“You can’t love vaginas, if you don’t like hair!” shouted Sophomore Emily Sanders, performing the piece “Hair“ at the Vagina Monologues last night.

The Alumni Hall was packed for the first night of Even Ensler’s the Vagina Monologues, performed by 37 McDaniel students and even one professor.  The Monologues put aside controversy and embraced the power of having a vagina to raise money for Rape Crisis Intervention Services of Carroll County, Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland, and women and girls affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

The Vagina Monologues were created in 1996 by Eve Ensler with the objective of empowering women and individuality as a whole.  Since its first performance, it has raised over $75 million for women’s anti-violence groups.

“I think tonight went fantastic!” said senior Nathan Wuertenberg who co-directed the performance with senior Lauren Hamby.  “The cast was energetic and amazing.  They inspire me.”

The first performance was received with a standing ovation by the audience.

Senior Stefon Kelly loved it, saying, “It was a lot of vaginas and a lot of fun!”

Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for everyone else.  Come and see McDaniel’s very own perform for a good cause this Saturday night!

The new Kenneth R. Gill Stadium, which will replace the existing Scott Bair Stadium, “will provide first class seating that showcases the academic ridgeline of our campus,” according to Mr. Martin K. P. Hill, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Mr. Hill reported in his remarks at the ceremony that the stadium committee has raised over $7.7 million in gifts and pledges toward the construction of the new stadium.  $2.25 million of that total came from a donation given by the committee’s leader, Mr. Kenneth R. Gill.

According to Mr. Hill, the new stadium had been a part of the Board of Trustees’ campus master plan, approved in 2003.

Nearly a decade later, on the windy, sun-splashed afternoon of February 3, the plan moved one step closer to reality.

At the ceremony, Dr. Casey remarked, “today’s event is the culmination of much teamwork and much visionary leadership from my predecessor, Dr. Joan Develin Coley,” and called the new stadium’s construction a “high point” for the College.

In his speech, Mr. Gill, who graduated from Western Maryland College in 1961, spoke of friendships he made at the college that lasted a lifetime.  Mr. Gill said “wherever my life has taken me, no place feels as close to my heart as this college.  Whether you call it Western Maryland College, McDaniel College, or simply The Hill, I have benefitted from the lessons learned from the faculty, the coaches, and my classmates.”

“Today, I feel grateful to give back to them.”

Construction on the new Kenneth R. Gill Stadium is scheduled to be completed by next football season.

For more details on the stadium project, here is an article from November that outlines the financial aspects and design of the stadium.

The feeling around campus is bitter-sweet—left with many fond memories of the sweat drenched football icons Ray Lewis and Ed Reed battling to prepare their team for upcoming football seasons.

Most of the hard work that goes into making every McDaniel theatre production passes by without acknowledgement.  Although many of the student actors dedicate a large portion of their time to each project, the techies—students who handle everything behind-the-scenes—often do not even receive applause from the audience but, rather, a name in the back of a program.

Their work and passion deserves to be recognized.

During a tech week (the week before the production’s opening), a techie can work an average of 41 hours.  And some, especially light crew, put in their hours not during the day, but late at night.

Such a large amount of man hours might beg the question: Why are they not being paid or at least protected by a labor law?  Athletes are protected in terms of amount of workouts.  Why not techies as well?

After interviewing multiple techies, we found that the answer was simple.  Techies were proud of the work they put into each and every production and could care less about what recognition or legal protection they get.  Money has never been a concern for them.   It is only about seeing their hard work come to conclusion on stage.

“We work until we are satisfied with what we have done because we know that there are people depending on us,” said senior sound designer Elizabeth Lucarelli.  “Most of us love being proud of our work because if we can’t do it right, then there is no point in doing it at all.”

On top of finding satisfaction in seeing the final product, many techies point to the tight-knit community that one becomes a part of when participating in a theater production.

“Even after all of the times I have complained, I will not regret it in any way. The knowledge, skills, and friends I have gained outweigh all else,” said junior light crew member Logan Otremba.

Techies often also receive credits for their work in the theatre, considering most of it is part of a class.  Putting in the extra work is simply a way to hone their skills.

“I think of it as their learning labs,” said Professor of Theatre Arts Elizabeth van den Berg.  “It is just like actors in rehearsal.  They are learning their craft.”

Lucarelli added, “We also use our real life experience on our resumes which show our skills in those areas.”

For those techies seeking to practice their craft with payment in return, there is an opportunity for work study under Professor Ira Domser and the possibility of working as a Teacher Assistant (TA) in any Theatre class.

Of course, being involved in tech would be easier for someone in the Theatre major as opposed to other academic pursuits.

Senior and President of Alpha Psi Omega Alexis Davis said, “Since I am a theatre major, a lot of my work in the theatre is included in the classes.”

But even non-theatre major techies feel the importance of showing up for their work on each theatre production, whether they’re receiving credit or not.

“If I wasn’t there then there wouldn’t be anybody else to do it,” said junior sound designer Dani Allen.  “That’s why I’ve never missed a tech week rehearsal.”

However, with such heavy responsibility comes a large amount of pressure.  To combat this high demand, the unwritten “Three Hour Rule” was implemented to let techies know it was okay to leave after three hours of work if they needed to.

While this has sometimes been effective in putting academic and health concerns first, in other situations it has left techies feeling guilty for having to leave “early” to get some shut eye.

“While I have been told time and time again that I can just stop and get my work done, there is always that sense of guilt one gains by not being there,” said Otremba. “It almost sometimes feels like a subtle way of guilt-tripping us into staying and working in the theatre when we should be doing school work. I don’t blame anyone in particular for that, though; working with my fellow technicians creates a certain kind of camaraderie between us.”

“The theater is so demanding because the show is going to happen,” said Allen.  “There are no extensions like for a paper in a class. There’s a definite deadline. Whether everyone is prepared or not by show time depends on everyone handling their responsibilities.”

Even if techies feel pressured to work longer then they can afford to, there are solutions available to them.

Professor van den Berg said, “If we hear from someone who was overworked, then we will talk to the people in charge of the crew at the time to manage time better to get everyone out in a three hour time window.”

Does working these late hours affect techie’s grades?  Benjamin Franklin coined the saying “early to bed, early to rise.”  But techies aren’t necessarily getting this opportunity because of their late hours.

Research shows that eight hours (possibly even six) are needed to have an alert and healthy day.  Techies would barely get six hours of sleep if they had a class at eight the next morning.

“At times it can affect grades very poorly,” said Lucarelli.  “Especially if you are in a leadership role as a designer or Master electrician or any role that you are responsible if something is not working right.”

Otremba said, “I have most certainly noticed that my grades drop, especially near opening night of a show where the hours get insane.”

However, many point to time-management as being the main issue in causing a loss of sleep and a drop in grades.  It sometimes just comes down to planning ahead.

“We all know when a production is going to occur,” said Lucarelli.  “We can, for the most part, plan our lives around it by doing homework weeks in advance when possible so that everything due during the week before the production is finished ahead of time.”

A main reason, though, that techies are forced to work so late into the night (especially light crew) is because of the lack of facilities open for work during the day.  The rooms that are used for work on theatre productions are also used as classrooms which prohibit any opportunity to come in during the daytime.

There are three rooms that are both used for classes and production work.  There is the Green Room, the Understage, and the Main Stage.

A possible solution is the future renovations of the theatre which are predicted to finish by 2013.  The theatre workshop will be turned into an acting studio after being moved to another building outside of the theatre, while the underlobby will become a light lab.

If circumstances allow, techies like light crew would have the opportunity to come in during the day and put some work done instead of coming in late at night.  It is obvious to both faculty and students the great need for renovations to the theatre.

“The theater is a wonderful space that the students and staff have done a great deal with, but it is need of some love,” said Lucarelli.

It is easy to see how much techies have to work through, besides long and late hours.  The McDaniel Theatre is in need of a major overhaul.

When asked what they would change about the theatre, many of the techies and faculty had a long list of possibilities.

“I honestly wish the department had a bigger budget,” said Alexis Davis.  “Over the years, Ira and Elizabeth have had their visions cut because they don’t have the time or money for it.”

Professor van den Berg said, “I would build a brand new performing arts center on campus.  It would have a gallery of fine art and classroom space for music, theatre, and dance.  What we have here in Alumni Hall is all converted space which was never designed to be a theatre in the first place.”

