retrIeverretrIeverthe

the

weeklyweekly UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

VOLUME 42 ISSUE 05 retrieverweekly.com09.25.0709.25.07

> President Hrabowski looks forward to new research made possible by UMBC’s Multicore Computational Center.COURTESY TIM FININ

> Dress warmly and you can take classes during the winter semester.FILE PHOTO —TRW

NEWS 01 OPINION 06 ARTS 14 SPORTS 23

Take a vaca-tion vicariously through the Foreign Desk section.

Has free speech been reduced even more?

Musicians visit UMBC, and UMBC visits New York City.

Volleyball is 12-3, but do early season wins really matter?

InsId

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UMBC and IBM celebrate MC2

Ammad KhanSTAFF WRITER

Last week, UMBC and IBM, joined by over 50 attendants – businessmen, graduate students, and NASA workers – celebrated the opening of the new Multicore Computational Center (MC²). MC², a cluster of supercomputers with powerful chips, is located on the fi rst fl oor of the Engineering

building.The event included speeches

from Dr. Warren DeVries, Dean of the College of Engineering and In-formation Technology, President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, MC² Director Dr. Milton Halem, and Rodney Ad-kins, Senior Vice President of IBM. Also included in the program were presentations given by graduate students; these presentations were essentially research proposals for

the MC².Commenting on the center, DeVr-

ies said, “I think this center will help faculty and students in terms of innovation and research,” while Hrabowski simply asked, “What’s the next level?”

Halem spent the longest time in front of the audience. He not only thanked many people involved in

University honors the humanities

Ariane Szu-TuEDITORIAL STAFF

“We’re human beings fi rst. Doctors, lawyers, they’re all humans fi rst,” says Dr. Jay Freyman. Freyman was one of four faculty and student members to present research at the dedication of the Dresher Center for the Humanities last week. The ceremony, held on the seventh fl oor of the library, was meant to thank the Dresher family for their generous million-dollar donation to UMBC and to highlight the future uses of the Dresher Center.

The Dresher Center, which will be housed on the second fl oor of the li-brary, will facilitate research conducted by students and faculty, involve scholars in research, and house the Humanities Forum, which is a requirement for all freshman Humanities scholars. A pa-tron of UMBC and a close friend of Dr. Hrabowski’s, the late Jim Dresher, Sr. had also given UMBC other monetary dona-tions in the past.

Dr. Hrabowski is looking to expand research opportunities at UMBC with the money the school has received. Students and faculty will be given more research money as well as a home base within the university in the Dresher Center.

The presenters included Dr. Daphne Harrison, who gave a historical perspec-tive of the Humanities at UMBC, and Dr. Rebecca Boehling, who is the Director of the Dresher Center. Harrison says, “Hu-manistic studies teach us to remember” and to understand and refl ect on the hu-man experience.

Teaching fi nancial literacy

Anne VergheseCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Maryland and Delaware, Inc. (CCCS), located just minutes away from UMBC, is a non-profi t orga-nization whose primary purpose is to improve the fi nancial literacy of indi-viduals who fi nd themselves struggling monetarily. Many students nowadays seem to have numerous credit cards and spend money without being fully aware of how to manage their fi nances and avoid falling into debt.

A study conducted between 2003 and 2004 by the American Council on Education on the spending habits of college students found that 74 per-cent of fourth- and fi fth-year students owned at least one credit card while only 43 percent of college freshman had credit cards. Of those included in the study, 41 percent carried a bal-ance from each month with the me-dian amount totalling approximately $1,000. Of the college students sur-veyed, roughly 25 percent of them paid for their tuition by using their credit card.

According to the community out-reach director of CCCS, Nancy Stark, “The further people are in debt the harder it is for them to dig themselves out. The minute you know that you have a spending problem it is very im-portant that you recognize the prob-lem and immediately get help rather than waiting until the problem gets worse. It is often very diffi cult to rec-ognize that you are in debt. You can be a really good person and still not know how to be fi nancially aware.”

Although the majority of UMBC stu-dents are very careful as to how they manage their fi nances, few appear to know about the various organizations and services available to them on- and off-campus. As a result, UMBC has gone to great lengths to provide stu-dents with various services, whether it be through the Shriver Center, Bursar’s Offi ce, or CCCS.

“Ninety-seven percent of our stu-dents pay their bills on time, through fi nancial planning, fi nancial aid or employee benefi t,” said Bursar Jean Bunche. “For those students that may have fi nancial challenges, the univer-sity has put resources in place, such as fi nancial counseling, and the Career Development Center, to advise and as-sist them.”

According to CCCS, one of the best

Making the most of the winter mini-mester

Samantha PurcellCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Even though the fall semester is only a month underway, it is time for UMBC students to consider whether or not they are going to take a course during the Winter Session. Registration for this session begins

November 1. During the Winter Session students

have the opportunity to earn up to 4.5 credits during the four weeks from January 2 to January 25. The courses are on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis; therefore, students need to decide

> see DRESHER [3] > see MULTICORE [3]

> see WINTER [4]

> see MONEY [3]

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.072 News

foreign desk

Just an average American Randi Leyshon

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

A group of pre-adolescent girls standing less than ten feet away from us were laughing and staring openly. I guess they thought Amer-icans were just that hilarious. I looked them in the eye and said in my best Russian voice, “Shto?” or “What?” This only fed their laugh-ter and they continued to giggle as they ran off. A few seconds later, two of the braver girls walked up to us and asked in shaky English, “Where…are… you… from?”

“America,” we replied. After a few more tee-hees, they responded

“We are Russian,” and scurried back to join their waiting friends.

Occurrences such as this are common. The loud Americans are overheard in restaurants or at bus stops and are inevitably stared at and maybe even approached as I was. Usually Russian students are aching to try their English on a na-tive speaker and to ask us if Britney Spears lives in our neighborhood. Unfortunately for the curious Rus-sians, “the Americans” are never as exciting at they imagined.

It seems to be a shock to them that we are just regular students and humans like them. Our lives are not like The Real World or any

other “reality” TV show. We don’t all talk like Eminem raps and we don’t all dress like Paris Hilton.

We are all, for the most part, ordinary, average Americans who have no claim to fame or a rich in-heritance. I am sorry to disappoint these eager Russians. I would like to have some story about running into Angelina Jolie in a McDonald’s bathroom – but even if it were true, I wouldn’t have the Russian vocab-ulary to tell the tale.

Randi Leyshon can be reached for comment at news@

retrieverweekly.com.

Remember to read the instructions

Megan HodsonFOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

As few of you know and many of you do not, I’ve chosen to study in London, England for the semester. I departed from Boston’s Logan Inter-national Airport last Saturday evening and arrived at London’s Heathrow Air-port early Sunday morning. Thanks to the just-uncomfortable-enough seats, the just-far-enough-away wall, the just-frequent-enough meals, and the fantastic Seatback Entertain-ment system directly in front of me, I didn’t hardly achieve any success-ful, feel-good sleep during the fl ight (my normal REM sleep-cycle time). All seemed well, though, when I was welcomed by the hour-long zigzagged maze line through customs. Sensing the sarcasm? It’s coming on strong.

So, the “quite nice” part, on the other hand, began to take place im-mediately after I got through customs and retrieved my luggage; I was greet-ed by two of my former volleyball coaches with waving arms, stretched smiles, and tight hugs. The comfort was overwhelming. Following the immensely entertaining left-side-of-the-road driving, they helped me get to my “en-suite fl at” and buy some toiletries from the local Tesco (a large store much like Wal-Mart). Choosing foreign brands for things such as de-odorant, lotion, and contact solution proved more diffi cult than I expected, but amusing in good company.

Tip #1: Read the instructions on foreign products – even English ones – or suffer the consequences!

The glowing lights hung alongside the River Thames in combination with the colorful display lights at the base of what seems like every building – the National Theatre, Houses of Par-

liament, OXO Building, London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Blackfriars Bridge all in sight – have made each night “quite nice” as well. “Going for a stroll” with a “fl at mate” was roman-tic and dreamy, but entirely platonic and lighthearted. Rare, indeed. And additionally, walking amongst British accents somehow brightens the days. That is not to say that my days need cheering; I’m living in London every day for three months!

Furthermore, the food selection is a par healthier, which, for a health freak like myself, rocks! Of course, you can get your fi sh & chips and beer along many of the incomprehen-sible medieval streets, but the grocery store and menu selection scale of extremely-bad-for-you to pure-body-enrichment here practically elimi-nates the extremely-bad-for-you end of the spectrum and greatly widens the pure-body-enrichment variety. It could just be my demanding eyes, but this is the general impression I’m getting.

Apart from these few highlights, I’ve been waiting to enroll and fi nd out about the dates and times for my classes, which don’t begin until next week or the following week, getting settled into my room, buying various needed items at double the price they’d be in America, meet-ing and spending time with new and different people…too many of whom have been from the States, due to the Study Abroad orienting events…and, oh yeah, studying for the LSAT, which I take next Satur-day.

Tip #2: Avoid taking the LSAT, applying to law schools, and fi g-uring out what may be the rest of your life while you are attempting to experience what may be one of the

best times of your life at all costs!Finally, I’d like to fully advocate

studying abroad because, at least thus far, it is each of the following: different, challenging, interesting, fresh, educating, so much fun, and more. Stay tuned: I’ve “a great deal” more to share!

For further information, explanation, enquiry, or if you simply “fancy a chat,” you can

contact me from across the pond at meganh1@umbc.edu.

> Even the view from our correspondent’s fl at in London is “quite nice.”MEGAN HODSON —TRW

> One could make a career of posing with worldly statues.RANDI LEYSHON —TRW

The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 3News

Sarah EvansCONTRIBUTING WRITER

If you’ve been a graduate stu-dent at UMBC for awhile, you’ve probably noticed some changes in graduate student life in the last couple of years. In the past, grad students were not a highly visible or cohesive group on campus. Thanks to a group of dedicated students, increased programming, and help from administrators, the perception of graduate students has been slowly changing.

Last year, the Graduate Student Association was very successful in bringing graduate students from all disciplines together for social opportunities. One of the biggest additions to the GSA calendar is

biweekly social hours at Flat Tues-days. They also introduced the fi rst ever Graduate Student Week, which included town hall meet-ings with administrators, a Cul-ture Night, a student vs. faculty softball game, workshops, and an overall increase in the visibility of grad students around campus.

The GSA is not just about fun and games, but also supports graduate students academically. Research and travel grants were awarded to 182 graduate students to attend national conferences. The GSA independently hosted the Graduate Research Confer-ence, seeing a 25% increase in UMBC student participation. The GSA provided a writing advisor who helped 40 students with their

dissertations and assignments. The GSA was crucial in helping fi ve new graduate student organi-zations get started on campus.

The GSA also tackles issues that are important to graduate stu-dents, including student/advisor relationships and leave policies. Work this year by the GSA will continue to advocate for graduate students and support them aca-demically and socially. Graduate students are an important and vi-tal part of the UMBC community, and with support from the GSA and the administration, they will continue to succeed and get no-ticed around campus.

Sarah Evans can be reached for comment at sevans2@umbc.edu.

Grads, you have a friend in the GSA

Poll: What’s the most annoying professor behavior?

Poor speaking skillsShowing up 14 minutes lateNot using BlackboardUsing BlackboardRandom quizzes

52.5%

14.3%

11.8%

11.5%

9.9%

Vote in next week’s poll at retrieverweekly.com.

the project, but also explained the importance and functions of MC². “This is the fi rst award by IBM to establish a Multicore Computational Center to a university,” said Halem. “Think about it. Out of all the uni-versities they could have chosen, they chose UMBC.”

According to Halem, the clusters of processors will move data between processing units at over one terabit per second. MC² will focus mainly on temperature and ozone radiance gridding, hurricane and earthquake predictions, image segmentations for medical scanning, and medical simulations. Proposals for additional projects can be submitted by faculty on a regular basis.

Halem, involved in supercomput-ers for more than 25 years, said UM-BC’s strong technological infrastruc-ture and the university’s close ties to agencies such as NASA helped to land them the MC².

Adkins spoke on the accomplish-ments of IBM and then spoke on the MC². “There are two words that IBM believes in, and they are innova-tion and collaboration,” said Adkins. “Through this MC², we now have a chance to take this cell chip beyond gaming.” The chip, once used for systems like the PlayStation 3, would now be used for other things, he said.

Ammad Khan can be reached for comment at khan5@umbc.edu.

The four research presentations dem-onstrated the way scholarships and re-search money are being used at UMBC. The student presenters were Dorothy Kenny, a History and Biology double ma-jor and Christianna Stavroudis, a Modern Language and Linguistics major. Faculty members Dr. Jay Freyman, Professor of Ancient Studies and former Director of the Honors College and Dr. Jessica Ber-man, Professor and English Department Chair also presented. Cutting across dis-ciplines, the scholars and faculty spoke on topics ranging from the “Killer Fog” of London to Ancient Greek drama and the important role of secondary characters.

Dr. Hrabowski found it fi tting that the money from the Dresher family should go toward the Humanities Center because “this family understands the signifi cance of being human.” He is hopeful that the Dresher family’s values will be refl ected

in the Humanities scholars. Jim Dresher, Jr. said a few words about

his father, who grew up very modestly, and the other generous contributions his father made to his hometown of Harford. The Dresher Scholarships in Harford County go to children who have learning disabilities.

Always ready to help a student from Harford County, Dresher, Sr. fi rst gave Hrabowski $50,000 so that a student from his town could go to UMBC on a full scholarship. The student he helped now works as a teacher in the Harford County school system.

Dresher, Sr. became a corporate em-ployee. He then became a chief fi nancial offi cer, and fi nally Chairman and CEO of a four-billion dollar company. He passed away just before he turned 84.

Ariane Szu-Tu can be reached for comment at ariane1@umbc.edu.

ways to avoid falling into debt is to keep only one credit card since having more than one can increase a person’s chances of spending more than they have in their bank account.

“If you are in debt, which is com-mon among many students because that is just how the world works, try to minimize your debt as much as possible but do not let your academics suffer,” Associate Director of Intern-ships and Cooperative Education in the Shriver Center, Christine Rout-zahn said. “Ideally, if you need money, try to get an internship because then you can get experience in your major as well as get paid. Being in debt or having bad credit is going to hurt you later on. Your college credit is just as important as when you are an adult. So be smart!”

Few students consider how their spending habits in college can affect their life once they graduate.

“I think more about what I am spending when I am paying with cash,” junior Chris Neville said.

Like Neville, many students do not think before they spend money. Be-cause credit cards are so convenient to use, it is often diffi cult to keep track of how much money is being spent. Missing or late credit card payments can affect one’s ability to purchase a car, own a home, or even get a job in the future.

“When you have a credit card the main thing to ask yourself is whether you really need to use it. Is it a ‘want’ kind of item or is it a ‘need’ kind of item? Secondly, ask yourself whether you can pay it back within the next month because carrying a balance is where you end up having interest and it adds up over time. If you can answer both of those questions and make an informed decision, more often than not you are not going to end up in

debt,” Stark said.If faced with fi nancial problems

there are many resources that can be utilized to minimize and slowly re-move the issue. The Bursar’s Offi ce, for one, offers students a monthly plan as a substitute to making payments in full. Through this plan students can choose to pay their bills for each semester with fi ve or fewer monthly installments. Another available source is the Shriver Center, which places ap-proximately 1,600 students each year in service, internships and co-ops. For students facing fi nancial hardships, they have the option of accepting an internship or co-op. 80 percent of those offered through the Shriver Cen-ter are paid. Salaries range from $8 to $20 an hour; the average salary is $10 to $12 an hour.

