy and Staple

Walton’s is the perfect place to stop by in down-town Austin. Located on West 6th street in a charm-ing building it is only about 10 minutes away from cam-pus and would be a perfect place to study during the week. They serve enough to fulfill all of your savory and sweet hunger needs and floral arrangements are even available for purchase.

3. Pumpkin Pancakes - Kerbey Lane

Always a stu-dent favorite, Kerbey Lane offers plenty of seasonal op-tions includ-

ing their delicious pumpkin pancakes. Students will not have to drive far as the near-est location is just on South Lamar. A bonus: if the pan-cakes leave you wanting for a little more pumpkin, Ker-bey Lane also serves pump-kin bread.

4. Pumpkin Ice Cream – Amy’s Ice Cream

Amy’s offers plenty of op-tions for pumpkin lovers not too afraid to eat ice cream

in the cold. Flavors include pumpkin, pumpkin cheese-cake, pumpkin custard, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin praline swirl. With the near-est location just across the street from campus, there is no reason not to stop by and get some pumpkin ice cream.

5. Pumpkin Coffee – Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

For anyone looking to break the Starbucks mold, Coffee Bean offers pumpkin coffee and pumpkin lattes hot or over ice. Coffee Bean’s spice bar, where you can customize a little extra spice for your drinks, makes this a great place to get a pump-kin drink. It is also another great place to do homework or just hang out.

Fall weather creates need for pumpkin-flavored delicacies

Willa [email protected]

Photo by Shannon WilsonFor another pumpkin treat, visit Hey Cupcake on Congress.

WEEKLY ‘FLIX FIX | Halloween Night

“With the nearest location just across the street from campus, there is no reason not to stop by [Amy’s] and get some pumpkin ice cream.”

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

There is a fine line between a Halloween movie that hits the nail on the head and a Halloween movie that is so ridiculous it just becomes a joke and a waste of two hours. Luckily, the movie "Halloween Night" does not fall into the latter category.

A relatively unknown film,

"Halloween Night" relies on basic concepts instead of bringing out the well-known celebrities to make a genuinely scary movie that will leave you fearing every future Halloween party you attend.

The film jumps right into the year 1982 and the chill-ing murder of a family. Right after the murders, Chris Vale, a family member who was spared, is wrongfully convicted of murdering his family.

He is then forced to go to the insane asylum as op-posed to a typical jail be-cause Vale was suspiciously

found with the bodies by the police the night of the murders.

The movie then flashes forward 10 years and shows Vale escaping the asylum. Having spent the past 10 years going in circles with the authorities trying to prove his innocence, he has now become somewhat in-sane. He then returns to his old home on Oct. 31 in search of clues to prove his innocence.

Even though there is a family in the house hosting a Halloween party, Vale en-ters the home and begins his search for clues. What hap-

pens as his search continues will leave viewers peeking through fingers and turning down the volume in order to avoid hearing the chilling sounds that will stay with them for days after.

For having a budget of just $75,000 and no well-known actors on its cred-its, this movie successfully strikes fear without being too cheesy or unrealistic. It is definitely a must-see and should be seen on Hal-loween night for maximum scaring, as it will leave the paranoid thought of “What’s lurking around the corner?” on Oct. 31.

Page 9: Issue #8 Fall 2012

9LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Campus reportedly home to haunts, friendly and frightening

St. Edward’s University provides an entirely unique college experience. While the esteemed traditions, stu-dent diversity and pictur-esque setting all play a role in this, perhaps the most unique thing about be-ing a student at St. Edward’s is the probability of being haunted.

The university is riddled with ghosts, spirits and supernatu-ral beings and it is rare that a student graduates without an encounter of some kind. Here are the most notewor-thy ghouls on campus and where to find them.Main Building

Legend has it that years ago, there was a brother on campus who would paint landscapes in the Maloney Room of Main Building.

Every afternoon, he would travel up three stories and gather his painting inspira-tion from looking out the windows of the Maloney Room.

One day, however, a strong gust of wind blew the poor brother’s canvas out the win-dow. In a frenzy to grab it, the brother lost his balance and fell out of the window three stories to his death.

It is said that to this day, strange noises will come

from Maloney Room at night and that shutters will shake with no logical cause. This is thought to be the brother revisiting his favorite place on campus.Holy Cross Hall

Back when St. Edward’s was still a small all-boys school, only brothers taught on campus.

One particular brother was leaving Holy Cross Hall, crossing the street that runs between Main Building and the modern-day soccer fields, very late at night.

As soon as he stepped on

the road, however, he was trampled by a horse and carriage and died almost in-stantly.

Students, faculty and Uni-versity Police officers claim strange noises are still heard in Holy Cross Hall. Officers have even claimed to feel a thud on their vehicles when driving in front of the hall on late night patrols of campus. When they check their vehi-cles, though, there is nothing on the street and no marks on the car.Mary Moody Northen Theatre

The Mary Moody Northen Theatre is known for award-winning theatrical produc-tions featuring both student and professional actors. It is also known for being one of the most haunted places on campus with more ghosts per capita than any other building.

While there are a multi-tude of spirits in the one building, the most famous belongs to a former the-ater student.

Legend has it that after a rough semester and a slew of struggle, one student in the department snuck onto the light grid hang-ing above the stage and hung himself.

Students today have reported nooses hanging from the grid with no ex-planation of how they got there. Some even claim that ropes will fall inex-plicably from above and if all is quiet, the creaking of a swinging rope can be heard.Teresa Hall

Teresa may not be as old as some of the haunted buildings on campus, but what it lacks in age, it makes up for in terror.

Teresa is home to the most famous of all St. Ed-ward’s spirits—Danielle.

Danielle is a young girl of 12 years. She has long black hair, wears a white dress and has been known to ask the residents of Teresa Hall if they would like to play a game with her.

Danielle is rumored to be the daughter of one of the construction workers that built Teresa. Although no one is entirely certain what happened to Danielle, many believe she died during the construction of the residence hall.