“A major thing I would add would be classes on sound and sound design as well as the technology to support it. The only audio call offered at McDaniel is that in the communication department taught every spring.  However, it only focuses on radio and television,” said Elizabeth Lucarelli.

“If I could change one thing in the theatre department,” said Logan Otremba, “It would be the safety hazards that pop up sometimes. I can think of several instances where even if I was paying complete attention to what I was doing, I still have almost fallen out of spaces and ladders that go up at least 18 feet to the ceiling where we hang lighting instruments.”

And under all of these circumstances, the techies and the theatre faculty still work and produce exceptional productions for the campus and Westminster community every year.

So next time you are about to go to sleep at night, just remember that while you are going to dreaming comfortably in your sheets, other students just like you are going to be working into the early morning.

And because of that, they aren’t just students.  They’re McDaniel Techies.

Reporting was contributed by Ashley Day and Sang Lee.

That seems logical.  But what happens if we look at those who support this bill and who do not?  Who has to gain from it?

According to open Congress, if one looks at who supports the Protect IP bill, which is the bill originally sent to the Senate and passed earlier this year (Washington Post).  Various specific interest groups are found in support, like the Ford Motor Company, American Association of Independent Music, American Federations of Music, Microsoft, Major League Baseball, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Warner Music Group, CBS Corporation, Walmart, Comcast and even the National Association of Theater Owners.

Now that we have a clearer picture of the organizations supporting this group—big powerful corporations that would like to hold their position which lose $135 billion in copyrights each year—we can understand why they would support it.

However, these websites do not even have to be violating any copyright at all.  They can just be “suspected” of violating copyrights (CNET/).

So, you know all of those videos on youtube that you like and enjoy so much?  If these bills pass, they might go away overnight.

It should be noted that this bill does not simply just focus on music, but it also covers a broad range of industries, and is far-reaching which should concern anyone who is worried about their civil liberties in this day and age.

In the earlier version of the bill, Protect IP did not force ISPs like Comcast andAT&T to block access to the websites.  Carey Sherman, the head of the Recording Industry Association said that it would be used to deny “access to only the illegal part of the site.” It seems, however, that if the bill was passed the industry would have the ability to to shut down the sites that would be doing more than just that.

My verdict:  the protect IP and SOPA will be giving the government the power to shut down websites that are suspicious of violating copyright laws.  Copyright laws have never been protected by the first amendment so the reasoning that this bill stifles free speech does not ring true to me.

However, this bill could do away with a lot of the things that we enjoy right now and change the way the Internet is.  Youtube, metacafe and all other sites like it might only be allowed to show “official” content while fan-made content and individualized content become severely restricted under the guise of copyright infringement.

Will fansites be able to exist anymore?  Just how far will this go?

It seems to me that the industry is looking to protect itself from the competition it fears so much and that it will do whatever it can, by any means necessary, to secure its profit.  Protect IP and SOPA seem to benefit the industry by aiming for security, but, unfortunately, it could undermine and change the way the web is today.

Men’Tennis Team member, Steve French, gets ready to return a serve at a match.

1. The team has a nickname for head coach Kastner; they call him Cash.

2. During the fall season, there were only six players on the team.

3. Before a match, all the players on the men’s team yell GFB-what it stands for is a secret.

4. The team plays mini tennis games at the end of practice or before a match.

5. The team calls assistant coach Hovorka, Hovo.

Shel Silverstein's new book, Everything On It

The book ends with a poem called “When I Am Gone,” in which Silverstein questions who will write and draw when he has passed, and then states that maybe you will be his replacement. All in all, Every Thing On It is one of my favorites out of the four books of poetry that Silverstein has published. If you get the opportunity, pick up a copy of this book and take a trip back to your childhood.

One North Village apartment celebrates the holiday season in it's entirety by featuring multiple religions. Photo by Lisa Vasapollo.

The theme behind this North Village apartment common room is the word “family.” During this holiday season it is most important to spend time with friends and family. This room is dedicated to the friends and family that we have made on campus together. On the tree, to celebrate holidays of multiple faiths, the multicolor lights symbolize the diversity of our campus. The wrapping of the Hanukkah garland around the Christmas tree symbolizes the intertwining of faiths during this peaceful holiday season.

The newest FIFA game, Soccer 2012, is the best yet.

FIFA continued its successful gaming franchise with it’s most advanced game ever: FIFA 12.

The most noticeable difference that experienced players will realize is tactical defending. This new defensive technique replaced the simple, hold-down-a-button-to-defend tactic, and now forces gamers to think about defensive strategies. Players must use their skills to follow the opposition more closely and make quick decisions about when to launch an attack on the ball. This change frustrated most gamers, but after taking a while to get used to the new way of defending, most now approve and find it to be much more realistic. Poor defending is now more punishing to a player, as they must choose wisely when to take a stab at the ball, because a miss can leave the opposing striker with a clear path to the goal.

Once a gamer gets past the new defending, they will see the finer features that make the new edition of FIFA the best one yet. FIFA has improved Precision Dribbling, which allows gamers to have better control of the ball in tight spaces. This is especially useful when taking on defenders and getting around them, as well as taking a touch to the side to allow a player to buy some time in order to unleash a shot on goal. Also, gamers will see that FIFA 12 has added Player Impact Engine, which makes collisions between players much more realistic. Sometimes the collisions are anatomically impossible, but for the most part, the reactions of players are what a gamer would expect a real life clash to be like. In manager mode, the injury the player suffered is listed, which is a nice touch instead of just being told a player is injured and will be out for a certain length of time. All in all, the improvements made to FIFA 12 greatly improve the game play. It is not just the franchise making changes simply for the sake of putting out a new edition of the game.

The video below is of Gondek playing a mash-up of 4 songs: Perfect by Pink, ET by Katy Perry, Paparazzi by Lady Gaga and Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Gondek put this rendition of these songs together by herself.

“I was just messing around over the summer and already knew how to play all the songs by themselves. I figured out that some of the chord progressions were the same and was able to combine. I thought it sounded cool,” said Gondek.

If you want to here her live, you may be lucky enough to catch her playing in Ensor Lounge every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 12:30 p.m. & 1:30 p.m.

On Top of the Hill

This feature is for all of the perverts at McDaniel College. I’m sure you skipped over the other sections of this newspaper and came right to this one, didn’t you? Sex intrigues you, doesn’t it? It’s in the songs you listen to and it’s in the TV shows you watch.

Don’t lie, you probably find Snooki and The Situation totally hot. It’s in the ads that get young people like you to believe that you’re incredibly ugly and need to be like the models that throw on 30 pounds of makeup and have been Photoshopped to death. Sex is also most definitely on college campuses. It could have possibly occurred in your room while you visited your grandmother over the weekend.

Ok, so maybe you’re not a pervert. Maybe you’re just curious about sex. Maybe you’re reading this section to get a funny, yet educated perspective about it. You could possibly be wondering if young adults are really sex crazed or if the media is just exaggerating our daily lives.

Well, let’s refocus on the idea of your roommate possibly getting it on while you visited your 70 year old grandma. Wouldn’t it be interesting to get an idea of how many students at McDaniel College are actually having sex?

I took a small sample of 50 people (25 males and 25 females) and surveyed them. People of all races were included and not only the class of 2015 was surveyed but also some DMC-ers .  Even juniors got into the mix.

56% of both males and females are having sex while 44% are not. This may not be shocking, but what is shocking is that 42% of the surveyors are actually comfortable talking to their parents about sex.

Another big shocker is that 50% disagree that the media is doing a good job of portraying sex. Some may also find it surprising that 76% said that sex should happen between two people who love or care about each other, so it is less about physical attraction.

What blew my mind the most is that 52% actually believe that abstinence is the best way to prevent STD’s and pregnancy. Still, what is discouraging is that 80% know a teenage girl who has been pregnant within the past year.

What can be learned from this is that not everyone is doing it! Talking about sex, yes, even with your parents, may help you to make wise decisions. TV shows and movies are scripted, and sex can actually be awkward and the least romantic in real life.  Finally, with those who have good taste, buying a pack of condoms costs way less than a baby.

The Vagina Monologues will be coming to campus this year on Feb. 3 and 4.