“Our goal at the Shriver Center is to get you engaged in the community, whether it’s being involved in the work force, or in a civic capacity through service. That’s our main mission,” Routzahn said. “Our goal is to get you involved in the community if you want to do service so that you can give back and know a little bit about the community you are in. Or if you are interested in getting work experience in your major, making sure your major

is a good fi t or developing your skills, we would place you in an internship or co-op.”

If you fi nd that you are having prob-lems with money, seek help. The fi rst thing you should do is to determine whether there is something you can do about the problem yourself with-out consulting outside sources. Things you can do on your own include call-ing your creditors to explain your situation and creating a budget for yourself. A good place to look for tips and advice is the CCCS website, www.cccs-inc.org.

“However, if an individual can-not do it by themselves or they really want to come in for an appointment or phone appointment to learn about budgeting and to try and get an assess-ment of where they stand fi nancially its very easy, they just have to call us at 1-800-642-CCCS (2227),” Stark said.

Although these are all good meth-ods for eliminating or reducing ones debt, the best way is sometimes the simplest, as fi ttingly said by junior Ju-lius Moore: “Do not spend what you do not have.”

Anne Verghese can be reached for comment at averg1@umbc.edu.

MC2 a powerful tool

UMBC Dresher Center addresses the humanities

Talking money to college students

> The Shriver Center helps students get engaged in work and community.

MARK PERDOMO —TRW

> from MULTICORE [1]

> from DRESHER [1]

> from MONEY [1]

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.074 News

Police logSEPTEMBER 11, 2007

Harbor HallSuspicious PersonUniversity police were dis-

patched to Harbor Hall for a sus-picious person complaint. When offi cers arrived they identifi ed an individual on scene as the same person that had been asked by University Police to leave the campus earlier in the night be-cause of a harassment complaint. The individual had no reason to be on campus. Because the in-dividual failed to comply with two lawful requests to leave the campus earlier in the evening, she was taken into custody for trespass.

During the arrest, three offi cers were assaulted by the arrestee. None of the assaulted offi cers required medical attention. The arrestee is identifi ed as Helena Mensah-Bonsu of the 100 Block of Country Club Blvd., Worcester, MA. Mensah-Bonsu is charged with three counts of assault, re-sisting lawful arrest and trespass upon the campus of UMBC. She is held in lieu of posting $115,000 bail. The arrestee is incarcerated in the Baltimore County Deten-tion Center.

Hilltop Cir. & Walker Ave.

Accidental Property Dam-age

A police offi cer on routine pa-trol discovered that the stop sign a Hilltop Circle & Walker Ave. was missing. Investigation revealed that a MTA bus struck the sign. MTA police were contacted and given in-formation related to the incident.

Hilltop Cir.Theft from VehicleA UMBC student reported that

someone entered his unlocked ve-hicle and stole his UMBC parking hanger.

Commons GarageTheft from VehicleA UMBC student reported that

someone stole his UMBC parking hanger from his vehicle.

LibraryDisorderly ConductUMBC police were called be-

cause someone refused to pay for his food at the Library Building. The person turned out to be home-less and disabled. He took food because he was hungry and didn’t have any money to pay for it. A cut on his foot needed medical atten-tion so an ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2007

Park Rd.Accidental Property Dam-

ageAn MTA driver reported that

he had struck a parked vehicle while he was attempting to avoid hitting another vehicle.

Parking Lot 8Theft from VehicleA UMBC student reported that

someone stole his UMBC parking hanger from his unlocked car.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2007

Erickson HallInjured PersonA UMBC student reported

that he was hit in the head while working off-campus. After re-turning to campus, his condition worsened and he needed medical attention. An ambulance took the student to the hospital.

Residential AreaRecord of InformationA UMBC student came to the

police station to document an in-cident that occurred with another UMBC student a year ago.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2007

Parking Lot 20Urinating in PublicA UMBC police offi cer observed

two UMBC students urinating in a location that was clearly vis-ible to passing motorists and pedestrians. Both students were issued Judicial Referrals for the incident.

Poplar Ave. & Park Dr.Theft from VehicleA UMBC student reported that

someone entered his unlocked car and removed an iPod and his UMBC parking hanger.

Administration GarageHit and RunA witness observed a vehicle

strike a parked vehicle while at-tempting to park and then leave the scene. With the information police were able to locate the ve-hicle’s driver. The driver was is-sued three traffi c citations.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2007

University CenterTheft from BuildingA non-student reported that

someone stole her cell phone and $3 from a small bag while she was attending an event on campus.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2007

Parking Lot 6Theft from VehicleA UMBC student reported that

someone entered her unlocked car and stole her purse and its contents.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2007

BookstoreAggravated AssaultPolice received a call of an

assault in process at the Book-store. When the police arrived the assault had ended and the victim and suspect, both UMBC students, were questioned. The assault involved a relationship confl ict between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The victim did not wish a press charges. The assail-ant was issued a Judicial Referral for the incident.

Residential AreaInvestigationA UMBC student was observed

engaging in conduct determined to be in violation of University sanctions imposed upon a fra-ternity. The student was issued a Judicial Referral.

quickly whether or not they wish to take a course during the Winter Session.

Undergraduate courses are offered during this session for $270 per credit hour for Maryland residents and $633 per credit hour for non-residents. How-ever, there is a Winter Session 2008 scholarship available. This scholarship is based on fi nancial need. All under-graduate applicants must have com-pleted 90 credits by the end of the fall 2007 semester and have a 2007-2008 FAFSA on fi le. Finally, all applicants for this scholarship must have a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher.

Without a doubt, there are many students out there thinking that they would be alone if they sign up for a Winter Session; after all, it is winter break. However, the Director of the Winter Session, Beth Snyder Jones stated, “In looking at the enrollment numbers over the past fi ve years, we have seen an average of 1,400 students enrolling in the Winter Session. More and more students are signing up each year.” With these fi gures, any student can see that they would not be alone here on campus. Classes will be smaller than the average class size during the regular fall or spring semesters.

Students enroll in this session for a variety of reasons. Since this is a con-densed and intensive session, many students take this opportunity to take courses in order to fulfi ll their physical education requirement. This session is also “an ideal opportunity to focus on

a specifi c course that may require a stu-dent’s undivided attention without the distractions of a full course load,” ac-cording to Jones. This session can also be ideal for students who do not always like going to a lecture hall on certain days and listen to the professor speak for a set amount of time. A number of the courses offered at this time are online and hybrid courses. The online courses are only offered on the Internet whereas the hybrid courses combine online and classroom learning.

Jones stated, “Usually students who are enrolled in the winter session are just taking a single course, so it provides them with a unique opportunity to re-ally delve into a subject matter.”

Though the typical three-credit course during the fall or spring semes-ter only meets at most for one hour and fi fteen minutes twice a week, a three-credit winter class meets three times a week for a total of three hours and ten minutes. Jones explained, “Students who enroll in the winter session need to be prepared to keep up with their studies.”

However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the four weeks in January are a great opportunity for UMBC students to get an extra step for-ward and give the student the oppor-tunity to move more quickly towards graduation or a lighter course load dur-ing the spring semester.

Samantha Purcell can be reached for comment at spurce1@umbc.edu.

Winter break holds a valuable opportunity

FILE PHOTO —TRW> An average of 1,400 students take advantage of small classes and hybrid courses during each year’s winter mini-mester.

> from WINTER [1]Like

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The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 5News

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The Retriever Weekly staff editorials refl ect the views of the editorial board; signed columns and advertisements represent the opinions of the indi-vidual writers and advertisers, respectively, and do not necessarily refl ect those of The Retriever Weekly or the University of Maryland Baltimore County The Retriever Weekly publishes weekly on Tuesdays during the regular school year. Editors can be reached at (410) 455-1260 during normal business hours or at University Center 214; 1000 Hilltop Circle; UMBC; Baltimore, MD 21250. The Retriever Weekly is an equal opportunity employer.

STAFF EDITORIAL

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Faculty AdvisorChristopher Corbett

Andrew GordonCONTRIBUTING WRITER

As most are already aware, some residents of Susquehanna Hall found themselves feeling more outside than in on August 25, when a consistent flow of water seeped through an open ventilation shaft. For students with a few years under their belt, the regular leaking of the Third North ceiling had become a kind of legacy, something to be expected, unpleas-ant as it may have been.

Although Susquehanna ultimately received a complete face lift, this summer as I watched construction progress I was most excited about the work on the roof. I thought for sure this would mean I'd no longer need to vacuum up water in the middle of the night, deal with those obnoxiously loud fans everyone hates, or replace water-stained ceil-ing tiles.

Obviously, my hope that there

wouldn't be any more leaks from that ceiling was quickly shattered. But what really happened, behind the scenes, I mean? Who dropped the ball, and why?

Kim Leisey, Director of Residen-tial Education, says the situation can be broken down quite simply. A welder cut holes in the roof for an HVAC project. Meanwhile, thunder-heads formed as a storm approached UMBC. Upon hearing about the situation from the welder, the roofer went up to close the holes. However, due to the ensuing rain and thunder, the roofer was forced off the building for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the roofer wasn't able to get to the last hole and consequently rain rushed through during the storm and took its toll on the hallway. After it was safe, the roofer went back to fin-ish closing up the final hole left by the welder. Housekeeping, several RAs, CDs and other Residential Life staff responded to what was now a

flooded mess.During these kinds of situations,

it's easy to look for someone to point a finger, but this incident really seems to merely be the unfortunate result of unfortunate circumstances.

The one thing I can think of that could have made a difference would have been if construction were com-pleted earlier, ensuring projects were 100 percent finished by the time residents arrived. Although I'm not positive of the agreed date contrac-tors were supposed to be finished, while participating in Maintenance Assistant training during the two weeks before freshmen moved in, I definitely got the sense that hired contractors in Susquehanna Hall were taking longer than they should have. I know a lot of people like to take shots at this school whenever they can, and I certainly don't al-ways agree with everything ResLife does, but I don't think they can be blamed for this unique situation as

I'm sure many would like to do. I definitely understand the frus-

trations that can arise when dealing with ResLife or the physical plant or any other office on campus, but through my maintenance job I also know what it's like to be working out of that office. Perhaps it's rude or inappropriate to say this because I don't live on Sus Third North, but I think it's best to have a sense of humor and level of understanding when mishaps like this occur; at least you’ll have stories. A couple garbage cans full of water provided one hall of students a move-in story they'll never forget. Life would be awful without the unexpected, un-pleasant or strange.

Comments can be sent to gordon.ap@gmail.com.

Susquehanna fl ooding and the ripple effect

The money given to UMBC by the Dresher family is being used to create a room on the library’s second fl oor called the Dresher Center for the Humanities. Meanwhile, the back-bone and soul of the center, the scholars, are receiving less regard than the fi nely pressed white linen tablecloths covering every table at the dedication ceremony.

At the ceremony, UMBC purported that it wants to devote some of the money given by the Dresher family to research at UMBC in the humanities fi elds. UMBC will probably be able to lure more prestigious professors with the promise of research opportunities; how-ever, what about the students? Something glaringly absent among all the talk of money was any mention of this year’s freshman class of humanities scholars and their scholarships.

Not hesitating to parade the scholars like prized ornaments in front of the Dresher fam-ily, directors and deans never mentioned how almost every humanities freshman scholar is on a partial scholarship.

In contrast, the sophomore and junior classes are mostly comprised of students on full rides. Involving scholars in research is a noble aim for the Dresher Center, but what if promising students decide to attend a different school because the temptation of a full ride is no longer present? There is something much more satisfying and alluring in the phrase “full ride” than “partial scholarship".

Skirting a waiter or two and even a slightly harassed-looking woman with a two-way radio sporting the button “Knowledge is power,” the purpose of the Dresher Center, which the roughly one million dollars is touted to be for, slips from mind. Perhaps more money should be used to bring in future scholars and less on pretentious ceremonies.

Saira KhanSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Do you ever feel that you were born too late? That perhaps you should have been born in a different era? Well, I do. I was born in a very boring era, the 1980s. I missed out on the 60s and 70s--the great music, the sexy rock stars, the fashion, the political move-ments, and the wonderful leaders and fi gures that could enchant an arena of people with their powerful words. People such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X were known to be great orators with very commanding presences. I envy our elders who were able to witness their charm, charisma, and presence fi rst hand. Our generation, unfortunately, has seen no such commanding politi-cal activists.

I think it is safe to say that, had I been around for the 60s, I would have been a well-rounded woman. I would have been at Woodstock and rallying with the Students for a Democratic Society in April of 1965, the fi rst major anti-war rally that took place in Washing-ton. That’s what I love the most about that era--the youth of America were united in their efforts against the war. Students nowadays don’t have a third of the passion that our parents, aunts, uncles, and/or grandparents had.

To be fair, I have to admit I have not been very politically active either. Aside from voting against the monster known as the Bush Administration in 2004 and writing a few articles bashing it, I have not done much to voice my concerns. However, I am proud to say

Politics and protest lost on modern youth

> see POLITICS [8]

Dresher Center ignores fundamental ideals

tell us your thoughts

6

The RetrIever Weekly 09..25.07 7oPINION

studentstudent.speechspeech.bubblebubbleblahblahblah

What is your parking strategy?

Josh PalmerCONTRIBUTING WRITER

ID theft is perhaps one of the biggest problems in our culture today relating to business ventures. The online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. made it into an even bigger problem for more then 6.3 million clients when a data-base containing their information was hacked. The basic information stolen is bad enough; however, the same database that was hacked also contained much more personal and sensitive informa-tion, including Social Security numbers and account information, according to a spokeswoman from Ameritrade.

The company would not share any

details, including when the attack oc-curred, because it is still looking into the theft and assisting the FBI and other various authorities.

However, this is not the only side of this story. It appears that Ameritrade has known about the hack since late May, when two of their customers sued due to spam received on accounts they only used for Ameritrade. It is estimated that the hacked information may have even been vulnerable as far back as last Oc-tober.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Ameritrade wanted the court to order the company to inform its customers about the problem, yet Ameritrade issued a release before a hearing, perhaps prefer-

ring that they put their own spin on it rather then be forced by the courts.

Despite the fact that Ameritrade may have lost several millions of customers, they also, in my opinion, lost something much more valuable, something that cannot be regained as easily as custom-ers. By using questionable methods, including trying to conceal the breach, Ameritrade also lost their integrity, something that perhaps any business ex-pert would agree is the most important quality a company can achieve, and the most valuable possession to protect.

Once losing this priceless gift, in my opinion, it is much harder to regain it. Now lost, Ameritrade must work over-time to reassure a customer security and

regain their trust, something diffi cult to win a second time. With the news of this breach spreading, most customers may have second thoughts about joining or rejoining the trading company.