Danielle has been known to use a variety of mediums to haunt residents of Teresa, including but not limited to audible voices, visions of a small girl, children’s laughter,

a heaviness on one’s chest, lights flickering, etc.

The only way to protect

oneself from Danielle is to audibly tell her that you do not want to play.

Mitch [email protected]

Hilltop Views ArchiveThe theater is one of the most haunted buildings on campus.

Photo by Veronica AdamsSt. Edward’s students often report ghostly visitors on campus.

“The most unique thing about being a student at St. Edward’s is the probability of being haunted.”

[slapdash] Forever a loan

Page 10: Issue #8 Fall 2012

10 LIFE & ARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Balmorhea is one of the most influential modern in-strumental music groups of the day. The six-piece ensem-ble from Austin plays pieces that are classical yet modern and gentle yet intense.

Named after a small town in West Texas, the band was formed in 2006 by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller. Since then, they have grown to six extremely talented members and have played three nation-al tours.

It seems difficult to get across emotions or inten-tions without words, but Balmorhea have become masters at it. They use guitar,

violin, cello, bass, melodica, piano, drums and banjo to layer sounds on top of each other. Their songs build to emotional climaxes that defy words.

Their music is rich and tex-tured. The instruments not only make music, they tell a story. A Balmorhea song is not merely a song; it is an ex-perience.

Danny Brown is inter-esting, to say the least. If his half-shaved head and missing front teeth are not enough proof, listen to his music.

Brown has one of the most unique voices in hip-hop today. It is raw, nasal and different from any rapper in the game. When Brown is featured on a track, there is no question as to who it is.

Brown’s lyrics are rather unconventional. They are bold, brash and at times uncomfortable. He sings of the typical rap fare — wom-

en, drugs, expensive items — but does so in a way that is blunt and unapologetic. This in-your-face style is es-pecially prevalent in his live shows.

When someone with a mohawk missing his front teeth starts boldly rapping with vulgar language in a style unheard of before, it is difficult not to take notice.

The critics, how-ever, have taken note of Brown. He is “hilariously funny, an endlessly inventive rapper driven to cook up outra-

geous variations on stan-dard rap boasts,” according to Pitchfork.

The attitude of The Oc-topus Project can be under-stood by reading the title bar of their official website: TheTheThe OcOcOcOc-topus Projecctctctct. These musicians do not take

themselves very seriously.More importantly, though,

they take their music seri-ously.

The five-person experi-mental band consists of Toto Miranda, Ryan Figg, Yvonne Lambert, Josh Lam-bert and Wiley Wiggins.

According to their Face-

book page, their sound belongs to the indie-exper-imental pop genre. Their music is entirely electronic with no vocals and a wide range of tempos. Check out “Snow Tip Cap Mountain” and “Toneloop” for a taste of their sound variations.

The Octopus Project has been making music since the late 1990s and is based in Austin.

USA Today ranked the band’s 2012 SXSW per-formance on their list of top five performances of the festival.

The Octopus Project has not released an album since “Hexadecagon” in 2010, but the group plans to release one next year.

Cursive is the musical fu-sion of indie rockers Tim Kasher on vocals and guitar, Matt Maginn on bass vocals, Ted Stevens on guitar and vocals and Cornbread Comp-ton on the drums.

The Omaha-based band that references The Smiths, Pixies and Iron Maiden as influences on its Facebook page, has seen a few highs and lows since its inception in 1995.

Having gone through a band hiatus, two drummers, two guitarists and eight al-bums, Cursive certainly

knows what they are doing.

All of Cursive’s al-bums are concept albums.

An example is their most recent album. “I Am Gemini,” is, according to the band’s website, a “surreal and powerful musical tale of Cassius and Pollock, twin brothers separated at birth,” and was released in 2012.

Check out “The Sun and Moon” and “Wowowow” to get a feel for the sometimes soft and sometimes rough sound of Cursive.

The catchy lyrics are fun to sing along to and the music lends well to dancing.

Wikimedia CommonsRock band Cursive have been making music since 1995.

Wikimedia CommonsAll of The Octopus Project’s music is sans vocals.

Courtesy of Keith Davis YoungBalmorhea’s songs are emotional musical journeys.

Courtesy of Mark McNairyDanny Brown has a unique appearance and rap style.

Brooke [email protected]

Mitch [email protected]

Mitch [email protected]

Brooke [email protected]

FunFunFun previewFun Fun Fun Fest was founded in 2006 to promote underground, alternative and progressive music and has since become an staple of the Austin music culture. The three day festival is split into four stages named after colors, each with a unique vibe.

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Page 11: Issue #8 Fall 2012

11LIFE & ARTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Besides being the name of William Shakespeare’s

bloodiest tragedy, Titus An-dronicus is an up-and-com-ing indie punk band at this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Titus Andronicus was

formed in 2005 by five young friends in Glen Rock, New Jer-sey.

The band has a grit-ty and sloppy sound. The drums are loud and raucous. The guitarist strums hard and fast. The vocals are not necessarily on key, but they are.

Their songs feel like a couple of guys just jamming in the garage, but better.

Titus Andronicus sings of subject matter that is dismal, yet fun. When the band sings in unison, it gives the feeling that we are going down, but at least we are going down together.

La Dispute, as their name might suggest, is a fairly disruptive band. Critics describe their music as post-hardcore, screamo and hardcore punk, although front man Jordan Dreyer dis-

agrees.“In general,” he said in an

interview with Recoil Maga-zine, “I think boxing art into categories only serves as a way to exclude people from

exploring different varia-tions of the same thing.”

Regardless of the genre, La Dispute has a very distinct sound. Dreyer's fragile voice and spoken-word delivery of the lyrics creates an inter-esting contrast to the heavi-ness of the music. However, when Dreyer screams, the fragility is replaced with strength born of pain.

Do not be confused. This is not the average emo screa-mo band that was popular in high school. Their lyrics are personal, poetic and not in the least bit whiny. La Dispute has substance.