With its 9^th show coming up, “The Vagina Monologues” is an important tradition on the McDaniel Campus. Every year around Valentine’s Day, a group of McDaniel women get together and put on a show to raise money and awareness for violence and rape against women. This year, led by Dr. Becky Carpenter, the show will take place on Feb. 3 and 4.

As the women prepare for this touching and empowering show, they must bond as a group in order to create an atmosphere for the show that really promotes its purpose: stopping violence against women.

“This show is about women’s empowerment and takes a real activist point of view that we do not have to sit in silence and feel powerless in the face of these horrible crimes committed against women,” said Carpenter about the show.

The bond that these women have is the means that conveys this important message to the campus.

“The Vagina Monologues” have been very successful here at McDaniel. With the first show nine years ago, there was doubt among the women about how the campus would accept the touching and somewhat racy monologues.

“I was pleasantly surprised over the years at how supportive the McDaniel campus was of the show,” said Carpenter. When their first show was so full it was standing room only, it was apparent that this was going to be a tradition that would touch the hearts of the women involved and anyone in the audience who has been affected by violence against women.

Even though it has been a production here at McDaniel for nine years in a row, “The Vagina Monologues” are never repetitive or boring.

“It’s like the feminist ‘Nutcracker,’ you see [the show] around Christmas, it’s a tradition,” said Carpenter.

Sarah Miller, a senior performing in the show, says the tradition is important to raise awareness in the community.

Miller says the show is “people coming together to say enough is enough, but we can say it in a way that’s funny. I guess that’s why I do it.”

“The Vagina Monologues” is an important tradition on campus, for the women who are involved and the staff and students on campus. Many people have been affected by violence against women in some way, and this tradition is an outlet for those people. It is a place for everyone to celebrate the empowerment of women and to acknowledge the existence of a problem that needs to be solved.

Be sure to come out next semester on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday Feb. 4 to enjoy the show and fight the crime of violence against women.

On the timing of the announcements:

“They didn’t resign on one day.  We don’t talk about personnel actions at the College, but the bottom line is you have conversations with your entire department, over the course of years, but in my case over the course of my first year here.  I think all the coaches understand where we’re going, what we’re doing, in some cases, it’s not going to work out with individual coaches in their personal lives and their own goals and aspirations and, you know, this is the end of the fall season, so that’s when these things normally happen.  It may look like it’s all on one day, but they were not all on one day.”

Moyer said, in response to the fact that the volume and timing of the decisions were catching people off guard “that’s jumping to a conclusion that isn’t there.”

“The coaches made decisions on different days, even though we packaged the announcements together, so from our perspective, it was better to put them all together for the public rather than one at a time at a time.  To just continue that process over weeks and weeks doesn’t make sense.”

On why the football coach’s resignation was announced independently of the other coaches:

“I think that ultimately this is probably driven by external media markets.  I don’t put any less interest on our women’s soccer players or our volleyball athletes than I do with our football athletes, and I’ve talked to all the athletes and I think they understand that we put as much emphasis on their programs as we do on football.”

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This is a developing story, and if anybody has any information, opinions, or questions, please comment here or email freepress@mcdaniel.edu.

[poll id="7"]

Keating leaves McDaniel after his 19^th season coaching the Green Terror football squad. Keating certainly will be regarded in the upper echelon of not only McDaniel football coaches, but of any coaches in Centennial Conference history. His seven conference championships (most in McDaniel history) and five straight NCAA playoff births (1997-2001) are sure to earn Keating a spot in the McDaniel athletic Hall of Fame.

In an email to McDaniel students first year athletic director Paul Moyer said, “Coach Keating has exemplified the values of all our coaches in guiding students through their educational journeys on the Hill. We thank him for that service.”

In another email from Moyer to students he spoke of the resignations of Women’s soccer coach Bryan Shumaker and women’s volleyball coach Carole Molloy, “Both Carole and Bryan have exemplified the values of outstanding coaching leadership and have played immeasurable roles in guiding hundreds of students in their educational journeys on the Hill.”

Molloy, another 19 year veteran coach at McDaniel has also led her women’s volleyball team to multiple centennial championships (2), and has enjoyed a successful coaching career at here at her alma mater.

Shumaker has coached the McDaniel women’s soccer team for the past five seasons and over them has guided the girls to 18 victories.

None of the three coaches will be returning to coach on the Hill next season.

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This is a developing story, and if anybody has any information, opinions, or questions, please comment here or email freepress@mcdaniel.edu.

The student forum held on Nov. 15, attended by a small group of faculty, administrators, and students, provided a glimpse into the faculty’s mindset on what changes could come to the Honor Code and why they are necessary.  Dr. Kate Dobson of the English department said that the faculty panel is focusing on the role that professors have in the Honor System, as well as the manner in which cases involving violations of the Code are heard.  Dr. Dobson specifically discussed the need to update parts of the Honor Code about the use of electronic sources, such as regulating the use of smart phones during exams, and generally spoke of creating a “culture of academic honor” at McDaniel College.

The college’s provost, Dr. Thomas Falkner, further emphasized the need to review educating students about the use of electronics in academic work, saying that the college needs to spend much more time “raising the consciousness” of how students use electronic sources.  The administrators present at the meeting stated that there are between six and 12 Honor Code cases each semester, and Dr. Falkner told the forum that almost all of them involve some sort of electronic source, mostly plagiarizing from the Internet or cheating using a smart phone.

Students, in the discussion led by school president Dr. Roger Casey, were also opinionated about the role the Honor Code plays in academic life.  Some students raised the idea that there must be a separation between how cases of incidental and purposeful plagiarism are punished, and that First Year Seminar courses, where the Code is supposed to be taught to incoming students, are not consistent in how they educate incoming students about it.

The administrators became aware of a further problem after they learned that transfer students do not receive the same education of the code because they do not take a First Year Seminar course.  The other major problem with the Honor Code that was discussed involved the accessibility of its contents beyond the Honor Pledge displayed in every classroom.  Like many other school documents, the specific details of the Code are no longer printed and are only found on a on the school website.

After the meeting, Dean of Student Affairs Beth Gerl said “there needs to be a very thorough review of the Honor Code” and that, from what she had heard in the forum, “it needs to be updated.”

Although there appears to be a consensus that the Honor Code needs to be altered, no timetable has been given for when any changes would be announced or implemented.

Lisa Breslin's FYS: Journalism in the 21st Century, poses for a class photo at Bear Branch Nature Center during one of their Flex hour Sessions. Listed here are I Believe statements from members of the class.

I believe in love, karma, manners, aliens and dinosaurs. I believe Elvis is alive and that impossible is nothing. I believe the Jets are good at football and everything happens for a reason. I believe most people in this world can do more to help. I believe in not stereotyping, best friends, and family coming first.

–Pelham McClellan

I believe there should be no regrets in life because your choices make up the beautiful person that you are. I believe you should have one hug a day. I believe that hearing you’re beautiful is necessary for an everyday happy life. I believe in responsibility and hard work. I believe in being silly and smiling and laughing often. I believe that there is good in everything and everyone. I believe everyone should be loved. I believe in the power of a day to rest. I believe that the smell of a new book can change anyone’s outlook. I believe in a baby’s cry and that the way they smell is the most precious thing in the world.  I believe wrinkles tell more stories than words. And I believe in life, the never-ending power of life and love.

–Erica Burzio

I believe that everyone is different and they should be treated accordingly. I believe that mental health is directly related to physical health. I believe in the Redskins. I believe that the political turmoil in the US is ridiculous. I believe in having 2 hours to yourself everyday.  That for every rainy day, there will be 3 sunny days. I believe in eating 3 meals a day and playing video games every once in a while is great way to stimulate the brain. I believe that coffee is terrible from both a taste and health standpoint. I believe a nice, juicy steak is great dinner. I believe time should not be wasted.

–Ryan Staley

I believe one should never quit, for it will never be the same. I believe you should follow your heart but always remember to think. I believe in asking the question “why not?” I believe the only way to listen to music is with the volume turned all the way up! I believe in staying up late and getting up early. I believe you can’t choose your own nickname.

–Alex Murchison III

I believe perfection is unattainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. I believe that when you aren’t practicing, someone else is. I believe that hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. I believe that anyone’s finest moment is when they lay down exhausted and victorious. I believe I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. I believe in a strong work ethic. I believe in confidence as a way of life. I believe respect is the most important trait in life. I believe in the word Relentless.