Yes, Ameritrade is trying to repair some of the damage…now. Beginning last Friday, Ameritrade began e-mailing clients about the hack, as well as post-ing information about the hack on their main website. Ameritrade claims there is no evidence pronouncing that the Social Security numbers stored in the hacked database were stolen; however, just be-cause there is no evidence yet does that mean it did not happen.

Ameritrade also claims they found the source of the leak and how the informa-

tion was stolen, and is working double-time to ensure its safety.

A little too late if you ask me.Despite Ameritrade’s best efforts, noth-

ing will cover up what has happened and what they have done. Although it was not an outright lie, it was almost as good as one, sure to bring lawsuits from every direction.

It just reminds me of that old saying that we would constantly hear from our parents and it still rings free and true to-day: honest is the best policy.

Ask Ameritrade how to steal Josh’s e-mail. Make jpa1@umbc.edu yours, or just e-mail Josh.

Ameritrade and identity theft

Nick JamisonSTAFF WRITER

Kanye West is God; well, that is what he wants us to believe. He has appeared on the Rolling Stone cover as God. On his alter ego's mixtape, his "Kanye Causal" image is placed adjacent to his "Kanye Christ" image. One could argue that he was being transformed into a Robotic God, or RoboGod, in his video for "Stronger". Kanye has even gone as far to say that if the Bible were written in modern times, he would be famous and important enough to be in it. Kanye

can't take a Daft Punk sample and turn it into a good song, but he believes he is good enough to be in the greatest story ever told. Judas he think he is anyway? (Bible pun: 2 points!)

There is not a bigger ego (notice the word used was ego, not talent) in the music industry today than Kanye West. If he has an opinion, he will let you know about it. If there is a hair in his proverbial soup, he will return it. It's his party, and he will cry if he wants to. For a person who just had the number one record in the nation, you would think he wouldn't act like

such a whiner. Crybaby Kanye made news this week for many things, but my personal favorite was his tirade fol-lowing his MTV Video Music Awards loss. After failing to collect on any of the fi ve Moonmen he was nominated for, Kanye vowed that he was going to boycott the channel. One can't deny how middle school all that sounds. This isn't Kanye's fi rst poutfest (nor will it be his last). Another infamous moment occurred at the MTV Europe Awards, when his video for "Touch the Sky" lost to Justice for the Video of the

Kanye West: Our holy creator or grown-up crybaby?

> see KANYE [9]

> Super stardom amd the problem of ego. VIRGINMEDIA.COM —TRW

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James WhieldonBiology/LiteratureFreshman, 18

Shanae NoelCommnunicationsFreshman, 18

Courtney Dickson

EnglishJunior, 19

Ami TailorBiologySenior, 21

Ryan GarveyInformation SystemSenior, 21

Getting here an hour and a half early and still

having to park far from my class.

I wake up really early on Mondays to catch the

shuttle from satellite parking. I’ve al-

ready got a parking ticket from not moving

my car soon enough.

I only leave on the weekends so when I get

back, I park near my dorm.

I gave up on fi nding a spot and go straight to the Hilltop parking lot

I get here an hour early and grab the fi rst spot I

can fi nd.

The RetrIever Weekly09..25.078 oPINION

POINT

COUNTERPOINT

Emma Curran STAFF WRITER

I don’t consider myself a cold-heart-ed person. I enjoy the cheesy pleasures of life as much as the next person. I like chick fl icks, calendars with puppies on them, and diaper commercials with cute babies. I’ll even fi nd myself watching Lifetime now and again, but only when Thaddeus makes me. I have to draw the line somewhere though, and that some-where is at Inspirational Sports Movies. These Inspirational Sports Movies (or ISMs) are complete and total rubbish. I would honestly rather watch a video tape of people licking dirty windows than suffer through another canned two hours of predictable and sappy “plot.”

Before we get into the real meat of my argument, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. An ISM is any movie that can be summed up with the following phrase: “An inspiring and moving tale

of a team of outsiders who, against all odds, rose to glory to win it all. Their tactics may have been unconventional, but their message will fi ll you with hope.” My friend Phil (his name has not been changed to protect him) has included fi lms like Mighty Ducks and Angels in the Outfi eld. I tend not to include fi lms like this that are more comedy than inspiration, but either way the arguments remain the same. I think ISMs are more along the lines of Remember the Titans, Miracle, and Glory. There’s comedy there, but the laughs are of secondary importance to the tears of joy you’ll cry when they fi nally win the big game.

How many of these fi lms have you seen? Probably a lot. There’s about four pumped out every year, depending on what sports season we are in. There’s one for football, one for basketball, one for golf, and about a million for baseball. Why? Because they’re so easy

to make and they guarantee big box of-fi ce numbers. People love to see movies about the underdogs, because everyone can identify with the guy on the bot-tom. We want to see them win it big, and sports are the clearest and most obvious metaphor for this. In sports there is a winner and a loser and a clear measure of improvement. It’s easy to see when the underdog has fi nally com-pleted his journey to the top (I can usu-ally tell because at that point Thaddeus is blubbering like a little girl).

It’s not the message that bothers me. It’s great that the geeks/minorities/poorer kids/girls get their moment in the sun. It’s just that the story that leads to the joyous climax of these movies has been recycled so many times that all spark of originality was bludgeoned to death years ago. Let’s break it down. A down-on-his-luck coach gets word that he is being fi red from his job with a high profi le team. To stave off boredom/

alcoholism/divorce he takes on a job with a team of misfi ts with no chance. This team is composed of outsiders. Usually there is some sort of tension, be it racial, gender, or economic between the team members. The coach is about to give up when something clicks to make him see some potential in the unlikely bunch. They have a big game coming up against a long time rival composed of rich people/white people/mean people and they have to win to prove something to their town. The rest of the movie consists of the coach using some strange practices to get the team to feel self-confi dence and miraculously they improve at lightening speed. Some players will be lost because of injuries or other circumstances to remind us that life really is against these guys. As they bond and become a real team, they start to win. There are a couple of near losses, but fi nally they make their way to the big game where they face the ri-

vals. They usually win, but when they don’t there are still some big tears be-cause we know that deep down inside, they were the real winners all along.

Of course, there are some clas-sic sports movies that I must admit I do love like Hoosiers and Rudy. But remaking them over and over again won’t allow us to recapture their spirit. There must be a way to make a sports metaphor for life without following the exact same formula every time. And if there isn’t, it could be that it’s time to fi nd a new metaphor for life. Perhaps an Inspirational Box of Chocolate Movie. Either way, I’m getting tired of watching Thaddeus try to choke down the sobs when the whole team fi nally runs onto the fi eld after the game win-ning touch-down. Aren’t you?

Comments can be sent to cemma1@umbc.edu.

Movies for the masses leave much to be desired

Thaddeus WalshSTAFF WRITER

Knowing Emma’s feelings for uplift-ing sports movies, I can only guess what her article states. It probably goes something along the lines of “Blah blah blah, I hate feeling good about myself.” There is no reason not to watch Inspi-rational Sports Movies (ISMs), and furthermore, anyone criticizing these movies should be referred to counsel-ing for symptoms of depression.

While one could critique this genre of movies as willowed and hackneyed, there is much to be gained from watching ISMs. These fi lms provide regular people with an avenue to feel the hope and glory of athletic success without putting in the time and effort necessary to win a high school football championship. Watching movies is all about the consumer. You paid your $14 a month to Netfl ix, or your $6 to Blockbuster and this movie is going to make you feel good. In order to under-stand the essential factors that go into

making the audience feel widespread euphoria, we have to examine three phases. These include the challenge, the development, and the success.

The challenge should be the most obvious factor. There is a problem, like the Iceland National Team at the world tournament for Pee Wee Hockey. This problem seems insurmountable. We have all felt challenges like this in our real lives. so the problem makes the movie relevant to you, the viewer. This creates the illusion of being part of the team. You feel like the challenge is partly yours. Believing in the challenge sets the stage for the great reward at the end of the fi lm.

The next logical plot step is the development stage, with its unique, American-like lazy gratifi cation. I sure-ly would not practice as hard as these misfi ts do, but I feel like I’m getting some kind of benefi t from it. I am con-tributing nothing while the chances of overcoming our challenge increase. The development stage is best when wrought with strife and emotional

breakdowns because it improves the progression’s credibility. Also, in this phase “exhibition” games are played where we gauge the ongoing growth towards the champions we know re-side in these unlikely athletes. The de-velopment further wraps us into this nest of the movie, making us attached and dependent upon the outcome of the big game for emotional elation.

This leads me fi nally to the success stage. This is the big game against those cheating punks. No matter what, the game must start off poorly. The other team is winning, or some-one gets hurt, or the coach is drunk. After being brutalized, we fi nd the team at half time, a time out, or some delay in the painful action and the much anticipated inspirational speech emerges. This speech is vague and ap-plicable to the viewer as much as the game at hand. The gripping prose of this speech drums up the din of hope. This team has come from nothing to face one fi nal tribulation, and it will muster the courage to fi ght the injus-

tice of the opposing team. [This mo-ment in the movie is generally ruined by Emma complaining about watching the movie, thus robbing me of the sur-real pleasure of imagining I am there]. The speech ends in some humble note about humanity and the acceptance of failure, but not today, today this team will rise and triumph. The team rushes from the locker room back to the fi eld of battle to engage the barbaric oppo-nents with the newly found effort and stamina that had lain dormant through the crushing fi rst half.

After this speech, the team comes out roaring in the second half to re-gain the lost points from the abysmal, readily forgotten fi rst half. The score closes tightly. They are behind and must actively score on the fi nal play. Time winds down and the most un-likely player has the fi nal opportunity to score. The ball is tipped by the de-fender. It lulls in the air. The whole world holds its breath. The character dives. The camera veers. He makes the fi nal catch, and you leap up from

your couch in ecstasy of the moment. The cheers of the crowd are for you as much as the team. The fi lm ends in a hasty departure so as not to disrupt your joy with its further presence. The credits roll.

This movie has just inspired you to go out and do something fantastic. De-spite disparaging odds, you will suc-ceed as your athletic counterparts have done so gloriously before you. Emma criticizes the formulaic production of these movies, but the formula ensures that they are all equally fantastic. It is the formula of these movies that drives the emotions of the audience. These fi lms are so emotionally evoking I classify them as art, and for shame on Emma for not seeing the power in giving yourself over to a drug I call In-spirational Sports Movies.

Thaddeus Walsh is watching We are Marshall, Remember the Titans, and Miracle simultaneously, but when he fi nishes you can reach

him at twalsh2@umbc.edu.

Inspirational movies warm the heart for all ages

that that will change after this coming weekend. I will be attending my fi rst ever war protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 29.

A few weeks ago I came across a single fl ier sitting in the Commons reading "STOP THE WAR NOW." The fl ier advertised a week-long demon-stration that is taking place right now in Washington (September 22-29) and a parallel one taking place in Los Angeles. Between these dates you will be able to see and participate in mu-sic, speeches, and all sorts of creative art protesting the "War on Terror." The week will end on with a mass march. It is expected that more than 100 buses and numerous vans and cars will be ar-riving at the nation’s capital to attend the demonstration. I defi nitely plan on being there. And, if you do not support

the war, then so should you. Support for the war is at an all-time

low. The Washington Post reported the results of a survey they conducted: about three-quarters of Americans feel that the number of casualties in Iraq is "unacceptable," two-thirds say the U.S. military is "bogged down," roughly 6 out of 10 say the war "was not worth fi ghting," and about four out of ten Americans believe that the Iraq war is becoming similar to the experience in Vietnam.

We have entered a period where the American population is more united that it has is ever been in regard to this war. Therefore, it is imperative for all of you that share the same sentiments of the thousands of people who are at this very moment camping out in Washington and doing their bit to end the bloodshed, to come out and join

the march and demonstrations. We need to give a face to our anger, our antiwar rage, and let that face be mine, and yours, and of the person next you, and so on. Come out on the 29th and together let’s try and bring the troops home.

To get involved, contact the Baltimore All People’s Congress at (410)467-6132 for information regarding transport or visit www.TroopsOutNow.org. To volun-teer with the Troops Out Now Coali-tion call (212)633-6646). Some of the endorsers for this march include: Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Donna Smith from the movie Sicko, All Peoples Congress, Baltimore, MD, Black Radical Con-gress, and Code Pink.

Saira’s political motivation is through the roof. Tell her to keep

it up at saira1@umbc.edu.

> from POLITICS [6]

> You’ll only see crowds like this at Fall Out Boys shows. PBS.ORG —TRW

The problem of protests in the age of apathy

The RetrIever Weekly 09..25.07 9oPINION

HIGHER Education

Jeremy HentschelEDITORIAL STAFF

Let’s talk about gym class. I’m sure some among you have for-gotten or will forget about the two phys ed courses you need to graduate. Those of you who don’t forget that will probably forget that the three credits you earn from completing the classes do not go towards the 120 you need to graduate. So, techni-cally, you need 123 to graduate. Peachy.

I’m in the midst of complet-ing one of my required phys ed classes right now. Years ago I remember someone telling me to take the swim conditioning class because it was convenient and easy. There’s no class time, you just have to sign in twice a week for thirty minutes and be in the pool. There is no grading system based on how well you swim; pass or fail: it all rests on whether you actually do your required time in the pool. This, in theory, sounds wonderful. How could you possibly fail? And it’s so convenient! Then I found out the pool is only open for free swim several hours a day due to needing a life guard on the deck. Well, the morning hours are too early for my lazy college student demeanor, and the afternoon hours are all during times when I have class. That leaves the evening hours, which boils down to “no class time” means “you better go at 7 p.m.” So, I inadver-tently signed up for a night time swim class. I can’t wait to trudge up and down to the pool in my skivvies once the weather cools down.

To pour further salt in the wound, I also realized I hate swimming. I thought it was awesome, mainly because every

time I’ve ever swam in my life, I was probably at a cookout or the beach. Funny how things aren’t so fun once you are required to do them. Instead of just taking the weight lifting or running classes – activities which I do on my own several times a week anyway – I decided to listen to the voice from my past and sign up for swimming. It’s pretty good.

In the end, I’m sure my casual griping about a slight inconve-nience will grow into a seething hatred for aquatics in general. The seed is already rooted deep within my psyche. One too many viewings of Jaws as a child has planted a seemingly irrational fear of sharks in my mind. I say “seemingly” irrational, because that would imply that you shouldn’t be afraid of sharks. Well, I say, you should be! They can tear you in half without even breaking a sweat. I don’t even think sharks can sweat. There’s nothing irrational about fearing a creature that was created and evolved to be an effi cient kill-ing machine. I mean, I laugh at myself when I splash from one end of the pool to the other. If I were the life guard, I’d think I was drowning. Were I in the ocean, a shark would be think-ing to himself, “Are you a tasty, wounded seal? Because you sure swim like one!”

And that is my fi nal thought on taking swimming as a phys ed credit. In the grand scheme of things, even if you become an Olympic gold medalist, the highest level of skill you can hope for in swimming is that of a wounded seal.

Calm Jeremy’s fear of demonic sea carnivores at jeremy5@umbc.edu.