Wikimedia CommonsLa Dispute’s Jordan Dreyer has a unique singing style.

Mitch [email protected]

Saul Williams is an artist. At least according to his per-sonal bio on his website.

The sub-sections of his art-istry include poetry, music and performance. He says that he “seems to vary by mod, mood, and mode of ex-pression.”

Williams explains that his favorite medium as an artist is performance, having stud-ied acting at several different schools. Williams is known for his starring role in the 1998 film “Slam,” has a rap career and currently tours as

a performance poet.Like a true emcee, his po-

etry performances are pas-sionate, quick-talking and musical.

It is obvious he has gained an extremely dedicated fan base when watching videos of his live performances and the crowd is reciting his poetry along with him.

Earlier this year, Williams released an anthology of poetry entitled “Chorus: A Literary Mixtape” which he calls “the cry of the unheard.” Wikimedia Commons

Saul Williams is a modern-day Renaissance artist.

Brooke [email protected]

STAGE breakdown...

Instead of having one lead vocalist, Brian King and Da-vid Prowse of Japan-droids “decided to forego the logistical nightmare of having a ‘lead singer’ and do it themselves,” ac-cording to their of-ficial website.

In addition to singing, King plays guitar with Prowse on drums.

They call themselves “a two-piece band trying to sound like it’s a five-piece band.”

The garage rock duo from Vancouver has released three albums, “Post-Noth-

ing” in 2009, “No Singles” in 2010 and most recently, “Celebration Rock” in 2012. The yell-sing vocals of Ja-pandroids do, in fact, sound like a garage band, but their intelligent and poetic lyrics say otherwise.

The New York Times de-

scribed Japandroids as hav-ing the “most exuberant, af-firming live show” of recent two-member bands. Critics have compared the band to both Titus Andronicus and Bruce Springsteen.

Courtesy of Simone CecchettiJapandroids are a garage rock phenomenon from Canada.

Wikimedia CommonsTitus Andronicus stole their name from a Shakespearean tragedy, but they cannot be sued due to public domain laws.

Brooke [email protected]

Mitch [email protected]

YELLOW STAGEBLACK STAGE

BLUE STAGEHip-hop, rap, R&B, electronic, ska.

ORANGE STAGERock, indie rock, post-rock, instrumental.

BLACK STAGEHardcore, post-hardcore, punk, garage, screamo.

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Page 12: Issue #8 Fall 2012

SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 12

St. Edward’s University hosted the third annual Bat-tle of the Saints soccer game at the Lewis-Chen Family Field. On Oct. 25, the men’s and women’s soccer teams played against the St. Mary’s University Rattlers. Though it has only existed for three years, the rivalry has been a long-standing sentiment be-tween the schools.

“To me, it has to do with school pride,” junior and cen-ter midfielder Keston Smith said. “The rivalry is some-thing that is understood and ingrained in the team.”

According to the contract provided by the university’s marketing department, “Bat-tle of the Saints” is the “of-ficial moniker for all varsity men’s and women’s athlet-ics competition between St. Edward’s University and St. Mary’s University.” Though the title is not trademarked, no other school in the coun-

try has given their games or events the same title.

The rivalry between the two universities is a competition across each school’s sports teams, meaning that Battle of the Saints is not solely a soc-cer, volleyball or basketball competition. The Battle of

the Saints relies on a carefully constructed point system.

From the 24 contests played between St. Edward’s and St. Mary’s, a total of 11 points can be attained. If the uni-versities are tied at 5.5 points, the school with the most conference championships in

the sports where both teams are competing will win the competition, according to the contract.

After the conclusion of the contest, a trophy will be given to the winning school with their institution’s name and score engraved on it. The los-ing team has to pay for the engraving that year.

Though the Battle of the Saints games are a part of a larger point system, both soc-cer teams cherish the sense of pride that winning the games bring to the school.

“As a representative of the St. Edward’s women’s soccer team, it is our duty and ob-ligation to bring that victory home,” senior and midfielder Olivia Collado said. “We want to show our sense of pride for the school by win-ning the rivalry game.”

Both men’s and women’s soccer meet for two contests, with each contest amounting to .5 points.

On Oct. 4, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams de-

feated the St. Mary’s Rattlers in San Antonio, Texas. The women’s team won 2-1 while the men’s team brought home a 3-0 victory. Both teams suc-cessfully gained .5 points for St. Edward’s.

Though both teams de-feated the Rattlers, the sec-ond match-up between the teams affects their confer-ence standing. If the women’s team wins their conference, they gain an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament; however, even if the men’s team wins the conference, they do not receive an auto-matic tournament bid.

“All the previous records go out the window,” freshman and defender Kyle Pujats said. “We are not playing the exact same game.”

Men’s Head Coach Brian Young agrees that the team did not expect a win because they previously defeated St. Mary’s.

“The game takes on a dif-ferent feel ... It is more of an intense game,” Young said.

With both goals coming from sophomore midfielder Mikayla Engel, the lady Hill-toppers won 2-1. The men’s team defeated the Rattlers with a 3-0 win, with goals by sophomore forward Daniel Riley, sophomore midfielder Andrew Fox and freshman forward and midfielder Kyle Ruck, respectively.

Volleyball and both men’s and women’s basketball teams will meet for two contests with .5 points avail-able at each. The baseball and softball teams meet St. Mary’s three times, while both golf and tennis teams only meet once during their respective seasons.

“I think it definitely brings together the athletes, because every team has a Battle of the Saints game,” women’s Head Coach Nick Cowell said.

The women will compete in the Heartland Conference Tournament. The men’s team has to wait on the vote of an NCAA selection committee.

Lesli [email protected]

Photo by Emily BlasdellThe women’s soccer team celebrates yet another victory.

St. Edward’s University Campus Ministry hosted its fifth annual Miles for a Mis-sion 5K, which benefits ser-vice break experiences includ-ing the Alternative Spring Break and International Im-mersion Experiences. The 5k took place on Oct. 28.