–J.T. Kotowski

I believe in true love, but also true hate. I believe the legal drinking age should be 18. I believe in the influence of plaid clothing. I believe that today will always be a new day. I believe in living without regrets. I believe in making a statement through my words rather than my actions. I believe in the US Army. I believe in the bars and stars and bald eagle that represents our freedom. I believe that only God can judge me. I believe in using haters as motivations. I believe in good quality beer. I believe in the soldier’s creed. I believe in myself.

–Kyle Henderson

I believe that the unfortunate events that occur in our daily lives only makes us stronger. I believe that my parents have given up so much for me. I believe in my teammates. I believe that everyone should take time for themselves. I believe in my abilities to achieve my dreams. I believe in taking naps.

–Patrick Bivon

I believe that everyone should have the chance to succeed in life. I believe in equality and freedom. I believe that we are all capable of transcending our obstacles and accomplishing what you want to do on this planet. I believe that we all should learn from our own mistakes, because it’s okay to make them.

–Tiffany Patton

I believe colorful things make people smile. I believe doing your nails can relieve stress. I believe my family is the most special part of my life. I believe friends are the best gift of life.

–Sharina Taveras-Lopez

I believe in a good break after a hard week in school. I believe in shopping until I spend all my check. I believe in helping my mom as much as possible. I believe in working hard to achieve my goals. I believe in doing my homework to get good grades.

–Maria Reyes

I believe I won’t miss anymore classes until break. I believe I will get better organized. I believe I will be more independent. I believe I will be more responsible.

–Erica Diffendal

I believe that success comes through hard work and determination, not by luck or chance. I believe if you wholeheartedly pursue something, you’ll get it. I believe if you dream it, you can achieve it. I believe that settling for anything less than you want is foolish. I believe that nothing in life is perfect, but rather perfectly imperfect.

–Kelsey Burkhardt

I believe in the craziest nights with friends that soon turn into precious memories. I believe that a sister is a best friend for life. I believe that love isn’t real, but true lasting relationships are. I believe people can’t exist on their own, they need a support team to always get them through. I believe in an amazing God that always forgives me for the stupid horrible things I do while I’m in college.

–Miranda King

I believe in connections. Real connections that lead to hearty laughter and the sometimes rampant tears. I believe in the lessons my students teach me everyday about perseverance, randomness, fear, love, and humility. I believe in real Coke. Not Pepsi or diet. I believe in my girls – their future and their gifts to the world. I believe in Jim’s eggplant parmesan. I believe and live for peace.

–Lisa Breslin

Yet, for some odd reason I do not feel sorry for urinating in my back yard, amongst some bushes, in the pitch black, when all my house bathrooms were occupied. My guilt is most certainly undeniable, but we all know “when ya gotta go ya gotta go.”

Laws are laws. They are put in place to maintain safety, and provide healthy living for their inhabitants. Yet, I, along with most every other healthy human being, break laws on a daily basis (yes, even police). Those who enforce laws (police), as humans, must be able to see around certain laws a la J-walking across PA Ave or soberly peeing completely out of the public’s eye in one’s own back yard. Enforcers must evaluate humanity before they slap handcuffs on an 18 year old freshman sipping their first beer at a college party.

In a most conventional sense, police are the ultimate checkers and balancers of their jurisdictions— campo for McDaniel and Westminster PD for off campus. Yet, very rarely is their supreme power checked or balanced within the realm of just what the hell makes sense.

Every Free Press issue I take the liberty of musing at the stupidity of college students like myself and all the ridiculous ways that they find themselves appearing on the campus safety blotter. I can honestly say that I have been treated with respect and fairness by campo here at McDaniel. In my experience, with few exceptions, campo does a good job of evaluating harm and understanding that college students are going to party and drink. Students that are not harming themselves or others are usually let off by campo with a, “Don’t be a dumb ass and pour that drink out.”

Students that act belligerent towards officers usually get written up, but that seems fair.

My advice to students who come into contact with campus safety while breaking any law: be cooperative, smart, and try to act as sober as possible.

Yet, campo is campo and the Westminster police are something different. The city police find college students a nuisance that need to be taught a lesson.

My advice for students who happen to come into contact with city police: run.

It’s truly a tight line that students on and off campus must walk. On campus students are within the realms of what is just and fair. Yet strict drinking and partying regulations have most students heading off campus on Thursday and Saturday nights for fun. Issues not only with violence (remember a few off-campus incidents last semester including a sexual assault on a student by a non-student), but also being at the mercy of city police with a completely different agenda than campo becomes a serious problem.

Partying is fun and it will forever be a college tradition and outlet for students everywhere, including us here at McDaniel. Controlling partying is A if not THE job of campus safety. Its maintenance is vital to the student-college relationship and this power rests in campo’s hands. When the duty of controlling college students is passed off to Westminster PD or other off-campus police, the knowledge/understanding of student-college relationship is out the window, and safety and care for our students is voided.

A scary thought for the parents of incoming freshman

McDaniel College will no longer be home to the Baltimore Ravens training camp. Photo by Lisa Vasapollo.

The Baltimore Ravens announced today that they will not hold their training camp at McDaniel College next summer.  The Ravens have instead decided to hold 2012′s training camp at the team facility in Owings Mills next year.

In a press release on the team’s website, Ravens President Dick Cass said, “We’ve had long, serious discussions about this decision, and, when all is said and done, we believe we can better prepare for the season by holding training camp [in Owings Mills] as opposed to McDaniel College or any other facility away from here.  We wanted to let the officials at McDaniel and at the hotel (Best Western) know as soon as we made the decision.”

Cass also said, “We owe much thanks to the leadership at McDaniel for their patience as we came to this decision and for all the outstanding help they have given the Ravens through the years. They have been a great partner, often going out of their way to make sure we could prepare our team at a high, high level.”

The move, according to the release, was recommended by Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome, because of new restrictions on practices caused by the NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as the existence of indoor practice facilities at the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills.

McDaniel had been the home of the Ravens’ summer practices since the team’s arrival in Baltimore in 1996.  Training camp in Westminster was moved to Owings Mills this summer because of time constraints put on the team by the NFL lockout.

In a statement, McDaniel College said “We’ve had a wonderful association with the Ravens at McDaniel, and appreciate their commitment to the college and to Westminster. We respect
the decision of the Ravens organization, and are ready to welcome them back to McDaniel College if, and when, they decide to return their training camp here.”

This is a developing story. More information will be posted.

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We live in a world that is so vastly separated from the world that is around us: the United States. Little do many of us realize how, and on what scale we are effected by the language we speak, the media that surrounds us, and the place in which we live. Our thoughts and ways of communication, and how we interact with one another is inevitably shaped by the culture in which we grow up, whether we realize it or not.

We are influenced by everything around us, from music to food and drink, the programs on television, the shops and stores that help our community and economy flourish, the sports teams we root for, down to the simple mannerisms and ways of addressing our peers. Not only does this strengthen the bond that we have with other citizens but it also entraps us in our ever-growing ethnocentric culture.

In my view, our ethnocentric culture is problematic, especially in a society where the minority is rapidly growing and in the near future we will be forced to merge the majority culture with the dominant minority culture, which is Latinos. The Latino population is a subculture that has already begun to spread out across our nation. Although some think of this as a bad thing, in fact, it is something positive, as it is teaching us to better adapt to and accept our constantly changing surroundings.

For one to submerge oneself in another culture brings one into a whole new perspective on the world. From having been abroad in Spain, as well as currently living in the Spanish house now, I firmly believe that every student should try to experience a foreign culture in one way or another. Even doing something minor, such as living the Spanish house, will have an effect on an individual.

Embarking on a pathway to becoming more culturally diversified is something you owe to yourself and to the global community of the world in which we live. Mark Twain once said, “whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” This is an issue on which I have reflected a great deal and I have come to conclude that my culturally diverse perspectives and reflections were formed through my study abroad experience as well as living in the Spanish house.

Living in the Spanish has some requirements in order to make its residents practice their Spanish and earn credit. One of the conditions for living in the Spanish house is that its students are acquired to attend weekly “tertulias” which are our weekly meetings where we gather together twice a week and partake in an activity relating to Spanish.

Our director, Renata, a 26 year old woman from Cordoba, Argentina; puts together games where we play Spanish card games, read Spanish comics, learn colloquialisms, listen to music, watch Spanish movies, or cook a cultural dish from a Latin American country. We speak only Spanish while doing these activities. Additionally, we are always required to speak Spanish to one another in the house common areas.