HELEN ZHANG —TRW

Year award. During Justice's accep-tance speech, Kanye came on stage, grabbed a microphone and began to let his true feelings be known. According to Kanye, he felt he should have won because his video "cost a million dol-lars, it had Pam Anderson, I [Kanye Christ] was jumping across canyons and sh*t." The other day it occurred to me that David Hasslehoff had said the same thing about Baywatch the Movie. If that wasn't stupid and ego-tistical enough, Kanye went on to say that the awards show loses credibility if he doesn't win. Probably not the right thing to say at the MTV Europe Awards, and the boos showed that.

Talent-wise, Kanye West can pro-duce the hell out of a song, but his rapping leaves more to be desired. Which always raised a question in my mind: if Kanye is God, why isn't he the best rapper in Chicago? He can cre-ate the universe but he can't outfl ow Common; that's pretty weak, Kanye. Even Kanye's career defi ning song, "Jesus Walks", wasn't written by Kanye

himself; it was originally a song by Rhymefest. If you weren't aware, there is a "ghostwriting" debate going on in the wide world of hip-hop. Ghostwrit-ing, when related to hip-hop, is when someone writes a song for another and never gets credit for the song. After Rhymefest's "Blue Collar" and Lupe Fiasco's "Food & Liquor" came out, the scrutinizing eye of the blogosphere came down on Mr. West. He will say anything and everything, but when it comes to the subject that he buys a lot of his music, he's very tight lipped.

Rap was never a genre of modesty, but when you are selling a million re-cords, you could be less of an egotisti-cal baby about it. At least when John Lennon said that the Beatles were big-ger than Jesus, the Beatles could back it up. Nobody wants to live in a world where two-bit rappers claim to be holy entities. Nobody.

Nick bought 2,000 copies of Curtis so his boy Fiddy would

outsell Kanye. Ask him about record sales at jamison1@umbc.edu.

> from KANYE [7] Charlie GriggsSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Last week I walked into the book-store to pick up a booklet for my French class and was slightly con-fused by the overwhelming police force that was present. It then came to my attention that a theft of sorts or some disturbance or another had occurred and the officers were there tending to the situation. As far as I could tell they were following proto-col efficiently by not being unneces-sarily brutal and violating the eighth amendment.

Later, I watched the YouTube vid-eo of Andrew Meyer getting tasered by the University of Florida police for his performance at a John Kerry speech where he simply wanted to ask the Senator a question. He was annoying. He took his time. But by no means was the situation handled with tact.

Kerry had acknowledged Meyer and stood patiently as the question was asked. However, the police found the question to be...what? Too long? Too obnoxious?

Maybe the officers were just bored. They surely had to be irritated, hav-ing been stationed at a John Kerry speech of all places, but that is no justification for tasering an inquisi-

tive—albeit annoying—student.First, the police pulled Meyer

away, grabbing his arms and at-tempting to escort him out of the speech. Then, when the student be-gan questioning the officers' actions and making a bigger ass of himself, they ended up putting him on the floor, handcuffing one hand, taser-ing him, and then handcuffing the other hand.

All the while John Kerry had no complaints about the question that had been asked. He was entirely

willing to respond, yet the police continued hassling Meyer.

Call me crazy, but this seems a lit-tle too reminiscent of the taser inci-dent at UCLA in late 2006, where a student refused to show his student ID and leave the school's library.

I am struggling not to make this entire article a series of rhetorical questions. I just don't understand why these things happen.

Both of these videos are on You-

Tasering: The latest college fad

> see TASERING [10]

> Saving the world from questrons.DEFENSEREVIEW.COM —TRW

Is Kanye rap king?

The RetrIever Weekly09..25.0710 oPINION

PEOPLE I KNOWBY CHARLIE GRIGGS

Charlie GriggsSTAFF WRITER

For years society has had to sit by and read about the Athlete of the Week. Don't get me wrong, its fun. The Athlete of the Week section is a fantastic body of work. Especially when it features a fantastic body of work.

But, what about those people in the world who aren't considered athletes? There are literally hun-dreds of worthwhile people on this planet who go unrecognized every-day just because they don't partici-pate in a sport.

Well, a time of change is coming. The Retriever Weekly has given me the opportunity to write my very

own column and my fi rst entry is also going to be my fi rst monthly installment of Person of the Month.

Maybe the person I'm going to write about isn't an athlete. Maybe they can't spike a volleyball or handle a lacrosse stick. Maybe they can't even curl (I mean the stupid Canadian sport, not the weight-lift-ing exercise). But, I can assure you two things: they will both rock and hopefully be damn good-looking.

September's Person of the Month defi nitely applies to the fi rst of those requirements, but not so much the second one seeing as he's a ten-year-old boy. I'm talking, of course, about Sam from 2003's critically acclaimed work of cinematic gold Love Actually.

Those of you who have seen this expertly crafted near (if not) fl aw-less fi lm obviously know already what makes Sam so awesome. He's a young lad living in London, Eng-land who loses his mum and falls shamelessly in love with a girl from his class.

Desperately looking for a way to reach this young lady, Sam decides he's going to learn how to play the drums to impress her at the Christ-mas pageant that she's starring in. Leading him through this bout of love-sickness is his stepfather Daniel, who teaches the audience the true meaning of fatherly love. Throughout the movie, we watch and listen as Sam bangs endlessly on his drum set in the hopes that

he'll fi nally be able to win over the love of his life. He goes from a ter-rible sounding dolt to one of the best drum players I have ever seen and he does this all in less than four weeks. His persistence, hard work, and dedication motors were all running at full speed, fueled by the world's most powerful energy source: love.

In the end, to the audience's delight, all his work pays off and, after a mad dash through an airport to say goodbye to her, Sam fi nally wins over the princess perched at the top of his heart's tower.

Never have I been so impressed by a ten-year-old before. Believe it or not, some ten year olds are in-credibly stupid. But not Sam. He

loves beyond his years and is loved beyond his years. Wiser than some adults I know, this young Don Juan truly understood what love is. He didn't just steal the heart of his love interest, Joanna, but also the heart's of moviegoers everywhere.

Hats off to you, Sam. I watched your struggle, I felt for you, I suc-ceeded with you. And you're ten. So that makes it every bit more im-pressive. You are offi cially Septem-ber's Person of the Month.

Runner-up for Person of the Month was Robocop. Why did he lose? Find out at cgriggs1@umbc.edu.

Tube, and if you watch both of them you'll see that in both events there are multiple officers present. There isn't just one pissed-off, down on his luck cop who's trying to be a hero by tasering an uncooperative stu-dent; there are many police officers present. And they're all just “doing their job,” trying to protect the pub-lic from long-winded questions and ID-less students.

It's as though anytime someone doesn't comply with a campus cop's demands they get tasered. Imagine if everyone were allowed tasers.

Oh, hey, what's wrong, Hannah? That guy from your math class won't go out with you? Taser him. Oh, gee, Bob, the bookstore's out of the text-book you need and you have a test tomorrow? Just taser everyone who works there.

Go ahead and call me crazy again, but that doesn't sound like a par-ticularly good way to solve your problems. So, here's the part where I deliver the moral of the story. If you are a police officer at a university, do not taser uncooperative students. It's instances like these that perpe-trate the generalization that all cops are jerks looking to get everyone in trouble for every little thing they do wrong.

Hopefully someday soon this trend of unnecessary college taser-ings will die out, a punishment I wouldn't even wish upon that dunce in the dog costume at our sporting events. But, until that day I'll just live in fear, holed up in my dorm room, waiting for the world to change.

Comments can be sent to cgriggs1@umbc.edu.

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EntertaInmentEntertaInmentRain didn’t dampen the spirits of SEB’s New York bus trip

Katrina CohenSENIOR STAFF WRITER

My day got off on the wrong foot. How could it be that I was running past Erickson Field at just shy of 7:00 in the morning? In the post-rain humidity. In a dress. I will tell you: I was one of the fearless thirty or so UMBCers to embark on the September 22 SEB bus drive to New York City. New York! Home of hot dogs, Sex and the City, and overhear-dinewyork.com!

All right, the truth is I’ve been to New York City more times than I could possibly count. I straddle an uncomfortable line between anti-Times Square elitist and stressed-out tourist. I also happen to hate driv-ing, and jumped at the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places for a mere $25 and a relaxing bus ride.

And visit New York City I did. We arrived to the city in what I believe to be record time: less than three hours. As we approached the Lincoln Tunnel, the cloudy haze that occupied the sky since leaving Baltimore began to break, the sun peeking through, a meteorologi-cal marvel. The city knew we were coming, and wanted to show us a beautiful day!

Okay, not quite. We got rained on, which resulted in more running in a dress. In the city. In a deluge.

But that’s not the point, of course. I’m not complaining (quiet, you nay-sayers). Most of the day’s visit was pleasant, filled with those touches here and there that make a trip to New York never the same twice. A

street fair shutting down 7th Avenue, right in the middle of Times Square. A laidback jazz quartet, complete with a cello, outside the Central Park Zoo. Marc Chagall’s haunting The Lovers, a ghostlike and romantic piece I saw “live” for the first time, though I’ve been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on several other oc-casions. (Not to mention the amus-ing mob of sudden-art-appreciators in the Met, embracing Rembrandt instead of the downpour outside.)

Weather notwithstanding, a quibble with the trip developed as I crossed back to 8th Avenue to catch the bus home at 7:00 p.m. I felt rushed, having just emerged from a subway ride uptown from the Village. I would have liked a couple more hours to wander around my favorite neighborhoods. Soak in the night lights. Have some dessert at my choice gelato place.

Not trusting my own judgments alone, I spoke to some fellow trip-goers before leaving on the bus back to Baltimore. Janice Footman, a sophomore, was proud, remarking, “The only New York I knew before was the one shown in CSI and Law and Order, and it’s very different.” She did New York City for the first time, by herself, and marched all the way up to the Met. She avoided Gu-cci and enjoyed H&M, she people-watched, and now she was ready to get back to her dorm.

Alex Psihogios, a fellow sopho-more and first-time New York visi-tor, was also pleased with her day, feeling that the trip entailed plenty

Musicians Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht perform new take on fl ute and piano

Sarah EvansSTAFF WRITER

Last Thursday, instead of heading out to Fish Bowl with the majority of UMBC’s students, I decided to at-tend a fl ute and piano performance put on in our Recital Hall. Presented by the UMBC music department’s TNT series, musicians Robert Dick on various fl utes and Ursel Schlicht on piano brought a unique sound to the Fine Arts building that can only be described as “new music.”

In a program consisting of six compositions performed and writ-ten by Dick and Schlicht, the range of the fl ute and piano were tested in a variety of ways I have never heard before, beginning with the fi rst piece, “Lapis Blues.” This song begins with Dick just blowing air through the fl ute and hitting the keys to make different sounds, without traditionally play-ing the instrument. When the piano comes in, it does not even resemble a piano, instead sounding like springs that are being hit. This strange qual-ity supports the fl ute and adds an almost eerie feeling to the piece. The technical ability of the musicians is also shown in the piece, with Dick able to produce two different pitches on the fl ute at once and playing fast

streams of notes with a clear sound. This song was a prelude to what the rest of the concert would be like; an experimentation with the range of two very classical instruments.

Dick and Ursel are internationally known musicians with roots in im-provisation and jazz (to name a few). Dick has also contributed greatly to the evolution of the fl ute and is col-laborating with the Brannen Brothers fl utemakers to produce his invention, the Glissando headjoint, defi nitely something new for the fl ute. Their backgrounds in innovation were pres-ent throughout the show, and started to become more noticeable with the second piece, “Emergence.”

In “Emergence,” Dick uses the bass fl ute, which, if you have ever seen a regular fl ute, is about four times the size of that and produces a much low-er sound. Now, I was expecting the instrument to actually be played, but instead, a microphone system hooked up to a soundboard was used to trans-form noises made with the keys and air to create an echo, as well as a series of strange sounds. The piano playing was also not the norm, with Ursel do-ing things like dragging a comb across the metal inside of the piano and sticking what looked like paper under that. The best way I can describe the

sound is weird, because it was such a foreign thing to hear coming from a piano. It was also at this point in the concert that I determined new music is really not my thing, but I vowed to give it a fair chance and was hopeful that maybe the rest of the songs would be interesting; they defi nitely were.

Before I describe the next piece in too much detail, I should probably mention that a glissando is normally a technique reserved for trombone play-ers, as it is when the musician slides from one note to the next, gliding over the ones in between. So, to hear that this could be done on the fl ute was al-most inconceivable. But in “Tendrils,” with the help of Dick’s own Glissando headjoint, which actually slides the mouthpiece along the fl ute, he was able to create a sound unlike anything I have ever heard. That would have been fi ne, except the piano part for the piece consisted of sounds that made it seem like the piano was being broken apart and resembled the screeching of nails on a chalkboard. That’s where my appreciation for musical experi-mentation ends.

The next piece, “Dark Matter” was equally unique, in instrumentation and in concept. The use of a contra-

> Flutist Robert Dick and pianist Ursel Schlicht push the limits of traditional music.FILE PHOTO —TRW

> Students navigated the bustling streets of New York City last week.KATRINA COHEN —TRW

> see NYC [18]

> see MUSICIANS [18]

14

The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 15ARTS

Regina Spektor mesmerizes her fans at Ram's Head Live

Gaby ArevaloSENIOR STAFF WRITER

On Wednesday night, Regina Spek-tor played to a sold-out show at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore. The average age of the crowd was probably around 30 years old, though I saw senior citi-zens and young teenagers as well.

Opening for Spektor was Only Son, also known as Jack Dishel. Only Son was the perfect compliment to the chill vibe of the show; his music is relaxing and fun. His voice could be described as a gentle mixture of Citi-zen Cope and Erros Ramazzotti, and his poetic lyrics are witty and bright. With boyish good looks, soothing acoustic guitar strumming, and soul-searching lyrics, Only Son had women visibly swooning. His music is similar to Death Cab for Cutie’s newer mate-rial, as Only Son pairs poetic lyrics with melodious instrumentals.

On Only Son’s recordings, the songs are backed by complicated in-strumentals, but in his stage show he stripped down the music so that his only accompaniment was an acoustic guitar. This showcased his beautiful voice, and the simple performance made for an unforgettable experience. Dishel had a great repartee with the

audience, telling funny stories about Russian journalists who call him on his cell phone.

When Regina Spektor walked onto the stage, she was greeted by thunder-ous applause and she immediately started singing, her rhythmic tapping on the microphone the only accom-paniment to her lovely voice. The audience stood in awed silence, trans-fi xed by the bluesy power of Spektor’s voice. The audience greeted each of her songs with joy, singing along, and matching every tiny vocal infl ection that she made. The audience’s voices blended with Spektor’s, making the large room feel cozy. Spektor has the ability to project her voice in such a way that one feels like she is sing-ing to the individual, rather than the group.