The 3.1 mile race was held on campus and included ob-stacle courses and zombies that added to the year’s com-mon theme, “How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: Dys-topia and Sustainability.”

The run started in front of Hunt Hall and wove through

all parts of campus until the finish at the Alumni Gym.

The run included obstacle courses like tire jumps, rope climbs and belly crawls, and zombies lined the course to scare, entertain and cheer on participants.

“I got to dance in front of people instead of being the traditional, scary zombie, and I got to make peoples’ expe-rience enjoyable” freshman Carlos Barboza said. “Once we went out there, we went crazy with it.”

During the course, zombies popped out of hiding places and ran alongside partici-pants before falling behind to scare others.

“[The zombies] added a great, fun dimension to the race,” Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Brother Larry Atkinson said.

The course had a different route than previous years and took a detour around the construction site of the new science building. From Hunt Hall, participants trekked down Woodward to Con-gress, then went on a wind-ing route that led to desolate around the tennis courts and through the on-campus apartment parking lots.

The trail was uneven, which aided in keeping participants on edge throughout the race.

“I have run it every year

since the beginning, and this was the longest and most challenging route,” Atkinson said. “It was fun to see parts of campus I have never seen before.”

The race ended in front of the Alumni Gym, and run-ners were treated to a multi-tude of bread options, fruit, beverages, t-shirts and a warm area to wind down.

The Miles for a Mission race has grown since its in-ception from being merely a fundraiser to a community event, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Liza Man-jarrez said.

“We hope to have raised about $2,000,” Manjarrez

said. “Instead of doing a bake sale, this is a healthier activity

to do, and it gets the campus involved.”

Sara [email protected]

Miles for a Mission race gives scares in the name of service

Photo by Renee CornueBoth students and faculty joined in scaring the runners.

Battle of the Saints marks annual competition

Page 13: Issue #8 Fall 2012

13ADVERTISINGWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

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

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

Page 14: Issue #8 Fall 2012

14SPORTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Senior Sean Easton is the president of the Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC), an outlet for students to explore Austin and South Central Texas through outdoor activ-ities. Last year, the club took a trip to Breckenridge, CO.SS: What events does OAC host?Sean Easton: In the past, OAC has been camp-ing, swimming, cycling, rock climbing, skiing and snowboarding. Ziplining and backpacking are on the table for this year.SS: On your club’s Facebook page, you refer to yourself as a fearless president. What makes you fearless?SE: You’re the first person

who seems to have caught that. It’s a joke really. Fear-lessness often equates to recklessness. I guess I can say I’m not afraid to ride motorcycles or rock climb as long as I stay within my limits.SS: How many people make up the OAC?SE: Good question. One hundred eighteen people are fans on CollegiateLink, and 142 people like OAC on Facebook. So that’s a tough question to answer.SS: Describe in one word the personality of the people in OAC. SE: “Adventurous” is the obvious answer, but much too cliché. However, I can’t think of anything else so I’m going to have to go with “adventurous.”

SS: What was last year’s trip to Colorado like?SE: There were eight of

us, and we had a great time skiing and snowboarding for four days. Colorado is an incredibly beautiful place, and I’m so glad we got to have such a great trip. I can’t wait to go back this winter.SS: How are you able to of-fer a ski/snowboarding trip for only $400?SE: We’ve got a big group going this year, and we booked the trip through a non-profit organization that sets up students with lift tickets and lodging. Money from the OAC account will also be applied to offset travel costs.SS: What’s your favorite event that OAC has done?SE: The trip to Colorado is my favorite for sure just because it’s such a big

achievement as a leader. Our other camping and rock climbing trips have been really fun as well.SS: Do you prefer to ski or snowboard?SE: Snowboard. What’s “skiing?”SS: What are your camping and rock climbing events?SE: We’ve been camping twice at Pace Bend Park on Lake Travis, and we’ve been rock climbing in the Greenbelt and at Austin Rock Gym.SS: If you could go to any-where to hike, where would you go?SE: The Southern Alps of New Zealand because they are just so epic. That’s where “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” were filmed.

SPORTS CALENDAR

MEN’S BASKETBALLSat. 11/3 | 2:30 p.m.vs. Mary Hardin Baylor

MEN’S SOCCERWed. 10/31 | 4:00 p.m.vs. Incarnate Word

Sat. 11/01 | 2:30 p.m.vs. Dallas Baptist

WOMEN’S SOCCERFri. 11/2-Sat. 11/3Heartland Conference Tournament

VOLLEYBALLThurs. 11/1 | 7:00 p.m.@ Texas Women’s Uni-versity

Sat. 11/3 | 12:00 p.m.@ Panhandle State

RUGBYSat. 11/3@ SFA Rugbyfest

Shelby [email protected]

ATHLETE PROF I LE

Fearless president helps Toppers climb new hills

Courtesy of Sean EastonEaston hiked Enchanted Rock, a local landmark.

America’s pastime is best enjoyed in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and rally rag in the other, but the most recent World Se-ries has since changed that image of perfection for this baseball fan. A combination of too much homework and no TV left the radio as my only option for following the Giants throughout their second World Series run in three years—and nothing quite compares.

Radio announcers re-ally know their stuff, and for someone who is not the most devout or knowledgeable baseball fan, radio brought a whole new perspective to the game.

Since the Giants swept the Tigers in four games, here are four memorable moments from the playoff games and World Series as interpreted by a fan who could not actu-ally see what was happening.

1. Detroit Manager Jim

Leyland chain smokes filter-less Marlboro Reds during games—at least he used to until Detroit banned smok-ing indoors. ESPN radio an-nouncers said he might get special permission to smoke in the Tigers’ dugout because

it was so cold. Hopefully he forgot about his smokes af-ter Cabrerra hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third in Game Four to give the Tigers the lead for the first time all series.