It is not just the Argentinean director or the frequently playing Spanish music that makes the house culturally diverse from other living situations on campus. It is also the fact that constantly there are international students over at the house, some of who come from France, Germany, and Portugal.

It is through the experiences that we’ve had with our international students that we come to learn about other cultures. Although we may not be in another country, the house embodies cultural diversity, thoughts and ideas are shared about commonalities and differences of life in another country, and in the United States such a cultural reflection is enlightening.

The most important thing about the language house experience is what you take away from it; and being exposed to new foods, music, ideas; language helps one to gain is a newfound respect for other cultures. It is fundamental that we open up our hearts and minds to the world around us, which will enable us to break down the negatives such as the pre-conceived stereotypes we might have about of other people in other cultures. It frees us of our narrow mindedness and into experiencing new traditions that before we might have been unwilling to accept before. By being more open minded to other cultures and accepting of others, we will change the world into a more peaceful place a little bit at a time.

The lecture’s guest speaker, William Noel, curator of manuscripts and rare books at the Walters, put it plainly when he said, “You’d have to be a nutcase to try and read this. It’s not easy.”

The Palimpsest is comprised of seven treatises written by Archimedes which were erased and written over by a monk during the twelfth century A.D. It was converted to a prayer book which was kept in Jerusalem for the next several hundred years. This, in combination with water damage, fire damage, bookworm damage, wax residue from the candles used to write it, and decay of the pages themselves (which were made from sheep hide), made the Archimedes text only readable under ultra-violet light—and even then, there was guesswork to be done in certain sections.

According to Professor Reviel Netz of Standford University, who has penned a book with Noel entitled “The Archimedes Codex,” the treatises present in the Palimpsest contain “key mathematical proofs…conceptual fields of calculus, and of infinity.”

Included in the treatises is the only known surviving copy of “On Floating Bodies,” written in Greek—detailing Archimedes’ studies of the famous “eureka” moment of dropping gold in his bathtub, and noticing the displacement of water. Archimedes also included many puzzles and diagrams in his writings, one of which consists of a square divided into 14 fragments, which can be re-assembled in 17,152 different ways.

The exhibit will be showing at the Walters Art Gallery until January 1st, 2012 and will reveal the history of the Palimpsest’s journey as well as the resurrection of its ancient knowledge in much greater detail.

Diverse McDaniel students

There are many negative stereotypes geared towards minorities, such as the stereotype that both African Americans and Hispanics are poorly educated and doomed to forever live in poverty. However, the students at McDaniel College do not fit into these boxes. McDaniel College does a good job of making sure that the college has a diverse student population because it has more minorities than most of the same sized schools here in Maryland and there are plenty of clubs that introduce different cultures.

At Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, there are 174 black students compared to McDaniel College’s 270 black students. Another small liberal arts college by the name of Hood College which is in Frederick, Maryland, has 238 black students. Goucher College has 77 Hispanic students compared To McDaniel’s 80 and Hood has 82 compared to McDaniel. Finally, Goucher College has only 50 Asian students compared to McDaniel’s 106 Asian students; Hood College has sixty Asian students. (“Race/Ethnicity“) Although Hood College may have more Hispanics than McDaniel, these numbers still show a significant increase.

Not only are the number of minorities at McDaniel College high but McDaniel College has partnered with the College Bound Foundation to identify and recruit inner city low-income minority students from Baltimore City. Additionally, McDaniel offers six-to-eight full tuition scholarships to highly qualified Baltimore City students annually. McDaniel also continues to partner with College Visions from Providence, Rhode Island to identify and recruit students of color. Lastly, college staff participates in college fairs conducted by 100 Black Men of Maryland, National Council of Negro Men, National Hispanic Fair, and the Hispanic Latino Fund. In contrast, Hood College uses the Go to High School, Go to College Fair in Prince George’s County to expose more than 600 students in Maryland and D.C. to various college preparation services, including the admissions process, academic preparations, and financial aid (“Recruiting Diverse“) but the amount of focus that’s on minority students is unknown.

McDaniel has many cultural clubs such as the Black Student Union, the Asian Community Coalition, and the Multicultural Club. During my first meeting of the BSU, there were many shades of brown, but to my surprise, there was an Asian, a Hispanic, and a Caucasian student there. It was a room full of openness and freedom, and for once in my life, race wasn’t a taboo topic. The ACC has students of different ethnicities such as blacks (Nigerians in particular) and Caucasians. The Multicultural club aids students in learning about the traditions, religion, and even fun things such as food from backgrounds around the world.

It seems as if McDaniel College has a high number of minorities, or at least more than competing colleges. Yet again, there are clubs that encourage diversity, but maybe this is a one-sided or superficial view of looking at things. Does anyone really sit down and talk to the students about the subject of race? In interviews that I conducted, some students said that they were unaffected by being a minority. One Ghanaian student said that she has “experienced racism” but she really “doesn’t care” because in “most of her classes” she is the only black person. Even in the Psychology of Women, it states, “Female students of color are especially ignored in the classroom.” One African-American student said that it was a “culture shock” and one Hispanic said that he has not experienced racism but he “wouldn’t be surprised if it happened because you cannot simply disregard the fact that you are part of a minority group and there are always extremists that will call you out because of your race…” Most students feel as if they are not racist but a little biased because all of their lives, they have grown up around people like themselves. While race is a hard factor to ignore, McDaniel has so many unique backgrounds that there is no way students who attend this college won’t learn to think in creative ways that they’ve never had to before.

Mahlia Joyce, who is the director of Multicultural Affairs at McDaniel College, has always seen herself as part of this college and part of what this school could do differently. She taught Spanish at local, alternative high schools in Carroll County where the majority of students were Caucasian and had certain perceptions of minorities. She felt as if her job was not to teach a language, but understand more about the culture itself. She confirms that McDaniel has had an increase in minorities. The class of 2015 is comprised of 25% minorities and as a whole 14 to 15 percent are minorities. However, she says that some students still feel isolated and disconnected. She believes that regardless of numbers, students should feel a part of the majority and it is not only up to the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA), but the students and the college as a whole. As a student, community member, worker, and alum of McDaniel College, she has always wanted to be a part of the solution.

There is absolutely no reason to be skeptical about being a student at McDaniel College. It is understandable that many freshman students may not know what to expect during their college experience because they are venturing away from home and most of them have grown up in one place all of their lives with one view of the world around them. Slowly, but surely, college will be easier to adapt to because students will take classes, join clubs, and travel with people that have the same interests and race won’t matter. A blogger by the name of Aaron Thompson who is a professor of sociology at Eastern Kentucky College says that diversity enhances self-awareness, expands worldliness, and enhances the multiple perspectives developed by a liberal arts education.  McDaniel College exemplifies diversity in a positive and life changing way.

The last couple of weeks have been very difficult. Everything from deaths in the family, to mid-terms, to midnight work shifts. I have finally hit the heart of the Fall Semester. It is not hard to sit in class and listen to lectures or take care of my son, but it is hard to find time to complete school work and wake up on time for class the next morning.

So far this school year I have not been able to complete an assignment for any of my classes before 3 in the morning. Late nights are the only time I have to complete assignments and sometimes that isn’t even enough.

A couple of weeks ago I had an assignment due that nearly caused my head to explode like an atomic bomb. The assignment itself was not difficult, just time consuming, which for me is worse because I have so little time to get things done. It was a Tuesday night, and this particular Tuesday will be one that I remember for a very long time.

I had to work a normal shift that day, 2:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Everything at work was normal and it was a relatively slow day. Since the day was slow and I knew I had an assignment due the next day, I figured that I would get a head start writing my paper at work on my phone so I didn’t have to stay up all night writing it.

Every time the store was empty (which was frequent) I was on my phone writing my paper. On my break, I was writing my paper. Every chance I had I would pull out my phone and start writing my paper.

My son Aidan was staying at his mother’s house for the night so I figured that I would be done with the paper around 11 p.m. and watch a little bit of TV before I went to bed. At 8:45 p.m, just before the store closed, I received a text from Aidan’s mother saying that she isn’t feeling well and asking if I could take Aidan for the night. I told her that I had a paper to write, but she was saying that she didn’t think she was capable of taking care of him that night.