Every time the audience cheered for Spektor, she smiled adoringly at the audience. It seemed as if she fed off of the energy of the audience, and as the applause became more enthusi-astic, her performance became better and better. Despite some annoying hecklers, for the most part the audi-ence was made up of people who clearly love Spektor’s music, and their sincere knowledge of her lyrics made the concert not just a show, but as an

experience. The melancholy, bittersweet quality

of Regina Spektor’s voice is mesmer-izing, and when she would scat over her gorgeous piano playing, the room would stand still, awestruck at the complexity of her talent. Spektor’s music is like a cup of tea for the soul: warm, lovely, and exactly what you needed, but didn’t know you wanted. With many people calling her the next Tori Amos, Spektor is a force to be reckoned with. At one point Spektor created her own percussion by hitting a wooden chair with a drumstick, all while keeping a melody going on the piano. It was, and there is no other word to describe it, amazing. The show was beautiful, and it is hard to pick which songs were standouts when all were so fantastic, but one song that the audience seemed to en-joy more than the others was “Ghost of Corporate Future,” a song in which a man is advised to enjoy the sim-pler pleasures of life. “Hotel Song” is backed only by a synthetic beat, so I wondered whether she was going to play it in the show. To the audience’s surprise, Only Son came out for the song and beat-boxed for its duration. The audience sang and clapped along, and it was like a very chic summer

camp sing-along. Perhaps the most special moment of the show was when, during “Après Moi,” Spektor began to sing in her native Russian.

The concert was an amazing combi-nation of two talented artists who will quickly rise to the top, and one of the

best concerts I have ever attended.

Gaby Arevalo is a Senior Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and we love her very much. She can be reached at arevalo2@umbc.edu for comment.

> Fans have fallen in love with Regina Spector’s melancholy, bitter-sweet voice.COURTESY SIRE RECORDS

Eastern Promises to put you to sleep

Scott MeixelCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Movies are entertainment, and if a movie fails on this base level then I re-ally won’t care about other aspects of the fi lm. Sure, this statement may sound horribly ignorant to what a fi lm can, and usually should do. I enjoy when a fi lm presents me with complex characters, invests itself into an extremely detailed and thought-out world, or sends me home with some insight or message to think about. Those are the components of a fi lm which, if done well, make it great. However, during all of this, you have to hold my interest somehow.

Eastern Promises tries to do this by building suspense. Director David Cronenberg has proved that he can make a suspenseful fi lm countless times, most recently with A History of Violence, also starring Viggo Mortensen. In that fi lm, there was always something going on, either with the plot or with develop-ing the characters. Since the characters were so well-developed, when some-thing bad did happen, we genuinely did care about them. The same is not true in Eastern Promises. Of the four main characters, only Mortensen’s character is truly complicated and thought-out, and the fi lm only becomes interesting when he’s on screen.

Naomi Watts is completely wasted here. She plays a midwife named Anna who looks over a baby whose mother died in childbirth. The mother was only 14 and she carried a diary which holds evidence against a crime family in Lon-

don. The family is headed by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and his son Kirill (Vincent Cassel). Their driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is a newcomer who Kirill has taken a liking to. He and Kirill are given the task of making sure that Anna and the diary won’t cause any problems for the family.

The part of Anna could have been played by almost anyone. Watts is an amazing actress who once proved that she could convincingly fall in love with an ape, but not only an ape, a CGI ape (which means that she had noth-ing to act off of except a green screen). Throughout the fi lm she tries to fi gure out the mystery behind the diary, which she can’t read for herself because it’s in Russian. Her uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skoli-mowski) offers to translate it for her, but somehow she ends up trying to get the owner of a restaurant whose busi-ness card was stuck inside to do it for her. The owner ends up being Semyon. Luckily, she only brings a copy with her to read, and when her uncle comes across the real diary, he tells her to stay away from that restaurant and that fam-ily. Does Anna listen to her uncle? Of course not; the movie would be over if she did.

Nikolai, however, oh he’s awesome. Whenever the fi lm shows Nikolai operating within his world, it’s pretty damn good. Viggo creates an extremely complicated character in Nikolai which leads to some disturbing scenes. Unfor-tunately, these scenes are interrupted by Anna and her baby, and the pacing sim-ply halts. We’re never really sure whose

story this is, Anna’s or Nikolai’s, and this is the fi lm’s biggest problem. If it had been Anna’s all along, the fi lm still prob-ably wouldn’t have been very good. If it had been Nikolai’s, this movie would be amazing.

The other major problem with the fi lm is its lack of a bad guy. I think Cronen-berg was going for a man vs. environ-ment type of thing, where the bad guy is the collective idea of the crime family Nikolai is a part of. The problem with this is that they aren’t really that evil. We certainly hear about horrible things that Semyon has done in the past, yet on screen we never seen proof of that. Characters speak of their fear of him, yet he acts like a grumpy old man. The only times we seem him being any type of evil is when he’s yelling at his son. My

dad’s yelled at me before, a whole bunch of times. I’m not afraid of him. Does that mean that I’m cool enough to be a rank-ing member of an underground mafi a family?

Likewise with Kirill, we hear about bad things he has done in the past, yet on screen we never see any proof. Throughout the fi lm he’s either trying to act scary by ordering Nikolai around, whining about his father, or getting yelled at by his father. There is one memorable scene where Kirill shows off some evil by ordering Nikolai to prove his sexuality. Still, this doesn’t make up for the fact that their goons do most of the dirty work.

Alas, one awesome Viggo Mortensen character cannot save a movie from be-ing uninteresting. Peter Jackson knew

this. Cronenberg even showed that he knew this with A History of Violence, yet he seemed to forget this time around. Bad characters hinder your fi lm’s ability to create suspense, which in turn makes me bored. Eastern Promises is certainly a well-made fi lm in terms of production design, complexity, and insight into or-ganized crime, but it failed to entertain me, so I can’t recommend it. However, I can recommend Viggo Mortensen for a Best Actor nomination. Seriously, he got his Russian accent down so well that half the time I couldn’t understand him, it was so thick.

Scott Meixel is a Contributing Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached

for comment at smeixel1@umbc.edu.

> Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts star in this Russian mafi a drama.COURTESY FOCUS FEATURES

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.0716 ARTS

They don’t know how to make movies In The Valley of Elah

Matthew JonesCONTRIBUTING WRITER

You would think that when you put together three Academy Award winning actors that you would end up having a fi lm that speaks in numbers. You would think that this fi lm would top the rest coming out at the box offi ce that week-end. You would think that this fi lm would leave you wanting more once it is over because you gained so much in-sight from watching it. These thoughts would make sense, and they are what I thought when I went to go see In The Valley Of Elah. These thoughts were in-credibly wrong.

The Valley Of Elah is a drama that fo-cuses on a father who used to be in the military named Hank Deerfi eld (Tom-my Lee Jones). Just like their father, Hank’s two sons joined the military. The fi rst died while on duty years ago. The second son, Mike Deerfi eld (Jonathan Tucker), has just returned to America from his tour on duty in Iraq.

One day, Hank receives a phone call that no parent should ever receive. He is informed that his son has gone miss-ing and that crews are out looking for him. In an attempt to go out and fi nd his son, Hank goes to the military base and begins looking himself. Shortly af-ter he arrives, Hank’s son is found dead. His body is cut up into many pieces and

is burned severely. When Hank receives the news, he immediately calls his wife, Joan Deerfi eld (Susan Sarandon), and informs her of the devastation.

With the lack of effort and com-munication that Hank feels from the military, he decides to try to fi nd out what happened to his son on his own. He seeks help from a police detective, Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), who is more than reluctant to assist in the investigation. The more they search, the more that Hank and detective Sanders begin to think that everything may not be what it appears.

There is an ongoing feeling that the military is covering up something. In addition, Hank must try to cope with the fact that his son may not be who he thought he was. He must also prepare himself to face the reality that the mili-tary may not be as wonderful as he had always believed it to be.

While this fi lm may sound really in-teresting and intriguing, it turns out to be an expensive and frustrating dud of a fi lm. Tommy Lee Jones does an okay job portraying his character, but I never get the feeling that he is a dad, although he does remind me of a retired military offi cer. He is constantly in a blank mood throughout the entire fi lm, with very little of the sarcasm or wit he is famous for.

Susan Sarandon’s character got on my

nerves throughout the entire movie. All she did was criticize and insult Hank, and the emotional scenes didn’t even deliver as they should have. As a mother of a son who was in the military and was found murdered, you would think that she would have had an emotional breakdown, but it only appeared as if her dog died.

Charlize Theron’s character was the only decent character in the whole movie. Her character was very realistic, but not over the top. In addition, the au-dience could relate to her and never felt like she had an alternative agenda. If the movie would have focused around her character instead of the father, it prob-ably would have been a great movie.

Upon looking at the advertisements for this fi lm, I thought it would be a story that helped support our troops who are helping this country maintain its freedoms and liberties. On the con-trary, it bashes our troops and shows complete and utter disrespect for our country. Don’t get me wrong, I do not support all of what our country does, or some of the policies that it imple-ments. I also do not support the war at the present time, but I do have respect for our armed forces. I do feel lucky and proud to live in this country.

This fi lm made every soldier appear to be a murdering young drunk who comes home only to go to bars and strip

clubs to ease away the pain of war. I do not deny that some soldiers have trouble dealing with their experiences in Iraq, but they do not all act this way. In addi-tion, there is a scene where a main char-acter (for plot spoilers I will leave them nameless), takes a dirty and shredded American fl ag, hangs it up on a pole up-side down and instructs the care taker to leave it that way all day and night, even in inclement weather. How many more ways are there to demonstrate your lack of respect for this country?

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Most of the audience who attended this screening walked out booing the fi lm and saying how they “didn’t gain anything but disgust from watching this fi lm and would never recommend it to anyone. I hope it fails at the box offi ce!”

While Charlize Theron’s character

delivers, no one else does. This fi lm may exhibit some realistic moments, but is a complete exaggeration of real life. It is hurtful to many and should never have even been made in the fi rst place. However, as a critic, I try to be fair in the quality of the fi lm. Against my own judgment, I have to give this fi lm a rating that I think is too high. I encourage no one to see this fi lm, nor rent it when it is out on video (unless it is for free from the UMBC library). That is why I must give this fi lm 1.5 stars, a generous rating for a fi lm that is nothing but degrading.

Matthew Jones is a Contribut-ing Writer for The Retreiver

Weekly and can be reached for comment at joma1@umbc.edu.

> Tommy Lee Jones looks incredibly uncomfortable reading to young actor Devin Sanders.COURTESY WARNER INDEPENDENT PICTURES

HELEN ZHANG lokklyn.deviantart.comSLIGHTLY A MASOCHIST

to theaters

C

oming

HentschelHentschelby Jeremyby Jeremy

This week

FEAST OF LOVE [R] Relax, despite the title, this is not a porno. You’ll have to wait for Pirates 2 for that, perv. This movie stars Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair, and more in an all-star cast. The story is an update of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A professor in a small town observes how the budding love of various members of a neighborhood intertwines and causes mischief. I swear it’s not a porno. Although, fellas, if your girlfriend does drag you to this, it is rated R. There might be boobs. God bless this new trend in chick fl ick marketing started by Love Actually.

THE KINGDOM [R] This is it, that movie you’ve been stuck watching previews for before every movie for roughly the last year is fi nally coming out. In this terrorism thrill-er(?) Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner lead a team of FBI agents brought to investigate a suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia. Shh, hush my darling, don’t question why the FBI would be sent to another country, just give them your ten dollars and turn your brain off for awhile. That way, when they try to pound blatant political agendas into your face throughout the entire movie, you can pretend you’re somewhere else, just like in prison.

THE GAME PLAN [PG]I like The Rock, I really do. He’s a funny guy, and nobody enjoyed a good People’s Elbow more than I did back in the day. But Dwayne, what are you doing to me, man. The Game Plan? As so often is the case, I don’t even need to be clever with this one. Let me just copy and paste you the movie description: “In this family comedy, rough and tough football player Joe Kingman (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) can tackle anything on the fi eld, but he’s not sure how to handle the arrival of a girl who claims to be his daughter!” I hope Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be able to tackle look-ing like a giant douchebag after this movie fl ops.

The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 17ARTS

EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON AREA

aroundtown

SEPTEMBER 28King Tut ExhibitThe Offi ce of Undergraduate Education is sponsoring an excursion to Philadelphia to see the King Tut Exhibit at the Franklin Institute Friday at noon. Only $10 for admission and transportation. E-mail Dr. Michele Oscherow A.S.A.P. at mosherow@umbc.edu to reserve your spot!

SEPTEMBER 29Frederick's OktoberfestA celebration of all things German at the E-ventplex in Frederick, Maryland. Come see live German oompah bands, Alpine dancers, polka, log sawing and StrongPerson contests, outdoor tented Biergarten, and entertainers. And of course: German foods including home-made strudel. Located at the Frederick Fairgrounds, 797 E. Patrick St., Frederick. Call 301-663-8811 for more information. $5 admission. Parking donation.

SEPTEMBER 2912th Annual Baltimore International Rhythm FestivalVisit the entire block of 27th Street, from St. Paul to Charles Streets, for music, food and crafts vendors, outdoor stage, and an all-day drum circle. Saturday evening live indoor concert. Located at St. John’s Church, 27th and St. Paul streets, Baltimore. Students $10 admission.

NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 21Maryland Renaissance FestivalWhy go to RennFest? Beer, cleavage and giant turkey legs come to mind. Head up to Crownsville, MD and travel back to 1540 where Henry VIII is meeting his fourth wife, Anna princess of Cleves. As always, there will be jousting, live entertainment, food and crafts. Tickets are $18. For more information, go to www.rennfest.com.

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30FencesPut on by the Vagabond Players, this August Wilson drama is about a former Negro Leagues baseball player who is now working as a garbage man in 1950s Pittsburgh. Located at 806 S. Broadway, Baltimore. Sundays at 2 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Student tickets are $13. 410.563.9135.

NOWA Grand Legacy: Five Centuries of European ArtThe Baltimore Museum of Art presents a FREE exhibit featuring the incred-ible Rinaldo and Armida, one of the world’s fi nest paintings by Sir Anthony van Dyck. You can also view masterpieces by Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin. The museum is located at 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore. 443.573.1700. Metered parking.

Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam is all new, no preservatives

Nick JamisonSTAFF WRITER

For all of those tired of cookie-cutter songs and the traditional music shtick, Baltimore-born experimental group Animal Collective are back on the shelves with their eighth release, entitled Strawberry Jam. The instrumentation is sometimes indecipherable; the lyrics are sometimes obscure; but the album is never boring or intangible. While Straw-berry Jam resides on the far spectrum of music, it is never out of reach.

If you aren’t familiar with Animal Col-lective, they are a four-piece group made up of Avey Tare (a.k.a. David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). Now under the roof of Domino Records, Animal Collective has recorded with Fat-Cat Records and on their own label, Paw Tracks, which is located in Washington, D.C. Animal Collective is considered to be a band on the cutting edge, always pushing the limits of music and of the listener.

On Strawberry Jam, Animal Collective continue to move further away from the naked, stripped-down sound of their 2004 release Sung Tongs. On their latest album, samples dominate the sound-scape. Ranging from melodic piano loops to what can be best described as a mariachi band sample sped up beyond comprehension, Strawberry Jam hits you with more layers of sound than you can absorb in one sitting. With each listen, more and more underlying accompani-ments surface, giving the songs a sense of transformation.