2. Down three games to the Cardinals, the Giants made history as the first Na-tional League team to come back in Game Five and win three consecutive games to advance to the World Se-ries. The Cardinals’ only redeeming quality is their connection to the Giants—former catcher for San Fran-cisco Bengie Molina has two brothers who are also catch-ers, and youngest brother Yadier plays for St. Louis. Also, the Molina brothers are the only three brothers in Major League Baseball who

have all won World Series rings.

3. Left-handed pitcher and who some refer to as Oakland A’s traitor Barry Zito made a comeback af-ter he gave up no runs in seven innings during Game Five against the Cardinals. Zito moved across the Bay in 2007 after signing a hefty contract with the Giants.

4. There is nothing more pure than listening to the announcers shout over the cheering crowd after Pablo Sandoval joined the ranks of baseball greats as the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game in Game One. The crowd was so excited when Panda came up for his fourth at bat that I thought he had hit an-other home run.

Kristina [email protected]

Listening by radio makes Giants’ sweep sweeter

Courtesy of the San Jose Mercury NewsThe Giants enjoy their World Series sweep over the Tigers.

hilltopviewsonline.com

ONLINE EXCLUSIVEWorkout habits of 2012 Presidential nomineesWith just a few days left to pick the new leader of the United States, there is one question that remains unanswered: how do the candidates stay fit? Find out on our website:

Page 15: Issue #8 Fall 2012

15SPORTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Shelby [email protected]

The Club Rowing com-peted in the Pumpkin-Head Regatta in Austin for the fourth year. Com-peting is a club tradition, as it requires no travel and takes place on Lady Bird Lake.

• A Men’s Novice Four with Cox boat placed sixth, ahead of two Uni-versity of Texas crew boats. The other Men's Novice Four with Cox boat finished 11th.

• A Women’s Novice

Four with Cox boat fin-ished in fifth, while two other St. Edward’s boats also finished in eighth and ninth place.

• The Women’s Novice -1 Eight with Cox fin-ished ahead of a Texas Crew in 11th.

• The Women’s Light-weight Four with Cox boat won gold medals.

• The Men’s Lightweight Four with Cox boat won Silver medals.

• St. Edward’s took both silver and bronze in the Mixed Open Four entry.

The St. Edward’s Univer-sity men’s club soccer team can now be counted among the record-breaking teams on campus after advanc-ing to the 2012 Region IV South Tournament, a part of the 2012 NIRSA NCCS National Soccer Champion-ships. Their tournament bid was based on their success in the Lone Star South Confer-ence of the Texas Collegiate Soccer League.

The team was undefeated in their conference and played games in the tournament on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27. Though the team lost both tourna-ment games, the team cap-tain, coaches and players are all pleased with the season’s results and hope to build on this year’s success.

The team played their first game of the tournament

against the University of Tex-as at San Antonio Roadrun-ners. The Hilltoppers domi-nated the first 15 minutes of the game, but the Roadrun-ners scored the game’s sole point off of a cross. Sopho-more goalkeeper Michael Murad called that he had the ball, but the wind carried it

into the net at an awkward angle.

“I saw Mike’s face, and I felt the wind. And then I saw the ball go in,” Sophomore and Team President Eduardo Maradiaga said. “You never expect that the wind is going to move the ball that way, and it sucked. It went against us.”

Freshman forward Jamie Hunt had high expectations for attacking the Roadrun-ners.

“We didn’t produce offen-sively,” Hunt said. “We would get the ball and almost com-pletely give it away.”

The combination of wind, temperature and lack of tran-sition from defense to offense resulted in a 1-0 win for the Roadrunner.

The second tournament game took place early the following morning. The Hill-toppers fell to Texas Chris-tian University, TCU, 2-0. According to Maradiaga, even though TCU scored two goals immediately, the Hilltoppers controlled the game after that point. He also said that the Hilltop-pers played better than usual, which made the loss all the more frustrating. TCU end-ed up advancing to nationals.

“[TCU] wasn’t that good.

We had a couple of mis-takes, and they capitalized on them,” Hunt said.

According to Maradiaga, the cold weather was a huge detriment to the Hilltoppers’ game.

“It was awful outside. I think we were caught off guard by the cold. We com-pletely forgot about the game. We could see that they want-ed to win, and we wanted to stay warm,” Maradiaga said.

The young club president has high hopes for building on this year’s successes, and has found the silver lining in the team’s losses at regionals.

“We are so happy. It doesn’t really matter how we did, but we are so happy that we actu-ally won our conference. It re-ally shows that we committed to our practice,” Maradiaga said.

The team is currently coached by two ex-players, including the team’s founder

and St. Edward’s alumnus Daniel Lafuente.

“Since players ... can basi-cally leave without risking anything like a scholarship, it makes it difficult to get players to continue playing through an entire season ... It is a big step towards get-ting more players with great soccer experience and skill to want to join the team,” La-fuente said.

Club sports teams often find themselves at a disad-vantage, as St. Edward’s is substantially smaller than most of the schools that have a larger student body from which to recruit. With a young team that hosts 14 underclassmen, Maradiaga is looking to pick up steam and preserve Lafuente's legacy.

“If we can see we reached regionals, now we are going to win regionals,” Maradiaga said.

Column as I see ‘Em is your weekly fix for all things NFL. Here are the selected games for week 9.SundayDenver at Cincinnati

Peyton is playing his best and really settling in with his receivers, especially Eric Decker. Definitely the strongest team to come out of the West going into play-offs. Broncos by 14.Arizona at Green Bay

The cold field of Lambeau will slow down the Car-

dinals who are already on a four game losing streak. Arizona’s strong passing defense will make it hard on Rodgers, so look for their RB’s to carry. Packers by 14.Chicago at Tennessee

The Bears squeaked on out against Carolina last week, but look for a solid turnaround against the 3-5 Titans. Bears by 10.Miami at Indianapolis

Colts and Luck will take advantage of the cold weather to take their record to a surprising 6-3. Colts by 7.Detroit at Jacksonville

Detroit is still in conten-tion for playoffs, the injury to Calvin Johnson was a set-back for the Lions who’s ac-tive during this game. Lions by 14.Buffalo at Houston

Houston comes back from their bye week look-ing solid and ready for the playoffs. Once more pass-ing is worked into the game plan, they will be the perfect team. Texans by 21.Minnesota at Seattle

NFC North teams seem to have difficulty with the Seahawks and Minnesota is on a downhill slide. Seattle

by 10. Pittsburgh at NY Giants

Giants and Manning continue to win, against all odds. Giants by 3.Dallas at Atlanta

Atlanta remains undefeat-ed against the tragic comedy that is the Dallas Cowboys. Falcons by 14.MondayPhiladelphia at New Or-leans

Eagles and Vick continue to work out the kinks in their system, mainly Mi-chael Vick. Philly by 14.