I thought to myself,  “Okay, I have been writing this paper this whole time and have about 4 out of 6 pages already finished, plus I don’t want her to get Aidan sick (because sick babies are the most difficult to take care of).”

“Okay, I’ll be over after work to get him,” I told her.

After work I went to get Aidan to take him home with me. When I got home Aidan was fussing because it was his bed time, so I took him upstairs and put him to sleep. It was now 10:15 p.m.

I thought to myself, “This worked out well.”

I then went back downstairs to type what I had on my phone on the computer so I could then finish my paper. I was sitting in front of the computer, looking down at my phone, typing a little bit, then looking at the computer to make sure I typed correctly, then back at my phone. The first half of the first paragraph was finished (much less than half a page), but this process was taking a little longer than I expected, so I came up with a great idea. I called my older sister into the room and asked her to read to me what was on my phone so I could just listen and type. This would cut the time spend typing in half for sure. I gave my sister the phone to read what I had written down on my phone. My phone screen (like most phones) has a 15 second period before the screen goes black and you have to turn on the screen again. Fifteen seconds go by and my screen goes black.

My sister looks at me and says. “How do you turn the screen back on?” I say to her, “Hold on, let me finish write the part that you just read to me and then I’ll tell you.”

She said, “Okay” and started messing with my phone to turn it on. She slides my phone open and then slides it closed. The screen turns back on, and EVERYTHING IS GONE! Hours of typing at work, four pages of words gone in a matter of seconds. My brain overloads as my heart sinks simultaneously. All my work vanished. I spend about 15 minutes trying to get it back on my phone, and nothing. The realization that I had to start from scratch started to sink in. My brain couldn’t withstand the unexpected added pressure and shut down. My ability to think and use my mind was gone. I told my family that I was going to bed and that I’d finish the paper later. I laid in bed with my son feeling like I had missed a buzzer beater to the championship game.

I thought to myself, “This kind of thing has happened to me before,” but never with the amount of stress I was currently dealing with, but lucky for me the paper was due at 6:50 the next night.

The next day at school I ended up finishing the paper in between classes and felt relieved, but the high from feeling relieved was nowhere near the low of feeling stressed. All was well turning in my paper, but while the teacher took the paper from me I thought to myself, “There is no way she knows what I went through writing this paper.”

An annual survey produced by Harris Interactive expresses that three-fourths of the American population suffer from unhealthy levels of stress.

It’s nice to know that mostly everyone else is stressed, too.

Masha, a part of Kidsave International, in a 2006 photo at her home which happens to be an orphanage in Kardymovo, Russia.

Statistics show that there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide today. Studies have shown that each year, approximately 14 million of those children worldwide grow up and age out of orphanages by approximately 18 years of age.

In Russia and the Ukraine, 60% of the girls become prostitutes, and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals. Most people are completely unaware of that fact. Even Terry Baugh, who traveled to a Russian Orphanage to adopt an infant, was unaware of this fact.

It was not until Baugh heard about her friend, Randy Thompson’s experience while visiting an orphanage in Kazakhstan that she realized this truth.

During her visit, Ms. Thompson saw face to face the older children that the world had ultimately forgotten about.

Together the two friends teamed up and created “Kidsave International,” a non-profit organization whose mission stands on the motto, “Because every child needs a family.”

As an adoptive mother, Baugh was aware first hand of the obvious statement that, “Parenting a child from an institution is full of joy and challenges.” She also realized how children are poorly treated in orphanages.

“It is not okay that children are able to languish in government care without stimulation,” added Baugh.

Studies show that children who are not stimulated by loving parents as infants have higher chances of suffering from brain damage, not having enough growth hormones, and having cognitive problems.

It sounds unrealistic, but most of us are not aware of what happens in orphanages, especially in developing countries.

Russian orphanages are massive, cold institutions with an insufficient number of caregivers to properly take care of all of the children.

In the summer of 1999, Kidsave International brought 177 children from Russia to Washington DC and Los Angeles with the hope of finding these children families. That following summer, 97% of those children found families through their host-families or became children of the host-family themselves.

As of 2011, Kidsave has catered to children in orphanages in Russia, Kazakhstan, Peru, Columbia, Sierra Leone and the United States. To date, approximately 2,700 children have found homes through Kidsave. In addition, through Kidsave Sponsored programs; more than 10,000 kids have been helped worldwide.

Although it might seem like all good news, Baugh has surely had her share of hardships and struggles with being the co-founder of the organization. One of the largest issues has been public awareness, both locally and globally.

When the public is not aware of an issue, they do not care, and when they do not care it usually leads to the government not caring as well. That leads directly to the second problem faced by Kidsave. This problem is the lack of government funding for the program.

The United States Government has not made the issue a top priority regardless of numerous tests, which have been conducted such as the Bucharest Early Intervention Study.

This test has proven that children lose intellect after being in an orphanage for two years or more.

Kidsave currently has two major successful programs. The first program is Summer Miracles which takes place during the summer. This program which is promoted and advertised as their signature program, involves children coming to major cities in the U.S. and staying with a host family for six week periods. The hopes are that the children will find permanent families.

The second program, which is short term, is called Weekend Miracles. This program is targeted towards children in foster care located in the Kidsave focus cities, Washington DC and Los Angeles. Because the kids are American natives, the need for a long-term stay is eliminated because there are no language or culture barriers. Both programs have been very successful.

With the awareness aspect taken care of, I thought I would touch base on a more personal note.

Kidsave really stands out to me because I was once in the same situation that many children worldwide are in today. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in May of 1993 and adopted in April of 1995.

Fortunately, I was young enough not to remember much of anything from the orphanage. My earliest memory was of my “Thomas the Tank Engine” themed birthday party, which is nothing abnormal to any other American six year old.

My family’s involvement with Kidsave began in the year 2000, when we agreed to step in as a backup host family to a young boy named Sasha (Russian equivalent to Alexander). He came to us with nothing but a single outfit and a roll of toilet paper. We quickly nourished him with what was probably an absurd amount of clothes and personal items, some of which he surely had not seen or heard of before.

It was quite an experience and although we did not decide to make him our own, a different family we knew took the initiative and went through the grueling adoption process and made him a member of their family by the end of that year.

A few years passed and in the summer of 2003, two children, Masha and Ruslan, came into our home and we immediately fell in love with them. At the end of the summer we made a life changing decision and decided to make them a part of our family.

The following May, we traveled to Russia to finalize the adoption plans. Unfortunately the adoption did not work out for reasons pertaining to the Russian Government. However it was a life-changing experience and it would not have been possible without Kidsave.

This experience showed me what I potentially could have been like had I not been adopted. I also received a huge culture shock. Coming from an average American household, I gained a much broader view of how other people live and all of a sudden everything seemed to have more value.

Following that experience, my family continued to host children from other countries. However, 2006 marked our last summer of participating in the Summer Miracles program.

We still continue to support Kidsave in every way we can. Terry Baugh and her three children have grown up with me and it is something I would not take back under any circumstances. I firmly believe in Kidsave as an organization because “Every Child Needs a Family.”

Dr. Madsen points out that the McDaniel community and staff has been very supportive of the changes to the Program. Using the National Collegiate Honors Council’s requirements as a guide, Dr. Madsen hopes to “build the strengths” and “refresh” the curriculum of the Program. In fact, she points to the Potz Assessment Grant that the NCHC gave the school to see how to make the program as successful as possible. She hopes that changes to the course offerings and different expectations of students achievement will help to “highlight the great work [students] are doing.”

Dr. Madsen wants McDaniel to have all of the “basic characteristics of a fully-developed Honors Program,” which includes extended library loans and Honors dormitories. New additions to Honors students’ perks that Dr. Madsen points to include “space to meet social and academic needs, so that’s our Room of Requirement” and “priority registration to accommodate Honors students’ busy schedules, major(s), and Honors requirements.”

If you want to say that Dr. Madsen has ‘what Honors can do for you’ covered, then Honors Club President Rhaelynn Givens has ‘what you can do for Honors.’

After having previously served on Executive Board as Liaison to the Program, Rhaelynn made the transition to President a smooth one. Her main goals for the Honors Club were stated from the onset of the semester, which included her desire to focus on re-channeling the often negative stigmas attached to students in Honors through good, old-fashioned hard work, and active participation in leadership positions on campus.