On the fi rst listen through the album, it’s hard to deny that the centerpiece is “Fireworks.” The pulse of the previous track, “For Reverend Green,” subsides and “Fireworks” opens with a rolling snare drum. The layers build and build, but the snare drum continues to push the song forward. Avey Tare leaves noth-

ing behind in his vocals. At some points it’s hard to tell what is driving the song, the snare drum or Avey Tare; both are unrelenting. The lyrics, though obscure, still portray the singer’s sense of nostalgia and longing for days past. “Sacred nights where we watch the fi reworks” and “we all dance to the shadows while he’s sing-ing you that song” conjures images of summer nights and good times. “Fire-works” times-in at 6 minutes and 50 sec-onds, the longest song on the album, but it never feels drawn out or repetitive.

The best word to describe this album is solid. It has been two years since Ani-mal Collective’s Feels, and after hearing Strawberry Jam, you come to understand that they did not waste those two years. Avey Tare’s vocal abilities haven’t with-ered, and on “For Reverend Green,” a song that walks a tightrope between psychedelic and pop, he takes his voice all over the map. “Chores,” which begins as a fun, upbeat ditty about work, ends on a complete opposite feeling. About halfway into the song, the drive and anxiousness of the opening drops out and the song enters a state of euphoria. Anyone who has ever worked or taken a full semester will fully comprehend what Animal Collective is trying to convey:

the feeling someone gets when his/her work is fi nally fi nished. On “Chores,” all of the earlier apprehension ceases and the song ends in utter ecstasy. The album concludes with “Derek,” a great closer that resonates with a Brian Wilson aroma. For all those familiar with Ani-mal Collective, it will seem obvious that Panda Bear took the lead with “Derek.” The song starts off soft and easy to swal-low and ends in a powerful stride. The lyrics could suggest any number of meanings, whether it be about stability or simply a dog, the lyrics are up to the listener to interpret. Regardless, the song is a great fi nish to Strawberry Jam. For an album that is fl uid and always changing, “Derek” provides a great place to stand for the listener.

Fans of Animal Collective will not be disappointed in Strawberry Jam. For fans of experimental music, it will provide an accessible doorway into an amazing band. For everyone else, Strawberry Jam may not be the easiest album to get into, but when it hits you, you won’t put it down.

Nick Jamison is a Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached for comment at jamison1@umbc.edu.

> Animal Collective likes to mix things up. You’ll fi nd all kinds of innovative tunes on their new album, Strawberry Jam.

COURTESY DOMINO RECORDS

Horoscopesby Morgan Hammett

Libra (September 23-October 22):

Happy birthday Libra! You are known for being a natural peacekeeper, you are social, idealistic, and have a love for beauty. A true romantic, you love being in love. Use your amazing diplomacy skills to help others see both sides of an issue. Sometimes you have a tendency to be so focused on keeping everything balanced that you don’t make your own needs and feelings known. Part of maintaining fairness is being fair to yourself. This week you bond with someone over your love of aesthetics. You keep the connections going into the week-end, as you’re feeling (and looking) amazing. Good Libra matches: Other air signs, Gemini and Aquarius are both social and carefree like you. You share much in common with Pisces, as both of you are creative romantics. If you are attracted to opposites, then look for an Aries.Famous Libra people: Ani DiFranco (9/23), Serena Williams (9/26), Ma-hatma Gandhi (10/2), Matt Damon (10/8), John Lennon (10/9), Eleanor Roosevelt (10/11), e.e. cummings

(10/14), Jean-Claude Van Damme (10/18), and Johnny Carson (10/23).

Scorpio (October 23-November 21): Imagination is what really gets you going this week. There are pos-sibilities lining up for you, so pay at-tention and make them happen. Your competitiveness shows mid-week and combined with your intensity this can be an explosive combination. Channel this energy into work or a project, not a romantic interest. You don’t want to unintentionally wind up playing someone – let your hair down so others can see the real you.

Sagittarius (November 22-De-cember 21): As the week begins, you might feel like you’re living in your head. You’re thinking about things that seem to stick with you, and need to work harder to make sure you’re not missing class or appointments. Later in the week, however, you snap out of it. Sur-round yourself with people that make you happy, and try picking up a community service project this weekend.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19): This week your intuition is really trying to tell you something. Listen to that

little voice and you won’t be sorry. You’ve been working so hard these past couple weeks, just relax and let things happen. Friday and Saturday you’re on fi re, so spend it with your loved one, or someone you’ve been thinking about.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18): Thoughts of a higher power or better way of living occupy your thoughts as your week starts off. Follow your own life philosophy if it makes you happy, or look into getting a new one. Aloof by nature, your emotions catch up with you this week. All of these thoughts and emotions fuel your creativity this weekend.

Pisces (February 19-March 20): You have incredible drive this week, so use it to your full advantage. Get working on that big project you have coming up. Strange things might happen this week, and slight changes might occur. Just be aware and kick back and have fun this weekend. Be sure that you say what you really mean, however. If you’ve got a problem with someone, let them know.

Aries (March 21-April 19): All of this thinking about the future and ex-ploration you’ve been doing recently ends this week. You need to stop and focus on what’s in front of you. Once you accomplish what needs to get done, then you can go wherever the wind blows you. If romance looks like a possibility, now would be a great time to take action. Then take the weekend to cool off and prioritize.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): This week looks really good for you. You feel calm and happy. You might be inspired to tackle a new project or follow through with a crazy idea. Don’t let anyone rush you or try to slow you down. Go at whatever pace feels right for you. This weekend you’re ready to have fun, so do just that and use Sunday to unwind.

Gemini (May 21-June 21): Usually you’re an excellent communicator, but the week begins and, for one reason or another, you’re just not connecting with people like you usually do. Use this time to work es-pecially hard at anything that needs to get done. Who knows, you might wind up impressing someone along the way. Sunday is a good day to go out, so plan something fun.

Cancer (June 22-July 22): Always the intuitive one, your intuition surprises even you this week with its searing accuracy. Don’t ignore what your gut is telling you. Balance your feelings with a little self-control if you feel like they’re leading you into chaotic territory. Use the weekend to catch up, maybe hang out with friends and family. Pay close attention to what your loved ones are saying.

Leo (July 23-August 22): Your feel-ings and your actions aren’t exactly in sync with each other early this week. The good side is your creativity is shining. Mid-week exciting new pos-sibilities open up for you. Whether it’s a new person or new activity, grab at the opportunity. This weekend your love for power is challenged by some-one else who wants to take control.

Virgo (August 23-September 22): What a dynamic week for you. All sorts of interesting activities are pop-ping up and you just don’t have the time for it. You are extremely defen-sive of yourself this week, you’re sick of always having to explain yourself to everyone. Later on you calm down a bit. Take your mind off things this weekend, start a new book or work on some personal projects.

Hentschelby Jeremy

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.0718 ARTS

Now Playing

HEARD the MUSIC?by Michael Reid

SONAR (407 E SARATOGA ST, BALTIMORE) www.sonarbaltimore.com

The Sea and Cake w/ Meg BairdFriday, September 28, $15, 8:00 p.m.As a band that’s been around for 14 years and has released seven full-length albums, The Sea and Cake has, not surprisingly, a discography that spans several genres, from jazz to post-rock to plain old indie rock. Such an ex-perienced band is sure to put on a stellar live show, as well.

Andrew BirdSaturday, September 29, $22 advance/$25 at the doors, 8:00 p.m.I’ll say it up front: I love Andrew Bird, in a completely non-sexual way. For those who don’t know, Bird is an extremely talented indie-folk musician, specializing in violin and guitar, whose live performances include him using a multi-track system to loop back snippets of what he has just played. Sounds cool? That’s because it is.

THE OTTOBAR (2549 N. HOWARD ST, BALTIMORE) www.theottobar.com

Fujiya & Miyagi w/ Dirty On PurposeTuesday, September 25, $12, 8:00 p.m.Is it indie? Is it electronica? No-body’s quite sure with the synth-heavy, yet relaxing, music of Fujiya & Miyagi. I’d recommend looking up their video for “Ankle Injuries” on YouTube. All I’ll say is it’s the most interesting use of six-sided dice I’ve ever seen.

The Number 12 Looks Like You w/ See You Next TuesdaySunday, September 30, $10, 3:00 p.m.

If you like odd time signatures and screaming, you’ll like up-and-coming mathcore (no, seriously, it’s a real genre. I didn’t just make that up) act The Number 12 Looks Like You. Prepare for a lot of moshing and awkward head-banging by people who don’t realize that a song is being played in 13/16 time.

THE 9:30 CLUB (8:15 V ST. NW, WASHINGTON, D.C.) www.930.com

Doors are 7:30 p.m. for Sun-Thurs shows and 9:00 p.m. for Fri-Sat shows unless otherwise noted.

Animal CollectiveFriday, September 28, $20, 10 p.m. doorsContrary to popular belief, Good Charlotte is not Maryland’s only musical export, thank God. Exper-imental indie-folk group Animal Collective is based right out of Baltimore County and has en-joyed national success and critical acclaim, including an extremely impressive 9.3 out of 10 rating from Pitchfork Magazine for their latest record, Strawberry Jam.

Megadeth w/ In This Moment & The ConfessionSunday, September 30, $40You think you’re good at play-ing Hangar 18 on Guitar Hero II? Just wait until you hear Dave Mustaine shred that ending solo. You’ll throw away your plastic guitar controller in disgust.

THE RECHER THEATRE (512 YORK ROAD, TOW-SON, MD) www.rechertheatre.com

Finger ElevenWednesday, September 26, $15 (under 21 $18), 7:00 p.m.For those among us who still wear JNCO jean shorts and Billa-bong shirts, veteran alternative

rockers Finger Eleven come to Baltimore to rock out and try to show us that the mid-90s never truly died.

Unearth w/ Darkest Hour, August Burns Red & Suicide SilenceThursday, September 27, $15 advance/$17 at the doors, 7:00 p.m.Did somebody say metalcore? Get ready for breakdowns and drop-C tuning with Unearth and Darkest Hour, two of the most prominent and, dare I say, talented bands in the genre right now.

RAM’S HEAD LIVE (20 MARKET PLACE, BALTI-MORE, MD)www.ramsheadlive.com

Queens of the Stone AgeWednesday, September 26, $25 advance/$27 at the doors, 8:00 p.m.While many might only know Queens of the Stone Age from their early 2000s hit “No One Knows,” the stoner rock act does have an extensive discography, in-cluding their well-received album from this summer, Era Vulgaris.

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION (10475 LITTLE PATUXENT PARKWAY, CO-LUMBIA, MD)www.merriweathermusic.com

Bob Dylan w/ Elvis Costello & Amos LeeFriday, September 28, $75, 5:30 p.m.Do I really need to introduce Bob Dylan? I mean, if you haven’t heard of him, why are you even reading this column? Tickets will cost you a pretty penny, but hey, Dylan’s getting pretty old; this could be the last chance you have to see the legendary musician perform live, so it very well might be worth it.

bass fl ute, an instrument as tall as the musician, produces a sound like a bas-soon because the register is so low. But that was not the most interesting part of the song, as the piece was inspired by the random words that are generated by computers trying to get through internet spam. Dick described it as “the words seemed to create a type of poetry that no human could create” and thus, the song was basically him shouting those random words and playing sounds that could go along with those words. The musicians went back to playing in “Fragments,” with notes ranging from shrill pitches to as low as you can go, before coming to the last piece, “Sic Bis-quitus Disintegrat.” This one was inter-esting, as basically the same progression of notes was used for most of the song; the challenge seemed to be to come up

with as many different ways to play those notes, with sounds ranging from fl uttering and airy, to harsh or just using the keys of the instrument.

The show was defi nitely an experi-ence, and it was obviously a perfor-mance by two very talented and ac-complished musicians. But I do not really understand new music, and while I’m sure the people who do enjoyed the performance, I don’t see the point in making sounds like those of a piano being destroyed. Even though it was not my favorite concert, it was cool to see how Dick and Ursel attempted to expand the range of their instruments, and I can appreciate what they are try-ing to do; I would just rather listen to normal, classical music.

Sarah Evans is a Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached for comment at sevans6@umbc.edu.

Music at UMBC> from MUSICIANS [14]

of time and a great deal of freedom. (She was only upset, half-joking, that she walked a considerable dis-tance uptown to the Guggenheim Museum, only to finds its funky-modern art offerings were not her style).

For freshman Lakiesha Turner-Baker, the SEB trip was a third visit to New York City, and provided ample time for shopping. (She hap-pily displayed her many bags of purchases, and, I must say, I was impressed). Laura and Samantha McGarity (a junior and a senior, respectively) came on the trip with matinee tickets to Hairspray, and had a relaxed, musically-enlivened visit. The only thing bothering these happy travelers, accomplished and prepared to leave, was the slight lateness of the bus.

From the sound of my discus-sions, then, the SEB was right on the mark in ending the day at 7:00, especially for new visitors to the city. And maybe that’s the point. While I had ideas upon ideas of spots I wanted to hit before the day was done, newly-minted New Yorkers had just the right amount of time to see the sights without be-coming overwhelmed. (And I have always been the cynical one in the bunch.)

The SEB, according to main trip organizer, Nkenge Wheatland, will host another bus trip on Decem-ber 1, and will be sending two buses, good news especially for those of you who missed out this time around because of limited bus seating. (I also owe Nkenge a huge thanks for believing me, when, at 7:00 a.m., I was unable to produce my ticket, proof that I paid the $25

bus fee. The ticket was still on my bulletin board, looming over me, when I arrived back to my room at around 11:00 p.m. that night.)

The SEB bus trip to New York may be ideally suited for New York newbies, but I will admit that the bus got me to New York when I otherwise would not have been do-ing much of anything. And at 11:00 p.m., seven pierogies (from the Ukrainian place where I gracefully devoured a late lunch), innumer-able blisters (you can’t wear a dress without decent shoes, right?), and about fifteen hours later, I collapsed into bed, satisfied and fairly certain my day in New York City was in-deed long enough.

Katrina Cohen is a Senior Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached for com-

ment at katco1@umbc.edu.

UMBC students invade NYC

UMBC students bring the bard to life

Liz OmbergCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Lately William Shakespeare’s plays have been under scrutiny. Did he re-ally write them or not? Even though that is still a debate, the fact that the plays are timeless and brilliant has not changed.

In order to really appreciate Shake-speare, the plays cannot be read on a page, they must be acted. That is just the purpose of the Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group here on campus, which is run by the Dresher Center for the Humanities as well as the English Department. For the past two years, the group has been making Shakespeare accessible to anyone with an interest in a re-laxed setting, with cookies and cider included.

Michele Osherow, the staff advisor for the group, wants the club to sim-ply be a group of people who love Shakespeare, without the formal classroom setting. The group is held as a roundtable and votes on a play to read and act. Then they not only perform but discuss what each per-son thought of the piece, to which Osherow states that there are no “right or wrong answers.” The group takes “liberties with the texts” and plays with the words, their mean-ings, and the characters. Osherow comments that Shakespeare’s work “has been popular for over 400 years, there has to be something there.” The plays have been read for centuries and have been adapted into modern day films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s the Man along with modern versions of the plays to which Osherow states that, “Shakespeare can take it.”