Nolan [email protected]

Shelby [email protected]

Club soccer team breaks record by advancing to regionals

Week 9 PredictionsColumn as I see ‘em

Photo by Shelby ColeMidfielder Luke Duncan traps the ball to help create a play.

Rowing bests big teams at Regatta

SPORTS BRIEF

Page 16: Issue #8 Fall 2012

16SPORTS PHOTO ESSAY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

BATTLE OF THE SAINTS

-Photos by Emily Blasdell

The Battle of the Saints competition continued last week after men’s and women’s soccer defeated rival St. Mary’s University. St. Edward’s University is hoping to the clinch the third Battle of the Saints title this year after three years of competition. Volleyball will take on the Rattlers for the next Battle of the Saints Nov. 10 at noon.

Page 17: Issue #8 Fall 2012

VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS 17

Thrills and chills are fun. Horror movies bring view-ers into a frightful world they can exit at any point, but still get a good scare. However, violent horror films are not okay. Many recent horror films such as “Human Cen-tipede,” “Teeth” and “Saw” take twisted to a new level, bringing violent perversion to life. Violent horror films are popular, but this popularity is unsettling.

“Consistent exposure to violence in films would bring out in people a greater sup-port of violent solutions to social problems,” said James B. Weaver III from Virginia

Polytechnic Institute and State, and Dolf Zillmann of the University of Alabama in a study they conducted.

Take for example the “Saw” franchise which fea-tures “games” in which the participants are often bru-tally maimed and killed. It in-cludes scenes of people chop-ping off their own limbs in a competition.

To a regular audience mem-ber, this is grotesque and wrong. However, after watch-ing a movie like this over and over, it becomes almost nor-mal. It is still wrong, but it is not as shocking.

Although these situations are not real, technological ef-fects are getting even scarier and more realistic; there is

something wrong with a so-ciety that contributes around $55 million to a movie like Saw.

As human beings, a level of respect needs to be paid to death. Violent death need to be discussed in terms of how wrong it is and how impossi-bly grotesque it is to portray and release such images on a large scale.

What violent horror mov-ies do is plant a seed of pos-sibility. In unstable or young minds, this could be taken too seriously.

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychia-try found that children who watched horror films or vio-lent media were more likely to engage in aggressive behav-

iors and experience anxiety and sleep disorders.

What makes the simulation of death trendy to watch?

The purpose of horror films is to entertain and thrill people. However, the idea of murder and torture as the means to accomplish this is very wrong. This belittles the worth of human life and warps perceptions of what is tolerable.

The thrill and adrenaline rush created from horror films creates a positive asso-ciation to these violent inci-dences.

Horror films are not creat-ed equally, but carnal and raw violence in these films could make way for a perceived nor-malcy in these behaviors.

Election season is coming to an end, and informed vot-ers are going to the polls with several hot-button issues in mind. But one issue in par-ticular has been suspiciously absent from both major can-didates’ campaigns.

This election season saw seemingly endless discus-sions on health care, foreign policy and job creation. How-ever, in the three presiden-tial debates, both President Barack Obama and Repub-lican nominee Mitt Romney evaded the topic of climate change.

The reason is unclear why both campaigns have shied away from the subject of climate change. Instead of tackling the once-hot issue, both candidates opted to emphasize other subjects. Presumably, the candidates

must believe that voters care less about climate change and more about other issues.

If the candidates’ topics of choice are any indica-tion, it might seem voters in this election have been more concerned with the economy and job creation than climate change, but that is not neces-sarily the case. Rather, each candidate has avoided the topic in order to avoid driv-ing away important groups of voters.

Obama has publicized his stance on climate change in the past. During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama was vocal in his sup-port for a solution to global warming.

While Obama remains an advocate for sustainable ener-gy, Obama never mentioned climate change during his

2012 re-election campaign. He presumably alluded the subject to avoid alienating more moderate voters who may not agree with his stance.

Romney does believe that the planet is heating up, but he is not convinced that humans play a particularly large part in this phe-nomena. In this way, Romney both accepts and rejects the pervasive con-sensus in the scientific world that climate change is a seri-ous, man-made problem.

Romney further expressed his views on climate change earlier in his campaign, ex-plaining that, since we do not know what exactly causes

climate change, the American government should not spend trillions of dollars attempting

to reduce CO2 emissions, ac-cording to NPR.

While Romney has admit-ted that climate change ex-ists, to some extent, his voter base is likely to disagree with any definitive stance on cli-mate change. Considering many GOP voters deny that climate change even exists,

Romney has taken the safest position by ignoring climate change.

Even if Obama did not mention climate change during this campaign sea-son, his past positions on climate change will likely still get him environmental-ists’ votes. That being said, if Obama were to discuss climate change, he could po-tentially convince undecided voters, according to a recent poll done by Anthony Leise-rowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

Somewhat ironically, the climate will be on many Americans’ minds in the days leading up to the elec-tion. Hurricane Sandy, also known as “Frankenstorm,” is the most recent episode of extreme weather hit the

East Coast. In the wake of such disasters, the question of whether climate change contributed to a storm of such magnitude is no longer speculation–it is a reality.