“As the president, I am working with the Exec Board to change the community service hours so that they work more to foster community within the program, and hopefully help to bridge the gap that exists between upper and underclassmen.” Furthermore, increased opportunities for community service (thanks in part to Service Coordinator Marisa Hrbal) will help the Honors Program connect more with the rest of the McDaniel campus.

“I would like to help promote positive attitudes towards the liberal education we earn, and also help students to realize that despite frustrating elements of any institution, the essence of education is valuable,” and while she knows some Program requirements do frustrate students, she says, “Students of Honors should remember why they were invited into the program in the first place, and act accordingly.”

But those worried about Honors becoming ‘all work and no play’ can rest assured that there is plenty of fun still to be had. Rhaelynn adds, “With the ideas of Catherine O’Keeffe, our lovely Events Coordinator, and other members, we are looking to hosting a Literary Masquerade which will be open to all campus next semester!”

The lecture’s guest speaker, William Noel, curator of manuscripts and rare books at the Walters, put it plainly when he said, “You’d have to be a nutcase to try and read this. It’s not easy.”

The Palimpsest is comprised of seven treatises written by Archimedes which were erased and written over by a monk during the twelfth century A.D. It was converted to a prayer book which was kept in Jerusalem for the next several hundred years. This, in combination with water damage, fire damage, bookworm damage, wax residue from the candles used to write it, and decay of the pages themselves (which were made from sheep hide), made the Archimedes text only readable under ultra-violet light—and even then, there was guesswork to be done in certain sections.

According to Professor Reviel Netz of Standford University, who has penned a book with Noel entitled “The Archimedes Codex,” the treatises present in the Palimpsest contain “key mathematical proofs…conceptual fields of calculus, and of infinity.”

Included in the treatises is the only known surviving copy of “On Floating Bodies,” written in Greek—detailing Archimedes’ studies of the famous “eureka” moment of dropping gold in his bathtub, and noticing the displacement of water. Archimedes also included many puzzles and diagrams in his writings, one of which consists of a square divided into 14 fragments, which can be re-assembled in 17,152 different ways.

The exhibit will be showing at the Walters Art Gallery until January 1^st, 2012 and will reveal the history of the Palimpsest’s journey as well as the resurrection of its ancient knowledge in much greater detail.

Art time in class can still send a ripple of excitement through the classroom, even at college.  The goal? Create a poster that would be an advertisement for our honors class, titled Worldview and Privilege: Why Colorblind Means You Can’t See Me.  Our professor, Julia Orza, split the class into three groups.  Each group was set up with posters and materials.  My group settled down to planning.

Our professor had given us a challenge to advertise our class, and we set forth to complete the task.  It’s strange that we never stopped to wonder why.  It may have something to do with Dr. Orza dangling extra credit in front of us for the best poster design.

After some debating on how to meet the challenge, my group decided to follow a suggestion made by our group member, Yichong Li.  She suggested that we construct a human body using black and white photos from the magazines we were provided to represent colorblind.  In class, we’ve been learning that when someone tries to be colorblind, they may unintentionally ignore another person’s background.

On our poster, outside of the figure made of black and white photos, we glued color photos showing our reality.  In our world, people are different.  It’s wrong to treat people with prejudice and hatred, but we can’t treat everyone exactly the same.

We can’t be colorblind.  People are not the same and do not have the same experiences, and it’s ok to treat people different by being aware of their background and acknowledging their culture.  If we ignore their culture and worldview, we are not giving them the respect they deserve.

As our group struggled to complete our poster by the deadline, everyone was cutting pictures frantically.  Each person had a job, either finding pictures and words in the magazines, cutting them out, or gluing them to the poster.  Yichong mainly directed the making of the poster and made sure our work came together.  Everyone had a part and there was a sense of accomplishment when Dr. Julia Orza called “time.”

Turning from our poster, we began to observe the others and noted a severe difference among the posters.  At first I wondered why the other groups had decided against using their magazines.  The first group had drawn a giant eye that said “Worldview,” where the blue iris was the “o” and the pupil was an image of planet Earth.  The entire poster read “Worldview and Privilege” in gray and blue.  The eye represented an individual’s view of their world.

The second group had a picture of Earth, drawn in colored pencil, working on a puzzle.  Below were the words, “Let’s Piece Together Your Worldview.”  The puzzle pieces represented the parts of an individual’s worldview.  Puzzle pieces had words representing parts of one’s worldview, such as social class, language, race, age, and sex.

It looked like the other groups hadn’t put very much effort into their posters, and I couldn’t understand why they decided against using magazines and markers.  Turns out, they didn’t have magazines or markers.

My group had been presented with a bag full of scissors, glue, markers, magazines, stickers, everything but the kitchen sink.  So, as we turned around, we got a bit of a shock finding one group with merely colored pencils, and the final group sporting pencils and a blue crayon.  While the students from my group turned around oblivious, the other groups had a better grasp of the situation.  Looking at the posters, Dr. Orza questioned whose was better.  Most students spoke up saying their own was better.

Dr. Orza observed that the group with the fewest resources “were the loudest about saying how good  [their poster] was.” They felt they had to “defend and speak up for their group more than the others.”  Dr. Orza equated this with people of less privilege feeling the need to defend themselves.  After surveying the posters, Dr. Orza chose my group, the one with the most resources, as the winner.

So what happened?  Our groups had been presented with varying craft materials as a demonstration of privilege and differences in available resources.  The definition of privilege is “a special right, benefit or advantage given to a person not from work, effort or merit, but by reason of membership in a majority group with the power.”  The amount of privilege a person has may influence the resources available to that person.

Someone with socioeconomic privilege, who lives in an upper-class area, can print out a professional resume and has a computer to search for jobs, but a person who does not have that privilege, and who may be living on the streets, probably does not have a computer, much less a printer.

The poster project reflects the limited resources that some people have to face on a day-to-day basis, and the advantage of resources that people with the privilege and power have.  Slowly, we began to dissect what had occurred.

Yichong noted, “It [seemed] like none of our group realized that others had less supplies.”  I certainly didn’t notice, and I think our group received the biggest surprise to find that other people didn’t have the same resources.

Kristin Harjes, a member of the group with the colored pencils, stated, “I did not see the under-privilege of the lowest group.  I only envied the privilege of the higher group.  My oblivion, when it was pointed out to me, was shocking.”

There was some debate over Dr. Orza’s choosing the poster created by my group as the best one.

“I saw immediately that we were at a disadvantage,” said Jason Stein, a member of the group with the fewest resources, “but I thought she would put each of our groups into perspective when analyzing extra credit.  I thought she would be judging over creativity, [using what we had], as opposed to overall appeal.”

“I was upset that she picked the [group with the most resources] to prove a point,” Kristin explained.  “The materials didn’t bother me, just the final decision.”

“We had an awesome idea of designing that went into the poster,” said Yichong, “not only because we had more supplies, but also we had ideas, our artistic intuitions.  Privileged people feel their ability being overlooked because of their privilege.”

When I asked Dr. Orza about choosing our group, she said, “I thought the other ones were good for what they had,” but she believed the poster that my group had created was truly the best.  Normally, she wouldn’t see the creation process.  If this was an actual assignment and the group with the fewest resources had turned in their poster, she says would have been like, ‘Really? You did that with just a few pencils?’”

Dr. Orza gave an example, saying that an elementary school teacher giving the assignment to a class can’t see what’s behind the scenes.  One student may go home to a computer with graphic designs, or a large array of glitter glue, stickers, and colorful paper.  Another student whose family is in a low socioeconomic class may have to rustle up a crinkled piece of paper and a broken crayon.  The child’s parents may not be available to assist the child because of the need to work long hours.  The two children return and the teacher assigns grades based upon the end results.

While observing the process, Dr. Orza noticed that the group with the least resources could only have a few people working on the poster at a time, and there were a lot of people standing around.  However, the group with the most resources “never [had] a moment when people weren’t doing stuff.  There was more energy.” She even caught herself becoming involved with my group, saying, “I felt I was going over to your group to make sure you used more of your stuff.”  Having never tried the activity before, it came as a surprise.

Even knowing everyone’s limitations and the effort placed into the posters, Dr. Orza still expressed a preference for my group’s poster based on the end result.

Remembering the treat that was originally offered, a student asked if my group would still be getting extra credit.  “Yes,” was the answer, sending a new ripple of conversation into the class.