Shakespeare can be an intimidat-ing subject, but this group is meant for discussion of literature rather than a grade for how well a piece is

understood. Robin Farabaugh, an-other staff advisor, stresses that the group is about “affection, not ability” for Shakespeare and that it is “not about being terrific.” Rather, it is a group of students and faculty who have a passion for Shakespeare and are looking for a fun and comfortable environment in which to discuss his work, where everyone has an equal voice. There are many majors repre-sented in the club other than Eng-lish and a varying level of familiar-ity with Shakespeare. Both advisors stress that the group is for everyone and anyone who wants to try Shake-speare, “even if that last time you read it was in eighth grade.”

Keep an eye out for the group on April 23, the day that URCAD (Un-dergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day) is taking place, and that just happens to be Shake-speare’s birthday. The group is in the process of creating a possible Shake-speare reading to be performed. Also, the Honors College is taking a trip to see a production of As You Like It in a few weeks. The club wants to have at least one Shakespeare outing a year in collaboration with the Hon-ors College. However, if you know of a Shakespeare event coming up, the club is “always open to new ideas” for trips.

The Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group’s next meeting is on Wednesday, October 3 at 4 p.m., and the location is to be determined. All you need to bring is your love for Shakespeare and a copy of his complete works. For more informa-tion on the group or if you have any questions you can e-mail Michele Osherow at mosherow@umbc.edu.

Liz Omberg is a Contributing Writer for The Retriever Weekly

and can be reached for comment at eomberg1@umbc.edu.

> from NYC [14]

The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 19ARTS

reasons not to go home

this weekend

campusaround ON-GOING

Inge Morath: The Road to Reno, The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery, September 10 through December 10. This exhibit features about seventy

photographs by the Austrian-born Inge Morath. This famous photographer was married to playwright Arthur Miller. The Road to Reno documents a road trip taken by Morath across the U.S. to visit the set of the fi lm The Misfi ts, star-ring Marilyn Monroe, in 1960.

UMBC Spirit Day in the Game Room, Fridays, 7:00 to Midnight, the Commons Game Room. Friday is Spirit Day in the game room! Wear black and gold and play for free all night.

True Grit Tuesdays, 7 – 10 p.m., the Commons Game Room. Tuesday night, pool, table tennis, and air hockey will be free for students! Come show off your school spirit and have fun at the same time.

Monday Night Football, 7:00, the Com-mons. Hunker down Monday nights at the Commons for football! The game will be shown on the giant plasma screen TVs throughout the area. Grab a pint at Flat Tuesdays and your wrist band will get you thirty minutes of free play in the game room!

Free DVD and CD Rentals, the second fl oor of the AOK Library at the Media Desk. Don’t want to pay for your favor-ite CDs and DVDs, but you also don’t want the RIAA sweatin’ you? Problem solved! Stop by the Media Desk on the second fl oor of the library and browse

through their thousands of DVDs and CDs, all absolutely free to rent for seven days!

UMBC Sukkot Celebration, All Week, inside the Sukkah on the Commons Terrace. The UMBC Sukkah is open for students to eat, study, and socialize. A variety of events are planned for the Sukkah throughout the holiday. See umbchillel.org for more info.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

UMBC Annual Career Fair, 1 – 5 p.m., the RAC. UMBC's largest annual job fair. Plan for the future! Come prepared to impress – dress professionally and bring plenty of resumes. Details and a list of participating employers (130 are expected) is available at http://careers.umbc.edu/news_events/cf2007.php.

SEB Premiere Week: House, 9 p.m., the Commons Sports Zone. Come watch the premiere of House with your friends on the huge screen in the Sports Zone!

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

Halo 3 Tournament, 6 p.m., the Com-mons Game Room. Halo 3 is fi nally out: all productivity can now stop. You’ve only had it for a day now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sign up for this free tournament and show off your stuff. Prizes will be awarded, but stickying someone is prize enough in itself, isn’t it?

SEB Premiere Week: Private Practice, 9 p.m., the Commons Sports Zone. Come watch the premiere of Private Practice with your friends on the huge screen in the Sports Zone!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

GSA Fall Cookout, 5 – 8 p.m., the Flat Tuesdays Patio. Graduate students, celebrate the end of your fi rst month

of hard work with some delicious bar-beque! Free food and discount beer will be on hand. You can’t afford not to!

SGA Pre-Game Volleyball Tailgate, 5:30 – 7 p.m., the Commons Terrace. Enjoy free food, prizes, and give-aways as we tailgate UMBC Women’s Volley-ball’s game against Saint Francis at 7:30 in the RAC. Rumor has it they will be unveiling UMBC’s newest mascot here!

SEB Premiere Week: Grey’s Anatomy. Come watch the premiere of Grey’s Anatomy with your friends on the huge screen in the Sports Zone!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

Blood Drive, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., the Com-mons Main Street. Donate blood this Friday. It doesn’t take long, and you get free snacks and a gift. Don’t be greedy – you don’t need all that blood anyway! You’ve always wanted to be a hero, and this is the easiest way to save lives.

SEB’s 80s Prom, 8 p.m., the Commons Cabaret. There will be a free dance party with live DJ, food, and tons of fun this Friday night! Show them why people call you “Dancing Queen!”

Percussionist Matthias Kaul, 1 p.m., the Fine Arts Studio 508. Enjoy a free show brought to you by the Depart-ment of Music! Renowned percussion-ist Matthias Kaul is sure to put on a great performance, so be there!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

David Smith, Janice Jackson, and Nancy Beith in concert, 8 p.m., the Fine Arts Recital Hall. The Department

of music presents the soprano Jackson, tenor Smith, and pianist Beith. Their all-German program will feature the music of Wagner and Beethoven. Admission is free to students. Enjoy a beautiful evening of music!

Laser Tag, 8 – 11 p.m., Erickson Field. Halo 3 may have come out earlier this week, but your thumbs probably hurt by now. Time for some live action experience! Nothing bonds friends together more closely than a hectic struggle for survival with lasers cutting through the night sky. Come on you apes, you want to live forever!?

SEB’s Weekly Movie is shown in Lec-ture Hall 1, behind the Commons. Be sure to bring Campus Cash on your card – money is not accepted.

Thursdays at 7:30 and 10:00 for $2Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 for $1

QUESTIONS FOR QUINNQuestions? E-mail advice_trw@umbc.edu or stalk her through Facebook under the name Questions for Quinn.

Q. If you were going to have a contest with all the awkward and uncomfortable things that a roommate could do, I’m pretty sure my roommate would be in the top fi ve… second only to people that leave the door open when they are in the bathroom and people that eat their toe and fi ngernail clippings. I have Naked Roommate Syndrome. It doesn’t matter if I am in the room or not. It doesn’t matter if he just took a shower or is going to bed. When my roommate is within the walls of our room, he doesn’t have on any clothes but his boxers. They aren’t even nice boxers! It is incredibly awkward to be in my own room but it feels twice as awkward to point out that maybe he should put some clothes on. So, what do I do?A. 99% of “awkward roommate” questions all result in the same basic advice – talk to your roommate about what’s bothering you and ask them to stop or reach some sort of compromise. Your problem isn’t any different, just much more socially dysfunc-tional. Toddlers age two and up have realized that clothes are social necessity around other people (excluding activities like skinny dipping and strip poker, in which being naked is the point). I am certain, or at least hopeful, that your roommate puts on more fabric than boxers before walking out the door into public. He just hasn’t made the connection that if you are sharing a room with someone, your room is “public” too. That takes care of the awkwardness of pointing out that clothes are a good idea, since he should already know that if he isn’t arrested for public indecency every time he goes outside. The other half is that you have to decide what you want to do. You can 1) live in a state of constant discomfort with your nude-colonist-in-training room-mate, or 2) have a single awkward conversation in which you politely request that he put some damn pants on. The choice I leave to you.

Q. Have you seen those people that walk around with the cell phone headsets permanently attached to their ears? I hate those headsets, but not for the usual reasons. Most people dislike it because it’s rude or distracting or something along the lines of aesthetically displeasing. I hate them because they make me look like a com-plete idiot on a regular basis. I always accidentally talk to people, assuming they were saying something to me. Then they turn, and I see the headset. It’s embarrassing! Is there some secret sign I should be looking for that everyone else seems to know to avoid?A. If by “secret sign” you mean, a headset in someone’s ear, then yes. Generally speaking, if you don’t know a person and you hear them talking, you have about a 1 in 12 chance of being their intended audience. Those chances are normally reserved for in-quiries about directions, the time or cases of mistaken identity. It’s iffy on a college campus, since a lot of the time you will think you recognize a person as an acquaintance from a class you had when in reality you have just seen that same face around campus before. So next time, before jumping to immediately respond when you hear a voice in a crowd, check and see who it belongs to. If you don’t know them, wait an extra second and see if they repeat themselves for you. If you do by some chance happen to know the person, then look for that secret sign that they still aren’t talking to you… a cell phone or a headset or just some other person in the conversation. After that it is safe to respond. Don’t worry about being rude – if you make a habit of talking to strangers on cell phones, the people that know you will defi nitely believe you simply didn’t realize you were being addressed. If all else fails and you keep talking to people on headsets, go out and buy one of your own. That way when they look at you funny for assuming they were talking to you, you can return the look and point to your own headset in a triumph of refl ected embarrassment.

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.0720 ARTS

gamesgames playplayplay

CROSSWORD

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CATEGORYdiffi cult

WHAT TO DOFill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 3x3 box. You might want to use a pencil!

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SOLUTIONS TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLES

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THIS WEEK IN SPORTSTHIS WEEK IN SPORTS

Joe PalmerSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Receiving honorable mention last week for her performances in the Towson Tournament, Kira Giles continued her outstanding season this past Saturday as the Retrievers hosted Fairleigh Dickinson and Mor-gan State.

The Retrievers dominated the day, winning both matches with fairly little resistance. They topped Dickin-son in straight games (3-0) and Mor-gan State with just one loss (3-1).

Spanning both games, Giles re-

corded 87 assists, 24 digs, 8 kills and several timely service aces. With 35 assists and 9 digs in the fi rst match against Dickinson, Giles missed the double-double by one dig. However, Giles made up for it in the match against Morgan State with 52 assists and 15 digs.

These numbers may sound shock-ing for a sophomore setter, but such performances are common place for Giles, who is currently 8th all-time in assists for the Retrievers after record-ing 869 assists in her freshmen year alone. Hailing from Winnipeg, Can-ada, she has been putting up similar numbers since her sophomore year

in high school as a member of the varsity team at the Glenmore Colle-giate Institute.

Giles received many awards in high school, including being named to the Provincial All-Star team twice, and All-Canadian All-Star Setter in 2005. Last year, in her rookie season with the Retrievers, she was voted First Team All-Conference and was selected to the All-Rookie team.

A volleyball game is truly in the hands of the setter as it is their job to place the ball in position for oth-ers to make plays and score points, so it is no stretch to surmise that the Retriever’s hot 12-3 start is directly

correlated with the superior perfor-mance of their sophomore setter.

This week: Volleyball plays home

in the RAC arena on the 27th, 28th, and 30th against St. Francis, Maine, and New Hampshire, respectively.

Honorable Mention: Ashley Os-cars tallied 29 kills in matches against Dickinson and Morgan State.

Joe Palmer is a Senior Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached for comment at sports@re-trieverweekly.com.

Volleyball vs. Delaware (Away) at 7:00 p.m.

Volleyball vs. St. Francis (Pa.) at 7:30 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Maine at 7:00 p.m. Cross Country at the Paul Short Invitational TBA

Men's Soccer vs. Loyola (Away) at 1:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer vs. Stony Brook (Away) at 1:00 p.m.Volleyball vs. New Hampshire at 1:00 p.m.

Scoring drought puts 3-0-1 start to season in rear view for men's soccer team

Ethan GachSTAFF WRITER

The Retrievers passed a tough week, traveling fi rst to Lehigh for a Wednesday night game, before re-turning home to play James Madison on Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks, fi nishing 16th in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, had won their 2005 encounter with the Retrievers, but lost the two prior.

The men started off a shaky fi rst half with what Coach Pete Caringi called the “defensively worst performance of the year” thus far. A struggling defense allowed two goals in the fi rst 30 min-utes. Both came from Jim Taranto’s assists, which Kyle Evens, Lehigh’s of-fensive powerhouse with 3 goals and 1 assist going into the match, put in the net. In the 32nd minute UMBC

looked to strike back, but a free kick by Dan Bulls fl ew just over the cross bar.

Conditions worsened for the Re-trievers when Lehigh slipped in an-other goal during the 43rd minute, ending the half up 3-0. The team came out much stronger in the sec-ond half but could not make anything happen. Steve King took a break after three saves in the second half, when sophomore keeper Matt Hendserson made his fi rst appearance in the net during the 77th minute.

“[It’s] tough traveling on the road. We came out a little fl at, but picked it up in the second half,” commented Bulls when asked about the team’s mishap at Lehigh.

The Mountain Hawks scored half of their shots on goal during the Wednesday match.

“Lehigh came out ready to play, and their experience showed,” Caringi said.

Coming back from the road, the Re-trievers looked to put Lehigh behind them when they met James Madison, who were 1-3-2 after their Wednesday match against American. This time the Retrievers came out swinging with multiple corners and numerous close attempts on goal. Shondell Busby and Ime Umo kept the Duke’s defense on its toes, working to create opportuni-ties, while freshman Levi Houapeu and junior Kevin Gnatiko made strong runs down the wings. However, it was freshman B. J. Quigley who threat-ened to score for the Retrievers when he found the ball at six yards, but af-ter an unlucky touch, sent it rocketing over the net.

Another freshman, J. P. Waraksa,

NATHAN ROLLS —TRW> An inability to fi nd net has left the Retrievers reeling.

had three shots, two of which were close headers that only barely missed the corner of the goal. With a 0-0 score going into the second half, the Retrievers continued to press of-fensively and developed numerous plays at midfi eld, despite not being able to convert any of their opportu-nities. With regular defenseman L.J. Pijnenburg benched due to a concus-sion received last Wednesday, Dan Bulls and Matt Ward played back to help the rest of UMBC’s defense keep JMU off the board. After two sudden-death overtimes, the match remained scoreless and UMBC men’s soccer left the match sitting at 3-2-2.

The Retrievers have now been out-shot in there last four encoun-ters, winning only the fi rst against Iona. Knowing the potential of his younger players, like Quigley, who was named Baltimore City’s 2006 player of the year, Caringi mentions a confi dence factor that always needs to be rebuilt as players move up to

higher levels of play. Quigley was the leading scorer in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Conference for the last two years.

“Its just a matter of being patient.” Caringi said.

With a week off prior to fac-ing Loyola, the team will see some uninterrupted practice time before returning to their two-per-week match schedule. Loyola boasts an impressive 6-2-0 record after the conclusion of Oregon State’s Soccer Tournament, including a 3-0 win over Towson, and a 3-2 victory over George Washington. They entertain the Retrievers at 1:00 p.m. on Sat-urday, September 29 and will prove a diffi cult obstacle as the men try to overcome their recent scoring.

Ethan Gach is a Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and

can be reached for comment at sports@retrieverweekly.com.