Neither candidate could have possibly predicted that Hurricane Sandy would hit the East Coast immediately before the election, but it might bring the one issue both candidates have ig-nored–climate change–back into the foreground.

The candidates may have made climate change a non-issue, but in the wake of Hur-ricane Sandy, whomever is elected will probably have to tackle climate change. Taking the candidates’ past positions into account, Obama, if he is re-elected, is more likely to take a definitive position on climate change.

Popular horror films’ violent messages captivate viewersTaylor [email protected]

OUR VIEW

Wikimedia CommonsCharacter Jason Voorhees wears a mask in horror films.

Candidates ignore the issue of climate change

“Hurricane Sandy, also known as ‘Frankenstorm,’ is the most recent episode of extreme weather to hit the East Coast.”

Page 18: Issue #8 Fall 2012

18VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Cultural Foundations (CULF) classes are an impor-tant part of the St. Edward's University curriculum. How-ever, they are also a substantial amount of the curriculum, to-taling six courses required for graduation.

One such CULF class, American Di-lemmas, should not be required. The whole point of American Dilemmas is to prepare stu-dents for Capstone, where 25 plus pages must be written about a social problem.

In American Dilemmas, students pick an issue, col-lect stakeholders and sources on each side of the issue, and summarize this information into three sections.

The last section’s primary focus is the student’s personal opinion on the issue, backed up by sources. Of the entire 15 to 16 page paper, the stu-dent’s own opinions account for approximately two to three pages.

Thus, the American Di-lemmas paper becomes less concerned with students de-veloping their own opinions and writing style, and more about regurgitating infor-mation retrieved from other writers into a pre-determined format.

In Capstone, the format and requirements are much the same as American Di-lemmas, but on a larger scale. Students overwhelmingly agree that American Dilem-mas teaches them little to no new information.

Students in majors like English writing and rheto-ric or communications write many papers that require multiple sources. Through courses such as Text and Discourse Analysis, Inter-

personal Communication, and Media Communication, students hone writing skills and ability to follow specific instructions.

Admittedly, many of stu-dents with majors involving less writing felt Dilemmas helped prepare them for Capstone. Conversely, many English writing majors found Dilemmas to be an unneces-sary prerequisite to Capstone as they are already confident in their writing capabilities.

Due to the spectrum of student’s writing skills at St. Edwards, American Di-lemmas should be optional. Students who feel already adequately prepared for Cap-stone through their previous classes should not have to take Dilemmas.

A valid criticism would be St. Edward's concern over too many students skipping Dilemmas out of laziness but then consequently be over-whelmed in Capstone–which some students would do. This could be prevented through a variety of solutions.

Perhaps St. Edward's could create a writing test for stu-

dents to test of out of Dilem-mas. This would make sense, since students are already able to bypass the Ameri-can Experience CULF class through earned AP credit from high school. Overall, nothing makes American Dilemmas a more essential course than American Expe-rience.

Also, St. Edward's could review applications submit-ted by students with require-ments like writing samples, letters of recommendations or a minimum grade point average, to ensure only pre-pared students bypass Di-lemmas.

Determining who does and does not take Dilemmas in this way would admittedly be a time-consuming pro-cess, but both students and teachers would benefit from Dilemmas being an optional course.

Students who feel over-prepared for American Di-lemmas often end up doing poorly because it is simply not challenging.

Advanced writing students could replace American Di-lemmas with an upper level course of their choosing. Pro-fessors could create more ap-plicable lesson plans because the writing abilities of their students would be on a more even scale.

Professors would no longer have to worry about keeping advanced writing students engaged without overwhelm-ing others, which is what often happens in American Dilemmas classes.

Essentially, American Di-lemmas has merit, but not for all students. Thus, it should not be a required course for every student.

Katharine [email protected]

American Dilemmas course is not appropriate for all students

Pop culture trends from the nineties make a comeback

For some reason, it seems like the '90s are everywhere.

It started during the sum-mer of 2011, when a pro-gram called “The '90s Are All That” came to TeenNick. TeenNick started broad-casting shows like Doug, Kenan & Kel, and All That.

It was a late night treat for '90s kids. Suddenly, Kel Mitchell was saying, "Wel-come to Good Burger, home of the good burger, can I take your order?" and all seemed right with the world.

That summer, Backstreet Boys also went on a reunion tour with New Kids on the Block. Fans were screaming and singing songs like it was 1999.

But it was not just old school boy bands making a comeback.

Now, new boy bands like

One Direction and The Wanted have teenage girls screaming all over again. One Direction’s songs “What Makes You Beauti-ful” and “One Thing” blew up the radio all summer.

However, the '90s flash-back does not just end with television and music. "The Perks of Being a Wallflow-er" came out in October. The movie was based on a book set in the '90s, but the context of the film and the acting performances suited anyone of this generation.

Teens were not texting on their cell phones or updat-ing their Facebook statuses in scenes. Instead, they were listening to tapes and getting typewriters as Christmas presents. Regardless of the time period, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" showed how the '90s still resonates with this generation.

So what's with the throw-

back? It has a lot to do with the simplicity of the '90s. Sure, the fashion was not that great, but now the kids of the '90s are slowly turn-ing into adults. Maybe they want to go back to some-thing familiar, something they have a connection with?

The '90s was a pre-his-toric time because it was pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter – pre-everything that was supposed to make us more connected as a generation. Instead, the '90s relied on face-to-face communication and simple songs with sim-ple lyrics about heartbreak and genies in bottles.

Christina Aguilera, any-one?

Sometimes it takes a while for people to appreciate a de-cade. However, it only took this generation about 11 years out of the '90s to start paying tribute. It is probably because the '90s generation is just now getting on their feet as adults.

Maybe '90s kids are start-ing to become nostalgic like their parents, starting sto-ries with, "Remember when N'Sync ... " Or maybe the media wants to capitalize on a time when things were just about jelly sandals and not dating scrubs.