Sarah Holbrook, member of the group with the least resources, said, “I felt really upset that they had gotten extra credit that I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to get.  That made me reflect about what opportunity I [do] get that others [don't].”

A student in my group expressed feelings of guilt for receiving extra credit because our group had an advantage in resources.  On the other hand, Yichong considered, “I almost don’t feel the guilt because I felt the reason we won was because we had good ideas and it’s not just because of supplies, it’s because we had good ideas.”

From the poster activity, we brought away what?

Jason Stein, said, “I didn’t think it was the most informative project to begin with.  I only realized after, when I saw the reactions of the other groups,” the affect of privilege.

Sarah Holbrook said, “It makes you more aware to the amount of difference there is in what you have available to you in resources.  You grow up around people in society and don’t realize how far away others are.”

“I love that she included this in our class experience, it made me aware of privilege through real life experiences,” said Yichong Li.

Kristin Harjes said, “I think it’s fairly reflective of what we see in the real world; people see when they’re at a disadvantage, but don’t always realize when they’re the privileged ones.”

Jim Minick, poet and blueberry farmer, returned to McDaniel College on October 4, 2011 to celebrate and share his works since he was enrolled in Dr. Kathy Mangan’s poetry class over 20 years ago.

After Dr. Mangan introduced her former student with pride, Minick quoted from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman:

I am the teacher of athletes,

He that by me spreads a wider breast than my own proves the width

of my own,

He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher.

It was apparent how appreciative he was of Dr. Mangan for pushing him in her class and helping him begin his successful career.

Minick began with an excerpt from his first published book, “Finding a Clear Path.” Published in 2005, Minick says the book poses the question “how do you find a clear path in this world?” The book consists of nature essays that debate this topic.

He then moved on to his book “Her Secret Song,” published in 2008. While reading his selected poems, Minick had to take his time and gather his emotions. He told the audience that this book was inspired by his aunt’s battle with disease.

“One of the reasons I write is to keep people alive” said Minick.

The audience’s emotion could be felt as Minick described the events that lead to his aunt’s death.

Moving on from this emotional part of the evening, he discussed his many other works and continued on with his newest book Blueberry Years.

The book is a compilation of anecdotes from life on his blueberry farm located in the Appalachian Mountains. Minick proudly described the place that he and his wife call home: the first certified organic blueberry farm where people can come to spend the day and pick their own berries.

Many of these stories are centered on the people who come to visit the farm and those who are employed there.

Minick said “the love of the play with words has shaped my prose writing,” making Blueberry Years an interesting novel that differs greatly from his poetry.

While Minick is “following this blueberry dream,” he is also working on another novel based on family stories.

His visit to McDaniel was meaningful to the current students in the audience who were looking for inspiration to work hard in classes and pursue their dreams.

The awkward moment that you were hoping to avoid, but you know you can’t. Maybe if you quickly head down another sidewalk they will not notice you. Maybe.

Let’s be honest you already made the awkward eye contact so the only thing now is to wave or to pretend it never happened.

But it did happen. It actually happened last night. You went to a party and met a cute and conveniently single person and proceeded to hook up with them. It was fun at the time, but now as you are passing each other in Red Square you are not having fun at all.

So what do you do in this situation?

On a campus as small as McDaniel’s the only thing you can do is face your hook up with confidence.

For many people this becomes a normal debate. Most people on this campus said that they would at least say “hi” to their fling and try to pretend like nothing happened. Males at McDaniel were more likely to find humor in the situation, because the only ones who know about the hook up are usually the ones involved. For girls, the thought a run in on campus seemed a little more horrifying. A sophomore girl said that she would “say hi the first time, but if they did not respond she would ignore them in the future or just try to act normal.”

To girls, a run in after a hook up seems a lot more strategic than it is for men.  One senior female said she “always waves just to make sure that they remember her.”

Ensuring that they remember you is a clever strategy, but in some cases you may not want them to recollect previous events. It is easier to pass by a recent hookup and pretend you do not remember anything so you do not have to worry about holding that awkward conversation. At the same time, it is nice to know that they can recall the experience, and (hopefully) the fun and enjoyable evening they spent with you.

Whether you stay seated in Glar while your hook up gets their food or always take the long way to class, for most people it is easy enough to avoid your hookups. One junior male said that “they generally live in his building because it is easier to hook up with someone you live near, but in the long run it just leads to many more awkward run ins.”

So maybe this run in is not as awful as we expect it to be. Perhaps these situations are blown way out of proportion. If people are friendlier to their one-night-stands maybe the hook up could become consistent enough to make walks through Glar and Red Square less awkward.

I went into this school semester knowing that it would be my hardest semester yet. Not because I was taking challenging courses or because I was commuting for the first time, but because this is the first semester that I am a single father, manager at work, and full time student all at the same time.

My first day of class was unlike any day I’ve ever endured — class from 9:10 in the morning to 8:20 at night, then work from 9:00p.m. until 1:30 in the morning. I got home that night at 1:45a.m. and checked immediately on my baby boy. Aidan was sleeping peacefully in my room because my mother had put him to bed earlier that night. So, I took a shower and went to bed.

As I finally got in bed at 2:15, I thought to myself, “What a long day.”

Little did I know it wasn’t over just yet. As I slowly approached stage one of sleep, Aidan woke up and started to cry for food. It took the rest of my energy to make him a bottle.  Four ounces later he fell back to sleep, and I rolled over and closed my eyes.

That was just day one of fall semester 2011.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be a father at the age of 22.

It’s not like I was against having children, I just always dreamt that I would have a steady job, my own place to live, and a wife before I had my first child. But things just didn’t work out that way.

One month into my last semester of school and my body feels exhausted. Every muscle feels numb from lack of sleep and constant work. I try not to complain to people about how exhausted and fatigued I am because that does not help me get through the pain.

You probably also ask yourself at times, “How do I make it through each day?”

I ask myself the same thing each day. My answer is that I have to change my lifestyle mentality. What I mean by this is, before Aidan came along, I always used to be focused and thinking about my future.  I used to constantly think months in advance about what I was going to do, how I was going to make money, and how my future would turn out.

Now all I think about is the hour that is at hand. If I think about my next three days, I simply get overwhelmed.

Every hour in my life there is something to do — whether it is work, childcare, or school. Relaxation is rare nowadays and, before Aidan was born, relaxing was my favorite thing to do. But now that Aidan is here, being with my baby boy is my favorite thing to do.

At least I know I’m not entirely alone when it comes to being a single father. Approximately 1.7 million men in America are single fathers.

I’m proud to be part of that population.

Of his newest work, Dr. Panek explains, “This book essentially rewrites the history of American detective fiction by looking at a ton of new stuff that has never been available before. Well, it was in 1870, but not since then.”

The reason for the long stretch in which many early detective stories were not available to the public lies in their format. Early detective stories were published in magazines and newspapers, and though they were wildly popular among their immediate audience, people forgot about the precursor to what was for many years considered the original work of detective fiction: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a series of 12 stories originally printed in 1891.

Panek’s fascination with detective fiction was sparked in the 1970’s by two events: the creation of Jan term classes at McDaniel and the expansion of the literary canon. Dr. Panek decided to teach a course on detective fiction and came to a stunning realization.

“There were tons of detective stories, but nobody had taken them seriously as literature,” he recalls.

These early detective fiction stories, printed in newspapers and magazines ranging from the New York Times to The Railroad Locomotive Engineer’s Monthly, highlight cultural elements from views on women to cigar smoking, yet remained latent and unread by the public for years after their initial popularity among readers. Thus, Dr. Panek teamed up with his colleague Dr. Mary Bendel-Simso to create the Westminster Detective Library, an online compilation of detective fiction.

“It is our intention to find and digitize every detective story printed in America before 1891,” Dr. Panek explains.

The 1,100 stories currently in the Westminster Detective Library served as raw material for Dr. Panek’s newest book, but the compilation process is far from over. Dr. Panek claims to find at least ten new stories a week, and these stories must be transcribed in order to go on the website. For about 2-3 hours each day since 2007, Dr. Panek has spent time transcribing the stories he finds so they can be posted online.

“It’s not easy,” he admits. “It’s like Edison with the 1,000 kinds of filaments, but maybe not quite as eloquent. But if you want the payoff, you have to do the work.”

To visit The Westminster Detective Library, check out: http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/WestminsterDetectiveLibrary/Home.html