09.25

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The RetrIever Weekly 09.25.07 25SPORTS

club sports wrapClub Rugby season gets underway

The rugby season got started last weekend as the men of UMBC hosted Towson in a battle of the beltway. After a few hard minutes of rucking and holding the Towson players at bay, there was a break in UMBC's defense and two quick tries were scored for Towson. Jake Steel of UMBC answered back with a try after a long break by out-center Phil Harmon, cutting Towson's lead in half. Soon afterwards the UMBC men took the lead with a score by team captain Tigue Tozer. The next 20 minutes saw some fi erce play by both UMBC and Towson, with no team converting a score as half time came. The second half saw some unfortunate mistakes on the home side and some well-executed blocked kicks by the away side that allowed Towson to reclaim the lead. Careless mistakes and missed tackles would ultimately cost UMBC the game.

Field Hockey gets an even start on the season

The UMBC club fi eld hockey team has started its season 2-2 this year. However, the team's strength has grown and has had an impressive showing on the fi eld, including in their two losses. The Retrievers kicked off their season with a 3-1 home victory against Loyola. The Retrievers dominated the Greyhounds, only letting Loyola get past the defense twice the entire game. Following that, UMBC participated in the College Park Club Field Hockey tournament. UMBC was beaten by a tough Penn State offense with a score of 4-0 in the fi rst game on Friday evening. UMBC fought hard and kept Penn State at bay for most of the game. After that, the Retrievers bounced back to beat George Mason 3-2 on their fi rst game on Saturday. Jessica Smith, Courtney McNamara, and Kristi Troster all scored in the well-fought victory. UMBC was defeated by Virginia Tech 4-0 that night. The Hokies were only able to score at the end of the fi rst half, with UMBC holding their offense to only one goal the entire game until the very end. UMBC had only one sub and has been without their starting goalkeeper due to an ankle injury in the beginning of the season. Various fi eld players have been trying out the position and trad-ing the responsibility every game so far. The Retrievers face off against beltway rival College Park this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at the UMBC Stadium.

Alexander PylesEDITORIAL STAFF

With the volleyball team off to one of its best starts in years, and the men’s soccer team hold-ing their own, one could argue that it is an exciting time to fol-low UMBC athletics.

While I won’t argue that these team’s impressive starts are not important, or that they could be a positive sign of things to come, when you get down to it, these early-season match-ups simply don’t mean much in the context of getting to the postseason.

Maybe if UMBC were larger or better known athletically, the campus could muster a modicum of excitement for the volleyball team’s nonetheless impressive 12-3 start. Unfor-tunately, with an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason unlikely, these wins are almost meaning-less.

Read up on your Retrievers history—you won’t have to go too far back to see my point. Last winter, the women’s basketball team mucked their way through a mediocre 13-16 regular sea-son, but played well enough within the conference to earn a

berth as the seventh seed in the America East Tournament. Get-ting hot at the right time, UMBC rattled off three straight wins to take the conference crown and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

When looking down the road at postseason opportunities, those early-season losses didn’t matter for the basketball team anymore than these early-sea-son, non-conference wins mat-ter for the volleyball team.

I am a believer that each game prepares you for the next, and that having the confi dence a 12-3 start generates can be a factor once conference play begins, but I won’t be jump-ing up and down over beating Farleigh Dickinson and Mor-gan State over the weekend. Instead, I’ll save my celebra-tions for late November when the lady Retrievers are fi ghting Albany, tooth and claw, for the AEC title.

Alexander Pyles is the Sports Editor for The Retriever

Weekly and can be reached for comment at sports@

retrieverweekly.com.

HITTING the Cycle

Strapped by youth, injuries, women's soccer falls to 1-6-2

Corey JohnsSTAFF WRITER

Going into the game against Sa-cred Heart in Fairfi eld, CT after the team’s best weekly record, 1-1-1, the lady Retrievers looked to continue to improve. The team came back from a one point defi cit against the Pioneers in the fi nal ten minutes of regulation.

In the 17th minute the Pioneers capitalized on a corner kick that was headed into the goal past Christine Bacinski. The remainder of the game was mainly a defensive struggle, with a total of 24 shots taken by both teams and only two goals scored.

In the 80th minute, freshman for-ward Ashley Singer tied the game off a throw-in from sophomore mid-fi elder Amanda Benedict that she blasted into the right corner of the goal. This score gave Singer her third goal of the

season, which leads the team. In the 82nd minute, Sacred Heart

lost senior leadership on the fi eld when mid-fi elder Alyssa Long was given a red card and ejected from the game. This gave the Retrievers a chance to win in the fi nal eight min-utes, with the Pioneers being a player down. They did not capitalize howev-er, sending the game into overtime.

Sacred Heart took the lone shot in the fi rst overtime but missed, sending the game into a second overtime.

With both defenses continuing to match zeros, the game ended in a 1-1 tie with a combined three saves in the second period of overtime.

Two days after the tough double overtime game, the team traveled to West Point, New York to face the Black Knights of Army. The team gave up a goal in the 25th minute off an unassisted ball that bounced in front

of the goal and was capitalized on by the Black Knights.

One bright spot in the game was the goalkeeping by Bacinski and ju-nior Catie Bukowski. Bacinski started the game and had six saves and Bu-kowski came in at the half and had three saves.

The team now holds a record of 1-6-2 going into American East play on Sunday at Stony Brook.

“It is challenging to play fi ve straight road games and it is men-tally draining to play a tough double over-time game and come back and play a road game two days later,” Coach Tara Koleski said. She added that, with a predominately freshman team in a fall sport, it is hard to play a road stretch because practice starts as soon as they graduate, and the season starts while they are trying to get used to the switch from high school to col-

Walker, Poplar Avenue fi elds to receive much-needed attention

Alexander PylesEDITORIAL STAFF

When UMBC Athletics deemed Er-ickson Field unsafe to play intramural sports on last fall, the program made the decision to move games to UMBC property across from Arbutus Middle School, to what was once a driving range.

Even though students participat-ing in intramurals will still have to stomach the inconvenience of driving to the outskirts of campus for games instead of heading to the central-ized Erickson Field, a plan being set into motion by the university will soon make the old driving range and Walker Field much friendlier surfaces to play on.

According to Lynne Schaefer, UM-BC’s Vice President of Administration and Finance, plans are in place to re-sod and add irrigation to Walker Field and the fi elds adjacent to Pop-lar Avenue this semester, with the fi elds expected to be improved by the spring semester.

“There is a master-planning process

to look at recreation and parking,” Shaefer said.

While the fi rst step will be to turn Walker Field and the old driv-ing range into comfortable places for recreation, a committee will be meet-ing to discuss the action to be taken toward the oft-used Erickson Field, which has more closely resembled a gravel yard than an athletic fi eld over the last several years.

“We need more basketball courts, more tennis courts,” said Arthur Johnson, UMBC’s provost.

The fate of the empty plot of land where the recently-razed Hillcrest building once stood is also a topic that will be discussed by the plan-ning committee. While the land has value as a small recreational fi eld for the West Hill and Terrace apartment communities, the additional parking that could be gleaned from the space is a tempting option to consider.

Alexander Pyles is the Sports Editor for The Retriever Weekly

and can be reached for comment at sports@retrieverweekly.com.

FILE PHOTO> The women’s soccer team faced challenges on a road stretch.

lege as they are away from home and their families.

With senior Jessica Young injured and not traveling with the team, only two seniors, Alexis Rogowsky and Morgan Sacchetti, were with the team on the road trip and, according to Koleski, provided great senior lead-ership to the freshman as well as the other players in trying to keep them ready and mentally prepared for each game.

Now heading into what some call the second season, conference play, the team is ready to forget about a tough fi rst-half schedule.

“[It was] a tough fi rst half of the season, with teams that may be bet-ter than the teams we will be playing in American East,” Koleski said. “We are going to be very ready and up for any challenge that the teams throw at us.”

Corey Johns is Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can be reached for comment at sports@retrieverweekly.com.

The RetrIever Weekly09.25.0726 SPORTS

Goals scored

Team GoalsAndreas Blamo Hartford 3Shaun Kane Albany 2Gary Muir Hartford 2Collin Geoghegan Stony Brook 2Aaron O'Neal Boston 2Michael Palacio Stony Brook 2Kevin Hall Hartford 2Daniel Chu Boston 2Shaun Kane Albany 2M. Simpara Stony Brook 2Ime Umoh UMBC 2

Save percentage

Team Saves GA Sv. Pct.Jason Stenta Binghamton 20 4 0.833Steve King UMBC 26 6 0.812

Hrafn Davidsson Boston 32 8 0.8Roger Scully Vermont 22 6 0.786Nemanja Kostic Maine 28 8 0.778Dawid Ditrich Stony Brook 13 4 0.765Mike Jenne N. Hampshire 21 7 0.75Matt Glaeser Hartford 18 7 0.72Steward Ceus Albany 39 20 0.661

Goals scored

Team GoalsMichelle Sheehan N. Hampshire 5Caitlin Whelan N. Hampshire 5Teresa Boring Albany 5Diana Barrera Albany 3Ashley Singer UMBC 2

Tricia Reed Binghamton 2Hailey Blackburn Maine 2Caitlyn Slattery UMBC 2

Sandra Vacarino UMBC 2Kaitlin Francis Vermont 2Danielle White Binghamton 2

Save percentage

Team Saves GA Sv. Pct.Janie Reilly Boston 16 1 0.941Ally Yost N. Hampshire 11 1 0.917Jasmine Phillips Maine 36 5 0.878Marisa Viola Stony Brook 36 6 0.857Christina Reuter Boston 19 4 0.826Eliza Bradley Vermont 60 13 0.822Catie Bukowski UMBC 20 5 0.8

Nikki Golding N. Hampshire 7 2 0.778Elizabeth Cook Hartford 29 9 0.763Erin Iman Binghamton 43 14 0.754

Kills

Team No. Per gameJackie Ahlers Stony Brook 255 5Morgan Sweany Stony Brook 226 4.43Emmy Blouin N. Hampshire 183 4.16Ashley Crenshaw Albany 165 4.12Kamisha Kellam Albany 146 3.56Lindsay Allman Maine 124 3.44Kirsten Bates N. Hampshire 153 3.4Ashley Oscars UMBC 95 3.17

Amanda Cowdrey Albany 128 3.12Toni Barnas N. Hampshire 134 3.12

Digs

Team No. Per gameJaclyn Strader Binghamton 265 5.1Alyse Lahti N. Hampshire 232 4.94Pam Jarrett UMBC 183 4.69

Noelle Bay Stony Brook 218 4.27Tawny Dhames Albany 163 3.88Lindsey Mueller Binghamton 198 3.81Lindsay Allman Maine 119 3.31Amanda Cowdrey Albany 132 3.22Ashlee Wright Maine 126 2.93Kira Giles UMBC 120 2.93

amerIca east statisticsamerIca east statisticsSTANDINGS LEAGUE LEADERS

LEAGUE LEADERS

LEAGUE LEADERS

STANDINGS

STANDINGS

MEN

’S S

OC

CER

WO

MEN

’S S

OC

CER

VO

LLEY

BA

LL

Men's Soccer

SCHOOL W L T W L TBinghamton 0 0 0 6 2 0Hartford 0 0 0 4 1 1Boston University 0 0 0 4 3 3Stony Brook 0 0 0 4 3 3UMBC 0 0 0 3 2 2

Vermont 0 0 0 3 5 0New Hampshire 0 0 0 1 3 3Maine 0 0 0 2 6 0Albany 0 0 0 1 6 1

AMERICA EAST OVERALL

Women's Soccer

SCHOOL W L T W L TStony Brook 0 0 0 3 2 2New Hampshire 0 0 0 4 3 1Albany 0 0 0 3 3 2Boston University 0 0 0 3 4 1Hartford 0 0 0 2 3 2Maine 0 0 0 2 3 2UMBC 0 0 0 1 6 2

Vermont 0 0 0 1 7 1Binghamton 0 0 0 0 6 2

AMERICA EAST OVERALL

Volleyball

SCHOOL W L W LUMBC 0 0 12 3

New Hampshire 0 0 10 4Albany 0 0 10 5Stony Brook 0 0 10 7Hartford 0 0 6 10Binghamton 0 0 6 12Maine 0 0 1 12

AMERICA EAST OVERALL

The RetrIever Weekly 00.00.00 27advertIsment

SPORTS The RetrIever Weekly09.25.0728

sportssports Ins IdeIns Ide

Donald DanielsSTAFF WRITER

The lady Retrievers are on a roll after this weekend’s performance. After playing in the final tourna-ment of the regular season in Tow-son, where they lost to Dayton and Western Kentucky, the Retrievers came back home to the RAC arena and hosted a very athletic Coppin State team.

When asked about what lessons were learned at the Towson Tourna-ment coach Ian Blanchard said, “We need to make better decisions. At the tournament in Towson we made the big mistake at the wrong time, something we need to stay away from. We also learned that we have a lot of room to make improve-ment.”

On Tuesday night’s sweep of the lady Eagles, Blanchard utilized his bench, as twelve players saw signif-icant action in the win. Freshman Outside Hitter Bianca Sande led the team with eight digs, while fresh-man Sabrina Hoeks had seven kills. Kira Giles continued her excellent play this season with 32 assists in the victory over CSU.

For the first time this season, UMBC had back-to-back home games, as they hosted Farleigh Dickson and in-state rival Morgan

State at the tri-match. First up were the Knights of Farleigh Dickinson. Sophomore Ashley Oscars and Hoeks racked up one dig and 10 kills a piece in the sweep of the lady Knights. Giles just missed having a double-double by putting up nine digs, four kills to go along with 35 assists.

In the second match on Saturday, the winless lady Bears came out strong and pushed the lady Retriev-ers, but UMBC won the first game 30-27. In the second game, Morgan State pulled off the win, 30-26, behind the play of Esther Johnson, who had 18 kills and 18 digs for the road team.

Junior Angela Anderson, Giles, and Oscars all recorded double-doubles in the win over Morgan State. Oscars finished with 19 kills and 11 digs, Anderson had 12 kills and 13 digs and Giles had with 15 digs and 52 assists.

With their winning ways at home, UMBC improved to 12-3 on the season, and are currently sole-owners of the number one spot in the America East Conference.

A long season comes with many challenges, and one of those chal-lenges will be maintaining that competitive edge over the duration of an entire fall.

“I think that every team in every

sport struggles with maintaining that edge throughout a season,” Blanchard said.

Another challenge that awaits this volleyball team is a road game against Delaware on Tuesday night. The lady Fighting Blue Hens will have one thing in common with UMBC, and that is that both are the top team in their respective confer-ences. Delaware sits at 15-2 so far this year. The game will be a ba-rometer for how far the Retrievers have come.

After Tuesday night’s road match, UMBC returns home for their lon-gest home stand of the season. They will play four home games over the period of six days. In this string of home games the lady Retrievers will see their first conference games when they play Maine, and the team that sits right behind them in second place in the America East, New Hampshire. UMBC will be looking to pick up some wins and continue to improve as conference play hits high gear starting at the end September.

Donald Daniels is a Staff Writer for The Retriever Weekly and can

be reached for comment at sports@retrieverweekly.com.

Volleyball improving, sitting in fi rst place with conference schedule on the horizon

NATHAN ROLLS —TRW

> Ashley Oscars (7) recorded 29 kills in Saturday’s tri-match, as the Retrievers improved to 12-3 on the season.

NATHAN ROLLS —TRW

23 SOCCER CAN’T SCORE

25 REC FIELDS TO BE IMPROVED

26 AEC STATISTICS