It is hard to believe how much can change in a 10 year time period. How one group of kids can grow up typing on typewriters and the next are using touch-screen smartphones. How Alanis Morrisette’s revealing song “You Oughta Know” can pave the way for other artists like Taylor Swift to sing about their relation-ships. How one decade can change the course of time, but still stay with a genera-tion forever.

Brooke [email protected]

Wikimedia Commons“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is set in the early ‘90s.

“Many English writing and rhetoric students found Dilemmas to be an unnecessary prerequisite to Capstone.”

Page 19: Issue #8 Fall 2012

19VIEWPOINTSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

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

[email protected]

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

HILLTOP VIEWS

Kristina SchenckEditor-in-Chief

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

Matthew NuñezPhoto Editor

Andrew HatcherDesign Chief

Hannah Smith Lisa RodriguezDesigners

Willa GoldbergSara SanchezStaff Writers

Lesli SimmsCopy Chief

Travis RiddleCamille EslickHeather FaschingCopy Editors

Cindy MoraAdvertising & Business Manager

Hannah ThornbyWeb/Social Media Marketing Manager

David CrawleyLandry TaylorAlex BoudreauxInterns

Jena HeathFaculty Adviser

Tyra Banks, an interna-tional supermodel, producer, author, Harvard Business School graduate, talk show host and highly acclaimed media personality, is cur-rently working on a new show that will be produced by ABC.

It is the story of a black teen girl’s struggles through the treacherous years of high school and the tortur-ous taunts she has to endure from her classmates because she has a big forehead.

This gritty new sitcom called “Fivehead” is an auto-biographical show based on the Banks' life.

“In high school, if you have

glasses, you’re a four eyes, if you have braces, you’re a met-al mouth but if you had my forehead? You’re a fivehead,” Banks said, explaining the title to Deadline.com.

The show is still in the early stages of development, but Banks is working with her life long friend, Kenya Barris, according to Deadline.com.

Barris also co-created Banks' smash-hit real-ity show “America’s Next Top Model” which is currently in its 19th season.

Barris told Deadline.com that he is very excited to be a part of this project, since he has known Banks for so long.

According to Barris, the refined and sophisticated Banks was “nutty” as a child, so it looks like this new com-

edy project may have some good material after all.

One concern is that after a season or two, they will run out of material, since Banks only went to high school for two years before being signed by a modeling agency and catapulted to international stardom.

Since Banks has been in the spotlight since she was a teen, she hardly had a normal adolescence. She signed to Elite Model Management at the age of 16, Banks moved to Milan to pursue modeling.

But then again, Banks may be able to spin those expe-riences into comedic gold. Who knows, maybe she is a comedy genius. It is hard to know all the facets of Banks. I mean, she is such an infinitely

complex person.Perhaps the third season

could tell the story of Banks getting picked up by a model-

ing agency and becoming rich and famous. This would be a refreshing move since fans rarely get to hear all about Banks’ climb to stardom. However the show is han-dled, Banks is no television novice, and she will definitely figure something out.

"America's Next Top Mod-el" is a show that just will not quit. It is currently in its 19th season since it first aired in 2003. That is an average of 1.73 cycles per year, meaning that fans have never had to go for long periods without be-ing graced by Banks' magnifi-cent wit and personality.

With the launch of her new comedy series, Banks is going to make sure her face remains on the television screens of America.

With so many interesting communities and different types of people on Reddit.com, there are also some very controversial groups.

What is Reddit? A site based on user submitted content, Reddit’s user base has expanded expo-nentially since it was created in 2005. Reddit was a main force in preventing the SOPA and PIPA acts from being passed earlier this year.

The last update regard-ing statistics on the Reddit staff blog said that in Dec. 2011, the site received over 34,879,881 unique page views spread out among 8,400 main communities.

A typical front page can be a mixture of content about science, comedy, politics, video games, and interesting pictures that site users share.

However, one of the smaller communities, “Jailbait,” was a major cause for concern ear-lier this month.

The “Jailbait” section of the

site was made by a user, not a representative of Reddit, just like any other community on the site.

The small community start-ed as an unregulated commu-nity to upload sketchy photos

of young women who look underage.

When the site was called out by journalist Anderson Cooper, Reddit staff mem-bers defended the site, not the inappropriate content, for the sake of free speech.

After some Reddit users started circulating child porn, the site staff stepped in and closed the entire community down permanently.

If you visit the now-closed webpage, this message can be read under the banned com-munity notification: “This sub-Reddit has been shut down due to threatening the structural integrity of the greater Reddit community.”

Another controversial com-munity was called “Creep-shots.” Users would take pic-tures of women without their consent and upload them to the page.

This community was per-manently banned and closed

in early October. The site then re-emerged with the alias of “Cshots,” and was banned again. The forum was re-launched under a second alias and is still up and run-ning.

It is unclear if this commu-nity has become another hub for the circulation of illegal content.

With only around 3,000 members, the controversial community makes up a very small fraction of the overall population.

When things become ille-gal, it is time to abide by the law, but is free speech more important than censorship?

This Reddit blunder expos-es another problem in the de-bate over Internet censorship and regulation.

Thus far, Reddit has done the right thing by closing communities that could po-tentially harm women and underage girls.

Jacob [email protected]

Social news website causes controversy

Kelsey [email protected]

Supermodel creates ABC sitcom inspired by her forehead

Robert Pitts/Landov/MCTModel Tyra Banks is the executive producer of “Fivehead.”

“This Reddit blunder exposes another problem in the debate over internet censorship and regulation.”

Page 20: Issue #8 Fall 2012

20PHOTO ESSAY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 • HILLTOP VIEWS

Zombie Run

Photos by Joe Arellano and Renee Cornue

Miles for a Mission, an annual 5K run hosted by Campus Ministry, took place Oct. 28 on campus. The event raises money for Alternative Spring Break and International Immersion, two Campus Ministry programs that focus on service in various regions of the world. This year’s race included an added element–zombies chased participants through obstacles along the 3.1 mile course.